Authors: Dr. Mike Moreno
C.
Unsure
D.
Not at all
14.
I will not make excuses to sabotage myself.
A.
Yes
B.
Somewhat
C.
Unsure
D.
Not at all
15.
I can commit to exercising at least 17 minutes a day.
A.
Yes
B.
Somewhat
C.
Unsure
D.
Not at all
16.
I want to change my eating and health habits for life.
A.
Yes
B.
Somewhat
C.
Unsure
D.
Not at all
17.
I understand how diet, obesity and chronic illnesses are linked.
A.
Yes
B.
Somewhat
C.
Unsure
D.
Not at all
Scoring:
Give yourself a 3 for each A answer; a 2 for each B answer; a 1 for each C answer; and 0 for each D answer. Add up your score.
0 to 17 points:
Immediately re-evaluate your commitment to improving your health. If you don’t act decisively now, serious health problems are on the horizon.
18 to 26 points:
Go back over your answers and see what you need to shore up. You may be taking some unnecessary risks with your health and should make an extra effort to change.
27 to 42 points:
Re-examine your desire to go on the 17 Day Diet. What improvements can you make to boost your score? You need just a little bit more determination and commitment to be thinner and healthier.
43 to 51 points:
You’re ready to start the 17 Day Diet and enjoy success—congratulations!
You must believe you can do this. It doesn’t matter how often you have failed in the past; your past does not equal your future. What matters now is focusing on what you want, identifying what you need to get it and taking action. Your health and happiness are important, so stand strong.
Review:
•
The 17 Day Diet is a rapid weight loss plan designed to produce satisfying, lasting weight loss.
•
Most people can expect to lose up to 10 to 15 pounds during the first 17 days.
•
Rapid weight loss plans have been shown in research to be effective in helping people keep their weight off.
•
The 17 Day Diet works by improving digestive and metabolic health.
•
The 17 Day Diet is organized into 4 Cycles, each working together to help your body reach its ideal weight and stabilize there.
•
Stay upbeat and positive. No matter what you weigh right now, stop beating yourself up over it. So much in your life can change for the better: your figure, health, relationships, financial stability and more.
6 REASONS Not to Freak Out about Being Fat
O
ne of my patients joked recently about the pluses of her plus size: “I can shoplift in my cleavage. And I don’t have to ask my boyfriend, ‘Do I look fat in this?’ I do.” That conversation got me thinking about some of the health advantages to being overweight. Although I don’t recommend staying fat, there are some pluses to being a plus size. Here are six ways in which some padding can tip the scales in your favor.
Stronger Bones
A little meat on your frame can ward off osteoporosis, a condition of fragile bones that’s less likely to occur in overweight women. Weight-bearing bones stay stronger.
Healthier Hearts and Lower Risk of Diabetes
Women with larger thighs have a lower risk of heart disease and early death, says a study in the
British Medical Journal.
Those with stick-thin legs face the greatest chance of developing heart disease. Why? Added lower-body muscle mass can promote a better metabolism. Also, a 2008 study published in
Cell Metabolism
found that the fat that accumulates around the thighs and hips, called subcutaneous fat, actually lowers risk of diabetes. Pear shapes, be proud.
Glowing Skin
Recent twin studies have found that the sister with more weight was judged to have a more youthful look. A gaunt face can definitely add some years, so carrying an extra few pounds can help create a more youthful appearance. It may also help to fill out a few of those more significant wrinkles that scream out “aging!”
Bigger Boobs
The more you weigh, the bigger they get. Breasts are made up of mostly fat, and any excess pounds practically go straight to your chest. Unfortunately, when you lose weight, boob flab is one of the first things to go.
Increased Fertility
Are you thinking of starting—or growing—your family? Underweight women were 72 percent more likely to miscarry, reports a London study. More specifically, leaner women when they conceived had a much higher percentage of miscarrying within three months of pregnancy. However, those few extra pounds on overweight women actually proved to have the opposite effect on their pregnancy.
Faster Metabolism
It’s not the skinny folks who have a fast metabolism; it’s the overweight people! It takes more energy to operate anything bigger, so bigger people use more energy to do the same things that smaller people do. But metabolism isn’t the only thing that determines weight; it’s also how much you eat and exercise that matters.
Best Reason of All
People who are really out of shape, who start exercising, get fitter faster! The fact is your body wants to be in shape. It wants to be healthy. It wants to look good. It wants to be hot! So, the more out of shape you are, the faster your body will respond to your weight loss efforts.
2
Burn, Baby, Burn
H
ere’s the part
of the book in which I talk about how the 17 Day Diet works. Don’t worry. I won’t lapse into any mind-numbing “doctor speak.” You know, medical terms that sound scarier than the disease, like cephalalgia (headache) or pneumonitis (lung inflammation). Most people have no idea what their doctors are saying. They could be giving them the latest medical research or the recipe for chocolate cheesecake in Latin. They couldn’t tell.
I make a real effort to explain things in everyday terms. Sometimes, it’s hard. I used to try to explain blood tests to patients in five minutes. It finally dawned on me that it took me eight years to understand this stuff, so I can’t expect anyone to comprehend it during one office visit. You don’t need to study medical books to understand what doctors say anyway; just watch TV shows and movies.
Back to the topic of dieting: let me insert Rita’s story here. If the subject of weight loss came up in conversation, she’d walk away. About 25 pounds overweight, Rita was deep-down scared that she could get heavier if she didn’t do something. But she just wasn’t ready to confront the issue head-on. The idea of dieting and taking weight off slowly was frustrating, so she kept putting it off. But the 17 Day Diet appealed to her. It sounded doable and quick—it is. Rita decided to give it a try.
Here’s what she said, “I can’t believe how well the 17 Day Diet works. I lost 10 pounds the first 17 days, and I feel so energetic. What gives? How does it work?”
Basically, Rita was hooked (in a positive way) and has used the diet to get to her goal and stay there. She stayed motivated.
I explained to Rita that for a diet and exercise program to be successful, it must be safe, easy to follow and easy to stick to. It must have a certain balance of nutrients to activate fat-burning. It must generate results in a reasonable period of time. And it must help initiate a pattern of healthy habits that lead to lifelong weight control. The 17 Day Diet can help you accomplish all of this and more. What follows is a careful look at the elements that make this diet work.
What Do You Get to Eat on the 17 Day Diet?
First let me say, nutrition is too confusing, even for doctors. Everything is either good or bad for you. And that can change from moment to moment each time a new bit of research is unveiled. Broccoli may double your life span this week, but next week it might be the end of you.
Several years ago, blueberries became the fruit of choice, being touted as the answer for everything from rejuvenating your brain to inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Now they’re being added to cosmetics. If they can prevent your brain from aging, why not put them in a skin cream? Maybe blueberries can stop wrinkles too.
I think you have to be living under a rock not to know that lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and small amounts of grains are naturally good for you. The 17 Day Diet is based on those foods. That’s one reason why the diet isn’t a fad; it’s based on really healthy foods, the stuff we should all be eating anyway, but aren’t.
With these wonderful foods, we get the body to store the good (health-building nutrients) and expel the bad (fat and toxins) by retraining your digestive system and your metabolism.
Many long and informative books have been written about nutrition and how it works in the body. For the purpose of this book, I’ll explain what you need to know about the nutrients your body needs to lose weight, and I’ll do it in the clearest, most basic terms.
Enjoy Plenty of Protein
The 17 Day Diet is generous in protein. But I don’t mean 27 eggs and 18 strips of bacon washed down with the drippings. I mean lean foods such as chicken, fish, lean meats and other protein-rich foods.
Protein is a powerful fat torcher—for six reasons:
1.
Digesting protein takes more energy (calories) than digesting carbs or fat does; thus, your body burns a few extra calories after eating protein.
2.
Including ample protein in your diet spurs one of your body’s fat-burning mechanisms: the production of the hormone glucagon. Glucagon signals your body to move dietary fat into your bloodstream and use it for energy rather than just store it.
3.
Consuming enough protein helps you preserve lean muscle mass that might otherwise be sacrificed on a rapid weight loss diet. Of course, the more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.
4.
Eating protein helps keep your blood sugar on an even keel, so you don’t get the shakes or drops in energy.
5.
Having enough protein in your diet boosts your metabolism, and it does this by stepping up the action of your thyroid gland. (One of the main duties of the thyroid is to regulate metabolism.)
6.
Including protein with meals helps tame your appetite so that you don’t stuff yourself.
Venture into Vegetables
If you haven’t eaten vegetables since you were 11, let’s spend a second on this “I hate vegetables” thing.
You hate all vegetables? There isn’t one you like, no matter how it’s prepared? If you eliminate all vegetables from your diet, you’re giving up some very important nutrients and really narrowing your food options. Vegetables are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Shunning them is a bad idea. Why not learn to prepare them WITH herbs and spices to satisfy your taste?