Most weight loss programs require you to cut back calories. This one won’t.
Many expect you to endure hunger. This one doesn’t.
Some require grueling workouts. Not this one.
That’s because the program in this book, the Always Hungry Solution, uses a radically different method of weight control, based on decades of groundbreaking, but little-known, research.
Conventional diets aim to shrink body fat by restricting calorie intake. But this approach is doomed to fail in the real world, because it targets the symptoms, not the root cause of the problem. After a few weeks of calorie restriction, the body fights back, and makes us feel hungry, tired, and deprived. Though we may be able to ignore these unpleasant feelings for a short while, they inevitably erode our motivation and willpower. Sooner or later, we succumb to temptation and the weight comes racing back—often leaving us heavier than before we started the diet.
The Always Hungry Solution turns dieting on its head, by ignoring calories and targeting fat tissue directly. Using the right types and combinations of foods (and other supportive techniques related to stress reduction, sleep, and enjoyable physical activities), this approach reprograms fat cells to release their stored calories. When this happens, the pent-up calories flood back into the body, shifting metabolism into weight loss mode. You’ll experience a surge in energy levels and dramatically increased satiety—that pleasant sense of fullness after eating. You’ll feel good, and begin to lose weight without hunger or cravings.
In our sixteen-week pilot program with 237 participants, some people like Donna A., Dominique R., and Matthew F. lost weight rapidly, right from the start (see pages v-vii). For others, weight loss was slower, but was accompanied by important health benefits like decreased waist size and reduced heart disease risk factors. In addition, participants consistently reported most or all of the following: reduced hunger, fewer cravings, long-lasting satiety after eating, increased enjoyment of food, better energy, and enhanced overall well-being. These positive experiences—the opposite of what typically occurs on a calorie-restricted diet—bode well for long-term success and an end to yo-yo dieting.
For sensational weight loss, starve yourself. But for sustainable weight loss, feed your fat cells well!
The Always Hungry Solution features savory proteins (with options for both meat-eaters and vegetarians), luscious sauces and spreads, filling nuts and nut butters, and a range of natural carbohydrates. This way of eating is so rich and satisfying that there will be little room left for the highly processed carbohydrates that have crept into our diets during the low-fat craze of the last few decades. You may notice that some of the recipes have a “retro,” feel, harking back to those hearty meals of the 1950s, but each has been updated with modern flavors and fine-tuned to reflect the latest scientific insights. Getting the science exactly right lets us achieve maximum weight loss and overall health benefits with minimum effort. It’s diet without deprivation.
This is not a typical low-carbohydrate diet. In Phase 1: Conquer Cravings, you’ll give up—for just two weeks—starches and added sugars. But in Phase 2: Retrain Your Fat Cells, you’ll add back moderate amounts of whole-kernel grains, starchy vegetables (except white potato), and a touch of sweetener. Then, in Phase 3: Lose Weight Permanently, you can mindfully reintroduce bread, potato products, and some other processed carbohydrates, depending on your body’s ability to handle them—creating a customized diet that’s right for you.
For anyone ready to get started right away, all of the key concepts are in Chapter 1: The Big Picture. Read it, then feel free to skip right to Part 2: The Always Hungry Solution. For others, chapters 2 through 4 provide a more in-depth exploration of the problem with conventional diets and the new science of weight loss without hunger. The program in part 2 has everything you’ll need to put this plan into action, including recipes, meal plans, tracking tools, shopping lists, food preparation guides, and more. Finally, the epilogue offers ideas to make society a healthier place for all of us to live.
I hope you enjoy the many delicious and nutritious recipes in these pages. I’m confident that Always Hungry? will help you achieve lasting weight loss, experience increased vitality, and enjoy a healthy life.
And please write to me at drludwig@alwayshungrybook.com about your experiences.
David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD
Brookline, Massachusetts
June 2015