The 17 Day Diet (29 page)

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1 medium apple or pear

Dinner

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Grilled steak

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Mixed green salad with parsley, chopped cucumbers and grape tomatoes, drizzled with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons seasoned or balsamic vinegar

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1 5 oz. glass of red wine

Snacks

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3 Brazil nuts

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1 oz. dark chocolate

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6 oz. fat-free plain or sugar-free yogurt

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½ medium cantaloupe or 1 cup strawberries

Day 7

Breakfast

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2 scrambled egg whites

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½ cup oatmeal

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1 cup berries

Lunch

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Lean hamburger patty

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1 cup brown rice

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Stewed tomatoes

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6 oz. fat-free plain or sugar-free yogurt

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1 medium apple or pear

Dinner

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Roasted turkey breast

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Steamed asparagus

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Cucumber and tomato salad: Slice half a cucumber, combine with a cup of grape tomatoes and drizzle with 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil and 2 tablespoons seasoned vinegar

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1 5 oz. glass of red wine

Snacks

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3 Brazil nuts

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1 oz. dark chocolate

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6 oz. fat-free plain or sugar-free yogurt

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1 medium banana

Supplement Savvy for PMS

The pills I do like to throw at medical problems are nutritional supplements. There are many supplements you can take on a regular basis that can help. Consult your doctor about considering the following:

Multivitamin/mineral.
Take one in the morning with food. (If taking children’s vitamins, take 2 tablets.) Taking a multi with food optimizes the absorption of the vitamins and minerals, especially B6, magnesium and potassium—nutrients that help ease premenstrual distress. Vitamin B6 is important for helping the liver regulate excess estrogen levels and has been shown to help prevent menstrual cramps.

Vitamin D.
Sufficient daily intake of vitamin D (400 IU) might also alleviate PMS symptoms, particularly irritability.

Calcium carbonate.
At least 1,200 milligrams. The average woman’s diet provides only 600 to 800 milligrams of calcium a day, not the 1,000 to 1,200 mg necessary to ease PMS symptoms. One study found that women who took this dose had a 48-percent drop in the severity of their PMS symptoms. Calcium appears to enhance the brain’s processing of serotonin.

Magnesium.
400 milligrams twice daily. This mineral has a calming effect and counteracts irritability. Whole grains and lentils are loaded with it, but you can also get it in a supplement. Magnesium may improve mood, and one study has shown it can provide significant relief to women suffering from menstrual headaches. Magnesium citrate, aspartate and glycinate are better absorbed than the oxide form.

Fish oil.
3 grams daily. Up your dosage to 5 grams daily when PMS symptoms begin.

Evening primrose oil.
1,000 milligrams daily. It relieves one of the most common PMS symptoms: breast tenderness.

Lean 17: 17 Bloat Busters

It’s Saturday night, and you slip on your sexiest pair of jeans. One problem: Your stomach is so swollen that those jeans barely zip. Sound familiar? Bloating is a common but annoying PMS symptom with many causes. Fluid retention in women is frequently due to the hormonal changes that happen right before your period arrives. There are brain hormones and brain chemicals that affect the gut; estrogen and progesterone are actually brain chemicals. They affect the brain and nervous system, and have an effect on the motility, or movement, of the gut. Luckily, there are easy ways to banish bloat, about 17 in all. Try one of these tricks to keep your denim from fitting a little too close for comfort.

1.
Stop eating high-sodium stuff like canned soups, fast food and cured meats. Sodium causes your body to hang on to water.

2.
Drink more water. Believe it or not, extra fluids will help to flush out the sodium—and the bloat.

3.
Avoid simple carbs (think white bread, white pasta, chips, etc.). Carbs get broken down into glucose and stored in the body as glycogen for energy. In order to be stored, a water molecule must attach to that glucose. The more stored carbs you have, the heavier you’ll feel.

4.
Opt for high-fiber carbs like vegetables and fruit. The longer food sits in your intestines, the more likely you are to retain water.

5.
Exercise. It sweats out excess water and speeds up digestion. When you exercise, you stimulate the muscles that help move food and water through your system faster. Fight constipation by walking for at least 17 minutes each day to keep food moving through your digestive tract. Working up a sweat also releases fluids. In addition, research shows that moderate exercise soothes cramps, headaches and lower-back pain, improves sleep and reduces fatigue. And exercise boosts endorphin levels, which helps improve your mood.

