Customer Reviews

The Instinct Diet: Use Your Five Food Instincts to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

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I've wanted to write this review for a while, but decided to wait until I had been on the Instinct Diet for a few weeks. I have been following the program very closely for one month, and have lost seven pounds. Previously, I had done the South Beach Diet and Weight Watchers. I initially lost weight on both, but found those plans very hard to sustain.

The Instinct Diet is different. The information about our five innate, immutable food instincts was incredibly eye opening. Finally, I understood why all my previous attempts to lose weight had failed - I had mistakenly thought that I could overcome hunger (I'm talking about real hunger, not a purely emotional urge to eat) with willpower alone. The Instinct Diet is designed to work WITH those instincts, instead of against them.

For me, the best part of the Instinct Diet is the menu. It is very structured, but still has room for flexibility (each day has meat or vegetarian menus, and within that, there are options for home cooking or prepared foods). The structure eliminates guesswork, making it much easier to stick with a plan. With Weight Watchers, I would start out strong on Mondays, tracking all my food, but run out of steam by Thursday and then eat whatever I wanted. With the Instinct Diet, everything is pre-planned, but again, you do have some choices within that structure.

The recipes are all designed to be satisfying and to control your hunger. They are healthy, full of whole grains, lean proteins, and lots of fruit and vegetables. Although some low-fat versions of ingredients such as peanut butter, sour cream, and salad dressing are recommended, the recipes are centered around reasonable portions of whole foods, not artificial diet products. I consider myself to be a foodie, and would eat ALL the recipes I've tried so far (including West African Beef Stew, Mushroom Risotto, and Salmon with Lemon-Dill Sauce) even if I weren't trying to lose weight.

If you do try this diet, keep in mind that it requires planning. Anything that is going to yield real results requires planning. Instead of eating on the run, I now do a weekly meal list and go shopping on Saturday, and reserve a few hours on Sunday to cook most of my meals for the week. The result is that not only do I weigh less, I am more productive. I can now spend my weeknights enjoying healthy food and getting other errands done or reading, instead of making a last minute stop at a crowded grocery store, picking up something that I don't really want to eat, and then feeling bad about it afterwards. There are plenty of options for quick meals (the Pita Bread Pizza recipe is the best and ready in 10 minutes!) or prepared foods as well, I have just chosen to opt for more home-cooked options because I love to cook.

I do get hungry occasionally. It is completely unrealistic to expect to never, ever be hungry when you are transitioning to eating fewer calories. But it gets easier over time, and the planning helps - if I'm hungry at 4pm, knowing that I have healthy, homemade lasagna waiting for me for dinner makes it a lot easier to wait until 6pm to eat again.

In conclusion, I strongly, strongly recommend the Instinct Diet. It is based on solid science and provides structure and amazing recipes. The fact is, almost all Americans live in a toxic food environment and are surrounded by unhealthy choices. It takes TIME and ENERGY to eat in a healthy way. With the right amount of planning this diet is easy to follow...and it really works.

**Update** Six weeks in, I've lost 11 pounds.

**Second update** I lost about 15 pounds total and have kept it all off for over a year.

I HATE reviews of diet books that start out, "This is a fantastic book! Common sense, delicious food! I haven't started this diet yet, but I can't wait to see what is going to happen!"

Well, this isn't one of those. I have been on the Instict Diet for 8 weeks now and have lost 10 pounds. I have been trying to lose this weight for 15 years, since the birth of my older daughter, and I now I finally made significant progress. I still have a way to go, but feel confident I can do it with the Instinct Diet.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a magic bullet, it is still a diet. But there are a couple of things about this diet that make it really different and make it work. First and foremost, if you eat what Dr. Roberts tells you to eat when you are supposed to eat it, YOU WILL NOT BE HUNGRY. That made all the difference to me. I started lots of diets but always failed because I was simply too hungry. That is not the case with the Instinct Diet. I definitely feel satisfied all day, even on fewer calories.

The second important difference is that it really reduces crvings. I lost weight on one of the high-protein, no carb-diets, but I started craving bread so badly after the 2nd week, there was no way I could stick with it. While there is some restriction of variety on Phase I, there is still a little bit of something from all food groups (even dessert!), so I never feel deprived.

Third, the food really is good. I love the Chicken Parm recipe from Phase 1 and eat it often. It's not only delicious, it's so easy that its the perfect food for a busy weeknight. The Instinct Ice Cream Sundae is a staple in our house. The Instinct Hamburger is great, too. I love the Spicy Chili Soup (super easy), the Tanzanian Chicken Kabobs, and the North African Stew. Much to my surprise, I think my favorite is the Vegetables and Tofu with Peanut Sauce. I'm not big tofu fan, but this is filling and delicious (I grill rather than steam the tofu).

