Stop & Drop Diet: Lose up to 5 lbs in 5 days

(Note: I purchased the Kindle version not the hardcover version. I find the Kindle version easy to use and the formatting is good.)Once again Liz Vaccariello has sucked me into buying yet another one of her diet books with her easy writing style and "you can do it" pep talk. Liz always has you feeling like you are chatting with an old friend. This one is probably my favorite because truly it does appear to be as she says "the easiest plan ever". And she blithely explains away all of her other plans saying pretty much different strokes for different folks.Basically this book is a calorie counting plan where Liz and her sidekicks have done the counting for you. You choose 1200 for weight loss, 1600 to continue loss albeit at a slower pace or 2000 for maintenance. You start with the 1200 plan for quick weight loss. NOTE: Buried in the pages Liz does say if you are obese you may want to start at a higher calorie level and ease into it. Liz gives you simple menus with easy to find food that you can choose from. Alternatively she also gives you an approximate target caloric goal to aim for if you care to make your own plan. So breakfast might be as simple as yogurt with cereal and a latte. She uses home and restaurant foods to give you a variety of options.Let's start with what I don't like about the book:Liz includes testers of the plan. Now there are only nine testers and it sounds like most work for Readers Digest (the publisher of this book). I can't imagine them saying something to the effect of "Hey Boss I hated your new diet plan." And she even admits that in their rush to publish it they only tried it out for 3 weeks. So the testimonials are not exactly powerful.Then there are the advertised 500 photos but aside from pics of the testers, those photos are not of meals or anything exciting. They are simple photos of the food items she suggests. So yes a photo of a box of brand name crackers or another food item. These photos are no where near as powerfully presented as the ones in the popular "Eat This Not That" collection of books. But Liz gives you more real life, actionable ways to lower your consumption of calories than the "Eat This Not That" series does.We also have the issue of the promise of dropping a pound a day. Ummm that is only going to happen if you are over eating by thousands of calories per day. Because if it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound (give or take for individual variances) then well you have to eat that much less to drop a real pound a day. So this is a lot of hype to get you to buy the book but...if you can lose even at a slower rate AND keep it off well it's worth it. Just don't expect a short term miracle because it is unlikely. This is calorie counting - not a cleanse, fast or surgery. This is long term stuff here.Liz tells you to exercise. She suggests you walk an hour a day which you may have to work up too. Liz says you can work up to this in 4 days. Not so sure most couch taters can go from sitting around to an hour walk every day in 4 days so Liz needs to get real here.Liz shares a lot of what you should be eating but does not have easy to copy grocery lists.Some of Liz's healthy choices are not the best; one brownie she includes as a "YES to eat" has 58 grams of sugar in one portion. 58 grams - you read that right!There is no summary at the end of the book. Come on Liz, you're an editor. Every book needs a beginning, middle and end. This one just ends with fruit juice choices.AIIIIEEEEEE! There are lot of issues here.The book is pretty much a variation on her 400 Calorie Fix diet where Liz shares how easy it is to lose by just eating 400 calories at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only in this book she changes the amount of calories at each meal and doesn't give anywhere near the menu examples.There is NOTHING new in this book folks. It is calories in/ calories out with sample menus given.So why am I giving it 5 stars? (No Liz is not my cousin). I am giving it 5 stars because her simple mantra of how easy it is to lose by making simple swaps for things you WANT to eat can be so effective for weight loss. It's the type of weight loss you can maintain because you still get to enjoy foods you love. You don't have to give up bread, fruit, food groups....You enjoy foods you want in modest portions and make substitutes for the over the top crazy caloric ones. That is it in a nutshell. And Liz illustrates how to make these simple changes that over time can add up to big weight loss.The book is NOT earth shattering or anything new. It is just a reworked presentation on eating less calories but suffering as little as possible while doing it...(I mean who really wants to give up chocolate).So there you go...I like it. Again to me it is nothing new but drives home the concept of making small changes that add up to big results. STOP and think before you eat. DROP the weight if you make the right choices. It takes time but it's your choice where you want to be a year from now. Of course I knew this but I really was slack about it. This book has me rethinking all of my choices. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some different versions of food items I like (such as thin bagels instead of regular ones), salad, fruit etc. I don't plan to eat fat free sugar filled faux foods but will eat smaller portions of real foods and make good substitutions. I started yesterday really FOCUSING on what goes in my mouth and will post my results in the future.

At Readers Digest this book was $10 more, so Amazon was much better priced! While I may not follow every meal shown in here (and there are lots of choices) it helps me modify the meals I do eat and makes me more aware of the total calories..which leads to weight loss. And what is wonderful, except for the Quick Start part, there is hardly any food that is off limits.I have and have read many 'diet' books, but I think this might be the last one I purchase. And even 'modifying' my meals, I could still lose 1/2 pound every day or so. Which is much better than what I was losing before this book.I have learned over the years..do not tell yourself you are on a 'diet'. You will do so much better. And if you 'fall of the wagon' for one day, get back on it the next...don't give up!

Can't give it a 5 as I've only just started the plan. Still, this makes way more sense than many of the other books I've read. It recognizes we can't just give up what foods we like. It shows how to substitute or update the recipes. Excited to see how well this plan works.

I have lost almost 10 pounds since Feb 1st WITHOUT EXERCISE! Can't take I hour walks anymore due to physical ailments. Good book but wish it had easy recipes for dinners. It's nice to have restaurant choices, though, if I want them.

This book is amazing, especially for those who have a hard time with meal planning and incorporating everyday food items into the diet. It is not a multi-ingredient recipe plan - rather a practical and informative guide that allows eating favorite foods sensibly. Food and complete menu choices range from what we already have in our fridge/cupboard to what we crave in fast foods!

Just delving into this book and already know its the perfect purchase for me. I live alone, don't cook, and really I rely solely on my microwave to survive. So for this book to step by step tell me, and show me, the healthy foods I can purchase from the grocery store is great for my busy lifestyle.

First, let me state that I have never before returned a book. I returned this book. If it were possible to give the book less than 1 star, I would do it. I was totally appalled at the preponderance of processed, frozen, and fast foods that make up the bulk of this "diet." For anyone who is trying to eat clean and avoid processed and fast foods, this certainly is not the book for you. The photographs are quite lovely, although most depict what I would consider very poor food choices. If the content of the book does not offend you, those living in very rural areas might find it difficult to find many of the products mentioned. I would under no circumstances recommend this book to anyone.

Foods were mostly fast food and dine-in which aren't in Hawaii. Disappointed that Reader's Digest hyped this. Wanted to lose 5pounds that yo-yo but this book looks like it is targeted to very heavy set bodies.And who eats out for every meal, all week long? I wanted to improve my home cooked meals not change unreal, frivolous 3 meals a day dining out.Thinking of returning - sorry Amazon.Update: I am returning this.

All the ingredients are in American weights and a lot of the products are what are on sale in America, could do with and English conversion

Suppose it is a good diet, but found that it is similar to others, so disappointed in that. Probably will never use.