Lean Belly Prescription

The Lean Belly Prescription is a new book from Dr Travis Stork (M. D.). The urgent-care physician is focusing on visceral fat - adipose tissue that surrounds internal organs. A large amount of research has shown that belly fat carries more health risks than fat stored elsewhere - such as hips or thighs.

You know you have visceral fat if your gut is round and firm, your waist is bigger than your hips, or your Wranglers have a waist size of 40 or higher for men, and 35 or higher for women.

The essence of the book is a series of small tips or insights to bring about healthy weight loss. Stork suggests tackling 3 of these at a time, to have an increased chance of success. He appears to have chosen the number 3 due to a study from the Baylor College of Medicine:

One group of adults took on three simultaneous health goals, while a second group attempted a single goal. Eighteen months later, those who had embraced multiple healthy changes were 20 percent more likely to have stuck with them. (from MensHealth)

Here is a sampling of suggested changes:

If you love pasta and rice: Simply switch all your refined carbs to whole-grain versions, and lose up to eight pounds in four weeks!If you love soda: Learn how to swap out 450 wasted calories with drinks that are even more delicious, and to lose up to four pounds in four weeks!If you love to graze: Nosh all day long on your favorite fruits and vegetables and lose up to six pounds in four weeks!If you love breakfast: Build yours around these simple lean protein/good carb principles and lose up to four pounds in four weeks!If you love to snack: Learn how to combine food groups to build snacks, and lose up to seven pounds in four weeks!

The book includes 4 weeks of meal plans and a basic workout plan. To be frank, in this information age we live in, much of this information can be gleaned fairly easily online (and, possibly even entirely from within Diet Blog - here's 30+ useful tips to begin with). Good on Travis Stork for addressing the issue of visceral fat, but there seems to be little new on the offer here.

If the name rings a bell - it's because Stork appeared on the Bachelor, and was host of daytime talk show The Doctors (which for some reason seems to qualify people to write diet books).

The Lean Belly Prescription: The Fast and Foolproof Diet & Weight-Loss Plan From America's Top Urgent-Care Doctor by Travis Stork. Available at Amazon (around $14).

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