Hungry-girl.com, An Over Night Sensation

Lisa Lillien's phrase, "I'm not a nutritionist, I'm just hungry" has made her a well known diet guru. Her web site, hungry-girl.com, has more than 353,000 subscribers since launching the site in 2004.

The web site boasts lower calorie food choices that taste good. Chock full of tips, recipes and even ways to make your favorite foods healthier, many subscribers are finding it easier to stick to their new lifestyles. "Hungry-girl is all about changing your lifestyle. Fad diets don't work long term," Lillien explains. "Figuring out what foods you can eat that you love and not gain weight is important."

Lillien is so passionate about this that she has recently launched a column on WeightWatchers.com as well as doing columns in People StyleWatch, Extra, NY Daily News, Seventeen Magazine and many other television shows, magazines and newspapers. She also has a book coming out in May. "I am the kind of person that tells everyone something. I know a little about a lot," Lillien said.

I recently got the honor to speak with Lillien about her successful web site.

Melanie VanDerveer: How did the concept for the web site come about?
Lisa Lillien: I lost 25-30 lbs by changing my lifestyle. I gave up bread, pasta, flour, and potatoes. I eventually started Weight Watchers online and counting points. I found a local bakery that sold low fat/low calorie pastries and thought that it was just too good to be true so I decided to take the pastries to a food lab to have the calories counted. I though to myself, who does this? The idea of hungry-girl came after that. I have a strong marketing brain so the creative part came easy. I am so passionate about it all.

MV: You have a lot of subscribers and have only been around since 2004.
LL: I have 353,000 subscribers now thanks to word of mouth. I didn't even have to put out a penny for advertising. It's been great.

MV: I love the tips, especially the one about egg nog, my personal favorite. You suggest Silk's Nog as one of the alternatives to traditional egg nog and my family loves that stuff. What are some of your other favorite holiday tips this year?
LL: I have a list of eight holiday things on the site that are great. I personally love Edy's Slow Churned Egg Nog icecream. (Now that is a cue to check out the web site for the other great things on the list.)
MV: What is your most asked diet question?
LL: It is usually something crazy about losing 30 or more pounds in week or so for an event, vacation or reunion, something unrealistic.

MV: What do you think of weight loss reality shows like NBC's Biggest Loser? Do you think that they are helpful to those trying to lose weight?
LL: I think shows like that raise awareness. It makes people see that it is possible to lose a lot of weight. There is some positive about those types of shows. I actually had one of this season's contestants emailing me through hungry-girl so it was fun to watch her progress.

For anyone trying to change their lifestyle or making a New Year's resolution to lose weight or get healthy, hungry-girl is a must. Signing up at the site is free and subscribers get tips emailed to them for an added incentive. Lillien is there for the added support that dieters need to get them through the process. With her down to Earth attitude, wise advice and lots of recipes and tips to teach someone how to change their lifestyle, help couldn't be found easier in a one stop web site.