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

by Lisa Lillien

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Hungry Girl cookbooks now delivers the first-ever meal plan based on the concepts that have satisfied The Hungry Girl Diet! Lisa Lillien has taken her famous super-sizing techniques, diet philosophies, and delicious recipes, and she's put them into a foolproof four-week jump-start plan to help you lose weight effortlessly. Approved by a registered dietitian, this program is not only completely satisfying but also entirely effective. The Hungry Girl Diet has...*A detailed four-week program to help you jump start your weight loss the Hungry Girl way*Over 50 easy recipes for delicious super-sized meals and snacks, including HG classics like growing oatmeal bowls, oversized egg mugs, ginormous salads, and foil packs*Magical food ideas that help keep you feeling full all day*Tips & tricks for avoiding diet derailment, including Lisa's personal strategies for weight management*Helpful hints & how-tos for grocery shopping and dining out*Foods that give you the biggest bang for your calorie buck*Smart swaps for fattening foods you crave*Easy meals that anyone can make*And SO much more!With an emphasis on lean protein, low-fat dairy, fresh fruits 'n veggies, and GIGANTIC portions, this diet gives you everything you love about Hungry Girl in one nutritious and delicious weight-loss plan!

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

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2014

About the author

The creator of HungryGirl.com shares her best tips, recipes, and advice to live a healthy and full life!"

Lisa Lillien is not a nutritionist, she's just hungry. She's the founder of Hungry Girl, the website and daily email service providing approximately one million fans with guilt-free recipes, food and product reviews, dieting news, shockers and more. She also writes weekly columns for WeightWatchers.com and Yahoo!, and regularly contributes to Redbook magazine. She has appeared on TV shows like Rachel Ray and Extra, and now has her own show on the Cooking Channel. Her Hungry Girl cookbooks are New York Times bestsellers. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/lisali...

Reviews

[Avanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The diet portion of this book is closer to 5 stars, but the book is a bit... cheesy and cliched for my preferences, so overall it lands at a solid 4 stars.

Lillien's book persona is over-the-top cheerleader "DO IT!" "Try It!" "I'm obsessed!" "Amazing!" about a lot of things. Also, she likes fake sugar a lot... more than I'm personally comfortable with (i.e., a lot of her recipes include 1 to 2 packets of no-calorie sweetener, like Stevia or Splenda), BUT a lot of her recipes are sans-fake sugar and/or can just be made w/o the added sugar (e.g., the oatmeal may taste sweeter w/ the packet, but it's just fine w/o it!)..

Overall, I was impressed with:
- Her thorough guide to eating better in the real world.
- Her variety of options. She includes a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables (as expected), with enough of the "other stuff" to make you feel like you don't hate yourself for dieting. She does have some processed options in there (e.g., Fiber One brownie bars), but you could totally do the diet w/o ever using those options.
- The size of portions, as promised. You do get a lot of food. Real food. My breakfast actually fills up a full normal size (i.e., not appetizer sized) plate. The oatmeal is a big serving that is actually filling. You get to eat fruits in nice big quantities.
- My success so far! (it's only been 3 days of being ON the plan, but I have already lost 2 pounds :))
- Ohmygosh the App. The App is brilliant. Not because it's a great app (see below), but because of what it DOES do. So there are 3 sections -- 2 of which you'll use. My Meal Calendar, you can add your meals a day at a time... you pick from a list of the options WITH pictures and create your day. When you're done you can go to the Shopping List and the app will CREATE the shopping list that you need for the meals you picked on the days you've selected. BRILLIANT. Additionally, your shopping list will have extra notes and comments where relevant (e.g., if you need to put 1 cup of strawberries, she tells you that 8 large strawberries is usually 1 cup; or, if you need to buy 2 cups of big-fiber vegetables, she lists your options! but this is all in "notes" so that it doesn't muddy the list itself). AND the list is organized by section of the grocery. But..... (see 3rd "complaint" below)

Overall, I was not as impressed with:
- as mentioned above, she's a bit over-the-top with some things, though I imagine this sort of cheerleader attitude does over very WELL with many people :)
- I'd have appreciated a "if you don't eat fake sugar, try ____" options. Like, in her oatmeal, could I add a packet of real sugar? would the 20 extra calories really be problematic? or would the fact that I'm eating "sugar" be problematic? As I said above, it's fine w/o the sugar at all, but a little sweeter might also be nice ;) I *am* going to try a packet of stevia this weekend and I'll see how I like that...
- The only thing I'd change w/ the App is adding the recipes for the options... THAT would be perfect. Then I wouldn't have to lug around my phone AND the book whenever I want to make something (including at work). I understand that perhaps she needs to make money, so maybe the FREE app would include what it currently has, and you'd PAY for the app w/ the recipes, except for people who have bought the book, who should get a code to buy the pay-app, so they can have it for free

