The idea of the Flat Belly Diet is not so much to eliminate fat belly foods but to incorporate Flat Belly Foods.
They suggest that eating MUFAs in the right proportion to any of your food choices, you are helping your fat belly to flatten. For millions, it has worked; or at least that is how many have bought the books and tried. It works because the focus turns to incorporating good fats into your diet, which is what nutritionists have been saying for years without making all the money on the books.
According to the diet a general rule would be about 1 TBSP of oil, 2 TBSP of nuts or nut butters, 10 large olives, 1/4 cup of avocado or 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or cocoa powder would be a serving size to include in everything you eat. They do not give license to eat all the fat you want, which is a temptation when it comes to the dark chocolate and peanut butter.
This will give you good healthy fats all around. One of my favorite snacks if I get hungry at night to incorporate two of these yummy things; 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips in a cup and then dipping a spoonful of peanut butter in to and eating what sticks to the peanut butter until both are gone. Reeses has nothing on this snack. It gives the protein for a better night’s sleep and the good oils to work off all night.
Though not found in the list of must have fats, coconut oil and coconut milk with all of its fat in tow are two other excellent sources of fat for the diet. More about that in our – Coconut; not a fat belly food – article.
So because of our acronym, we will go in a different order than the Flat Belly Diet book. Let’s start with N; Nuts and seeds. Most of the nuts and seeds we eat have been processed away. They have been roasted, dried and covered in sodium (called on the package – salted). Here we are talking about real nuts and seeds; unadulterated. The best way to eat them is raw and use them soaked in shakes and home made nut butters. The highest nut/seed MUFA food is the macadamia. All of thesse nuts would include their nut butter counter parts as well but do not buy nut butters that have added oils or sugars. Included are soybeans, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, tahini (sesame seed paste like a nut butter in texture), pumpkin seeds (excellent for prostate care and fertility), walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, pistachios, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pecans and they would include pesto sauce into this mix because of the pine nuts so be sure to add the pinenuts if you are going to count it.
Now the next letter is easy. O; Olives. Olives are rich in iron, vitamin E, copper – necessary for the formation and protection of connective tissue, nerves and your thyroid and therefore helpful in this type of dieting – and fiber which is needed for carrying out toxins, “old hormones”, controlling blood sugar levels and to manage blood cholesterol; important to hormone production and balance.
Just as easy in our mnemonic is O; Oils. Is it me or is this kind of a “duh”? We have to have oils if we are talking about good fats right? Yes but not all oils are created equal. For years we have been inundated with commercials of how much better for you margarine is. Heck in most diners if I ask for some butter they give me margarine as though it IS butter rather than touted to taste like it. Basically, we do not want to even go near trans fats and you will lose weight just from that rule if you love your cheese crackers, tortilla chips and other such snacks. Stay away from anything that has hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils on the label. Your heart will love you better in the end.
Good oils are so important. You have more choices than you know. Extra Virgin Olive oil of course, which is anti-bacterial and fights the H-pylori bacteria which has been linked to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Oils rich in alpha-linolenic acids, like flaxseed and walnut oil are converted to omega 3 fatty acids. EVOO is also rich in polyphenols which help prevent heart disease, some cancers as well as reduce inflammation in the body. If that doesn’t mean enough to you, let me put it this way. Inflammation has been linked to cancer and of course every disease or symptom that ends with “itis” like arthritis, bursitis etc. Safflower oil is rich in CLA – conjugated linolenic acids and are very helpful to losing visceral fat.
See our page – Visceral fat and fat belly foods.
Next is the letter D; Dark chocolate – If the word chocolate sends chills down your spine then wait just a minute. I personally love dark chocolate for some it takes a little getting used to. Chocolate that is surrounded by creamy milk and liver stopping sugar is not the same as dark chocolate. True Dark Chocolate is not a fat belly foods; but is truly a flat belly food.
Dark chocolate is full of flavanoids and proanthocyanins; good for HDL the good cholesterol. It helps to maintain proper insulin levels and relaxes blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure and is high in copper, magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium. It is called the food of the Gods and has a very high ORAC score for antioxidant properties. Semi sweet is allowed but for maximum benefits go for 70% or higher.
Last, but not least, though I personally do not savor; A is for Avocados. Avocados are too nutritional not to include. As a matter of fact if you don’t care for the taste or texture you can use them to thicken smoothies or in spreads. They have high amounts of lutein, great for the eyes, beta-sisterol a natural plant sterol touted for lowering cholesterol. You can add them to other foods and they actually bring out the food value of carotenoids, antioxidants which have been linked to lowering the risk of heart disease and macular degeneration – a leading cause of blindness. They don’t stop there. Avocados are rich in fiber, vitamin K (for blood clotting ) potassium (which regulates blood pressure and folate which protects the heart and is important to fertility and pregnancy.
Wow, looks like NOOD is not as good as NOODA when it comes to MUFAs.
Back to Flat Belly Foods List pg 1
