The Beverly Hills diet is a diet created by Judy
Mazel. She believes that weight loss can be achieved by
eating foods in the proper combinations and in the
correct order.
It is based on the idea that it is not what a person eats,
or even how much food is eaten that causes a person to
gain weight. Mazel believes the combinations in which
foods are eaten and the order in which they are eaten
causes weight gain. She says that eating foods in the
wrong order can stop some foods from being digested,
and it is the undigested foods that cause fat build-up.
The groups into which Mazel divides foods are
carbohydrates, proteins, fruits, and fats. She believes
that fruit must be eaten alone and must be eaten before
anything else is consumed during the day. She also
says that for correct digestion, each type of fruit
must be eaten alone. This means that if a dieter eats
an orange, the dieter must wait at least one full hour
before eating another type of fruit, such as a pear. If
the dieter eats a different type of food, such as a
protein, the dieter must wait until the next day to eat
fruit again.
On the Beverly Hills diet, protein and carbohydrates
cannot be eaten together. Most dairy products
go into the protein group for purposes of categorization.
This means that dieters can drink milk with
protein meals, but not with carbohydrate meals. Fat
is allowed to be eaten with either group, but may not
be eaten with fruit.
The order throughout the day in which food is
eaten is very important on the Beverly Hills diet.
Mazel says that each day fruit should be eaten first.
After fruit, the carbohydrate group can be eaten. After
carbohydrates comes food from the protein group.
Once a dieter has changed food groups, he or she
cannot eat from the previous groups again until the
next day. Dieters must wait two hours between eating
foods from different food groups.
During the diet, Mazel says that dieters must not
consume diet sodas or anything with artificial sweeteners.
Because milk is considered a protein, the dieter
is very limited in when it can be consumed. Unlike
many other diets, alcohol is not as restricted on the
Beverly Hills diet. Mazel categorizes most alcoholic
drinks, such as beer, vodka, and rum, as carbohydrates,
and says they must only be consumed with
carbohydrates. Wine is categorized as a fruit, and
unlike the rules for eating other fruits, wine does not
have to be consumed alone but can be drunk with
another fruit. Mazel says that champagne is a neutral
food and can be drunk with anything.
Mazel provides dieters with a 35-day plan for
losing weight. Every day dieters are told what foods
are allowed, and in what order they must be eaten.
Most foods do not have a quantity limit. Instead,
dieters may consume as much of a given food as
desired until they move on to the next food. Dieters
must eat the foods in the order listed and cannot go
back or make substitutions. The diet is very restrictive, with most days allowing no more than two or three
types of foods.
For example, on the first day of the diet, dieters
are instructed to eat pineapple, corn on the cob, and a
salad made of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions with
Mazel dressing. (Mazel dressing is a recipe included
in the book, and shows up frequently throughout the
35-day diet.) This means that dieters may eat as much
pineapple as desired in the morning, but once they
beginning eating corn on the cob they cannot go
back and eat more pineapple. Once the salad is
eaten, both corn on the cob and pineapple are no
longer allowed. Dieters are instructed to wait between
changing foods to ensure proper digestion.
Some days on the diet only one type of food is
permitted during the entire day. Day three of the diet
allows the dieter only to consume grapes. On other
days the dieter is only allowed to eat watermelon.
Although these rules are extremely restrictive, they
are not as restrictive as the rules set out in the original
Beverly Hills diet. On that diet, dieters were only
allowed to eat fruit for the first 10 days of the diet.
No animal protein was allowed at all until the 19th
day. The New Beverly Hills diet includes vegetables
and carbohydrates occasionally during the first week,
and includes lamb chops and shrimp on the sixth day.
