The 17 Day Diet (13 page)

Meal Planning Made Easy

On Activate days, you eat:

•
Liberal amounts of protein and cleansing vegetables.

•
Two daily servings of natural starches (carbohydrates).

•
Two low-sugar fruit servings.

•
Two servings of probiotic foods.

•
One daily serving of friendly fat.

Here’s a typical day on the Activate Cycle:

Breakfast

•
½ cup hot whole grain cereal or 2 eggs or 4 egg whites, prepared without oil; 1
Dr. Mike’s Power Cookie
; or one probiotic serving

•
1 fruit serving

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Liberal amounts of protein in the form of fish, shellfish, meat, or chicken or eggs, or vegetables plus 1 probiotic serving

•
1 serving natural starch

•
Unlimited amounts of cleansing vegetables

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Liberal amounts of protein in the form of fish, shellfish, meat, or chicken or turkey

•
Unlimited amounts of cleansing vegetables

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
2nd fruit serving

•
2nd probiotic serving

Additional

•
1 friendly fat serving (1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil or flaxseed oil to use on salads, vegetables, or for cooking)

Remember:
Follow one day of the Activate Cycle with a menu from the Accelerate Cycle, and alternate accordingly for a total of 17 days.

17 Sample Menus

Here are examples of how to create your daily meals during the Activate Cycle. You may follow these exactly or create your own menus based on the above guidelines. Recipes are in the Appendix.

Wake-up drink

Every morning, as soon as you rise, drink one 8-ounce cup of hot water. Squeeze half a lemon into the cup; the lemon stimulates your digestive juices. Your goal is to drink at least six to seven more glasses of water by the end of the day. The rate at which you burn calories drops if you’re dehydrated. And if you’re dehydrated, your body doesn’t absorb nutrients properly.

Day 1

Breakfast

•
1
Dr. Mike’s Power Cookie

•
1 fresh peach, sliced

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Chicken salad: baked or grilled chicken breast (diced), loose-leaf lettuce, 1 sliced tomato, assorted salad veggies, 2 tablespoons olive oil mixed with 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

•
½ cup brown rice

•
6 oz. sugar-free fruit flavored yogurt

Dinner

•
Grilled salmon

•
Steamed veggies

Snacks

•
Protein Smoothie: 1 cup acidophilus milk or kefir blended with 1 cup frozen unsweetened berries

Day 2

•
Accelerate Cycle menu

Day 3

Breakfast

•
2 scrambled egg whites

•
½ grapefruit, or other fresh fruit of your choice

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
1 large bowl of
Chicken-Vegetable Soup
or grilled chicken breast and plenty of steamed veggies

•
1 medium baked potato with 1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream (“Medium” means it fits in the cup of your hand.)

•
6 oz. sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Sirloin steak, grilled

•
Tossed salad with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
1 cup fresh raspberries (or other in-season fruit) with 1 cup sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt

•
Mediterranean spread: ½ cup garbanzo beans (pureed and mixed with 1 tablespoon olive oil) and served on cucumber slices

Day 4

•
Accelerate Cycle menu

Day 5

Breakfast

•
½ cup oatmeal or grits, cooked

•
4 egg whites, scrambled

•
1 fresh peach, sliced

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Shrimp salad: cooked shrimp, 3 tablespoons chopped onion, generous bed of lettuce leaves, 1 tomato (large) and 1 tablespoon olive oil

•
1 baked sweet potato, medium

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Pork sirloin chops, broiled or grilled

•
Steamed veggies

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
1 cup blueberries with 6 oz. sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt

•
6 oz. sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt or 1 cup kefir

Day 6

•
Accelerate Cycle menu

Day 7

Breakfast

•
2 eggs, scrambled without oil

•
1 baked potato, diced, seasoned and browned in a small frying pan that has been coated with vegetable cooking spray

•
1 orange or other fresh fruit in season

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Black Bean Chili

•
Large tossed salad with 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with 2 tablespoons vinegar and seasoning

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Extra lean hamburger patty, broiled

•
Sliced fresh tomatoes, drizzled with fat-free salad dressing

•
Green beans or other veggie, steamed

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
Kefir smoothie

•
6 oz. sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt

Day 8

•
Accelerate Cycle menu

Day 9

Breakfast

•
½ cup Breakstone LiveActive cottage cheese

•
1 medium pear, sliced

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Grilled chicken breast

•
½ cup pinto beans

•
½ cup cooked corn

•
1 cup green tea

Dinner

•
Grilled salmon

•
Steamed broccoli

•
Sliced fresh tomato drizzled with 1 tablespoon of olive or flaxseed oil mixed with vinegar and seasonings

•
1 cup green tea

Snacks

•
1 medium apple

•
6 oz. sugar-free fruit-flavored yogurt

Day 10

•
Accelerate Cycle menu

Day 11

Breakfast

•
Kefir smoothie (blended with 1 cup berries)

•
1 cup green tea

Lunch

•
Plenty of broiled hamburger

•
1 medium baked potato

•
½ cup peas

Dinner

•
Plenty of roasted turkey breast

•
Steamed asparagus

•
Large tossed salad with 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with 2 tablespoons vinegar and seasoning

Snacks