What Does It Consist Of?
The diet consists of three cycles, plus one maintenance cycle, and each has a duration of 17 days.
- Accelerate: This first cycle strips your calorie diet to about 1200 calories a day. This will undoubtedly make you lose 10-15 pounds in water weight mostly. It is considered to be the “cleansing” cycle, where all the unhealthy nutrition in your system is removed, and your fat metabolism is increased.
- Activate: Your diet is slightly altered so that your nutrition intake is a bit higher. The idea is to keep your metabolism guessing, because while it guesses, it will keep burning fat to give you several more pounds in weight loss.
- Achieve: This is also known as the stabilization period, where you start slowing down your rate of weight loss by eating food fit for good health.
- Arrive: As clearly stated by the name of the cycle, this is the time where you arrive at your desired weight. A simple following of a meal plan from one of the previous cycles will allow you to maintain your weight, adding in some controlled food splurges on weekends.
Some tips for helping you lose weight faster include exercising every day. The best exercise in the first two cycles would be walking so that you won’t tire yourself out quickly. The exercise period can be increased during the later cycles, when you have a better calorie intake.
Nutrition is a large factor in this diet, so clean food is a must. Dieters must also avoid sugar and any processed foods. The book gives many suggestions for alternatives, however, making it useful for even vegetarians. The 17 day diet is not about depriving you, it’s about giving you options.