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The Pound a Day Diet
Lose Up to 5 Pounds in 5 Days by Eating The Food You Love
Rocco DiSpirito
Read by Rocco DiSpirito

Hachette Audio
January 2014/ ISBN 9781478900689
Nonfiction / Self Help /Health / Nutrition / Audio Book (5 hours on 5 CDs)

Reviewed by Leslie Halpern

Award-winning celebrity chef and cookbook author, Rocco Dispirito, reads his newest work in this five-CD audio book. He says his previous healthy recipes and weight-loss ideas (all backed by scientific studies and sources) weren’t enough for some of his clients, who presented him with the even greater challenge of losing a pound a day until the desired weight was achieved. So that’s what The Pound a Day Diet is all about: learning about healthy ingredients to buy, using a 28-day menu plan, preparing Dispirito’s recipes for low-calorie meals, eating healthy, delicious food that you prepare, and losing up to one pound each day until you’re ready to maintain a healthy weight.

Narrated in a casually entertaining style by the author, this audio book provides excellent background information before embarking on the actual diet plan (included in a PDF on the fifth CD). You’ll learn about results from the latest nutritional studies, find out how simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates react in the body, hear which foods to enjoy (and in the case of processed foods, avoid), and share in Dispirito’s own struggles with his weight.

Most of the information contained here isn’t revolutionary; it’s primarily a lifestyle plan based on common sense, science, and the Mediterranean diet. What does makes The Pound a Day Diet unique is its emphasis on quick and healthy weight loss through “carb correction” and “calorie correction,” and highly flavorful low-calorie recipes created by the author.

The helpful PDF contains recipes for breakfast, beverages, appetizers/sides/snacks, soups/salads, main courses, and desserts. This section also includes an overview of the Mediterranean diet, calorie and meal plans for 28 days, an extensive weekly grocery shopping list, and 60 low-calorie, easy-to-prepare recipes. Most recipes contain just a few ingredients, though often in unusual combinations, such as Super Popcorn-Kale Crumble, which combines kale, popcorn, and red pepper flakes.

The recipes also offer nutritional information and some recommended ready-made versions of similar products. Many of the recipes contain ingredients and brands that may be unfamiliar to readers, such as Jay Robb egg-white powder or Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem in the age of the internet, however, where information and purchasing power are just a few clicks away.


Reviewer Leslie C. Halpern is the author of Passionate About Their Work: 151 Celebrities, Artists, and Experts on Creativity, Rub, Scrub, Clean the Tub: Funny Children's Poems About Self-Image, and Shakes, Cakes, Frosted Flakes: Funny Children's Poems About Table Manners.
Reviewed 2014
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