The Hungry Girl Diet: Big Portions. Big Results. Drop 10 Pounds in 4 Weeks

By  Lisa Lillien

When I ordered the The Hungry Girl Diet book and started reading it, I was pleasantly surprised! Now you no longer have to be hungry when you diet, you can eat all the foods you love. This is why I do not consider this a diet. Which diet have you heard of that allows you to eat large portions? Unlike other diet plans, this one is not intimidating nor does it require you to drastically change your lifestyle. Welcome to the wonderful world of easy to follow affordable recipes, that anyone can enjoy. Lisa takes you by the hand guiding you step by step, day by day and week by week.

The Hungry Girl Diet book is essentially a detailed plan to help you lose up to 10 pounds in just four weeks. This particular diet is based on an increased intake of proteins, vegetables as well as fruits. The plan cuts back on carbs but encourages eating small amounts of healthy fats too. The best part, which most people love is being able to eat large potions, so you are never hungry. There are 60 recipes included, each with detailed descriptions and basic nutritional values. These recipes cover all your daily meals from breakfast, lunch, dinner and even the snacks too.

The diet itself is 4 week program. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to a full week with a separate page for different days of the program. There is a daily menu plan available for each day with helpful hints, shortcuts, tips for saving money and food swap ideas. There are at least three different choices available for each meal. This allows a certain degree of flexibility within the structured program. Every item on the menus can be referenced back by page number to a different recipe within the book. The center of the book has full color photographs of some of the dishes. The end of the book has a resource section, a master shopping list as well as tips on how to maintain your weight loss after having completed the four week plan.

Who is Lisa Lillien? She is a New York Times bestselling author and the founder of the widely popular Hungry Girl brand. She also launched the hungry-girl.com website, which delivers an entertaining and informative daily email to people from all corners of the world. Lisa is not a nutritionist, she is just passionate about her food and has learnt a lot just from being hungry.

I love that the recipes in the book are easy to cook and can even be adjusted to cater for families. Although Lisa is not a registered dietitian, she had one supervise the writing of the book. If you are like me, and you always forget to drink water, this book has reminders strategically placed throughout. The color codes in the last section of the book are a godsend, you can find the information you need easily and faster. This is not one of those diets that requires you to spend a lot of money on the food, the menu items are inexpensive and readily available at any local grocery store.

If you happen to be on another weight loss program, let say Weight Watchers for example, you can incorporate this plan into other programs. For those that have ingredients they do not particularly like in the shopping list, you can always replace them with other ingredients. I really enjoy Lisa’s approach to her program, she is one of those people who practice what they preach. There is a smartphone app that is available with the book which is very handy and creates shopping lists that you can refer to, whilst in the grocery store. Forget about having boring meals, Lisa provides many great ideas and ingenious suggestions for different combinations.

I noticed that there is not much information provided on the philosophy or the science behind this weight loss plan. It basically just jumps straight into the plan, without really explaining why or how it works. The focus is on the recipes, which makes it more a cookbook than an actual diet plan. Some long time Hungry Girl subscribers, may find that a lot of previously released information has been repeated in this book. Also the first week has very little in terms of menu options, compared to week two to four. The majority of the menus will need you to put in a little extra prep work everyday, before you can prepare the meals.

Overall, The Hungry Girl Diet is an easy to follow, delicious and super effective plan. Before the book was published, she had her staff test the effectiveness of the program and many reported losing at least 10 pounds within the prescribed four weeks. You do not have to make too many sacrifices as far as taste, portions and time invested in the program. Lisa strives to make eating a fun, tasty and healthy experience. This book is well written and organized, all the information you need is easily accessible. You will never be hungry, but amazingly you will still shed those unwanted pounds. There is absolutely no guess work, just follow the detailed directions and kiss at least 10 pounds goodbye. A practical and down to earth program, that makes you healthier.Read More Reviews Here…