The Hungry Girl Diet: Big Portions. Big Results. Drop 10 Pounds in 4 Weeks (2 page)

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I’m Lisa Lillien, a.k.a. Hungry Girl.

Since 2004, I’ve been sending people daily emails that give advice and recommendations about guilt-free eating: enjoying foods that are delicious and satisfying, yet diet friendly. This information typically comes in the form of product finds, recipes, and tips ’n tricks—all very helpful tools when it comes to weight management. In fact, I’ve met tens of thousands of Hungry Girl fans over the years who have lost significant amounts of weight and credit Hungry Girl emails and cookbooks as key components of their success.

But since the beginning, people have been asking for a direct method to help them lose weight—a cohesive plan that combines everything they know and love about Hungry Girl. I’ve finally decided the time is right to fulfill that need and give HG fans (and the rest of the world) something they’ve been craving for a very long time—a simple, satisfying, and FAST weight-loss solution: THE HUNGRY GIRL DIET. It’s an easy-to-follow jump-start plan that you can use to do any of the following:

1.
Kick off a brand-new weight-loss journey in a major way

2.
Quickly drop 5 to 15 pounds

3.
Overcome a plateau in weight loss or reinvigorate a current diet plan

4.
Start a new lifestyle with fresh ideas that can be used indefinitely

There’s no real secret to losing weight. It’s all about consuming fewer calories than you burn. But the calories that you take in have to be nutritious and satisfying. And the method of calorie control has to be something you can live with and feel good about. Otherwise, you’ll never stick with it. Some diets require you to eat only small portions; others permit you to eat larger servings but limit you to foods that are bland or boring; and some diets are simply too restrictive or just plain weird! Plans like these are not only hard to follow—they’re nearly impossible to maintain. It’s no wonder most diets fail.

With this in mind, the basic philosophy of The Hungry Girl Diet was born: Enjoy the foods you love in nutritious ways that leave you feeling satisfied and satiated. Eat more, weigh less. Most diets try to restrict you to small and unfulfilling portions, but the bottom line is this: We all want to eat a lot of food! We’re hungry, and no one wants to feel hungry when they’re trying to lose weight. Over the years, I have literally made it my job and my number-one focus to find and develop guilt-free food options that satisfy cravings and give you the most bang for your calorie buck—delicious foods you can eat a lot of without taking in too many calories and grams of fat. In addition to these indispensable food finds and creations, this plan includes countless tips and tricks that I’ve uncovered along the way.

The Hungry Girl Diet utilizes a decade’s worth of trusted food findings and philosophies that make it easy, enjoyable, and even FUN (truly!) to cut calories and lose weight. It brings them together for the FIRST TIME EVER in a comprehensive and balanced weight-loss program. The magic of The Hungry Girl Diet is that you can indulge in BIG portions of the foods you crave: fettuccine Alfredo, tacos, lo mein, chicken Parmesan, and so much more. And when you’re following a food plan that allows you to eat such large, delicious, and filling meals and snacks, it’s almost impossible to fail.

The four-week plan emphasizes higher consumption of protein, fruits, and vegetables; lower starchy carb intake; and moderate consumption of healthy fats. It features highly satisfying and impressively large portions. Each day consists of three meals and three snacks (I told you that you won’t be hungry!), totaling about 1,300 calories. There’s also a 1,500-calorie option for those who are more than 75 pounds overweight, are vigorous exercisers, or feel that a 1,300-calorie target is too aggressive for them.

No two people are exactly alike when it comes to diets and how they react to food. What works for one person might not work for someone else. That’s why this isn’t exactly a cookie-cutter food plan. This program will help determine what types of foods are most satisfying to you. You might learn that eating particular foods at certain times of the day makes you hungrier … or less hungry. The plan will guide you through these discoveries. And the findings will enable you to choose meals and snacks that work for YOUR personal needs for weight loss and weight management. Amazingly simple but incredibly helpful! And you’d be surprised to know that most people (and many other diets) never even consider the value of a personalized approach.

