The 17 Day Diet

Now that I made the decision I want to focus on healthy eating habits (again), I decided that I am going to follow the 17 day diet. I had never heard of it before, but apparently it is very popular, and has been featured on shows like "The Doctors". My Mother-in-Law was the one that introduced it to me. I was def intrigued by the diet and after seeing the results she achieved in a short period. Here is what it is, "The 17 Day Diet promotes a diet of clean eating, devoid of sugar, processed foods, fried foods, and other unhealthy foods." Sounded promising to me, eating healthy, no processed foods and a focus on protein. Here's the catch for me, no carbs! I am a carb addict, but I know that is what could be causing me not to lose weight. I joke and say my four main food groups are bread, pasta, potatoes and cheese. I would love to live on just that, hence why gnocchi is one of my favorite foods. But it's not forever. The diet is broken up into 3 cycles and then a maintenance plan. Each cycle introduces new foods, and brings back some of the carbs and starchy foods. Here's a breakdown of what the cycles are.

The 17 Day Diet: What It Is

Cycle 1, called "Accelerate," strips your diet down to the bare bones of approximately 1,200 calories per day. It promises weight loss of 10-15 pounds, most of which is water weight. “This phase cleanses, hydrates, removes unhealthy carbs, improves unhealthy eating habits, and stimulates fat metabolism," Moreno says.

Cycle 2, called "Activate," the food plan is alternated with a slightly higher-calorie activate plan. Moreno says the zig-zag between cycles keeps the metabolism guessing, helps prevent boredom, and continues to stimulate fat burning to yield about a 5-6 pound weight loss.

Cycle 3, called "Achieve," is the stabilization period that allows healthier foods with a slower rate of weight loss of about 2-3 pounds, Moreno says.

Cycle 4 -- the final phase, called "Arrive" -- is when you arrive at your goal weight. In cycle 4, follow meal plans from one of the earlier cycles during the week with controlled splurges on weekends to maintain your new weight.

The first cycle is the most restricting, and no carbs at all, which I do miss already and it hasn't even been a full day. I'm sure there are days when all I eat is carbs and have zero protein, which I suppose is good for me since this forces me to make sure I am eating enough protein. I also like that the diet forces you to eat two fruits a day and to get them in before 2pm. Since the diet also restricts the amount of sugar you have, it is important to eat your fruit early so  your body has time to break down the sugar during the day.

Cycle 1 allows an unlimited amount of nonstarchy vegetables and lean protein (including 2 eggs per day, if you have normal cholesterol level), along with limited amounts of fruits, probiotics (such as yogurt), and a little bit of "friendly" fat, such as olive oil or flaxseed oil. The fruit, vegetable, friendly fat and probiotics are similar to what you find on the weight watchers plan as well. I'll probably be eating 2 yogurts a day to get in my probiotics since I don't like what some of the other options are like cottage cheese or greek yogurt. The other drawback to cycle 1 is that pretty much your only option for breakfast every day is eggs or egg whites. Along with your required fruit and probiotics if you want to eat them for breakfast which isn't terrible.

I am excited to see if I get results from this. If nothing else will just help me to eat healthier and try to increase my vegetable intake, which according to web md the underlying principles of the diet are healthy, but obviously any weight loss is no guarantee. Here goes nothing!