The 17 Day Diet (12 page)

The approach of alternating Accelerate days with Activate days is based on the scientifically validated mechanism of “alternate-day fasting” (although there is no fasting on this diet in the true sense of the word). In a nutshell, this means alternating low-calorie days with higher-calorie days in order to lose body fat. Scientists at the University of California have led the way in this cutting-edge research, with both human and rat studies. (How many of these furry creatures have lost weight in order to save humanity from obesity during the past 50 years is a mystery to me.)

Publishing much of their research in recent issues of the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
, these scientists have unearthed intriguing findings. Alternate-day fasting can:

•
Trigger sustained weight loss (no frustrating plateaus). The weight that is lost is mostly fat.

•
Activate the “skinny” gene, which tells cells to burn—rather than hold on to—fat.

•
Reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, decreasing blood pressure and lowering heart rate.

•
Alternating your food intake is a powerful concept in weight management. Here’s a look at what this will be doing for you:

•
Stripping away body fat. Your carb intake is still relatively low on this Cycle. When you cut carbs, your muscles give up stored carbohydrates, called muscle glycogen, as energy. In general, when glycogen levels fall, the body increases its ability to burn body fat. Therefore, it makes sense to reduce your carbohydrate intake. When that happens, the body ramps up fat burning.

•
Giving momentum to your metabolism. This potent diet strategy seems to keep the metabolism elevated. It keeps your body guessing, as opposed to letting it get accustomed to one particular way of eating day after day. Just as you need to change things up in workouts for continued progress to avoid plateaus, you mustn’t let your body get too comfortable with the foods you eat. It’s all about shocking the metabolism to elicit a positive response.

•
Taming your appetite. On the Activate Cycle, you get to eat some starchy carbs. But not just any carbs. You’ll eat natural, slow-digesting carbs such as oatmeal, whole grains, brown rice, beans and legumes and sweet potatoes—a whole slew of carbs. Slow carbs take a longer time to reach the blood, which helps you feel full.

•
Preventing carb sensitivity. Carbs are beneficial in that they help set up the body hormonally for muscle-toning if you exercise. They spark the release of insulin, which gets protein and carbs into muscles for growth and repair. The downside is that when you take in too many carbs, they can be readily converted to body fat and stored. On the Activate Cycle, you’re limited to no more than two servings of slow, natural carbs a day. This is the amount most people—especially women—are physiologically capable of tolerating in order to sustain fat metabolism.

Another major difference between the two Cycles is that you get to enjoy a greater variety of lean proteins, including shellfish and beef.

MISTER M.D., CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME

Wouldn’t it just be easier to prescribe diet pills for weight loss?

Drug companies are always racing to develop new weight-loss drugs, but they haven’t had much luck. The Food and Drug Administration has approved only three drugs in the past 30 years for treating obesity, one of which—Redux—was yanked for safety reasons. I don’t know what they did with the leftover pills. Maybe they were recycled into something a dieter could use, like exercise bands.

The drugs that remain—Xenical and Meridia—have been moderately successful. But I’m not an advocate of popping pills for every little thing. Pills don’t fully address the problem. By prescribing drugs instead of lifestyle changes, doctors ignore the unhealthy habits that have contributed to obesity. One of these diet pills, the “fat blocker” Xenical, the brand name of a drug called orlistat, must be accompanied by a low-calorie diet to reduce your weight by about 5 percent for most. Diets are vital, pills or no pills.

There’s an “ick” factor with this particular drug. Fat isn’t absorbed, so it has to go somewhere. And orlistat takers find out in a hurry just where. (Keep an extra pair of panties with you, or wear some diapers.)

Yes, some people’s obesity is so out of hand that it might be dangerous, and I might prescribe one of these drugs.

About the only advice doctors can give is stop eating sweets, fat, butter, desserts, super-burgers—basically, we want you to avoid anything the least bit tasty. We would make everyone do this if we could. Then we could stop worrying about the obesity epidemic and get back to other things like curing the common cold and filling out insurance forms.

General Guidelines for the Activate Cycle

1.
Stay on the Activate Cycle for 17 days. The Activate Cycle consists of alternating between Activate days and Accelerate days.

