The `Coriolanus` star unveiled his dramatically slimmer physique in August and he admits he has been keeping trim thanks to a careful diet and exercise plan.

He said: "I ate my last meal in October and I run about 40 miles day.

I`m joking! It`s just doing a lot of cardio and extremely watching what I eat. I stopped lifting big weights and I`m doing yoga.

"It`s not hard to stay in shape. It`s hard to be in really good shape!"

The Scottish hunk believes he may have also lost weight because he is doing a surfing movie in the future and has been training in preparation.

He added to US Weekly: "If I wear a long shirt, everyone says, `Oh my, God! He lost so much weight!` But this is just how I look.

"I just used to be a lot bigger. But now I`m surfing. I`m doing a surf movie so I have to slim down. I don`t know, maybe I`m sick or something!"

Gerard is not the only Hollywood star to credit muscle-stretching exercise as a way of staying fit - Jennifer Aniston is also a fan.

She previously said: "I do yoga, yoga is very important. I love it. If I`m not doing it, then my spirit sort of goes.

"I try to do some form of exercise, even if it`s just for 20 minute a day, so that I get my body sweating and blood pumping."
sections: Celebrities