The 17 Day Diet Plan

by Carolyn Palmerino, Guest Author

Ugh…Diets. Losing Weight. Hate the words, hate what they mean. Hate having restrictions. Seriously, who likes to diet? Not me. If I want to drop a few pounds, I want quick and easy results…watch what I eat for a couple of days and lose the desired weight. I wasn’t asking too much, was I? Yes – not realistic.

I just like food too much and adore the carb filled foods like bread and pasta. I’m Italian and can’t get enough of bread and pasta. Oh, and pizza too. To me, dieting represents restricting my favorite foods – cutting out carbs, not having a 10 PM snack that I like sometimes…more or less, and basically not being able to eat what I want.

I never cared for the restrictions of dieting, especially when with most diets, individuals seem to lose about 2 pounds per week. If I were going to be denied my favorite foods then losing only 2 pounds a week would be torture. I wanted to lose about 10 pounds and at that rate, I would be on a diet for 5 weeks….and always be hungry. If I were to diet, I wanted fast results, someone to outline my meals and to not put the weight back on.

I’m not overweight, but in the past couple of years, I have gained some weight and can’t fit into some of my clothes. The extra pounds found me because I quit smoking and had ankle surgery which left me immobile for about 5 months. In addition, after working in sales and being on the road for over a decade, I was laid off and found work in an office where I sit most of the day. I work out at a gym, but when you reach your 40’s, unfortunately, toning and losing weight becomes a bit more challenging– at least for me!!

There are SO many diets or diet pills on the market – I could follow The Zone Diet, Weight Watchers or take Healthy Trim pills… but none of those weight loss plans appealed to me. I actually bought Healthy Trim Pills, but because caffeine and even decaf beverages aren’t allowed, my healthy trim experiment disappeared from existence after about 3 days. It was excruciating not to have my regular daily cup of coffee or at least a bit of decaf.

There are so many exercises I could do or so many pieces of equipment I could purchase….but I belong to a gym – why waste money? I was averaging about 2-3 days a week at the gym, but because I really wasn’t watching my calorie and carb intake, all my work at the gym was for naught.

About The 17 Day Diet – Endorsed by Dr. Oz

My friend told me about this diet called, “The 17 Day Diet” and how easy it was. She lost 12 pounds in 17 days, was never hungry and was provided with menus and recipes. Moreover, this was endorsed by Dr. Oz, whom I love! His show is great and he is just brilliant. Another HUGE plus was, you can drink coffee on this diet. I couldn’t believe it. How can we achieve such fast results?? Seriously, how is that possible?

The 17 Day Diet balances food so our body is adjusted metabolically where we can burn fat all day long. People who are overweight have problems with nutrition and metabolism. The 17 Day Diet is designed to confuse the body by not allowing it to adapt to one particular style of food, which avoids us dieters to plateau. There are so many meal and snack combinations that I never had the chance to get bored. AND….there are cycles to follow but if you reach your weight loss goal, you don’t have to complete all 4 cycles.

My Experience on The 17 Day Diet

I really had to psyche myself up for this – I started to gain a few pounds, my clothes were ‘snug”, a nice roll found my waistline, but I liked my food. I didn’t want to lose 2 pound per week while totally giving up my favorite foods. 2 pounds a week is like a snail’s pace. I wouldn’t last.

Ok, so let’s talk 17 Day Diet.

First, with all cycles, start off each day with hot water and lemon. This combination stimulates your digestive juices. Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day and it’s preferred that you drink green tea (why???) with each meal. I only have green tea with breakfast and lunch…rarely with dinner.

The 17 Day Diet consists of 4 cycles of 17 days each…not every individual will need all four cycles, but each cycle introduces more food so it doesn’t seem like you’re dieting. Aside from drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day (so important in diet and health), this diet controls your intake of carbs and sugars and rids your body of toxins. Unfortunately, no bread, pasta, etc. are allowed in some of the cycles. That bummed me out – again, being Italian, those are my favorites! You must consume lean proteins because lean proteins keep your blood sugar level. Individuals burn more calories digesting protein than carbs and making sure your body consumes enough protein will boost your metabolism and tame your appetite. Like with every diet – you should exercise and Cycle One of The 17 Day Diet asks that you exercise for 17 minutes a day. What was so fantastic was, the first 2.5 weeks of this diet, I had a terrible cold and didn’t go to the gym once and still lost a good amount of weight.

