Customer Reviews

The 4 Day Diet

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I am someone who knows more about dieting than most diet experts. I have battled with weight problems all of my life and I've been on more diets than I can remember. I am a typically yo-yo dieter. My weight goes up and down every year. This year I decided that I had enough and I was going to get one book and stick to that book. A couple of days ago I was shopping for that book and found what I think is a message from above. I took a look at the 4 Day Diet and fell in love with it right away. The book starts out talking about the importance of getting your mind together. The chapters are very concise and make sense and give you exercises you can do at the end if you like. The style of writing is VERY accessible, unlike some of these books where you feel like you need a PhD in order to understand it. I found so many of my own problems in those first few chapters. I felt like I had gone to a shrink and got a diagnosis for free. Now I have such a better understanding of my emotional eating and stress eating and other stuff I've been doing wrong for so long. Then I read the actual 4 Day Diet plan and it blew my mind away. It is so simple to follow. It makes so much sense, because every 4 days you switch the type of food that you eat. The diet is broken up into 4-day modules. There are 7 modules in the book. Here are the modules and what they represent.
Induction (detox/cleansing)
Transition (to reintroduce all food groups)
Protein Stretch (to avoid plateaus)
Smooth (you can have some formerly forbidden foods like pizza and fries)
Push (just before the final stretch, back to a stricter eating plan)
Pace (a comfortable module for you to catch your breath)
Vigorous (the final module to lose those last few pounds)

These modules make SO much sense and they're laid out so perfectly. The food you can eat is spelled out very clearly and most importantly, you don't have to spend a lot of money on organic stuff like other diets make you spend. I went and got my food for the first week from a regular grocery store.

The recipes are some of the best I've ever seen in a diet book. I couldn't believe they were actually in a diet book. Pesto-crusted chickent breast with eggplant caponata,spicy turkey-chipotle meatloaf with sweet potato puree and grilled vegetables, steamed clams with whole wheat linguine and basil-white wine sauce. You get the point. They are like meals you would get in a restaurant. I've already made 2 and my husband can't stop talking about how good they are.

One of my children is a vegetarian and she can follow the 4 Day Diet too, because it has so many options and it allows you to make smart substitutions where necessary. I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about losing weight and like me is frustrated not being able to stick to a plan. I'll stick to this for the rest of my life because it doesn't feel like a diet. Thanks for this great book, Dr. Smith.

the first module of the book is the hardest..the detox..ok first I couldn't do that I tried but it was very hard..but really the rest of the modules were good..and yes the cabbage soup is to die for..yummy...I love Dr Ian and I have every book he has written and I will say this book is the best..I modified the meals and made them my own and I exercised more leading me to lose 13 lbs..just use it as a guideline and you will be fine..its a great book

I purchased this book back in September of 2010. I'm 35 years old, married and have 3 children...and I've been on many, many diets. The weight had slowly crept up on me over the past 12 years and before I knew it, I was at 180! I'm 5'1" and at that weight, I was beginning to have knee problems and just didn't feel great most of the time. My size 14s were beginning to get really tight and I just refused to buy a bigger size. I'd been meaning to buy this book for some time. The first thing that struck me was Dr. Ian took the emotional touchy feely stuff out of dieting--he says, in layman's terms, what happens to the body when we consume food. The first week, I lost 7 lbs and I was hooked. I must admit that I actually cried when I served the family lasagna for dinner one night and knew that wasn't in my meal plan for the day. From that day on, I started to focus on foods I could have instead of foods I couldn't. I eat my favorite steamed veggies--red potatoes, broccoli, carrots, snap peas with salsa, lemon pepper, or parmesan. I make sure to bring snack foods along with me--easy travel stuff like apples, grapes, baby carrots. If I'm on the road and tempted to hit the drive thru, instead I'll hit the produce isle at the grocery store--it takes just as long!

This has been a real life changer for me. I feel so great and my husband loves my trimmed down figure--no more knee pain and it's not a struggle to get off the couch now--I've lost 40 lbs so far...and counting!

I'm trying so hard to give this diet a chance. I'm on Week #3 and I have lost about 3-4 lbs. However, I'm terribly hungry!! The first module is basically fruit, veggies, beans, and rice. There is a cabbage soup recipe that you start on day 3 that is pretty good. The downside is that the recipe makes enough soup to feed a kindergarten class! I should have reduced the size. Module 2 is the same food everyday and that's where it starts to get very boring. I am so saladed out that I don't know what to do!! During Module 2, 4 oz of meat is added, but the only thing to eat with the meat is beans or...guess what.... a salad!! I actually got through that one and now according to the good doctor's instructions, I can pick any of the other modules in any order. I chose the Pace module which adds 5 oz of meat, sandwiches, and chili. I thought this one would be easier, but I just got through eating lunch which was 1 Cup of vegetable soup and I'm still hungry! Most of the modules do allow 2 snacks a day, but for me they just make me hungrier (rice cakes, yogurt, more fruit!, air-popped popcorn (where in the heck do you get that?), etc.). There is also a lot of exercising required almost everyday. I've done pretty good on that, but not as much as is required. The plan is sensible and really didn't take a doctor to figure out. There is no big secret to this diet, it is just very low caloric intake and exercising. I can't rate this very high because there is just not enough variety in the meal plans. Also, there are recipes at the end of the book, but I can't figure out how to incorporate them into the plan. I was somewhat disappointed with this book.