This diet is laid out as a four-week plan, but you can follow it for as long as you want. It has been thoughtfully devised and not only includes meal and snack choices that are satisfying and effective for weight loss, but also provides ideas and concepts you’ll LOVE and can live with forever. The Hungry Girl Diet allows you to choose foods that can help you to lose weight
and
maintain your weight loss. And it’s invaluable as a complement to other diet plans; you can use it in conjunction with any value-based diet plan that allows you to be flexible with your food choices. (This is key!)

If you think diets mean deprivation, I don’t blame you: A lot of what’s out there IS unrealistically restrictive and practically impossible to stick to. That’s precisely why I developed this plan—to show you that it’s 100 percent possible to eat the foods you crave, to enjoy large and satisfying portions, and to find a customizable approach that works for you. All while watching numbers on the scale go down, inches fall off your body, and clothing sizes drop. Try it and see …

HUNGRY GIRL’S TOP ATE REASONS THIS DIET WILL WORK FOR YOU …

1. BIG PORTIONS.
You won’t be hungry on this plan. I’m sure of it. You get three hugely satisfying meals each day, plus three impressive snacks. From large breakfast burritos to ginormous bowls of pasta, this is truly like no diet you’ve ever tried!

2. FLEXIBILITY.
This plan provides the ideal balance of structure and freedom. With so many perfectly balanced options, you can design the exact meal plan that works for you. Mix ’n match!

3. ZERO DEPRIVATION.
Whether you’re craving pizza, chocolate, pasta, French fries, or even a margarita, you CAN have it … all while losing weight on this plan! And with HG’s super-sizing and swapping techniques, you’ll get satisfying portions that are completely guilt-free.

4. EASY TO FOLLOW.
No complicated recipes or crazy restrictions here. The meals and snacks are incredibly simple to prepare, with many grab-n-go options as well. And this book provides you with everything you need to make diet-friendly choices when dining out.

5. SECRETS FOR SUCCESS.
The pages of this book are crammed with tips and tricks that make weight loss almost effortless. You’ll learn how to plan ahead, make great choices, and establish healthy habits you’ll have for life.

6. TRIED-AND-TRUE CONCEPTS.
Hungry Girl has been a major force in the weight-management arena for 10 years now. And with more than 2 million fans reading HG’s free daily emails and content, my team and I are constantly receiving feedback and using it to perfect the meals, snacks, and strategies that people want and need. This plan employs the best of the best.

7. DIETER TESTED, REGISTERED DIETITIAN APPROVED.
In four weeks on the plan, a diverse group of testers lost an average of 10 pounds, and many dropped between 10 and 20! And since I’m not a nutritionist (I’m just hungry!), I made sure the diet received the seal of approval from a renowned registered dietitian.

8. NO GUESSWORK.
Some plans leave it to you to decipher the right portions and ingredients, creating too much room for inevitable human error. The Hungry Girl Diet plan is foolproof, giving you ALL the tools you need to make the number on the scale zoom down!

FAQs

How can you have a diet plan if you are not a registered dietitian or medical professional?

I’ve been creating Hungry Girl content for 10 years now. And in that time, I’ve honed my “mad scientist” skills in the kitchen, becoming an expert at putting together meals and snacks that are delicious, incredibly satisfying, and completely guilt-free. But, I’m
not
a dietitian or medical professional. This is why the plan is 100 percent approved by an esteemed registered dietitian, David Grotto, MS, RDN, LDN.

When the idea for a Hungry Girl diet book began swirling in my brain, the very first call I made was to Dave, who is a Hungry Girl supporter and one of the most knowledgeable and approachable nutrition experts I’ve ever encountered. Dave has been involved with the development of this plan every step of the way, and he’s been kind enough to offer up his own tips that you can incorporate while following the Hungry Girl plan.

Do I have to cook daily and follow complicated recipes on this plan?

No. Although this book does feature 60 or so recipes, many of them are extremely simple and more like food assembly than actual cooking. The meal options that do involve cooking are pretty basic and don’t take long to whip up. This book also provides tons of shortcuts and alternatives. So if you love spending time in the kitchen, great, go for it! But you can absolutely follow this plan while barely lifting a skillet. The great thing about the HG diet is that there are so many choices.

