L.A. Shape Diet
Dr. Heber's 14 Day Total Weight Loss Plan
Dr. David Heber, an M.D. and PhD who is the founding director of UCLA's Center for Human Nutrition, has been working as a doctor and professor in the obesity and nutrition field for over 25 years.
Heber also wrote "What Color is Your Diet?", a wellness guide based on the colors of fruits and vegetables we should be eating every day, and L.A. Shape Diet does incorporate this color coded eating philosophy. But in L.A. Shape Heber's primary focus is - you guessed it - shape, or more specifically the body fat percentage and lean muscle mass - our body mass index - which defines our shapes. Heber believes that healthy weight is not about a number on the scale, it's about healthy shape - how much fat and muscle we're carrying on our bodies. With L.A. Shape he wants us to take control of our shapes with a high protein (muscle-building) diet, because the more lean muscle mass we carry, the more calories our bodies burn at rest and while active.
The first step towards changing your shape is analysis - you must determine your body fat percentage and how much lean muscle mass you carry, and compare the two. Next, you must determine where on your body you primarily store fat. The "apple" shape and the "pear" shape are discussed, including the widely held theory that carrying fat around the midsection (apple-style) can be an indicator of proneness to heart disease and diabetes. Heber's philosophy is that apples and pears (weight carried in hips and thighs) - because they carry weight differently - should take different approaches to customizing their diets for optimum results.
L.A. Shape is a 14 day, 2 phase plan with a nutritional breakdown of about 1,100 calories per day from 29% protein, 20% fat and 51% carbohydrates. (Those percentages will vary depending upon whether you are "apple" or "pear".) Phase 1 is a 7 day meal replacement affair that calls for high protein “Empowering Shakes” (fancy name for a smoothie) at breakfast and lunch, followed by a real meal dinner of lean meat or fish, vegetables, salad and fruit for dessert. The "empowering shakes" are homemade from Heber's recipes of fruit, skim milk, and protein powder. The "real meal" food recommedations are what you'd expect - lean proteins, whole grains, vegetables and fruit. In Phase 2, "empowering shakes" are for breakfast only, and the real food recommendation is seven servings of fruits and vegetables and a minimum 25 grams of fiber. Heber encourages taking nutritional and herbal supplements including vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and green tea extract as well, to cover any nutritional deficiencies. The book includes a detailed 14 day plan with recipes.
According to Heber, you shouldn't feel hungry when you're on L.A. Shape. He posits that his food guidance is sufficient to keep you feeling energetic and satisfied enough to commit to the regular exercise that he insists is a necessary and critical component of weight loss and reshaping your body. There is no arguing the science of lean muscle mass and its impact on metabolism and accelerating fitness when done in conjuction with cardiovascular exercise.
Will you lose weight on L.A. Shape? Yes. Dr. Heber has all the elements of successful weight loss here: a reduced calorie, low fat diet with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, and exercise. Our criticism? We don't agree with putting the term "total weight loss plan" in the same sentence as "14 days". Yes, if you follow Heber's advice religiously you'll drop pounds in 14 days. And then what - you're done? Unfortunately, no. The weight loss game is one you play, day to day, for life. Learn to adapt and manipulate recipes to keep your meals interesting and change up the exercise for the same reason and most importantly - don't put a time frame on it.