Always Hungry?: Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently

I was an early adopter of Dr. Ludwig’s, “Always Hungry?” plan.Lengthy review and my personal tips for success.After a snow boarding accident in 2005, I gained a significant amount of weight, ballooned to 255+ lbs. Following this plan I was able to shed right at 100 lbs in 12 months and have maintained that loss since (nearly 12 months now).Yes, In the beginning cooking and prep work for meals took longer. Now, however, it’s second nature and cooking takes less time than before I started “Always Hungry?”Other benefits, inflammation due to my injury significantly reduced, sugar cravings are non-existent, and at 46 years old I’m at 14% body fat.I’ve been able to resume a fully active life.There is a supportive Facebook group for the “Always Hungry?” book as well.Everyone will have different results, based on a number of factors. Underlying health issues, compliance and adherence to the outlined protocol and so forth.Here is the text of a post I made to the related Facebook group...Always Hungry? - My 21 tips and insights for success, starting out and maintaining. Some of these are repeating what I found essentially important in the book and others are my personal observations.We have a lot of new members joining the AH lifestyle, feels like a movement, a food revolution.I've been working on and editing these in response to questions I get. Hope they make sense are are helpful for those starting out, maintaining or rebooting.1- Read the book, then read it again.2- Keep the book handy as a reference or guide book, nearly 20 months in and I still go back to it when I'm questioning something.3- Get "buy-in" from members of your household. I'm not exactly sure how successful I would have been without that. This house is an AH zone. Not saying it can't be done without that, just my personal opinion and experience.4- Breath, it's a lot of information to consume in the beginning. It can be done, I promise you.5- Plan, set yourself up for success by looking at your calendar. I realize this is not always possible and we all live busy hectic lives. Michael travels a lot for work, we planned our initial 2 weeks of Phase 1 around his schedule and when he would be home for a couple of weeks.6- The book talks about this but it was essential for our success. Three days before our start we cleaned EVERYTHING that was non-complaint from the cupboards save for the food we needed for those few days. Two days out, armed with our shopping list we restocked the house. One day out we did our week one prep work.7- Day one, measure yourself and weigh yourself. Use the provided trackers as you progress through the first several weeks / months. I still use my tracker every week to log my weight and waist. I keep a handy 3 ring binder in the pantry right next to my copy of AH. The daily component of the tracker really helped me learn what it meant to "listen to my body".8- Don't look at this as if it were a diet, working and sticking with the plan has been life changing for me. Embrace all aspects of the lifestyle.9- Again, from the book, but so important..."be gentle with yourself". There are no cheats only decisions, remember, this is not a diet.10- Play with food, the choices and combinations are truly endless. We comment all the time with how seldom we repeat meals. We always loved to cook, this has made us much better, more creative cooks.11- Don't go in search of "compliant" packaged things that remind you of things you used to eat. Embrace change.12- Learn to read labels. Not the "nutritional label" but the Ingredient List, it's usually in tiny print. In my personal opinion and experience, the list is printed so small because you have never heard of much less can you pronounce some of the ingredients. (Those with advanced chemistry degrees and a good Latin background may disagree).13- Try as hard as you can and follow the meal plans as outlined during the first four weeks. (I realize those with particular food sensitivities, health concerns, lifestyle choices may need to deviate). This was an essential element for me. Got me to open my mind and try a couple of things I would not have. Also, it was a total "brain retrain". It showed me what a truly balanced meal looks like.14- Pay particular attention to portion sizes as outlined in the book. This is of great importance to readers in The United States. We have been assaulted for years with "super-sized", "value meals", "unlimited"...you get my point.15- Eat mindfully, eat slower, enjoy the fruits of your labor. This will really help with learning to eat until 80% full. Also, eat around the plate.16- You found this Facebook group, use the search function...many answers to your questions will be found there. If you can't find the answer or still have questions, ask away! This is a great group with a ton of smart and supportive members.17- Appreciate the NSV's!18- Find your "joyful" movement. It may be one thing, it may be several things. It may be something you used to do and enjoyed but stopped for whatever reason.19- Everyday on the plan gets easier, eventually it just becomes who you are, only changed. Believe it or not, even cooking takes less time than it did before AH.20- Don't be intimidated with asking questions at restaurants and or asking for modifications. Any good restaurant that wants your business will do their best to accommodate you. If not, make a mental note so as not to return.21- Finally and most importantly...Don't compare yourself or your progress to anyone else. Everybody and every body are different.

