-
May 15, 2008 5:45 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
New Diet Promises To Flatten Your Belly
(KDKA)
Whether you have a little or a lot of weight to lose - having a flat belly is something dieters want to achieve.
One expert dietician says
'The Flat Belly Diet' is not just another fad diet. So some local people volunteered to try out the weight loss program to see if it really shrinks your waistline.
The Flat Belly Diet claims that you can lose up to 15 pounds in 32 days and not one single crunch is required.
UPMC dietician Leslie Bonci, who counsels athletes like the Steelers, the Penguins and the Pirates, says this diet makes sense.
Bonci says that's because it is based on scientific research and tasty food.
"By actually enjoying that thing, you feel fuller longer and enjoy the taste of food," says Bonci "We're going to be able to sustain it for a longer period of time."
Three women were recruited to try The Flat Belly Diet. Each wanted to lose from 10 to 40 plus pounds mostly from their middle.
"I think that's where a lot of my weight is and I want to have that gone," says Sandy Holmes, of South Park.
"I have a 15 year reunion coming up at end of summer so I'm hoping to lose some by then," adds Karla Diamond, of East McKeesport.
Bonci explains that there are three main components of the diet.
First, stick to 1,600 calories a day. Second, eat four meals a day. Meanwhile, the third and most unique component of the diet is to eat some fat in every meal.
But that doesn't mean go all out on foods like pizza and potato chips. Instead, the fats to eat are good fats, or monounsaturated fats.
Experts say those foods include nuts, seeds, olives and olive oils including things like pesto, avocados, and even chocolate.
"When I went in to the research and I found that there were these specific types of helpful fats that could actually reduce belly fat it was like a miracle," said Cynthia Sass, dietician and co-author of the diet. "I knew that was going to be the crux of The Flat Belly Diet."
Bonci says they also help lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, control blood sugar and they make you feel fuller.
Volunteer, Sandy Holmes, says she has been cooking from the more than 150 recipes in The Flat Belly Diet book. She measures everything to be sure she gets 400 calories in each of her four meals. She says that it's a lot less than she used to eat.
"I made up my mind that I've got to help my health and I figure, 'I can do this. I'll get through these first couple days,' but I had to keep telling myself that's why I was doing this," said Holmes.
Experts say those first couple days are extra diffcult because there is a four-day anti-bloat kick start to the diet with fewer calories.
Now, Holmes says her body is getting used to eating less at meals and not grazing.
"I had to re-learn how to eat four meals a day," added Holmes.
Holmes says her husband, John, is trying the diet with her.
"This is more a life change than it is just a diet," he says. "It's learning what to eat and how much to eat."
But the real question is: does the flat belly diet work?
After just fifteen days on the diet, Holmes says she lost seven pounds, two inches around her middle, and her blood pressure had gone down.
And her husband said he lost 11 pounds in two weeks.
And in just 12 days, the other volunteer, Diamond said she lost four pounds and an inch in her waist and almost two inches in her hips.
She says she even fits into her jeans that used to be too tight to wear.
However, one of the three original testers said she decided not to continue with it because did not like the foods on the diet, so the program is not for everyone.
But compared to many diets, experts say there are a lot of choices.
Also, experts say while exercise is not part of the diet, it is recommended for a healthy lifestyle and the book shows exercises to strengthen the stomach.
Click here for more information.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)