Follow your instincts

Ah, The Instinct Diet, I love you... I haven't actually tried many diets before, just The South Beach Diet, Seattle Sutton, and good old calorie counting and exercise. But I must say, nothing has worked better for me than The Instinct Diet. I lost about 12 lbs in 6 weeks and have managed to keep it off these last 3 weeks even after "quitting" the diet and then eating out every meal for a week on vacation.

I first learned about this diet on http://www.thedailybeast.com/ (my favorite news website!) and it appealed to me because the author, Dr. Susan B Roberts, has her Ph.D. in nutrition and has been conducting clinical research on weight control at Tufts University for almost 20 years! The science nerd in me was intrigued.

Anyway, the basic premise is that we have 5 food instincts -- hunger, availability, calorie density, familiarity, and variety -- that control our eating habits. The diet teaches you to work with those instincts the right way. For example, satisfy hunger by eating healthy foods that make you feel full. Or, cope with cravings for calorie-dense foods by making sure you balance a high-calorie component with low-cal and high-fiber options.

Really, it boils down to a few simple "rules":
1. Plan your meals every week (breakfast, snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and dessert)
2. Eat more veggies
3. Eat more fiber
4. Stick to low-carb or whole wheat bread/pasta
5. Go for low-cal options
6. Add spice to keep dishes flavorful and interesting

Here's an example of what I might eat over 2 days:

Day 1
Breakfast: high-fiber cereal and strawberries
Snack: apple and a couple peanuts
Lunch: chicken salad wrap (made with fat-free yogurt instead of mayo and wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla)
Snack: low-fat string cheese
Dinner: grilled shrimp and veggies with a spicy mustard sauce, side salad with low-cal dressing
Dessert: square of dark chocolate

Day 2
Breakfast: fried egg and low-carb toast
Snack: grapes and a few pecan halves
Lunch: hummus and red pepper sandwich on low-carb bread, cottage cheese
Snack: laughing cow cheese and celery
Dinner: chicken "parm" (chicken baked with fat-free pizza sauce and topped with grated parmesan cheese and basil), steamed broccoli with low-cal sour cream and lemon, small side of whole wheat pasta
Dessert: strawberries with low-cal whipped cream

It takes some work, but is so worth it! The book has a ton of really yummy recipes (the cajun-spiced cod and the thai chicken salad with warm peanut sauce are probably our favorites), easy menu plans with on-the-go, home-cooked, and vegetarian options, and suggestions for eating healthy at restaurants, which is essential for me since Jason and I are always going out with friends. I never felt hungry with this diet, or tempted to stuff my face with french fries, like I have on other diets. And, I think I've started to develop healthier snacking tendencies that will hopefully stick with me for the long term.

If you want to shed a few pounds, and really keep it off, I think working with your food instincts is the way to go!