We Read It: Shred the Revolutionary Diet and Thinner This Year

Diet books promise a lot—lose weight, get stronger, feel sexy! But do they really deliver? Here’s our take on two recent releases. (And shameless self-promotional plug: We have our very own healthy living book coming out on Dec. 31. Pre-order it now!)

Shred: The Revolutionary Diet

The idea of getting “shreddred” isn’t a new one (Jillian!), and it’s a pretty likable concept. I mean, who doesn’t want to be lean and strong? So, clearly, Ian Smith’s Shred: The Revolutionary Diet: 6 Weeks 4 Inches 2 Sizes book has appeal—and promises some big results. The book itself does have some good info in it, and it’s an easy read. It’s also built on the concept of “cycling,” or making smaller changes over time and changing how you eat and work out each week to keep your body from plateauing. These things we like! We also like that that book recommends eating a low-GI diet full of whole, clean foods and spacing out your meals and snacks throughout the day for sustained energy. What we don’t dig though is that the majority of the book is actually a super specific and regimented meal plan that seems like it would get boring and has lots of “rules.” And while exercise is a part of the whole thing and strength training is mentioned, there’s no plan to incorporate it into the weeks—just cardio. Cardio is awesome, but you gots to build the muscle, too!

Best for: Those who are interested in the concept of cycling or making small changes for better health and fitness.

Not for: Those with a yo-yo dieting past who tend to be too restrictive or obsessive with the diet drama.

Thinner This Year

A sequel of the popular book, Younger Next Year, this is a pretty dense and scientific read, intermingled with personal stories from the co-authors Chris Crowley and Jen Sacheck. A little campy at times—and they use the “F word” a lot!—we found this book to be pretty hard to get through. Granted, Thinner This Year is filled with TONS of amazing information on everything from muscle recovery to proper nutrition to tips and tricks to eat better, feel better and live longer, but we just couldn’t get into it. Chris and Jen take turns writing chapters and reference each other a lot, which is kind of fun, but also gets a bit tiring. But, again, there’s so much good info (maybe even too much for the everyday person), and it’s definitely a way of life and not a diet. So we love that. Love.

Best for: Those who want to get into the real science of a healthy lifestyle and are looking to make some changes to eat better and move more (or work out more effectively).

Not for: Those who dislike long detailed books—or the F-word.

Read anything good lately? Or any “healthy” books that totally disappointed? —Jenn