The 17 Day Diet

Remember the old saw about familiarity breeding contempt?  We have all developed contempt for our diets at one point or another.  There is a new diet that addresses the boredom factor by changing your eating plan every 17 days.  Here is what you need to know about the 17 Day Diet.

The 17 Day Diet is called a "carbohydrate cycling diet."  This means that you vary your carb intake as you pass through four 17-day diet cycles.  Created by Dr. Mike Moreno, a California physician, the diet is based on metabolic confusion.  This means changing the rules every time your metabolism figures out your eating pattern.  Dr. Moreno states that weight loss of 10-12 pounds is expected over the 68 days of this diet.

The first cycle of the 17 Day Diet is called "Accelerate."  During this phase, you restrict your consumption of carbs almost completely.  For these 17 days, your body is forced to burn stored fat because you don't eat enough carbohydrates to meet your energy needs.  This is also your "cleansing" period, when your body sheds accumulated toxins.  During these 17 days, rapid weight loss is expected.

The second cycle is called the "Activate" cycle.  This introduces more calories and carbs, which is said to "reset" your metabolism.  During this cycle you are encouraged to exercise regularly and drink plenty of water.  Dr. Moreno is a big fan of walking, so walking 15-20 minutes a day is his suggested regimen.  During this cycle an additional weight loss of five pounds is expected.

Cycle three is named "Achieve."  Here you get to bring back some foods that were restricted during cycles one and two.  As you might expect, your rate of weight loss slows substantially.  You should be reaching your goal weight.  Your focus during cycle three is learning new, healthy eating habits, reintroducing carbohydrates and continuing your exercise program.

The last cycle is called "Arrive."  As you might expect, this is the final, maintenance stage of the 17 Day Diet.  The elements of cycles one, two and three are mixed up during the week and you get to eat what you want on the weekends.

This diet packs a big punch up front, with most of the weight loss expected during the initial 17 days of cycle one.  This quick gratification has been shown to improve the chances of keeping the weight off over the course of the coming year.  Is this a medically proven program?  Not really, but very few diets really have science on their side.  Could this be right for you?  If you enjoy change, and following somewhat complicated eating rules is fun for you, absolutely!

Have you tried the 17 Day Diet?  How did it work?  Leave us a Comment and let us know.

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