17 Day Diet

remember that it's meant to be a lifestyle change rather than a fad! good luck!

You actually inspired me to write a ridiculously long blog post, but I’ll put it up here as well so you actually see it. Your question was pretty simple but it really resonated with me because I think you’re falling into the same trap I’ve fallen into many times before. I wound up going off on a bit of a tangent, but hopefully some of what I say applies to you!

My friend, here’s the hard truth: diets don't work. Say it with me now: diets don’t work. Again, with feeling: DIETS! DON’T! WORK!

Don’t worry though, because now I’m going to tell you what DOES work. What does work is watching your calorie intake (not letting it get too high OR too low), trying to avoid processed foods, starches, refined carbs, and sugary food/beverages, and eating lots of lean protein, whole grains, and fruit & vegetables so that you feel full, satisfied, and energetic. Eat reasonable portions, eat frequently, and don’t let yourself get hungry. And exercise! If you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up, just hop back on the next day!

I promise you, it’s easy. Way easier than following some stupid pseudo-scientific diet plan being hawked by a D-list celebrity. You will probably save a lot of money, too – those diet voodoo drinks and packaged meals and books are expensive! I am not a very good or experienced cook by any stretch of the imagination, but all it takes is a little bit of time, a few pots and pans, and a simple recipe to follow. You should avoid eating out whenever possible (again, that will save you a ton of money) and when you do go out for meals, check out the menu online beforehand to see what sounds good, look up the nutrition information, and don’t be afraid to ask for everything on the side (sauces, salad dressing) and for your veggies to be cooked without butter or oil. And tip your server 20%. (That’s not related to weight loss; it’s just a pointer from a former waitress.)

You have one thing right: It IS a good idea to cut back on SOME carbohydrates – the high Glycemic Index carbohydrates. That is, refined carbs (white bread, white rice, etc.), sugar, and starches. Here’s some science for you, if you’ll bear with me: The Glycemic Index measures how carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels. High GI foods break down quickly and release glucose into the bloodstream, while low GI foods break down slowly and release the glucose more gradually, resulting in greater satiety and more steady energy levels. High Glycemic Index foods cause insulin production to spike, increasing the risk for developing type two diabetes and contributing to weight gain. In a recent study, participants placed on a low fat diet did NOT have significant or long term weight loss, but those placed on a diet that cut out high GI foods experienced significant and sustained weight loss. (People think it's better to get the low fat yogurt but they fail to notice that "low fat" options are often LOADED with sugar.) To reiterate, high GI foods include refined carbs (white bread, pasta, white rice), starchy foods (potatoes), and sugars. Unrefined carbs, on the other hand, are low GI, and can be found in whole grain bread, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta.

The moral of this story is: Eat carbohydrates. Just avoid the refined ones and stick with whole grain. Easy enough, right? However! This isn't a change that you can just make for a few weeks, it's a change that you have to make for life. Any diet/meal plan that requires you to do something that you can't keep doing forever is a waste of time and can actually damage your health, slow down your metabolism, and cause you to gain more weight in the long run.

It's not quite as simple as "calories in, calories out." Going solely on that, it would be healthier to drink a diet coke than to eat an apple, or to have a Slimfast instead of a balanced, home-cooked meal. Refined carbs and sugars actually change the way your body metabolizes food, thanks to the kick they give to insulin production; however!, if you avoid high glycemic foods in favor of lean protein, unrefined carbs, fruits and veggies, and an overall balanced diet WHILE keeping track of your calories, you WILL lose weight AND be healthier AND decrease your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments. And! It's easy! I promise! You just have to make some small changes, be ready to stick with them for the rest of your life, and, for the love of god, don't let anyone convince you to buy their magic diet plan/pill/shake.

It's not really all that hard (I swear!). Macronutrients are organic chemical compounds that your body needs in large quantities – fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Fat isn't your enemy! Seriously. Your body and brain need fat to function. The issue is getting too much of the wrong types of fat (limit your saturated fat, avoid trans fat completely, and educate yourself on what types of fats are in the food you eat). Additionally, carbs aren't the problem - refined carbs are. Instead of white bread, eat whole grain (watch out for wheat bread, as it uses refined wheat flour - you need whole grain). Substitute brown rice for white rice, whole wheat pasta for regular pasta, and so on. The whole grain options are actually way more tasty and filling than their refined counterparts, and sometimes you can't even tell a difference. Your body can tell, though! Whole grains burn slowly, preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes while providing lasting energy and making you feel more full and satisfied.

