Description
Book SynopsisThe fast and easy way to lose belly fat Lowering body weight can reverse or prevent diabetes; lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels; and improve sleep apnea and other sleep problems.
Trade ReviewA no-nonsense, easy to understand guide to muffin-top busting. (Woman, December 2012)
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You’re Not to Read 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 3
Part I: The 4-1-1 on Belly Fat and the Skinny on the Diet 4
Part II: Working Your Way to a Flatter Belly 4
Part III: Cooking Up Some Healthy and Tasty Recipes 4
Part IV: Overcoming Obstacles and Managing Your Progress 5
Part V: The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: The 4-1-1 on Belly Fat and the Skinny on the Diet 7
Chapter 1: Taking Control of Your Waistline and Your Health 9
Exploring the Dangers of Belly Fat 9
Analyzing Your Weight and Waistline 10
Getting Started on the Path to a Flat Belly 11
Choosing a plan 12
Getting some exercise 12
Preparing Meals to Flatten Your Belly 13
Fighting Through Challenges to Achieve and Maintain a Flat Belly 14
Maintaining your losses long term 14
Chapter 2: The Truth about Belly Fat 15
Judging the Jiggle: What Is Belly Fat? 15
Distinguishing belly fat from the other types of fat 16
What belly fat does to your body 17
The Causes of Belly Fat Accumulation 18
Physiological causes 18
Lifestyle factors 20
The Dangers of Belly Fat 23
Insulin resistance 23
Metabolic syndrome 23
Cardiovascular disease 24
Increased cancer risk 24
Chapter 3: Step Away from the Scale: Examining Your Health and Body Type 25
Determining Your Body’s Health Numbers 26
Assessing your BMI 26
Measuring your waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio 28
Checking your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels 30
Pulling the info together: Determining your risk for health complications 33
Identifying Your Body Type 33
Apple versus pear type 34
Slim type 35
After-pregnancy type 35
Post-menopause type 36
The male type 36
Chapter 4: How the Belly Fat Diet Can Work for You 39
First Things First: Getting an Overview of the Belly Fat Diet 40
Treating the plan as a lifestyle, not another diet 40
Fighting belly fat by eating the right foods 41
Knowing that slip-ups are part of the process 43
Why the Belly Fat Diet Works 44
How it reduces insulin response 44
How it regulates blood sugar 44
How it decreases stress hormones 45
The Principles of the Belly Fat Diet 45
Eat more to lose more 46
Properly time your meals 46
Eat fat to fight fat 47
Go whole grain 48
Limit your salt intake 49
The Health Benefits of a Flatter Belly 50
Reversing metabolic syndrome 51
Maintaining a healthy heart 51
The Link Between Inflammation and Belly Fat 52
What is inflammation? 52
The causes of inflammation 53
Foods that fight inflammation 54
Part II: Working Your Way to a Flatter Belly 57
Chapter 5: Preparing Yourself for the Belly Fat Diet 59
Understanding the Belly Fat Diet Lifestyle 60
Deciding on a plan that fits your personality 60
Committing yourself to change 61
Transitioning to whole foods 63
Getting adequate sleep 64
Managing Stress for a Flatter Belly 64
Identifying common stressors 65
Recognizing when stress is too high 66
Bringing your stress level down 67
Reducing stress with food 70
Reach for vitamin C if you’re stressed 71
Adding Belly-Slimming Foods to Your Diet 71
The best fats for your belly 72
Drinking your way to a flatter belly 73
Eating foods with a low glycemic index 73
Chapter 6: The Key Nutritional Components for a Flat Belly 77
Diet Basics that Lead to a Flatter Belly 77
The Power of Protein 78
Protein: The hunger fighter 79
Protein: The metabolism booster 80
Eating Fat to Reduce Belly Fat 80
Carbohydrates: Belly Shrinkers and Belly Bloaters 82
Identifying whole grains 83
Avoiding refined carbohydrates 83
Comparing the impact of whole grains and refined carbohydrates on belly fat 84
Reviewing the whole grain and hunger connection 85
Fruit: It’s Essential, but Watch the Sugar 86
The best fruits for your belly 86
The fruits to limit 88
Vegetables: You Gotta Have ’Em 89
Getting your antioxidants 90
Filling your plate with color 91
Starchy vegetables: Good for you in limited quantities 93
Dairy Done Right 93
CLA and belly fat 94
Choosing the right milk and yogurt 95
Portion Distortion: When Enough Just Isn’t Enough Anymore 96
Realizing true portion sizes 97
Trimming your portions to trim your waistline 106
Revving Up Your Metabolism 106
Noshing on foods that fire up your metabolism 107
Eating your way to a better metabolism 108
Chapter 7: Jumping into Your Meal Plan 111
Gathering What You Need 111
Planning your meals ahead of time 112
Keeping the correct supplies on hand 112
Maintaining a food journal 113
Choosing the Most Appropriate Plan for You 115
The Turbo-Charged plan for quick results 116
The Moderation plan for steady changes 118
The Gradual-Change plan for leisurely results 119
Setting Your Expectations 121
What you can expect from Level 1 122
What you can expect from Level 2 and beyond 123
