# My Review of "The 17 Day Diet"



## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I wanted to share with you all my own personal experience with "The 17 Day Diet" created by Dr. Mike Moreno as I know many of us are constantly battling our weight.

I purchased the book at Costco for approximately $14. Walmart sells it in-store for around $22 and Amazon.com & Walmart.com both have it for around $14 also. There is also a workout DVD you can purchase separately online but I read a lot of negative reviews about it so I passed on it.

The complete "diet" (if you can even call it that) is not 17 days. There are 4 phases which are each 17 days. The 4th phase is only for those who have reached their goal weight. Until you reach the weight you are happy with, you keep cycling through phases 1-3. Phase 1 is designed to give you immediate weight-loss results, and it does just that. The book states that a 10lb loss during phase 1 is not uncommon. A portion of this weight is water weight, but it is still excess weight you are carrying. I lost a total of 8.8lbs in the first cycle. I did not exercise daily as suggested (17 minutes per day to start out) but I did exercise every few days. I know if I would have put in 100% I would have been 10lbs lighter during that first cycle! In phase 1 you detox your body by eliminating essentially ALL carbs & sugars. You focus mostly on lean proteins, certain veggies, and low-glycemic fruits (2 servings daily). You also eat 2 servings of Probiotics daily. It was tough at first but I ended up being really comfortable in cycle 1 because I mostly just needed to think about cooking the protein & veggies.

On the 1st day of Cycle 2 I went to Red Lobster with my husband to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I gorged and ate my favorite meal (jumbo coconut shrimp) knowing I would gain back at least a couple of pounds. Oh, I also had some Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I did gain one pound back from that night but it was worth it. On cycle 2 you alternate days between cycle 1 and the new cycle 2. Cycle 2 adds in 2 daily servings of slow carbs (old-fashioned oats, sweet potatoes, cream of wheat, couscous, etc). You also have to eat those carbs before 2pm just like the fruit servings. Weight loss starts to slow a little during this cycle. I am currently on day 9 of cycle 2 and have only lost 2.2lbs. I have exercised 6 of the 9 days using Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 DVD which I love. I can tell already that I am building muscle (the workout incorporates strength, cardio, & abs) so that may be why the scale hasn't changed as much. I'm finding it difficult to add in the carbs on the cycle 2 days because I can't have any with dinner. Some days I end up only eating one serving of fruit. My chest is starting to shrink as I noticed my bra cups are not quite as filled as before. LOL! For me this is great because I have very large "girls"! My stomach is WAY flatter, my legs are nice and toned, and my waist has shrunk a little...not enough to buy new clothes yet, but I do hike up my pants after they have been on for a few hours and stretch out a bit.

Cycle 3 is about a week away and I will be able to add in some WHOLE GRAIN breads, cereals, etc. It will certainly make meal planning easier, but weight loss will slow even more. It is suggested to ramp up daily workouts to 30+ minutes which I am not looking forward to but know it will be necessary. I certainly will not have reached my goal weight by the end of cycle 3 so I will then go back to cycle 1 and rinse & repeat. I am hoping that I will reach my goal weight in 2 full rotations.

In cycle 4 you eat healthy 5 days per week, and on weekends you can splurge a couple of times if you choose to. I really miss pizza. On cycle 2 I will be able to use whole grain tortillas to make pizzas which is something I'm used to doing.

This is definitely not a fad diet - I am truly learning to make good food choices and I know this will continue to work for me going forward.

I started at 156.0lbs and am currently 145.2lbs. My final goal weight is 125lbs. To make that look doable, I have several smaller goals which are each to lose 5% of my current body weight. I met my first goal (148.2lbs) already, and my next goal (140.8) is only 4.4lbs away. I can't wait!

I hope at least one of you finds this review helpful. I know someone a while back had asked about this program but I don't think anyone had tried it yet. Feel free to ask me any questions!


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Lisa -- thanks for sharing this. I have heard about this and was thinking of looking into it. I actually have about 50-70 lbs to loose. The exercising will be the hardest part for me. 

Did they estimate how much weigh someone looses on Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 (on average)? And also, do they have you drinking tons of water?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Lacie's Mom said:


> Lisa -- thanks for sharing this. I have heard about this and was thinking of looking into it. I actually have about 50-70 lbs to loose. The exercising will be the hardest part for me.
> 
> Did they estimate how much weigh someone looses on Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 (on average)? And also, do they have you drinking tons of water?


Lynn, you should definitely look further into it. There is an excellent forum on TheDoctorsTV.com where you can browse just about everything you could possibly want to know about the program. If you purchase the book, you will certainly reference it daily. They actually include full meal plans for all days of every cycle if you don't want to have to think about what to make. All of the plans are simple and common items. I used the plan at first while I was getting the hang of the way things worked but now just make what I have on hand.

The amount of weight you lose slows after cycle one. If you lose 15lbs on cycle 1, you will probably lose about 8lbs on cycle 2 and 4-6 on cycle 3. Then, when you go back to cycle 1 again you can expect to lose fast again. If you were to lose the numbers I mentioned, that is losing 1/2lb per day so keep in mind how short the program is. The 17 minutes of exercise daily can be brisk walking, cleaning your house as long as your heart rate is elevated, etc. I have a gym membership and sometimes go there but I do like popping in a 20-30min DVD to workout.

