Anyone who’s struggled to zip up her jeans knows about the belly fat you can see and feel, that’s called subcutaneous fat. For years, Prevention has heard from women across America that despite their best efforts, they can’t lose the jiggly belly fat that builds up around their middles, especially once they hit 40. Sixty-seven percent of them say it’s the body part they most want to change. Now brand-new research reveals that monounsaturated fatty acids (or MUFAs) make weight loss not only easier but target belly fat specifically. A miracle! This is the science behind Prevention’s breakthrough diet: The Flat Belly Diet! by Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief and Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Nutrition Director.

The Flat Belly Diet is available at www.flatbellydiet.com, a subscription-based website with an online support community with customized daily menus, shopping lists and more as well as in The Flat Belly Diet! book also available at the site. The February ’08 issue of Prevention, on newsstands January 2, also features a cover story that describes the journey of 10 diet testers and the basics of the plan.

There are two stages to the diet:
Step 1: 4-Day Anti-Bloat Jumpstart designed to eliminate belly bloat and get body & mind ready for successful follow through (one tester lost up to 7 pounds and 5 inches in 96 hours!)
Step 2: The Diet: (28 days following Jumpstart) – 4/400-calorie meals per day, followed by a motivational maintenance plan that helps avoid plateaus. (test panel of 10 -- lost 23 inches of belly fat in one month, not a single crunch required)

Cornerstones of the plan:
#1- A MUFA (monounsaturated fat) at every meal
#2- A Mind Trick at Every Meal a way of giving a meal importance, eg., arrange cut flowers in a vase and place it on the table where you eat, keep your skinny jeans on a hanger in full view.
#3- Never allow more than 4 hours without eating.

The truth is: Shrinking an expanding waistline is not only a matter of vanity: Excess belly fat can significantly increase your risk of heart disease, the #1 killer of women, as well as other dangerous medical conditions: breast cancer, dementia and elevated insulin levels which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Everyone who’s struggled to zip up jeans knows exactly what this diet is all about.