Flat Belly Diet

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  • njjswim
    njjswim Posts: 178 Member
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    I think I have read every book out there and have not read that one yet. The best things most dieticians and physicians recommend is low fat, low sugar, whole wheat, high fiber, and lean means cold water fish with omega 3 fatty acids, flax seed, and some chicken baked or broiled and low sodium.

    Sodium causes retention of fluids and is hard on your organs
    fat especially sat fat is hard on your arteries, and gullbladder and liver
    sugar is hard on your blood, and arteries and pancreas
    fiber 25-35 grams a day is good for your colon
    omega 3 fats are good for your arteries

    So just pick the right foods all the time and give up all the books and stuff that is out there and buy only foods that are good for you or limit the bad stuff. I know a recent scare of my gullbladder threw me into getter off the low carb diets for good. Sure I loose weight but my colon, heart, gullbladder and liver take a big hit and that is not worth it to me

    GOOD LUCK!!!
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
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    What kind of exercises do they recommend? I know the You On A Diet book has a lot of plank and core work. The other day the had an article about high intensity exercise helps reduce belly fat. I know when I started C25K the first time this summer (on the treadmill at an incline) I lost and inch in my belly. Maybe coincidence though.
    Day 18 of 28

    I'm watching the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics, and can look out my window on a yard full of snow. How fitting. It's very sad that an athlete from the country of Georgia was killed today.

    There was nothing particularly notable about my day. I've gotten to a point where the novelty is wearing off. I"m also having a harder time refraining from having a bout of the a"munchies."

    I had planned to get to the gym, but the snow pretty much took out that option for today. I've been twice this week.

    There is a whole chapter about exercise in the book I haven't read. I suppose I should be following the flat belly exercise program too... but I chose just to stick to the food plan and try to get to the gym three times per week.

    I'm expecting to be more enthusiastic again as I get closer to the end of the 28 days.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    I think I have read every book out there and have not read that one yet. The best things most dieticians and physicians recommend is low fat, low sugar, whole wheat, high fiber, and lean means cold water fish with omega 3 fatty acids, flax seed, and some chicken baked or broiled and low sodium.

    Sodium causes retention of fluids and is hard on your organs
    fat especially sat fat is hard on your arteries, and gullbladder and liver
    sugar is hard on your blood, and arteries and pancreas
    fiber 25-35 grams a day is good for your colon
    omega 3 fats are good for your arteries

    So just pick the right foods all the time and give up all the books and stuff that is out there and buy only foods that are good for you or limit the bad stuff. I know a recent scare of my gullbladder threw me into getter off the low carb diets for good. Sure I loose weight but my colon, heart, gullbladder and liver take a big hit and that is not worth it to me

    GOOD LUCK!!!

    Thanks njjswim! I think the differentiator for this particular work is that we've been taught that all fat is bad just because it is fat and higher in calories. We went through a period of years where the food producers used this to produce/sell billions of dollars of low-fat foods. People avoided all fats, including those necessary to help in the absorbtion of necessary vitamins. Hence now, there is a change in nutrition information to say we do need Omega 3 fatty acids - or, not all fats should be avoided. So the "counter intuitive" idea is that you should have more mono-unsaturated fats and that instead of causing wt gain, they aid in the breakdown of the most dangerous fat deposits in the body.

    I do think different plans work for different people. Despite all the marketing hype around this plan, I think it has a good balance for me.

    Diabetes runs in my family, so I generally avoid processed sugars and high fructose corn syrup anyway. Following this has helped me reduce that intake even more. I was avoiding nuts, avocados and using, small quantities of olive oil, but now I'm using much more than I was. The problem with low-fat plans for me is I'd get too hungry. The problem with high protein plans for me was I didn't like the huge increase in animal fats, so I'd use protein powder. That gets old! To counter the bad taste, manufacturers load up protein-powder filled foods with sugars. I switched to stevia and making my own protein bars with fresh or dried fruits instead of sugar.

    Since I have a hard time loosing wt - finding a way of eating that keeps my blood sugar stable, keeps me from getting hungry and still enables me to loose weight is a winner. The jury is still out on this one - but so far, the only down side has been I spend more on food. But even that is getting better now that I'm replacing things I use instead of re-stocking the pantry.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    What kind of exercises do they recommend? I know the You On A Diet book has a lot of plank and core work. The other day the had an article about high intensity exercise helps reduce belly fat. I know when I started C25K the first time this summer (on the treadmill at an incline) I lost and inch in my belly. Maybe coincidence though.


