Lauren Graham’s Diet Secret

Lauren Graham credits a meal delivery service with helping her slim down and teaching her how to eat right. - Stephen …Getting in shape relies as much on what you eat as how often you work out, so to revamp her body for Self magazine's October cover, Lauren Graham did more than just hit the gym -- she also used a meal delivery service to keep her calories under control.

Graham, 44, challenged herself to work with trainer Michelle Lovitt to get a toned body in time for tje cover shoot, but in order to shape up in only five weeks, she also turned to Paleta, a meal delivery service, to make sure her diet was just as effective as her workouts.

She says that having these healthy, pre-made meals taught her more about eating right  than any diet she's ever tried.

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"One thing I've learned is I actually don't like variety very much," she told Self. "I like having the same thing over and over: assorted lean proteins, arugula salad, quinoa or brown rice with soy sauce, olive oil, lemon, and salt. Those ingredients can pretty much get me through the week."

The "Parenthood" star isn't the only celebrity who turns to delivery services when she needs to get her body back on track. Many of our Hollywood favorites use Freshology, The Fresh Diet, Vegin' Out and Chef's Diet, just to name a few, to drop weight in a healthy way before important events or after having a baby.

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Since giving birth in June, actress Tia Mowry revealed in Us Weekly that she's been using a delivery service to lose her pregnancy pounds, while Poppy Montgomery, star of CBS' new drama "Unforgettable," touts the meals-to-your-door company Sunfare for its convenience.

"Even if you can afford just one week, it can be eye-opening to see exactly how much (or little) 1200 to 1500 calories …
She calls the service "a tremendous help - especially now that I have a newborn! I am able to focus on the truly important things, instead of worrying about what to eat."

Pre-planned meals to rein in calories, understand portion control, and save time is definitely something we can all relate to wanting, but the diet-to-your-door services celebrities use often come with a price tag equal to their convenience.

Luckily, there are more affordable delivery services, such as Diet-to-go, Optimal Nutrition, and NutriSystem, all of which deliver healthy meals for less than 20 bucks a day. A wise investment, according to Graham.

"Even if you can afford just one week, it can be eye-opening to see exactly how much (or little) 1200 to 1500 calories is," she said.

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And if you're cooking at home, you can steal a few of the tricks that make these meal delivery services so successful. Portion control, high protein, and healthy substitutions -- such as spaghetti squash instead of pasta or liquid tofu instead of cream -- are their staples for helping people eat healthy.

Despite the convenience, what you're eating is far more important than who made it. And whether your dinner is delivered to the table from a meal service or from your own kitchen, Graham has a piece of advice we'd all love to live by: "Find what you like and try not to stress about it."

And coming from someone who tightened up her body in only five weeks, who are we to argue with such simple advice?

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