Book shares stars' fitness and diet 'secrets'

Eaten too much over Christmas? Feeling a little plump, when you'd rather your face was a little more, shall we say, pinched? Fear not: now there is a self-help manual endorsed by a premiership footballer's fiance which promises to re-sculpt its readers' bodies into those resembling their favourite celebrities.

Elise Lindsay's How to Get a Celeb's Body, published yesterday, narrowly avoided being marketed with its pre-publication title of How to Get a Footballer's Wife's Body and could well be the most preposterous book launch of the new year with its promise to spill the secrets of the stars and transform saggy, post-party-season bodies into the nubile-limbed physiques of the stars.

The manual, written by Lindsay, a fitness trainer, features a gushing foreword by Wayne Rooney's fiance, Coleen McLoughlin while its synopsis on Amazon's website appeals to women who aspire to emulate the lifestyle of their favourite WAG. It reads: "Have you ever seen pictures of your favourite celebrities and thought 'I wish I could look that good'? They adorn the covers of glossy magazines, showing off bodies most of us only dream of. Now you can look and feel just as fantastic with Elise Lindsay's guide to a fitter, healthier, slimmer you.

"As Coleen McLoughlin's personal trainer, Elise has been credited with turning the body of Coleen around, transforming her from shy schoolgirl to style icon and making her one of the most glamorous and photographed celebrities in the world. Through meal planning, step-by-step exercises and positive thinking, she will show how you too can get the body you've always wanted."

In the foreword, McLoughlin claimed "the best tip I learnt was the 30 per cent rule", a technique that involved drawing her stomach into her spine first by 100 per cent, then by 70, 50 and finally 30 per cent, holding this position every day. McLoughlin wrote: "Follow this and you'll end up with a flatter, more toned stomach and improved posture so you will feel taller and slimmer too."

Nonetheless, last October McLoughlin admitted to dieting, reportedly saying: "There have been a lot of stories recently saying I'm pregnant but I'm not which is the reason that I started my WeightWatchers diet again last Monday!"

Inside, the book shares such celebrity body secrets as eating healthily, exercising, "positive posture" and "swapping Bacardi Breezers for probiotics".

Lindsay has appeared in a fitness video with McLoughlin and also held "aerobarks" training classes for dogs at Crufts, where she declared: "It's shameful that so many dogs are deprived of exercise. There are training schemes to get humans back on track and it's time our four-legged friends joined in."

Last year, she spoke out against size zero celebrities, adding "Coleen does not want to get down to a size zero. She is all for looking good and feeling healthy. Size zero is not healthy."

Meanwhile, celebrities were urged to check their facts before promoting fad diets and giving advice on medical matters by the charity, Sense About Science.