I started this approach to eating the day after the Super Bowl this year. I am a mid-50s woman who was slowly gaining weight (5'4", 138 lbs, used to be 120) and getting tired of buying larger clothes. I had developed a muffin-top around my middle. I had been trying to eat a restricted calorie (1450), low-fat (< 30%) diet with protein and vegetables and a little fruit for the previous year as prescribed by a dietician. I felt I had to exercise 30 minutes a day just so that I could eat dinner without gaining weight. I managed to lose 4 pounds over the entire year. But I was always hungry, which attracted me to this book. I wanted a new approach to eating, as I felt what I was doing was not working.I am very happy that since February I have lost 3 inches around my abdomen and 15 pounds (I am back to 120 lbs), all without being hungry, and all with just a moderate amount of exercise as described in the book. My body fat percentage is down from 33-35% to 26-28%. I once again fit into my normal clothes. I feel like my body is back to where it was before the slow weight gain started when I turned 50. Adding the (good) fat back to my diet helped me lose weight and got rid of the constant hunger, and my cholesterol numbers are all moving in the correct directions (LDL and triglycerides down, HDL up). My husband, who needed to lose more weight than me, is shrinking all over, heading back to a much more normal weight. It takes time (for me, about three months for the weight loss), but we both feel like we will just keep eating this way.If you are thinking about trying this plan, take the time to read the book so that you understand what you are trying to accomplish. Dr. Ludwig has actually done studies that support his eating plan. There may be more science there than you want to read, but it is important that the science exists. Nutrition research is hard to get done properly. Read the comments from those who participated in the pilot study. They will give you an idea of what to expect. None of them say "I lost 50 pounds in 10 days". Keep your expectations in line with what the study participants report.As many other reviewers say, this is not a diet, it is a lifestyle change. I plan to eat something between Phase 2 and Phase 3 forever. I am finished with the low-fat mantra, which I had been doing for 20 years. It did take awhile for me to learn to add the fat back into my recipes. My family has always cooked most of our food, so we don't find the food prep too difficult. We did have to learn some new recipes and tweak some of own, but now that I have a rotation of recipes I know how to cook, cooking time is reduced. With just two of us, a recipe in the book that says 4 servings now satisfies us for two dinners each, plus two lunches (six meals). Realistically, I cook three large meals each week (which gives us 6 dinners), then we have fish one night (no leftovers). If we eat out, it is usually for lunch, where it is easy to find a salad that fits our needs (I read the nutrition info on websites, like Salata or Zoe's Kitchen to see what foods fit my needs, mostly keeping away from the added sugars). I do find it helpful to plan what we are going to eat for three or four days, usually by first taking stock of what produce I have on hand in order to use it up. If you feel like you are wasting too much produce, buy frozen vegetables. Several recipes in the book are stews; frozen vegetables and canned beans work great in those recipes. Use frozen (unsweetened) berries if fresh are out of season. They are fine in yogurt. Buy roasted nuts if you don't have time to roast your own. And do try some new foods. I am eating way more tofu and tempeh than I thought possible.Do not just start trying to cook the recipes. You need to do some planning before you jump it. Think about what substitutions you might want to make for foods you don't like (I am not a fan of smoked salmon, so I don't use it, plus it is expensive) and write those into your menu. Make sure you plan time during the first three weekends so that you can do the meal prep you need to do. Having all those sauces and dressings ready to go really speeds up cooking. Once you get through the first three to four weeks, meal planning gets easier. You will be eating less, so you will start to get those leftovers you can use for an extra dinner or lunch. You will also feel more confident about planning your meals.Do not worry about losing weight the first month. Measure your body, but only once or twice a week. You will be surprised to see the inches going down, even if the scale has not moved much. The inches are how you know the fat is going away, especially around the abdomen. My pants fit better around my waist after 10 days, even though I had only lost a pound or two. Eventually, you will lose weight, but it will happen slowly. Focus on the inches, not the pounds. You need to adopt a long-term view; think about how you want to feel in two months, not in two weeks.Finally, I also can recommend a film that you might want to watch before you read the book. It is called That Sugar Film  That Sugar Film , which I found at my library, and is currently included on Amazon Prime. The protagonist, Damon Gameau, eats a "healthy" diet that is riddled with added sugars. The film is done with humor, but the effects on his health are dramatic. After watching the film, I think you will be motivated to give the Always Hungry approach a try.