As for sugar, it can be tough for someone with a sweet tooth, but you don't have to deprive yourself! You’re trying to lose weight because you love your body and want it to be healthy, so if you need a sweet every now and then, you should have one. I like to have a square of dark chocolate at the end of the day. Avoid cake and muffins for the most part (refined carbs AND sugar, yikes), substitute sugar-free frozen yogurt for ice cream, and try eating some fruit when your sweet tooth strikes. For me, the key is to indulge in moderation and eat nutritious meals and snacks so that I stay full throughout the day. Every so often, eat a piece of pie (or whatever it is that you crave). Enjoy it! You deserve it! Just don't indulge every day. If you're eating balanced, nutritious meals, you'll probably find that your cravings for certain things will begin to disappear.

When you're looking at a diet (whether it's the 17 day diet, the lemon juice cleanse, Atkins, south beach, whatever) you need to ask yourself "Can I do this for the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, you shouldn't do it! Chances are you'll send your body into starvation mode (especially if you're only eating 700 calories), causing you to regain any weight you lose once you go off the diet, and probably causing you to gain more in the long run! Then you try another diet, buying more books and meal plans and supplements and whatnot, and the process repeats itself. The only thing that gets thin is your wallet.

People hawking diets make money by keeping you on a yo-yo – it’s worth remembering that if you actually lost weight and kept it off, they'd be out a customer. Their business plan relies on 1) making you feel like there's something wrong with you, and 2) convincing you that it can be fixed if you buy their books and products. Essentially, they prey on (or even create!) your insecurities and offer you an easy fix backed by science that is shoddy at best and usually just outright lies. You think, “Why would I work out every day and completely change how I eat when I can just buy this book and do this one little thing and get the same results?” There is no quick fix that really works, but they won’t make any money telling you that. They tell you “You need to drink this shake to cleanse your body of toxins!” You think, “Hey, I don’t want toxins!” But really your body handles its “cleansing” quite efficiently on its own. Anything promising to rid you of mysterious “toxins” is just trying to rid you of your spare cash. You should always be suspicious of ANY diet for these reasons, and even more so if they are promising unrealistic results (weight loss of more than 2 pounds per week, the ability to "target" a certain area of your body for weight loss - it's just not possible to selectively burn fat from one area, etc.), asking you to buy books, shakes, or supplements, or asking you to completely cut out certain food groups (like our old friend the carbohydrate).

What the people selling diets, hawking pills, and promising quick, easy results will NEVER tell you is that the best, most effective, and simplest way to lose weight and get healthy is FREE. Not only do those people prey on our insecurities, they are actually making us less healthy. When you're promised a quick, easy solution, what you're going to get is at best a lighter wallet, all the weight you lost back (maybe more!), lowered self esteem, and a screwed up metabolism.

A good rule for life in general: If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS.

So! What should you eat? Well, it depends on your lifestyle, but here's an average day for me.

- I wake up around 6 am and eat a banana before I exercise. Within about 30 minutes of finishing my workout, I have a breakfast of something like rolled oats with frozen blueberries and cinnamon (or instant oatmeal if I’m in a rush), a slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of almond butter (yum), or a slice of toast with a scrambled egg (leave the yolk in, fat is good for you in moderation!). If you cook the rolled oats in advance (which I do), all of these breakfasts take about 5 minutes max to prepare.
- Around 10 am I have a small snack. I'll have 10 raw almonds, an apple (maybe with a bit of almond butter), some granola, greek yogurt (Fage if I feel like splurging) with a bit of honey or berries, or baby carrots - depending on what I'm craving/how hungry I am.
- I eat lunch at noon, typically a bowl of spicy vegetarian chili (I make a big pot and portion it into tupperware containers to reheat) that's loaded with beans and veggies.
- Around 3 pm I have another snack, then possibly another small snack around 5 if I'm eating dinner late.
- I eat dinner around 6 or 7 pm, usually some sort of grilled/baked chicken or fish (I switch it up by using different marinades/seasonings), brown rice, and steamed veggies.
- If I am craving something sweet, I have a square of dark chocolate after dinner.

I also drink loads of water and green tea. Following this diet, I get plenty of lean protein (from nuts, beans, chicken, and fish), healthy carbs (from veggies, brown rice, and whole grain bread), and healthy fats. Eating lots of lean protein and carbs gives me slow-burning fuel so I have plenty of energy, and adding in healthy snacks keeps me from getting hungry, which prevents crazy food cravings/binges. I have something sweet from time to time (almond butter, dark chocolate, honey) but in small amounts.