    IvyKivy - I'll take a look at that chapter and let you know. I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read it.

    What is defined as "high intensity exercise?"

    I am also a c25k fan - completed it last October. My pic is from the day I finished my 5K race in 41'07" I do think jogging makes a significant difference.
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
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    "A Little or a Lot
    But not just any form of exercise will do. It was high-intensity cardio that helped the overweight exercisers carve out their middles. If you can't commit to 3 hours, know this: Working out less frequently -- and at a more moderate pace -- is also an option. A third group that took this approach didn't lose any belly fat; they didn't gain any, either. A decent accomplishment, considering they also downed about 2,000 calories daily."[i/]
    http://www.realage.com/tips/a-good-way-to-ditch-belly-fat-without-dieting

    It doesn't say what high intensity is but it's usually closer to your max heart rate 75% like HIIT.
    What kind of exercises do they recommend? I know the You On A Diet book has a lot of plank and core work. The other day the had an article about high intensity exercise helps reduce belly fat. I know when I started C25K the first time this summer (on the treadmill at an incline) I lost and inch in my belly. Maybe coincidence though.


    IvyKivy - I'll take a look at that chapter and let you know. I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read it.

    What is defined as "high intensity exercise?"

    I am also a c25k fan - completed it last October. My pic is from the day I finished my 5K race in 41'07" I do think jogging makes a significant difference.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    Day 20 of 28

    This morning started out with a real treat - waffles. Flax seed waffles. Here was a big change - no butter, no syrup. Throw on some pecans, banana and strawberries - and who cares? I had a small cup of black coffee - only my third cup this month and the first without creamer. I definitely will add waffles to the breakfast rotation!

    Lunch was the California burger - I added a slice of turkey bacon to the ingredients in the book. I used an English muffin instead of a bun which worked just fine.

    My valentine made arrangements for us to go to the art museum for the afternoon. Having learned my lesson from earlier in the month when I didn't take along a snack, I packed string cheese, an apple, walnuts and Valentine's day dark chocolate. We shared our snack on the way home from the museum - avoiding missing the 4 hour window or risking a crabby snap from not eating on time. Well worth the time to pack a snack and take it along!

    Dinner was brown rice, chicken tenders, crimini mushrooms. Yum. I cooked extra chicken and rice, so I'll have a quick, easy meal in the near future.

    I'm feeling more "on my game" again with managing the food. It's a good mental place to be going into the last week of the Flat Belly Diet.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    "A Little or a Lot
    But not just any form of exercise will do. It was high-intensity cardio that helped the overweight exercisers carve out their middles. If you can't commit to 3 hours, know this: Working out less frequently -- and at a more moderate pace -- is also an option. A third group that took this approach didn't lose any belly fat; they didn't gain any, either. A decent accomplishment, considering they also downed about 2,000 calories daily."[i/]
    http://www.realage.com/tips/a-good-way-to-ditch-belly-fat-without-dieting

    It doesn't say what high intensity is but it's usually closer to your max heart rate 75% like HIIT.
    What kind of exercises do they recommend? I know the You On A Diet book has a lot of plank and core work. The other day the had an article about high intensity exercise helps reduce belly fat. I know when I started C25K the first time this summer (on the treadmill at an incline) I lost and inch in my belly. Maybe coincidence though.


    IvyKivy - I'll take a look at that chapter and let you know. I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't read it.

    What is defined as "high intensity exercise?"

    I am also a c25k fan - completed it last October. My pic is from the day I finished my 5K race in 41'07" I do think jogging makes a significant difference.

    Thanks for the page reference. I checked it out. The three hours reference above is to three hours a week of high intensity exercise. I also didn't see specifically how that was defined. In their two week flat belly diet plan, they have 30 minutes of walking every day as a requirement, and a free 20 minute exercise video. I didn't look at the video. It would be interesting to track back to the actual study quoted... however... I have things to do :-)
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
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    I don't have anything to do at this moment:laugh:

    "high amount, vigorous intensity, equivalent to jogging 20 miles/wk (32.0 km)" lost the most visceral fat.

    ____________________________________________________________________________________________
    Inactivity, exercise, and visceral fat. STRRIDE: a randomized, controlled study of exercise intensity and amount.

