Dr. Ian Smith joins us on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm with tips on losing those extra holiday pounds, and advice from his latest book, Shred: The Revolutionary Diet. Read an excerpt below:
SHRED Cycles
Each week of SHRED is designed to stand on its own and to be different than the others. Each of the six weeks has a name that reflects the theme for that week. The weeks are Prime, Challenge, Transformation, Ascend, Cleanse, and Explode. While each week represents a leg in your journey, it also builds on the other others that precede it. The program teaches you how to make smarter choices and has specific strategies embedded in the daily meal and exercise plans: sometimes you will recognize them and other times you will not. The overall effect, however, is that you will continuously SHRED fat. You will see the declining numbers on the scale and a reduction in inches wherever you need to lose them: whether it be in your waist, thighs, or hips.
It has been my experience that programs starting out asking followers to make extreme changes in their dietary and/or exercise habits are least effective over the long term. Users either never can fully engage the program, because it’s asking too much of them, or they are able to do some of the program but not all of it, leading them to become discouraged and drop out altogether. SHRED acknowledges some very basic facts. First, losing weight is not easy and quite often is extremely frustrating. Second, no one is a perfect eater or exerciser and expecting someone—anyone— to be perfect and not have bad days is completely unrealistic. Third, success comes from following a program that they can ease into, rather than one that starts out too aggressively rigorous and restrictive. People don’t always want to feel like they’re on a diet!
Prime. These seven days prime you for the rest of the plan. This week is an induction into the SHREDDER Nation. You’ll learn about the importance of meal spacing, proper snacking techniques, and suppressing hunger without consuming too many calories. The average weight loss this week will be 3.5 pounds. This could be less if you’re within 20 lbs of your goal weight. The further you are away from your target weight and the worse your habits have been prior to starting the program, the more weight you will lose. Many who fit this description have lost as many as 8-10 pounds during Prime. 100% of the people who have been on the program—regardless of how much weight they need to lose—answered in their survey that they had enough to eat, some going so far as to say that there was so much they couldn’t manage to eat everything on the daily menus.
Challenge is a week that asks you to demand more of yourself. It asks you to release some of your bad habits and adopt some new behaviors that you will have for the rest of your life. This week says that you can do better: you’ll learn after a couple of days that despite early doubts you might have about yourself that you actually can rise to the challenge. This week is a confidence booster, because it shows many dieters that despite their failures of the past or what they have previously perceived to be difficult, they actually have what it takes to succeed. At the end of challenge you will be motivated more than ever to truly make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle and to reach the goals you have set forth prior to starting your SHRED.
Transformation week is a critical seven days where most SHREDDERS start truly noticing a difference. Not only will the scale reflect your hard work, but many realize for the first time at the end of this week that they have dropped a clothing size, their energy levels are much greater, and their outlook about their success on the program heightens dramatically. Transformation is designed to be the toughest week of the program. You will be challenged the most during this week, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Knowing this week is the toughest is half the battle. The other half is putting your head down and getting through it. If you focus, this week will be your best friend. Every day visualize the fat being shredded and your body’s appearance changing.
Ascend is an important turnaround week. Imagine that for the last three weeks you have been descending into a pit. Last week you finally reached the bottom and started to regain strength so that you can climb your way out. The seven days of Ascend have been specifically constructed so that you are now exiting the darkness and ascending toward the light. You have already completed the toughest week of the program, so Ascend will come as a relief. You will continue to work hard, but the work will not feel as strenuous as it did last week. Reinvigorated after three weeks on the program, you are now energized to finish the rest of the cycle at full speed.
Cleanse is a week that spends special attention to enhancing your liver’s ability to detoxify your blood. All of us—even those who eat as healthy as possible— accumulate some level of toxins in or bodies. We want to eliminate these toxins as efficiently as possible. Sometimes livers can be overwhelmed, so occasionally it’s beneficial to give them a little boost in carrying out their jobs. Certain foods can provide this boost by activating special enzymes in the liver that facilitate the cleansing process. There are also foods that work to increase the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. This creates a physical cleanse. This week you will do both. Not only will you improve your physical health this week, but you will continue your weight loss: some will lose their largest amounts during these seven days.
