First, here’s how Dr. Ian sets it up.

It’s designed in four phases, each a specified length of time and introduces different foods. The first is basically a detox phase, getting rid of all the toxins and junk you may have accumulated over time.

This phase in my opinion is the best part about this diet. It allows you to eat all the fruits and vegetables you want, no limits, and this rule carries throughout the diet.

Where I feel the diet takes a wrong turn is in the introduction of yogurt, milk, alcohol and lean meats throughout the other 3 phases. Interestingly enough, it’s mentioned that diets high in meat, dairy (milk and cheese) and processed foods are nutrient poor and the cause of obesity and being overweight. It’s also mentioned that the milk and beef campaigns, designed to make you believe you need milk and beef to live, are in fact killing us.

But then, in Phase II meats are re-introduced and in Phase III, breads and pastas are introduced again. And in Phase IV, white rice (probably one of the most nutrition-devoid foods and a bad, refined starch) and alcohol are included.

Now I’m not sure why a diet would remove these foods and drinks to detox and cleanse you, and then re-introduce them all again? The animal based foods (meats, cheese, milk, yogurt) seem to be introduced for protein. Interestingly enough most Americans already eat a diet overflowing with protein and our true protein requirements are minimal. We can get more protein in a few vegetables, nuts or seeds than we can metabolize in a day. Most of the proteins Americans eat are flushed down the toilet daily in our urine. Animal foods are acidic, contain no fiber and are proven to be the cause of most diseases we die from today.

And the processed starches like breads (even whole wheat) and pastas are all complex carbohydrates that once eaten are converted to sugar and cause an increase increase in blood sugar levels. A diet comprised of processed complex carbohydrates leads to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and other related issues. These are not foods to be re-introduced into a diet once you have cleansed your system.

And alcohol, in any form, are just empty calories, devoid of any nutrition at all.

You see, even with the recommendation to go easy on these foods, as recommended in this diet, requires willpower. Lack of willpower is what causes most of our health problems to begin with. But here’s the twist. If you don’t eat these foods, and concentrate on primarily greens, vegetables, fruits, seeds and some nuts, you won’t have a taste for animal foods or need willpower to avoid them. The ‘addiction’ and taste for processed and animal foods will go away and you will naturally seek healthy alternatives. Again, surprisingly this is also mentioned in the diet, but then these same foods are re-introduced.

It appears that many of these foods and drinks are re-introduced into this diet perhaps to appeal to readers that may think they can’t live without them. Or to make the diet more appealing to a wider audience knowing that you can eat and drink these regular staples in the American diet.

What I like about the Fat Smash Diet:

• recommends a cleanse or detox to start
• recommends eating as many fruits, vegetables, greens and legumes
• recognizes that campaigns like “milk does your body good” and “beef, it’s whats for dinner” are actually killing us
• is more focused on lifestyle changes, not a one time diet

What I don’t like about the Fat Smash Diet:

• recommends meats
• recommends dairy products
• recommends alcohol
• recommends processed, complex carbs

The Fat Smash Diet starts out on the right track. And what Dr. Ian mentions in Phase I, that it’s impossible to be obese eating as many fruits, vegetables, greens and legumes as you want, is true. In fact, that is the diet that not only brings you to your optimal weight, but also keeps you there as well as avoiding most disease and health issues. If he stuck with that theory throughout the diet, without the re-introduction of the foods that initially cause weight gain, disease and other health issues, then it would be something to recommend completely.

The Fat Smash Diet does work and get results, any diet that suggests a healthy detox or cleanse using fruits, vegetables, and greens will work. It’s just not the optimal method to lose weight, and more importantly, obtain optimal health.

To your best health!

Update: Sometimes you can tell more about a diet based on how much you can buy a used copy of the book for. As of this writing, you can pickup a used copy of the Fat Smash Diet for 50 cents on Amazon.

Related:

> Healthy Living Tips
> The Best Diet For Life
> 37 Free Weight Loss Tips

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Monounsaturated fats are fatty acids, often referred to as “good” or “healthy” fats.

They are found mainly in nuts, avocados, olive oil, tea seed oil, grapeseed oil, ground nut oil, peanut oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and tea-oil Camellia.

Monounsaturated fatty acids promote insulin resistance and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, while raising HDL (good) cholesterol.

It’s good to concentrate most of your fat intake on these good fats, mostly from nuts and avocados and limit your intake of any processed oils, favoring unheated, cold pressed organic virgin olive oil if you use them. Avoid saturated fats and limit your total fat intake to between 10-20% of your diet. Now it’s important to note that this isn’t 10-20% of the total amount of food, but 10-20% of your total caloric intake. So if you eat 2000 calories in a day, you’ll want to limit your fat calories to 200-400 a day.

You’d be surprised how many fat calories these foods contain. Fat contains 9 calories per gram, compared with 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates, so a little goes far! A handful of nuts, one avocado or one tablespoon of oil easily fills your daily requirement.

I often wondered how much fat I was eating in a day compared to my total calories and I was surprised (actually shocked!) how hight it was. Read more about how I found out how many calories I ate in a day and how I measured it quickly. You don’t need to do it every day, just find out what you normally eat and once you measure it for a week, you can estimate your intake regularly.

To your best health!

Related:

• Do You Know How Many Calories You Eat Daily?

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