Review: The 4X4 Diet

Personal trainer Erin Oprea never set out to create a “diet” program or write a book, and she certainly never thought she’d have devoted celebrity clients.

But there’s a reason for her popularity. She helps clients–and now readers–develop a clean eating style using just four principles, and her simple workouts make exercise both fun and effective.

In The 4X4 Diet, Oprea lays out the basic principles that she uses to keep herself and her family fit, and which also keep her clients coming back for more. The book is separated into four sections. The first is a part introduction, part motivation. The second details Oprea’s rules for eating clean: no starchy carbs at night, less sugar, less salt, and less alcohol. These four rules are accompanied by explanations of why they’re necessary, and readers will appreciate Oprea’s straightforward and simple reasoning. She also provides a list of necessary kitchen items and a number of recipes that will help readers get started with healthier eating right away.

The third part focuses on the workouts. Oprea’s workout of choice is the tabata, which is essentially a mini-workout made up high-intensity exercises alternated with short rest periods. String a few of these together and the result is a workout that is still relatively short (following her advice means working out for less than 30 minutes) but surprisingly effective. Oprea provides three levels of tabatas, with numerous examples of each level; there are detailed instructions on how to do the moves, making them accessible even to fitness newbies, and there are plenty of pictures.

Part four puts it all together into an actual diet plan, although Oprea is quick to remind readers that this is a lifestyle change, not a temporary “diet.”

“All of this can be done in just four weeks. Each week, you’ll incorporate a new clean eating habit and slightly more challenging tabatas. And each week, you’ll feel cleaner, leaner, healthier, and stronger. That momentum will keep you going not just for four weeks straight but for the rest of your life.”

There are pros and cons to this book. Readers will love her simple rules, as well as the fact that she embraces “cheat” meals. At the same time, the meal ideas she offers are pretty heavy on eggs and meat, so readers who dislike those foods, or who choose not to eat them for other reasons, may find themselves struggling with how to make it work for them. Her rules are good ones, though, and a clean diet like hers could very well aid in weight loss, so long as readers actually stick with it over time (and minimize those “cheat” meals). The workouts are extremely challenging, and some readers will love jumping right in, while others might have a hard time staying motivated. It’s wonderful that she only uses very basic equipment; readers can either work out at home and have to buy only a few things, or do the workouts at their nearest gym.

Overall, the book is quite short, which will help those interested get started with their new lifestyle right away; a large chunk is devoted to the individual tabatas, which don’t all need to be read through before beginning the program.

For those who need help improving their diet in small ways and who want a simple–but challenging–workout plan to get started with, The 4X4 Diet is a great resource.

*****

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed within are completely my own.