How to Follow the Flat Belly Diet

The Flat Belly Diet is an extremely popular diet plan based on calorie counting and the strategic addition of monounsaturated fats to meals. Devised by experts at Prevention, the Flat Belly Diet was inspired by findings that the consumption of monounsaturated fats, commonly called MUFAs, causes the liver to more efficiently excrete fats, LDL cholesterol and other toxins from the body so that they do not form fat clusters around the mid section, which is what happens when there is no MUFA present at meal time. Read on to learn the sources of these "good fats" and how to put them to work to reduce the fat around your belly.

Drink 2 liters of "sassy water" per day for 4 days. This is the jump start phase of the Flat Belly Diet. To make "sassy water," add 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger, 1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced, 1 medium sliced lemon and 12 small spearmint leaves to 2 liters of water. Serve cold. While enjoying the "sassy water" and eliminating excess water from your body, familiarize yourself with the monounsaturated fatty acid sources and plan some menus.

Identify the monounsaturated fat (MUFA) sources. They are avocados, olives, dark or semi sweet chocolate and specific kinds of nuts (almonds, almond butter, Brazil nuts, cashew butter, chunky natural peanut butter, dry roasted cashews, dry roasted peanuts, dry roasted sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, smooth natural peanut butter, sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, tahini and walnuts) and oils (sesame oil, peanut oil, canola oil, olive oil, walnut oil, pesto sauce, safflower oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil and flaxseed oil).

Know the proper serving size for each MUFA. Avocado = 1/4 cupOlives = 10Chocolate = 1/4 cupNuts = 2 tbsp.Oil = 1 tbsp.

Learn how to use each MUFA. Avocados can be sliced and easily added to salads and sandwiches, or smashed with lime and served with chips. Olives can be eaten right out of the jar for an easy MUFA fix. Chocolate may be enjoyed in chips, chunks or shavings. Toss some chips in your oatmeal or put some shavings over your fruit. Nuts can be tossed in salads, baked in bread or snacked on out of the bag. Oils are used in cooking, stir frying and pesto sauce. If you make fruit or protein shakes, add olive oil to it for a simple addition.

Eat 4 meals per day of 400 calories each and add a serving of your choice of MUFA to each meal.