Today is my 17th day on the Accelerate cycle of the 17 day diet. Although I am happy to have made it, I am not done - not only do I have two more cycles to start, I'm not done this this one, and here's why.
As I've mentioned before, the next 17 day cycle which is "Activate" contains more foods that I am able to add to my diet. Unfortunately - I did not prepare, and I need to get some groceries which I can't do until the weekend. This means that I will continue to eat the same foods from cycle one, for about another 3 days - which by now I am bored to death with!
So on Saturday, I will begin the shift into cycle two. As I was reading about cycle two a.k.a Activate, I learned that this is the cycle where I am able to eat certain grains - such as brown rice and oatmeal. I'll also be adding legumes to my diet, such as black beans, lentils, peas and garbanzos (chick peas). I can finally eat Starchy vegetables, like corn, potatoes. and sweet potatoes. I can also add shellfish such as clams, crab, mussels, oysters, scallops and shrimp ( I can eat these EVERYDAY). I can also FINALLY add beef and pork to my diet, but again, all must be lean.
The way cycle two works proves that the 17 day diet is not your same old diet. I'll be adding all of these delicious foods to my meal plan, but I will be interchanging every other day with a meal from the first cycle (Accelerate). For example on Day 1 I will have an activate day, where I will eat grains, legumes, beef, and shellfish. On day 2 I will have an accelerate day, where I can only eat poultry or certain fish, fruits and vegetables. All this means is that you are alternating a high calorie days with low calorie days in order to lose body fat. I'm not going into details about how exactly that works, because it's just too much to explain. If interested do the research or try getting / borrowing the book. You still eat the same fruits and veggies from the first cycle as well as the same probiotics.
I look forward to cycle 2 in anticipation, not only for all the other things I may now eat, but because it promises even more weight loss.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
15 Days Later...
So, today is my 15th day of the first 17 day cycle, and as of Saturday, I had lost 6 lbs, today is Monday - so it might be more. This weekend was tough, but I managed to get my cardio in there. Although I have to come clean and admit that my weight loss in these past 15 days, could have been greater, but there were just days where the hectic in my life got in the way, and I just could not find the strength to put my running shoes on.
With this whole weight loss thing, I've been getting more and more hooked on weight loss shows. Watching these shows, as well as dieting myself I have come to fully understand the diet and exercise thing. Diet and exercise is a combo and it's a combo for a reason. You can diet all day long, and eat celery every day for break fast, lunch and dinner - and yes, you are going to lose weight, but with out the exercise you risk getting flabby skin and let's face it, who wants to eat celery all day long? You can also eat like a pig all day, consume high calories of processed foods, hit the treadmill for an hour a day, and you still won't see results. A healthy diet along with exercise are the key to successful weight loss because they complement each other. The first week of this diet, I only lost 2 lbs, and that was because I worked out on 2 out of 7 days. The next week, I lost 4 lbs - that week, I was able to get myself running 4 days that week. It's like losing a pound a day for every day that you work out on a low calorie diet.
The book tells you to work out for 17 minutes, but to me - that's just not right, I do 30 to 40 minutes on the treadmill everyday. I usually start with a 5 minute warm up power walk, and then shift into a jog. I am lucky enough to have my own treadmill at home, so I watch my favorite shows while I am on it - which helps to zone me out and keep me jogging instead of thinking about how much time I've got left. Every other day or every 2 days I use my boyfriends Bowflex weights and that really helps with the strength training.
I don't know if I am setting myself up for failure, but this week, I have given myself a challenge. I have challenged myself to lose 5 lbs this week - I think that this challenge is what I need to keep myself focused and motivated, a little something to keeps things fresh. I guess I will be letting you know my Monday (since I don't update on weekends, and I weigh in on Saturdays) unless I beat the challenge and I can't contain myself.
With this whole weight loss thing, I've been getting more and more hooked on weight loss shows. Watching these shows, as well as dieting myself I have come to fully understand the diet and exercise thing. Diet and exercise is a combo and it's a combo for a reason. You can diet all day long, and eat celery every day for break fast, lunch and dinner - and yes, you are going to lose weight, but with out the exercise you risk getting flabby skin and let's face it, who wants to eat celery all day long? You can also eat like a pig all day, consume high calories of processed foods, hit the treadmill for an hour a day, and you still won't see results. A healthy diet along with exercise are the key to successful weight loss because they complement each other. The first week of this diet, I only lost 2 lbs, and that was because I worked out on 2 out of 7 days. The next week, I lost 4 lbs - that week, I was able to get myself running 4 days that week. It's like losing a pound a day for every day that you work out on a low calorie diet.
The book tells you to work out for 17 minutes, but to me - that's just not right, I do 30 to 40 minutes on the treadmill everyday. I usually start with a 5 minute warm up power walk, and then shift into a jog. I am lucky enough to have my own treadmill at home, so I watch my favorite shows while I am on it - which helps to zone me out and keep me jogging instead of thinking about how much time I've got left. Every other day or every 2 days I use my boyfriends Bowflex weights and that really helps with the strength training.
