When Mariah Carey initially hit the big time, she was a thin girl. Fast forward a decade, and she was much thicker, although it escaped her notice, because she kept stuffing herself into clothes that were too tight and unflattering to her more zaftig figure.

Lately, she appears to have conquered the battle of the bulge and exchanged the twinkies for some fruit. She is looking svelte again. Congratulations, Mariah. Just one year ago, you were looking porky.

Playboy model (and sister of Playmate of the Year and actress Jenny McCarthy) has gained at least 50 pounds. She showed up at the premiere of “Horton Hears a Who!” with Jenny’s son, Evan Asher, looking majorly zaftig. I don’t know what happened, but she’s now officially very overweight.

Jennifer Love Hewitt is currently being blasted for gaining weight, but a closer examination shows that she has been gaining weight for some time. In the 1999 photo, she looks a bit underweight; for instance her arms are very thin and her clavicle is very visible. In the 2004 photo, her clavicle is less prominent, her arms look average size for her frame, and she is pear shaped (larger on the bottom than the top).

Here she is at a recent Oscars party. Jennifer took a great deal of criticism for her heavy appearance in this outfit. Many comments were left on various blogs calling her overweight. I don’t think she is overweight, but compared to how she originally looked when she was first in the spotlight, she is undeniably much heavier. She carries too much weight on her bottom half and obviously does not exercise.

Garcelle Beauvais still working on losing baby weight. She gave birth to twins a few months ago, which has made it much more difficult to shed post pregnancy weight like most Hollywood celebrities. She is looking rather zaftig at the moment, but is savvy enough to pick clothes that flatter her larger body. Her arms are larger than usual, her waist is also larger and less defined, and her legs are hidden under a long skirt.

Despite a terrible photo of her ass looking huge a few months ago, Janet Jackson appears to be maintaining her thinness. She had a tiny waist at the premiere of ‘Why Did I Get Married’ in October 2007 and looked similarly slender at the NAACP Image Awards this month, February 2008.

Over the years, Janet’s weight has gone up and down. She credits diet and exercise for helping her lose weight, but about a decade ago, a story surfaced where Janet and her ex-husband, Rene Elizondo, had been getting prescription medicine in the name of their personal chef. One of the prescriptions was for the diet drug, Phentermine. Read more about Phentermine here. It is chemically related to amphetamine (aka speed!) and acts on the brain to suppress appetite.

Kelly Osbourne has lost at least 30 pounds since 2006. She looks good. Look at her now thin arms and compare them to 2006. Nice change. Her face is thinner too and she’s lost the double chin.

Heidi Klum has lost weight from childbirth and then some. What happened to her fabulous bosoms? They seem to have disappeared. Heidi, please eat some more so your chest can grow back. You are way too skinny and look like you are heading towards mild anorexia.

During her Destiny’s Child days, Beyonce frequently spoke about exercising in the gym. The results definitely showed in her svelte figure.

Later, when she was preparing to star in the film ‘Dreamgirls’, she mentioned using the Maple Syrup diet to lose weight for her upcoming role. She lost 20 pounds in rapid fashion.

The Maple Syrup diet is also known as the Master Cleanse diet. For ten days, you drink freshly squeezed lemon and/or lime, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and of course water. Each morning, you also drink a liter of warm salt water. Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?

Exercise and a good diet is the best way to lose weight. Beyonce gained back all the weight she lost on the Maple Syrup diet. Her physique also looked better when she was on an exercise and diet regimen. Below is a timeline of Beyonce over the past five years. Diet and exercise definitely equal a sexy midriff.

Amanda Bynes is no longer scary skinny as she appeared in 2004. She is back to a normal weight at the moment. It is worth noticing that many young Hollywood starlets go through a phase where an excessive amount of weight is lost.

Here’s the secret of how some celebrities get that lean skinny look. They cut out dairy, carbonated beverages, and foods containing white flour, plus all other processed foods. Everything that goes into their body is a fresh vegetable, fruit, smoothie, or a vegan dish.

I don’t recommend this diet, but if you try it, the weight falls off your body rather quickly.