If you ever wanted six-pack abs on your way to being named the Sexiest Man Alive, or if you crave the toned legs and flat belly of an international pop superstar, a trip to your nearest fast-food establishment may be in order.

Startraks, FameFlynet

Ryan Reynolds, left, gets his Burger King on during a break from filming in New York this week. Britney Spears grabs KFC to go in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on March 19.

If that doesn't make sense, then neither does Ryan Reynolds walking down the street with Burger King to go, or Britney Spears hauling a bag of KFC across a parking lot. We know stars are supposed to be "just like us," but have you seen us? We don't look like them.

Let's just assume that Reynolds and Spears ate whatever was in those bags. Instead of collapsing into a cheeseburger coma in front of "South Park," it's safe to say these two burned it off. Probably before the bags hit the trash. (In Reynolds' case, the task may have been a little easier. A publicist tied to the actor called Friday to say that's just a turkey burger and unsweetened iced tea!)

Albert Michael / startraksphoto.com

No Coke. Pepsi. Actress Denise Richards at Arby's.

Celebs with six-packs under their shirts and not in their shopping carts get that way thanks to a strict diet-and-exercise routine. And there's a good chance that both of those disciplines are maintained under the watchful eye of well-paid personal chefs and trainers. It also doesn't hurt to go the "kale and dust" route if fitting into a catsuit is in your job description.

So those of you envisioning looking like any of these people because you eat at the same drive-thru, take note. Joy Bauer, nutrition and health expert for TODAY, says "limit fast food outings to once per week, and alternate fattening fare with healthier offerings like grilled chicken salads, turkey burgers, and snack wraps."

If the thought of a snack wrap taking the place of your bacon-double sounds unappetizing, Bauer crunches some numbers for you.

She says to pay penance for a Burger King Whopper (630 calories), large fries (500 calories), and 40-ounce soda (380 calories) -- totaling 1,510 calories -- you would have to:

• run for 2 hours straight, or
• swim for 4 hours, or
• bike for 2 hours, or
• play full-court basketball for 2 hours

INFphoto.com

Rihanna hits the drive thru at a fast food joint in her native Barbados.

If you scarf down KFC's Original Recipe chicken-thigh value box (540 calories), a side of mashed potatoes with gravy (120 calories), and 30-ounce sweetened iced tea (260 calories) -- totaling 920 calories -- you'd need to: 

• spin for one hour and 10 minutes, or
• walk for 3 hours, or
• hit the dance floor and boogie down for an hour and a half, or
• do yoga for 5 hours straight!

"Celebs have cravings just like everyone else ... and when they succumb to fast food faves -- just like us mortals -- they must work hard to burn off the calorific splurges," Bauer says.

Maybe you're burning calories right now at the thought of Ryan Reynolds burning calories to work off his meal. Maybe the thought of his wife, Blake Lively, in a swimsuit is enough to motivate him to stay in shape. We know she'd never eat ... aw, forget it!

Who's making a food run?

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No, Justin Timberlake wasn't calling Britney Spears the b-word during his pre-Super Bowl concert in New Orleans, the singer tweeted Sunday.

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

Justin Timberlake performing at the Saturday night pre-Super Bowl performance where his words got him into a little trouble.

Fans who made the connection had some reason to do so. On Saturday, Timberlake was introducing his Grammy-winning song "Cry Me a River," off his 2002 debut album "Justified."

"Sometimes in life, you think you found the one, but then one day you find out that she is just some b----," he said, according to HollywoodLife.com.

In 2011, Timberlake all-but admitted to The Huffington Post that he wrote the song after a telephone fight with then-girlfriend Spears. 

After fans, especially Twitter users who hashtag their posts #BritneyArmy, reacted negatively to Timberlake's song introduction, he responded with a tweet on Sunday.

"Ok. I see you," he wrote. "Wouldn't disrespect ANYONE personally. Ever. #Relax#ItsBritneyBitch I do love that saying though*with accent* #Respect."

His use of the b-word in the tweet is quoting Spears' 2007 song, "Gimme More."

Not everyone believes he wasn't talking about Spears, however. Wrote one Twitter user, "it seems that u still have feelings for Britney or else u wont be bringing her up every time. BOW DOWN TO THE QUEEN."

