Flat Belly Diet Review
With a name like the Flat Belly Diet it’s no wonder this is one of the latest crazes in fad diets. After all, we all are searching for a flat belly and fab abs.This diet is designed to help you lose that hard to reach belly fat without doing any crunches.
Their book even boasts losing belly fat without one single crunch required.
This program was developed mainly for women.
Getting a tight midsection is hard for many women particularly after childbirth and as we age.
Part of regaining your body is to lose the belly fat
Basics of the Flat Belly Diet
The basic food plan on the Flat Belly Diet is a 1,600 calorie diet based on Mediterranean style diet. They promote whole foods minimizing refined sugars.Foods on this plan would include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans and lean protein.
Red meat is only allowed once a month, so this is not a diet for the steak lovers.
The Flat Belly diet hits both types of body fat: subcutaneous and visceral.
Subcu fat is the type that everyone sees on your body or over the top of your pants.
Visceral fat accumulates on your organs and can cause health problems just like too much of the obvious fat.
The Flat Belly Diet 4 week jump start begins with only 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day. In this jump start phase dieters are required to drink 2 liters a day of their “sassy drink”.
This drink includes a blend of spices, herbs, citrus and cucumber. This flavored water is to help with bloating, constipation and makes a person feel better and more energized.
The Good Fats
This fad diet has a simple guideline; eat a total of 4 meals of 400 calories each.
The focus, or the claim for losing belly fat, is ensuring you get the right fats with each and every meal.
According to the authors, the monounsaturated fat, or MUFA, is what helps burn away your belly fat, achieving a flat stomach. Each meal has to include a measure of monounsaturated fats in the Flat Belly Diet.
MUFA can be found in foods like olives, avocados, nuts, and seeds, flax and dark chocolate. If you are a chocoholic, this may just be the best fad diet for you.
Studies have shown that monounsaturated fats do have health benefits and will target your belly fat.
Another great thing about MUFA is that it helps you feel satisfied and fuller longer.
The Food Plan
As stated earlier, the basics are very simple; eat 4 meals a day at 400 calories per meal. The meals on the Flat Belly Diet are spaced out every 4 hours. So it’s simple to remember the formula; 4 – 400 – 4.So what are the foods you can eat on this fad diet? Even if you are a vegetarian, allergic to certain foods or just plain picky; the plan can be adapted to your needs.
On this plan you will not count calories despite the fact that each meal must contain 400 calories. Instead you select from 28 different meals that you can mix and match for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.
There are 80 recipes included with all the nutritional values stated with each recipe. The foods you eat are nutritious for the entire body.
However, some vegetables are eliminated because of gassy properties but there are enough included to satisfy daily requirements.
Words from the Experts
So do experts endorse Flat Belly Diet or do they consider this just another failed “fad diet”?
According
to Web MD’s review of
this diet, experts are not convinced that any diet can target the belly
fat. The experts say that you will lose weight but not necessarily due to the MUFAs but rather the reduction of calories.
Any diet where you consume fewer calories than you burn will lead to weight loss.
Although the diet claims you can lose 15 pounds in 32 days, experts state that much of this is pure water weight and not fat loss. Losing fat is a slower process and so don’t assume your total weight loss was pure fat.
In fact, a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. So in order to lose just one pound of fat you would have to burn off 1,640 calories in one day which is highly unlikely.
Before dismissing this as just another fad diet, experts do see some positives with the Flat Belly Diet. The introduction of healthy fats is a plus for this diet plan. These fats offer important nutrients and can make dieting easier for the average dieter.
Summary
Even though the name of this plan
tends to make you think “fad diet”,
they do promote healthy eating that can be maintained once the 32 days
is over.
This diet also promotes a lifestyle change of eating
healthy, reducing stress, long term weight control and
exercise.
This is not just another “fad for 32 days” but if
done correctly could become your next diet miracle.
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