My base amount of daily calories is 1200, and I always eat my exercise calories on top of that, so my caloric intake varies from day to day. It's important to work exercise into your routine - if you haven't, start out slowly; don't try to do too much or you'll wind up sore and discouraged, or worse, injured. I do about 30 minutes of high intensity interval weight training and cardio in the morning (if I do it first thing it keeps me from making excuses later!) and sometimes I add in some cardio after work. I prefer to do short, daily, super high-intensity workouts, as I've found that more effective than longer, lower-intensity workouts. Your mileage may vary - do what works for you. Don't neglect weight training; building lean muscle will really boost your metabolism. (And don't believe what they say about women "bulking up" from lifting weights - unless you're taking steroids, you won't get big, women don't generally have enough testosterone to get huge bulging muscles.)

Foods to avoid, or eat only in extreme moderation: packaged or processed foods, anything labeled “low-fat” (usually chock-full of sugar), white bread, white rice, white pasta, bagels, babies, muffins, cake, fried foods, potatoes (baked, fried, scalloped, or otherwise), red meat (if you must, the key is moderation), sodas, juice (much better to eat an orange rather than drinking orange juice), meal replacement drinks that have a lot of sugar (which is most of them – I’m looking at you, Slimfast), energy bars/meal replacement bars that have a lot of sugar (again, most of them), and excessive alcohol (say it with me: moderation!)

Ironically, I believe that when a person wants to improve their health (by losing weight, getting in shape, whatever), the most important step is for them to accept their body as it is right then. The human body is an insanely complicated and ingenious machine: it carries on the millions of processes needed to sustain your life without you even being aware of them. Synapses in your brain fire and you think about writing something down, blood carries oxygen to your heart and brain to keep them functioning, your brain signals to your muscles and you pick up a pencil. Try to stop thinking about your body in terms of its flaws, and instead think about all of the remarkable things it can do. Don’t think of food as your enemy, something to be fought with and conquered, think of it as the fuel that keeps your amazing body running, something to be enjoyed and treated with respect. Don’t think about eating healthfully and exercising in terms of losing love handles, think of it as giving your body what it needs. And finally, don’t be so hard on yourself.

Just keep feeding your body nutritious food, keeping an eye on your calories, and taking care of yourself and you'll get good results that you can maintain for the rest of your life. There is no such thing as a quick fix (god, I wish) and usually diets that make unrealistic promises wind up doing more harm than good in the long run. The people who make those diets want to keep you unhappy with your health so that you keep buying more of their stuff - what really works is just eating right, reasonably and consistently, and it's free. Good luck!

You actually inspired me to write a ridiculously long blog post, but I’ll put it up here as well so you actually see it. Your question was pretty simple but it really resonated with me because I think you’re falling into the same trap I’ve fallen into many times before. I wound up going off on a bit of a tangent, but hopefully some of what I say applies to you!

My friend, here’s the hard truth: diets don't work. Say it with me now: diets don’t work. Again, with feeling: DIETS! DON’T! WORK!

Don’t worry though, because now I’m going to tell you what DOES work. What does work is watching your calorie intake (not letting it get too high OR too low), trying to avoid processed foods, starches, refined carbs, and sugary food/beverages, and eating lots of lean protein, whole grains, and fruit & vegetables so that you feel full, satisfied, and energetic. Eat reasonable portions, eat frequently, and don’t let yourself get hungry. And exercise! If you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up, just hop back on the next day!

I promise you, it’s easy. Way easier than following some stupid pseudo-scientific diet plan being hawked by a D-list celebrity. You will probably save a lot of money, too – those diet voodoo drinks and packaged meals and books are expensive! I am not a very good or experienced cook by any stretch of the imagination, but all it takes is a little bit of time, a few pots and pans, and a simple recipe to follow. You should avoid eating out whenever possible (again, that will save you a ton of money) and when you do go out for meals, check out the menu online beforehand to see what sounds good, look up the nutrition information, and don’t be afraid to ask for everything on the side (sauces, salad dressing) and for your veggies to be cooked without butter or oil. And tip your server 20%. (That’s not related to weight loss; it’s just a pointer from a former waitress.)

