The Fat Flush Plan

If followed precisely or even closely, this book, and the diet plan it espouses, will prove to be for many people a "nutritional boot camp." As such, it's important to understand ahead of time that Gittleman's Fat Flush Plan (FFP) diet is best undertaken by the serious dieter who has the requisite discipline and dedication to stick with it, as it entails elimination of, and restrictions on, various of your favorite foods. You may even need to throw many things out of your cupboard or fridge before you even begin! The FFP diet appears to make a lot of sense from a nutritional standpoint: basically, it's all based on the not-too-extreme idea that by eliminating such things from your diet as dairy products, wheat (and other gluten-containing foods), sugars, preservatives, excess salts, soy, caffeine, alcohol, vinegar etc. you can "un-load" your liver, thus allowing it to do its job much more efficiently. Part of the liver's job is to process fat, and this it will do much better if it is a clean liver. But also, without all the extra sugars, salts, chemicals and food allergens, the liver will stop sending "self defense" signals to your body that make your body retain fluids, thus giving you that undesirable bloat. That's largely what this book is about: getting back your normal liver function so it will help you burn fats and stop retaining excess fluids. The overall Fat Flush Plan is both simple and complex: the "simple" part is the elimination of various things from your diet - e.g. wheat/gluten, dairy products, alcohol, sugary things, etc. Okay, so don't buy 'em, don't use 'em. How complicated is that?? But the diet gets more complicated when you have to factor in the daily eating ritual (meals and snacks require planning and timing, and are carefully outlined for each phase), not to mention the supplements that you are obligated to take in order to make the Plan work (flaxseed oil, pure whey powder, unsweetened diluted cranberry juice, the so-called Long Life Cocktail - which is nothing more than a fiber supplement such as psyllium powder or ground flaxseed meal blended with water and unsweetened cranberry juice), and several other supplements). Remember, this IS after all a detoxifying diet, and as mentioned, it will require your full dedication and discipline, and in addition will no doubt entail the cooperation and assistance of ones close to you - be it family, friends, or co-workers. Speaking of assistance, Ann Louise Gittleman and friends operate a very active and helpful Fat Flush Forum on the Internet, which is available for answering any and all questions about the Plan, as well as providing ongoing information and encouragement. If you do the Plan, I highly recommend joining the Forum. My own experience: I have been on the FFP diet, and though it is a bit harsh-going at first (just like the REAL boot camp I went through many years ago), I nevertheless found it doable, and ultimately rewarding. You may (as I did) find it necessary to

The mind can be a funny thing. After weighing myself today, I was actually upset that I weighed 168 pounds. I had apparently forgotten where I had come from. The heaviest I weighed in at was 229 pounds. I know that I weighed more than that, but stopped getting on the scale after I saw 229. I was so tired of seeing the numbers going up. I had been out of control, overwhelmed by my new role as mother to 2 little boys. It was the same vicious cycle for me as it is for everyone. I ate because I was sad, then was sad because I was large. Hindsight being 20/20, I did what a lot of people do. I put myself last, everyday slowly losing who I was. With my hindsight, I can also see that I was becoming desperate, not knowing how to find myself again. My sister-in-law told me about the Fat Flush, and I gave it a last ditch effort. I had tried so many times to lose the weight, and told myself "If it doesn't work this time, just give it up." The first time I tried the plan, I found that it removed my physical cravings after about 3 weeks. It was those darn habits and emotional cravings that did me in. Although I fell off a few times, I got back on everytime. Sometimes it took a couple of days, sometimes a couple of months. Each time I came back, it got easier. As I write this I am in Phase 2, and have been on track for a couple of months. I feel successful because I don't have those horrid habits coming at me anymore. The thought of eating my old regular, garlic bread, fettucini alfredo, ice cream for dessert, makes me cringe. After all these years, I am actually standing on the "other side". The side where people talk about healthy food being yummy while being genuine. The side where cheese on everything is truly not appealing. The side where I can think clearly, my mood swings are gone and I am not tired all the time. And to top it all off, even though I still have about 25 pounds to lose, I can boast that I have lost 61 or more pounds, 6 dress sizes(from 22 to 10), and 58 inches. My waist alone has gone from 45 inches to 32!!! I have lost 5 feet of fat!!! There will always be bad days along with the good days, but I am better equipped to handle things when I am eating according to the Fat Flush Plan. With the book as my guide, and the iVillage message board as my support, I know I can be good to myself, and set a great example for my boys. I am in a new never-ending cycle, and in this one, the more I eat well, the more I feel great. Life is pretty good now, and I am finally looking forward to my future. Grinning like an imp, Claire Lacroix

This is without a doubt the BEST book on diet that I have ever read! (And I've read a bunch of them.) I didn't follow every detail of the plan, and I didn't take every supplement recommended, but even by just following the basics of the program, I saw incredible results. It did wonderful things for my complexion, and for the first time in... well, maybe the first time ever... I didn't crave chocolate or starchy carbohydrates. I'm not overweight, but this book is more about improving your overall health, digestion, and the effectiveness of your body's functions. Weight loss is just a natural response to the positive changes you make in the fat flush plan. Whether you have weight to lose or not, I HIGHLY recommend this book.In response to the previous one-star rating... the wheat and dairy restrictions are only for the first two weeks. Wheat and dairy are incorporated back into the plan as it progresses. Personally, eliminating dairy was a great step for me, and even when the plan allowed for dairy again, I chose to leave it out. This is an awesome book with tons of great information!