The Small Change Diet: 10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You

by Keri Gans

THE ONLY “DIET” PLAN YOU WILL EVER NEED!No deprivation, no struggles.Just ten small changes that will transform your life.Keri Gans, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, shares her simple plan for weight-loss success that lasts a lifetime. The Small Change Diet isn’t about creating unrealistic, unsustainable rules—like counting calories, restricting choices, or eliminating entire food groups. It’s about turning smart habits into second nature. When it comes to achieving healthy, continued weight loss, the smallest adjustments often make the biggest impact. The key is mastering one new habit before expecting yourself to tackle another. Keri breaks each of the plan’s ten easy steps into even smaller, more manageable solutions. The best part is that you decide what to focus on and when you’re ready to move on. Take your time! Once you’ve made all ten changes, you’ll be healthier and thinner—for good!

Genres: Health, Food, Nonfiction, Self Help

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Keri Gans is a Registered Dietitian and has had a private practice in Manhattan for over ten years.

She is a Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association Spokesperson and a Past President of New York State Dietetic Association (NYSDA). Keri is a Steering Committee Member of New Yorker’s for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity and is on the Medical Advisory Board for Women’s Voice For Change.

Keri holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Ohio University.

Besides individual and group nutrition counseling, Keri spends time public speaking, writing and consulting. “The Small Change Diet” (publication date 3/15/11) is Keri's first book.

Keri is frequently quoted in local and national publications, such as Glamour, Fitness, Shape, Self, NY Post, NY Times and has made several television appearances including, The Dr. Oz Show, ABC News, Primetime, Extra, FOX News, and Good Morning America. Keri is a regular guest on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s Dr. Radio program and has conducted numerous other radio interviews across the country.

For five years, Keri was the host of a weekly nutrition/lifestyle show called “Diet Diva” on Manhattan Public Access TV. Keri is the proud winner of NYSDA's 2010 Media Excellence Award and 2006 Emerging Dietetic Leader Award.

Reviews

[Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have all tried to lose weight only to give up or gain it all back. This book will help you turn that cycle around. I don't normally read "diet" books because I fail on every one. For some reason The Small Change Diet jumped out at me and begged me to read it so I did and boy am I glad.


Keri makes it so easy. No pressure, no stress just great tips on how to change the way you eat, sleep, exercise and basically live you life. You take this book one step at a time, there is no time limit for finishing each step. A definite go at your own pace lifestyle change. I don't want to say diet because for me it was more about changing your lifestyle then just what you eat. If you rush through the steps you are only cheating yourself so I agree with Keri, take it slow and don't move on until you have mastered each one.


The book is based on these ten steps:


1. Create a healthy eating schedule

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables

3. Cut empty beverage calories

4. Increase fiber intake

5. Reduce the undercover calories of dressing and sauces

6. Eat leaner meats

7. Find the right fats and lose the bad fats

8. Curb sugar and salt cravings

9. Stay healthy in social situations

10. Exercise



Keri breaks each step down in a chapter with very easy and honestly small changes that really do work. This is one "diet" book that will truly help you make the changes that you want to make with very little effort. I am the newest fan of Keri Gans!!!


Recommended for anyone who wants to lose weight once and for all or just live a healthier life.

[Elliedakota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Common sense (eat veggies, limit fat and sugar, move more). Well written but lacks reference to the science of limited willpower, weight set points, and metabolic impacts of calorie restriction. I also sincerely doubt the author’s claim that “all” her clients show long term success. That doesn’t correlate with known weight loss statistics.

[Laurie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've wanted to read this book for quite some time, but finally just got around to it on the heels of finishing You Can’t Screw This Up: Why Eating Takeout, Enjoying Dessert, and Taking the Stress out of Dieting Leads to Weight Loss That Lasts. I think the messages are pretty similar - dieting doesn't work, lifestyle changes do; you don't have to be perfect all the time; there's room for foods you enjoy; etc. The advice here may not be earth-shattering, but I do think it's helpful. And I found it better written and better structured than Bornstein's book. I enjoyed the author's voice and felt like she really cares about helping people. I'd never heard of her before, but I'm happy to see she has a current podcast, so I'll be checking that out as well.

It remains to be seen how well the advice works, but I look forward to putting it into practice. The author advises readers to go through the book slowly, implementing each step before moving on. I read straight through it this time, partly due to a deadline and partly because I wanted to have the full picture before I started making any changes. But I plan to go back and gradually work my way through the steps as suggested. And it seems like it could be a good resource to pick back up later on as a refresher.

[Vivian Wiltshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading this book after I had Covid to get a better handle on my eating habits. I found a few good suggestions but a lot of this was very outdated . So I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars!

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

NO

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing I didn't already know, but it was well-written and made it seem the process of changing one's diet seem achievable.

[Louise Silk · Rating 3 out of 5]

No new information but still it doesn't hurt to read it again. Gans has a good attitude and keeps encouraging the reader not to give up and when one makes the inevitable fall, get right back up and try again.

The tips:
1. Create a healthy eating schedule.
2. Brighten you plate naturally with lots of veggies.
3. Think before you drink.
4. give your carbs a makeover.
5. Go easy on the extras and make savory swaps for the old standbys.
6. Skinny your meat.
7. Eat the right kinds and amounts of fats.
8. Tame your sweet tooth and your slat shaker.
9. Share food and good times with advance planning and without guilt.
10. Get moving.

[yyyasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a pleasant change to read a diet manual which is actually written by a Registered Dietitian. In this book, Keri Gans lists down ten easy steps that you can incorporate in your daily life (she recommends taking one step/goal per week). It was a great read as she's laid the facts in layman's terms, and this gave me some ideas on how to present scientific facts to my patients - or friends and family - in ways they can understand.

(By the way, yeah, these tips did work, I lost 6 kg in the process. Lol.)

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much new information but what was presented was in a easy to understand format. There were questions throughout meant to help keep you on track. The tips on how to order various ethnic foods was very interesting. The tips were common sense but have been hard for me to follow so far but now that I'm thinking about the small changes I may be more successful.

[Mtafc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very easy read and easy to understand. No complex calorie or carbohydrate counting just some easy to follow guidelines to form solid eating habits.

If your looking to lose a large amount of weight quickly this is not the book for you but if your looking for a long term plan to lose pounds and form solid habits to keep them off this is has some great advise.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives the reader ten steps that make very small changes in the way he eats that will make losing weight an easier thing to do. The changes include keeping a food journal, not skipping meals, eating on a regular schedule and several others. The book is easy to read and is a good resource.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great light and easy read full of practical and applicable tips that anyone could follow to whatever degree they choose. I enjoyed the questions at the end of each of the 10 chapters in which the author provided solutions to all of the common questions people ask. This was a very good book for living a healthier lifestyle and slimming down. I picked up a lot of really great tips!

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really learn anything new, but this is a great book for those who don't know anything about nutrition. I wish the title didn't have the word "diet" in it, because this book is a nutrition book.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much new here, but presented in a well thought out, easy to follow format. I would recommend it for someone who is really
Just starting to dip their toes in the dieting waters. I love her questions to check and see if you completed each step. Very helpful.

[Roanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here, but this is a well written book with a sensible approach. Gans is also very tough love and calls out excuses for what they are: excuses. She doesn't molly-coddle, and I appreciate that in a self-help author.