Is Anyone Else Trying the "Hungry Girl Diet" ?

booherd
booherd Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
This is the new book by Lisa Lillien that claims you can lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks. I am in the second week, and so far I am pretty darned pleased! I am not trying to promote the book, nor disuade anyone from trying it. I'm just wondering what experience other folks are having.

After living with the over-50 creep for several years (I'm in my 60s), I decided I had nothing to lose in trying the "Hungry Girl Diet." What I like is, while she encourages you to journal your food, the menus and quantities are right there in the book. You need to be mindful of your serving sizes, but for the most part I have stayed satisfied. Full disclosure, the hub and I had a cookout last weekend, and none of the food we served was in the book.:embarassed: In spite of this and a couple of other slips, I have dropped 4 pounds since I started!

Has anyone else tried following this diet?
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Replies

  • DamianaKitten
    DamianaKitten Posts: 479 Member
    Based on the reviews I read, her "meal plan" is approx 1300 calories per day, which should equal weight loss for most people. If you're active, I don't think it would be a great diet plan, but if you're sedentary and don't want to calculate out your actual daily intake yourself, and it's working and you're happy, why not?
  • moviestarsara
    moviestarsara Posts: 66
    I'm not doing her diet, but I do make her recipes on occasion. They're pretty deelish.
  • janicelo1971
    janicelo1971 Posts: 823 Member
    holy smokes! I have been trying to lose 10 pounds for a year without success on a 1225 calorie diet...I will definitely look into this!! thanks
  • sadiebea25
    sadiebea25 Posts: 72
    I'm not doing the diet, but I make her recipes sometimes. Just made the onion rings the other day (labor intensive, but good) and am going to try the jalapeno popper chicken and chicken parm this week for dinner. I once did a "superbowl" tray of appetizers all from her books, and it was good!
  • booherd
    booherd Posts: 8
    I work out with weights and/or cardio 3x per week, also spend 1 1/2 hrs walking my 3 German shorthaired pointers a couple of times each week. My job is sedentary, but I consider myself fairly active. The book says to add 200 calories a day if you work out, so I just count my exercise on MFP. I don't have a lot of weight to lose - I'll be thrilled with 10 pounds! So far so good!
  • ShaniWulffe
    ShaniWulffe Posts: 458 Member
    I haven't done her diet (too low-cal for me), but I love her recipes! I have 3 of her books

    EDIT fun fact: she's married to the guy who created Drake and Josh
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    "Hungry Girl Diet"? Thanks but no thanks. I like food.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Also, 10 lbs in 4 weeks is incredibly dangerous and not sustainable unless you're incredibly obese. Try a simple calorie restriction.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    "Hungry Girl Diet"? Thanks but no thanks. I like food.
    This!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Also, 10 lbs in 4 weeks is incredibly dangerous and not sustainable unless you're incredibly obese. Try a simple calorie restriction.
    And this.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Lose 10lbs of what?

    Water?
    Glycogen?
    Bone mass?
    Food volume in belly and intestines?
    Muscle?
    Hair and nails?
    Fat?

    That's the problem with these quick fixes, you'll lose the wrong kind of weight.

    Best to go on a slight deficit, learn to delay gratification and just burn a big a proportion of fat as possible.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Also, 10 lbs in 4 weeks is incredibly dangerous and not sustainable unless you're incredibly obese. Try a simple calorie restriction.

    2 1/2lb a week is not 'incredibly dangerous unless you're incredibly obese.'

    10kg in 4 weeks might be but not 10lb.


    You probably won't actually achieve 10lb in 4 weeks but hey, shoot for the stars.
  • 2shedz
    2shedz Posts: 14 Member
    "Hungry Girl Diet"? Thanks but no thanks. I like food.

    qft
  • ShaniWulffe
    ShaniWulffe Posts: 458 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it
    Doubters?

    The point is that NO "diet " s necessary to lose weight. Eat what you normally eat just less of it so that you are burning more than you eat.
  • inky409
    inky409 Posts: 26 Member
    While I will admit that I have her books and have watched her show on Cooking Channel, I wouldn't follow her "diet". She relies on sugar-free; fat-free; and basically chemical laden products. The last time I watched her, she was making some type of chocolate mug cake and that's when I realized - everything that went into that "cake" was nothing but chemicals.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    While I will admit that I have her books and have watched her show on Cooking Channel, I wouldn't follow her "diet". She relies on sugar-free; fat-free; and basically chemical laden products. The last time I watched her, she was making some type of chocolate mug cake and that's when I realized - everything that went into that "cake" was nothing but chemicals.

