DonnaLFitz Member

IMHO, all meals are snacks. I eat 6 times each day. Each meal is approximately the same size, though my lunch is a little more packed with calories than the others. You should eat when hungry -- not on a schedule. I wake up at 6:45am, but don't get to eat until closer to 9am. I have to get both kids ready and off to…

Decision accepted and duly noted. :happy: It makes good sense and feels like you have destressed a bit already by having a workable plan. For me, planning is everything to my success. I'm sure it will propel you towards yours as well!

@icandothis6: Yes, it can be overwhelming. There is a lot of information in the book, but I'll summarize it a bit here and maybe that will help. For C1, you can have: (1) 2 servings Yogurt-like products. These are included because of their probiotic effects, not because of the dairy component. He recommends 2 servings per…

Hear, hear! About the preparation of foods in advance. I do that, too. I make my own "lean cuisine" because it is SO hard not to go over in sodium using any convenience foods. Even those frozen Tyson chicken tenderloins (not breaded) are packed with salty chicken broth. They look raw, but they aren't.

(LOL) Sorry -- I really feel your frustration. Everybody talks about how much they are losing in inches, but my inches lost have always been moderate to low. The first fat to come off is usually the last you put on, seldom the fat you would like to see gone first. C'est la vie! Also, there is internal fat around your…

Some exercise is really necessary. Can you do arm curls or stretches or walk a little in place to music? Maybe some floor exercises? Pain isn't fun, I know. I had terrible hip pain before I lost my weight. I did as much as I could.

My first cycle on 17DD was fraught with error. One day my sodium would be WAY up. Another day, my sugars were too high. It takes a bit of time to adjust to the new pattern of eating. One cycle of 17 days is not enough to change all of your habits. I would suggest having the chocolate chip cookie -- and freezing the rest of…

Starches also collect water... the fiber absorbs water as it moves through your system. And your fat cells, as the fat energy is burned, will also release water. Our bodies are 70% water. As you lose weight, some of it will be water weight. But to achieve real results, you must also lose fat. As the previous poster said,…

Any life style change is a learning experience. If you use the tracking tools, the rest of us can take a look and see if there are any hidden saboteurs in your daily diet. That said, the calories that we generally see from Accelerate are very low. Are you exercising effectively? Yes, the book says 17 minutes per day, but…

That's what's really nice about the 17DD... it's easy to return to. If you recall from the latter part of the book, he describes "real" life as being a diet during the week with relaxation of the rules on the weekend. I find it easier to say "No, absolutely NO!" than to moderate carbs. I have one treat built into each day…

First, my dislikes about the book (not the diet): 1. The meal plans included are over-complicated and require some unusual ingredients that I cannot obtain locally (I live in the sticks!) What I like about the diet: 1. It works REALLY fast -- as long as you don't cheat. Mistakes are okay, but no deliberate cheating. 2. Dr.…

It's Thanksgiving -- okay to just skip that day. Don't worry about the calories -- you will feel bad. If Thursday is say, Day 8, then skip it and make Friday Day 8. Getting back on target is easy with 17DD.

I personally enjoy chicken in many forms. I like to make Chicken Marsala in the crockpot (see my blog for recipes), baked Chicken Parmesan, and Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Headaches are a sign of withdrawal. Eat some lean protein when that happens and drink a glass of water. One of the purposes of the very restrictive Accelerate cycle is to detox your body. You need water to flush everything out and protein to keep your body stable. No oreos. ;) I like them, too.

Milk-based products like cottage cheese and well, milk, have high carbohydrates. Cottage cheese is also VERY high in sodium for some reason. Dr. Moreno prefers yogurt in the plan, but it is also high in carbs, relatively-speaking. I found I had to add protein powder to my yogurt to give it more umpfh. I'm speaking of the…

You can also eat deer meat (which substitutes for beef well in most recipes). After the first 17-day cycle, I added some white pork and beef, but only the leanest cuts and no more than 4 oz. portions. Maybe ate 1 serving of each per week. Chicken is so versatile. They even make chicken sausage now, which can add some…

I never do fat-free cheese. They always replace the fat with sugar, starch, or chemicals. I allow mini babybel cheeses, pepper jack, etc. I manage portions by buying an 8 oz brick and cutting it into 8 even pieces. That's how I know what an ounce of cheese looks like. I also use Parmesan cheese as garnish on vegetables…

Eliminate all carbs except light fruits and vegetables (see the 17-Day Diet for a good list) while you lose the weight. Do NOT eliminate all fats -- be sure to include at least one serving of olive oil or similar fat. Otherwise, you will get ridiculously constipated and your skin will dry out. WW doesn't do the no-carb…

Carbs cover a lot of territory. My enemy is starches -- even the "good" ones. I followed the 17-Day Diet for 3 months, which in the first phase eliminates all starches while retaining light fruits and vegetables, lean meats, non-fat dairy, and eggs. I have lost and maintained the loss of 30 pounds since then. I eat some…

That's super! Some of us are just more sensitive to starches than others. I am also significantly older, and maybe that plays a part. On maintenance, I follow C1 during the work week, then eat what I want on the weekends. I pay strict attention to my activity levels, as they are also key to my success.

Biggest challenge for me is being exposed to starches. If they aren't there, I can resist. However, I have to cook for my growing teenaged son, and have to have some there for him. He gets pasta, rice, and bread on a regular basis. I hate having to cook two separate meals in the evening, one for him and one for me. Guess…

Enjoy! Wish you the best. It worked for me, and over time, I made it my own.

9 weeks for the first 25 lbs. Then I went on vacation, etc. Went back on it for two weeks in September and lost the last 5. It works like a champ.

After a week on the 17-day diet, my starch cravings totally disappeared. It was amazing. But whenever I indulged in any, the cravings started back up. Then disappeared after a week of good behavior. Dr. Moreno does say in his book that some people are "carb-sensitive", meaning they affect us differently (and negatively)…

I lost 9.4 lbs in my first Accelerate cycle. When I switched to Activate, the weight loss stopped. So after Activate concluded, I went back on Accelerate -- with higher calories. I lost 30.4 lbs, all on the 17-day diet Accelerate cycle. I'm currently in maintenance. I follow the same basic plan, just have my calories up to…

You won't go into starvation mode that quickly. Do the Accelerate cycle for 17-days with the low calories to start. In the next cycle, make sure you up the calories a bit, while still sticking to the proper food choices. I found that I needed to add flavored whey protein powder to my yogurt and some other foods to bump up…

I did the same -- changed calorie goals with each 17-day cycle, but kept to the same basic foods list. I did include lean beef and pork after the first couple of cycles, but chicken, turkey, and fish are still my staples.

Yes, he says you should not eat sugar. In my first Accelerate cycle, I had an Atkins indulge bar instead of an ice cream bar. The weight came off so fast, I moved the Atkins bar to an afternoon snack and added the ice cream for dessert. Even then, my average net calories was seldom over 800. I've been able to lose most of…

Me, too... This one just clicked.

I guess one of the reasons this diet worked so well for me is that I like chicken, fruit and veggies. Since I work full-time and part-time, I designed a "standard" meal plan that works for me during the week. For eating out, I have researched and selected the best menu item for each of my favorite restaurants, stored it in…