The 17 Day Diet – The Purpose of the Cycles

• Cycle 1 clears sugar from the blood and increases fat-burning.
• Cycle 2 resets your metabolism by increasing and decreasing your calorie intake which continues to induce fat burning.
• Cycle 3 helps you to develop good eating habits.
• Cycle 4 keeps you at your goal weight. Remember, how many cycles you complete is dependent on your weight loss goal.

Cycle One’s food consists of:

• 2 low-sugar fruits a day (none after 2 PM – it will be more difficult to burn and will be stored as fat)
• 2 probiotics a day, which is a yogurt drink, low fat or fat free yogurt with sugar free jam.
• Eggs
• Endless cleansing veggies – so many from which to choose
• Lean proteins and poultry. Proteins to eat – turkey, chicken, turkey burgers, salmon, sole, flounder, catfish, tilapia, canned light tuna.

And…dont’ forget, water, water, water.

A Glimpse into My Daily 17 Day Diet Habits

When I began the 17 Day Diet, I was determined to follow it to a “t” and not cheat. I bought all the right foods, condiments, etc. Within a few days, I lost 3 pounds. I knew it was water weight, but I was still psyched. The quick weight loss motivated me and I really was never hungry on this diet. You eat at least 6 times a day. My co-worker and boyfriend’s mother are also on this diet. That was key for me. Having diet partners provided motivation and gave me people to talk to about the diet.

Another thing I noticed within the first week was that I no longer had heartburn. Prior to beginning The 17 Day Diet, I had heartburn at least a few times a week and I have not had it once. Moreover, most of the time, consuming peppers caused my stomach to burn terribly. I have eaten salsa, some peppers and my stomach has not burned once. I also can’t believe the amount of energy I have. At work, I would want a nap at 11:00 and 2:30 and this is no longer the case. I firmly believe all of the above is the right combination of foods and my body is ridding itself of toxins.

Ok, so here’s a glimpse into my daily 17 Day Diet habits:

• Wake-up – hot water with lemon. Then I have my coffee.
• Breakfast – eggs (no more than 2 yolks), one probiotic serving which is a yogurt drink, low fat or fat free yogurt with sugar free jam. Green tea.
• Snack – piece of fruit.
• Lunch – huge salad with any of the veggies in it and I can put in anything that’s on the list – tuna, turkey, chicken, salmon etc. Fat free dressing or oil & vinegar.
• Snack – fruit (not after 2:00pm).
• Dinner – any protein or poultry on the list with sugar free b-b-q sauce, or low fat soy with rice vinegar and sesame seeds or reduced sugar ketchup or cheese, as many veggies as you want, salad.
• Snack – 2nd probiotic serving.

For lunch, I’d have huge salads with turkey or chicken and lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, low fat feta or cheddar cheese, artichokes, etc., and for dinner, I would make salmon with b-b-q sauce or tilapia with soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame seeds and as many veggies as I wanted. I would also make turkey burgers with low fat cheese and reduced sugar ketchup. Delicious! A couple of times, I made eggplant parmesan with reduced sugar marinara sauce and reduced fat parmesan cheese or turkey chili. SO good!! Seriously, I never felt cheated or that I was dieting. The recipes the author provides are really, really good!

After two weeks, I couldn’t eat another hard-boiled egg for breakfast – the thought was vomit inducing so my friend and I put together this delicious frittata recipe. It consisted of eggs, spinach, low fat feta, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms. That’s what’s so great about this diet – you can mix and match so much.

So, How Did I Do On The 17 Day Diet?

I lost about 11 pounds in 17 days and feel great. My clothes fit really well and my weight loss was noticeable to people. Since I lost my desired weight, after the 17 days were up, I cheated a bit. There were a few days when I ate bread, buffalo chicken fingers (my favorite) and ice cream. I did gain a couple of pounds back, but I returned to Cycle One’s way of eating and lost the couple of pounds I gained.

If I didn’t reach my desired weight loss, the diet recommends I proceed to the 2nd cycle. Cycle 2 allows you to eat shellfish, a specific carb (potato, barley, couscous, etc.) steak and hamburger – but only every other day. One day I consume Cycle 1 food and the next is Cycle 2. This is to confuse the body which will allow you to continue to lose weight. I never made it completely to Cycle 2. I eat pretty well, but if I cheat or have a couple of days of not eating my best, I return to Cycle 1. Sometimes when I stray from Ccycle 1 food, my heartburn returns. It’s amazing how The 17 Day Diet’s combination of food really helps your body.