1. What You Can Eat
Actress Judy Mazel first introduced the Beverly Hills Diet in 1981 and promised her readers they could shed 10 -15 pounds in the first 35 days of the diet. This was achieved by eating a mainly fruit-only diet for the initial stage of the diet.
While in the maintenance stage of this diet, technically you can eat fruits, carbs, proteins and fats, but there is no discussion of refined carbs such as refined sugars or healthy, non-saturated fats, such as olive oil, to protect someone from weight gain, diabetes, or heart disease.
2. Diet Has Strict Food Combining Rules
With her Beverly Hills Diet, Mazel explained that what you ate was less important than when you ate it and with what other foods it was consumed. Typically, fruits were eaten for breakfast, but only one fruit at a time and waiting at least an hour before eating a different fruit. Two hours after fruit was eaten, carbohydrates could be consumed, alone. About four hours after carbs were eaten, you could eat protein.
There is no calorie counting or portion control, and no exercise plan.
Mazel's theory was that different foods require different kinds of enzymes and could not be eaten together at the same meal, or undigested food would be stored as body fat.
3. Very Low Calorie Diets Lack Proper Nutrition
Daily calorie counts stopped at about 800 calories. According to many health experts, consuming so few calories will induce weight loss mainly through the loss of water weight, which does not necessarily result in permanent weight loss. Eating only fruits exclusively for several days translates into deficits in necessary dietary fiber, many vitamins, minerals and fats needed for good health.
4. Diet May Increase Risk for Heart Disease
Eating high protein, fatty meals can increase your risk for heart disease by increasing the level of cholesterol. Eliminating food groups such as carbohydrates, means the body is receiving very little fiber, which can lead to constipation and other gastrointestinal issues.
For people who are prone to fad diets, this may be seductive. Resist this quick fix and instead consult with your physician or a nutritionist to design a diet appropriate for your individual needs.
5. Eat A Varied Diet for Good Health
The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily and eating a wide variety of whole grains and legumes. They advise people to limit red meats such as lamb, pork or beef and completely avoid processed meats.
AICR also advises people to avoid sugary drinks and any refined foods low in fiber, or high in sugar or fat. They recommend limiting salty foods and drinking no more than two alcoholic drinks per day for men or one for women, if you are to drink at all.
Adding a moderate exercise plan of walking for at least 30 minutes a day will help reduce stress and build lean muscle to help you burn more calories and make your weight loss safe and permanent.
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