Weight Loss

Judy Mazel, writer of The New Beverly Hills Diet, says that you don't put on weight because of what you eat or in what amount, but because of what you eat together in a meal and when you have it. This is the premise of the book which is like a day-to-day guide. The New Beverly Hills Diet is more of a lifestyle than a diet and is based on the Conscious Combining technique.

The principles of Conscious Combining are
* Proteins should be eaten only with proteins, carbs with carbs, and nothing else with fruit.

* Eat fruit in the morning. Choose ONE from a list of enzymatic fruits that includes watermelon, grapes, pineapple, strawberry, papaya, mango, etc. You can eat as much as you like, but only one fruit at a time - do not eat two different fruits like pineapple and figs. Other fruits can be eaten later, but keep a gap of one hour in between.

To eat foods other than fruits, keep a gap of two hours between. But once you eat something other than fruits, do not eat fruits again for the rest of the day.

* If you eat carbohydrate after the fruits, you can eat it freely for the rest of the day UNTIL you eat a protein food. If you happen to eat a little protein later that day, you need to eat protein as 80% of all food thereafter.

* Carbohydrates should never be combined with proteins and proteins should never be combined with carbohydrates.

* Butter, cream and oil should never be combined with fruits. You can take them with proteins or carbohydrates.

* Artificial sweeteners and "diet" products like sodas are to be discarded. Artificial additives should also be kept away as far as possible.

* Alcohol is a carbohydrate and should be combined only with carbohydrates. Wine is a fruit and should be combined only with fruits. Champagne can be combined with anything as it is neutral.

The New Beverly Hills diet does not confine you to three meals a day. You can eat as you wish but according to the above guidelines. The portions are not restricted - you can eat to your heart's content. Fruits are especially encouraged, as they cause the greatest weight loss. Fruits are the fastest to be converted into nutrients in the small intestine - it takes less than 20 minutes.

How it's supposed to work
According to Mazel, food does not cause weight gain; insufficiently digested food does. When different kinds of foods are combined, the enzymes don't get the right signal, as a result of which indigestion and weight gain occur.

Negatives
Experts do not recommend this diet as the principle of combining is not based on scientific foundations. There could also be concerns of nutritional inadequacies. Weight loss does occur on this diet, but it could be due to less calorie intake.