I discovered the Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman, the last week of March, 2003 while I was standing in a grocery checkout line. The magazine headline said: “Lose your cellulite in 14 days!” Since my daughter had just announced her intention to wed in only 5 short months AND that she wanted everyone in sundresses, you can imagine how this headline caught my attention. (Can I digress here and complain about this? I mean there OUGHT to be a law requiring female offspring to give their parents a full 12 months notice of intent to wed!) (second digression: I come from a long line of cellulite-prone women and suffered from it all my adult life. Didn't seem really possible to finally be rid of it)
Having resigned my self to a fat old age after trying and failing at many other diets (highest weight ever was 233 ), I figured that if I could flush enough cellulite to make the sight of me in a sundress a non-hanging offense, I’d be satisfied. Imagine my delighted surprise to find the weight melting away along with the cellulite! While I had not rid myself of all my excess poundage by my daughter’s wedding, I dropped from a 2x dress size to a 14 and looked fine in the sundress! (no one came to arrest me, at any rate!)
In the first 5 months following the Fat Flush Plan, I flushed 50 pounds and ultimately reached my goal weight in just over 6 months (September 2003). When I started the maintenance phase of the FFP, I weighed 150 and wore size 10. Since I’d NEVER in my adult life worn a size 10, you can be sure I was a happy happy fat flusher! I’ve been in Phase 3 (the lifestyle/maintenance phase of the Fat Flush Plan) for a year and a half and I've had no problem maintaining my weight. In fact, during that time, I actually flushed 4 more pounds and two more dress sizes. As amazing as it seems (and trust me here, I have to pinch myself whenever I go clothes shopping), I now comfortably wear a size 6. <insert happy dance HERE! >
In addition to shedding 57 pounds and over 25 inches, I’ve realized a whole host of other benefits such as improved sleep, better concentration, resolved menopausal symptoms, glowing skin and lustrous hair, energy to burn (DH says I’m terminally perky), no more migraines. Not only that, but I've actually been featured in magazines (First for Women, Women's World, and Low Carb Living) although ya hafta think that fame of this sort ("I was morbidly obese and now I'm not") is perhaps not the <ahem> kind to write home about.
These days I'm planning on living to the ripe old age of 150 and bedevi - er - helping (yah, that's it! HELPING!) my family for years and years (and years).
wow, did that sound like an advertisement or what??? that sounds too amazing. what is the fat flushing diet?? does sound like something i would read about in the checkout line on the front of a Womans Day magazine or something.
WOW! You are really inspirational! I looked at your pics from your profile and I cannot believe that you are 52! You look younger, like a totally different person! Really, really, well done!
I really loved your recipes too! I'm going to start trying some of them. Can you give us more details on the Fat Flush plan?
Lumi: I kind of agree about csoar's post sounding like an advertisement, but I think that she just wanted to share her story and how she lost her weight. I don't think she's advertising anything.
wow, did that sound like an advertisement or what??? that sounds too amazing.
That's what I was thinking too. lol Personally, I'm on the gym socks diet. The concept is pretty simple, you put the socks on and walk in them every day and if you follow the food plan at the same time, you lose weight!
wow, did that sound like an advertisement or what??? that sounds too amazing. what is the fat flushing diet?? does sound like something i would read about in the checkout line on the front of a Womans Day magazine or something.
ROFL! Thanks. I think. When I saw the magazine headline I told myself, riiiiiiiiiight - suuuuuuuuure <insert eyeroll here> So I was pretty shocked when the cellulite AND the weight started melting away.
Nope, I'm not selling anything EXCEPT the fact that it IS possible to shed unwanted weight and cellulite even when deep in the clutches of perimenopause and EVEN if you've already failed at other diets (let's see, there was the cabbage soup diet, the Zone diet, the grapefruit diet....failed at ALL of those and more!).
I'm just your average 52 year young menopausal woman who shed over 80 pounds in one year, 57 of 'em by following the Fat Flush plan. Trust me here, I pinch myself every morning that I get up and put on size 6 clothes! <insert happy dance here!> (ME! in size 6!! wahoooooooo!)
