Mark Wahlberg's 3.40am workouts and Tom Watson's bulletproof coffee - how famous men really lose weight

We can’t all be like Mark Wahlberg, the 47-year-old Hollywood star who, this week, put his pristine physique down to a gruelling regime that starts before dawn and finishes a whole 17 hours later.

He told his followers on Instagram that his long days feature two intense workouts at starts with a wake-up call at  2.30am in order to get prepared for 90-minute workout at 3.40am after which he heads out for a round of golf before returning home to have a session of cryotherapy in a recovery chamber, which involves submersion in low, often freezing temperatures to relieve muscle pain.

Then after a day of meetings, post gym-session snacks and family time, he then returns for the second workout of the day at 4pm.

Just reading his schedule makes you feel exhausted (which may well explain why he heads to bed at 7.30pm), but all is not lost for the middle-aged man who is not only hoping to shed the pounds - but also prefers to wake after the sun has risen at least.

Lenny Henry, Tom Watson and Johnny Vegas have all recently reported incredible weight loss, proving that transforming a body doesn’t have to be done to a military timetable.

Here is how they did it in their own words.

1. Tom Kerridge  - ‘Dopamine diet’

The Michelin-starred chef has worked in the food industry for almost three decades, becoming well known for his pubs and restaurants as well as his array of  UK television appearances.

Kerridge used to be a staggering 30 stone, but puts his colossal weight-loss of 12 stone down to foods that literally ‘make you feel good’. The ‘dopamine diet’ consists of food that's induce dopamine production - the 'happy' hormone, which transmits signals between nerve cells in the brain linked to reward and pleasure.

He said he sticks to dopamine-rich foodstuffs, which include hot sauce, tinned beans, herbs, vegetables and eggs. As well as his ‘happy meals’, Kerridge also takes to the water in order to exercise.

“My alarm wakes me up at 6:15 every morning and I go to the swimming pool at a hotel up the road. On a busy day I swim a kilometre, on a relaxed one I’ll do a mile.”

2. Tom Watson - ‘Keto diet’

The Labour MP, aged 51, put his hefty weight loss of six stone down to a complete change of diet. The new regime resembled the popular ‘Keto style diet’ which consists of  low-carbohydrate, high-fat meals.

Watson made no secret of his new-found eating habits, writing about his ‘diminished figure’ in his monthly column.

"Through a regime of cutting out sugar, eating better and exercising. I lift weights, struggle at circuit training, cycle wherever I can, and try to take 10,000 steps a day."

The politician also put it down to starting his day with ‘bulletproof coffee’, saying : “It’s basically butter from grass-fed cows blended with fresh coffee – the idea is to get saturated fats into your diet so that you’re not as hungry during the day. Does it taste nice? It tastes like milky coffee, as you’d imagine, when you think about the source of butter.”

3. Lenny Henry - ‘Hello broccoli, goodbye biscuits’

The long time comedian, had always been known to have a little extra weight,  but motivated by a new upcoming film role and an admittance in recent years that he’s ‘a little diabetic’, Henry has put the loss of three stones down to a diet plan of vegetables and running.

“Well, it’s eating broccoli and not much else. I’ve also been running a lot. It has worked.” Adding that although changing your diet isn't always the most exciting thing to do, biscuits aren’t always necessary.

“You've got to eat no sugar and drink hardly any alcohol... all the stuff you like. You can't Hobnob your way through the day.”

4. Johnny Vegas - ‘No more fry ups’

The actor and comedian, best known for his role on the PG tips tea adverts alongside his sidekick ‘monkey’, divulged his secret weight loss on Twitter.

"It's a far cry from a Thatto Heath fry up....ooh you've changed Vegas". He added that the ‘bacon butty’ had also been a rare occurrence, in a tweet addressed to his fans.

“Apologies fellow tweeters, busy of late and treating our chats like a bacon butty, sadly an all too rare a treat of late”

5. Gregg Wallace - ‘Healthy hearty meals’

The Masterchef judge and long running TV chef is a self confessed lover of puddings, yet this year, Wallace tweeted an image of his new toned physique along with his weight training routine.

The star suggests that having a ‘healthy version of a hearty meal’ is the best method to fighting weight gain, enabling him to lose three stone.

“I’m a huge fan of curries, chillies and stews and it is still possible to lose weight and eat hearty meals, think about cooking with meats such as chicken and pork — all the things that don’t have much fat.”

He also added that other ingredients will add the necessary flavour to the healthier meals, “Use lean mince to make chillies, fill up with tasty stews stuffed full of healthy, low-calorie veg.”