    Slentz CA, Aiken LB, Houmard JA, Bales CW, Johnson JL, Tanner CJ, Duscha BD, Kraus WE.

    Division of Cardiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

    Despite the importance of randomized, dose-response studies for proper evaluation of effective clinical interventions, there have been no dose-response studies on the effects of exercise amount on abdominal obesity, a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. One hundred seventy-five sedentary, overweight men and women with mild to moderate dyslipidemia were randomly assigned to participate for 6 mo in a control group or for approximately 8 mo in one of three exercise groups: 1) low amount, moderate intensity, equivalent to walking 12 miles/wk (19.2 km) at 40-55% of peak oxygen consumption; 2) low amount, vigorous intensity, equivalent to jogging 12 miles/wk at 65-80% of peak oxygen consumption; or 3) high amount, vigorous intensity, equivalent to jogging 20 miles/wk (32.0 km). Computed tomography scans were analyzed for abdominal fat. Controls gained visceral fat (8.6 +/- 17.2%; P = 0.001). The equivalent of 11 miles of exercise per week, at either intensity, prevented significant accumulation of visceral fat. The highest amount of exercise resulted in decreased visceral (-6.9 +/- 20.8%; P = 0.038) and subcutaneous (-7.0 +/- 10.8%; P < 0.001) abdominal fat. Significant gains in visceral fat over only 6 mo emphasize the high cost of continued inactivity. A modest exercise program, consistent with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control/American College of Sports Medicine (CDC/ACSM), prevented significant increases in visceral fat. Importantly, a modest increase over the CDC/ACSM exercise recommendations resulted in significant decreases in visceral, subcutaneous, and total abdominal fat without changes in caloric intake.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    IvyKivy - Thanks for taking the time to look that up! I've got a long way to go before I'm running 20 miles per week! Guess I'd better get my sneakers on!
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    Day 21 of 28

    Enjoyed another flax waffle breakfast. This time with raspberries mixed with yogurt on top. The rest of the day went well.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    Day 22 of 28

    I have too much to do and not enough time to get it all done! Sound familiar? My big task for today is figuring what to take with me to eat at the conference I'm attending over the next 3 days. Tomorrow is a travel day, so I'll have a normal breakfast, probably pack lunch, snack. I'm having dinner out with the team putting on the conference. Maybe I can find out where and check out the menu in advance. Thursday and Friday I'll be at the conference. I'm sure it will be pastery for breakfast there - so gotta plan for two breakfasts & lunches for sure... dinner will be out both nights again. I can feel the water retention coming on already!

    But for today - I've hit breakfast and lunch right on the nose at 400 calories each.. breakfast was oatmeal with flax seed oil, dried plums and milk. Lunch ran late - about hour 5, but was macademia nuts (first thing I could reach while assembling the rest of lunch) and a turkey bacon sandwich - english muffin, herb cheese, roasted red pepper and 3 slices of turkey bacon.

    So far, the thing I"m the worst about is not walking after every meal. That is such a hard habit to make! I know it is a good idea. Maybe after my snack...
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    22 of 28 continued

    Well, I never did make it out for a walk today - I let work get in the way. I had a lot to wrap up for this trip. I ended up at 1630 fpr calories today. I'll let you know how meals go on the trip.
  • Positively_Me
    Positively_Me Posts: 1,500 Member
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    bump to read later ...thanks
  • naynay170
    naynay170 Posts: 5
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    I hate water but I did fix some sassy water last night , can I put sweeterner in it like equal ?
  • txcwgirl
    txcwgirl Posts: 127 Member
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    Jan I hope the trip is going well and can't wait to hear your updates.
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    Days 23 - 28

    Wow! It's been 28 days already! I wish I could say the trip went perfectly well, but... I learned a lot!

    So last Tuesday, I was getting ready for the trip, which began on Wednesday.

    Last Tuesday, day 22, went fine. I had hoped to get to the gym that night, but prep had the priority.

    Wednesday (day 23) worked out fine - Breakfast and lunch were right on plan before leaving. I packed a snack and dinner for the road, which also went well. Then I ran into a problem... My spouse and I stayed at a Doubletree hotel, and they handed me two warm, chocolate chip cookies at check-in. If it had just been one, I could have passed it off and been okay, but no... I ate one cookie.

