Most folks are looking for a quick fix or an easy cure for just about everything, including weight loss. In particular, belly fat seems to be an especially annoying type of weight for most people. There seems to be a new diet plan or weight loss method popping up on TV or the Internet on a daily basis.
The latest is a new weight loss plan that claims to get rid of four to nine pounds of unsightly belly fat without calorie counting or exercise of any sort. According to WebMD.com, celebrity fitness trainer Jorge Cruise is making that very claim in his new book, The Belly Fat Cure.
Weight Loss on the Belly Fat Cure
The basic weight loss plan calls for eating proteins, fats, and vegetables with small amounts of complex carbohydrates and sugars. Cruise's book is comprised mostly of full color pictures of the top 100 "belly bad" meals which are foods found mostly in fast food chains and restaurants, which are "made over" into more healthful recipes.
Processed foods and artificial sweeteners are taboo while beer, wine, champagne, and dark chocolate are allowed. There are basically five different eating plans outlined in the book. Drinking eight to 10 glasses of water each day is also recommended. Blackberries and blueberries are the only fruits allowed on this diet.
Doctors Don't Like This Weight Loss Plan
Elisa Zied, MS, RD, and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and author of Nutrition At Your Fingertips does not embrace the so-called science behind this latest diet method for losing belly fat. Zied says this diet "is just another gimmick, not the cure." She also says that "the author's interpretation of the research is inaccurate."
Most of the nutritional and weight loss methods outlined in The Belly Fat Cure are not supported by most weight loss research available today, including the U.S. government's own 2005 Dietary Guidelines. Yale University's David Katz, MD, MPH, says that insulin's role in the body is not quite as simple as Cruise makes it in his book. Readers need to consider this when reading the book.
Weight Loss That May be Too Good to be True
Usually, when a diet plan or weight loss method makes these sort of claims, quite often they are just that. Most people who need to lose weight should focus on the types of food consumed and the amount of food consumed. Healthy diets will focus less on gimmicks and shaky science and more on things like eating more whole foods and less processed foods.
The amount of weight loss promised on these outrageous diets may be attained by a few people, but these results are not typical and are definitely not sustainable over the long-term. Losing 10 or 20 pounds in a week is just not going to be a realistic weight loss goal for most people.
Any weight loss plan that allows unlimited foods like bacon, steaks, burgers, and sausage while eliminating healthy fruits, dairy, and whole foods without exercising should cause any sensible person to stop and think before adopting some of these questionable weight loss methods, especially when that method or book makes outrageous or unrealistic claims.
Sources:
• WebMD.com; The Belly Fat Cure (accessed May 1, 2010)
• MayoClinic.com; Belly Fat in Women: How to Keep it Off (accessed May 1, 2010)
Mark Oehlert - Mark has 50 years life experience (wisdom comes with age, right?) and over 28 years experience writing copy for ads, articles, marketing ...
Join the Conversation