Try it, it really is different!

I'm generally wary of diet books. After all, if they really worked, people would all be thin, right? The Instinct Diet, however, is unique. It's more than a diet, it's a scientific explanation of the workings behind our eating habits, a plan of attack that includes working with nature rather than against it, and a good cookbook too. The recipes and menus are for food that I actually enjoyed eating. I particularly like the chicken dishes and the multigrain rolls.

How well did the diet work? In short, it worked. It's still working. I didn't start off heavy, but I needed to lose some weight, somewhere in the ballpark of 15 pounds - a result of spending more time behind a computer at work. I lost the weight over the course of a month and some change, and without starving myself. The recipes and meal plans from the Instinct Diet helped me make changes in the way I eat. I still eat hearty meals, this book's recipes are tasty and filling. I think that's the key here - people need to enjoy what they are eating. This book finds the intersection between healthy and tasty, and gives you a plan for changing your eating habits to hit that intersection and stay there.

I also appreciate the science behind this book. Most diets are absurd - they are written by celebrities, and what do celebrities know about nutrition? This book is written by a true nutritionist, Dr. Susan Roberts, who is recognized in the scientific community for understanding how this stuff actually works.

I wanted to wait for a milestone to write this review, and I've passed that milestone, still intact, still on the menu plan and really thrilled I took the plunge and tried this diet.

There are many thorough reviews of the advice and the eating plan in the book, so I will simply say that the scientific method works, and in this case, has produced an excellent solution to the growing problem of obesity in America. Dr. Roberts has studied overweight people for years, and has discovered not only why so many diets fail, she's created one that works. I am living proof, my milestone of 20 pounds lost has been accomplished (two weeks ago I spent eight days in New Orleans, enjoyed myself thoroughly and I still lost weight!), and I have no intention of going back to the way I used to eat.

In the one negative review here, the information is completely off; I feel the need to correct some misconceptions here. First, the health of the plan. Dr. Roberts offers multiple options for all food choices, including a full vegetarian plan. The one review that questions the health of this diet centers on high-fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list on some of the choices. The reviewer makes it seem that you are forced to eat these items and that is simply not true.

One of the central items recommended is Fiber One from General Mills, and there is no high-fructose corn syrup in this product. If you can not have asparatame, the option is Kellogg's All Bran, which apparently has the offending ingredient. If you read the book, you will see how down-played the Kellogg's option is; Fiber One is the cereal of choice. And, in terms of the bars, they are only one snack option offered amid a variety of options. I've been on the diet since mid-June and have had none of the offending items that set the reviewer off.

In other reviews here and elsewhere, people comment on the fact that Dr. Roberts does not stress exercise. She does briefly say exercise is very important for overall health, but her book is a diet plan, period. One thing I do know is when you are changing habits, it is important to change one habit at a time to make it stick. I really never appreciated how poor my eating habits had become until I went on this plan. To make this stick, as I do, I'm keeping my exercise plan steady and just concentrating on diet right now. Besides, I do light exercise every morning and walk an average of 5 miles a day--my poor eating made me 26 pounds overweight! I'll tackle more exercise if I need to, once I've lost all my excess weight and feel comfortable with my eating plan.

There are also comments on the need to cook. The recipes are remarkably simple. The adjustment is over to a new way of eating, not a new way of cooking. You need to work on any bad habits you have developed around food, and the way you eat, in order to make this (or any diet) succeed. We've built a society that makes it more trouble to eat well than it is to eat poorly. But it is so worth taking that trouble. And one note to the person who is worried she will be cooking one meal for herself and another for her family - a good friend of mine has worked out menus where they all eat the same thing, but she's eating a slightly modified version. And her entire family feels healthier and leaner. As she pointed out, "there were plenty of evenings my husband and I ate chicken breasts and the kids had hot dogs before, this is no different"

It's about making smart, as opposed to easy, choices. The Instinct Diet makes smart choices much easier, clearer and about as pain free as a diet can be. Don't be mistaken, it is still slow, it will be hard (at times) and you will be hungry (at times), but it works. Try it.

Others have tried to explain why we overeat, often saying that cravings for rich, comforting food are our way of filling some underlying emotional or psychological void. They imply that if we could only satisfy these emotional or psychological needs, the need to stuff our stomachs would miraculously disappear.

This never rang true for me. Try as I may, I could never figure out why, when I saw a plate of baked brie, I couldn't resist having some even if I had just eaten six other appetizers. I really tried to identify those deeply hidden emotional or psychological deficiencies, but I kept drawing blanks.

