Shred Diet Review.

Shred Diet!

I totally give this 2 thumbs all the way up. I was slightly surprised that I liked it so much. One of the things I really appreciated is that there is a facebook group dedicated to the plan. There is a 4 week Super Shred plan. We did the regular 6 week Shred. So here are my pros, cons, and review in general. 

Pros:

1. The book is very clear. Every single day is broken down for you. What to eat, how much and when to eat it. And he includes recommended exercises for each day.
2. The last few chapters of the book are dedicated to recipes for soups, stews, and smoothies. And there are a couple of pages that have really great snack suggestions in the 100 and 150 calorie range that really use protein to make the most of the snacks each day. 
3. It is a style of eating that surprised me by working so well. There were a few days where it was almost too much food. And as long as I stuck closely to the schedule I was never hungry. 
4. The recipes were really good. 
5. The Shredder Nation Facebook Page! Not only a ton of support, but also many people have posted full shopping lists for each of the 6 weeks. And they are happy to answer questions, give advice and a little push when needed. 
6. Even without working out regularly you can lose weight on this plan.
7. Dr. Ian gives suggestions for how and when to do certain weeks once you've hit your goal and are in maintenance mode. 

Cons:

1. There is a LOT of prep. If you try this be prepared to spend at least 4 hours the day before you start each week chopping, cooking and in general prepping. And it is so important to get the food for each night packed up for the next day. Saves a lot of time in the morning.
2. It is a LOT of soup. I love soup, I really do. But this was a lot. So I'm very glad there are a lot of soup recipes. So there is a lot of variety you just have to be willing to do the work and watch the sodium count! 
3. While the book is very informative, there were more than a few typos. Thankfully the Shredder Nation Facebook Page has the corrections. 
4. You often hear people say eating healthy is expensive - it's true. Fresh fruits, vegetables and "scratch cooking" can be more expensive. But in the long run - so much better. 
5. This is a pro and con - after 6 weeks of following the schedule I got very used to eating throughout the day. BUT also very used to NOT eating tons of processed foods. But very used to starting my day with fresh juice, water and fruit. The con here is that after 6 weeks, your body absolutely gets used to eating on this schedule! It was very difficult the first few weeks in the new place while we were still setting up the kitchen and unpacking! (so mostly pro but kinda con??)

All in all I think this is a great plan. During the 6 weeks Husband lost almost 20lbs. He (unlike myself) worked out regularly. I lost 7.5 and that was with sporadic workouts. And this is a plan that I feel like is easy to modify once you've reached your goal and are in maintenance mode. And it's structured in a way that you can do back to back cycles. He outlines how to make the most of back to back cycles in the book. And we are going to begin a second cycle this week. I would encourage anyone to try it.