You can lose 10, 20, even 30 pounds while enjoying your favorite summer treat – ice cream. New research from the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center shows that ice cream – when eaten as part of a healthy diet – may actually melt away fat, helping you lose extra pounds faster than if you had abstained! "In general, if you deprive yourself of preferred foods, you start to crave them," said Richard Mattes, PhD, professor of food and nutrition at Purdue University in Indiana.

The secret, slim-down-faster ingredient is its luscious supply of calcium. In a recent study, overweight people who took a calcium supplement lost 26 percent more body weight and 38 percent more body fat than those who ate the same reduced-calorie diet minus the supplement.

In addition to all the scientific evidence, many readers have gotten terrific results on this diet.

"I get fat if I don't eat ice cream," said Rita Soloman, who lost 50 pounds after ice cream diet. That's when Rita invested in a trip to a weight loss spa. "They gave us pizza and ice cream! At the time, I thought it was ridiculous." But once Rita lifted the taboo on "fattening" food, she dropped the weight. "It's all about balance," she explains. "When you know you can enjoy ice cream every day, it's not such a big deal. This diet provides a fabulous daily treat; it isn't an excuse to go gorge yourself into praline laced oblivion. For best results, follow these simple rules for dishing out the creamy stuff:

1. Choose ice creams with 125 or fewer calories per serving.

2. Never, ever eat ice cream straight out of the container. "Pint diving" is hard to resist, especially at the end of a nerve-racking day. But the "I'll have just a few spoonfuls" mind-set is a slippery slope. Soon you'll be literally scraping to the buttom.

3. To keep your calorie count in check, there is a foolproof system. Women get one cup and men get one and a half cups of ice cream every day. You'll still drop pounds, because your treat is factored in to a nutritious diet that totals 1,500 calories a day for women and 2,000 calories for men.

 4. You can indulge in full-fat premium ice creams, but don't do it more than once every two weeks. With all dessert options, check the label for calories, and adjust your serving size.

5. No weight loss program is complete without exercise. The ice cream diet recommends 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 to 5 days a week and 20 minutes of strength training 2 or 3 days a week.

(Source: Beijing Today)