The Digest Diet

By Liz Vaccariello

New York, Reader’s Digest, 2012

318 pages     Nonfiction

The Shortlist

Liz Vaccariello is the Editor-in-Chief of Reader’s Digest and is the author of several other diet books. The Digest Diet has a lot going for it. It has large print, good advice, great recipes, and a diet that is very simple to follow. 

What I have learned from my own recent dieting is that if I can get through the first three days with very few carbohydrates, I am good for the long run. The Digest Diet has a very simple plan for getting through these first three days, with what Vaccariello calls the Fast Release. Shakes and soups lead to fast, early weight loss while giving you solid nutrition. The soup recipes are especially appealing. I made the Hearty Mexican Chicken Soup and the Italian Shrimp and Vegetable Soup. Both were excellent.

The other two parts of the diet include the Fade Away and the Finish Strong portions of the diet. The plan is designed to last for 21 days, although it looked to me like the Finish Strong portion could last indefinitely. The recipes are excellent. We had the Shrimp Scampi and the Tri-color Frittata last week. Each recipe has a full-page picture to go with it.

One of the things that I have been conscientiously trying to do with our new eating plan is to count calories and carbohydrates. So, I was especially pleased with the Shrimp Scampi recipe. In our no-holds-barred high-calorie days, we liked pasta with shrimp and Alfredo sauce. I put the shrimp scampi from the Digest Diet on spaghetti squash and eliminated about 500 calories per serving, and we thought it was great.

Vaccarriello offers advice as to why weight creeps up on us, a plan for moving more, and a maintenance plan. Although much of this advice has been reiterated in diet book after diet book, it is very plainly stated in The Digest Diet. This is an easy to follow diet with very good advice.

My husband always says that if you can keep up a good habit (whatever it may be) for three weeks, you will be able to maintain that habit. The Digest Diet is a 21-day plan (three weeks) to help break the old, bad habits, and establish the new, good habits to break the high calorie, high carbohydrate lifestyle that many of us have established.

The publicist sent me this book. I am glad that I read it. We love the recipes.

The diet’s website: http://www.digestdiet.com/

Here is a blog posting from a woman who completed three weeks on the Digest Diet and lost significant weight: http://www.annagainandagainreviews.com/2012/04/digest-diet-week-3.html

A review of the book from a diet review website concludes:   The Digest Diet appears to have everything needed for a weight loss jump start with delicious foods and effective exercise. This program allows you to some weight quickly to stay motivated and continue until you reach your goal. The evidence for the effectiveness of this program is solid and the advice leads you to healthy eating. http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/the-digest-diet/