Comments on Cranky Fitness: The Flat-Belly Diet

That "Sassy Water" is disgusting! I'm a huge water...

2009-01-08T12:09:00.000-05:00

That "Sassy Water" is disgusting! I'm a huge water drinker and don't mind a few lemons in it. The ginger is ok in small amounts, but the cucumbers ruined it and I was a cucumber fan! As someone who sufers with hypo-glysemia, this is too little food in the AM and lunch. I may have to skip this 4 day plan and go to the 4 weeks plan.

Does anyone have suggestions for how to have sushi...

2008-11-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

Does anyone have suggestions for how to have sushi and stay on the FBD? My husband and I just started the diet this past week, and he has business meetings at a sushi place. Thanks very much.

I just want to point out that Prevention did not c...

2008-10-29T22:12:00.000-04:00

I just want to point out that Prevention did not coin the term "MUFA". This is actually the accepted term in the Nutrition and Food Science field (poly-unsaturated fats are PUFAS). I never thought it sounded funny until reading these blogs. Also, for those of you who are disappointed by Prevention's gimmicky get-rich fad diet, it seems to me that they always do this. In almost every issue, there is an extra "free" booklet that says it can help you lose weight, but it is actually just a huge advertisement for whatever new diet they have come up with that month (for which you, of course, have to purchase a book). I still read Prevention, but I am not surprised. It's a fun magazine, but it is certainly not the most reliable, scientific place to get your information.

I am curious though, are any of the girls who started the FBD in July or August still doing it? I would be interested in an update.

It's working for me! I was able to cut 200 calori...

2008-10-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

It's working for me! I was able to cut 200 calories a day by eating these flat belly foods. I'm just less hungry. And my food bill went down because it's cheaper to get calories from peanut butter and avocados than from sandwiches and frozen dinners. I've lost five pounds so far without exercising any more than I was. NOTHING I've tried in the last year even stopped me from gaining, so actually losing is awesome. I can't say that my belly has lost any more than the rest of me -- certainly less than my boobs, but I'm ok with that. Any diet that includes chocolate and peanut butter right out of the jar is one I can live with forever. It's definitely worth trying if you haven't.

I have to admit, I have not yet bought the book. B...

2008-08-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, I have not yet bought the book. But I did "Google" the so-called super foods recommended by the FBD. I started a program on June 16, 2008 of my own design using everything I've learned over the years. 2 weeks later, I learned of and started adding MUFA's to my plan. I have lost 18 lbs as of Aug 15, 2008. I'm never hungry and I feel good. I was really disaapointed, though by what the scale said. Looking at my body, I thought I'd lost a lot more. My belly is a lot flatter. I wish I had done a measurement before, but I did not expect this result. I found this site when looking for a copy of the FBD book. NOW I want to know what the whole plan is.

http://buzz.prevention.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-cit...

2008-08-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

http://buzz.prevention.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-citrus-icing/

There are a lot of interesting things about the flat belly diet. More than anything it is a great lifestyle.

I just started the Flat Belly diet a few days ago....

2008-08-08T21:15:00.000-04:00

I just started the Flat Belly diet a few days ago. I find it a bit confusing. So many choices you don't know what to do. It does not mention that you can have even coffee or tea. Just water, water, water!! Help!!!

Brie

My Mom and I started The Flat Belly Diet on June 2...

2008-07-02T13:57:00.000-04:00

My Mom and I started The Flat Belly Diet on June 29 and in the first 2 days I lost 5 lbs. I know this is water-weight but, knowing that I lost 5 lbs. is enough encouragement to keep with it. I made a committment to myself that I want to be a healthier, happier person and I think I have finally found my solution to being overweight. Day 3 is when I noticed I had more energy when I got home from work. I already read labels when I grocery shop and this book has given me all the information I need to make healthy food choices -- even while eating out or nuking a frozen lunch at work. I'm very excited to see how much weight I will lose in the coming months. 5 lbs. down -- 75 more to go!

don't get too stressed? ok, crabby, as soon as yo...

2008-02-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

don't get too stressed? ok, crabby, as soon as you come up with a way to do that, you be sure to let us know :P

Yeah, cut out the sugar, add some stress (which in...