A lot of what is in this book is what I already knew, and had practiced on and off over last few years, with generally good results. But I've never come across a source as comprehensive as this.The first few chapters covers the science (backed up by research), then goes on to help with other lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress etc...Then comes the plans. There is a week countdown to really get you prepared for a new lifestyle. What foods to keep, what foods to throw, tips on how to ensure good sleep and exercise.There are full shopping lists, preparation notes, meal plans.As for the results though - to start with, I've lost 10lb in the last month. I've gone down from size 36 trousers to size 34, and even then I need a belt now. I have so much more energy and motivation, and my kitchen could now rival most professional's.The food is gorgeous, and I'm never hungry. I'm even finding myself eating and enjoying things I've hated all my life. Cauliflower - ugh. Wouldn't touch it. Now I love cauliflower mash on my shepherd's pie and cauliflower soup.The greatest thing about this "diet" (if you can call it a diet) is that is not dogmatic, it is not restrictive. You can create your own meal plans, which he guides you through. It features guides on how to pay attention to your own body rather than calorie counting. For instance, I started introducing a few grains in phase 2, noticed my weight lost stalled, so referred to the book and realised I probably am just a bit more sensitive to carbs than average. Stopped the extra grains, and weight loss carried on again. I'm now healthy enough to begin a workout regime and transform my health and fitness fully.

As someone who has always struggled with “Traditional” attempts to lose weight, this book and the processes inside are amazing. I’ve always found with low fat/calorie deficient diets to be hungry between meals, tired and unsatisfied… yeah I’d lose a bit of weight but I’d be miserable doing it… Always Hungry helps explain a. Little of the science behind why those diets are so difficult to follow, whilst giving you an overview of how the body works. Understanding how sugar’s work and fat burns within the body helps you make conscious decisions to make actual changes to you diet and avoid the cravings so commonly found when depriving yourself on these restrictive diets. After 6 weeks I’ll lost 8lbs, 2.5 inches of my waist, have more energy than I’ve had in years and don’t have the cravings for sweets & crap that have blighted my weight loss over the years! I’ll be happy to review this review in 6 months time should my outlook be not so glowing, but can safely say that after reading this book, I now have a much better understanding of why little has worked for me in the past and following the advice offered by David Ludwig will help change your mentality!

There’s nothing at all wrong with the advice in this book. That’s because, with some minor variations, it apes the Atkins diet, the South Seas diet, and all of those other plans which advocate removing carbs almost completely from your diet , and then slowly introducing the healthier( ie. the ones with less impact on blood sugars) back in. To be fair, if you’re not familiar with low carb regimes, this book is as good a start as any. But if you are, give it a miss.

Life changing book...so far lost all my hunger and cravings, sleeping better than ever I can recollect, 11bs just gradually falling off over a few months, after a slow start, which is normal and ongoing.

Too many accounts of people who lost weight. Not necessary to be printed along the main chapter pages..could be in the end.The content could be crisp.