The Clean 20: 20 Foods, 20 Days, Total Transformation

by Ian K. Smith

From the author of SHRED and Blast the Sugar Out , the New York Times bestselling ultimate guide to clean eating!

What is clean eating? In his newest diet book, Dr. Ian K. Smith teaches readers the benefits of clean eating and how to implement it in their own lives. He tells readers how to easily reduce unhealthy processed foods in their diets, a key to weight loss, disease prevention, and overall health. The Clean 20 focuses on twenty clean foods--from avocado to whole wheat pasta and everything in between--that readers can easily find, prepare, and incorporate into their diets. The Clean 20 includes a complete clean eating program with a daily meal plan, 60 recipes and substitutions, as well as 20 minute easy-to-work-in workouts.

Dr. Ian knows what it’s not eliminating food groups, but choosing foods within each group wisely to satisfy the palate and the body’s nutritional demands. The Clean 20 isn’t just vegetables. Grains are in. And so is fruit, fat, meat and fish. When palate and nutrition are in sync, weight loss not only follows, it sticks. The Clean 20 is a life and body changer.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Cooking, Cookbooks, Food, Diets, Self Help

272 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2018

About the author

Ian K. Smith, M.D.,Ian K. Smith, M.D. is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of SUPER SHRED, SHRED, THE 4 DAY DIET, THE FAT SMASH DIET and EXTREME FAT SMASH DIET among 7 other books including, SHRED Diet Cookbook , EAT, Happy , and The Blackbird Papers. His newest book, THE SHRED POWER CLEANSE, is available 12/29/15.

He is a former co-host of Emmy-winning “The Doctors” TV show, and a medical contributor to “The Rachael Ray Show."

He is the former medical correspondent for NBC News network and for NewsChannel 4 where he filed reports for NBC’s “Nightly News” and the “Today” show as well as WNBC’s various news broadcasts. He has appeared extensively on various broadcasts including “The Oprah Show,” “Good Morning America” “CBS This Morning” “The View,” “The Talk,” “Dr. Oz,” ‘Dr. Phil,” “Anderson Cooper 360″ and “Showbiz Tonight.”

He has written for various publications including Time, Newsweek, Men’s Health, and the New York Daily News, and has been featured in several other publications including, Publisher’s Weekly, Red Book, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, People, Essence, Ebony, University of Chicago Medicine on the Midway, Cosmopolitan, Women’s World, and Black Enterprise.

Dr. Smith is the founder of two major national health initiatives—the 50 Million Pound Challenge and the Makeover Mile—that have helped millions of people lose weight and improve their health.

A graduate of Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Dr. Smith was appointed to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition in 2010 and is serving a second term.

http://shredlife.com/about-shred/abou...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianksmith

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clean 20 is all about opening your mind to new things, gaining confidence, developing a better relationship with your body, better understanding of how you can push yourself, and finding joy in the power of transformation.

Bonus material is found in chapter 5 of the Daily Meal Plan. For each of the 20 days, Dr. Smith provides a motivational message along with choices for each meal, and 'Food for Thought' segment on vitamins and minerals of specific foods.

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in eating whole foods or as close to nature as possible.

[Kenlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This book is a helpful jumpstart and simple introduction to “clean”/healthy eating. It is pretty straightforward and would likely serve as a good resource to refer back to re: nutritional benefits of certain foods, simple recipes, basic body weight exercises, etc.

[Delia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of reading diet books because they are not my types of books but the information and advice in this book is really helpful and easy to understand. Highly recommend and I have already started to see some results from cutting out some foods, so yay!

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well laid out and easy to read. Foods are not overly restrictive like I’ve seen other plans be. Love the recipes that are included. All seem fairly easy. I like that the daily exercises are included. I also like the long list of snack options. Starting tomorrow so I will update this review when I’m finished.

[Thebestdogmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is packed with good info, I can’t see myself only eating 20 foods for 20 days. The daily diet plan is not specific enough, my husband could do this and need to eat way more of the food they are saying than me.

[V Dixon · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be honest, this was just a rehashing of his other books.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy way to get your eating back on track. Eat 20 foods you will enjoy eating, for 20 days! That's it. Recipes, quick daily workouts anyone can do, and inspirational messages to keep you motivated. There's bread and pasta in the plan. It's very doable. My husband and I followed this plan. We both felt better overall, as well as we both lost a few pounds.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to trying this. It is simple enough and only 20-days/

[Carol Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son is the one who actually bought this book since he is invested in eating more non-processed foods. We both love the book, it is easy to read, has some really delicious recipes, and has jump started us to healthier meal ideas.

[Shelby W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clean eating program, very easy to understand and follow for twenty days. But I can see myself following this program for the rest of my life. Great and useful information inside.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much wonderful information and great recipes too!

[Taylor Ahlstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Smith’s diet-nutrition-exercise-motivation book is a simple, easy-to-follow, well-written guide to his Clean 20 plan. The book is laid out in a logical manner, first introducing the reader to the problems with highly processed diets, and then explaining the benefits in detail of each of the 20 foods he suggests. Smith goes as far as reviewing different varieties of each vegetable you might find in your local grocer, along with a comparative analysis of their nutritional values. While some of his tips for shopping for various produce are quite helpful—such as how to tell if an avocado is ripe and when to buy it—others are less revelatory, such as staying away from chicken with a “strong, unpleasant odor.”