2008-02-06T03:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah, cut out the sugar, add some stress (which in me takes away my appetite) in the form of tens of thousands of $$ of someone else's debt I signed for and couldn't pay, an insane stalker ex roomie, an old ill beloved dog, people breaking into my house and vandalizing my vehicle (the stalker, I'm certain) and little money for food, plus I was ill for a month and didn't know how seriously with an infection, and I lost 34 pounds in maybe 4 months, from 146 to 112. I called it The Stress Diet. BUT I ate healthy: avocados off the neighbor's tree for free, pepper jack cheese and green onions in a whole wheat tortilla mostly, once or twice a day, sometimes with some cheap steak in there, and cream of wheat in the am sometimes. All cheap but good food. Some salad greens with olive oil and pepper. I drank lots of hot herbal teas because it was winter and the heat was one wall heater for a huge 2 story house that I was stuck in a lease on. Tea also filled me up when I was hungry and too nervous to eat.
I had a little neighborhood shop that had piles of cheap fresh farmer's veggies, so ate fresh zuchs and other squash and tomatoes. No sugar, not too much carb, so it was almost an Atkins variant except for the psychological turmoil. Plus I was running up and down stairs a lot. Weight just melted off.
Even with all the stinking drama I felt healthier physically for losing the weight (I'm 5'5"). The problem was that I didn't realize that it could come back faster and stickier than I thought! I actually was a little too skinny, my rear lost so much padding it hurt to sit on anything hard! But man was my belly flat as it had ever been. (I had always been fit til my 40s when the weight started being harder to keep down.) A year later after I got too skinny, I was at 130, a year after that 142. I got up to 154, but it was mostly bloating from water retention and I knew it, I had a thyroid problem that didn't get diagnosed for years (which I also knew, but drs. think you're nuts if you're woman and tell them what is wrong with your body!), and it was finally starting to fail in more depth and for longer periods. I cut my calories way back over a year and a half ago, I was exercising an hour a day, it didn't seem to help much. Now at 50 with the thyroid meds I have dropped down 12 pounds, have no more puffiness from fluid (I can't eat salt), much less anxiety, little or no insomnia, leg cramps are gone, and I don't wake up feeling like I was hit by a truck, and I actually feel rested and alert. My thinking is sharper. My shortness of breath is gone. It has not made my appetite change either. I still don't eat ice cream or pastries (a donut on some Sundays though), I go easy on portions, and I exercise!

So if your TSH is over 2 or 3, go find a specialist, most especially if you are a woman 40 or over, it could have a lot to do with the weight, dr.s don't know that the "normal" scale includes a lot of abnormal for many people. Menopause symptoms are often failing or low thyroid symptoms, it just isn't recognized the the extent that it should be. Do NOT however take anyone's thyroid meds to lose weight!!!! Be careful messing with any natural dessicated glandulars as well, they aren't balanced and can get you hyperthyroid quickly, not good. It's a very serious med, with potential for many side effects. I've been lucky so far, I usually react to everything. But God, after 15 years of knowing I had a problem, to find a compassionate dr. and get my life back is a huge blessing!

My belly still isn't flat when I lie on my back, but I lost bunches of inches on my upper arms and thighs and calves, and I'm down 3 on my waist.

So PYTs need to eat more MUFAs to get that DIY fla...

2008-02-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

So PYTs need to eat more MUFAs to get that DIY flat belly...I'm cracking up.

On a more serious note, I found that when I stopped drinking the diet coke (all that aspartame) and cut out the cornstarch based sweeteners like maltodextrin and crystalline fructose, my stubborn muffin top started shrinking.

Hi, Merry/Mary!We're actually all finished moving ...

2008-02-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

Hi, Merry/Mary!

We're actually all finished moving stuff now, so my appetite should be recovering shortly. But I appreciate the concern. :)

I thought just plain "Mary" wasn't cool enough. An...

2008-02-05T00:43:00.000-05:00

I thought just plain "Mary" wasn't cool enough. And I thought "Merry" might be a good yin/yang contrast with "Crabby."

But I'm easy (not cheap, mind you); if anyone has a cool suggestion for a name, please let me know!

Crabby, I've been getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep lately. I have to go back to work now... at 9:30 pm ... (A mournful violin starts up in the background) because I have to have a chapter ready for an engineer to review in a couple of hours. He's in England, drat him, so he's starting work shortly. I realize that, being English, it's a logical place for him to live, but it's still annoying. Damn multinational corporations.

Chickengirl? I agree moving boxes is a terrific appetite suppressant, but not eating is a great way to lower your energy levels too. Be careful! (Nag, nag, nag...)

Like you, I think (especially for active people) i...

2008-02-04T23:53:00.000-05:00

Like you, I think (especially for active people) it would be difficult to limit myself to 1600 calories per day. I think that really depends on the person -- your weight and height, how many calories you're burning in the course of a day, etc.

I'm sure those things are great in the weight loss...

2008-02-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

I'm sure those things are great in the weight loss department, but what do you say to a woman (oh, like, say ME!) who has had several abdominal surgeries (c-section 18 years ago, kidney transplant 7 years ago) and seriously has no muscle tone there - can't even do a sit up no matter how many pilates classes I take. I don't see a flat stomach in my future ever again!

Hi all, thanks for all the great comments! (And t...

