When you ask someone what the biggest problem area is on their body when it comes to weight, there’s a good chance that the answer is going to be their midsection. For some of us, it seems that no matter how much you diet and exercise, there is always at least a little bit of belly fat while the rest of your body might be tight and toned. A lot of it comes with age, or drinking or other lifestyle choices, while others simply store extra fat in their midsection.
After gaining weight in your midsection, it can feel impossible to get rid of. Even if you are doing sit-up after sit-up, it will only make the muscles in your abdomen bigger, but not necessarily eliminate the fat. To combat the love handles and bulging belly, famous doctor Travis Stork (from the talk show “The Doctors”) has created the new Lose Your Belly Diet.
While many of the diets that we have reviewed have been around for years, if not centuries, the Lose Your Belly Diet has only been around for a couple of months. With many people listening to Stork for health advice, does the Lose Your Belly Diet hit the mark? Let’s look more in depth to the diet and see if it might be the plan that finally eliminates the muffin top over your beltline.
Behind the Lose Your Belly Diet
You might remember Dr. Travis Stork from his time as a reality television star on “The Bachelor” for the eighth season. After appearing on the show, Stork worked once again as a physician before landing another television gig, this time as a host of “The Doctors”. Since then, Stork has been offering up health advice on all fronts, including weight loss.
Stork had already released a pair of books about weight loss with “The Lean Belly Prescription” and “The Doctor’s Diet”. This newest foray into weight loss has already made its way up the charts in dieting books and has gained a lot of popularity. In the book, you will find that one of the reasons that you haven’t been able to flatten your stomach is because of gut health, not just carrying extra fat.
Stork says that the bacteria in your stomach can affect not only the size of your waist, but your overall weight and health. Stork’s diet plan will have you eating plenty of fiber, focusing on foods like raspberries, peas, beans, artichokes and flaxseeds. Stork also says that you won’t really have to eat less than what you’re eating now, but picking the right foods for your gut health that will help you tremendously.
What to Know About the Lose Your Belly Diet
The Lose Your Belly Diet isn’t the first diet to focus on gut bacteria for weight loss, but it has gotten more attention due to Stork’s celebrity status. Having a platform to get people to realize what is happening in their digestive system has been a help, with the shocking revelation that you are carrying on average up to six pounds of bacteria in your stomach alone. If you’re not already large, that can have a large effect on your appearance, making you look bloated or sporting a beer belly.
Stork participated in a study that took people with high fiber diets and low fiber diets. Those that were on the high fiber diet showed very little digestive problems compared to the people on the low fiber diet. With less inflammation, they were able to increase their metabolism and lose more weight while sporting smaller waistlines. All of this while consuming around the same amount of calories.
The first tip that Stork says is to replace much of the meat in your diet with lentils or beans. Even though the calories might be the same, beans contain much more fiber. You should also be eating a lot more berries and replacing condiments like mayonnaise with hummus. The best part is the foods that Stork suggests are actually dense and filling, allowing you to feel more satisfied. That’s huge for people who have been unable to lose weight since they feel hungry so often.
While this isn’t a drastic weight loss plan like many of the diets that we have reviewed, there is an emphasis on simply feeling better. With better gut health, Stork says that you will have more energy to exercise more and not get cravings or crashes throughout the day. Good fats and protein that you find in nuts and seeds will play a big part in increasing your gut health, while also helping you feel full.
You really are lowering your risk for certain diseases when taking more fiber into your diet. With some forms of cancer, diabetes and heart disease all being the biggest targets of better gut health. Taking supplements will help add to this, even if you feel like you can’t eat that much fiber throughout the day, as every little bit will help.
Of the participants that joined into Stork’s study, people were losing an average of 1.5 pounds per week, which is well within the range of you can expect from a healthy and sustained weight loss program. Participants that stuck with the program were able to lose well over 20 pounds within just a few months, so the results were certainly encouraging.
What’s on the Menu?
So now that we know that the emphasis is more on introducing fiber instead of slashing calories and starving yourself, you’re probably interested to know what kind of meals that you’ll be eating. Here is a look at the sample menu for the first few days while you’re on the Lose Your Belly Diet.
Day One
Breakfast – Bowl of Fiber One cereal with raspberries
Lunch – High fiber bread with avocados and sliced deli turkey
Dinner – Beans with asparagus and chow chow
Snacks – Flaxseeds with roasted almonds
Day Two
Breakfast – Greek yogurt parfait with berries and quinoa
Lunch – Veggie bowl with corn, tomatoes, onion and lime juice
Dinner – Sweet potato peanut bisque
Snacks – Berries and pears
Day Three
Breakfast – Oatmeal with pine nuts, figs and light feta cheese
Lunch – Ravioli and vegetable soup
Dinner – Black bean quesadillas with avocado
Snacks – Quinoa and lentils
Getting used to cutting down heavily on meats might be hard at first for the carnivores out there. You might actually feel some discomfort at first as your gut health starts to change. As long as you stick with the program, though, you’ll be able to feel much better after the first week. There are about 20 basic foods that you need to base your meals around, with many of them coming from the vegetable group. You don’t have to completely cut meat from your diet, but it will certainly help you see quicker results.
Summing it Up
There really isn’t much new groundbreaking information that Stork says about gut health that hasn’t already been researched. The good part is, he is able to reach a larger audience to remind of the importance of gut health through his book. Since he is a television personality, you don’t even necessarily have to buy his book (which is under $20 in most book stores) as much of the information is both online in the form of articles and videos from Stork.
One major study has shown that a lack of diversity in gut microbes was a more common problem that was seen in obese people compared to those who were a normal weight. Eating poorly can affect your weight on a cellular level as certain microbes can cause you to gain weight, no matter what type of diet that you are eating. This is important research as we are learning how to eat to help our gut health.
With Stork’s book, you will get a step-by-step guide on all of the good things that you can do for your gut, and there are plenty of recipes that will allow you to diversify your diet. It’s not the easiest diet to stick to, but also not anywhere near the hardest. By following the steps and adding 30 minutes of exercise per week, this will be an effective weight loss plan that allows you to lose up to two pounds per week. Even better, it will help you lose inches around your waist, which is something we all want to see for ourselves.