Internet Diet Guru's $10 Million Deal

Few and far between are the diet gurus who espouse a low-cal lifestyle that includes Cool Whip, Funyuns, and Cap’n Crunch, but Lisa Lillien has bravely broken ground in this territory. As a reward for her unique stance, she has been rewarded—she has 1 million subscribers to her free daily newsletter, and both of her first two books debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list. “I live in the middle of the supermarket,” she said, where the processed foods are, and where most American women shop and eat. “I live in the real world, and my people don’t need me to tell them they should be eating steamed halibut.” Lillien has a new cookbook out, Hungry Girl Happy Hour, and her publisher, St. Martin’s Press, has agreed to pay her $10 million for her next eight cookbooks. “I feel like I was made to do this,” she said.