Yep, I did/do pilates floor exercises and rebounding (what's not to like about jumping on a mini-trampoline?) for my exercise regime.
Welldone and congrats!
but can I ask what is the fat flush plan and how does it work, I havent heard about it before, if it just another form of healthy eating?
Congratulations on your loss, and especially on your continued maintenance. I've already found an eating plan that's working great for me, but I must admit, you've got me curious. Could you briefly summarize the FFP for us?
Welldone and congrats!
but can I ask what is the fat flush plan and how does it work, I havent heard about it before, if it just another form of healthy eating?
Thanks
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Originally Posted by Margarita
Could you briefly summarize the FFP for us?
Fat Flush is a 3-phase eating plan which predates South Beach. Phase 1 - classic elimination phase which removes the four most common food allergens: dairy, soy, wheat, sugar. This phase aims at cleaning out the liver and speeding up the metabolism. It lasts from 2-4 weeks. It's also the low carb phase. Phase 2 - the weightloss phase, starts adding back "good" carbs in a careful, structured way so you can find out if your body has issues with some foods. (**digression** If you'd asked be before I started FF whether I had any food allergies, I would have emphatically answered "NO!" so you can imagine how surprised I was to learn that I'm mildly lactose intolerant AND I'm sensitive to wheat. ). Phase 2 lasts as long as it takes to get to goal. I was in Phase two for about 6 months. Phase 3 - the maintenance phase, where you get to add back dairy, and healthy carb versions (brown rice instead of white, whole grains, sprouted grain bread instead of white, honey and maple syrup instead of white sugar, etc.). I guess you could call Phase 3 the "careful" carb phase.
Anyhoo, I've been in maintenance/Phase 3 for over two years and I've had NO problem maintaining my weight. I have more energy (DH says I'm terminally perky. heh heh), better skin, and sleep better now than I did for my entire 40's (perimenopause has a LOT to answer for! LOL).
The BEST part, in my veddy VEDDY humble opinion, is that after 40 years of Thunder-thigh-dom, I'm cellulite-free. Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!
That's awesome! My step-mom uses portions of Fat Flush (mainly the Flax oil and the cranberry juice) and she got the book for me. I tried it for a couple of days and found it to be just too restrictive for me (and I could NOT manage to drink the cranberry juice water...for those that don't know, 100% unsweetened cranberry juice is NOT Ocean Spray ) but I loved Flax Oil drizzled over some brown rice and chicken breast, sprinkled with cayenne pepper!! Yum!
Anyhoo...thanks for the success story, I love reading them!
Hi Rhonda,
No question, the first two weeks of Fat Flush are the hardest! I think many folks forget that they aren't giving up their fave foods forever - just the unhealthy versions (LOL! ).
The other thing too many people don't understand is this: it's our lifestyle (diet + exercise or lack thereof) which made us obese. If you want to shed weight and keep it off you must permanently change your lifestyle (diet + exercise).
Because doing what you've always done will get you what you've always got. Expecting any other outcome is one definition of insanity.
I hope you've found a plan that you can stick to and find the success you are looking for (and that you deserve! ).
Congratulations on your weight loss! Low calorie diets and exercise always worked best for me, too. I tried FF and couldn't stick with it because it was too restrictive and I didn't feel as well. I kept asking myself if this could be healthy, so I read a review that someone here posted from http://diets.aol.com/a-z/fatflush_di...10162209990025 and it scared the crap out of me, so I stopped FF. I stayed on a low cal diet, but I found that I did better with something more balanced, and not as weird.
Congratulations on your weight loss!
Your pictures look great! Low calorie diets and exercise always worked best for me, too.
THANKS!
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I tried FF and couldn't stick with it because it was too restrictive and I didn't feel as well. I kept asking myself if this could be healthy, so I read a review that someone here posted from http://diets.aol.com/a-z/fatflush_di...10162209990025 and it scared the crap out of me, so I stopped FF.
