The Flat Belly Diet. Heard of it? If not, you will.

Get used to the word "mufas." It's an acronym, actually --used (over and over and over) by the editors of Prevention magazine to mean "monounsaturated fatty acids." Pronounced MOO-fahs, the word is an integral part of their new Flat Belly Diet.

And if you haven't yet heard of the Flat Belly Diet, brace yourself. You definitely will. The editors, Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass, have launched not just a diet, but a book, a cookbook, a website, an online program and more. And they're getting the word out. They made a repeat appearance today on the Rachael Ray Show, have appeared on Good Morning America and are popping up here, there and seemingly everywhere.

Their mantra is mufas (or, more appropriately, MUFAs). These delightful substances are the healthy fats found in almonds, peanut butter, olive oil and avocados among other things, and they're fairly satiating. The eating plan (based on the good ol' Mediterranean diet) says you should have some with every meal. That's one of its three rules. 

The other two rules: Stick to 400 calories per meal. And never go more than four hours without eating. Snacks, carefully controlled, are fine -- as long as you don't eat more than 1,600 calories a day. ("Aha," you think.)

The book on which the diet is based, or vice versa, promises that "A flat belly is about food and attitude. Period. (Not a single crunch required.)" It adds that you can lose up to 15 pounds in 32 days.

So if you're obsessed with the weight around your middle, as women of a particular age group (usually those over 40, as carefully detailed in the book) tend to be, check out the website FlatBellyDiet.com, which offers more information, sample meal plans, a way to buy the cornerstone book (not available from Amazon until late October) and, of course, the online membership program.

Here's a take on the diet from Cranky Fitness, which has one of the better blog subtitles: "Your guide to health, fitness, nutrition, personal development, and whining." The writer says: "In general, I hate 'simple solution' diets. They almost always turn out to be only partly right. Nutrition and weight loss are rarely simple. But heck, if you're not getting many MUFA's now and have some bellyfat you'd like to evict, it could be worth a try."

Even better, here's a good WebMD review of the diet. The upshot: The eating plan can work, but largely because the diet itself is sound, not because MUFAs are magic.

-- Tami Dennis

Comments

[Karen Sophinos]

I sent away for the Flat Belly Diet when I saw the tear out postcard in the back of the magazine. I am 5 feet tall and at age 50 my total cholesterol had reached 286 ! My doctor wanted me to get my # down so I started back at a gym and walked briskly about 6-9 miles per week, I also went on a high fiber, low sugar diet and dropped my weight from 132 to 122 pounds. In 3 months my total cholesterol dropped (45) points! My doctor was so excited she gave me another 3 months on the same regimen, which I did, and after another 3 months I thought for sure I would have lowered my cholesterol by at least 10%, I had also lost an additional 4 pounds. My reading came in at 240, I had only lowered my total cholesterol by (1) point! My doctor said that I had done everything I could and that it was genetic and it was time to go on Lipitor. My triglycerides are 173, my LDLs are near 200, the only good thing I have going is my HDL is at 59. When I started reading about the MUFA's I thought, this is it! This is my last chance to find a way to lower my LDL, which in turn will lower my total cholesterol while keeping my HDL at its optimum level. I just fininshed the anti-bloat jumpstart program and I've lost 4 pounds as well as 2 inches on my belly! I am so excited to try the flat belly diet for the next 28 days, along with exercise. I'm going to commit to the 'mufa at every meal' for 3 months, have my cholesterol checked and if I'm not within the healthy range, I may have no alternative but to take the prescription drug Lipitor (although I'm very adverse to taking any of the statens).