Overall, I was neutral about:
Her organization. On one hand, I liked the color-coordinated pages (helps you find your section quickly!) and that the recipes were all in one section, etc. But it was weird having more discussion at the end of the book, the color pictures should have come all before or all after the recipes, and some of the interspersed discussion I feel could have been better placed. In particular, if you read the book AS you were doing the plan (as most people would), you might not realize there are some really good tips and discussion points interspersed throughout weeks 2-4, when you are only in week 1. So. I guess maybe that's a publisher issue, but it was noticeable to me.

So, overall 4 very solid stars.
And I'm excited about this whole plan.

[Cookie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book in my journey to live healthier, cleaner, and stronger - hopefully with the added benefit of losing 35 pounds.

I was drawn to this book first because of the sentiment that I wouldn't be hungry. There is nothing like sitting around at night with a growling stomach, dreaming about a fresh bag of Doritos.


I'm just being real here. Typing the word Doritos is somewhat difficult. And they're so bad...but it tastes so good to be bad.



So, yes, healthier, cleaner, stronger meant re-training myself. So back to not wanting to be hungry.



I needed to get to a place where I knew HOW to eat the right kind of food in the quantities necessary so that I can feel satisfied.



Overall, I was unimpressed with this book. But let's start with some good things:





Positives:

- The plan is easy, focuses on food, and includes lots of choices.

- There's little 'cooking' involved, so you won't be slaving away every night.

- The sentiment that you will not be 'hungry' is a true one. There is a lot of food in the daily plan. I tried three different breakfast options - I couldn't finish one, and the other two were very satisfying.

- It really did help me understand the balance of protein and carbs that work to keep you feeling fueled.

- The reading is not dense or heavy. It was easy to read with the million distractions that is my life. I read while cooking, doing laundry, and helping with first grade homework.



Negatives:

- The tone is annoying with it's cheerleading quality. I like being positive and buy into the fact that your mental state of mind goes a long way in your bodily health (not that this is really mentioned here...)but, not every sentance needs to end in an exclaimation point. Fiber is not exciting. Neither is protein. Nor anything fat free - no matter how natural it is.

- 1300 calories is not enough for someone who is moderately overweight. If you JUST had 10 lbs to lose, this could be accurate -- but otherwise? This was not addressed, even by the endorsed dietician.

- A lot of repetative information - The tips are repeated page after page, sometimes on back-to-back pages. For example, a tip that ground turkey is actually more caloric than ground beef appears on back to back pages.

- There isn't a lot of new information (drink water! what your portions!) If you were BRAND NEW to diet and nutrition, this would be a good starting place.

- A personal negative -- I was looking to start to eat cleaner and this is not the book to do that with. Microwaved popcorn, fat free dressing, pre-packaged sauces and marinades, tofu products, packaged cereal/protien/snack bars are not for me.



So, what this book did do for me is springboard into reading other books and get me going. I've chosen to count calories and I use the app for myfitnesspal.com which I've been pleased with.



My takeaway:

- I kicked my drinking habit. DDP (aka Diet Dr. Pepper) was becoming a little too important in my life. I switched to water only based on Lisa Lillien's advice. I did add back one cup of coffee because I find coffee immensely pleasurable and I missed it.

- I tried several recipes (that doesn't include soy products) and have added into my regular rotation two favorites - tuna stuffed egg whites and yogurt breakfast bowl.





I'm down 7lbs since starting my little change of lifestyle. Most of this is water weight, but it still feels good.

[Monty Circus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did this 4 week diet, followed it religiously (with much help from my sister, thanks Ky!) and lost a little over 7 pounds. Not 10, but not too shabby! (I could have done better with exercise). I'm a man but I stuck to the 1,300 calories a day anyway. I enjoyed the big portions which help to fill your belly, maxing out volume and minimizing calories, but by the end got really sick of the broccoli slaw (which is a large part of many recipes), as well as the jicama (which was mostly in the many salads and was about as satisfying as chewing on twigs).

I'm now a couple of weeks into my post-diet diet. I've bumped up my calories from the 1,300, now I'm doing 1,600 calories a day and using caloriecount.about.com to help track them.

I'm satisfied with the book and recommend it!

