"Flat Belly Diet" Review - Are MUFA Meals Magic?
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Just in time for those weight loss resolutions so many Americans made on New Year's, the editors of Prevention Magazine chose Good Morning America! to announce the launch of their new diet program: The Flat Belly Diet. (See video.)
"A flat belly is about food and attitude. Period. (Not a single crunch required!)" So runs the tag line at the official website of the Flat Belly Diet. Misleading or actually achievable? Since the official website offers more hype than actual answers, I went on a quest to find out exactly what this plan entailed, and evaluate it for myself.
The Premise
To find out anything substantial about the program itself, one must head over to the main Prevention.com website, of which I am always skeptical, having once (many years ago) made the mistake of entering my email address, which I've paid for in 10+ spam emails a week ever since. (Having tried have a dozen times to cancel, I now simply mark them all spam and let the filter catch as many as it can.)
The premise, once you find it, is in fact very simple: Eat four 400-calorie meals a day, and include a food from one of the five "MUFA" groups with each one. MUFA is shorthand for monounsaturated fat, a so-called good fat, which helps reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol. The Prevention video "What is a MUFA?" touts all these advantages, but doesn't mention the downside: In contrast to polyunsaturated, monounsaturated fats are less prone to rancidity, but they are less beneficial to cardiovascular health, and promote insulin resistance, which can lead to Type II Diabetes.
The Five Flat Belly Foods
On the Flat Belly Diet, each of your four daily meals must include a food from one of the five main MUFA categories:
- Oils
- Nuts & Seeds
- Avocado
- Olives
- Chocolate
Sound good? Of course! The trick is in keeping your meals to 400 calories each, to maintain a 1600-calorie daily total (a fairly typical intake for a strict weight loss plan). Fats of any kind, even "healthy" ones, contain more calories per gram than protein, carbohydrates, or even alcohol. The good news is that they're more satisfying, allowing you to reach satiety faster and stay full longer. However, take a look at the sample recipes on the Prevention site--they may sound delicious, but check out the number of servings each recipe yields--the fact is, MUFA meals are probably pretty small compared to what you're used to.
Not to mention prep time. Convenience is one of the largest factors in whether or not a dieter sticks to a weight loss plan. The issue here is that creating your own combinations of foods that meet the MUFA requirements and fall under 400 calories is tough, so you're pretty much stuck with the recipes provided to you (a few in the book, others by subscription to the support site), most of which take 20 minutes or more to prepare. The average person on a weight loss regime doesn't have the time (or even the desire) to spend that much time in the kitchen, especially when you're eating only a small portion of what you prepare.
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The Conclusion
Is positive attitude a key to weight loss? Absolutely. Are good fats an important part of any diet (including those not aimed specifically at weight loss)? Yes, an often underrated one. But is the Flat Belly Diet the best possible plan combining these two factors? No. A better execution of these ideas, in my opinion, is described in the book "French Women Don't Get Fat," which emphasizes enjoying the act and experience of eating, as well as a balanced variety of foods (including healthy fats), and portion control.
As for a flat belly, not everyone's genetics enables her to have a stomach as pictured above. And with those for which it is possible, it certainly doesn't just come from eating avocadoes.
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Comments
Good article, but I wish I could eat avocados at every meal!
Stacie--You can! Why not? Just portion them! And I know you know how to do that, since you've written hubs on the subject.
I do know how. But, avocados, like chocolate, bring me intense pleasure. I practice portion control by not having them at every meal...until I'm strong enough to resist temptation, that's my portion control.
excellent subject ,it includes all my favorite foods. Thanks
Very nicely done.....much better than my account, but I have to admit, I did mine too quickly and it probably shows.....Thanks
GREAT Hub Maddie!! Actually the list is about all I have eaten for years! Plus a little salmon!! And lots of supplements!! At 5'3" and 120 pounds my doctor recently commented during an annual that I have the body of a 30 year old!! Alas, I have the crows feet that give it away instantly!! GREAT Hub Maddie!! Blessings, Earth Angel!!
Great hub Maddie ;-) As always.
Thanks for the great post! Still, I was very impressed with the studies they did and it seems like the kind of thing anyone could benefit from, just by focusing on MUFA's in your diet. I couldn't find many recipes around, however, so I created a place to post recipes and success stories. Anyone who has recipes that use MUFA's or has a good success story from trying to incorporate MUFAs in their diet, please share it on mufamagic.com! The site is all free, just a place to share recipes, stories and articles on MUFA's.
Neat Hub Maddie. I need to loose my baby fat! I stil have a kinda fat tummy...lol. But I do not eat any of that stuff..I am way too picky...don't even at fruits. I may have to force myself t try new foods even if they look yucky to me. Keep up the good work! :)
Good, solid information and intelligent comment, on a subect which is loaded with nonsense aimed at a gullible audience.
Actually, my household has been doing the flat belly plan for 3 weeks now. It's great. We're all losing 2-4 pounds a week and multiple inches. Dinners are easy and lunches take some shopping and coordinating, but it's worth it. And MUFA's are heart healthy and you are adding only a bit to each meal. I love having a bit of fine, dark chocolate right after dinner. And by the way, people who need to lose weight must eat less (400 cals 4 x day) than what they're used to.
