231 of 233 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extreme is right, May 9, 2007
This review is from: Extreme Fat Smash Diet (Paperback)
Yikes, he isn't kidding when it says extreme! How extreme? The diet basically centers around a four meal a day schedule plus two 100 calorie or less snacks. For breakfast you can expect 2 egg whites and a 1/2 cup of fruit or maybe some yogurt. Meal 2 and 3 will be small (veggie only) salads or a 200 calorie or less protein shake or fruit smoothie. Meal four? Four ounces of lean meat (chicken), 1/2 sweet potato, 2 cups of veggies. Oh, and that's only if you fall into the "alpha" catagory (that means diets have worked for you pretty easily in the past). Otherwise, you'll be cutting back from there even (as a beta or gamma). As a six foot tall male, I find myself hungry. I "cheat" by adding an apple or five ounces of meat instead of four. If you're big, you'll be hungry. Of course this book isn't called the No Pain Happy Face Diet.
The great thing about this book is that is exactly as advertised: a hardcore, go big or go home, there's no crying in baseball, give me results now, diet. It's a crash course in small portions and no-nonsense good for you food. You'll eat brown rice, not white and so on. This book does not coddle you or try to pretend that you're making easy changes that you'll never notice. You are going to eat salads and egg whites over and over again. The portions are small. If you want variety you'll have to get it by choosing different vegetables. There is nothing cute or fancy here. (One diet book I read claimed that I could run some cauliflower through a food processor and it would taste just like mashed potatoes -- no it doesn't!)
The book starts with a few chapters to get you accustomed to the science behind what you are going to be doing and then it jumps in with exact menus for every single day. The book also classifies you as alpha, beta, or gamma depending your body. The menus come with adjustments (maybe one serving of veggies instead of two and more exercise) if you are beta or gamma. Once you know if you are alpha, beta or gamma, you can skip the whole book and just follow the menus if you want. It talks about things like metabolism and the glycimic index, but you won't need to know anything about that if you just follow the menus. There is no guessing about what to eat when. Your only freedom comes in the form of two a day snacks of 100 calories or less. There is a list which includes some good snacks you might not have thought of like a small number of hershey kisses for that chocolate craving or chocolate covered raisins. Otherwise, expect to have your meals planned out for you each day. There are 21 total days broken into to 3 "cyles" of one week each. Completing three cycles is one "rotation". The first rotation could theoretically get you as much as 12 pounds of weight loss in 3 weeks. Want to lose more? Jump back to cycle 1 or 2 and start again. There is a "maintenance" section to help keep the weight off, but the book's focus is on losing some weight now. There are some recipies in the book but I'm not sure why. You don't get to eat any of them on the main diet (maybe in "maintenance"). You don't have to be a cook. The menu never says "Twelve Bean Cassarole with Brocoli Sauce." It says "4 oz of chicken," or "1/2 cup beans". Nothing fancy.
The book prescribes regular exercise in the form of one sentence instructions like "Do 45 minutes of cardio" at the bottom of each day's menu. You'll need to use your imagination to fill in the workout details.
If you've ever thought to yourself "Yeah, yeah, I know that slow weight loss and long term healthy choices is the best way to a healthy body, but what can I do to drop some pounds now without messing up my health?" then this is the book for you. What I really like is the straight forward no nonsense menus. If you follow them there is no way you won't lose weight, and you'll be getting good nutrition too.
If you are looking for a tamer more long term approach to being healthy and losing weight you are probably looking for
The Fat Smash Diet: The Last Diet You'll Ever Need (the not extreme one). I like it too, but Extreme Fat Smash Diet is a great way to jump in with both feet and get a quick confidence boosting head start.
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228 of 237 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Good, September 7, 2007
This review is from: Extreme Fat Smash Diet (Paperback)
Lose 12 pounds in 3 weeks claims the book. And after reviewing it, I believe it just might be possible. Written by the author of last year's "The Fat Smash Diet," the idea of this seems to be, if you want big results, you'll have to push yourself beyond normal limits to attain them.
Once again, readers will find Dr. Smith's easy and friendly writing style. At the start of the book, you find out your "dieting type" and then quickly go from there. Since the book is set up for you to lose 12 pounds in 3 weeks, its organized in three 1 week cycles, which is 21 days. For each day, there is a menu plan (four meals a day) and a journal page you to write on. Know too that the exercise recommended each day is cardio. Other goodies include recipes, which easily make up about a third of the book, and a handy appendix ends the book (which contains useful info about BMI's, how to read food labels, etc.).
All in all, I feel like this is a great book that is well laid out and very user friendly. One caveat though. Following the plan may not be easy at times, and the book will tell you this outright. Nonetheless, it should benefit many who struggle with their weight loss demons.
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107 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To the Extreme!!!, April 24, 2007
This review is from: Extreme Fat Smash Diet (Paperback)
My sister and I did the original fat smash diet and at first I wasn't sure that it was going to work. When we finished that program, I lost over 30lbs. I still want to lose an additional 20lbs and after reading through this book, I see it happening. I met Dr. Ian Smith in person in Baltimore and he signed the "extreme fat smash" for me. He held a free meeting for over 3 hrs and expressed his concern for individuals who are not healthy. He is more concerned with health than six pack abs. This diet is not truly a diet but rather a life change. To be quite honest with you, anyone who has their mind made up to lose weight, will lose weight. Find what motivates you and go for it. This just so happened to be the book for me. No matter what pill, book, or machine you buy, it has to begin with you. I lost the weight when I made up my mind and followed the instructions of the book without taking any pills, just hard work. Don't go for gimmicks, Smash the fat.
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