[Judi Adamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOMEONE FINALLY WROTE A DIET BOOK WITH RECIPES FOR ONE PERSON!!!!!! Although, as the title implies, very generous portions (of good-for-you foods). I first got this from the library, then got my own copy at a used-book store; I have already used it to the point that I need to take it to a copy shop and have the binding removed and add a spiral binding. (I've done this to a couple of my cookbooks; it is amazingly cheap to do.) I've been on this diet for over a month; it really has changed my eating habits. I make a nice, healthy breakfast daily; I'm cutting way back on my intake of salt; I've gotten used to measuring and weighing things until I can tell at a glance how much is how much. (I got a wonderful digital scale at Bed, Bath and Beyond which even works for weighing my YARN!)

I have been on virtually every diet ever written. This is my new bible. The foods are affordable. On most new diet kicks, I go to the store and spend $100 to $150 on foods I don't usually keep around, many of which I am still stuck with long after I've given up on the diet. This program is much more affordable and far less esoteric. The one thing I'd never eaten was noodles made from tofu. They aren't bad if you put the right things on them. I really like her recipes. She even has hamburgers, tacos, and other things that are familiar, but done in healthier ways. She has lots of excellent advice on snacking, cravings, eating in restaurants and even fast-food, or grabbing-it-at-the Quick Rip (that is my affectionate term for convenience stores; sorry.)

Lisa has several other books. It all started online, and I can signed up for a daily email. She has an app as well.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed The Hungry Girl Diet from the library to learn if it was worth recommending to friends who are constantly complaining about their weight and their inability to lose weight or to keep off the pounds they managed to lose.

From the Book

1) You won’t be hungry on this plan.
2) There are a number of factors that influence individual weight loss: starting weight, activity level, personal metabolism.

If a dieter can’t lose weight following The Hungry Girl Diet then that dieter isn’t serious about losing weight because The Hungry Girl Diet denies the dieters nothing. I liked that it included recipes.

If dieters stick with The Hungry Girl Diet for four weeks, they’ll learn

I. Discipline
II. How to shop for food
III. How to eat healthy

The colorful pictures of food were appetizing. There were creative things done with food that I’d never considered. The Hungry Girl Diet is all about a realistic approach to eating smart. Will give copies of The Hungry Girl Diet as gifts.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as her other books. Basically, if you limit your calories by eating 'hungry girl' meals, you'll lose weight. Which, if you've read her other books, you know that most of her recipes are very low fat. In this diet, she tries to make the recipes more nutritionally sound, by limiting their sodium and amping up the protein.

The diet is pretty low in calories, so it probably works. While she does include more whole foods than in her previous books, there's not as much cooking as ingredient combining. She offers complete nutrition information, and lots of dining out tips, which are great.

Lillien is a lot of fun, but this isn't her at her best or most creative.

[Filipa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read this book to lose weight or to embark on a new diet. I read it because I saw the book featured on Dr.Oz show and the author's ideas struck a cord. Also, I could not resist the title. I am an hungry girl, I am ALWAYS eating and when I'm not - I'm talking about food. I wasn't always this way but, for some years now I find myself eating every two and a half hours. I'm also a conscious eater - that is to say I want to eat healthy so I am always looking for good recipes and new tips. This book was a great read in that department. It's full of useful tidbits and awesome recipes.

[Bessie Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, not a fan of diet books and this one demonstrated all the reasons I don't like them. It recommends foods that one would not enjoy eating like swapping broccoli slaw for pasta and using artificial sweetener. It also recommended a diet that was far too low in calories. All the while the author kept telling us how yummy things were and how much she likes to eat. Hard to believe when you actually read the recipes.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was clear and a good plan for 4 weeks of meals. Good recipes and great ideas for many low calorie snacks. Basics are keep at 1300 calories a day, low meat, high veg and fruit, very low carb and sugar. And exercise when you can. What we all know already, but the recipes are what make this book good I think. Varied and doable without a lot of odd ingredients.

[Nikki Penda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really just a collection of her recipes with tips from her newsletter organized and called a diet. Not so much but love her and her recipes so if you are unfamiliar with her, worth a gander.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This diet has changed my life. I lost 15 pound with the jumpstart and now I am using her MAX cookbook. I can't wait to read more!!

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book in a series of popular diet books where you learn the principles behind the Hungry Girl diet. Following a four week plan, there are recipes to carry you beyond the first month of dieting.