Can I dine out while following The Hungry Girl Diet?

Yes. This book provides you with specific advice and the best options when having breakfast, lunch, or dinner while out and about. You should, however, prepare your own meals as often as possible during the four-week plan. This offers you the most control. When you dine out, what winds up on your plate is dependent on other people. Sure, you can special order and eyeball portions, but you’ll never know if your food was prepared exactly as advertised or if the serving sizes are spot-on. Extra oil and other hidden ingredients can easily find their way into your meal, dramatically changing the calorie count. So, while dining out is okay, you’ll get the best weight-loss results if you keep those restaurant trips to a minimum for the four weeks you are on the plan.

How much can I expect to lose?

There are a number of factors that influence individual weight loss: starting weight, activity level, personal metabolism, and more. That said, before this book went to print, a diverse sample of people throughout the country participated in a trial of The Hungry Girl Diet plan. The average weight loss over four weeks was 10 pounds, and many plan testers lost between 10 and 20!

Does this plan include a lot of packaged foods, or is it mostly made up of natural foods?

As you may already know, the Hungry Girl daily emails feature both packaged foods (some of which are processed) and natural foods in an effort to provide readers with information on the wide variety of foods available on store shelves. The Hungry Girl Diet, however, mainly focuses on natural foods: lean protein (poultry, fish, etc.), fat-free and reduced-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, and more. There are a few staples that are packaged, but even many of those are all-natural. The diet employs Hungry Girl techniques, like super-sizing portions with smart ingredients, and the result is a plan filled with foods that are nutritious and satisfying.

Can vegetarians follow this diet?

Yes. While it wasn’t specifically designed for vegetarians, it is possible to follow this four-week jump-start plan without eating any meat. See the Vegetarian Meals and Meatless Alternatives section
here
for more on this subject. It is not possible, however, for vegans to follow this plan, because the diet prominently features foods like egg whites and fat-free Greek yogurt. And although there are vegan alternatives for these foods out there, the nutritional profiles don’t always line up with the dairy staples in the diet.

Can I incorporate recipes from the Hungry Girl daily emails and cookbooks into the diet?

The recipes included here were specially developed for the four-week jump-start plan. They contain key ratios of nutrients like carbs, protein, and fiber. Other HG recipes won’t necessarily work on the plan, so stick with the meals and snacks in this book. You can (and should!), however, incorporate recipes from the Hungry Girl emails and cookbooks into your continued weight loss and maintenance
after
the four-week plan. See
here
for more info.

Can I follow The Hungry Girl Diet plan while on another weight-loss program or diet?

Yes, definitely! While the plan is not affiliated with (or endorsed by) any other programs or diets, The Hungry Girl Diet plan provides many options, so you can choose foods that help you stay at or below a specified daily target set by another flexible program or diet.

DAVE’S RAVES …
TIPS FROM THE REGISTERED DIETITIAN!

Here’s some valuable advice from David Grotto, MS, RDN, LDN …

Get Supplement Savvy

It can be difficult to meet all your nutrient needs through diet alone. Besides, not everyone (including this dietitian!) eats perfectly all the time. That’s why I recommend taking a multivitamin supplement. Find one that’s both gender and age specific, since it will be tailored to your needs.

Omega fats are important for brain and heart health. I strongly recommend taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement while on this program. (Unless you choose to have salmon two to three times per week during the later stages of the plan.) Look for one that provides 1 gram of omega-3 fats per day.

You may want to talk to a registered dietitian or your doctor for specific dietary-supplement recommendations for your individual health needs.

Water 101

The Hungry Girl Diet is high in fiber and fluids, both very good things. However, if you don’t drink plenty of water, your digestive system may be thrown off a bit by the increased fiber. So drink up, and drink often!

Speaking of which, the popular “eight 8-ounce glasses a day” recommendation included in The Hungry Girl Diet plan is a good ballpark figure. Individual needs do vary, though, depending on factors like physical activity and the weather. Pay attention to body cues, and adjust your intake as needed.