This diet comes to us from Prevention Magazine and is in a nutshell a lower-calorie (but not to the point of starving yourself /deprivation) diet. http://www.prevention.com/health/weight-loss/flat-belly-diet
As a sidenote, I really like the calorie-counting tool in the lower right quadrant of this page. You input your height, weight, etc., and it tells you exactly how much you need to do to maintain or lose.
No foods off limits, exercise encouraged and a plan given, but not "required". There are 2 twists though, that make this plan a little different: 1) the calories are spread over 4 rather than 3 meals per day and 2) EVERY meal is required to include a MUFA- monounsaturated fatty acid- The good news for me is that I like these foods- nuts, olives, dark chocolate...
Here are the pros & cons as I see them prior to starting:
Pros:
-the plan looks easy and inexpensive to implement
-meals look tasty and I have choices after the 1st 4 days
-I don't think I'll feel deprived
-lots of useful tools such as an initial shopping list and 4-day jumpstart telling me exactly what to buy and eat
-there is an accompanying cookbook, which I bought- many of the recipes look delicious!
-the author lists health benefits of MUFAs, one of which includes an anti-inflammatory effect, which is one of my goals
-I can have a gourmet cupcake next weekend as one of my meals...wait, is that a pro or a con? Hmmmm...
Cons:
-the diet is so-so in terms of healthiness- and since nothing is a "no-no" someone could theoretically eat a lot of crud on this one
-the reader is told that while exercise affects greater change, results can be acheived without it
No foods off limits, exercise encouraged and a plan given, but not "required". There are 2 twists though, that make this plan a little different: 1) the calories are spread over 4 rather than 3 meals per day and 2) EVERY meal is required to include a MUFA- monounsaturated fatty acid- The good news for me is that I like these foods- nuts, olives, dark chocolate...
Here are the pros & cons as I see them prior to starting:
Pros:
-the plan looks easy and inexpensive to implement
-meals look tasty and I have choices after the 1st 4 days
-I don't think I'll feel deprived
-lots of useful tools such as an initial shopping list and 4-day jumpstart telling me exactly what to buy and eat
-there is an accompanying cookbook, which I bought- many of the recipes look delicious!
-the author lists health benefits of MUFAs, one of which includes an anti-inflammatory effect, which is one of my goals
-I can have a gourmet cupcake next weekend as one of my meals...wait, is that a pro or a con? Hmmmm...
Cons:
-the diet is so-so in terms of healthiness- and since nothing is a "no-no" someone could theoretically eat a lot of crud on this one
-the reader is told that while exercise affects greater change, results can be acheived without it
This is a 32-day plan, so I'll check back in in a couple of weeks to report my progress and again at the end.
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