The 17 Day Diet Challenge

Diary of a Fat Girl – Day 251

“Tubs of ice cream and bags full of chips are not worth shortening your life over.” – Dr. Mike Moreno, The 17 Day Diet

There it is. Not from my own fingertips, but that of another; stating very clearly what I have been saying to myself for nearly a year now.

I took this journey as a way to lose weight with the focus of becoming pregnant. Then the birth of my newest nephew leads me into peace with infertility and I became discouraged by my slow weight loss. My motivation began to crumble, and I was struggling to find a new motivation. My failure to recognize my own words for moral support was waved before my eyes as I picked up Dr. Moreno’s book The 17 Day Diet.

This is a new challenge; an unprecedented challenge introducing rapid weight loss as an effective tool for keeping the weight off longer. This book wasn’t written by some quack who just earned his Ph.D. from an online university. In fact, this book was written by a family practitioner who graduated from the University of California at Irvine and Hahnemann Medical School; the very same doctor who launched the “Walk With Your Doc” program. If these credentials weren’t enough, then The Doctors endorsement and their own 17 Day Challenge have given me some serious thought into this diet.

I’m not a girl who likes to jump on the diet bandwagon. In fact, I typically detest new diet ideas. I speculate that it cannot be good for one’s health, and that there would be consequences to treating your body in such a manner. In fact, I’m the girl who preaches on healthy eating with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains coupled with exercise. I would stand on my podium and say loudly to the crowd, “It’s okay if you only lost 1 pound this week. Give yourself a pat on the back for all of your effort and hard work!”

My husband is currently attending college to become a Registered Nurse. Recently, he has had this fascination with a television talk show called The Doctors. I get why he likes it, but on some days I cannot handle certain topics (and pictures!) of this show. There are four doctors who consult each day with the audience on everyday topics about their health. Who knew that there would be so much to talk about when it came to health? They did and they are developing a rather large following.

In February, they introduced The 17 Day Diet Challenge going head-to-head with their team of dieters and Dr. Phil’s team of dieters. The other day, I caught the results show and I was amazed by the changes in these dieters. One dieter lost an amazing 79 pounds in 52 days. Hey, that was my goal; an 80 pound weight loss IN A YEAR!

I must have been doing something wrong.

Today, I am changing it around. My husband and I are starting this diet together. He and I are committed to this and we start Saturday (because we get paid on Friday and I’ll shop for the healthy foods that night). I will keep a daily journal every day during each cycle of this diet and hopefully, we will see progress. Who knows? Maybe I will get to be that skinny girl I once was. (I wonder if I can maintain my vegetarian diet if I substitute the meat with vegetables from the approved list?)