Perhaps it's true that some people overeat in an attempt to sooth their damaged souls, but I think that most of us overeat for the reason Susan Roberts gives: we are programmed to eat for survival in a world where the food supply is scarce or at best spotty. To eat the same way in a world where food is every-present and plentiful is to eat too much.

HUNGER is our most basic food instinct, but Roberts identifies four others that help ensure that we eat enough food - and the right food - to survive. AVAILABILITY causes us to eat food when we see it, since we may not see it again any time soon. FAMILIARITY causes us to choose foods we know, since foods we've never eaten before may not be safe. We choose foods HIGH IN CALORIES because they provide the most energy. And we seek out VARIETY to maximize our chances of getting all the nutrients we need.

So, even though my hunger may be satisfied, I find it hard to resist the baked brie because it's there, because I've enjoyed it many times before, because it's loaded with calories, and because it's different from the other six appetizers.

Understanding these instincts is almost all you need to reprogram your eating habits. It's almost enough to say, "Okay, I'm not a caveman. I don't need this brie." But what Roberts does is provide menus that satisfy all five instincts while maintaining a calorie level that will result in a weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds over the course of eight weeks. The regime brings you to understand those instincts in a physical as well as intellectual way.

I'm halfway through my eight weeks and I'm getting these "home at last" feelings about my eating habits. I feel subtle changes forming in my attitude toward food. Fruits and vegetables are starting to look much more attractive. A single tablespoon of peanuts is starting to look perfectly adequate. The leftovers on the dinner dishes are starting to look like garbage instead of food that will be wasted unless someone eats it.

I've lost seven pounds so far, but this feels oddly incidental. What seems more important is that I'm eating healthy food, that I don't feel hungry or deprived, and that I'm working with nature instead of struggling against it.

***************************

UPDATE: I have now completed the full eight weeks of the program and have lost ten pounds. What's truly remarkable is that during this period our son graduated from high school and we had out-of-town guests, so there were many celebrations and restaurant meals. The diet adapts to festivities very well!

It works! I've tried other diets, and although I might lose weight for a while, it's always been incredibly hard work and they didn't stop my weight gradually creeping upwards over the years. I saw this book in the store and thought it looked interesting because it isn't just some fad diet that promises the world but doesn't actually work. Instead this is an intelligent book that is written by a scientist and tells you about strategies that have actually been shown to work by research. That makes it an interesting book to read - in fact I'd have been interested to read it even if I wasn't trying to lose weight. And using it for weight loss is not complicated or difficult.

In the first half of the book, the authors walk you through five instincts that control what we eat, and you can figure out which of them challenges you personally. This part of the book gave me some tips that have really worked... in the last month I already lost 10 pounds! The second half of the book has menu plans and recipes. I actually haven't used that part of the book very much yet, but the recipes look interesting. I did try a couple of them, including 2 of the 3 chocolate pudding recipes (that's not a typo: 3 chocolate puddings) and they were great! This is a diet book that is easy to love - it's interesting to read, plus I'm losing weight, and enjoying the food all at the same time!

I've always been hesitant to try diets that claim to change your eating habits as I always thought that when I wanted to, I knew what to eat. I was so wrong! I'm finding that I had no clue about portion control or what kinds of foods I should be eating at each meal. Who knew I was so fiber deprived! As I'm dieting, I have felt fully satisfied and have had no hunger! Unlike other diets such as the South Beach diet, the Stage I menu does not feel at all restrictive as I'm eating fruits, cereal, bread along with a variety of foods from all of the food groups. And with morning and afternoon snacks between meals, I don't have a chance to feel hungry. Each meal I've experienced in Stage I has been very tasty. The meals have been very easily adaptive for my family. They especially love the chicken parm. My favorite so far is the bean and veggie burrito. I will never go back to meat burritos as the recipe in the book was so much more tasty! And chocolate covered strawberries does not seem like a diet food to me, but is part of the Stage I menu and certainly curbed my sweet tooth. I'm on day 5 and I'm already experiencing weight loss. Stage II looks too good to be true. I cannot wait to try out some of those recipes!

I'll leave it up to the other reviewers for the summary...I'm just here to offer more praise and to address some concerns of the critics. I started the instinct diet on May 30, 2009 and I've now lost 18 pounds in the two months since then. But here's the really great thing about this book: I haven't even been following the menus closely for the last 3-4 weeks. I followed the two-week initial plan to the letter, and, while I did lose weight, what this really did for me was to get me back in touch with my body. I now eat when I'm hungry, and what I crave when I'm hungry is healthy food. During this time, I've eaten Oreo Blizzards from Dairy Queen (just not every day!), I've gone to numerous weddings, graduations, and reunions without depriving myself food. The difference is that I'm in control of what I eat. I've never been more satisfied and happier with myself. Best of all, this truly does not feel like a diet, since I've simply applied lessons from the book to change my eating habits. I've been through Weight Watchers several times where I would always lose the weight, but once I would hit or near my goal, I'd stop going and slowly the weight would creep back on. With this book and with the tools that Dr. Roberts provides, for the first time in my life I don't feel like I'm working towards a weight goal--I'm simply eating better and losing weight as a result of that.

