Sensa: The diet plan is described in a new book

Our Booster Shots blog post last year on the Sensa diet, "Get a whiff of this diet," generated loads of comments from readers, many of whom have shared their experiences with the product (both good and bad). If you want to learn a bit more about the program, now you can read a book from the creator.

"Sensa Weight-Loss Program" (Hilton Publishing, $23.95) is written by Dr. Alan Hirsch, a neurologist and director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. The Sensa program features salt-free, sugar-free scented substances called Tastant crystals that are sprinkled on food. The Tastants supposedly help people feel full so they eat less. It is not a drug. In a study of 1,400 overweight and obese men presented last year, Hirsch found those who stuck with the Sensa Tastants for six months lost an average of about 30 pounds. A control group of 100 people who used nonflavored crystals that looked like Tastants lost an average of two pounds over six months. Independent studies on the Sensa program have not been conducted.

The system was discovered by accident, Hirsch says in the book. He found that some patients suffering from head injuries who had lost their sense of smell and taste were gaining weight. So he wondered whether enhancing the sense of smell might lead to weigh loss.

The book describes the three stages of the Sensa program and instructs readers on how to use the Tastants, which must be ordered online. Hirsch also includes basic diet advice, such as eating slowly and adding fitness to your lifestyle.

You can review our readers' comments on Sensa on the Booster Shots post.

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Hilton Publishing

Comments

[Dave Tousseau]

I have been using Sensa since 8/22/09 and have lost 22 lbs to date (12/12/09). This has been the best thing I have ever used to lose weight. I have tried many diets in the past, package type, restrictive type and will power. I lost some weight with all but after a while I missed the foods I was deprived of and gained the weight back and then some. Sensa is a weight loss program but not a diet as you would know it. Sensa works on portion control, with the tastants, it makes you feel full sooner so you eat less. I am not a person to excersise but with Sensa, you sprinkle on everything you eat except liquids and your appetite goes down. After time, your cravings for whatever you may crave i.e. sweets, salty or whatever, it also diminishes and as you lose weight your activity level starts to rise, this is done by itself over time. I now do some type of excersise every day. The best thing about Sensa is you don't change the foods you eat, it helps to limit the amount you eat and start to lose slowly. Everyone is different and some will feel the effects right away and others will take a little longer. This is something I would reccomend which I do not do unless I truly believe in something.

[Janet]

The Sensa tastants are an amazing product. Many of our greatest discoveries in science & medicine have been discovered by accident. Sensa is one of them.
The book is an easy read, written in (mostly) non-scientific language that is easy to understand.

[Wendy]

I love Sensa! I have been a faithful user for the last 10 months and currently I am down 62.5 lbs! Well on my way to my goal to lose 100 lbs! It has been only product that has worked this easily or this long for me! It fits my life and it has changed it forever! Thank you Sensa!

[Ann]

Both my husband and myself started using Sensa on September 16th and my husband has lost 14 and I have lost 19.6 pounds so far but we are both on a mission and Sensa just makes it so much easier to lose the pounds. All you have to do is sprinkle on your food and stop eating as soon as you get full. Simple, right? I was very hesitant at first as it does sound too easy to be true but it really works! Both my husband and myself are big fans! Of course you need to change your eating habits too, you need to stop eating when full. We eat more fruit and vegetables but still eat all we want. We drink plenty of water.
The book explains the program in detail and has very nice recipes. It also has lots of success stories in the book. If you want to find out more, check out www.trysensa.com on how Sensa works and read more success stories. One day in the near future, both my husband and myself will be one of these stories!

[Sensa Weight Loss]

I love sensa, I have to say. It's not the longterm solution, but it gets you started and then you gain confidence to go even further