I've seen this review of Fat Flush before and frankly, I think the reviewer didn't do her homework. There were scientific studies cited to back up the Fat Flush Plan recommendations (unlike the reviewer cited above, I actually did my homework and read them! ), in addition, there are plenty of other MD, PhD, ND, professionals who back Gittleman's work. Read on:
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from Paula Baillie-Hamilton, MD, PhD, Author of Toxic Overload, “The reactions expressed by the doctors interviewed ...are typical of those who have been taught nothing about toxicology or environmental medicine. Despite the fact that two of the biggest industries in the world are built on the ability of many synthetic chemicals to interfere and poison our bodily systems (i.e. the pharmaceutical industry and the chemical industry), few consider the health-damaging effects that come with accumulating levels of these chemicals in the body. Indeed, few even know what these chemicals are due to the lack of books on the subject and a lack of training in medical school.
The fact that chemicals alter body weight, both up and down, is fully established in the toxicology world. The chemicals known to affect bodily weight have been documented in many hundreds of academic papers. The food industry uses chemicals to promote animal weight gain all the time. Many advertisements have boasted about the weight-gaining effects of these chemicals in the farming process.
The evidence is so overwhelming that I wrote an academic paper in a peer reviewed journal exposing the evidence behind the connection between chemical toxins and the obesity epidemic (See J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Apr; 8(2):185-92)
and from Hyla Cass, MD, Author of 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health
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“It's blatantly obvious to many of us in the medical profession that weight gain in the 21st century is no longer a matter of cutting down on calories, carbs, or doing more exercise. As a nutritionally-oriented psychiatrist, I am keenly aware of how common medications like antidepressants and mood stabilizers can pack on anywhere from 10-30 pounds in a month! Weight gain from prescriptions, like the ‘toxins’ Gittleman discusses ... is a very common side effect."
From Elson M. Haas, MD, Author of Staying Healthy With Nutrition and The New Detox Diet
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"As The Detox Doc™ I have supervised fasts and detoxification regimens for literally thousands of my patients for more than three decades. I consider cleansing and detox dieting to be the missing link in Western nutrition and a key to the vitality of our civilization. Ann Louise is to be commended for getting the detox message out to mainstream Americans. I couldn't agree more with her message and her methods. It's time to place your health and that of your loved ones back into your own hands by undergoing periodic cleansing and making the healthiest eating and lifestyle choices."
From Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, author of Death by Modern Medicine:
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As a researcher in the arena of environmental medicine, I fully endorse Ann Louise Gittleman's work. Like the canaries in cages in coal mines that die when the air gets toxic, people in our society are developing chemical sensitivities at an alarming rate and nothing is being done about it. As I write in my book Death by Modern Medicine:
Chemicals Take Over
The sheer weight of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides used in industry has polluted our soil and water table. The air emissions and effluents from commerce have contaminated our air and water. All of which have poisoned the food chain; plants, fish, and animals. Certain species are becoming endangered. Are humans next?
Plants grown on devitalized, overworked soil, which has been poisoned by acid rain and the contaminated water table, are nutrient poor. Synthetic food substitutes and processed, refined food that are devoid of natural vitamins and minerals actually have synthetic vitamins added to them. The body does not recognize synthetic sources. They may be even treated like foreign bodies and the body has to produce antibodies to try to get rid of them. But in doing so the body becomes allergic and hypersensitive.
Our body was not made to process synthetic, fiber-poor foods. It’s no wonder that constipation, intestinal toxemia, and digestive disorders are major health complaints. The sale of laxatives and antacids are in the billions of dollars.
While it's true that no diet works for 100% of those who try it, I believe that Fat Flush is not so much a diet as a way of life. It has taught me what a healthy diet IS (whole grains, organic produce, grassfed beef) and what it is NOT (highly processed, carb-heavy, full of chemicals, colorings, stabilizers, flavorings, etc). Bottom line - Fat Flush not only helped me shed 57 pounds, over 23 inches, and 5 dress sizes, it also resolved many of my perimenopausal symptoms (insomnia, brain fog, mood swings, acne, etc). So yep, you can put me down as a Fat Flush cheerleader!
Shed 57 pounds, Fat Middle Age Avoided
(second digression: I come from a long line of cellulite-prone women and suffered from it all my adult life. Didn't seem really possible to finally be rid of it)
). Phase 2 lasts as long as it takes to get to goal. I was in Phase two for about 6 months.