You have one thing right: It IS a good idea to cut back on SOME carbohydrates – the high Glycemic Index carbohydrates. That is, refined carbs (white bread, white rice, etc.), sugar, and starches. Here’s some science for you, if you’ll bear with me: The Glycemic Index measures how carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels. High GI foods break down quickly and release glucose into the bloodstream, while low GI foods break down slowly and release the glucose more gradually, resulting in greater satiety and more steady energy levels. High Glycemic Index foods cause insulin production to spike, increasing the risk for developing type two diabetes and contributing to weight gain. In a recent study, participants placed on a low fat diet did NOT have significant or long term weight loss, but those placed on a diet that cut out high GI foods experienced significant and sustained weight loss. (People think it's better to get the low fat yogurt but they fail to notice that "low fat" options are often LOADED with sugar.) To reiterate, high GI foods include refined carbs (white bread, pasta, white rice), starchy foods (potatoes), and sugars. Unrefined carbs, on the other hand, are low GI, and can be found in whole grain bread, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta.

The moral of this story is: Eat carbohydrates. Just avoid the refined ones and stick with whole grain. Easy enough, right? However! This isn't a change that you can just make for a few weeks, it's a change that you have to make for life. Any diet/meal plan that requires you to do something that you can't keep doing forever is a waste of time and can actually damage your health, slow down your metabolism, and cause you to gain more weight in the long run.

It's not quite as simple as "calories in, calories out." Going solely on that, it would be healthier to drink a diet coke than to eat an apple, or to have a Slimfast instead of a balanced, home-cooked meal. Refined carbs and sugars actually change the way your body metabolizes food, thanks to the kick they give to insulin production; however!, if you avoid high glycemic foods in favor of lean protein, unrefined carbs, fruits and veggies, and an overall balanced diet WHILE keeping track of your calories, you WILL lose weight AND be healthier AND decrease your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments. And! It's easy! I promise! You just have to make some small changes, be ready to stick with them for the rest of your life, and, for the love of god, don't let anyone convince you to buy their magic diet plan/pill/shake.

It's not really all that hard (I swear!). Macronutrients are organic chemical compounds that your body needs in large quantities – fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Fat isn't your enemy! Seriously. Your body and brain need fat to function. The issue is getting too much of the wrong types of fat (limit your saturated fat, avoid trans fat completely, and educate yourself on what types of fats are in the food you eat). Additionally, carbs aren't the problem - refined carbs are. Instead of white bread, eat whole grain (watch out for wheat bread, as it uses refined wheat flour - you need whole grain). Substitute brown rice for white rice, whole wheat pasta for regular pasta, and so on. The whole grain options are actually way more tasty and filling than their refined counterparts, and sometimes you can't even tell a difference. Your body can tell, though! Whole grains burn slowly, preventing blood sugar spikes and crashes while providing lasting energy and making you feel more full and satisfied.

As for sugar, it can be tough for someone with a sweet tooth, but you don't have to deprive yourself! You’re trying to lose weight because you love your body and want it to be healthy, so if you need a sweet every now and then, you should have one. I like to have a square of dark chocolate at the end of the day. Avoid cake and muffins for the most part (refined carbs AND sugar, yikes), substitute sugar-free frozen yogurt for ice cream, and try eating some fruit when your sweet tooth strikes. For me, the key is to indulge in moderation and eat nutritious meals and snacks so that I stay full throughout the day. Every so often, eat a piece of pie (or whatever it is that you crave). Enjoy it! You deserve it! Just don't indulge every day. If you're eating balanced, nutritious meals, you'll probably find that your cravings for certain things will begin to disappear.

When you're looking at a diet (whether it's the 17 day diet, the lemon juice cleanse, Atkins, south beach, whatever) you need to ask yourself "Can I do this for the rest of my life?" If the answer is no, you shouldn't do it! Chances are you'll send your body into starvation mode (especially if you're only eating 700 calories), causing you to regain any weight you lose once you go off the diet, and probably causing you to gain more in the long run! Then you try another diet, buying more books and meal plans and supplements and whatnot, and the process repeats itself. The only thing that gets thin is your wallet.