So, to address some of the criticisms--yes, there is a lot of food preparation, but that's only if you've gotten used to eating out every night of the week. Most of the food is very simple to prepare and takes almost no time at all, but if you're not used to preparing any food, this will take some time to get used to. Still, it's worth it, and once you've begun, you don't really want to eat out any longer.

Second, there isn't really an exercise component, but Dr. Roberts does address this in her book. I didn't exercise all that much until the past 3 weeks. Once I had lost some weight, I had more energy and desire to start a workout plan. I've added this healthy habit on my own, but I keep it simple--cardio and weights 3-4 times a week. If you are significantly overweight (from my starting weight, I should lose about 25 pounds to be at the top end of the recommended weight for my height), it is refreshing to have an expert tell you that exercise is good, but let's start with changing your eating habits first. If you're like me, and you've been on several diets, you know how it feels to fail at both the diet and the exercise--sometimes we just need to keep it simple.

Finally, the menu plans are very specific, but I did begin to experiment and just work towards eating the recommended portion of fiber, protein, fruits and veggies every day. Pretty soon, that's all I really wanted anyway.

All in all, I highly recommend this plan. You might be a little hungry the first few days, but keep your eye on how you'll feel, both physically and mentally, just a few weeks down the road. For the first time, I feel confident that I'll be able to keep this weight off for good!


UPDATE: It's now October and I've lost about 30 pounds. I haven't looked at the book since mid-August, yet I've continued to lose weight by simply eating a normal, healthy diet and exercising about 2-3 times a week. I can truthfully say that I haven't felt like I'm on a diet since then; I continue to lose weight because I'm eating correctly. This is now the way I eat, and I assume that my weight will stabilize when I'm at a healthy point. I have been losing an average of about a pound a week--not much, but I don't gain weight. So it's not like Weight Watchers where I was pushing myself to a goal...now I am simply in control of what I eat and where my weight ends up is where I know I should be. I'm now at the top end of a healthy BMI for my height, and I'm eating to satisfaction every day.

I am a medical practioner at a family practice clinic that utilizes a medical weight loss program developed at Columbia University. I have read several medical research driven weight loss books and by far this is the most accessable and easy to follow for patients while not degrading the facts or confusing them with half truths. In the past month several of my patients have read the book and used the information very effectively. Since writing this review I have read several more books and would say this a a good place to start but move on to books like volumetrics, The Revolution Will not Be Microwaved and Good Food, Great Medicine by Miles Hassell.

As a lifetime dieter, I've always counted calories but never fallen into the 'follow our diet' trap. Why did I choose the Instinct Diet, then? Because it made sense to me as a physician.

I'm 2 weeks in, and finished Stage 1 yesterday. I lost 5 lbs and the weight loss is visible. I followed mostly the vegetarian home-cooking menus. They were no more work than usual (I'm into cooking), and I did tweak them to suit my palate. Vegetarians/vegans who love food may find the recipes limiting, but they can be tampered with without changing the nutrition content. For eg, I love the peanut sauce. Instead of just serving it with steamed tofu and vegetables, I saute the tofu and veggies in soy sauce and lemon juice, or roast them in the oven without using any oil. Since I don't eat eggs, I made my own frittata for breakfast with tofu and froze individual servings. (Freezing food will be key for those who want to avoid spending too much time in the kitchen.)

The best part of the diet? I was less hungry than I've ever been on my self-imposed diets, and I lost weight.

The most difficult part? The repetitions can become monotonous if you're a foodie. On the other hand, the goal of the repetitions is to make the healthy food become familiar and taste good, so you know why the strategy is there.

I'm looking forward to finishing stage 2 and posting an update!

*Updated 6 weeks later-

I lost 10 lbs on the 8-week diet plan. There were several trips during this time, on some of which I did not completely follow the plan. Stage 2 was much easier to follow in terms of variety of food. It was also a lot more flexible. Just like the author suggests, this was the stage when I started getting compliments on the visible weight loss. I am pretty sure I would have lost more weight had I followed the plan strictly, but I was really looking for maintenance at this stage.

Some of the I diet recipes have definitely become staples- the fabulous soups, the I diet pizza, the broiled tofu salad. Most of this is food I can gladly serve to family and friends, boasting about how healthy it is, and then letting them discover how delicious it is. Truly a wonderful book.