Drop 14 pounds in 7 days

Dr. Stork’s delicious plan turns groundbreaking Harvard research into real-life success! The secret: loading up on foods that alter the brain region responsible for hunger. The result? Effortless slimming!

Travis Stork, M.D., takes a bite of the meal in front of him—a bowl of veggies and spiced broth—and marvels at how delicious it is. It’s a far cry from the meat and potatoes he grew up on and believed were the only way to feel full and satisfied—so what makes his soup so good? The secret ingredient is umami (pronounced oo-MAH-mee), which not only delivers delicious flavor but is also the key to sustained weight loss. “You can eat the healthiest foods in the world, but if you’re not satisfied after you eat them, you’re going to eat more,” explains the emergency room doctor and NYT bestselling author of The Lose Your Belly Diet. “Umami is the best way to feel satiated, which helps you lose weight without feeling deprived.”

What exactly is umami? Scientists call it the fifth taste, joining the four we learned about in elementary school: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Umami itself is often described as a deep, meaty

flavor. Research shows that foods that impart a strong umami flavor, like beef, tomatoes and mushrooms, are rich in the naturally occurring amino acid glutamate, which is necessary for nearly every bodily process, including regulating metabolism. “Just like sweet indicates a food that’s rich in energy, umami signals the presence of glutamate, which is essential for everything from energy production to immunity,” says Charles Spence, Ph.D., who studies how we perceive and experience food at the University of Oxford in England.

Glutamate-rich umami foods flip a switch in the brain that tells the body it’s full. While sweet, salty, bitter and sour tastes have receptors only on the tongue, there are umami receptors throughout the entire GI tract, explains Ole G. Mouritsen, Ph.D., a food scientist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. “So your taste buds tell your brain that umami foods are delicious, and your stomach reports back to your brain that you’ve eaten enough.” This explains why researchers at the University of Sussex in the U.K. found that when people ate soup spiked with glutamate, they consumed less at the next meal than those whose soup wasn’t spiked—and they still felt satisfied.

Better still: Glutamate ends cravings for fatty, high-calorie foods. When researchers at Harvard

University looked at brain scans of people who ate a meal rich in glutamate, they found that the amino acid switched off the part of the brain associated with a desire for fatty fare. “An umami-rich meal is like a public service announcement for your genes, proclaiming that all of its essential amino acid needs have been sated and there is no need to overeat for the rest of the day,” explains Sharon Moalem, M.D., author of The DNA Restart. “This means you’ll lose the weight without the struggle.” Indeed, women FIRST spoke to dropped up to 14 pounds every week!* Take Stephanie Sabolenko, 45, who lost 61 pounds following Dr. Stork’s advice.

“No hunger—but the scale’s going down faster than ever,” she cheers. “This is better than diet pills!”

The results go beyond hunger-free weight loss. Glutamate is required for making specialized immune cells, and Australian research shows that women who increase their intake of these foods have 58% fewer sick days each winter. Glutamate is also necessary for the creation of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), a key mood-boosting brain chemical.

As a result, increasing your intake of umami foods reduces the risk of feeling anxious and cranky by 50%. Plus, women report that eating more umami foods dampens the severity of allergy symptoms and joint pain. Read on for the plan that can help you get the results you deserve!

“Umami flavor boosts enjoyment and triggers changes in your brain to help you not overeat!” —Travis Stork,

M.D. *Weight-loss promise based on experiences reported by the women FIRST spoke to. Travis Stork, M.D., recommends weight loss at a slower rate, which he says is best for overall health.