To put this review in complete perspective, let's take a quick look at the background of the author of this book, The 4-Day Diet.

Ian K. Smith, M.D. earned a Bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1992, a Master's degree from Columbia University in 1993, and a Medical Doctor degree from The University of Chicago Medical School, around the year 1998. His media coverage was well in place within 3 years, as his media fame rocketed during his coverage of events on September 11, 2001.

Since then, he has written several diet books, has been a medical contributor to "The View", a medical columnist for Men's Health magazine, the medical/diet expert on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," and the host of a nationally syndicated radio show. He is the former medical correspondent for NBC News network and for NBC's "Nightly News" and the "Today" show. He has written for various publications including Time, Newsweek, and the New York Daily News.

In other words, Ian K. Smith is a prolific print and TV journalist who happens to have an M.D. degree. He has spent very little time as an actual physician practicing medicine in the real world. He does have the degree, but has little real world practice in the art and science of medicine. He is first and foremost an author and media journalist.

He has also never had a problem with his weight. PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS FACT; I THINK IT IS AN IMPORTANT ONE!

His first major bestselling diet book was titled, The Fat Smash Diet: THE LAST DIET YOU'LL EVER NEED. Notice the subtitle? He claimed this was "the last diet you'll ever need," yet he has gone on to author three additional diet books. Evidently, he was wrong about his first book being the last diet you'll ever need!

Let's examine the particulars of this 4-Day Diet book, the FOURTH diet book written by a physician with no real world experience in the world of medicine.

First, I give the author props for the concept of switching things up every 4 days, of phasing one's dieting strategies from pushing hard for 4 days to easing up for 4 days and such. Those are the only props this diet deserves. In practice, the author leaves MUCH to be desired. He does NOTHING to dispel diet boredom over the long haul. He also gives no substitutions. You're on your own for that if there's something you don't like. He doesn't even acknowledge that one might find it necessary to make substitutions to his strict regime.

The author also makes it a "one size fits all" diet with no accounting for smaller people, very large people, men, young people with young metabolisms, older people with slower metabolisms, or anyone with challenges such as metabolic syndrome. Of course, that's a fault with MOST diet plans, so he can't be singled out for that. Still, by now, after three other "successful" diet books, one would think he could have picked up on these glaring gaps.

As evidence of the boredom and lack of variety in this diet, I performed a side-by-side comparison of one day from each of his seven 4-day modules. Every one of these days listed coffee, 2 eggs, 2 or 3 servings of fruit, 2 or 3 cups of green leafy salad with 3 tablespoons of low fat or nonfat dressing, and either 1 cup of cooked beans and/or 1 cup of cooked brown rice. Some days added 4 or 5 ounces of cooked lean protein, occasionally 2 slices of whole grain bread at lunch time to make a sandwich with the lean protein, sometimes he lists 1 or 2 snacks to be chosen from his snack list, and only once in 28 days of meals did he allow 2 slices of medium veggie pizza.

Basically, there is very, very little difference in his days AND in his modules. It is RARE to find a day without 2 to 3 cups of green salad with 3 Tablespoons of low fat dressing, so it's so easy to get burned out on salad very quickly. Every day has 2 to 3 servings of fruit; the only variation is how he lists it. Some days he specifies fruit, such as "1 apple, 1 pear, 1 banana" and some days he just lists "3 servings of fruit." But in reality, it's all the same. About every other day he lists scrambled eggs for breakfast. The 2 times he specifies a 2 egg omelet, there is no mention of cheese, so I believe it's just a matter of how the eggs are cooked. Let's face it--there is very little difference between a 2 egg omelet without cheese and 2 eggs scrambled. Most days list 1 cup of cooked beans and/or 1 cup of cooked brown rice. The pizza allowance appears ONE TIME in the entire 28-day cycle. Wooo hoo. ONE TIME in an entire month.

This diet is overly convoluted for what boils down to not much variety in a month of eating. Basically, it's an eat-your-salad-and-fruit-and-veggies-and-lean-protein-and-beans diet, with the occasional whole grain indulgence of bread, and allow yourself the indiscretion of 2 medium slices of veggie pizza ONE time ONCE a month. In terms of eating out at restaurants, it is nearly impossible to follow, since very few restaurants offer cooked beans or cooked brown rice on their menu. It is not a diet for the REAL world. But then, neither is he a doctor in the real world.

