When Lisa Lillien lost about 30 pounds seven years ago, she did it by giving up "everything good."

She knew she couldn't maintain such a strict diet, so instead, she worked to control her weight through smaller adjustments that were more likely to last.

By May 2004, Ms. Lillien's success had prompted her to send e-mail newsletters with diet tips and recipes to a handful of weight-watching friends.

Though she dreamed of turning her service into more, she let it develop naturally through word-of-mouth. It worked. By December, she was reaching about 10,000 subscribers.

"From day one, the reaction was so positive that I felt it was only a matter of time," she said.

Four years later, her Hungry Girl missives reach 450,000 subscribers daily.

That newsletter -- and its Web site spinoff Hungry-Girl.com ("Tips & Tricks for Hungry Chicks!") -- has spawned a small industry, including product endorsements and a cookbook.

"I love to gossip. I love to share information. And food is something I feel really passionate about," Ms. Lillien said.

Nothing is off-limits for the Hungry Girl , from tuna melts to twice-baked potatoes, from brownies to banana bread. Ms. Lillien believes there's a smart way to indulge in just about anything.

Her way is neither extreme nor based on denial. She uses the Weight Watchers POINTS values as a guide, and some of her recipes are developed with Weight Watchers.

"It's just about finding guilt-free versions of the foods that you love and finding a way to incorporate things like pizza and onion rings and ice cream on a regular basis and still fit into your pants," Ms. Lillien said.

Since the start, she has offered her seal of approval to numerous products she says are filling but pack few calories, including one of her favorites, Tofu Shirataki noodles.

Like all the foods she suggests, the soy-based noodles provide filling portions with few calories.

At times, her advice is more about looking good than being healthful, but she doesn't call herself an expert.

"I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor," she writes. "I'm just hungry."