The Flat Belly Diet is a program developed by the magazine "Prevention" to help people cut inches from their belly. Based on research that fat in the abdomen surrounding major organs is the most difficult to shrink, "Prevention" looked into ways people can eat healthy foods and drop pounds. However, whether you can target fat in specific areas, such as the abdomen, is a theory that is under debate.
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA)
At the crux of the Flat Belly Diet is the theory that by eating a certain kind of fat, MUFA's (monounsaturated fats), you can achieve target weight loss. A 2007 study published in the journal "Diabetes Care" by author Juan Paniagua, MD, found that a diet rich in MUFA's can prevent the accumulation of abdominal fat. Eating certain foods alone, according to Duke University Medical Center, will not melt fat away. A 2005 study by Cris Slentz at Duke University indicates that moderate intensity exercise -- the equivalent of walking 12 miles a week -- can significantly reduce visceral fat. Extra exercise will further reduce the amount of visceral fat you accumulate.
Exercise
One of the biggest differences between the Flat Belly Diet and diets recommended by the National Institutes of Health, known as the NIH, is exercise. An exercise regimen is not part of the Flat Belly Diet, yet dieters are told they can still drop more than a dozen pounds in 32 days. The NIH reports that adults should get two-and-half hours of aerobic exercise each week. Further, the Duke University study found that people in their study who did not exercise increased their visceral fat by nearly nine percent.
MayoClinic.com explains that the healhiest way to drop pounds is by losing one to two pounds each week. At the end of 32 days, that amounts to about eight to 10 lbs. Losing more than 10 lbs. in a month means you may be dropping lean muscle mass rather than excess fat.
Calories
The Flat Belly Diet plan is a 1,600-calorie a day food plan that is similar to the Mediterranean diet -- a diet with proven weight-loss results. You are encouraged to eat unrefined foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains, nuts, seeds and lean protein. Foods rich in MUFA's are olives, avocados, flax, seeds and soybeans. The problem is that not everyone can lose weight on 1,600 calories. Some people won't even be able to sustain their active lifestyle on so few calories. The number of calories you need to take in is based on your body mass index. Folks who get little exercise may need to eat fewer than 1,600 calories to lose weight, and people who workout rigorously each day need to eat more.
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