More restrictive than Weight Watchers, certainly. Cheaper than Weight Watchers? Yes, but at least with Weight Watchers you get the support from ongoing meetings, online forums, and ongoing recipes and information at every meeting. At Weight Watchers you at least get to have a vast variety of food choices every day. Nothing is off limits! You learn about filling foods and how to eat healthfully. You learn how to make it a way of living and not a way of dieting. This author's plan lacks so much in terms of flexibility and variety that there is no way one could consider this an ongoing lifetime way of eating.

Save your money. Stop lining this author's pockets. Ask yourself how many diet books one author needs to continue getting rich off of, especially when this one lacks so much in terms of variety. Even if a quick survey of the diet isn't enough to convince you, a look at his experience in the real world is enough to proclaim to any who will see that this author is all about the Benjamins, churning out diet book after diet book, as a way to prey on the obese. He does nothing to add to the depth of knowledge about the root causes of obesity. He writes for fame and money, pure and simple.

I give his fourth diet book a complete thumbs down. I'm still waiting for him to make good on his promise with his first diet book, that it's the LAST diet you'll ever need. Obviously, it's a promise he shouldn't offer because he can't keep it.

I was skeptical when I picked this book up, but after trying just about everything, thought I would give it a try. I am so glad I did! I am on my 6th day, and have already lost 4.4 pounds. For the first two or three days, I thought I might pull my hair out, but now I feel great. I have also noticed a huge difference in my skin, it seems to be glowing! The cabage soup was surprisingly good, and I've become addicted to chick peas on salads. I think it's great that so much of the book is dedicated to helping people change their mind set. I've been able to set realistic goals, and broken them down over a course of months. My first goal was to lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks, and I am already almost halfway there. Don't forget to drink plenty of water in the first few days, it really helps.

The book is another easy read of Dr. Ian Smith as I have read "The Fat Smash Diet" which was an easy read. I liked both diets, with "The Fat Smash Diet", I lost 17 pounds and so far I've lost 6 pounds with " The 4 Day Diet". My favorite of the two would be "The 4 Day Diet" because I like the ability to change the eating plan every four days. This diet allows more variety in food choices early on in the plan, instead of one phase for several weeks. The exercise regime for each module isn't bad at all, it allows for a rest day during each module. I like the incorporation of the strength training as well. The beginning of the book was helpful in helping you to get mentally prepared for the diet plan. I have enjoyed reading and doing two of Dr. Ian Smith's diets, and I would highly recommend either of the two diet plans for someone who is motivated to lose weight. The two plans are easily considered a lifestyle eating plan.

I like Dr. Ian's diets. I lost 17 pounds on Extreme Fat Smash and have kept it off. I lost 4 pounds on Induction and will weigh myself again once I am done with all phases. This one has more variety and more food so you will be able to stick with most parts of it once the weight is lost. Someone commented that the diet is not 4 days as if Dr. Ian meant to decieve you. There is no deception here and you should never follow a diet that promises you will lose all the weight you want in only 4 days. The diet is broken up in 4 day modules because calorie fluctuation keeps your metabolism from stalling. It also helps psychologically because it is 4 days at a time rather than thinking about 6-8 weeks at a time. Another reviewer complained that the book doesn't tell you what to eat - false, false, false. These are not sample menus, Dr. Ian tells you exactly what to eat each and every single day and the exact amount. I type up the menu for each module and post it on my fridge and pull them down as each day is completed. You don't have to use the recipes in his book and he doesn't say which recipe matches which module because they apply to ALL phases. Also I would advise that you read the entire book as it will help you stick to the diet and be able to maintain the weight afterwards. All that information is not fluff. I think that's one of the main reasons people don't do well on diets - they never read the information the author provides and just skip straight to the diet and then wonder why it didn't work.

Okay, here is the deal. I am not into fad diets and I work out 6 days a week but I also struggle with food and my weight fluctuates. I saw this on television and I was just curious because the first 4 days is like a cleanse. This is what I did. I followed the first 4 days and added a 5th day (by doing day 4 twice). The next two days were like free days, but I didn't go eating thousands of calories. Then, I did it another week. Then another week. After 4 weeks, I lost 16 pounds. I just made it my own and took what I wanted out of it. The food wasn't that hard to follow, actually. I didn't go past the 4 day cleanse, but I lost the weight and kept it off.

I purchased this book because I do enjoy watching Celebrity Fit Club where Dr. Ian is a consultant. I work out and eat well already and was hoping this book could give me some pointers to help me lose those last 5-10 lbs. I knew a lot of the information, however he did have some great activities to help you identify and avoid cravings, etc. He creates a general meal plan for you where you decide what you're going to eat and when you're going to eat. I did the first 4 day plan - Induction/Detox and it was killer! I am used to drinking a lot of diet soda and tea and it was very difficult for me. HOWEVER it did help me to re-energize my weight loss. Would recommend this book to a wide range of people...those who want to start eating better and exercising and those who already are, but need to change things up.