DIETS THAT WORK The Small-meals Secret

How Ciara Lost the Baby Weight:

The food isn’t going anywhere — that’s what Ciara kept telling herself as she worked to quickly recover her pre-baby body after welcoming her son in 2014. Now she’s doing it again after giving birth to a daughter in April. The singer, actress and Revlon Global Brand Ambassador shed more than 20 pounds of baby weight in short order by eating small, frequent meals and working out like a warrior. But the gorgeous Grammy winner also finds ways to splurge occasionally on some of her favorite treats (french fries, pizza, burgers and cookies).

DISCIPLINE, NOT DEPRIVATION

Though she didn’t work with Ciara, celebrity personal trainer and nutritionist Charlene Ciardiello says that blood sugar stabilization was one of the keys to the star’s success. “She would eat small meals throughout the day, and each meal contained a protein, a complex carb and a healthy fat to help stabilize her blood sugar, control her appetite and keep her metabolism revving high,” explains Ciardiello, creator of Shut Up & Move training in the LA area. “This helped her have enough energy and shed pounds steadily while keeping her curves in all the right places.” In addition, Ciara, 32, drank a gallon of water each day (she told herself water was her “medicine”). She has shared her weightloss progress on social media, which has helped her stay on track, and sometimes she talks back to her cravings: When a hankering for a giant plate of pasta would strike, she’d pause and tell herself that she didn’t need to eat it, that it would still be around if she really wanted it later. She’s motivated by the mantra, “success begins with self- belief” — something that’s turning out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy in her case.