His diet and exercise plans are as specific as possible for those who need rigid guidance, but allow for experimentation, creativity, and substitution for those who don’t. It is clear that Smith understands a great number of people fail at diets without flexibility, and, as such, he has created one with a higher chance of success for more people.

One of the greatest strengths of the Clean 20 is its diversity. Many fad diets today insist that gluten, dairy, or processed foods must be removed completely. Instead, Smith recognizes the benefits of a balanced diet including both bread and cheese: two staples of almost every American meal. He also admits that cutting out all processed foods can be close to impossible. Allowing those following the plan to still enjoy some things they love, albeit as part of a much healthier meal, offers a much greater chance of success for those making the biggest changes.

If you’re already a generally healthy eater, there won’t be much surprising news in here (added sugar is bad, vegetables are good), but the concept of the Clean 20 in itself is a worthwhile endeavor no matter how healthy or unhealthy your current lifestyle is.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're new or need an introduction to clean eating, then this book is an easy to read and follow guide. The meal plans are okay, but if you're following them to a T, I am pretty sure each day only amounts to 1200 to 1500 calories, which is not sustainable or even safe TBH, esp since it also wants you to complete a certain amount of exercise, that amount of calories daily won't be enough, you'll lose weight after 20 days but I don't think it's sustainable with the meal plan. But if you're just following the guidelines and not the exact meal plans, then I think it's a perfect introduction to clean eating. But this teaches you nothing about macros and those doing intermittent fasting probably won't agree with the meal schedule recommend here, but like I said, it's an intro. It's for those with bad eating habits looking into changing their diet and jump start their weight loss. It's not a crash diet but it can be if you only rely on this. I suggest just follow it as a clean eating guideline not as a weight loss program.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Filled with inconsistencies (don't use added sugar but then says use honey in some cases or allows yogurt that's sweetened, for example). Alternatives you can choose for meals are not in any way similar in nutrition, and if you choose the wrong way with the various alternatives you can have a pretty unbalanced diet (skipping all the fruit for example). Also, exercise is unrealistic, sometimes recommending as much as 20,000 steps in one day (which can take over 2 hours on a treadmill, so not realistic for people with desk jobs).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The eating plan was easy to follow and I just substituted different fruits and veggies based on what I like and had available. I didn't eat these exact meals every day but I did stay within the clean eating parameters. The exercise plan wasn't hard but I found the days where the expectation was 17,000 or 20,000 steps to be unrealistic for me and my desk job. I got at least 8,000-10,000 steps on rest days and about 11,000-13,000 steps most other days. I also didn't do 150 jumping jacks but I did get in 150 reps of other exercises. I still lost 10 lbs in 20 days.

[Tabitha Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want this book. Content is simplistic and there's some really great recipes covering all of the recommendations.
Love the point form, easy to remember. And the connections, the why's and how's.

I do wonder though about cross referencing this list with the bio nutrient information; while these 20 foods may be clean in theory for our diet do they hold up in the real world of monoculture farming practices and still hold the same title in the western worlds grocery store? Additionally is this the Caucasian list. Would there be a clean 20 list for other continents? And if so, what are they?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already did the 21 Day Fix so a lot of this information I knew, but if you didn't it would be informative. My favorite aspect of this book is how the 20 top foods were written about in detail including why the food is nutritious and shopping tips for when you purchase it. There are a few recipes I haven't seen before that I would like to try but I feel like there could have been more variety of the recipes offered.

[Cyndi Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting

I read through this book in one day because I am so anxious to get started on this journey.

It appears to be an easy to follow plan but the key is planning. Read through, mark specific things like the clean 20 list, receipes, and exercises.

[Marcos Malumbres · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not clearly presented. The concept of “clean” seems obvious but the selection of foods is perhaps too arbitrary. Especially it makes no sense for Europeans or Mediterranean people. Poor narrative, rather a list of foods with little explanation.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is in Eleanor Oliphant's head. What insight to a person who is living and dealing with life as best as she can, and from all outward appearances, pretty well. But oh, the pain she carries inside. Well-written. Slow at first, but that is part of the character. Excellent.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this approach and am eager to start incorporating it into our 2020 health goals. The recipes look simple and I have most of the ingredients already! Just going to make some tweaks and start eating more clean!

[Onie Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

It works!

Following the plan will get results. Taking time out for prepping can get you into a routine for a better lifestyle.

[Caren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know the drill...eat clean. The 20 foods are all great and the recipes offered would help but where's MY discipline?

[Natalia Penalver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This is an awesome healthy read. Loved it. I enjoyed this book and am planning to follow this guide. Easy read

[Amy Garnica · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent no-nonsense nutrition, life, exercise advice!

[Kathy Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost 5 lbs in the first 10 days. Got tired of eating only chicken and fish (no meat allowed; or wine). But it was good food and doable

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic information that ain’t already knew! If you have read any of his other books, this one is no different.

[Kathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of information, but also lacking it in places.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically exactly what you would think- give up sugar and alcohol- eat clean and work out.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's able to be done! I liked his motivational paragraphs!