The Instinct Diet

So the I-Diet has you on about 1200 calories a day. (More if you start out above 160 pounds.)

Does that fill you with panic? It did me.

I've been on the diet about four weeks now, and I've never been hungry. A little peckish, occasionally. (And then I look at my watch, and oh look, time for a snack.)

The genius part of this thing is, the Tufts University study looked at the different instinctive factors that stoke our appetites. (Which is why it's called the Instinct Diet.) Then they reverse-engineered an eating plan to make us less hungry.

And it works. It's the damnest thing I ever saw.

The Instinct Diet tells you exactly what to eat, which is 3 full meals and 2 snacks a day. You get a couple of options, so you can fit your life the way you actually live it. There's a vegetarian option, and options if you're not very into cooking. (Or don't have time, like I don't.)

The I-Diet controls hunger by giving you:

• A steady stream of food, so your blood sugar doesn't crash (this one always did me in)


• Lots of fiber, so your stomach feels full


• Managing the variety of food you eat, because having too much variety stimulates hunger (the book explains how this works)


• Enough variety so you don't get bored or depressed


• Food with plenty of taste, so you feel satisfied


• A little bit of fat, again to make sure you feel satisfied


• Enough options that you don't have to eat anything you just don't like.

The problem with diets is that you can't eat the stuff you like, right?

I remember some diet I tried that had me eating six oranges a day. I couldn't so much as look at an orange for about 20 years.

And then there's all that boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breast they tell us to eat. Gag.

The I-Diet has some stuff that you might not be eating now (namely, a lot of veggies and a good dose of high-fiber cereal), but it's also got managed portions of tasty high-fat things we don't think we can have on a diet.

Like whipped cream. And good chocolate. And butter. And eggs. And bread. And steak.

There are some boneless chicken breasts, too. But they're painless.

The first thing that rocks about the I-Diet is that you get to have dessert. Every single night. With whipped cream, if you want.

(If you're not a dessert person, you get to have extra carbs with dinner.)

Most of the dessert recipes look pretty sad when you read them, but most of them are surprisingly tasty. Nearly all of them are high in fiber and low in sugar.

My favorites are the ice cream sundae, the chocolate raspberry parfait, and the Indian barley pudding.

It might just be me (I don't have a microwave, which most of the recipes assume you do), but I thought the chocolate pudding was pretty terrible. But I've had a lot more hits than misses.

Now that I've been on the I-Diet for a month or so, it's not as big a deal, but my first week or two, that dessert made a huge difference for me. I'm just not into deprivation or wrestling with cravings, and getting a nice tasty dessert has meant that I don't have to.

(And I don't have to listen to some nutritionist lunatic tell me to "just have a piece of fruit." Who are these people and what connection do they have to the real world?)

The first thing you need is a little food scale. There's a link below to the one I got, which is great. It doesn't take up much room in my tiny kitchen, it works, and it didn't cost a fortune. That pretty well covered everything I wanted out of a kitchen scale.

I also picked up an extra set (I should have picked up two) of measuring cups and spoons. You measure everything, so either you're washing these all day or you'll want an extra set or two. While you're at it, get an extra one-cup liquid measure.

Clear some space in your veggie drawer, because it's going to be pretty full.

I use lots of small freezer zip-loc bags to freeze individual portions of meat and fish and to store Snack Attack Packs. I also toast up about a week's supply of nuts, so they're easy and at hand. (The book doesn't call for you to toast the nuts, but they taste better that way.)

And the I-Diet is definitely portion controlled, so if you don't have any, get some small plates and bowls so your meal doesn't look so paltry. (I also use teaspoons and salad forks instead of the big versions.)

I know this seems like a cheesy trick, but seriously, it really does work. When I see a gorgeous strip of salmon steak with steam-sauteed asparagus and a ripe sliced tomato on a small plate, it looks abundant and satisfying. And it is.

Even if you don't want to do the Instinct Diet, it's always nice to have some ideas for what to do about the 4:00 p.m. munchies. (I have always found that mid-afternoon it's nearly physically impossible to make wise choices about eating. Or even to make conscious choices.)

Here's how you make one:

• Melt 10 grams of really good chocolate (use your scale) in either the microwave or in a small nonstick pan on the stove. Don't burn it! Most folks should stick with dark, unless you have a will of iron and can keep milk chocolate around without nibbling.


• Stir in 1/4 cup of one of those twiggy high fiber cereals. I like Fiber One. Mix very well, so each piece of cereal is well coated with chocolate.


• Let this cool, then stir in 2 Tbsp. of nuts. I'm partial to toasted slivered almonds.


• Store in a plastic baggie.

You can keep this in your purse for calorie emergencies, or it makes a nice planned snack as well. Eat it with at least 8 ounces of water, tea, black coffee, etc., to bulk up the fiber cereal and keep you satisfied for longer.

The answer is no, you can't really make restaurants work for the 8 weeks of weight loss on Instinct Diet. Everything is so precisely measured and balanced, and you have no idea how much fat & sugar the restaurant is getting into your food to make it taste good. There are a few suggestions so you don't totally blow it, but for me, I decided to give restaurants up for a couple of months.

The upside is that tonight, when I did go to a fancy place with my husband, I suddenly realized that all those irritating skinny people who eat 5 bites and say "Oh my GOD it's so RICH I can't believe I ate SO MUCH" weren't just lying. I ate half of everything (except the salad, which I ate all of with a tiny drizzle of dressing), and I feel like I ate an entire car. Next time, no entree. Not because I'm being "virtuous" or because I have any will power at all (I don't), but because my body truly and devoutly does not want that much food.

After the first week or so, I haven't really been very tempted to go to a restaurant. I've been on one vacation though (and about to go on another), and I won't try to follow the diet when I'm out of town. I'll just eat plenty of fruits & vegetables, bring a box of high fiber cereal, make myself a snack pack for each day I'm gone, and try not to go bananas. It worked fine last time, and I know it will this time too.

You eat about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of vegetables every night with dinner on the I Diet,and this is a good way to cook them. This works especially well with green beans, snow peas, asparagus, and carrots.

Steam-Sauteed Veggies

• Cut your veggies into chunks.


• Throw them into a pan (nonstick is good but not critical) with 1-2 Tbsp. of water and 1/2 teaspoon of butter per 1 1/2 cups of veggies.


• Cook on medium heat for about 3 - 5 minutes until the water is gone and the vegetables are brightly colored and taste good.


• Serve.

This method makes quite small amounts of butter go a long way in terms of taste and satisfaction.

I'm not creating this lens to be some big money maker, and I don't have any connection to the program. I just really want to let people know about this.

I feel like I've discovered some kind of magic trick. I can finally manage how many calories I'm eating, without feeling miserable or weak or dizzy or famished. It's kind of hard not to grab people in the supermarket and start talking about it.

I'll update this from time to time so you can see how it's working for me:

Update August 1, 2009

Time on the diet: 8 weeks (this includes 4 days on vacation in Taos, during which I ate what I felt like and didn't follow the diet, although I did try to get plenty of fiber and not go completely insane.)

Weight lost: 10.5 pounds
Still to go to reach target weight: 14.0 more pounds

Inches lost:
Chest: 1 (so it goes)
Waist: 3.5
Fattest part of belly: 1.75
Hips: 1.5

Losing all the weight in my waist has made it a bunch easier to find cute clothes, which is right after world peace on my wish list. So, you know, yay to that.