The statement in the title is actually a great question. While a great number of fad diets have hit the health and fitness scene in the last few decades to varying degrees of success and/or failure, the Flat Belly Diet was in fact shown to be effective. However, a number of analysts believe that the diet is effective for reasons other than what the creators of the diet plan would suggest. The original Flat Belly Diet plan, created by Liz Vaccariello, editor in chief of Prevention magazine, along with Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, nutrition director at Prevention, calls for a four-day purge process, designed to greatly decrease bloating and get dieters used to the type of eating that they are unfamiliar. After that, dieters embark upon a 28-day plan consisting of four daily meals totaling 400 calories each, and each meal includes a mono-unsaturated fatty acid, referred to as a MUFA.
The creators of the diet claim that a successful dieter can lose 15 pounds in 32 days by following the strict requirements of the plan. The website has 28 different menus from which to choose from, where dieters can intermingle the various foods listed in the menus for different meals. The creators of the Flat Belly Diet plan claim that the MUFA contained in each meal is the main component that leads to the weight loss itself. MUFAs come from olives, nuts, olive and sunflower oils, avocados and dark chocolate, and reportedly are geared toward targeting specific stomach fat. The creators of the plan also claim that the MUFAs help to alleviate hunger pains, making it easier for the dieters to faithfully stick to their plan. While exercise is encouraged as part of the Flat Belly Diet plan, it is not required, and this is the area that leaves critics a bit skeptical.
Dr. Michael Jensen, a leading obesity researcher at the Mayo Clinic, believes that dieters can in fact lose weight on the Flat Belly Diet plan, but that it’s more a direct result of water loss than fat loss. “There are so many variables associated with weight loss that it is premature to associate belly fat with a specific food or diet plan,” he said. Jensen goes on to say that most dieters will automatically start to lose weight from their belly area regardless of the diet plan that they’re on, and while the Flat Belly Diet plan does promote a lifestyle of healthy eating habits, he believes that a regular diet of heart healthy foods combined with a daily regimen of aerobic exercise and strength training is the best way to keep a nice flat belly combined with keeping the weight off on a long term basis.
Posted by : Plernpit
Posted on : Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 at 11:37 am
Tags: Diet Plan
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