Women on the Total Wellbeing diet lost weight around their waists and also reduced their levels of insulin, blood glucose and blood triglycerides -- the blood fats that are related to heart disease and diabetes.

This Aussie diet promises a weight loss of 2 stones (about 28 pounds) in 12 weeks, but doesn't involve cutting out entire food groups.

Thousands have already reaped the benefit in Australia, where the book is so popular that it's even outselling the latest Harry Potter. Now you, too, can join in.

It might sound too good to be true, but according to the doctors behind the Total Wellbeing Diet, this latest weight-loss sensation really is possible.

High Protein, Low Fat

Produced by the Australian Government's clinical research body (the CSIRO), following studies commissioned in the wake of the Atkins diet hysteria, it involves eating more protein, less carbohydrates and less fat.

In a 12-week study, 100 overweight and obese women were divided into two groups. Both groups were restricted to 1,340 calories a day, but one group was placed on a high-protein, low-fat diet and one on a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet.

The doctor leading the research, and joint author of the diet book, Dr. Manny Noakes, originally thought that if the calorie intake for each diet was the same then there shouldn't be any difference in the amount of weight they lost.

But in fact the women on the higher protein diet lost more weight, particularly around their waists, and also reduced their levels of insulin, blood glucose and blood triglycerides, the blood fats that are related to health problems such as heart disease and Syndrome X, the precursor to Type II diabetes.

Perhaps equally importantly, there was a far lower dropout rate on the high protein diet, which came as a surprise to researchers, who expected women to prefer starchy foods. Armed with their findings, the CSIRO devised its diet.

Plenty of Fruit and Vegetables

It might be high protein but unlike Atkins, it contains plenty of fruit and vegetables and even allows you a sandwich -- if you want one -- for lunch.

According to Dr. Peter Clifton, the director of the CSIRO nutrition clinic, co-author of the diet, the high intake of fruit and vegetables maintains levels of folates which are thought to be important for helping to ward off heart disease.

There are also none of the other unpleasant side-effects associated with more extreme highprotein diets -- such as constipation, bad breath, headaches or kidney stones.

As Dr. Noakes explains, the upside of eating a diet high in protein is that the amino acids in the food tell your brain that you are full. "One of the most intriguing areas is how protein can affect appetite regulation in the brain," she says.

"Three hours after a meal, you will feel far less hungry after eating a lot of protein than if you ate the same number of calories from carbohydrate."

The carbohydrate element of the diet is actually based on GI principles -- you eat slow-release carbohydrates essential for energy and for keeping blood sugars even. But there are none of the complicated tables you need for GI and you can eat all sorts of fruit and vegetables without worrying about their GI score.

You just have to remember to avoid potatoes. And cakes.

Flatter Stomach

Every day starts with a high fiber cereal, such asWeetabix, with skimmed milk. At lunchtime, you can have a sandwich or jacket potato or a small amount of rice or pasta with 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of protein -- such as salmon, tuna, chicken, ham, beef, lamb or turkey -- and as much salad or vegetables as you want.

Then for dinner you can have 200 grams (about 7 ounces) of lean beef, lamb or veal with lots of vegetables. Twice a week you can have fish, and you can have chicken once.

In addition to your main meals, you can also have two pieces of fruit, a low-fat yogurt, a cup of low-calorie soup, a small amount of oil and plenty of herbs, spices and Vegemite (a paste made from brewers' yeast extract) every day and, somewhat depressingly, just two glasses of wine a week.

After 12 weeks, if you reach your target weight, you can progress to a less rigid maintenance plan in which further amounts of carbohydrate are introduced.

So it's not magic -- of course you are going to lose weight on a 1,340-calorie-a-day diet -- but it's great to know that the science behind it means you'll lose as much weight as possible and get a flatter stomach into the bargain.

Even better, you'll be healthier and you won't be too hungry.

You've got to hand it to those Aussies. It's a beaut of a diet.

See Page 2: The Diet