Good post! But when it comes to chocolate and other things on the list we love, how likely is it that we will actually execute good portion control? Having that one bite of chocolate is what gets us in trouble in the first place, because it's so hard to have just one bite! Or two, or three! (can you tell I'm a chocolate lover?). These are good findings, and a very good hub. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent hub. I must say that I have had some success through increasing my intake of good fats, fish oil, nuts and etc. However the best thing I have found is exersing using Kettelbells. Unbeliveable the results from Kettlebells
I eat healthy- very healthy and far less than I did twenty years ago- we have always stuck with 100% whole grains, healthy fats, chicken, turkey, fresh fruits and vegies. It was the way we were raised- A treat like soda, or ice cream was a saturday evening event we looked forward to- not a daily intake.
And I agree- we love what we eat. I make the most fabulous chicken picatta with whole grain noodles and flour- everyone loves my cooking and all it took was a little imagination and some time saving skills. Everyone also knows there wont be seconds and so they tend to savor the moment- which helps.
Nana, I agree with you in the way you think of things like soda -as a treat. More people need that mindset, maybe less 44 oz sodas would be sold!
I am through with any fancy diet. I have found taking apple cider vinegar is the way to lose excess weight and maintain my weight. I watch what I eat, no sugary or fried fatty food and running 6 km six days a week. Guess what when I got to menopause I just started to put on weight without over eating. Apple cider vinegar has given me back my slim body.
I started this diet a few days ago and already can see a difference, I need to loose 30 pounds due to gaining weight after a thyroid tumor was removed in 2004. I am on medication and have been exercising like a nut-case (spin bike for an hour, eliptical trainer, free wieght, 100 sit-ups combination 6 days a week) I only lost 5 lbs. What is worse is when everyone kept telling me I was building muscle. I wanted to strangle them! Since then I hired a personal trainer and I only exercise 2x a week and I got better results toning up but still no weight loss. Then 3 days ago I started this diet, I can already see and feel a difference. I am sticking with it and see how if I can loose the 30 pounds I gained since the tumor started.
Something else that helps with losing weight is place everything you eat on a raw/processed continuum. Then, try to increase the raw foods you eat and decrease the processed foods. If you are eating more processed foods in any given day than you are raw foods, this could be one reason why weight is a difficulty for you.
How much of what you eat comes in a box, can or some other kind of packaging? Is it more than 50%? Even weight watchers stuff comes in a box. That's means it's been processed with all sorts of chemicals added.
I know Maddie wrote a hub on Kevin Treadue and how he is a scam artist. I haven't looked into this yet. All I know about it is what I read in Maddie's hub. I did read Kevin's book, however. And one thing he pointed out was how the food manufacturers have lobbied congress to be able to substitute the word 'natural flavors' for any of a variety of man made chemicals. That means when you read 'natural flavors' on a food label, it could be a chemical and not natural at all.
Anyway, I digressed a little there. The point is, if it's in a box, can or package you don't know what's been done to it and you should therefore be wary of putting it in your body. Even all fruit juice bought at the store has been pasteurized, which means all the enzymes (which help digestion) have been killed. If you like fruit juice, don't drink it out of bottle. Juice it yourself at home.
And... Lifewater!!!! This is a scam, too! I see people drinking this thinking they are being good to their bodies. It's full of sugar!
Ok... sorry!!! I'll stop here.
Eat more raw foods and less processed ones and you will lose weight.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hola,
I started today officialy the Flat Belly Diet. I'm not too overweight but I've got a little pouch I'm just dying to get rid of. I actually had a smaller version when I was at my fittest at 106 lbs. So it's definately genetics, or eating habits thats prevented me from having a completely flat belly. I'll keep the posting my results. I just ate breakfast and it was darn filling, no kidding and coming from me it says a lot because I love to eat :)
My mom had a stomach from having four kids. I had one after being a runner for many years. Anything is worth a try. I do eat nuts and peanut butter. What happens to the flab, does it become hanging loose flesh. I don't want people I tell to ask that question. Two to four pounds a week will make me look fabulous. So if I can get rid of the pudge that would be great. I walk for 8 hours a day, burn lots of calories, and use my treadmill every other day. To those with loose flesh, I recommend buying a some spanx or a girdle to hold it down, or in other words buckle up because we may be on to a newer and fuller you.
I've followed the Flat Belly Diet religiously for 11 days now (not counting the 4-day jumpstart diet). I lost 3 punds during the first 5 days and have been stuck ever since, despite working out at my club 4-5 times a week. I am beginning to think this is just another hype. What Maddie says does make sense; guess I could have saved the $$ for the book.
I've tried a lot of these plans, but I am currently using the Fatlossity weight loss system. I lost 6lbs the 1st week so I'm pretty happy... I'll let you know how I do from here
Wooo time to lose some weight.
I don’t think I can do this diet.
I too ordered the flat belly diet book. I'm the perfect candidate. I've always been happy with my body, except of course for my darn pooch. I've always been very thin but after two pregnancies I've been struggling to have my flat belly. It's only my lower abs that has the pooch my upper abs are washboard flat. I hate it! I'm good on portion control and sticking with a diet so we'll see. I'll keep you posted
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working
mathan1234 says:
4 months ago
According to their website, I took the "flat belly quiz" and they say that I'm a perfect candidate for their course. What luck! (I can't wait to see how much spam the email address I gave them gets.)
It's a shame that for some reason people are searching for that magic diet, and paying money for it, when the ideal diet plan is free. Reasonable portions (read the lables for portion sizes!), fruits and vegetables, and even just a little bit of exercise will have so much more benefit than these fad diets. Of course, I'm preaching to the choir right now!
Good article as usual Maddie.