Fat Flush

The Fat Flush uses cleansing principles to bring about healthy weight loss. The author, Anne Louise Gittelman, was a nutritionist at the famous Pritkin Longevity Center.

As opposed to the Pritkin diet, which drastically limits all fats, the Fat Flush focuses on consuming small amounts of "good" fats, carbs and proteins.

To be honest the Fat Flush is more of a diet plan than a true cleanse. It has many beneficial effects besides weight loss though and is an excellent detox plan for your liver.

How Does the Fat Flush Cleanse Work?

The Fat Flush cleanse focuses on the liver and its fat-burning capability. Anne Gittelman claims that many of us have livers that are tired and full of leftover toxins. By detoxifying the organ, we can restore its fat-burning power and begin to lose weight. After this first phase, dieters reintroduce good carbs and good fats to return to a sustainable diet.

A highly commendable part of this diet is its recommendation that users supplement their diet with sufficient sleep, a good exercise routine and a comprehensive journal of their eating habits. The diet lasts up to 4 weeks, before moving on to a longer-term, lifetime regime.

What are the Fat Flush phases?

Phase One
In Phase One the goal is to detoxify the liver. You cut out alcohol and caffeine, and reduce your caloric intake to around 1200 calories. This is to give your liver a break and allow it time to recuperate and repair itself.

There are specific rules for your diet throughout the Fat Flush. Each meal should contain one protein item, do not mix milk and meat in the same meal, do not drink water with your meal, and do not mix fruits and vegetables. Although they sound a little strange, these rules are supposedly a crucial part of the fat flushing technique.

As for exercise, dieters should undertake moderate activity in Phase One, for example long walks. Trampoline exercises are encouraged - the idea is that bouncing can help shift the extra fat and enable the flushing technique to work more rapidly.

Phase Two
The meal plans and exercises are similar in Phase Two, but the daily caloric intake is allowed to increase from 1100 calories to 1400 calories. Certain good carbs such as brown rice are reintroduced to the diet, but the meal rules listed in Phase One still apply.

Phase Three
In Phase Three dieters increase their caloric intake to previous levels, above 1500 calories per day. Exercise is also stepped up to include weight training.

Does the Fat Flush Cleanse Work?

The claims that the liver is a fat-burning powerhouse are somewhat dubious, however dieters to tend to see reasonable results with this diet. The reason is that, despite all the hype about the liver, it is basically just a low calorie diet plan with exercise added. Looking at it from this angle, it can be an effective diet, but don't place too much credence on the supposed science behind it.

As with all low calorie diets, dieters should be careful to get all the nutrition they need, taking extra vitamin supplements if necessary. Eating out can be difficult, but items on the menu like grilled chicken should be fine.

As for expense, the diet recommends some supplements like primrose oil and protein powders that can be quite dear. These are not really necessary though.