Timberlake wed actress Jessica Biel in October 2012. Spears was engaged to Jason Trawick, but they announced in January that the wedding was off.

Slideshow: Justin Timberlake

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

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Britney Spears and her fiance Jason Trawick have announced they're splitting after a one-year engagement. Their rep Jeff Raymond confirms to TODAY.com that the split was "mutual," and the two will remain friends.

In a statement to TODAY.com, Spears said, "Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends." 

Trawick added: "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever."  Spears and Trawick became engaged on Trawick's 40th birthday in December 2011; they began dating in 2009.

Earlier Friday, Spears confirmed that she would be leaving her post as judge on "The X-Factor."

In a statement to The Clicker, she said, “I’ve made the very difficult decision not to return for another season. I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it’s time for me to get back in the studio. Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can’t wait to get back out there and do what I love most.”

Spears has two sons, Preston, 7, and Jayden, 6, with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. The couple divorced in 2006.

Slideshow: The Spears years

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Britney Spears made official what scores of outlets were speculating over recent days: that she'll be leaving "The X-Factor" after just one season on the show.

Jason Merritt / Getty Images file

Britney Spears.

The singer released a statement to The Clicker, saying, “I’ve made the very difficult decision not to return for another season. I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it’s time for me to get back in the studio. Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can’t wait to get back out there and do what I love most.”

Spears informed Fox as well; they've yet to make an official comment on the departure of their judge.

During a Television Critics Association panel on Tuesday, Kevin Reilly, chairman of entertainment for Fox, told reporters, "I think Britney did a really good job. She came on, people remain fascinated with her and always will be."

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YouTube

Britney Spears moves her hands around her head.

No one will ever accuse Britney Spears or will.i.am of being lyrical geniuses, but as their new single went to No. 1 on iTunes this week and the video for "Scream & Shout" goes viral, we had to ask: Is this really all fans want from their pop stars?

The nearly 5-minute dance track plays like a forgotten sample from a Black Eyed Peas song, with Britney doing the Fergie talkie parts in what some are hearing as a pseudo-British accent. That's British, as in England. Not Britnish, as in Louisiana.

The whole thing comes off so visually lazy. More than 3 million people have watched Britney stand still, lie down and half-heartedly vogue. For his part, will.i.am puts his hands to his mouth. Oh! He's shouting. The 853 million people who have made "Gangnam Style" the most watched YouTube video ever are shouting, too. Because it's fun to watch!

It's 2012, so we gave up the why-does-everything-have-to-be-AutoTuned fight years ago. And we're still young enough to know about da club and the music played there, even if we can't stay awake long enough to go dance. But Britney and will are saying NOTHING, and this "Get off my lawn!" rant is for all those who still prefer a song that says SOMETHING.

The princess of pop -- who turns 31 on Sunday -- has had six No. 1 albums over her career. She ranks seventh on Forbes' list of 2012's highest-paid musicians -- $58 million in record sales, touring, endorsements and more. In the '90s, songs like "... Baby One More Time" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again" may not have said anything earth-shattering on their way to No. 1, but compared to "Scream & Shout" ...

"... Baby One More Time":
My loneliness is killin' me / I must confess I still believe / When I'm not with you I lose my mind / Give me a sign, hit me baby one more time."

"Scream & Shout":
"Everybody in the club / all eyes on us / all eyes on us / all eyes on us."

Listen for yourself right here (and turn it down if you don't want to blast a couple naughty words):

Granted, it's a will.i.am song and Britney is apparently along for a lyrical ride that only includes telling you to turn this [expletive] up because it's her, [expletive]. But we're such a long way from choreography that brought us the pigtailed schoolgirl here, or the Martian in red leather over here. Why does Britney make dance music if she doesn't even dance anymore?

In a time when 13-year-old Rebecca Black gets a major Internet beat-down for singing about a day of the week, international superstars will.i.am and Britney Spears are screaming and shouting about much less.

Tell us how you like the song. Vote in the attached poll!

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Vince Bucci / AP

Britney Spears.

A Los Angeles judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by the one-time confidante of pop star Britney Spears, ruling there was insufficient evidence to go forward with the trial on allegations of defamation, assault and breach of contract.

