Top-rated slim reads to help drop the pounds

The Flavor Point Diet
This diet is based on the theory that by limiting the flavors you eat, you decrease your appetite, eat less and lose weight. The author, Dr. Davis Katz, claims that the more flavors we taste at any one time, the more we need to eat in order to feel satisfied and the fewer flavors we taste, the less we eat and the more satisfied we feel (a.k.a. sensory-specific satiety). Dr. Katz asserts that different flavors stimulate different cells in the brain, so by eating many flavors, you turn on many areas of the brain’s appetite center, and once stimulated, you must eat until all those cells register fullness.  If you turn on only one or two centers, you’ll eat less and feel just as satisfied.  The “Flavor Point” is the moment at which you feel completely full, satisfied and stop eating. Thus, his theory suggests that weight loss is achieved by limiting the variety of flavors in each meal and snack.  And although this book recommends you should eat a variety of foods and flavors, it encourages you to eat them over time and not all at one meal. 

To achieve this sensory satisfaction, the book presents daily menus with “flavor themes” (e.g. lemon day, thyme day, cranberry day, almond day, pumpkin day etc.). 

And aside from its flavor gimmick, the book promotes (and limits) a lot of the very same nutritious foods health experts commonly recommend. Foods allowed include whole-foods that are naturally low in fat, such as; fruits, vegetables, beans, low-fat dairy, eggs, lean protein sources and whole grains.  Foods to limit include highly processed foods, packaged foods with long ingredient lists, sweet foods with added salt, salty foods with added sugar, fast foods, avoid buffets and foods with added MSG or artificial flavors. The recommended meal composition looks like this: 55 percent calories from complex carbohydrates, 20 percent from lean protein sources and 25 percent from fat (ideally, vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and fish).  And like many other plans, the diet is designed in 3 phases:

Phase One (weeks 1 through 4) every meal and snack within the same day has the same flavor theme, meaning every meal shares a common ingredient (e.g. see cranberry day below).

Sample Menu: Cranberry Day (*all recipes in book)

Breakfast

• 2 cranberry-banana soft wheat muffins
• 1 cup fat-free milk

Snack

• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt with 2 teaspoons dried cranberries and a 1 tablespoons low-fat granola

Lunch

• Cranberries-lentil mixed green salad with feta and pecans*

Snack

• Cranberry-banana smoothie

Dinner

• Cranberry and onion turkey cutlets*
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Tossed garden salad with cranberries
• Cranberry-vanilla soft ice cream*

Phase Two (weeks 5 through 6) each meal and snack within the same day has its own flavor theme so there’s no single theme throughout an entire day.

Phase Three (until goal weight is achieved and maintenance stage) you use individual foods to control appetite.  For instance, do not have a breakfast of salty eggs and sweet jam or a snack of sweet fruit and salted nuts.  The key to the Flavor point is to avoid combining too many different flavors at each meal.

The Bottom Line
Pros: The diet offers an interesting twist for people looking for a fresh angle. There’s no calorie counting or restrictions on food groups — good news. The book also contains 6 weeks worth of menu plans and over 100 recipes. Plus, recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.

Cons: The “flavor” idea sounds a bit gimmicky and more studies are needed to prove this theory. Also, you’ll need to put considerable effort and energy into flavor coordinating and preparing your daily meals. However, the foods are healthy and this is a relatively low calorie diet, so whether it’s the calorie restriction or flavor combinations — you’ll most likely lose weight.

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