17 Day Diet

The 17 Day Diet is based on the idea that if you eliminate starches, fried foods, prepackaged foods, and otherwise unhealthy non-protein foods, you will cleanse your body and lose weight! Yes, it’s a popular idea. There are about a million diets out there that say the same thing. But how do you know what to eat? After all, if you can’t stick to the diet, you should know before you buy.

Phase 1

This first cycle focuses on non starchy vegetables and lean proteins (including 2 eggs per day if you have normal cholesterol levels). Yes, 17 Day Diet is health conscious. The idea is to cleanse your body of the nasty carbs that are hurting you. But unlike other low carb diets, 17 Day Diet’s phase 1 also allows you to have up to 2 servings of fruit in the morning along with yogurt (for its probiotics) and good fats like olive oil or flaxseed oil.

This part of the diet focuses on drinking a lot of water and limiting yourself to 1200 calories a day. It sounds like any reasonable diet, with more specific food choices of course.

Phase 2

The second cycle allows you to add about 300 calories a day, so you can eat a total of 1500 calories a day. This supposedly keeps your metabolism on its toes. You are allowed to add in 2 servings of healthy carbs, which by this time, most people need. Most dieters just aren’t use to low carb dieting. What are good carbs?

If you want good carbs, you can eat legumes, brown rice, bulgar, couscous, corn, squash, and sweet potatoes along with fruits and a number of other again good carbs. During this phase, the 17 Day Diet does tell you that you should go back to the low calorie days every once in a while, again just to keep your metabolism guessing.

Phase 3

This cycle allows you more choices. You can eat more good carbs, make your own choices, and this supposedly teaches you to make healthy lifestyle choices for the rest of your life. You only lose about 2-3 pounds per week according to ads, which I thought was normal and healthy. Maybe that’s just me. But during phase 3, you are allowed to eat more fruits, vegetables, and other healthy, I would say reasonable, foods.

Phase 4

This is the favorite phase of most 17 Day Dieters I’ve talked to. During this phase, you typically don’t lose weight. You only move into phase 4 after you’ve lost all the weight you want to lose. But phase 4 still requires you to focus on healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. The only difference is that you get to cheat on the weekends! Now you see why everybody loves it. You can technically cheat during the other 4 phases. It will just slow down any weight loss results.

It’s Up to You

Obviously, this diet is not for everybody. There is no one size fits all. But if you can handle phase 1 and 2 for long periods of time (depending on how much weight you want to lose), then it does work. If you would like a quicker result, you can research on fat burners that will work for you.