The Flat Belly Diet

As a life and wellness coach, I get all sorts of requests from people who want to lose weight about which diet works the best.  My answer is always, "The best diet is the one that works for you."  Different diets suit different personality types and different ways of learning. 

In her book, The Four Day Win, Martha Beck says that people have different needs for determining a diet/fitness program to follow, namely structure and information.  In Chapter 11 entitled "Eat Whatever the Hell You Want," she has a little quiz to find out which type you are (Apprentice, VIP, Scholar, or Explorer) and then gives some examples of diets that fit your type.  I happen to be an Explorer, low need for information or structure.  I recommend checking this out and finding out what type you most closely fit.

Anyway, I am reading Martha's book, but right now I feel I need a little extra boost to lose a few pounds, especially around my middle.  So I have turned to The Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass and endorsed by Prevention magazine.  I have read about this diet many times in Prevention and it always appealed to me, because it allows natural peanut butter and other MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids-the-good for-you-fats, such as nuts, seeds, oils, avocados, olives and dark chocolate.)  But I never tried it.  But now seemed like a good time - it basically is a 1600 calorie Mediterranean diet, not hard to follow and since I started a few days ago, I haven't been hungry.  You can read about it here http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/flat-belly-diet.  I bought the book and the handy pocket guide.

The Four Day Win - End Your Diet War and Achieve Thinner Peace

I am going to the beach with family at the end of the month and plan to wear my bathing suit a lot.  I love to swim and relax at the beach.  However, right now I could stand to lose a few lbs. and need some inspiration, not another diet, before I bare my bod on the gulf coast beaches.  I already have a pretty restrictive diet due to food sensitivities, so I don't need someone else giving me food rules. 

My problem is mostly in the evenings.  I generally want something sweet.  If we have it in the house, I like to eat a bit of So Delicious Coconut Milk dessert.  Sometimes I want a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie (made with applesauce instead of egg).  Most of the time I have some dried apricots, but they aren't exactly low in calories!  And it never really satisfies....