"I really thought long and hard. It's the right thing to do, so I am going to do it," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bruguera said, announcing her decision to throw out the case after hearing two weeks of evidence in the civil trial.

Bruguera's ruling was a major victory for Spears and her family, despite damaging and sometimes humiliating testimony that lifted the lid on the singer's controversial career and personal meltdown five years ago.

Sam Lutfi, the self-styled manager of the pop star for a brief period in 2007 and early 2008, had sued Spears' mother, Lynne Spears, for defaming him in her 2008 book "Through the Storm." Lynne Spears wrote that Lutfi controlled her daughter, cut her telephone lines and tried to cut the star off from her family.

Bruguera also dismissed claims filed by Lutfi against Spears. He said the singer hired him as her manager after they met in a nightclub in 2007, and he was entitled to a portion of her earnings.

Lutfi case against Spears' father, Jamie Spears, was also thrown out. Lutfi alleged that Jamie Spears punched him in 2008 while the singer was in a Los Angeles psychiatric ward.

Lutfi, 38, said he would appeal the ruling.

Spears, 30, has since staged a comeback with world tours, hit albums and a new job as judge on Fox's TV talent show "The X-Factor." She did not attend the trial.

In testimony last week, Lutfi sobbed on the witness stand, saying he received death threats because of the villainous portrayal of him in the book. He also claimed he tried to get Spears off drugs and protect her from paparazzi photographers who hounded her day and night.

His most sensational claim was that Spears shaved her head in February 2007 because she feared her hair could be tested for drug use in her bitter child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Lutfi also told the court that he brought drug-sniffing dogs to her home and flushed a bag of white powder down the toilet.

Jamie Spears' attorney told the court that his client was afraid that his daughter would die from drug abuse and believed that Lutfi was making her problems worse.

Lynne Spears testified that Lutfi crushed up drugs and put them into the singer's food to help her sleep.

Spears' meltdown led to her father's conservatorship, which gives him legal control over her finances and health. 

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AP file

Sam Lutfi leaves UCLA medical center after visiting Britney Spears in Los Angeles in January 2008.

LOS ANGELES -- Pop star Britney Spears' former confidante encouraged her to kick her drug habit five years ago, and brought drug-sniffing dogs to her Malibu home and flushed a bag of white powder down the toilet, he testified Tuesday. 

"She had wanted to get clean, but she was struggling with it," the former friend, Sam Lutfi, told jurors in his civil trial in Los Angeles against Spears and her parents. 

"I told her she needed to do it because she was the mother of two young sons... I told her that society wouldn't tolerate a mother who was abusing drugs." 

Lutfi claims that Spears hired him as her manager for several months in 2007 and 2008, after she became estranged from her family and staff in the midst of a personal and professional breakdown. 

He is seeking 15 percent of her earnings from that period, which were believed to be $800,000 to $1 million per month. 

Attorneys representing Spears argue that Lutfi was never the singer's manager. 

Lutfi said he met Spears in a nightclub in spring of 2007, while she was embroiled in a tough child custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline and struggling to kick drug addiction. 

"She wasn't working. She said that she had fired everybody," Lutfi said. "She told me that she had fired her agent. She told me that she had fired her manager, her bodyguards, her publicist, as well." 

Spears told him she infamously shaved her head in February 2007 because she was afraid her hair could be tested for drugs and used against her in her child custody battle against Federline, Lutfi testified. 

"Britney was involved in a wicked child custody battle," Lutfi said. "She told me someone had told her that they can scientifically test her hair for a history of drug use, so she shaved it off." 

The trial has torn the veil off Spears' meltdown when she was twice hospitalized, lost custody of her children, and photographs of her shaving her head and swinging an umbrella made international headlines. 

Lutfi is also suing Spears' mother, alleging she libeled him in her 2008 book, "Through the Storm", in which she claimed Lutfi destroyed Britney Spears' telephone lines, may have drugged her food and tried to cut off the singer from her family. He is suing Spears' father for assault. 

Lutfi testified on Tuesday that Spears offered him a job as her manager soon after they met. 

Lutfi, a college dropout who dabbled in the entertainment industry, at first doubted he was qualified to take the position, but Spears kept asking, he testified. 

