Who doesn’t want a “flat belly?” Even if you aren’t severely overweight; you still always strive to have a flat stomach. Six pack abs are ALWAYS sought after no matter what your age, race, or gender. Regardless, if this diet works or not … this book is sure to sell copies just based on its title!
This new diet was recently featured on “Rachel Ray.” “The diet is written by Prevention magazine’s Editor in Chief Liz Vaccariello (along with Nutrition Editor Cynthia Sass).
What’s it about?
The central premise of the diet is that of Monounsaturated Fatty Acids – MUFA for short. The Flat Belly Diet calls for a MUFA food at every meal.
According to exciting new research, MUFAs can actually help you lose weight, specifically around your middle.
What foods contain MUFAs? Olive oil, sunflower oil, flax oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.
The diet also talks about eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and limiting meat intake. In fact it sounds very similar to a traditional Mediterranean diet. The suggested meal plans are set at 1600 Calories per day.
The program recommends “optional”exercise such as; 25 minutes brisk walking, or a strength training workout including Lunges, Squats, and Pushup Rows.
Sadly, there are many things about this diet that seem a little (or a lot) over-exuberant. All the material points to a direct loss of abdominal fat from the diet — this is a very bold claim and there is no apparent evidence to back it up. When body fat is lost it tends to disappear from all over the body. There are also claims like:
- Lose up to to 15lbs in 32 days
- Trim up to 12 inches of fat
- Tighten, tone and flatten your tummy
- Look and feel sexier
These are the buzzwords that draw in the crowd. The book costs $31.95 and the online program appears to cost around $15 per month (although there is a 3 month ‘free’ trial available).
The Flat Belly Diet espouses a healthy diet – but it is hardly “Breakthrough Science”. Eating a certain kind of fat is no miracle weight loss cure. However – in all fairness – there is some research (such as this and this studyin the British Journal of Nutrition) that demonstrate how replacing saturated fats in the diet with MUFA’s can result in favorable outcomes (credit).”
Personally, any diet that makes exercising OPTIONAL… tends to worry me. If you take a closer look at the diet you will see that the main factor in this program is FAT. Take out the bad fats and replace them with natural fats. It isn’t rocket science! Take out your deep fried food and bad fats such as, french fries, potato chips, saturated fats (butters, excess oils, lard), cheese and you too can lose inches and body fat without having to spend money on a diet book!
Adria Ali
Daniel says