2.
Remove skin from chicken or turkey prior to cooking or purchase skinless poultry.

3.
Trim all visible fat from meat.

4.
About eggs: You may eat up to two eggs a day. But stick to no more than four yolks per week if your physician has diagnosed you with high cholesterol. Egg whites can be eaten without restriction.

5.
Keep gobbling up those fresh fruits and vegetables before they become science-fair-project-worthy in the crisper. For convenience, frozen and canned items are fine, if chosen in moderation. These products should be unsweetened, however.

6.
Continue to avoid alcohol and sugar in order to help your body eliminate toxins, improve digestion and burn fat.

7.
Don’t eat more than two servings daily from the natural starches list.

8.
Do not eat your fruit or natural starch serving past 2:00 p.m.

SCIENCE SAYS:
Just a Single High-Fat Meal Does Heart Damage

E
ating just one single high-fat meal makes your blood pressure go sky high, according to a study by U.S. and Canadian researchers. They fed 30 healthy people a single meal that was either very low-fat (1% of calories) or very high-fat (46% of calories). The high-fat meal was a McDonald’s breakfast; the healthier, low-fat meal was cereal and non-fat yogurt. The people were then exposed to stressful situations, such as public speaking, performing mental math and exposure to cold temperatures. Compared to the people given the low-fat meal, those who ate high-fat meal experienced a greater jump in blood pressure and more stress on their blood vessels. These effects may cause harm to cardiovascular health. So much for the adage, “All things in moderation.”

Source:
Journal of Nutrition, April 2007.

9.
Eat slowly and only until full; do not overload your stomach. Use my Hunger/Fullness Meter.

10.
Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of pure water a day.

11.
Exercise at least 17 minutes a day.

Take More Off: The Activate Cycle Food List

On the Activate Cycle, you’ll be adding new foods to those you ate on the Accelerate Cycle. These additional foods are listed below.

Proteins

Add in the following foods:

Shellfish:

Clams

Crab

Mussels

Oysters

Scallops

Shrimp

Lean Cuts of Meat*
(The leanest cuts are those from the part of the animal that gets the most exercise. Therefore, cuts from the round, chuck, shank and flank are the best.)

Flank steak

Top sirloin steak

Top round

Eye of the round

Beef round tip

Beef top sirloin

Beef top loin

Lean ground beef

Pork tenderloin

Pork sirloin chops

Pork boneless loin roast

Pork top or center loin chops

Lamb shanks

Lamb sirloin roast

Veal cutlet

*Lean cuts tend to be a little tougher. You can tenderize lean cuts by marinating in fat-free liquids like fruit juice, wine, fat-free salad dressings, or fat-free broth.

Natural Starches

Grains: (1 serving = ½ cup)

Amaranth

Barley, pearled

Brown rice

Bulgur

Coucous

Cream of wheat

Grits

Longer grain rice such as Basmati

Millet

Oat bran

Old-fashioned oatmeal

Quinoa

Legumes: (1 serving = ½ cup)

Black beans

Black-eyed peas

Butter beans

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Great Northern beans

Kidney beans

Lentils

Lima beans, baby

Navy beans

Peas

Pinto beans

Soy beans

Split peas

Starchy Vegetables:

Breadfruit
(1 serving = 1 cup)

Corn
(1 serving = ½ cup)

Potato
(1 serving = 1 medium)

Sweet potato
(1 serving = 1 medium)

Taro
(1 serving = ½ cup)

Winter squashes (acorn, spaghetti, butternut, etc.)
(1 serving = 1 cup)

Yam
(1 serving = 1 medium)

Cleansing Vegetables
(Same foods as Accelerate Cycle)

Low-Sugar Fruits
(Same foods as Accelerate Cycle)

Probiotics
(Same foods as Accelerate cycle)

Friendly Fats
(Same foods as Accelerate cycle)

Condiments
Condiments and seasonings are allowed in moderation: salsa, low-carb marinara sauce, lite soy sauce, low-carb ketchup, fat-free sour cream, low-fat, low-sodium broth, Truvia (a non-caloric sweetener made from natural ingredients), sugar-free jams and jellies, vegetable cooking spray, fat-free cheeses (i.e. Parmesan), fat-free salad dressing, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, herbs and spices.