Flat Belly Diet (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: total calories, marinara pasta sauce, mind tricks, Eat One Serving, Flat Belly Diet, Calorie Torch Walk (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

     Prevention magazine is the country's most authoritative, trustworthy, and innovative source for practical health, nutrition, and fitness information. Now, its editors bring you a weight-loss plan that's specifically designed to target your number-one trouble spot: BELLY FAT.

     For women over 40, belly fat is incredibly stealth and incredibly stubborn. It's also the most deadly, contributing to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and chronic illness than any other type of fat on your body. Finally, science has helped uncover a key dietary weapon in the fight against belly fat. Monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, help dieters lose more weight--in their bellies specifically--and keep it off longer.

     Flat Belly Diet! will lead you step by step, day by day, meal by meal toward a flatter belly...and a longer, healthier life.

About the Author

LIZ VACCARIELLO is the vice president and editor-in-chief of Prevention, the #1 healthy lifestyle brand and the tenth largest magazine in the nation, with nearly 11 million readers. She resides in New Jersey.

CYNTHIA SASS, MPH, RD, is Prevention's nutrition director. With master's degrees in nutrition science and public health, Sass has more than 10 years of experience in helping women lose weight. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594868514
• ISBN-13: 978-1594868511
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (154 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #7 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Diets & Weight Loss > Diets > Healthy
  #16 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Women's Health
  #17 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Diets & Weight Loss > Diets > Weight Maintenance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 169 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It works for me!, January 27, 2009

By	Emmey (Southern Illinois) - See all my reviews

This diet works for me. In any successful weight loss program you must be able to incorporate it into your life style and enjoy the foods that are recommended. Changing habits and adjusting your life style is not easy and requires a commitment to a program you can adhere to. The four small meals and whole grains, nuts and seeds seem to be the best diet for my tastes. I also love avocado and dark chocolate.
I am 57 years old and as many others my age can attest to, I have had the pounds creep on year after year. I have tried Weight Watchers, South Beach and many others and had some success but always ultimately quit.
Constant hunger was my struggle while on Weight Watchers and when I fell off that wagon I would hit the ground hard with more cravings than ever. South Beach is healthy, but as soon as I added even a few extra carbs I would quit loosing and seemed to have a lot of nagging headaches.
I almost didn't buy the Flat Belly Diet book thinking it would be one more diet book on my shelf, but I am glad I did buy it!
I was a little hungry and bored the first two days! Now I am never hungry if I stay with the program. I travel and the suggestions on little snack packs are great! Little things that I can carry in my purse really help. (The whole wheat english muffin and peanut butter is my favorite!) I love the abundance of whole grain foods. They really fill me up and keep me from getting hungry. As the weight slowly comes off, I am exercising more and enjoying it.
At first it didn't seem like I was loosing much weight nor did the tape measure prove that I was loosing many inches, but my family and friends kept commenting on my weight loss and actually thought that I had lost more weight than I actually had! Maybe it is because it does seem to be coming off my mid-section. (Could be the middle age thing for me.)
I would suggest joining the on-line Flat Belly Prevention site if you plan to stay with it. The site helps me to log my meals, makes suggestions for menus and you can create shopping lists.
I too am frustrated with those who shoot this diet down and have not tried it. I am glad that their diet and life style works for them, but this one works for me. Good luck to anyone struggling to control their weight, I feel your pain!

52 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get a flat belly!, June 13, 2009

By	D. Frye - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are totally serious about getting that flat belly and want to expend the effort, this book will work wonders on that problem area. It is filled with good, useful tips that I've overlooked in the past. I know that this area is a problem for most of us, that's why I decided to get this book and just see if I could do it--with not so many sit-ups or crunches! A must read if you want to rid yourself of that belly fat. I also liked and would suggest Goodbye, Fatty! Hello, Skinny! How I Lost Weight And Still Ate The Foods I Loved-Without Dieting as it helped me to get inspired to start the weight loss.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Healthy diet!, April 16, 2009

By	J. Lillie - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've tried the diet just to see if the MUFA concept would really make a difference. I've lost on average a half pound a week inspite of having numerous meals at home that have been changed at the last minute into grabbing meals on the road or that included pot lucks at church or birthday and holiday dinners out. I have 7 pounds to lose to get down to my good BMI and want to lose an additional 10 vanity pounds beyond that, still being well within the middle of my weight range. As a nurse, I know it's important to get in healthy nutrition while losing weight, and exercise is important to include so muscle tone and bone mass is increased and maintained during fat loss. Weight training is not hard to get in 2-3 times a week if you get it in early before work or schedule it into your day. I also include walking 30 minutes a day on my lunch break and walk the dog when I get home, or I go for an hour long walk listening to an audio book. I eat 4 meals at 400 calories a meal, including usually avocado, oven roasted cinnamon sugar almonds (I count them out and put them in baggies), individually wrapped 72% dark chocolate squares, and olives or olive oil. I buy several avocados a week and eat them in sandwiches and salads. I keep mini cans of slice olives and put them on sandwiches, salads and diet pasta dinners. I keep baggies and jars of most of the MUFA items in my locker and work bag to always have something around. It's 1600 calories a day, regardless of the form the calories are in, so most people will lose weight on this diet. Nancy Clark, the well-known sports nutritionist, recommends people who are active eat no less than 1800 calories because any fewer and it's very difficult for people to get in all the nutrients thay really need. 1600 calories forces you to have to really focus on working to make sure you get in enough vegetables and fruits, so the junk food has to be non-existant as with any healthier lower-calorie diet.
I still feel some hunger eating this many calories but I feel hunger sometimes eating as many as 1800 calories, so that's just how it is. Staying busy and not sitting around is the best way to not notice hunger. Getting enough sleep is crucial to not feel tired and want to eat to keep my energy up. Another issue I have is dealing with high stress at work (I'm a psych nurse), which causes me to want to stress eat. The big plus with this diet is that you're getting significantly more of the good fats that increase your HDLs. That's an extremely good thing to do. So if nothing else, you will lose weight and have more of the "happy" high-density lipoproteins coming from the MUFAs, which helps reduce bad cholesterol. Most people get significantly less of the HDLs they should get from their daily food intake, so this diet is one of the more healthy ones out there if the dieter does get in sufficient fruits and vegetables, whole grains and good quality protein in their 4 meals each day.