People hawking diets make money by keeping you on a yo-yo – it’s worth remembering that if you actually lost weight and kept it off, they'd be out a customer. Their business plan relies on 1) making you feel like there's something wrong with you, and 2) convincing you that it can be fixed if you buy their books and products. Essentially, they prey on (or even create!) your insecurities and offer you an easy fix backed by science that is shoddy at best and usually just outright lies. You think, “Why would I work out every day and completely change how I eat when I can just buy this book and do this one little thing and get the same results?” There is no quick fix that really works, but they won’t make any money telling you that. They tell you “You need to drink this shake to cleanse your body of toxins!” You think, “Hey, I don’t want toxins!” But really your body handles its “cleansing” quite efficiently on its own. Anything promising to rid you of mysterious “toxins” is just trying to rid you of your spare cash. You should always be suspicious of ANY diet for these reasons, and even more so if they are promising unrealistic results (weight loss of more than 2 pounds per week, the ability to "target" a certain area of your body for weight loss - it's just not possible to selectively burn fat from one area, etc.), asking you to buy books, shakes, or supplements, or asking you to completely cut out certain food groups (like our old friend the carbohydrate).

What the people selling diets, hawking pills, and promising quick, easy results will NEVER tell you is that the best, most effective, and simplest way to lose weight and get healthy is FREE. Not only do those people prey on our insecurities, they are actually making us less healthy. When you're promised a quick, easy solution, what you're going to get is at best a lighter wallet, all the weight you lost back (maybe more!), lowered self esteem, and a screwed up metabolism.

A good rule for life in general: If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS.

So! What should you eat? Well, it depends on your lifestyle, but here's an average day for me.

- I wake up around 6 am and eat a banana before I exercise. Within about 30 minutes of finishing my workout, I have a breakfast of something like rolled oats with frozen blueberries and cinnamon (or instant oatmeal if I’m in a rush), a slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of almond butter (yum), or a slice of toast with a scrambled egg (leave the yolk in, fat is good for you in moderation!). If you cook the rolled oats in advance (which I do), all of these breakfasts take about 5 minutes max to prepare.
- Around 10 am I have a small snack. I'll have 10 raw almonds, an apple (maybe with a bit of almond butter), some granola, greek yogurt (Fage if I feel like splurging) with a bit of honey or berries, or baby carrots - depending on what I'm craving/how hungry I am.
- I eat lunch at noon, typically a bowl of spicy vegetarian chili (I make a big pot and portion it into tupperware containers to reheat) that's loaded with beans and veggies.
- Around 3 pm I have another snack, then possibly another small snack around 5 if I'm eating dinner late.
- I eat dinner around 6 or 7 pm, usually some sort of grilled/baked chicken or fish (I switch it up by using different marinades/seasonings), brown rice, and steamed veggies.
- If I am craving something sweet, I have a square of dark chocolate after dinner.

I also drink loads of water and green tea. Following this diet, I get plenty of lean protein (from nuts, beans, chicken, and fish), healthy carbs (from veggies, brown rice, and whole grain bread), and healthy fats. Eating lots of lean protein and carbs gives me slow-burning fuel so I have plenty of energy, and adding in healthy snacks keeps me from getting hungry, which prevents crazy food cravings/binges. I have something sweet from time to time (almond butter, dark chocolate, honey) but in small amounts.

My base amount of daily calories is 1200, and I always eat my exercise calories on top of that, so my caloric intake varies from day to day. It's important to work exercise into your routine - if you haven't, start out slowly; don't try to do too much or you'll wind up sore and discouraged, or worse, injured. I do about 30 minutes of high intensity interval weight training and cardio in the morning (if I do it first thing it keeps me from making excuses later!) and sometimes I add in some cardio after work. I prefer to do short, daily, super high-intensity workouts, as I've found that more effective than longer, lower-intensity workouts. Your mileage may vary - do what works for you. Don't neglect weight training; building lean muscle will really boost your metabolism. (And don't believe what they say about women "bulking up" from lifting weights - unless you're taking steroids, you won't get big, women don't generally have enough testosterone to get huge bulging muscles.)

Foods to avoid, or eat only in extreme moderation: packaged or processed foods, anything labeled “low-fat” (usually chock-full of sugar), white bread, white rice, white pasta, bagels, babies, muffins, cake, fried foods, potatoes (baked, fried, scalloped, or otherwise), red meat (if you must, the key is moderation), sodas, juice (much better to eat an orange rather than drinking orange juice), meal replacement drinks that have a lot of sugar (which is most of them – I’m looking at you, Slimfast), energy bars/meal replacement bars that have a lot of sugar (again, most of them), and excessive alcohol (say it with me: moderation!)

