[michelleg]

Hi, I mainly joined this website because I read so many negative things that people are saying about the Belly Fat Cure plan by Jorge Cruise. A lot of it is misunderstandings.

Basically on the diet, you eat every three hours, more or less with the break down of these calories/meals:
Breakfast (400 calories)
Lunch (400 calories)
Dinner (400 calories)
2 Snacks (100 calories each)
1 Treat (50 calories)

When preparing your meals, you cannot exceed 6 servings of carbs (120 grams) and 15 grams of sugar (in all varieties- lactose, fructose, and sucrose).

Jorge does not recommend any unnatural sweeteners - absolutely no splenda, sweet n' low, equal, or any other chemical.
He does however, recommend "truvia" saying it comes from a plant.
However, like any other plan, use your own judgement! I, personally, will absolutely not use truvia. I don't know how its made, I don't know where it comes from, I don't know if it has the same carcinogens as any of the other sweeteners. So, no thanks!
In addition, you also have to use your judgement when it comes to Jorge recommending products - a lot of it, he probably gets money for advertising. I mean, no kidding.

But to say you can't eat any fruits or vegetables on the plan is just wrong. You certainly can if you write your meal plans down and work out the numbers, if you are concerned. I'm a visual person so I tend to write down exactly what I eat, which I feel is a healthy habit anyway when trying to lose weight. On the diet, I eat strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, prunes, apricots. Yes, apples and oranges are high in sugar, so on the diet I might eat half an apple or half an orange, if thats what you love. It's really all about planning. And hey, I work tomatoes in there too!

Vegetables as well, I can't think of a single vegetable I CAN'T have on the diet. Most vegetables, other than potatoes, are pretty low in carbs and sugars anyway, and you have a 120 grams to work with per day. I eat broccoli, spinach, kale, lettuce, carrots, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, gosh, the list goes on.

This plan, like any plan, is not supposed to be a one night stand diet. Of course the weight will come back on any plan if you stop eating right/working out. I read somewhere that someone called the diet a sham because when he went on vacation, he couldn't stick to the plan, ate whatever he wanted (pies, pasta, desserts, etc), and the weight came back on...in the double digits. I'm not sure how to even respond to that! I don't think I've ever engorged myself so much that I could gain the double digits in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS!! I mean, a year maybe. I have been on vacation and have been able to stick to the diet. It's about educating yourself on what foods have sugar and a heavy carb count and what doesn't. And like any other diet--portion control.

Also, a lot of people are saying this is just like the atkins diet. I think the atkins diet is composed of a large consumption of fat and red meats, and eating whatever you want as long as you are under the amount of net carbs. Personally, I don't eat any red meats or nitrates or an abundance of whole milk cheese on Jorge's diet. I stick to a lot of lean proteins like chicken or beans and I only eat skim milk cheese. I stick to the food pyramid as much as I can and make sure I stick to the portions I need. I don't eat fried foods or foods with listed preservatives(for the most part) or chemicals. Not because Jorge says, but because *I* say. No, I don't agree with all of Jorge's recipes, that's why I come up with my own for my own health needs but stick to the 6 servings of carbs and 15 grams of sugar.

As far as the no milk thing goes because of the sugar. I get my calcium and vitamin D other ways easily. I have always had a hard time digesting milk and have been drinking almond milk for years. And yes, almond milk is incredibly easy to find if you have a grocery store by you. It is not only a product of health food stores.

As for the carbs, it's easy to find fiberous carbs that fill you longer for 0-2 sugars. I eat matzos and crackers and weight watchers bread and rye bread.

I do not starve on this diet. I lost about 15 pounds so far, but I am a smaller girl to begin with.

This plan is not for people who want to do it for a month and go back to the old way they were eating. The weight will eventually come back just like any diet you stop. Changing your eating habits should be lifelong, not for the moment.

[srmb60]

Misunderstandings abound when it comes to different eating styles! Someone here used to have a signature that said "Have you read the book?".

Of course not, most often we see and hear snippets and compare new notions unfavourably with what we do/want to do. And we may not even have read the book that we are defending

From what you posted above ... the Belly Fat cure is not alarmingly different from several other plans around. Stick around. Usually if there is one woe supporter, there will be more.