Finally, he agreed to take the job, but on two conditions: Britney would stop taking drugs and allow him to bring in an agent and a lawyer to make up for his inexperience. 

"She agreed," Lutfi said. "We even shook hands on it." 

Lutfi said he brought the drug-sniffing dogs to her home on June 13, 2007, as one of his first actions as the pop star's manager. 

He also advised her against going on tour that year because he feared she would have easy access to drugs and would miss out on visits with her young sons, Lutfi testified. 

Slideshow: The Spears years

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Lutfi said Spears had a drug relapse in September 2007 and called him in October after spending a night in her car. She asked him to move in with her, although their relationship was strictly professional, and never romantic, he said. 

Lutfi told jurors he was never compensated for his work and his out-of-pocket expenses were never repaid. 

Earlier this week, the record label executive who signed Spears when she was 16 testified that he believed Lutfi was a "gofer" who performed only menial tasks for the "Toxic" singer. 

Spears, who has not attended the trial, was placed under her father's conservatorship in 2008, giving him control of her health and finances. Now 30, she has made a comeback with world tours, hit albums and a new job as a judge on TV talent show "The X Factor."

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Evan Agostini / AP file

Britney Spears in New York in May.

LOS ANGELES -- The father of pop star Britney Spears was terrified by his daughter's deepening drug addiction as her life spiraled out of control five years ago, his attorney told jurors on Friday.

"Jamie (Spears) was living in constant fear that he was going to look at the TV one day and see Britney was dead," said Leon Gladstone, Jamie Spears' attorney.

Gladstone's remarks came on the second day of a civil trial that has pitted the singer and her parents against Sam Lutfi, who was one of her closest friends in 2007 and early 2008 and who described himself as her manager at that time.

Britney Spears slideshow

Lutfi, now 38, was considered to be Spears' live-in "gate keeper" who determined who was allowed to see her during her personal and career meltdown in 2007.

He is suing the singer for a chunk of her earnings at that time.

Lutfi also is suing Spears' parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears. He claims Jamie Spears punched him in the chest at Britney Spears' Los Angeles area home in January 2008, and that Lynne Spears libeled him in her book, "Through the Storm," published later that year.

The trial has lifted the lid on a tumultuous period when Spears famously shaved her head, was twice placed on psychiatric holds, lost custody of her children and was placed under her father's conservatorship, giving him control of her health and finances.

Nick Ut / AP

Britney Spears' parents, Lynne Spears, left, and Jamie Spears arrive at court in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 19.

Depressed and addicted for years
Gladstone said that Jamie Spears had been trying to get his daughter to go to rehab after her 2006 divorce from Kevin Federline and at one point he convinced Federline to obtain sole legal custody of their two young children, Gladstone said.

While the "Toxic" singer's problems began to reach their a peak after her divorce from Federline, her spiral into depression began years earlier, Gladstone said.

The once-happy and humble pop star became angry and impulsive in 2003 after breaking up with fellow superstar Justin Timberlake, Gladstone said. That was the year she went to Las Vegas and ended up getting married to a childhood friend - a marriage that lasted 55 hours.

Gladstone described how Jamie Spears went to see Britney at a Los Angeles hospital in 2007, and found her strapped to a gurney and yelling.

"He is scared to death," Gladstone said, "and he's thinking to himself, 'My daughter has lost everything. Here she is, in a psychiatric ward, out of her head.'"

From gas station to superstar manager
Lutfi is seeking 15 percent of Spears' income over several months in 2007 and 2008, when he said he managed her. She earned $800,000 to $1 million per month over that period, attorneys said.

Before that, Lutfi had worked at a gas station and the only proof he was her manager was a mostly blank form contract Lutfi had downloaded from the Internet and an oral contract with the singer, said attorney Joel Boxer, who is representing Spears' estate.

"Sam Lutfi never conducted himself as if he was Britney's manager," Boxer told jurors. "Mr. Lutfi did not earn a dollar for Britney."

AP file

Sam Lutfi leaves UCLA Medical Center after visiting Britney Spears on Jan. 31, 2008.

Spears' income at the time resulted from deals brokered before Spears even knew Lutfi, Boxer said.