Explode is the last week of the cycle. It’s meant to help you end the cycle with a bang. For some, this week will be their last and they will have reached their goal. For others, Explode is a launching pad into the next cycle. At this point in the program SHREDDERS have will have gone through the toughest as well as the easiest portions of the cycle, and now are using all they have learned to explode into a new lifestyle that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. The purpose of SHRED is not only to get rid of excess weight and the bad habits that have contributed to the problem, but to position you so that you no longer have to be on a diet. No longer will you need to read the plan or follow the meal plans to the letter, you will now be eating, drinking, and exercising in a manner that you can do for the rest of your life.
Week 1 Day 1
Note: 1 cup of coffee is allowed each day. Please put minimal amounts sugar and milk in the coffee. Definitely stay away from those coffee concoctions that are full of calories--caramel macchiato, cinnamon dolce latte, caffé latte, etc.
**If you choose diet soda as your beverage, you are only allowed to have one 12 oz can per day maximum. Try to choose beverages that are more nutritious.
**2 slices of 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat bread can be consumed at any point throughout the day at any time; however, ONLY 2 slicesMeal 1
•1 piece of fruit
•Choose one of the following.
1 small bowl of oatmeal (1.5 cups cooked)
2 egg whites
1 egg white omelet (made with two egg whites max. and diced veggies)
1 small bowl of sugar-free cereal with fat-free, skim, or 1% fat milk
1 container of low-fat or fat-free yogurt
•1 cup of fresh juice not from concentrate (grapefruit, apple, orange juice, tomato, carrot)Snack 1
•100 calories or lessMeal 2
•Choose one of the following. Remember, your choice must not exceed 300 calories and must not have any added sugars.
1 fruit smoothie
1 protein shake
1 bowl of soup (no potatoes, no cream sauces, no meat)
Good choices: vegetable, lentil, chickpea, split pea, black bean, tomato bisque, etc. Be careful of sodium content!
•1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of veggiesBeverage Choices. Choose one of the following:
1 12-oz can of diet soda
1 cup of lemonade (freshly squeezed preferred)
Unlimited plain water (flat or fizzy)
1 cup of flavored water
1 cup of juice (not from concentrate)
1 cup of unsweetened iced tea or any other type of tea
1 cup of low-fat, reduced fat, fat free, unsweetened soy, or unsweetened almond milkSnack 2
150 calories or lessMeal 3
•1 small salad (no bacon, no croutons); 3 tbsp max. fat free dressing
•Choose one of the following.
1 piece of chicken (4-6 oz, no skin, no frying)
1 piece of turkey (4-6 oz, no skin, no frying)
1 piece of fish (4-6 oz, no skin, no frying)
(you can have 1 slice of cheese if desired)
•1 serving of veggiesBeverage Choices. Choose one of the following (Make a different choice than the one you made in meal 2):
1 12-oz can of diet soda
1 cup of lemonade (freshly squeezed preferred)
Unlimited plain water (flat or fizzy)
1 cup of flavored water
1 cup of juice (not from concentrate)
1 cup of unsweetened iced tea or any other type of tea
1 cup of low-fat, reduced fat, fat free, unsweetened soy, or unsweetened almond milkMeal 4
•3 servings of veggies
•1 cup of beans (no baked beans)Beverage Choices. Choose one of the following. Try to choose something different from what you had in Meal 2 if you can. You don’t have to, but try.
1 12-oz can of diet soda
1 cup of lemonade (freshly squeezed preferred)
Unlimited plain water (flat or fizzy)
1 cup of flavored water
1 cup of juice (not from concentrate)
1 cup of unsweetened iced tea or any other type of tea
1 cup of low-fat, reduced fat, fat free, unsweetened soy, or unsweetened almond milkSnack 3
•100 calories or lessExercise
•Amount of Exercise Today: Minimum 30 minutes. If you want to do more, all the better! Work as hard as you can!
•Choose from this list of cardiovascular exercises. If you need to break up the time into two workout sessions, that's completely acceptable. What's most important is that you actually perform the exercise for the minimum amount of time indicated.
jogging outside
walking/running on treadmill
elliptical machine
stationary or mobile bicycle
swimming laps
stair climber
225 jump rope revolutions
treadmill walk/run intervals
Zumba or other type of aerobics
spinning class
other high intensity cardio programs
rowing machineExcerpted from SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet by Dr. Ian K. Smith
