Today Hot Report

Really Good, Healthy Eating Plan
The only reason I'm giving this four stars instead of five is because I agree with reviewers who say some of the ingredients are tough to come by. I personally have not had that problem but can see where others have. I find this diet easy to follow especially since MUFAs are really filling and help me maintain control over my appetite. The recipes are good and versatile, even for someone like me who's allergic to tree nuts. I don't know if I've lost weight because I don't get on the scale but my clothes are getting looser. The first four days are a bit draconian (I cheated by having hot chocolate made with 1% milk and Zero sweetener from Whole Foods which kept me from getting a headache) but I did notice a change in my level of energy and that I felt "cleaner" somehow. And hey, any diet that allows chocolate has to be a big hit with women of a certain age.

That being said, the number of calories this diet suggests (1600) seems high unless you are exercising (which I am). I would think you could cut back on the amount of snack calories and still feel pretty strong. You won't lose weight that quickly but you won't starve, either, one of the reasons Weight Watchers was so tough for me. To be fair, the book contains a chapter on how to exercise so you can't just sit in front of the tv eating and expect to see great results.

One caution, do NOT buy this book directly from Rodale. They charged me .94 and when I didn't send my first payment in on time (it being the Christmas season with its inherent craziness), they added a surcharge, so now they say I owe .94. I could not reach their customer service and was left on hold listening to New Age music for about 15 minutes. So I'm sending the book back as soon as my copy from amazon comes in.

The Diet Works!
I started the diet last summer, and I was absolutely wowed by the results! I lost 5 lbs. after the 4 anti-bloat days and another 7 lbs. over the next few weeks. I was a tad skeptical as well, but after I lost the 12 lbs., I started eating food without including the mufas. I felt bloated and more uncomfortable even though I was maintaining the 12 lb. loss. That made me a believer!

I've fallen off of the wagon in the past few months, so I'm going back on it with my husband and daughter. I can't wait to feel better!!!

NEW YALE STUDY OUT on Flat Belly Diet
I caught the Today show yesterday and the author was on. There's a new study out from Yale U. that shows how effective the plan is. Don't know any diet that put itself under a microscope like this. I was very impressed. Link to show here: [...]

P.S. I started the diet a month ago today and have been THRILLED by the results! 10 pds! I really didn't know how bloated I was. That alone makes me feel great about the diet. The food ideas are terrific, too (I'm a new fan of avocado on everything!). I think what is being offered here is pretty cutting edge.

The diet really works!!
LIke all diet programs and books, you get out of it what you put into it. It is a super way to lose 15-20 pounds. I followed this diet pretty religiously for 2 months and lost 23 pounds and 5 inches off my waist. The 4 day jump start part is difficult, but it's only 4 days and following it ( except that I had to have my black coffee) was a challenge, but I was seeing results immediately so that kept me motivated. By the time, I started on the MUFA rich part of the diet, it seemed like TONS of delicious food.

Were there some foods I didn't like? sure-- but lots of stuff I LOVED. A great side benefit was that my cholesterol and tri-glyceride levels went way down.

Overpriced Advice with a New Gimmick
Like some other readers, I was disappointed in Flat Belly Diet, and I feel like a complete idiot for wasting money on something that made me suspicious when I first read about it. However, curiosity, a non-flat belly, and wishful thinking joined forces to persuade me into another unwise diet-book purchase. It is indeed another calorie-restricted diet with a gimmick that, however science-based, is based on very specific foods in weird combinations. I was very interested in MUFAs until I actually tried to follow the diet. For me the best success comes with eating a little bit of everything. I originally read about this diet in Prevention magazine, which used to be a great nutrition and health information resource. In recent years, however, it seems like one of those brochures that you get with your junk mail advertising books. The articles are often "teasers" for expensive publications that contain a little bit of information in many, many words. I have now read several of these Prevention books, and they have mostly been deadly dull and the information so fragmented, so poorly organized, that the reader cannot easily use the information provided. Though Flat Belly Diet is a step up from that, it is certainly no different from any other diet that focuses on a particular food group or food category as the key to weight loss. Multiple weekly shopping trips to find particular brands, items you have to buy in quantities that you will never use up--if you are a repeat dieter, you know the drill. Skip it.