    Banana-Chemical-Compounds-032486099057.jpg
  • Chelz2013
    Chelz2013 Posts: 176 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it

    Yes ---> a few people seemed to take the name the wrong way & obviously haven't seen her show! She promotes making healthier choices, while cooking at home or when eating out. Making a healthier version of your favorite meal can be helpful to some people.
    Nothing wrong with having options.

    OP: I won't do her diet, but having some new recipes is fantastic! I definitely need more than 1300 calories a day, myself, especially on days I go to my hour-long Zumba classes. :flowerforyou: Good luck on your weight loss journey!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it
    Doubters?

    The point is that NO "diet " s necessary to lose weight. Eat what you normally eat just less of it so that you are burning more than you eat.
    AKA a diet.
  • mfp2014mfp
    mfp2014mfp Posts: 689 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it
    Doubters?

    The point is that NO "diet " s necessary to lose weight. Eat what you normally eat just less of it so that you are burning more than you eat.

    verb
    verb: diet
    1.
    restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.
    "it's difficult to diet"
    synonyms: be on a diet, eat sparingly;
  • AtticWindow
    AtticWindow Posts: 295 Member
    While I will admit that I have her books and have watched her show on Cooking Channel, I wouldn't follow her "diet". She relies on sugar-free; fat-free; and basically chemical laden products. The last time I watched her, she was making some type of chocolate mug cake and that's when I realized - everything that went into that "cake" was nothing but chemicals.

    Banana-Chemical-Compounds-032486099057.jpg

    THANK YOU.

    1YLo5Jm.gif
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  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    I'm not doing her diet, but I do make her recipes on occasion. They're pretty deelish.

    I just did a bit of browsing through her recipes - bookmarked and will be trying a few. Thanks!
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    I don't have any issues with her recipes. Some of them are actually pretty darn good, especially her Parm Tilapia.

    But...the issue I do have with her is that she likes to demonize foods and basically preaches only eating fat free food...which is silly because your body needs fat in your diet, and many nutrients need fat to bind to in order for your body to be able to use them.

    But...if her diet plan works for people then whatever floats their boat...as long as they are staying healthy.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    While I will admit that I have her books and have watched her show on Cooking Channel, I wouldn't follow her "diet". She relies on sugar-free; fat-free; and basically chemical laden products. The last time I watched her, she was making some type of chocolate mug cake and that's when I realized - everything that went into that "cake" was nothing but chemicals.

    I don't do the sugar-free, fat-free products :noway: Recipes are jumping boards though so ingredients can be substituted. I'm always looking for different vegetable based and appetizer recipes. Still browsing through her recipes.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    Ok, for the doubters: she calls herself Hungry Girl because traditional "diets" left her hungry, so she started making lower cal recipes of her favorite foods that still fill her up. It's not because you are hungry on it
    Doubters?

    The point is that NO "diet " s necessary to lose weight. Eat what you normally eat just less of it so that you are burning more than you eat.

    Umm, that is a diet :laugh:
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  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
    "Hungry Girl Diet"? Thanks but no thanks. I like food.

    +1
  • shankasaurus
    shankasaurus Posts: 116 Member
    I love the Hungry-Girl! I'm not doing her diet but I've followed her for years and I have to say that she has always had people who do not like her methods because she uses processed foods in some of her recipes. What I like about her approach is she is REALISTIC. Just eating smaller portions or 'less' of the foods we already eat and like sometimes isn't a great option especially not if it's a dense caloric fatty food, so eating less will leave us still hungry. Her idea is to take those foods that are not the greatest but that we still want to enjoy once in a while and create healthier options that are larger portions and lower calorie.

    Life is about balance, if you want to have a cheeseburger and you can fit a 600 calorie fast food one into your plan cool, but if you don't have the calories for it, try her swap and still enjoy the cheeseburger feeling. XOXO
  • Sad_Grandpa
    Sad_Grandpa Posts: 129
    While I will admit that I have her books and have watched her show on Cooking Channel, I wouldn't follow her "diet". She relies on sugar-free; fat-free; and basically chemical laden products. The last time I watched her, she was making some type of chocolate mug cake and that's when I realized - everything that went into that "cake" was nothing but chemicals.

    Banana-Chemical-Compounds-032486099057.jpg

    The only thing I can pronounce in that is aqua, and I don't like the sound of it. I'm gonna stick with scotch and potatoes.

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