Thursday, June 30, 2011

The 17 Day Diet Has Begun

Four days ago, I started "The 17 Day Diet" by Dr. Mike Moreno.

While flipping through television channels one day, I happened to stop on the Dr. Oz Show as I was on my way to the kitchen - a show I have never watched. While I was in the kitchen, I was listening to audience members on the show raving about how great "The 17 Day Diet" has worked for them. Not one to fall easily for the newest trend diets - in fact I normally pay them no heed, I watched the show because there was nothing else on television of interest - like usual.

I didn't think about it anymore until I was at a family BBQ and my sister-in-law was talking about how she had recently saw the owner of the store she manages, after not seeing her in a couple of months - and she had lost a lot of weight. I asked her what she did to lose the weight and she said, "It's called 'The 17 Day Diet'.

I had remembered watching the Dr. Oz Show and hearing all the great things about the diet and how the diet is likely the only diet that anyone can do. When I got home from the BBQ, I read a little bit more about the diet and decided to buy the book. A couple of days after ordering it, it came in the mail. I was so excited to get into the book and start reading!

Although at one point in my life I was a size 3 (12 years ago), medication that I began taking for depression in my early 20's seemed to pack on 50 pounds over night, leaving me in a most uncomfortable size 14.

I was also a chubby kid, but when I was in my early teens, I was forced to go on a Gluten Free diet (for 4 years) due to some medical issues and I ended up losing a lot of weight - about 40 pounds. So I have had experience with not being able to eat the food I really wanted to eat.

Over the years I have tried to go back on a strictly gluten-free diet, and even though I "pay" for eating foods with gluten in it, generally with terrible abdominal pain, it was always hard to resist a cheeseburger or a piece of cake at a birthday party.

On my fourth day into the first 17 day cycle, I have found that it is much easier to stick to because I have the book to guide me along. I have also found I have more drive and determination to stick with it. It does help that I have a diet buddy as well - my boss! We shop for our food together and we keep each other "in line". I am sure I could do the diet on my own, but it is so great to have the support of someone "going through" the same thing.

I am determined and I know it will work for me as long as I stay focuses on the ultimate goal - not necessarily being as skinny as I was in my 20's (even though that would be nice), but losing any amount of weight that I can - for my health. Plus, aside from the weight, it is getting me out of my usual sendentary behavious of sitting in my office all day and night.

I must admit, I am not too fond of the plain, sugar- and fat-free yogurt or the kefir but I have found plugging my nose while I eat it helps a great deal! :) I have also noticed that my cooking creativity has improved greatly! With only a small variety (in this first cycle of 17 days) to work with, I have had to put my thinking cap on to make the food tasty. I guess I am doing a great job, because now my husband, who is a steak-lovin', sauce-covering freak, is asking me to make extra for him!

So far in four days, I have lost 3 pounds - although I haven't yet checked the scale today. I feel like I have more energy, I still feel excited, I am eating healthy and enjoying it!

Here are some pros and cons of the diet that you should take into consideration before starting the diet - as found here.

Pros:

It doesn’t get monotonous. The plan itself is 68 days long, but it’s broken up in four parts, 17 days a piece. “Since it divides weight loss into little chunks, each cycle seems doable,” says nutritionist Laurie Slayton, who runs the diet website foodtrainers.net.

The results are fast. “You get good results in the first phase especially,” adds Slayton. During the first 17 days, dieters can lose up to 15 pounds by eating a restrictive diet of 1,200 calories a day. Seeing results so fast makes for some serious motivation to stick with it.

There’s a long-term emphasis. The first 17 days are the most extreme, but the second cycle introduces more calories and the chance to shed another 5 pounds and the last two cycles are designed to integrate healthier overall eating habits into your long-term lifestyle. Swapping out mayo for mustard, and sugars for nectar and spices are some of the basic principles for keeping off the weight. “If you eat a highly processed diet this could be a good switch,” says Slayton. “If you are a healthy eater you already know things like egg whites, fish, and vegetables are good for you.”

It’s fairly balanced. Unlike the Atkins diet, Moreno’s plan doesn’t completely cut out one major source of nutrition. Fruits, veggies, protein-rich meats and healthy carbs are all part of the constantly shifting meal plan so your body is never completely deprived of one thing. Overall, it's considered fairly safe as opposed to more high-risk deprivation diets and
cleanses.


Cons:

The scientific proof isn’t totally convincing. Moreno claims that shifting your meal plan every 17 days before your body registers certain eating habits is a way to keep your metabolism in high gear, but not everyone is buying it. "There is no scientific evidence to support the efficacy of calorie cycling or its effect on metabolism,” Mary Hartley, director of nutrition at Calorie Count, tells the editors of Diets In Review. "There is no harm in calorie cycling temporarily or indefinitely and the process happens naturally for most people, who don't eat or burn the same number of calories every day."


Marisa Sherry, a registered dietician, questions one hard-and-fast rule of the diet—no starchy carbs or fruit after 2 P.M. "There's no proof that after certain times of day your body loses the ability to digest carbohydrates," Sherry tells CBS News.

The first 17 days of calorie restrictions may backfire: "You are cleansing your body of the unhealthy foods you have been eating," says Sherry. "But if you are not consuming enough calories to meet your resting metabolic needs, then you are in starvation mode which actually slows your metabolism."

It’s an investment: While there’s plenty of store-bought foods that fall into the meal plans, dieters are encouraged to buy specific 17-Day Diet branded snacks like the breakfast cookie. That can rack up your bills unnecessarily.

It's complicated: “I have two nutrition degrees and found the explanations a little confusing,” says Slayton. Since the guidelines of the diet are constantly shifting, following the plan takes focus, organization and the constant recording of calorie intake. Still, the basic principles are simple. "Cut your calories and increase your exercise, that's how it's done," Sherry tells CBS News. "If you can get away from the rules that aren't based on science, it should work just fine."

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If you are dertermined, focused and well-organized, it really isn't as complicated as they suggest. As long as you can make a promise to yourself that you will follow the guidelines in the book to a tee, it is really quite easy... at least on this, the 4th day!

More to come...

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