Flat Belly Diet Review

The "Flat Belly Diet" promises a flat belly and weight loss of up to 15 pounds in a month. It was written by Liz Vaccariello, editor in chief of Prevention magazine, along with Cynthia Sass, nutrition director at Prevention.

The "Flat Belly Diet" plan is a 1,600 calorie Mediterranean-style diet with an emphasis on unrefined foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, seeds, lean protein, and very little red meat.

According to the authors, the secret ingredient that melts away belly fat is monounsaturated fat at every meal. They are found in olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, soybean, flax, and olive and sunflower oils.

Dieters start on a 1,200- to 1400-calorie, four day regimen designed to reduce bloating. During this phase, dieters drink 2 liters of daily "sassy water," made from a blend of spices, herbs, citrus, and cucumber. From there, the dieter begins the 1,600 calorie per day diet. As much as 15 pounds in the month are promised. Exercise is optional but encouraged.

The Flat Belly Diet sounds sensible on the surface and Mediterranean-style diets are generally regarded as very healthy, but alas, the real problem with these magazine-filler and book-filler diets is that the focus is not on permanent, long term weight loss. Realize, those who lose significant weight and keep it off in the long-term almost all follow the same strategy, balanced nutrtion with portion control, change of mindset about life and daily exercise. And usually that exercise is pretty vigorous. The "Flat Belly Diet" sounds like a decent start but as long as you're thinking "32 Days" your probably destined to gain the weight back.