17 Day Diet

I am 38 years old, on the verge of 39, and I must say that the biggest constant STRESS in my life has always been food. This is because food is what I turn to on ANY occasion. Whether it be a celebration of something or because I didn't get a job that I applied for....food is my comfort. I've also always known what you "should" eat to be healthy and to lose weight. I have also worked out since I was 11. I remember the first race I did...I was 11..it was a 1 mile race at school, I came in 3rd...that's when I thought running might be my solution. So since that age I started running. I ran all the way to 2 years ago...I did the NY City Marathon in 1999 and I've done relays like the big Sur marathon relay...but it's still never stopped my weight problem.

I have done every diet...Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Susan Somers, etc...and the truth is that they all work. The bottom line is that it's up to the person to follow it! I can tell you what to do for each diet...but lately I don't want to DO IT at all :)

A year ago my daughter Sophia was born. During the pregnancy I gained about 30 pounds. Fortunately I quickly came back to my pre-pregnancy weight...but the bad news is that that pre-pregnancy weight is too high. I weigh 185lbs right now...

So what is this post about?! It's about the diet that I FINALLY started 2 days ago..."The 17-Day Diet". Borders had a clearance sale since it's closing and I decided to buy the book...I read it and decided that it seemed pretty straightforward to follow and that I'd just do it. So here I am on day 3. I'm going to start writing my progress and we'll see how it goes. There are pros and cons to the diet...the pros are that it's clear what I can and can't eat, and I don't have to write things down. I tried doing this with MyFitnessPal.com which I highly recommend if you want to document what you eat, but I just didn't do it more than 4 days in a row. For some reason that doesn't work for me....so anyway, you don't have to document on this diet. But i"m going to here...we'll see.

Here's an overview of the diet (taken from the blog "blah, blah, blah", I didn't feel like re-writing!):

The 17 day diet was created by Dr. Mike Moreno to help shed holiday pounds. There are four cycles:
Cycle 1: Accelerate. Encourages rapid weight loss, cleansing and fat burning. Discourages fat storage.
Cycle 2: Activate. Resets the metabolism.
Cycle 3: Achieve. Develop good eating habits, re-teach yourself how to eat carbs.
Cycle 4: Arrive. A combination of the first three Cycles. On weekends, enjoy your favorite

I'm on Cycle 1 right now and here's what I can eat:

- 2 Eggs or 4 egg whites
- All veggies (no corn, potatoes, etc..)
- 2 fruits a day (no bananas, watermelon,...)
- Lean meats (chicken, fish,...)
- Have warm water with lemon in the am
- 8 glasses of water a day
- 2 yogurts a day

That's about it. Basically a no carb diet at this stage...only lean meats, veggies, and fruits...

so here's how it's going:

Day 1, Saturday September 3rd:

Weight: 185lbs
Before Breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, strawberries, and green tea
10:00am Snack: Yogurt
12:00pm: Mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon, and a can of tuna...(yuck..not too tasty) and green tea
3:00pm: Yogurt and a fruit
4:00pm: Went to Indian food...so only ate tandoori chicken and a tomato and cucumber Kutchumber salad, and green tea

Day 2, Sunday September 4th:

Weight: 185lbs
Before Breakfast: Warm water and lemon
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with onions, green chilles, and tomatos (TASTY)! 1/2 grapefruit, green tea
Lunch: Spinach salad with dijon mustard vinegrette, red wine vingar, walnuts, and goat cheese...goat cheese isn't in the book as ok, but I figured it still protein...should be fine...same with walnuts...
Dinner: Vennison burger with no cheese or bread...had it like a salad with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and onions and green tea

Day 3, Monday September 5th:

Weight: Haven't weighed yet...will update later

Before breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 1/2 grapefruit, and green tea
10:00am Snack: 1 peach

ok, this is where I'm at now...I have to write my observation's so far...I am feeling better in terms of having cut out sugar and my stomach feels less bloated. But am having INTENSE headache's. I don't know if it's from the lack of carbs or if it's the green tea. I've read on other's blogs that they don't drink the green tea, so I might have 1 a day. I probably also haven't been drinking enough water so that's what I'm going to do now. Ok, I will keep writing as I move forward :)

be back soon!!!

Ok, back again...great news! I weighed myself just now...3:30pm...and I'm at 182.5lbs. I didn't believe it myself...so I checked it 4 times! I'm guessing it's all water...but it feels good! So I'm determined to do this :)

Here's the rest of the food for today:

Lunch: Fresh veggies salad at Cheesecake factory and grilled salmon (no green tea)
Snack: 1 6oz peach yogurt with almonds and blueberries
Dinner: