The 17 Day Diet Craze Sparked By YouTube, Facebook

If you thought the Dukan Diet was going to be the diet of the year, think again. The new 17 Day Diet, created by Dr. Moreno, has gone viral on the internet, making this new diet trend the hottest new weight loss program around.

Rachel Wilcox, a 38-year old mother told Good Morning America that she has lost 13 pounds in just 17 days on this new diet. She loved the diet so much that she has been on it now for 4 months and lost a total of 36 pounds.

Many other stories, just like this one, have been circulating the internet via You Tube, Facebook, and Twitter, attracting a large following to this new diet craze. The diet has also been featured on television shows including The Drs, Dr. Phil, and Good Morning America.

What Makes the 17 Day Diet Unique?

Dr. Moreno, a Kaiser Permanente family medicine doctor from San Diego, says that his diet is different because it doesn’t deprive dieters or restrict calories. Instead, he says, it changes the types of foods that you eat allowing for your body to process foods in a new way. “It's like getting a cleanup for your car,” explains Dr. Moreno.

The diet plan is arranged around four 17-day cycles in which different types of foods are paired together in order to stimulate the body's metabolism for weight loss. The dieter switches cycles every 17 days in order to prevent the development of a routine, similar to the strategy of weight lifters who change their workouts frequently in order to get their bodies to preform more efficiently. “It takes 21 days for the body and the mind to start to doing things without putting much effort into it,” explains Dr. Moreno to GMA special correspondent Cameron Mathinson. “In 17 days, just about when your mind wants to develop a habit, we switch things.”

The Diet Plan

The first 17 days cycle is the hardest and when the majority of the weight comes off. This cycle is called “Accelerate” and completely eliminates unhealthy carbs and bad eating habits. According to Dr. Moreno this phase both cleanses and hydrates your body. The second cycle of the diet, called “Activate”, stimulates fat burning. The third cycle, “Achieve” is when the weight loss begins to slow down and the dieter incorporates more healthy foods. The final cycle is “Arrive” is the maintenance phase of the program and allows for occasional splurges.

The diet is completely void of sugar and other unhealthy foods such as fried or processed items. Dieters are allowed to eat unlimited amounts of lean protein and vegetables. Dr. Moreno encourages substituting certain foods, such as fruit and nectars instead of sugar and mustard instead of mayonnaise. Certain spices and foods, such as garlic, cinnamon and Greek yogurt are also incorporated to help the body metabolize and process nutrients in a healthy way. The 17 Day Diet also has one rule: no fruit or starchy carbohydrates after 2pm.

In addition to diet changes, the plan requires 17 minutes of power walking and the use of a 17-minute workout DVD provided with the purchase of the book.

The website for the diet book, www.The17DayDiet.com provides dieters with an additional bonus: recipes that can be sent directly to your email, including the recipe for the popular breakfast “Power Cookie”. This healthy cookie contains whey, flax seed, almond paste, cherries, and nectar along with other healthy ingredients.

“I think that another thing that separates this diet from all the others is that Dr. Moreno emphasizes the power of the mind, really truly visualizing who you want to be in order to allow it manifest. Stay mindful, really mindful, throughout the day; not allowing yourself to get too hungry because then you are more likely to binge and loose control.” says Mathinson.

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