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Fat Flush Diet
The Fat Flush Plan can be found in a book by Ann Louise Gittleman. Ann has previously written a number of books and articles about nutrition and detox diets.
Fat Flush – Detox and Weight Loss
The Fat Flush Plan is both a detox diet and a weight loss diet. The idea is to provide all the necessary ingredients to boost metabolism, reduce water retention, and promote fat loss.
The program has 3 phases:
Phase 1 – 2 weeks
This is a restrictive phase of between 1100-1200 calories per day. The intention here is to “lose bloat” – which refers to reducing water retention as well as some fat loss. In this phase you are not allowed to eat; margarine, alcohol, sugar, oils or fats (except flaxseed oil), grains, bread, cereal, starchy vegetables, dairy products. Even the herbs and spices are restricted to a small list.
Phase 2 – Ongoing
Here the calorie allowance is lifted – to 1200-1500 calories. The idea is to continue on with the program until the desired weight loss is achieved.
Phase 3 – The maintenance phase
Essentially a weight maintenance phase, with a caloric intake of 1500 calories or over. Some starchy carbs are gradually re-introduced, along with @gluten-free grains@, and some dairy.
Exercise
The program contains a significant exercise component. This can be anything from 20 to 40 minutes of exercise per day, depending on the phase. This is typically low-impact (walking). Strength training (lifting weights) is also on the list (twice a week). A sleep prescription of exactly 8 hours per night is also required.
Sample Meal Plan – Fat Flush Phase 1
| Upon Waking “Long Life” cocktail [psyllium husks in cran-water - see below] |
| Before Breakfast 8 oz hot water with lemon juice |
| Breakfast Vegetable scramble – 2 scrambled eggs, with spinach, green peppers, scallions, and parsley. 8 oz glass of cran-water [diluted unsweetened cranberry juice] |
| Snack 1/2 Large grapefruit |
| 20 minutes before lunch 8 oz glass of cran water |
| Lunch 4 ounces of salmon with lemon and garlic, warm asparagus, mixed-green salad with broccoli florets and cucumber, 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil, and one 8 oz glass of cran-water |
| Mid afternoon snack 2 8 oz glass cran-water |
| 4pm Snack 1 apple |
| 20 minutes before dinner 8 oz glass of cran water |
| Dinner 4 ounces of grilled lamb chop with pinch of cinnamon and dried mustard, sautéed kale in broth, baked summer squash with a touch of cloves, and 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil |
| Mid evening “Long life” cocktail |
Look for other recipes that could be used with the Fat Flush Diet here.
Program Costs
The Fat Flush Plan retails for $24.95.
Click Here to purchase the book at a discounted price.
Your grocery bill may also raise due to special foods needed such as gluten-free items.
Fat Flush Pros and Cons
The Up side
The Fat Flush program has all the elements of a good and healthy weight loss program. It isn’t hard to find success stories regarding this program (however the true test is always the test of time – is the fat loss sustained or temporary?).
Remember this diet is a detox or cleansing diet, thus the very restrictive phase one. Unless healthy eating patterns are applied to your lifestyle, any benefits gained will soon be lost.
The Down side
One criticism is that the calorie level in Phase 1 may be too low for some people (particularly men), and the lower calorie levels could have the affect of slowing down metabolism rather than speeding it up.
There is a significant exercise portion (which is a good thing) and fortunately the longer exercise is added during phase 3. However there is little chance the calorie levels of phase 1 (or 2) will support a strong exercise regimen.
This diet is like many other diet books – the one size fits all approach will never suit everyone. Eight hours a sleep a night may be excellent for some, but with 40 minutes brisk walking a day, plus 2 weights sessions per week, this sleep is simply not enough for some people.
Recommendations
This diet is a book and like all those hundreds of diet books sitting on the shelves, you need to be a fairly motivated and focused person. This is why many of the on-line diet programs have been successful – they offer community, personalized support, lots of on-line tools and menu generators etc, AND can personalize your diet for YOU.
How many times have you tried the “latest new diet”? Only to find yourself back where you started 6 months later. It’s good to have a buddy system.
NOTE: Many medical professionals question the validity of most detox diets as there is little empirical evidence to suggest that any detoxification occurs.
See Also
Fat Flush for Life which is Ann Louise Gittleman’s latest book.
I did this years ago before she actually wrote the book and I actually don’t recall any soup recipe. I just follow the meal plan and drink the cran water and take the supplements and I lost weight. I used this more as a guide of what to eat and how to structure my meals rather than following recipes. I even did this in combination with the South Beach diet and it worked well. What I like is fat flush encourages you to eat good oils and drink frequently which I hate.
As for exercise, 40 mins a day is only two 20 min periods. That is not a lot. I teach bellydance and at times teach 3 hours in a day. Walking 20-30 mins really is just enough to get your heart rate going to where you can burn fat. The goal is to work up to an hour a day even if its in 10-20 min increments.
