Belly fat can be easy to gain and hard to lose. Besides affecting your appearance and your waistline, these fat deposits deep within your body can affect your health. The flat belly diet promises to trim your waistline without the need for rigorous workouts.

How does the flat belly diet help you shed belly fat?
Several weight-loss targeted diets are highly restrictive of the foods you eat, requiring you to eliminate many foods, and also integrating intense exercise sessions to get the desired effect.

The flat belly diet promises to help you shed around 15 pounds in just a month (32 days), giving you a flat belly and a trim waistline. It does not demand strict and rigorous workout routines. The plan focuses on modifying the type of fats you eat to make you lose weight.

Why is it important to lose belly fat?
Belly fat is visceral, and this can affect the way your body works, and can eventually lead to diseases like diabetes and heart disease. It is vital to shed the extra pounds you have acquired around your waistline.

The flat belly diet involves two phases. The first is a highly restrictive four-day phase which aims to reduce bloating. Then begins a 28-day period of eliminating foods that have saturated fats and focusing on eating foods with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA).

The first four days
The first four-day period is highly restrictive. Your calorie intake per day is kept to just 1,200 calories, and you have to eliminate all salt, processed foods, and foods that can cause bloating. What you should avoid during this duration:

• Salt
• Processed foods
• Gas-inducing foods like cabbage and broccoli
• Sugar substitutes
• Carbs from foods like bagels, bananas, and pasta
• Spicy foods
• Fried foods
• Raw foods like raw veggies
• Soda and carbonated drinks
• Gum

These four days help get rid of bloating and make you shed gas and water weight. These quick results also help you get motivated to stick to the diet for the remaining 28 days. After this jump start period, the diet becomes less restrictive, though some foods will continue to be eliminated from your meals.

The main 28-days period
The flat belly diet is based on the theory that MUFAs help in destroying visceral fat. Hence you are advised to cut back on carbs, salts, and saturated fats and focus on MUFA foods like avocados, olive oil, fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, and fish. You should avoid meats and other sources of saturated fats.

This diet is based on the Mediterranean diet which prescribes similar foods. In this diet, you are also required to eat every four hours, 400 calories in each meal, not exceeding 1,600 calories per day. Alternative foods for vegetarians and vegans are also included. There are no mandatory workouts with this diet, though a weight loss exercise routine is suggested.

The flat belly diet, with its elimination of saturated fats and its calorie restrictions, is helpful for women who are overweight, helping them to lose weight within the 32-day period.