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She has one of showbiz's most famous backsides -- so how does Beyoncé Knowles do it? If you ask her, it's a combination of a couple of things: Good genes, and lots of stairs. The 27-year-old singer recently told FemaleFirst that climbing her way up (literally) is how she tones her tush -- "After New Year I do stairs - they are the best thing for butt cheeks."

She might be on to something. According to Reader's Digest, climbing stairs for two minutes a day, five days a week, gives you the equivalent of a 20-minute walk in terms of how many calories you'll burn (100 to 140 to be precise). OK, that doesn't seem like much when it's stretched over a week, but it goes to show that a little bit every day can really add up. What about if you have more than two minutes to work out in a day? Try the stair climber at your gym -- 20 minutes of moderate climbing will burn around 200 calories. And if toning up isn't enough motivation, consider this -- recent studies found that climbing the stairs on a regular basis can actually save your life. Those who regularly elected to walk up rather than take the elevator were shown to have lower blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat.

Stairs not your thing? Don't worry -- there are plenty of other exercises that will give you a good derriere. But if you're looking for an easy, free way to burn a few extra calories, look no further than the door next to the elevator.

Everyone knows it's more fun to gain weight than to lose it. And if you're getting paid big bucks to gain it, well, all the better. But there comes a time when the bagels and fried food have to be put away and the weight has to come back off.

That's what happened to Beyonce Knowles. She was asked to gain 20 pounds for her role as Etta James in Cadillac Dreams. But when shooting was finished, she was left not only with a paycheck, but with 20 pounds extra weight, which she had to lose for psychological thriller Obsessed. "I had to lose it," she said, "I was so angry with myself. I was like, 'D'oh! Why do you have to go through this?'"

Losing weight is such hard work. I've always wondered about celebrities who gain weight for roles. Matt Damon recently buried his fit figure under a layer of extra pounds for the movie The Informant, and Hillary Swank will put on 20 to 30 pounds (ironically) for the movie version of the book French Women Don't Get Fat. Not only is it hard mentally, I imagine, to get back into healthy habits after being out of them so long. But isn't all that yo-yoing hard on your body? Maybe not as hard as giving up a million-plus dollar role in a major motion picture, I guess. What do you think?

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In Anna Faris' new movie, The House Bunny, her clothes are a bit more revealing than the star is used to. In fact, when her character walks into a sorority house her attire prompts someone to state that it isn't a brothel. Faris' character -- sweet, kind, and a little more than ditzy -- states "Oh, I'm not looking to make soup."

To get her body into Playboy bunny shape for the role, Faris had to drop 10 pounds. "It was awful," said Faris. "I had to work out a lot and could only eat certain things. It was the regime of it all that I didn't enjoy." Despite her super-fit frame, Faris was still a bit self-conscious wearing such revealing costumes.

After filming wrapped, Faris put the 10 pounds back on.

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