    Thursday (day 24) I'd packed breakfast and lunch, and planned on eating dinner out. Breakfast and lunch were fine... but then the afternoon break came, and there were... a whole plate of those cookies! I rationalized it as the "snack" for the day... do you see a pattern forming here??? I wasn't able to prep for dinner out, but split a dinner with my spouse, and as best as I can tell came in right around 400 calories there. I did make it to the gym for a two mile run that day.

    Friday (day 25) did the best I could picking out a 400 calorie meal at a continental breakfast. Lunch was a spinach/salmon salad - probably 6 oz of salmon, so a little heavy there. Snack time.. you can see this comming, can't you??? Not one, but TWO cookies! Changed hotels, had a 400 calorie dinner in the room.

    Saturday (day 26) Weekend playing tourist begins... with... hotel supplied (FREE) breakfast. Okay, I'm a sucker for a fresh waffle...add peanut butter for my MUFA, yogurt and coffee... and it logged in at 579 calories! ARRRGGGhhhh! (but did I log it that day... so I'd know not to do it again the next day??? Noooooo - logged after I got back!) Made a 400 calorie lunch from food brought along. Dinner was a planned outing - but it turned into, "Oh, look, a wine store!" So, wine, cheese, nuts and crackers for dinner. Lowfat cheese? Uh... no. 1800 calorie day. One mile walking on the treadmill wasn't enough to balance out that deficit!

    Sunday (day 27) Weekend playing tourist ends - with a fresh seafood lunch by the water. Now, when am I going to learn to order a meal the way that fits the way I want to eat? Grilled gouper with herb butter over mashed red potatoes - Ate every bite. Didn't eat a planned snack, I ate the snicker bar the hotel maid left for us in the room instead! With dinner, an 1850 calorie day.

    Monday (day 28) Back home... I didn't even want to look at the scale or tape measure. I did, however, follow all of the flat belly rules - three (3) 400 calorie meals and a snack. A mufa at every meal. 4-5 hours between meals.

    Today (Tuesday) - can we just go back to day 23 and call it a do-over? Today is back to my normal routine, and I'm back on track. I weighed and measured for my, let's call it "semi-final" results.

    Ok.. from January 23rd through February 22nd, I lost 5 lbs and 5.25 inches. I'll take that!

    So, do I think trying the Flat Belly Diet was it worth it... yes, I think so. It's a success story comparable to several in the book.

    I plan on continuing to follow the three Flat Belly Diet rules, but not focus so much on the meals in the book. The one adjustment, is I'm going to plan to vary the calories slightly based upon my exercise like MFP recommends. I'll let you know how it's going.

    Oh, and so you know how it compares with my prior MFP average performance...

    I count my MFP starting point as 1/1/09. From that time through 1/23/10, I'd lost a total of 21.2 lbs and 12.5 inches. So, as you can see, excellent progress, but not fast. On average, that would be 1.8 lbs per month, and 1 inch per month.

    If you decide to try this, come back and tell me how it went for you!
  • momofaubrey
    momofaubrey Posts: 6
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    My mother and step father have just finished this diet and lost several inches off their waste size. They literally had to buy new clothes!

    The main take away from this book is that she is now eating healthier and looking at all the ingredients in the items she buys. This really worked for them and they had no trouble following the rules.

    Mom just gave me to the book, but I have yet to do my shopping.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    congrats, jan! 5.25 inches! whooey! i loved reading your daily posts and am going to miss that. good luck as you continue.
    dawn
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    My mother and step father have just finished this diet and lost several inches off their waste size. They literally had to buy new clothes!

    The main take away from this book is that she is now eating healthier and looking at all the ingredients in the items she buys. This really worked for them and they had no trouble following the rules.

    Mom just gave me to the book, but I have yet to do my shopping.


    That's a great take-away! I thought I was eating pretty well before, but this has made me make some additional changes that clearly have been helpful. Thanks for sharing! Good luck as you begin your journey.

    Marketing being what it is, I think there is a new book out this year by Prevention. Gotta have something new to sell all the time...
  • JPriceGA
    JPriceGA Posts: 508 Member
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    congrats, jan! 5.25 inches! whooey! i loved reading your daily posts and am going to miss that. good luck as you continue.
    dawn

    Thanks, Dawn! The nice thing about the 5 inches is it really shows!

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