Oh, sure, it’s only 6°F outside my window right now, but I can sense that Spring is in the air.

How can I be so sure? All I need to do is glance at the huge amount of diet-related email hitting my InBox that promise things like: “Eat all you want and lose 10 lbs. in 5 days !” (which, it turns out, is possible if you eat nothing but air) or “Lose weight while you sleep” (the first requirement for which involves consuming nothing but celery and water when you’re awake).

So naturally I’m a bit skeptical of the email I received from Prevention magazine promising that I can eat chocolate and still lose weight.

How? The diet essentially seeks to affect cortisol production.

Chronic stress produces cortisol which, in turn, interferes with dopamine and serotonin levels. These are known as the “feel-good” neurotransmitters, but since chronic stress keeps people from processing them correctly their brains demand something else to help them feel good. Some people turn to illicit drugs, others to alcohol and still others to food, especially sugary or fatty foods.

So, according to the article, regularly consuming foods rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAS) and stress relief can speed fat loss because the MUFAs deliver pleasure-producing fats, thereby shutting down cycle of cortisol production and pleasure-seeking that leads to overeating.

Sounds great, right? Who wouldn’t like a diet that encourages you to eat oils, nuts and seeds, avocados, olives and chocolate?

Of course, it’s not just about adding these foods to what you’re already eating. The program involves eating four times a day, 400 calories per meal, with each meal containing a specific amount of one of the MUFAs. There’s also a 4-day “jumpstart” during which you drink what they call “Sassy Water” (water with lemon and ginger) and smoothies four times a day. After that, it’s a 1,600 calorie a day plan.

But does it work? The Rachel Ray show recently aired an episode featuring women who dropped significant amounts of weight in as little as 30 days, simply by following the program. Mary Anne Sheshock followed the diet and told ABC’s Good Morning America that she lost 47 pounds in 5 months.

That all sounds good to me, but I know darned well I fall off of diets rather quickly if they don’t produce results. I need motivation, and ordinarily I look to my scale for that. But then I tried the flat belly virtual belly flattener to see what I’d look like after losing 5, 10, 15 or even 20 pounds.

No, I won’t share the photo with you but I will say that I’m giving serious thought to buying their book which comes with a free 3-month online program, too.

Yeah, I looked that good.

Tags: cortisol, diet, dieting, Flat belly diet, Prevention magazine, weight loss