Ironically, I believe that when a person wants to improve their health (by losing weight, getting in shape, whatever), the most important step is for them to accept their body as it is right then. The human body is an insanely complicated and ingenious machine: it carries on the millions of processes needed to sustain your life without you even being aware of them. Synapses in your brain fire and you think about writing something down, blood carries oxygen to your heart and brain to keep them functioning, your brain signals to your muscles and you pick up a pencil. Try to stop thinking about your body in terms of its flaws, and instead think about all of the remarkable things it can do. Don’t think of food as your enemy, something to be fought with and conquered, think of it as the fuel that keeps your amazing body running, something to be enjoyed and treated with respect. Don’t think about eating healthfully and exercising in terms of losing love handles, think of it as giving your body what it needs. And finally, don’t be so hard on yourself.

Just keep feeding your body nutritious food, keeping an eye on your calories, and taking care of yourself and you'll get good results that you can maintain for the rest of your life. There is no such thing as a quick fix (god, I wish) and usually diets that make unrealistic promises wind up doing more harm than good in the long run. The people who make those diets want to keep you unhappy with your health so that you keep buying more of their stuff - what really works is just eating right, reasonably and consistently, and it's free. Good luck!

This is just what I needed to hear/read/be reminded of tonight. Thanks!

Haha, no problem! I'm glad that my logorrhea was helpful for someone. I think I'm going to start blogging on the regular, maybe you can check it out?

I agree 100 percent. It frustrates me that in this day and age- people still fall for these silly "diets." and I also agree that these "diets" want to keep people on a yo yo!
I will tell you guys a story. In 1989, I was 20 years old and went on nutrisystem- which at that time you had to go to meetings and pay for not just the food which was about 50 a week, but also the meetings- I went there to lose 50lbs, and they charged (my loving dad) 800 dollars before the cost of food. I went to their meetings- lost weight like a maniac since I was 20 and my metabolism was hot. I lost 60lb in 3 months- yes 3 months! I wanted to lose another 20 but they wanted to charge 400 for that so I decided I was okay to do it on my own. The sales lady with the lab coat (it's funny they wear lab coats as they have NOTHING to do with the medical profession whatsoever) told me, after I told her I didn't have 400 more dollars for the 20lbs plus food, that if I really wanted to lose the weight , I'd find the money "somewhere," That REALLY turned me off as I asked her if I should rob a bank and walked out. lol
I struggled- after eating their pre packaged cr@pola for 3 months, and being a college student living on campus, it was SO hard. About a year later, I got mail from them saying could COME back for all the weight I could lose for 300 dollars or something like that. I know, that they knew that the odds were, I was
1- back off the wagon and up a lot, if not all the weight (and they were right- I was up all of what I had lost) and
2- that I'd probably be desperate to lose the weight again and could come back.
I didn't like or eat their lunches nor did I actually sub out other food for them. My guess was that I was eating about 600-700 calories a day, starvation. I'd get dizzy in class around 2 30pm but figured just 3 hours more til dinner. I was young, stupid and want to help others from falling as prey/victims of a lot of these idiots. They strategically sent me this letter a year later because I am sure they knew the odds. Why would I need to COME BACK if I already was supposed to have had the "great" tools they had given me?????
They loved me at NS at the time, because the weight just peeled off of me so they would clap and embrace my weight losses each week. I remember I was in a group with a woman who was twice my age and REALLY struggling and if she gained a lb they would ask her what SHE did wrong. She ended up dropping out due to having gall bladder problems probably from not eating enough. But the shame the lab coat chick would give her was insanity and probably extremely embarrassing for her.
Granted this was over 20 years ago, NS now doesn't have meetings but the issue I have with any DIET is that you can't stay on pre packaged cr@p the rest of your life, you can't go on any 17 day diet, grapefruit diet, and live this way. Just because you lose some weight on it, doesn't mean that it works. What WORKS is exactly what Chicka boom said- yes that's the true reality- and you can drain your bank account trying to find the magic pill, potion and it doesn't matter. Donate money to charity instead!
Try to look at it as having a healthy lifestyle- most of the time you will do well, sometimes you will have slip ups (I had a 700 calorie piece of cake last night after burning 600 calories at the gym). Am I happy about that? Nope, but I also believe I have to move on from it, and not call myself a failure- or say I cheated on my diet.
Chicka-Boom- I love what you have to say- because so mahy people WANT a quick fix but if it were out there- trust me, Oprah- who's a billionaire , would have it in her hands!