Diet cookbooks seem to appear on bookstore shelves quicker than the pounds we pack on during the holiday season. One newer cookbook is as clever as it as delicious, Lisa Lillien's "The Hungry Girl." Lillen is also the brainchild behind her own website: hungry-girl.com which is a fun and healthy resource for great food finds that are low in calories. Lillen's book is a sassy and creative read on how to turn your favorite foods into low calorie, lower fat recipes. Packed with sneaky tricks like using light bread for sandwiches, replacing potatoes with butternut squash, baking with pureed pumpkin rather than oil or eggs, "The Hungry Girl" is fun and healthy! Most of her recipes are filled with veggies, lean proteins, and fiber-rich additions. And if you're a vegetarian, you'll be happy to see how your favorite Boca burgers and soy sausage crumbles land in some of Lillen's famous recipes like the Asian Lettuce Wraps and the Dan Good Chili.

The book doesn't make any promises that you'll lose weight by cooking and eating from it, but it is a step in the right direction for creatively and satisfyingly eating your way through a diet.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd seen some of the cookbooks and they were really cool. I wanted to read this to learn about the science and rules behind what makes a recipe hungry girl-approved. It was disappointed. Most of her tips were how to cut calories no matter what, which usually seemed to lead to a plain meal.

[Mary Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly got this book from the library to review it. I loved it so much I just bought it.

Really clear, simple, with meal plans and recipes. Which are EASY! Extremely low carb which is just what I need. It even has recipes for simple deserts and snacks.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. There is no "fake" sugar as someone claimed. Stevia isn't fake sugar. It's a plant and 1 small leaf is like eating a tbsp of sugar. The only issue with Stevia is it only goes together with certain foods. Sometimes it tastes horrible with bitter food.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. I love the recipes especially

[Pamela Bellino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, easy to follow

Good recipes, balanced and delicious. This will keep you satisfied and away from the cookie jar!! Great no food tips as well.

[Alexandria Trusov · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got 2 good recipes out of this. Everything else got panned by the food critics in my household.

[Wadeana Beveridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

Common sense. Just eat real food is the take-away.

[Kyla Hookey · Rating 4 out of 5]

After dealing with a weight-loss slump, yo-yo-ing back and forth within 8 lbs for the last several months (on a different weight loss plan), I figured enough was enough, it was time to take on some new eating routines to shed these last few pounds and keep them off once and for all!
I was already acquainted with Hungry Girl, as I own a few of her books and receive her free daily emails on diet tips, tricks, nutrition news nuggets and tasty recipes, however since this was the first time she'd actually (with the aid of a Registered Dietitian) published a weight loss plan, I dove into it.
She promised an average weight loss of 10 lbs within the 30 day plan which also allowed you to eat large portions of healthy food with room for satisfying, somewhat processed snacks in the mix.
After the 30 days (with only 3 bumps in the road - birthday, family celebrations..) I managed to burn off, and keep off, 5 lbs! Half of what one would have expected but for me, this was actually a big improvement, one that I've managed to not only uphold after the plan, but have also continued to lose, since the plan! (thanks to some new tricks and better habits learned along the way).
My brother also joined the plan with me, and he lost several pounds! Without a bit of added activity, even! I do recommend this plan, though any who can't stomach large portions of food should probably go with a different plan. Be warned!

[Noémy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It probably isn't fair of me to rate this book considering I haven't even tried this diet yet and therefore don't know whether or not it would work on me. But I was hoping to read a more thorough account of her diet plan and how it came to be than just a collection of recipes -which are actually very repetitive. There isn't a whole lot of options unlike what is stated at the very beginning of THGD. Lisa Lillien basically advises us to eat lots of fruits, veggies and egg whites in as big and as many portions as possible - no big surprises there. She completely cutts off rice, bread or pasta from her meals and while I totally understand her approach I don't necessarily agree. I've tried countless diets that forbade the use of these ingredients which just didn't work for me in the long run. Once you start eating noodles again, you just gain twice the amount of weight! It's just not very realistic for me. I want to commit to a healthier lifestyle but I am afraid this won't be the way,personnally, to obtain it.

I'll give a try to some of the food she recommends however but that's about it.

[AJourneyWithoutMap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Lillien, who achieved much fame and success with her Hungry Girl cookbooks and columns, has invented a weight loss plan that actually makes dieting taste delicious. In a remarkable new cookbook, she has detailed how one can lose weight while following a stringent complete diet plan.

The Hungry Girl Diet: Big Portions. Big Results. Drop 10 Pounds in 4 Weeks by Lisa Lillien is the result of many requests that she received for weight loss help. In The Hungry Girl Diet, Lisa lays down her plan that proposes a simple and nourishing path to weight loss. This includes the use of philosophies, strategies and ingredients that have been super-popular and successful in the Hungry Girl world!

