Review & Results: Super Shred Diet by Dr. Ian Smith

I have been a fan of Dr. Ian Smith ever since I first saw him on the VH1 reality show Celebrity Boot Camp, where he helped celebrities lose weight. His healthy approach to weight loss and proper diet always impressed me. A few years ago when he introduced the 6 week Shred Diet, I was already on Weight Watcher and doing quite well, so I never tried it. This past winter he unveiled his more intense 4 week plan, the SUPER SHRED.  Last October I was lucky enough to find an advance copy in my mailbox from his publisher, St. Martin's Press. With the holidays approaching, I knew it would be really tough to stick to the plan without making myself miserable, so I decided to wait until January to try it.

I began the diet on January 8th. The thing about me is once I commit, I'm all in and there is no cheating. Thats how I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers a few years ago.

The SUPER SHRED is a very strict, regimented diet plan, and Smith tells you exactly what to eat every single day. Each meal or snack is laid out specifically so you know exactly what you will be eating and at what time. He also tells you how long to work out for that day.

In the beginning of the book, he explains how the diet works. You may have heard of Carb Cycling and that is basically what this is. With the chosen meals and snacks you are basically tricking your body into keeping the metabolism rate going and burning fat instead of storing it. You can still eat carbs but you will be eating them at optimal times that are beneficial to your body's metabolism. Its a smart theory and I have to say, it works. You are not depriving your body of carbs, but you're eating them at specific times when they will be burnt off instead of stored. The plan also has you eating 5 meals a day. Sometimes 2 meals and 3 (healthy) snacks or sometimes even 4 (light) meals and only 1 snack. Honestly, I felt like I was eating all the time so I never really got hungry. Each week has a different time table for eating. The third week were the most difficult for me.

The Results:

Now for the part you really want to know! The book says you CAN lose 20 lbs in 4 weeks, however, I did not lose that much. I lost 10 pounds in the first 3 weeks and didn't lose anything the last week. But I also didn't work out every day of that last week. Other than that, I followed the plan to the letter. You could say the diet failed me because I didn't lose 20 pounds, but I DID lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks, which, as you know if you've tried to lose weight before, that is incredible! Yes, I lost 30 pounds on WW, but it took me several months to do it. I achieved this in 3 WEEKS!!! Would I have loved to have lost 20 pounds? Absolutely, but I'm not going to say this diet failed me. The cardio workouts that I did ere probably not as intense as Dr. Ian expected but I alternated between my treadmill and my stationary bicycle. And I probably only missed a total of 4 days of working out. Also, I didn't have a reliable food scale, so my portions may have been off here and there, but I don't think I did a bad job of measuring my food.

What was great about this book was that at the beginning of every week, there was a grocery list. That is very important for this diet plan. I would take a look at the meal plans for the next week and buy my food accordingly. That way, I always had the food I needed. Because I can't drive, it was imperative for me to have the food already on hand.

Also included in the book are examples of 100 and 150 calorie snacks with very specific quantities appropriate for this diet plan. These snack ideas are normal every day foods that don't require anything special.  I'm sure I will refer to those snacks often in the future. They were incredibly helpful and supplied a lot of variety for the diet. Its known that while dieting, if you eat the same foods all the time, your body gets wise to that and your metabolism will return to normal. So its important to keep variety going while dieting. There are also many soup and smoothie recipes that are easy to make and tasty.

I would also like to mention that Dr. Ian Smith is on Twitter all the time and he is there to answer any questions and offer encouragement.. He has a good rapport with his followers. I had a question that first week and I tweeted him and he answered my question within 2 hours of me asking it. I don't get that quick of a response from my regular doctor and he's in the same town as me!  That was a big plus for me!

The bottom line is that I don't feel like I failed at this diet. I'm back to wearing my jeans that had gotten so tight I couldn't button them. I may not have lost 20 pounds, but I will definitely try this diet again and hopefully with better results. I did learn many things from reading this book and with that knowledge and my experience from this time, I'm confident I can do it again. My friends and family were so supportive of me while I was on this diet and I appreciate it so much. If you need to lose 10-20 pounds in a short amount of time and you are willing to be committed to a strict eating schedule, you should give this a try. I'm measuring my success on the numbers and the fact is, I lost 10 pounds in three weeks and I didn't deprive myself of food and I still was able to eat many of my favorite things.

SUPER SHRED DIET
Author: Dr. Ian Smith (@DrIanSmith)
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: December 31, 2013
Source: Publisher