SHRED by Ian K. Smith (2012): What to eat and foods to avoid

SHRED (2012) is a 6-week diet cycle that spells out in detail each meal you will consume for six weeks, giving you room to make substitutions.

• Low calorie
• Low fat
• Diet confusion
• Some liquid meals
• Meal spacing

Below is a description of the food recommendations in the diet. Summary  |  General guidelines  |  Week 1: Prime  |  Week 2: Challenge  |  Week 3: Transformation  |  Week 4: Ascend  |  Week 5: Cleanse  |  Week 6: Explode.  There’s a lot more in the book.

Get a copy of SHRED for the meal plans, exercise plans, recipes, and full benefits of the plan.

Get a copy of SHRED for more details.

Get The Shred Diet Cookbook for recipes (for both Shred and Super Shred).

Also, see Super SHRED, the follow-up diet book by Dr. Smith for 4 week very rapid weight loss.

The reasoning behind SHRED

Shred is a six-week cycle diet that claims to teach you how to make smarter choices and has specific strategies embedded in the daily meal and exercise plans. It guides you what you eat, how much you eat, and how many calories you consume, as well as spacing of meals (it says research has shown that distributing the calories over more meals and snacks is advantageous in keeping hormone levels even). It suggests that you should vary your nutritional choices to keep the body guessing, to help you lose weight, decrease your chances of food boredom, and possibly increase your metabolism – this is called Diet Confusion and is similar to muscle confusion in weight lifting. The detailed meal plans are intended to help you lose weight by giving detailed prescriptions of what to eat and when.

SHRED diet plan – food guidelines

SHRED is a six-week program. You can stay on the diet for more than six weeks, but each six weeks is considered to be a cycle. Once you have completed an initial six-week cycle, if you still have more weight to lose, the program is designed for you to cycle it again. After the first cycle, you can reorder the weeks of a new cycle in any way that works best for you.

• General guidelines – to follow throughout the diet
• Week 1: Prime – Introduction – learn about the importance of meal spacing, snacking techniques, and suppressing hunger without consuming too many calories
• Week 2: Challenge – asks you to demand more of yourself, releasing some bad habits and adopting new behaviors that you’ll have for the rest of your life
• Week 3: Transformation – the toughest week
• Week 4: Ascend – a turnaround week
• Week 5: Cleanse – pays special attention to enhancing your liver’s ability to detoxify your blood, by eating certain foods which activate special enzymes in the liver
• Week 6: Explode – last week of the cycle

For maintenance, once a month you should choose a SHRED week and stick to that week vigilantly. After six months of maintaining your weight loss, you can move this to once every two months.

SHRED General guidelines

These are constant throughout the diet. See below for additional details for each week of the diet.

General guidelines – What to eat

• Meal guidelines
  • Eat something every 3 to 4 hours even if you’re not hungry, but don’t stuff yourself – eat until you’re no longer hungry, but don’t eat until you’re full
  • Times to eat: 8:30am Meal 1; 10:00am Snack 1, 11;30am Meal 2, 1:00pm Snack 2, 3:30pm Meal 3, 7:00pm Meal 4, 8:30pm Snack 3
  • You do not have to eat all the snacks
  • Eat your last meal at least 90 minutes before going to bed. You can eat a 100-calorie snack before going to bed if you want
• Liquid meals
  • Soups can be consumed with 2 saltine crackers if desired
• Beverages
  • You must consume 1 cup of water before eating a meal; you must consume 1 cup of water during your meal. You can add lemon or lime to your water and you can drink fizzy water if you desire. Drink as much water as you like per day
  • Flavored waters are allowed, but keep them under 60 calories
  • Other suggested beverages include: 1 cup of juice (not from concentrate), 1 cup of lemonade (freshly squeezed preferred), 1 cup of low-fat, reduced-fat, or fat-free milk, unsweetened soy milk, or unsweetened almond milk
• Fruits and vegetables
  • While fresh fruit is always preferred, canned and frozen fruit are allowed. Just make sure they are water-based and there are no added sugars
  • Canned and frozen vegetables are allowed. Be aware of their sodium content
  • 1 serving is the size of your closed fist
• Proteins
  • Meal plans include limited amounts of lean proteins. In some weeks there are more options.
• Carbohydrates
  • Meal plans include limited amounts of carbohydrates, varied each meal and each day: oatmeal, sugar-free cereal, beans/legumes, pancakes, sweet potato. In some weeks there are more options.
• Spices and condiments
  • Spices are unlimited

General guidelines – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

• No meals or snacks outside the meal plan
• Meal guidelines
  • You don’t have to eat all of the food on the day’s menu if you don’t want to, but no skipping meals, no doubling up on meals (eating the same meal twice in the same day), and no exceeding the meal guidelines in size and volume
  • Don’t eat the same breakfast every morning if possible
  • Don’t drink the same drink with all meals if possible (except water)
• Beverages
  • Avoid added sugars in your shakes and smoothies if possible if you buy them in stores
  • Limit coffee to 1 small cup per day. Your coffee should contain no more than 50 calories. Stay away from fancy coffee preparations that have a lot of calories – lattes, frappucinos, etc.
  • No regular soda
  • Diet soda – limit to 1 can per day
  • Sports drink – limit to one per day, under 60 calories
  • Juice should be fresh, not from concentrate
• High-fat foods
  • No fried foods
  • Chicken and turkey should have no skin
  • No full-fat milk – should be fat-free, skim, or 1%. No full-fat yogurt – low-fat or fat-free only. No cream or butter. Limit cheese to when it is suggested in meals
  • No whole eggs: egg white only, 2 egg whites max
• Soups
  • Avoid high-salt soups – should be low in sodium
  • Soup should have no potatoes or cream
• Avoid chips and donuts and candy; you can have them some of the time, but don’t eat them often. If you must have something like these items, make it only one of your snacks for the day and use healthier options for the other snacks
• Condiments like ketchup, mayo, mustard, and soy sauce are allowed in limited quantities – no more than a teaspoon at each meal
• There are no desserts in the meal plan

