The UnDiet: A sustainable framework. Real results.
Seven simple habits. No calorie counting. No banned foods. No shakes you have to choke down at 7 AM.
By Dave Sherwin, certified nutrition coach.
If you’ve tried diets that work for six weeks and then collapse, you’re not the problem. The diets are the problem. They’re built around extreme restriction, which means they’re built to fail.
The 7 habits at a glance — this is the whole protocol.
1Don't Drink Your Calories
Soda, sweetened coffee drinks, juice, alcohol — liquid calories are some of the easiest to overconsume and the hardest to feel full from. A 20-oz soda has the calorie load of a small meal but does nothing to satisfy hunger.
Make water your default. Add lemon or lime if you need flavor. Skip artificial sweeteners — they keep the sugar cravings alive even when the calories are gone.
How much water? Half your body weight in ounces per day. If you weigh 150 lbs, aim for 75 oz, not counting what you drink during exercise.
2Eat Slowly and Mindfully
It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that your stomach is full. If you eat fast, you'll consume meaningfully more food before that signal arrives.
Slow eating isn't optional on the UnDiet. It's the single most powerful habit on this list, and the cheapest one to implement.
How to do it:
- Put your fork down between bites
- Chew thoroughly
- Eat at a table, not in the car
- Phone face-down, screens off
- Add 5-10 minutes to each meal
Bonus: eating slowly also reduces bloating and gas. Eating fast forces your stomach to work harder, and undigested food in your gut isn't just uncomfortable — it's a sign your digestion needs help.
3Eat Within a 6-to-12 Hour Window
This is intermittent fasting, and it's one of the most-studied nutrition habits of the past decade. The basic idea: give your digestive system a meaningful daily break.
A good starting point: an 8-hour eating window with 16 hours of fasting. For example, eat between 11 AM and 7 PM, then nothing but water until 11 AM the next day.
Why it works:
- Naturally reduces total daily calorie intake without counting
- Lets your gut rest and repair
- Supports healthy blood sugar regulation
- Reduces late-night snacking, which is a huge weight management killer
- Has been linked to improvements in cholesterol, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers
A few notes:
- Women of childbearing years should consider a longer eating window (10-12 hours) rather than 16-hour fasts
- Black coffee, plain tea, and water don't break the fast
- You can work out in the fasted state — studies suggest this may enhance fat oxidation
- If you're new to fasting, start with a 12-hour window and work down
If this is too much, ALL YOU DO is stop eating after dinner. Do that. It's powerful by itself.
4Use the Hand Rule
Forget measuring cups, food scales, and macro calculators. Your hand is always with you, and it scales to your body size — bigger people have bigger hands and need more food, smaller people have smaller hands and need less. It's elegant.
Per meal:
- Protein: size of your palm (chicken, fish, eggs, beef, tofu)
- Veggies: an open handful, or as much as you want
- Carbs: size of your closed fist (rice, potatoes, fruit, bread)
- Fats: size of your thumb (oil, butter, avocado, nuts)
The Hand Rule works in restaurants, on vacation, at parties, in your own kitchen. It's portable, it's free, and it doesn't require an app.
Note that very active people and those who do resistance training raise the protein portion as high as 2 palms per meal.
5Take the Right Supplements
The main supplement we recommend for the UnDiet is simple: Pounds and Inches Drops, 1 mL twice a day, held under the tongue for 1-2 minutes before swallowing.
The drops contain a clinical dose of Chromium GTF (500 mcg per serving, 250% DV) plus over 20 botanicals and amino acids that support appetite regulation, healthy blood sugar levels already within the normal range, energy, and focus.
Translation: when the cravings hit hardest — usually in the afternoon energy crash or the post-dinner snack hour — the drops are designed to make the habit easier to stick with.
- First dose: 15-30 minutes before your first meal
- Second dose: 15-30 minutes before your last meal (or right before that snack you're trying to talk yourself out of)
Other supplements worth considering:
The UnDiet doesn't require a supplement stack, but most people benefit from filling a few common gaps:
- Mimi's Miracle Minerals — even the cleanest diet leaves most people short on trace minerals. Modern soil is depleted; modern produce is shipped, stored, and processed. Mineral repletion is foundational.
- Mimi's Miracle Zeolites — when you start losing weight, your body releases compounds stored in fat tissue. Zeolites support your body's natural detoxification pathways while remineralizing at the same time. Helpful during the weight loss phase.
- CCL Advanced Glutathione Spray — glutathione is your body's master antioxidant. Levels drop with age and stress. The spray bypasses the digestive system for better absorption.
- Eat Anything Rx — if foods like gluten, beans, dairy, or veggies cause GI distress, an enzyme can make eating mindfully a lot more enjoyable.
6Move Your Body Every Day
You don't have to become a gym rat. You just have to move.