6.
Take calcium and magnesium, as I mentioned above. Both compete with sodium for absorption into your body, so if you take in adequate amounts of either, your body is forced to flush out the salt that wasn’t effectively absorbed.

7.
Be wary of diuretics. When you stop taking a diuretic, your body retains more water, making you bloat for one to two weeks afterward. This can lead to a physical dependency so that your body needs the drug to rid itself of the excess fluid instead of doing it naturally.

8.
Shun sodas. I just cannot overstate this recommendation. The caffeine in sodas dehydrates you, and phosphorous, a common soda additive, can inflame your intestinal wall, making you feel even puffier.

9.
Discuss the appropriateness of birth control pills with your physician. Birth control pills may stabilize your level of progesterone, a bloat-inducing hormone.

10.
Boost your B6. Many PMS symptoms, including water retention, are triggered by a defect in your body’s metabolism of vitamin B6. Take 50 to 100 milligrams of B6 daily to see if it helps.

11.
Stop the junk. Reduce your intake of foods that are difficult to digest, such as sugary, fatty and fried fare, which can sit in your gut, causing constipation and distention.

12.
Enjoy water-flushing vegetables.

13.
To beat bloat, try a natural diuretic drink, such as a cup of chamomile or dandelion tea or a glass of noncarbonated water with lemon or lime.

14.
The artificial sweetener sorbitol, found in some sugarless gums and candies, can contribute to bloating, as can the consumption of alcohol, caffeine and even nicotine.

15.
Also avoid dairy products that contain lactose—milk sugar—if they seem to worsen your bloating symptoms.

16.
Up your protein the week before and during your period. Protein has a diuretic effect on the body.

17.
Take supplemental probiotics.

If the changes I’m recommending seem too daunting, try making just a few at a time. My patients tell me that eating more regularly, eliminating refined sugar and caffeine, plus exercising more, make the biggest difference. Or target your most bothersome symptoms: If your breasts really bother you, for example, try taking evening primrose oil or cutting out salt to see if you get relief.

To assess whether the PMS Exception Diet is working for you, you really have to try it for at least 6 Cycles. Keep notes. As your symptoms decrease, you’ll be motivated to stick to your new plan. If a symptom persists, or you keep gaining weight, consult your doctor. Keep in mind your ultimate objectives: relief of PMS symptoms and ongoing weight loss.

Review:

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Several minor adjustments in the 17 Day Diet can help you during your period. Include more omega-3 rich foods such as salmon, increase your daily intake of natural carbs to 3 servings a day, eat more water-flushing vegetables and enjoy higher-sugar fruits.

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Probiotics and calcium-rich foods help with digestion problems and mood swings.

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Eat a bit of chocolate during your period. It helps with stress relief.

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Eat multiple meals (5 to 6 daily) to maintain a steady blood-sugar level.

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Avoid soda, chewing gum, p.m. carbs, too much salt or caffeine, refined sugar and eggs.

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Several supplements can help: a multivitamin/mineral; vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, fish oil and evening primrose oil.

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Employ bloat-busting strategies, including drinking lots of water throughout the day.

THE 17 MINUTE WORKOUT: Sunlight Soothes PMS Symptoms

O
utdoor aerobic activity is best if you’re trying to alleviate PMS discomfort. Sunlight has been shown to reverse depression, carbohydrate cravings, fatigue and irritability in women with PMS. Spending too much time indoors under artificial light can make PMS symptoms worse.

So try some brisk walking, playing tennis, running, hiking or biking. These are all activities that contribute to a heightened sense of relaxation and well-being. Aerobic exercise, in general, elevates the production of endorphins—brain chemicals that have a soothing effect. It also helps keep your heart and bones healthy and relieves muscle tension.

In addition to regular aerobic activity, the next best exercise prescription for PMS includes yoga to stretch muscles, align the spine and increase mental focus. But don’t overdo exercise, since excessive exercise causes irregular periods or the cessation of menstruation and unhealthful conditions that can lead to the premature loss of bone.

PART III
Make It Stick

9
Dining Out on the 17 Day Diet

N
o one stays
home anymore. Where are we? We’re sitting in restaurants. On average, Americans dine out four times a week, according to the National Restaurant Association. As we eat out more and more, the percentage of obese people increases, while their wallets decrease. We spend $1 billion a day dining out. The Census Bureau’s population clock has the U.S. at 310,751,194 people, so if we spend some $365 billion a year eating out, that averages out to $1,117 per person per year, a large portion of which could be savings if you ate at home instead.