Flat Belly Diet Guide

The Flat Belly Diet focuses on boosting your metabolism and ridding the body of excess body fat that accumulates in or near the stomach. The diet involves a four-day "jumpstart" of the metabolism followed by a four-week eating plan that includes monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs. The diet includes many Mediterranean-style foods and flavors. The Flat Belly Diet was developed by Liz Vaccariello and Cindy Sass, a registered dietician.

400 Calories Per Meal
The Flat Belly Diet is based on a 1,600 calorie daily meal plan. This is the amount of calories an average woman needs to remain healthy, energetic and maintain an ideal weight, according to the book, "The Flat Belly Diet." This set calorie intake supports the immune system and allows the body to function at its best.

Each of the Flat Belly Diet meals average about 400 calories. The meals can be interchanged and switched up to allow for variety. Breakfasts can be eaten for dinner and vice versa.

Eat Every 4 Hours
A basic rule of the Flat Belly Diet requires meals to be eaten every 4 hours. This eliminates feelings of hunger between meals and reduces irritability. It also provides a sustained level of energy. A person on the Flat Belly Diet experiences less fatigue and will be less apt to overindulge at meal times.

Eating every 4 hours is the golden rule, but for times when that is hard to accomplish snacks can help fill in the gaps. Snacks are allowed and can be eaten whenever a person chooses. Snack breaks boost energy levels during physical activity or when stress levels are high. Snacks can be anything from a few sticks of celery to a handful of nuts or granola. Fruit slices and cheese sticks are also good choices.

MUFAs
MUFAs, or monounsaturated fatty acids, are eaten at every meal. Nuts and seeds, avocados, dark chocolate, olives and oils are excellent examples of MUFAs. Adding these to every meal ensures that the body receives adequate amounts of the healthy fats it needs to function. These fats work to reduce the amount of fat stored in the abdominal cavity. Olive oil makes an excellent choice for cooking and its use is encouraged in many of the Flat Belly Diet recipes. Because of the use of olive oil, olives, avocados and feta-type cheeses in many of its recipes, the Flat Belly Diet has a definite Mediterranean flair.

Exercise
As the body becomes adjusted to the different types of foods and MUFAs that are part of the Flat Belly Diet, its metabolic rate increases. When metabolism increases, so do energy levels. This leads the way to incorporating more activity and exercise into a person's daily routine. When a person exercises regularly, more calories are burned. If the caloric intake from the diet is established and doesn't change, more and more fuel will be taken from the stores of fat in the body resulting in weight loss, according to the diet.

References

• Flat Belly Diet; Liz Vaccariello
• Mediterranean Diet
• Foods That Will Flatten My Tummy