YES, you do need to drink a LOT of water...but you should be doing that anyway! I previously drank maybe 16oz per day of actual water, and even I drink the full amount now. On the program you start each morning with 8oz of hot water with 1/2 fresh lemon squeezed in it. I actually like it. It counts as 1 of your water servings which is to drink 8 8oz glasses. In ADDITION to that, you drink 3 glasses of green tea (unsweetened), one with each meal. You can take a green tea supplement if you want instead. It really is a lot of liquid, but if you don't drink that much water, your body will retain fluids. The water is by far the worst part of the program, lol.


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

This diet sounds great Lisa and I am going to keep it in mind when I will have weight to lose. I agree that drinking water is the hardest thing. I am currently trying to drink 64oz a day and its HARD......but it seems like you are doing well with this plan and I can't wait to hear what it feels like when you cycle back to Stage 1. Please keep us updated!!!


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## angelgirl599 (Apr 8, 2009)

Thanks Lisa!! It's so refreshing to hear first hand that a diet has worked. Google is too cluttered with weird diets to figure out which one actually works. I think I'm going to take a look at the book and try it bc I have to lose the weight I put on in college. We'll see, I'm not terribly disciplined with this kind of stuff but it definitely helps to hear that it worked for you!


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

Thanks for the review, and CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss!! Well done!!

I got the book about 2 weeks ago, but haven't started to read it yet. Your review is certainly helpful, and once I get over this dreaded cold, I will focus my attention on getting started!!


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## ann80 (Jun 13, 2009)

We have been on this since early Jan. Lost 15 lbs within 2 wks! Kind of plateaued currently as there has been many events, weddings & dinners which become challenging. What has worked for us is we allow one cheat day a week & there doesn't seem to be any weight gain at all. With any new routine, exercise is very important to keep up the metabolism. I know with more exercise there would be more wieght loss & lower body fat. Usually drink a ton of water anyhow, but incorporating green tea 3x/dy took some getting use to. Thanks for the review, I learned some things as well. No fruit after 2pm? I read the entire book, must have missed that chapter.


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

Congratulations! It sounds very much like the Adkins diet to me without the fat. No carbo rage yet???


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

I'm so glad I saw this thread cause losing weight is something I struggle with daily. A few years back I was slim wearing jeans, bikinis and all sorts of nice clothes and now I am at the point where I need to lose 50 Pounds. I have tried Weight watchers, South beach diet, spent thousands on Jenny Craig and now I was looking trying something else for the millionth time:blink:
I have heard of the 17 day diet and I actually almost bought the book. Is it similar to the south beach diet ? They have phase 1, 2, and 3 on that plan. It worked but I just find it hard to stick to an eating plan.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Hunter's Mom said:


> This diet sounds great Lisa and I am going to keep it in mind when I will have weight to lose. I agree that drinking water is the hardest thing. I am currently trying to drink 64oz a day and its HARD......but it seems like you are doing well with this plan and I can't wait to hear what it feels like when you cycle back to Stage 1. Please keep us updated!!!


I have never been a fan of water so I have to actually keep a tally of my water intake each day!


Harley & Dakotas Mum said:


> Thanks for the review, and CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss!! Well done!!
> 
> I got the book about 2 weeks ago, but haven't started to read it yet. Your review is certainly helpful, and once I get over this dreaded cold, I will focus my attention on getting started!!


I'm so sorry you are a bit under the weather right now...when you feel better is a good time to start. It's so neat that I'm not the only one who found this program appealing!



ann80 said:


> We have been on this since early Jan. Lost 15 lbs within 2 wks! Kind of plateaued currently as there has been many events, weddings & dinners which become challenging. What has worked for us is we allow one cheat day a week & there doesn't seem to be any weight gain at all. With any new routine, exercise is very important to keep up the metabolism. I know with more exercise there would be more wieght loss & lower body fat. Usually drink a ton of water anyhow, but incorporating green tea 3x/dy took some getting use to. Thanks for the review, I learned some things as well. No fruit after 2pm? I read the entire book, must have missed that chapter.


The rule about not eating fruit after 2pm is on Page 40 at the bottom. Also no carbs (other than from your protein, Probiotics or veggies) after 2pm as well. I miss not having potatoes or couscous with dinner. It can be difficult if you are having to attend a lot of functions, but you do the best you can and are seeing great results so that is wonderful!



gopotsgo said:


> Congratulations! It sounds very much like the Adkins diet to me without the fat. No carbo rage yet???


I certainly miss my carbs, but you slowly add them back in. I really see now how many carbs I was eating before...kind of scary!


poochie2 said:


> I'm so glad I saw this thread cause losing weight is something I struggle with daily. A few years back I was slim wearing jeans, bikinis and all sorts of nice clothes and now I am at the point where I need to lose 50 Pounds. I have tried Weight watchers, South beach diet, spent thousands on Jenny Craig and now I was looking trying something else for the millionth time:blink:
> I have heard of the 17 day diet and I actually almost bought the book. Is it similar to the south beach diet ? They have phase 1, 2, and 3 on that plan. It worked but I just find it hard to stick to an eating plan.


I am not super familiar with South Beach or Atkins but I have heard that the first phase is quite similar. This program keeps you from plateauing so you change what you eat every 17 days, and alternate high-and-low-calorie days. I find it to be incredibly easy to stick to, other than the no carbs in the first cycle. I haven't been too tempted to even cheat, I have seen some results and want to keep it that way!


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## KAG (Jun 1, 2006)

That's awesome, Lisa. You go girl!!!
xoxoxoxooxoxoxoxox


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

congrats on the weight loss  and thanks for sharing! 

hugs
Kat


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