The Digest Diet

Banana Bonbons (The Diet Digest)

It’s not often I volunteer to review a “diet” book.  Don’t get me wrong, I love reading them, getting ideas, and sometimes giving some of the recipes or exercises a whirl, but The Diet Digest instantly grabbed my attention for several reasons.

First, it’s written by Liz Vaccariello, editor of Reader’s Digest.  I’ve found the magazine and other books affiliated with Reader’s Diet to be highly informative and generally, super handy to have.

Second, the general promise of the guide is to help the reader “eliminate fatigue and cravings and kick-start a liftetime of good health.”  In a nutshell, those are my problem areas and I could really use a good guide and boost towards better health (with the much-needed added benefit of weight loss! All part of my continued #47isNotMyNumber wellness quest.)

Happy to report that both my reasons for taking a look at The Diet Digest proved to be spot on.  I read this guide from cover to cover in two sittings and I’m so glad that I did!  Right now I have a much better understanding of what my personal “fat increasers” are and how to overcome them, oodles of ideas for motivation, and a very simple, easy-to-follow 21 day plan outlined to supercharge my weight loss start (plus an “after” plan of attack to continue results.)

What I like most about the 21 day plan outlined in the book is not just the promise of sustainable results, but that it’s not gimmicky.  Each day does include a shake, but it’s a shake you create using real, fresh, tasty and filling ingredients that are designed to aid your efforts and nourish your body.

I also like that all of the foods on the plan are common choices I can easily find at my local grocer or already have on hand at home.  One diet squasher for me is having to purchase a lot of expensive items or hard-to-find foods, The Diet Digest doesn’t have you doing either.

And lastly, I like the realism of the plan.  It even includes snacks and yes, desserts! I made the Banana Bonbons right away (pictured above) for review purposes, of course (wink) and knew I could easily be very happy with enjoying them regularly in place of a high-fat, high cal ice cream treat.

Peppered throughout the guide are success stories from others who have tested the plan that are highly motivating.  All of these people are very “real,” not the cookie cutter models used in advertisements, which I found refreshing.  There are also daily menus, workouts, recipes, follow-up plans and an accompanying website readersdigest.com/digestdiet that is free to use.

Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed with The Diet Digest and plan to embark on my 21 day journey.  One of the very first concepts the book addresses is “attitude changes.”  For me, it more of the seasonal change.  I want to start the plan during a time I know I will have success in sticking to the challenge, which for me will be back-to-school.  So while the kids go back to the books, my book will take me back to basics with my diet and hopefully, whittle my middle in the process! (Be sure to check back, I will certainly share my results… and if you’ll be joining me, please let me know, I’d love to have some Diet Digest buddies to journey with.)

For more information on The Diet Digest, visit readersdigest.com/digestdiet  #review