Getting an Overview of the Meal Plans 124
Chapter 8: Meal Plans 127
The Turbocharged Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 128
The Turbocharged Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 130
Turbocharged Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 132
Turbocharged Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 134
Moderation Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 136
Moderation Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 138
Moderation Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 140
Moderation Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 142
Gradual-Change Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 144
Gradual-Change Plan, Level 1: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 146
Gradual-Change Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Men 148
Gradual-Change Plan, Level 2: Sample Week Meal Plan for Women 150
Chapter 9: Easing Yourself into Exercise 153
Why Exercising Is Vital 153
Flattens your abs 154
Improves overall health 154
Boosts your metabolism 154
Preparing For Your Workout Routine 155
Checking in with your doctor 155
Penciling yourself in 156
Choosing the right gear 157
Motivating yourself to exercise 158
Deciding on the type of exercise that’s appropriate for you 159
Determining your target heart rate 160
Knowing your limits 161
Walking Away Your Belly Fat 162
Chapter 10: Belly-Blasting Workout Routines 163
Mastering Some Abdominal Exercises 163
Basic exercises to get you started 164
Super belly blasters 173
Belly-Blasting Workouts Phase 1: The First Two Weeks 183
Belly-Blasting Workouts Phase 2: Increasing Intensity to Increase Results 186
Fueling Your Body for Workouts 189
Pre-workout snacking basics 190
Post-workout snacking basics 191
Hydration basics 192
Making Exercise a Priority 193
Part III: Cooking Up Some Healthy and Tasty Recipes 195
Chapter 11: Planning and Stocking a Flat-Belly-Friendly Kitchen 197
Decoding the Food Label and Ingredient List 198
Reading the Nutrition Facts panel 198
Avoiding unhealthy foods in the ingredient list 200
Evaluating Your Kitchen and Chucking the Junk 202
Determining which foods to donate or give away 202
Deciding what foods to toss 204
Shopping for Belly-Friendly Foods 205
Making your list by food group 205
The best belly-fighting foods for your pantry 209
Navigating the store 210
Chapter 12: Waking Up to Healthy Breakfast Options 211
Revving Your Engine with a Tasty and Nutritious Breakfast 211
“But I’m not hungry in the morning ” 212
Why breakfast affects your choices throughout the day 213
Chapter 13: Whipping Up Lunches That Fight Belly Fat 225
Preparing Belly-Shrinking Lunches 226
Chapter 14: Deliciously Slimming Dinners 239
Controlling Yourself at Dinnertime 239
Chapter 15: Desserts and Snacks 257
Desserts and Snacks: They Aren’t Evil! 257
Part IV: Overcoming Obstacles and Managing Your Progress 267
Chapter 16: Common Pitfalls and Challenges 269
Managing Your Appetite and Controlling Cravings 270
Feeding your emotions 270
Eating foods that increase cravings 272
Becoming too hungry or dehydrated 273
Giving Eating the Attention It Deserves 274
Recognizing mindless eating 275
Eating mindfully every day 275
Variety, the Spice of Life: Keeping Your Food Interesting 277
Recognizing meal plan boredom 277
Breaking food boredom to stay motivated 278
Balancing a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet 279
Getting your minerals 279
Taking in vitamin B 12 280
Consuming protein 280
Chapter 17: Dining Out and Special Occasions 283
Basic Strategies for Eating Out 283
Avoiding going out hungry 284
Choosing your food wisely 284
Watching portion sizes: Heading out without pigging out 285
Drinking alcohol responsibly 287
Choosing Belly-Flattening Best Bets at a Restaurant 288
Family restaurants and diners 289
Fast-food restaurants 290
Asian restaurants 292
Italian restaurants 294
Mexican restaurants 295
Middle Eastern/Greek restaurants 297
Special Occasions: Social Eating 299
Chapter 18: Belly Fat Maintenance Plan 301
Why You Need a Maintenance Plan 301
What is a maintenance plan? 302
Deciding when to start 302
Setting a Realistic Belly Fat Goal 303
Ideal weight goals 303
Ideal waist measurement goals 305
Ideal health goals 305
Breaking Plateaus 306
Adjusting your diet habits 307
Switching up your workouts 308
You Reached Your Goal! Now What? 309
Maintaining your weight 309
Keeping your results with the 80/20 rule 311
Staying motivated with your workouts 312
Part V: The Part of Tens 315
Chapter 19: Ten Belly-Bloating Foods 317
Bagels 317
Cabbage 317
Carbonated Water 318
Cola (Including Diet Cola) 318
Fried Foods 319
Ice Cream 319
Sausage 319
Sugar Alcohols 320
Sugar-Free Gum 320
White Rice 320
Chapter 20: Ten Nutrients That Shrink Your Belly 321
Calcium Pyruvate 321
Caraway Seeds 322
Cinnamon 322
Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) 322
Fucoxanthin 322
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 323
Quercetin 323
Resveratrol 324
Vitamin C 324
Water 324
Index 325