I don't know if I am setting myself up for failure, but this week, I have given myself a challenge. I have challenged myself to lose 5 lbs this week - I think that this challenge is what I need to keep myself focused and motivated, a little something to keeps things fresh. I guess I will be letting you know my Monday (since I don't update on weekends, and I weigh in on Saturdays) unless I beat the challenge and I can't contain myself.
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Power of Fruits
So I haven't updated in a day or so, because quite frankly, there is nothing new to update. I've been going strong with my meal plans, and I feel really good.
The reason why I wanted to post an update was to share an article I read in Every Day Health . In Dr. Mike Moreno's 17 Day Diet, he asks that during the first cycle, you eat 2 servings of fruit per day. He is precise in what fruits he wants you to eat, and he gives brief reasons as to why these are the only fruits you can have during the first cycle (accelerate). He says that low-sugar fruits are good for weight loss because they are full of fiber, super low in calories and full of water. Apples, All types of Berries, Grapefruit, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Red Grapes, and Prunes are the fruits in the list. In the article, Healthiest Power Fruits most of these fruits are mentioned, and they gave me more information as to why they are so amazing and what aspect of health in particular each fruit excels in. Some examples are apples, and how they help keep your bad cholesterol low and the good cholesterol high. They also talk about berries, and how they are fat blasters and so on.
I hope you all enjoy the article, and keep eating the same old boring fruits, with amazing abilities to keep you healthy.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Big 10
I am a bit amazed at how fast time has passed, today marks my 10th day on Cycle 1 of the 17 Day diet - and I don't exactly know how I feel about that. I've decided not to weigh myself until Saturday, so I don't know where I stand right now as far as weight lost in pounds, but I feel great. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it's super easy, and that I can see a difference, or that my clothes fit me better - because none of it is true.It's been 10 days and I don't see any major changes, but I can feel the change in me. I am happier; I'm not sure what that has to do with dieting, but I am a lot less cranky, a lot less moody and bitchy. The first few days, I was getting major headaches and I knew exactly what that was - it was withdrawal. I had quit processed foods cold turkey, and my body was like "whoa!!, what's going on?" I had migraines for three straight days, but not even that deterred me.
This diet requires me to eat three meals a day, and as easy as that may seem (we're supposed to eat 3 meals a day anyway) for some of us it's a major challenge. Not only is the labor of this diet a challenge (cooking EVERY meal you eat) but also when you have a family that doesn't necessarily need to meet your same dietary needs (thank God for them) - you have to cook for yourself and for others. As much as I love the kitchen, this is something that at another stage of my life, would have been the excuse for me to quit - none the less I suck it up and do what I gotta do no matter how long that keeps me in the kitchen.
So speaking of the kitchen, here's what I had yesterday... For breakfast, a kefir with raspberries smoothie, grapes and my chilled green tea. Lunch was a yummy baby romaine salad with tuna and dressing and another cup of cold green tea. For dinner last night I made vegetable soup (my favorite recipe of this diet) and it was delish! I also tried for the very first time Trader Joe's version of Greek yogurt - the pomegranate flavor was gross (in my opinion) but the blueberry was awesome!
If you're curious about The 17 Day Diet click on the link and check out the videos and all the information on the site. I can only speak from my experience, so if you want more details, check it out!
So here I am on my 10th day feeling happy, feeling good about myself and not just how far I've come along - but HOW I've come along.... and that is in control at all times.
This diet requires me to eat three meals a day, and as easy as that may seem (we're supposed to eat 3 meals a day anyway) for some of us it's a major challenge. Not only is the labor of this diet a challenge (cooking EVERY meal you eat) but also when you have a family that doesn't necessarily need to meet your same dietary needs (thank God for them) - you have to cook for yourself and for others. As much as I love the kitchen, this is something that at another stage of my life, would have been the excuse for me to quit - none the less I suck it up and do what I gotta do no matter how long that keeps me in the kitchen.
So speaking of the kitchen, here's what I had yesterday... For breakfast, a kefir with raspberries smoothie, grapes and my chilled green tea. Lunch was a yummy baby romaine salad with tuna and dressing and another cup of cold green tea. For dinner last night I made vegetable soup (my favorite recipe of this diet) and it was delish! I also tried for the very first time Trader Joe's version of Greek yogurt - the pomegranate flavor was gross (in my opinion) but the blueberry was awesome!
If you're curious about The 17 Day Diet click on the link and check out the videos and all the information on the site. I can only speak from my experience, so if you want more details, check it out!
So here I am on my 10th day feeling happy, feeling good about myself and not just how far I've come along - but HOW I've come along.... and that is in control at all times.
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