The Instinct Diet

The Instinct Diet is not written for bodybuilders, but it has lots of interesting tips and facts, not to mention recipes, that a bodybuilder can use to rip up. The author, Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D., lays out an eight-week program based on five food instincts she’s identified: hunger—the need to feel full; availability—just because it’s there; calorie density—too good to resist; familiarity, cravings and triggers; and variety—too many choices.

In the first six chapters Roberts explores those concepts, or instincts, and how to make them work for you: “You can make simple changes that will give you greater control over not just what you eat but what you weigh.” Then in Chapter 7 she provides a summary in crib-sheet form, listing each instinct with a brief synopsis and tips. For example, for hunger she says to “make sure every meal and every snack makes you feel satisfied.” She then lists a few tips on how to accomplish that, such as eating high-fiber, high-protein, low-carb foods.

In fact, high fiber and high protein are a running theme in the book, which is excellent for bodybuilders—you want to build muscle, but you want to stay full and regular too.

The actual program starts on page 63, and she covers everything from weighing yourself to shopping lists and menus to snacks. There are also short ideas or tips in boxes throughout, with titles such as “The Exercise Equation” and “Small Splurges.”

The next section is recipes—jam-packed with culinary delights that are healthful and easy to whip up, like rich chili soup, “I” diet tuna salad, Florentine steak and arista chicken. Most of the dishes are high in protein and medium to low in carbs, so bodybuilders will find a number of them that are appropriate for staying or getting muscular and lean. The recipe section has more than 100 pages.

The Instinct Diet is all about sensible nutrition with a get-lean mission. As I said, not a bodybuilding tome, but a book you can use for recipes, eating tips and motivation to get ripped.