2008-02-04T19:35:00.000-05:00

Hi all, thanks for all the great comments! (And thanks, unknown neighbor, for turning the wireless back on and letting me steal it from you). Sorry to be a blog slacker today, I can't wait to get back home and check out what everyone's up to.

I think it's so interesting the way 1600 calories is generous for some folks and skimpy for others. There's sure no one-size-fits all diet out there. (When I was in total weight-loss mode I could lose on 1700; my sister gains if she goes over about 1300, which totally sucks).

Merry/Mary, sorry I missed you--and what the heck were you doing up at 4:17 Pacific Standard Time??? Sleep, girl!

Chicken Girl--love the CG diet, perhaps you should write a book and make a fortune!

And anon--those cookies sound incredibly healthy--if they're actually tasty too, I'll have to give 'em a try.

One Day at a Time--Thanks so much! And welcome to blogland. Watch out, it's addictive!

I couldn't do it simply because MUFA makes me gigg...

2008-02-04T19:11:00.000-05:00

I couldn't do it simply because MUFA makes me giggle.

Yes, I act like a 12 year-old.

Hmmm, sounds suspicious. I eat those things and le...

2008-02-04T17:56:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, sounds suspicious. I eat those things and less than 1600 a day and don't exercise much and I have some squish in the middle. No fair I want my money back!

I have hit a wall though so maybe I will conduct an experiment with some foods and see if my squish becomes smaller. I doubt I'll miraculously build muscle to eliminate the squish factor but maybe the amount will be less? I'll let ya know how it goes.

Hi Crabby!I'm a new blogger taking my first baby ...

2008-02-04T17:14:00.000-05:00

Hi Crabby!

I'm a new blogger taking my first baby steps into the internet world and I just wanted to tell you that you're one of the reasons I'm starting this blog to help me on my "journey" (*gasp I used the J word!*) to a fitter healthier self.

Well onto the post: I once lived for two months in a small village in the Dominican Republic during some community service work and the funny thing was that 10-15lbs just melted off my body even though I didn't do much to limit my eating. I had avocados like twice a day, fish for two meals a day, plantains in every form, bananas(sp?) and fruit that would grow right outside my house. It was great! And then I came to the US and gained the weight back. I really think that the flatter belly will only come when we get rid of high fructose corn syrup. When we consume too much fructose, it turns into triglycerides which turn to abdominal fat. But it's great that dark chocolate is on that list! I'm about to go and buy me some. ;)

MUFA is not a very appealing acronym, but here's t...

2008-02-04T16:52:00.000-05:00

MUFA is not a very appealing acronym, but here's to the low-fat, moderate-sugar dark-chocolate-chip/pecan/sweet potato muffin I'm eating with my tea with almond milk! Yay for MUFAs! This is a bigger afternoon snack than I usually have. I actually do eat about 1600 calories a day, as it turns out. But I didn't know till my dietitian had me track it. It's about what I naturally eat when I'm eating mostly healthy foods and satisfying myself but not stuffing myself. However, 1600 is certainly NOT for everyone, and that is a bizarre generalization.

If simple solution diets worked - we wouldn't need...

2008-02-04T16:43:00.000-05:00

If simple solution diets worked - we wouldn't need gyms and spas and weight loss would not be the billion dollar industry that it is.

Dara,That's a great point about spot reduction. A...

2008-02-04T15:34:00.000-05:00

Dara,

That's a great point about spot reduction. As a fitness instructor, I constantly have people coming up and asking me how to reduce their stomach, or thighs, or love handles, or butt, or one woman was even concerned because she felt like lifting was creating too much muscle in her arms. And they're never quite satisfied when I tell them that they can't just work that muscle to reduce it, they should do weight training, cardio, and eat a healthy diet.

Hmmm...I'm not a fan of diets in general, but I'm ...

2008-02-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

Hmmm...I'm not a fan of diets in general, but I'm particularly disturbed by those that claim they'll affect a certain body part, e.g. the flat-belly diet, the thin-thighs diet...you see my point, right? A healthy diet can help reduce the scary internal abdominal fat that threatens people's health, but to say that it'll make your belly flat seems un-Preventionish to me. As my trainer reminded me constantly last year, you can't spot reduce...if you could, we'd have been doing all glutes, quads and hamstrings!

Congratulations on the house...I love beadboard!

This suggestion is better than a lot of others whi...

2008-02-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

This suggestion is better than a lot of others which suggest processed crap (like 100 calorie packs or McDonalds salads, etc.) but yeah, Prevention can be pretty annoying.

I LOVE avocados. Maybe that is why I think these are good tips.

Congrats on your purchase!

Oooh, New England! How lovely. One of my favorite ...

2008-02-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

Oooh, New England! How lovely. One of my favorite places in the world, especially in the fall!

Will definitely look into the Prevention article some more. I fear however, that I may take the 'dark chocolate' suggestions a wee bit too far...

Thanks for the article!