You will feel better trust me. Bellydance is low impact and very image friendly which is why I love it, because it embraces all ages, all bodies and makes women feel beautiful while getting in shape.
Whys everyone complaining about the soup recipe. It cost me $58 to purchase 3 cans of beans, 5# of chicken, 2 zucchini, 4 squash, 3 cans crushed tomato, 3 cans veg cocktail, onion, eggplant, 2 green peppers, a pack of 4 colored peppers, and I got a few things for home that weren’t for the soup. I don’t think its expensive since I made 3 batches & its 2 meals a day. I had the cumin, cayenne pepper & garlic at home. O think $58 fir 3 batches of soup that will be my lunch & dinner for a few days is well worth it.
This diet works; family members and I have lost weight on it with great results and many added health benefits but as with any diet, you need to learn to maintain so you can keep it off and so I am going to start Phase 1 again soon.
As for the anger over the soup — your anger seems extremely severe for something as small as the amount of a soup recipe. Will it make you feel better if we admit that it only makes 8 cups? Spend a few extra dollars and make a double-batch for yourself, and blame the magazine editors for not printing the right numbers instead of Ms. Gittleman, who really seems to have found the answers for me, at least.
Stress and anger give you high cortisol levels which are proven to make your belly fat harder and harder to lose. So mellow out, do some deep-breathing exercises, and forget about Julianne Hough or any other pop singer today. (They are ALL fake and none of their recordings or shows use their real voices, that’s just the way of the world nowadays.)
Let’s get back to diet talk!
To you that are so upset about the cost of the soup and the amount, it is easy, just add 2-3 cups of water. Let it simmer on low longer and the water will absorb in the soup. The flavor will be great. We love the soup.
I have stored many beans, and it is nothing to cook the dry beans then make the rest of the soup. I have also used much of the meat in the freezer that is a little past prime.
I agree, 1 have done the fat flush soup diet twice – 3 days each time and it definitely does not yield the amount of soup it states. I had to skimp on a few servings (By eating 2 cups per meal instead of 3)to make it last the entire 3 days. It’s a really tasty soup – and you don’t feel too deprived b/c of the meat and beans. By the end of the 3rd day though, I’ve had enough. So for me -this is only good for 3 days.
The good part is: I lost 5 pounds both times that I did the diet for 3 days. The even better part is: the weight did NOT come back when I started eating again. Granted, I watched what I ate & did cheat a bit here and there (Possibly once a week)and didn’t gain anything back. I am also walking 30 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week. So, my plan is to do this diet for 3 days – twice a month for 10 lbs a month and spend the rest of the month eating right and maintaining what I lost.
Why do I feel like EVERYONE on this planet (even the woman who designed this Fat Flush soup recipe) HAS TO LIE! This Fat Flush soup recipe DOES NOT make even close to 16 cups. I followed the recipe EXACTLY (2x I might add), & BOTH TIMES, it ONLY yielded BARELY 8 cups! (I have noticed that other people have found this to be TRUE, as well, yet NOBODY out there is ANGRY about it?) Why does this Ann Louise person EVEN GET AWAY WITH SUCH A BLATANT LIE that’s all over the Internet, not to mention FEATURED IN A WIDELY CIRCULATED MAGAZINE LIKE WOMAN’S WORLD? Not that the following FACT has ANYTHING AT ALL to do with soup, but my “beef” is with the RIDICULOUS LIE-not with the soup that was actually quite TASTY: Julianne Hough ADMITTEDLY did not either WRITE or CO-WRITE a single song on her debut album, yet a few of her fans believed otherwise, nobody corrected those 100% MISTAKEN fans, & that LIE spread like wildfire (across the Internet) just like this Fat Flush Soup recipe is listed on NUMEROUS websites as a recipe that yields a whopping 16 cups of soup. For a POOR person such as myself, there is a tremendous difference between ALL those ingredients providing me with approximately 5 meals VS. ALL those ingredients (& LEAN MEAT is not cheap-neither is vegetable juice) ONLY providing me with approximately 3 meals!
I believe the yeild is overstated, I have made 2 batches and it is only coming up with between 8-9 cups. The soup is great and I lost almost 4 pounds in 3 days, so will keep it up for the first week.
My comment is more a question than anything else. I have not yet received the book, but have heard many good things and was recommended this diet from my aunt who had tremendous results. I used the sample meal plan to start the diet today and I will be getting the book in the mail in one day.
My question is: I am going on vacation this weekend for 4 days and staying in hotels where I cannot cook. Are there meals in the book that can help me out with this? Maybe I can run to an organic food store where I am staying and try to find as much as I can that I don’t have to cook?
Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you!