The 14-day program was designed by Dr. David Heber, Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA. Not only did he create the program to assist in his own weight-loss endeavors, Dr. Heber also used the diet to help housands of patients lose their extra weight.

Their overwhelming success motivated Dr. Heber to write the L.A. Shape Diet. The diet expert prefers to think of his approach as a personalized protein prescription. The diet is low in calories and requires dieters to cut back on their sugar intake. In fact, the calorie level is below 1,100 calories a day, which is a drastic reduction by anyone's standards.

The L.A. Shape Diet places a big emphasis on physical activity, meditation and motivation.