Lutfi's attorney, Joe Schleimer, argued in opening statements on Thursday that Lutfi had a valid deal with the pop star, and tried but failed to keep her out of trouble.

Attorneys for the singer's family and estate say Lutfi tried to take control of her and keep her away from her family.

On the alleged assault by Jamie Spears, Gladstone said on Friday that the worried father merely touched Lutfi to get his attention.

Spears, now 30, has since made a comeback with world tours hit albums and a new job as a judge on TV talent show "The X-Factor."

She was not in court on Friday and is not expected to attend the trial although her parents are expected to testify. The trial will continue next week.

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Update: Your fast-moving Internet should have told you by now that, yes, Britney Spears is engaged for real. Access Hollywood has the details over here. We had all this to say before there was all that:

It shouldn't come as a big shock that very few things in our over-sharing culture have the ability to surprise us anymore. We've tweeted and Facebooked ourselves out of anything resembling a secret (keeping) society. And when it comes to the celebrities we spend so much time obsessing over, this holds doubly true: we know the sex of the babies they haven't had yet; we know where they slept last night; we know what the divorce cost.

David Livingston / Getty Images file

Jason Trawick and Britney Spears.

But it struck us as a little absurd to be reading this morning (on TMZ and elsewhere) that Britney Spears' boyfriend, Jason Trawick, plans to ask her to marry him tonight in Las Vegas. When did it become normal to leak word of an impending engagement? Call us old fashioned, but beyond Trawick and Spears' father, Jamie, -- who according to the report gave his approval -- no one else should know until Britney knows. When Trawick gets down on one knee and says, "Will you marry me, Britney?" it just seems more meaningful if the pop star didn't see it coming.

If we're to believe RadarOnline.com, we've even "seen" the ring before the bride-to-be. "Don’t expect anything too massive or obnoxious,” a source told the web site exclusively. "This ring will be classy and under 4 carats." Bling! Duh.

We're certainly aware that Spears has led what seems to be a pretty tightly controlled existence since the days of, well, this. So her family and the people who control her money and movements now weren't going to just let any yahoo take her to the roof of the Bellagio and put a ring on it. Those days are hopefully over.

And while we didn't expect Trawick to put it on the Jumbotron at a future Lakers game or hire a skywriting plane to spell it out over Southern California, maybe we hoped he'd find a way to surprise a woman who'd seen it all in her hectic 30 years. Or maybe we just hoped he would take her to a quiet dinner or a walk on the beach and say, "Hey, let's do this."

And because there's always another exclusive source around the next corner, Us says he did just that Thursday night. And now Britney's Facebook page is teasing what may or may not be the big news:

Oh well. Who knows? Friday in Las Vegas could be the greatest night of Britney's life. Or maybe Thursday night already was. Knowing it was coming may be just how she wanted it and Kevin Federline will be a distant, bloated memory when she says yes to marriage a third time.

We wish Britney well. We hope Trawick is "the one" and they live happily ever after. But who are we kidding? We'll know how she's doing before she does.

Tell us: How did you pop the question or how were you proposed to? Was it a surprise? Share your tales of romance on our Facebook page.

Related content:

• Britney Spears slideshow

Britney Spears is now the "most followed" person on Google+, eclipsing Google CEO Larry Page on the still-relatively young social network.

The pop star's page showed 739,469 followers as of Wednesday morning; Page wasn't far behind at 739,393. As numbers change every second, so could Spears' status on G+.

But as a reflection of Google+'s growth, back in July when it was very newbie, the most followed person on G+ was ... Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had nearly 30,000 followers then.

Who else is hot on G+? Google+ Statistics can tell you:

Yup, after Spears and Page, it's Snoop Dog, Zuckerberg, Tyra Banks, and then Paris Hilton, Jessi June, Google's Sergey Brin, Richard Branson and Google senior v-p of engineering Vic Gundotra round out the top 10.

Before we make too much of the Google+ figures, SearchEngineLand points out that the network "still has a long way to go. At less than 1 million followers, Spears is well behind the 11 million who follow her on Twitter and the 15 million who follow her on Facebook."

Still, give Spears a hand: She's done it again. At least for the moment.

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Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.