The Fat Flush Plan (Hardcover)

by Ann Louise Gittleman (Author), Barry Sears (Foreword) "Weight gain, bloating, and those stubborn fat deposits on your hips, thighs, and buttocks-the very thought rattles your senses, not to mention your self-esteem..." (more)
Key Phrases: hidden weight gain factors, friendly carbs, central fat cells, Fat Flush Plan, Stevia Plus, Midafternoon Two (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The keys to overweight are liver toxicity, waterlogged tissues, fear of eating fat, excess insulin, and stress, asserts nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman. Her Fat Flush Plan addresses these problems with a targeted diet.

The Fat Flush Plan, filled with nutritional analysis and detailed explanations, is not a quick read. Despite Gittleman's assertion that the plan is "as easy as 1-2-3," it is quite regimented. No white flour, white sugar, margarine, vegetable shortening, artificial sweeteners, or caffeine. The diet emphasizes essential oils (e.g., flaxseed and GLA), protein (eight ounces or more, plus two eggs a day), vegetables, thermogenic spices (e.g., ginger and cayenne), water, and diuretic beverages (eight glasses/day of diluted, unsweetened cranberry juice). In its first two-week phase, the plan is a rigid, low calorie (1,100-1,200 calories/day), low-carb (no grains or starchy vegetables) diet. Phase two lets you increase your calories to 1,500 and add two "friendly carbs." Phase three, the "lifestyle program," moderately adds more dairy, carbs, and calories. Gittleman promotes walking and recommends strength training in phase three.

The book includes 41 recipes such as Grilled Lamb Chops with Cinnamon and Coriander, Breakfast Egg Fu Yung, and Cumin Sautéed Scallops. The Fat Flush Plan is recommended for dieters willing to commit to a strict plan for weight loss. --Joan Price

Review
A superb book...belongs in the company of the half dozen best how-to books on diets written... -- Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (December 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071383832
• ISBN-13: 978-0071383837
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (249 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,995 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

214 of 217 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone... but it works!, April 28, 2003

By	A. Reader (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book, along with the cookbook, on Amazon a month ago and followed the diet plan closely for the first two weeks (I lost 13lbs.) and loosely for another 7-10 days for a total weight loss of 27lbs. It is not the easiest diet to follow, as the flax oil tastes really icky and the flaxseed fiber supplement drink is equally hard to swallow, but if you actually do what the author suggests, you Will lose weight. What I found the most difficult was eating eggs without salt and topping my protein portions with the flax oil as suggested. I think (I cannot prove it with personal research), that flax oil is much the same as linseed oil. It's not the initial taste, but the lingering aftertaste that put me off. I did learn how to cut back on carbs, fats and sodium (it's amazing what you can do with mustard and hot sauce) and did manage to modify my long term dietary intake, but after a month, I wanted to taste a grilled steak with garlic salt and maybe even a touch of butter, not to mention a crusty bit of bread! If you are more committed and have more willpower than I do, you can really lose a significant amount of weight on this plan and alter your palate. I have maintianed my weight loss (except for 4 lbs.), which is probably water weight due to increased sodium intake) and am very happy with the plan. I did lose a good amount of weight and learned alot on how to control portions and refined carbs without any real discomfort. The cookbook has lots of really good recipes, most of which could be elevated to stardom with some off-limits additions of butter! The mock mashed potatoes, using cauliflower was a real hit in my household and is still something I will fix regularly. This is an effective but not entirely painless diet plan suited for someone with real dedication. I thank the author sincerely for the many pounds I lost initially and for the good advice that I continue to follow. It's worth trying, especially if you have 20+ lbs. to lose!

288 of 295 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diabetes and Cholesterol Relief At Last, January 22, 2003

By	Robert R. Openshaw (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

When I read TFFP 11 months ago, I had suffered diabetes for 15 years. Over the years I progressed from a solution consisting of diet and exercise to the use of diabetic medications and then eventually to also taking insulin. I became insulin resistant and developed Syndrome X. For several years I was daily giving myself 100 units of insulin perday and taking 2 tablets of Glucophage and 2 of Avandia to achieve some control. My last A1C test was 9.7.
My cholesterol had been 266. I was on Baycol for 12 months when it was taken off the market last August. My doctor then prescribed other statins which caused severe pain in my legs and chest and also did not control my cholesterol readings.
My wife and I read the Fat Flush Plan book on a Sunday afternoon. We went to the supermarket Sunday evening, and started the Plan Monday morning, Feb. 25th, in earnest. Tuesday morning my glucometer readings were low so I cut the doses in half. On Wednesday morning my readings had again dropped lower and I discontinued the insulin and medications. I have had absolutely no medications or insulin since February 27th. My April 6th lab showed my cholesterol to be 166. The HDL's were up and LDL's were down. My total cholesterol has been getting lower ever since. My A1C is down to 5.5.
I have always been overweight. For 30 years I have weighed between 250-300#. Taking insulin added about 50# to my weight. When I began on Feb. 25th, I weighed 352#, I guess. I say "guess" because my doctor's scale only went to 350# and my weight was off to the right of the end of the scale. My wife Joan weighed 253#. I wore size 60 pants and XXXL shirts comfortably. Joan was wearing XXL pants and tops. I am now 230# and wear size 40 pants and size 16 shirts. Joan is 160# and is wearing Medium size pants and tops.
Over the past 10 years, I had developed a severe hiatic hernia. I had a lot of acid reflex at night and had been taking Aciphex for several years for this condition. After about a month, I discontinued Aciphex and have not been bothered with it since.
I have had sleep apnia for 17 years. I had my uvula removed in 1987 and have been using a CPAP machine since 1996. On Feb. 25th I was using 16# of air pressure. I was tested again this last December and they reduced my pressure to 6#.
My wife is a nurse and she used to come home literally in tears with the arthritis and pain in her legs from walking and standing. Now she comes home even after a 10-hour shift tired, but not in pain. She also no longer suffers from extreme pain in her thumbs and arms.
And these are just the obvious benefits of the return of health my wife and I have experienced since we began the Fat Flush Plan. We had to be willing to change our life, but we happily embrace every aspect of the Plan. This is the Plan we are on for life. From the Sunday we read the book, we felt this was a healthy plan. It is a life filled with fresh fruits vegetables, nuts and oils. It's hard to go wrong with that.
Thank you, Ann Louise, for setting our feet on this path.

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, December 1, 2002

By	Myra (Olathe, KS) - See all my reviews

This is without a doubt the BEST book on diet that I have ever read! (And I've read a bunch of them.) I didn't follow every detail of the plan, and I didn't take every supplement recommended, but even by just following the basics of the program, I saw incredible results. It did wonderful things for my complexion, and for the first time in... well, maybe the first time ever... I didn't crave chocolate or starchy carbohydrates.

I'm not overweight, but this book is more about improving your overall health, digestion, and the effectiveness of your body's functions. Weight loss is just a natural response to the positive changes you make in the fat flush plan. Whether you have weight to lose or not, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

In response to the previous one-star rating... the wheat and dairy restrictions are only for the first two weeks. Wheat and dairy are incorporated back into the plan as it progresses. Personally, eliminating dairy was a great step for me, and even when the plan allowed for dairy again, I chose to leave it out.

This is an awesome book with tons of great information!