Resistance training, cardio, and HIIT workouts are great, of course. But everything counts. Walking counts. Stairs count. Carrying groceries counts. Yard work counts. The body was built to move, and most of us spend our days not moving nearly enough.
Some easy wins:
- Park further away
- Take the stairs
- Walk after meals — even 10 minutes improves blood sugar response
- Do something you actually enjoy (dance, hiking, yoga, lifting, sports)
- Aim for some kind of intentional movement most days
If you want to step it up, 20 minutes of high-intensity interval training a few times a week is one of the most time-efficient ways to improve cardiovascular health, metabolic flexibility, and body composition. But the rule is: the best exercise is the one you'll actually do.
7Get 7-9 Hours of Sleep
Sleep is the single most underrated tool in weight management.
When you sleep poorly:
- Hunger hormones (ghrelin) increase
- Satiety hormones (leptin) decrease
- Cravings for high-carb, high-fat foods spike
- Insulin sensitivity drops
- Willpower for everything else on this list drops with it
When you sleep well, everything else on the UnDiet gets easier. It's not optional — it's the foundation that makes the other six habits work.
Some simple sleep hygiene:
- Same bedtime every night, even on weekends
- No screens 30 minutes before bed
- Cool, dark room
- Skip caffeine after 2 PM
- Avoid heavy meals within 3 hours of bedtime
Two phases. Your pace.
Phase 1: Active weight management
This is when you're actively working toward a weight goal. Follow all seven habits tightly. Eat 2 meals a day inside a 6-8 hour window. Take Pounds and Inches Drops consistently. Stay hydrated. Move daily. Sleep well.
Most people stay in Phase 1 for 1-3 months, but there's no rule. You're driving the bus. Some people stay in Phase 1 longer because they enjoy the structure. Others move to Phase 2 sooner because they hit their initial goals.
Phase 2: Sustainable maintenance
This is where most of life happens. You've built the habits, you've hit your first goal, now you keep what you've gained.
- Three meals a day if you want, still inside a 10-12 hour window
- Hand Rule portions, but with more flexibility on weekends and special occasions
- Continued daily movement and good sleep
- Continued Pounds and Inches Drops for ongoing appetite and metabolic support
- Continued supplementation for the gaps your diet doesn't fill
The goal of Phase 2 isn't perfection. It's a sustainable rhythm you can live with for the rest of your life.
Ready to start? 3 simple steps
Order Pounds & Inches Drops
Subscribe and save on monthly deliveries, or grab a single bottle to try it first.
Save this page
Bookmark this page or save the link on your phone. You’ll come back to it as you build the habits.
Start with one habit
You don’t have to do all seven on day one. Pick the one that feels easiest, build it for a week, then add the next.
Sustainable change is built one habit at a time.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a regular diet?
Regular diets focus on what you can't eat. The UnDiet focuses on how you eat and when. You're not banned from any food — you just eat slowly, in reasonable portions, inside a defined window, with good sleep and movement supporting the whole thing.
Do I have to take Pounds & Inches Drops to follow the UnDiet?
No. The 7 habits stand on their own. The drops are designed to make the habits easier — they support appetite regulation and energy, which helps when willpower is in short supply. Most people find them genuinely helpful, but the habits are the foundation.
Can I cheat?
Yes. Eat the birthday cake. Have the pizza. The UnDiet works long-term because it bends — it doesn't break. Eat the cheat foods slowly and mindfully, then return to the habits the next meal.
How fast will I see results?
Individual results vary based on your starting point, consistency, sleep, and a dozen other factors. Most people who follow the habits consistently see steady, sustainable progress over weeks and months. Anyone promising you a specific number of pounds in a specific number of days is selling you something we wouldn't.
Is this safe if I have a medical condition?
We recommend talking with your doctor before starting any new nutrition or supplement protocol, especially if you have diabetes, thyroid issues, are pregnant or nursing, or are taking medications.
Where can I get support?
Email support@dirobi.com or call 1-888-665-7769 Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM Mountain time. We're a small team and we actually answer the phone.
Go deeper: Un-Diet reading
The Un-Diet is a philosophy, and we've been writing about it for years. Start with these:
- How to stop binge eating — Dr. Glenn Livingston on ending the restrict-binge cycle for good
- The 4 levels of health — a useful map for figuring out where you are and what's next
- The habits of healing — Dr. Donna Perillo on the daily practices that compound
- Aging at 25% the normal rate — longevity lessons from Chris Mirabile
- A new paradigm for improved health — Dr. Patrick Flynn on root-cause thinking
- JERF: Just Eat Real Food — the one rule that upgrades every meal instantly
- The benefits of eating slowly and mindfully — the deep dive on Habit #2
- Hara Hachi Bu — the Japanese 80%-full secret behind the Hand Rule