Lisa Lillien is in her own right an authority in her chosen field of expertise as she is the author of multiple cookbooks that offer recipes for all our favorite foods. Some of her more famous books are "Hungry Girl to the Max!: The Ultimate Guilt-Free Cookbook" and "Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet."

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This four-week diet plan emphasizes eating more protein, fruits, and vegetables, lowering starchy carbs, and moderate consumption of healthy fats. I didn't actually try it, but it should work because the three meal, three snack plan totals about 1,300 calories daily. This diet has big portions and it's easy to follow. Each week is basically planned out for you and the recipes are included--although many of them are more just putting food together than actual recipes. There are some recipes I am interested in trying and some tips I will implement, including doubling the amount of liquid and cook time when making oatmeal to get a HUGE portion of oatmeal for the same amount of calories.

A few things I didn't like--the pictures for the recipes were all together in a separate section instead of being next to the recipe, a lot of the ideas and hints were repeated over and over throughout the book, and there was a lot of artificial sweeteners used. I'm glad I checked this out of the library instead of buying it.

[Newport Librarians · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great resource. Anyone that has ever lost a significant amount of weight knows most of the tricks, but the set up is really nice. She has a 4-week meal plan (which I will never follow, but the suggestions are nice) along with tips for every day of the week. USEFUL tips. REALISTIC tips.

There is also a great dietary resource section with lists (who doesn't love lists?) of different foods that are the best to eat (most filling, best fruit, best protein, etc.) and a great one for cravings (if you are craving x, eat this).

The rest of the book is recipes for all the snack and meal suggestions for the 4 weeks, and a lot look really good. At the back is a guide for further steps after your 4-week plan.

Probably one of the best diet plan books I have seen. While it is labeled a diet, there's a ton of real food in here but it really helps with portion sizes and moderation.

*Note - I did not actually follow the plan. I just checked the book out and read it :o)

[Nicole Hackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly did not stick to the whole 4 weeks but had I, I felt I would have seen the results the book claims. I did however find some REALLY great recipes that I have kept in my food rotation! I have always loved HG! I have tons of their recipe books that I comb through each week, I receive their daily emails and utilize the website often. Not everything is a hit, but as a single female looking to make healthy food choices Lisa Lillien and the folks at HG got it right! I will be a fan for life! I sincerely did not give it a five because I HATED the tofu option and the cooked broccoli slaw option! I'll stick with Spaghetti squash thank you very much!

I really would recommend this book to anyone, and who knows maybe I will actually try it again and stick with the diet!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The diet book has some great tips and it is helpful.
CON: I found the first week very limiting as far as choices to eat. I am not as big as a fan of the soy Shiritaki noodles as the author is. I am sure that had a lot to do with me feeling limited the first week. I got tired of the broccoli slaw (soy noodle replacement) very quickly.

Not a family friendly cookbook. It was frustrating that the recipes were for 1 serving. This caused me to have to cook 2 meals every night.

Too many artificial sweeteners and processed foods.

PRO: I found lots of great tips and followed the diet for the full 4 weeks and lost weight

[jj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically this is a recipe book - along with Lisa's suggestions of how to follow as a diet. I am not doing her diet-don't know if I could do it But did try several recipes which I will keep using such as kale chips, tuna with mayo & Dijon, eggmugs. Be careful with her directions though - I made the fish wrapped in foil-it came out raw as did the chicken breast wrapped in foil. I know it's not my oven as I've made things wrapped in foil before. Always looking for new recipes- so will use the ones I copied and any others I hear her come up with

[Joylin Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a whole bunch of things I want to try from this book, but won't be trying the "4 week diet" plan. I know what works for me and this is just WAY more food than I'll eat. I can't even eat half the growing oatmeal bowl! She also implements a lot of fat free dairy *gags*, which I won't do. Low fat, yes, fat free, yuck. Her swaps are great and the whole diet has a Weight Watchers feel to it, which is workable for me.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

well I haven't done all the recipes to tell if you really lose 10 in 4 weeks, but I have tried enough. I mostly wanted this book because I need a cookbook that shows the fat content of the recipes. I like the portions sizes, don't feel deprived. a little much on her cheerleading approach throughout book, but again, just wanted the recipes.

[Angelita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty self-explanatory. I has a lot of great recipes that also taste good, but it also great with snack ideas, both prepackaged and fruits and veggies. I have not check out the companion app, but it might be worth it. It definitely helped me keep on track with eating healthy.