As a registered health professional I find it an essential part of my job to attempt any new diets which comes on the market.
After all, the next new diet may be the final answer to losing weight that everyone has been waiting for! I find it very exciting! The 17 day diet was launched this year and has been receiving a lot of publicity.
The author of the 17 day diet, Mike Moreno even featured on Oprah and was endorsed by the famous Dr Phil. Unlike Oprah, I did not do the diet to improve my ratings. I gave the 17 day diet a genuine good try and here is what I honestly think.
What Is It?
Firstly, how does the 17 day diet work? Without going into too much detail, it is
made up of three main phases and then the final life-
Bad News
I lasted on the 17 day diet for phases one and two only –
Phase one felt almost exactly like the old Atkins diet of the 90’s but without being able to lick the fat off the roasting dish. I was hungry all the time. I was able to eat unlimited protein and vegetables, which is great and very healthy. However, I was craving sweet things and the couple of strawberries and the portion of yoghurt which I was allowed didn’t satisfy me. I estimate that I was living on only 1200 calories a day which is extremely low, so it was lucky that the exercise programme only required that I do 17 minutes of exercise.
Results
Did I lose weight on this part of the 17 day diet? Of course I did! You would lose
weight on any diet of 1200 calories too. However, even though the food was healthy I did feel very weak, and as I said, very hungry. During this phase most of the weight I lost would have been water and I was often constipated which is no fun.
Phase two was simply more of the same, however I was allowed to eat some carbohydrate. On this phase I estimate that I was living off 1500 calories a day. This was a small, but very welcome increase. If you have done the South Beach diet, then you will know what you’re up for in this phase.
Opinion
As a dietician and sports therapist, what do I really think of the 17 day diet?
Firstly, the diet is nutritionally sound and the writer does exclude diabetics from the diet which is a relief. It encourages big hearty breakfasts which is a meal many people or skip or eat too little of. On the 17 day diet I was eating a balanced diet, with protein, vegetables and a small amount of carbohydrate.
The diet insists on cutting out alcohol which is something I always recommend, and it certainly lowers the calorie intake. Having tested so many diets over the years, the thing that struck me most about the 17 day diet, is that it is nothing new! In fact if you already own the South Beach diet book, then just do that diet again and tweak it a bit with what you find on the internet about the 17 day diet.
Exercises
The exercise component of the 17 day diet book was very basic and would never get to the heart of the belly fat the way the author states it will. As Mike Geary explains in his book The TruthAboutAbs, no form of dieting will get rid of belly fat. He states that you need to burn off fat with a full range of exercises which use and target all of the muscles in your body and which burn calories fast. I certainly agree with this.
Conclusion
My advice to you about the 17 day diet –
For a start, as you will have gathered, the title in itself is a lie! It is a 51 day low calorie diet and of course you will lose weight –
browse the library or bookstore shelves carefully.
Ensure that the diet plan includes a comprehensive fitness and exercise plan, which will burn full body fat. If you like ebooks as most of the world these days seem to, choose one will a free trial. This way, you can check out the diet, see if it’s just an old diet reinventing itself and pay nothing. I wish you well in your quest for a healthy body, but give the 17 day diet a miss!