SHRED week 1 food list

Week 1: Prime – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • One per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • May not exceed 300 calories
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables (1 serving is the size of your closed fist)
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portion sizes
• Snacks
  • 100 calories or less
• Beverages
  • Limit alcohol to 1 mixed drink twice a week, or 3 light beers per week, or 3 regular glasses of wine (red or white) per week
• Carbohydrates
  • 2 slices of 100% whole-grain or 100% whole-wheat bread can be consumed at any point throughout the day – only 2 slices

Week 1: Prime – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above
Do not exceed the calorie limits for this week

SHRED week 2 food list

Week 2: Challenge – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • Two per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • May not exceed 250 calories – pay attention to the lower calories this week
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables (1 serving is the size of your closed fist)
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portions
• Snacks
  • 100 calories or less
• Beverages
  • Limit alcohol to 1 mixed drink twice a week, or 3 light beers per week, or 3 regular glasses of wine (red or white) per week

Week 2: Challenge – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above
Do not exceed the calorie limits for this week

SHRED week 3 food list

Week 3: Transformation – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • Three per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • May not exceed 200 calories
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables (1 serving is the size of your closed fist)
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portions
• Snacks
  • 100 calories or less
• Beverages
  • Have one cup of lemon water with breakfast – 8 ounces of water (hot or cold), juice of half a lemon, ½ teaspoon of sugar if you like
  • Limit alcohol to 1 mixed drink twice a week, or 3 light beers per week, or 3 regular glasses of wine (red or white) per week

Week 3: Transformation – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above
Do not exceed the calorie limits for this week

SHRED week 4 food list

Week 4: Ascend – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • Two per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • May not exceed 200 calories
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables (1 serving is the size of your closed fist)
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portions
  • This week, you can have some slightly higher calorie foods, where shown in the meal plans a few times in the week – e.g. small bowl of pasta with marinara sauce (no cream sauce), small cheeseburger or hamburger, small portion of French fries, chicken fingers, chicken stir-fry, spaghetti and meatballs
• Snacks
  • 100 calories or less
• Beverages
  • Limit alcohol to 1 mixed drink twice a week, or 3 light beers per week, or 3 regular glasses of wine (red or white) per week
  • Have one cup of lemon water with breakfast – 8 ounces of water (hot or cold), juice of half a lemon, ½ teaspoon of sugar if you like

Week 4: Ascend – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above
Do not exceed the calorie limits for this week

SHRED week 5 food list

Week 5: Cleanse – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • One per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • Some of these are 200 calories, others are more
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portions
• Snacks
  • There’s more variation in the snacks, and the book includes a number of alternate suggestions of what is allowed
• Beverages
  • Have one cup of lemon water with breakfast – 8 ounces of water (hot or cold), juice of half a lemon, ½ teaspoon of sugar if you like
  • One cup of hibiscus tea every day
  • Once cup of 100% pure cranberry juice every day

Week 5: Cleanse – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above
No alcohol this week

SHRED week 6 food list

Week 6: Explode – What to eat

• Liquid meals
  • One per day – smoothie, protein shake, or soup
  • May not exceed 200 calories
  • Must be eaten with either 1 piece of fruit or 1 serving of vegetables
• Other meals
  • Follow the guidelines in the meal plan – each meal of each day is different, and shows portions
• Snacks
  • Snacks suggestions are different each snack of each day – some are 100 calories or less, others 150 calories or less, and others have suggestions of alternatives
• Beverages
  • Limit alcohol to 1 mixed drink twice a week, or 3 light beers per week, or 3 regular glasses of wine (red or white) per week
• Carbohydrates
  • 3 slices of 100% whole-grain or 100% whole-wheat bread can be consumed at any point throughout the day – only 3 slices

Week 6: Explode – What not to eat / Foods to avoid

Eat only the meals and snacks in the suggested meal plans, with some substitutions allowed
See general guidelines above.

Health benefits claimed in SHRED

The diet in this book claims to reduce the risks for: diabetes, high blood pressure, low energy, overweight/obesity

As always, this is not intended to be a replacement for professional medical diagnosis or treatment for a medical condition. Consult your doctor before starting a new diet. This page describes what the authors of the diet recommend – Chewfo is describing the diet only, and does not endorse it.

For meal plans, exercise plans, and recipes, see SHRED book and SHRED Kindle Edition.

Get a copy of SHRED for more details.

SHRED diet book
Get The Shred Diet Cookbook for recipes (for both Shred and Super Shred).

SHRED cookbook
Ian K. Smith’s website for this book is http://www.doctoriansmith.com/books/shred-the-revolutionary-diet/. He’s on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Dr.IanKSmith and Twitter at https://twitter.com/doctoriansmith.

How has this diet helped you? Please add a comment below.