F-plan diet

Weight reducing diet based on consumption of foods high in dietary fibre, since they are likely to have greater satiety value and low energy content.

A very popular low fat, high fibre diet developed in 1982 by Audrey Eyton, co-founder of Slimming Magazine. The F-plan diet was based on the recommendation of the Royal College of Physicians, that a fibre-rich diet can help weight control by making the dieter feel full on relatively few calories. Fibre absorbs water, providing bulk which fills the gut and contributes to the feeling of being full. Audrey Eyton also believes that the prolonged chewing associated with eating high fibre foods reduces feelings of hunger. She claimed that followers of the diet should find it easier to slim and lose weight quickly, and would gain health advantages from eating high fibre meals. Critics of the diet suggest that the feelings of satiation associated with high fibre diets are gradually lost as the stomach adapts by stretching. Some users complain of high levels of flatulence in the first few weeks of the diet. Nevertheless, in addition to a number of health benefits (see fibre), high fibre diets are usually effective for losing weight because they tend to decrease calorific intake.