Dec 13, 2010 DeAnna Grant
Cycle Eating - Fotosearch
The 17 Day Diet Weight Loss Program was debuted on Dr Phil’s show and then on The Doctors at the beginning of December. Interest soon gathered pace and search engines were being abused as hundreds of thousands of people trying to find out what the 17 Day Diet is all about. Was it the newest magic bullet or just another fad diet offering a quick fix?
Dr. Mike Moreno, a medical practitioner in California, wrote the 17 Day Diet initially as a plan to help people avoid holiday weight gain.
But what is The 17 Day Diet all about? It’s a diet based on calorie shifting or eating in cycles, the main aim of which is to confuse the metabolic system. In other words you change the way you eat every few days or weeks. This method constantly keeps your metabolism guessing at what is next and never settles into a state of regularity, with the end result that you experience increased weight loss.
"There is no scientific evidence to support the efficacy of calorie cycling or its effect on metabolism” says Mary Hartley, RD, MPH, the director of nutrition at Calorie Count. "There is no harm in calorie cycling temporarily or indefinitely and the process happens naturally for most people, who don't eat or burn the same number of calories every day. But I am not in favor of focusing on any process that takes you away from attending to the lifestyle changes that you need to make and practice for permanent weight control "
On the 17 Day Diet, you have to adjust how you eat every 17 days, changing the combination of healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates that you eat. The diet also focuses on clean eating, which means you cannot have any sugar, processed foods or fried foods.
Whilst this method may work in the short-term it falls short of helping people make behavioral changes towards their eating habits. That’s why so many dieters end up being yo-yo dieters because they are bouncing from one fad diet to another.
The diet is broken down into four cycles, with each cycle presenting a different way to help you lose weight. The first cycle is called "accelerate" and promotes fast weight loss via cleansing and removing fat stores.
The second cycle, "activate," is when you reset your metabolism, which is no mean feat and not as easy to do as the 17 Day Diet would lead you to believe.
The third cycle of The 17 Day Diet referred to as "achieve," aims to help you develop proper eating habits and re-learn how to eat carbs, and finally, the fourth cycle, "arrive," uses a combination of the preceding cycles and allows you to have a break on the weekends.
While cycled eating as promoted in the 17 Day Diet might help you lose weight in the short-term, as with other fad-like diets it won’t last because it is an unrealistic way of eating that can be maintained long-term. As soon as you stop the cycled eating method you become at risk of gaining back the weight you worked so hard to lose. Permanent, long term weight loss can only be achieved by healthy eating, calorie control and exercise.
Sources
Hartley M,RD,MPH - How dieting and age affect your metabolism
Koskie Brandi, DietsInReview - Is the 17 Day Diet the New Fad Diet on the Block?
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