Once you finish the Four-Day Jumpstart and the 28-Day Program, you have achieved a lot! If you’ve truly followed the plan for the past 32 days, you’ve taken the first and most difficult step toward a brighter future. And you’ve most likely lost a few pounds of the deadliest fat you can have: belly fat.

The Flat Belly Diet is designed to be a program that you can follow for the rest of your life. It is as simple as permanently adopting the three Flat Belly Diet rules that are probably quite familiar to you by now:

• Rule #1: Eat a MUFA at every meal.
• Rule #2: Stick to 400 calories per meal.
• Rule #3: Never go more than 4 hours without eating.

Remember, succeeding on the Flat Belly Diet promises an even greater reward than a visually more attractive silhouette: It promises a longer, healthier life. By following the three rules above, you can reap all the rewards of the Flat Belly Diet—flat belly included—for decades to come.

Over the first four weeks on the plan, you have come to know MUFAs well—those little miracle workers in your belly that help you feel full and lose visceral fat from your middle. You’ve also discovered how easy—and tasty—it is to include small amounts of these healthy fats in your meals. Even if you can’t work in a MUFA at every meal, you know that they are found mainly in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados, so they are about as easy to come by as they are to love, and it won’t be difficult for you to put the MUFA rule into practice most of the time.

To keep your weight down and metabolism on track, you must continue to control your daily caloric intake—that is, stick to about 400 calories per meal, 1,600 per day. You may question why you have to maintain the same daily calorie intake that got you to your goal. The fact of the matter is, 1,600 calories is enough to keep up your energy, support your immune system, and maintain your precious calorie-burning muscle (so you won’t feel run down, cranky, or hungry), but it’s not enough calories to allow you to gain back your belly fat (and make you more vulnerable to all the attendant health risks).

You’ve established a rhythm and your body has responded—by becoming accustomed to having 3 MUFA-rich 400 calorie meals at four-hour intervals, as well as a healthy Snack Pack at whatever time of day suits you. You now know how it feels to keep your energy up, your blood sugar steady, your metabolism revved. What it’s like to have control of your appetite. And you’ve seen the results, belly-wise. Stick with it and it will continue to benefit your health and your waistline.

This site is full of tools that will continue to help you achieve your goal of a flatter belly and healthier life well beyond the end of the first 32 days.

Keep Journaling
Journaling is probably the single most important thing you can do going forward to help you maintain your focus on your long-term health goals. You don’t have to write something in your Flat Belly journal for 15 minutes every day for the rest of your life. But your journal will continue to be an important tool. Being mindful, staying tuned in with yourself, and keeping up with your journaling as much as you can  (or even just periodically reading back through your Core Confidence writings) will keep you prepared to handle the inevitable challenges you will encounter in the months and years ahead.

Stay Mindful
Whenever you need a quick attitude adjustment from frantic to focused, call on the Mind Tricks you used during the 4-Day Jumpstart. They’re fast—just minutes apiece—but extremely effective at jolting you out of a stress-fueled stupor and adjusting your emotional relationship to eating. They’ll help you slow down, take your time, and savor your meals, so you won’t be tempted to overindulge or eat too quickly.

Manage Stress
The stress/belly fat connection is clear. Manage stress and you are one step closer to managing your belly fat forever. Writing in your journal can be a great stress reliever, but so can daily exercise. If you need more ideas to help get your stress under control, be sure to use the message boards to reach out to other users for ideas, and check the articles and and videos in the Learn tab. There will always be new ideas available to help you along!

Gather a Support Team
One of the best ways to stay on track and stay motivated is to have a support team behind you. Regardless of how motivated you are, long-term success is always easier with help from others. Even one person will do—just someone to tell you you’re doing great every once in a while. Having people in your life who understand and accept your dreams can make all the difference in the world.

Our Message Boards will allow you to continue to reach out to your fellow Flat Belly Dieters for support, tips, and ideas as you continue your journey on the program.