Flat Belly Diet

Last year my mother-in-law bought me a year subscription to the magazine "Prevention". It's a great little magazine with exercising tips and ideas for a healthy lifestyle. The magazine always promotes a book they wrote called "Flat Belly Diet". I have been wanting to get this book for awhile, but never remember to check it out at the library. Last weekend, while I was at Goodwill, I found the book there for $2.00! After reading through the diet plan in the book, I thought I would give it a shot to see if it actually works. (They claim you will loose about 10-15 pounds in 32 days....) The basic idea behind the plan is you must complete a 4 day anti-bloat diet, following their meal plan exactly, then for the next 4 weeks you need to follow these rules: #1- Stay around 1,600 calories a day, #2- Eat every 4 hours (Four- 400 calorie meals a day) and lastly #3- eat a MUFA at every meal.  What are MUFAs? "A MUFA (pronounced moo-fah) are monounsaturated fatty acids, plant based fats found in some of the world's most delicious foods- avacados, nuts and seeds, oils, olives and DARK CHOCOLATE! Studies show that these good-for-you fats enhance heart conditions and chronic diseases...and target belly fat."  I figured 32 days isn't too long to give something a shot, especiallly since I get to eat 4 times a day and the recipes look pretty good. (Wait, I get to eat carbs?!) The next day my husband asked me if I was going to try the diet out, I told him I was and he offered to do the diet with me. I was shocked, but excited. I ended up talking my parents into doing the diet with us too so we all start Monday. I'm sticking to mostly recipes they have in the book to ensure success, creating a meal plan each week, and going grocery shopping at Fresh and Natural Foods every Sunday to ensure we aren't tempted by unhealthy choices. I will weight and measure everyone at the beginning of the diet and then every week after that to see if there is any progress. It will be interesting to see if we all make it the 32 days without cheating! I'll post my meal plan and grocery list each week for anyone who wants to try it as well, but doesn't want to spend $20 on the book (or forgets to check it out at the library).