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I HAD to lose the weight...it was an important occasion and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was bound and determined; to lose the weight I had gained, to fit into that custom made dress (inserting rolling eyes). ;-)

vettin, I know you've not asked for the information I'm posting but if anyone else sees this post, and is thinking of this "diet", perhaps they can glean from it. I'll happily answer any questions that you or anyone else has.

I personally don’t believe in diets...they seem to set you up for failure IMO. I started this diet by Dr. Mike Moreno at the beginning of December of last year. I had gained about 15 lbs., in 8 months, in fat and it seemed to be crushing my lungs! LOL! I was so uncomfortable. I knew I had to do something for my health. I kinda felt and looked like a piece of sausage.

My SIL recommended "The 17 Day Diet" because it's all about healthy eating and she knew I liked to eat healthy. I stuck with it religiously for the 3 cycles. I lost 24 or 26 lbs. really don't remember the exact numbers. Recently I gained back 4-5 lbs. so I did the first cycle again and lost it all and then some. My fat melted away and I could breath! I'm beginning to sound like an infomercial!

As far as preparing food ahead of time I'm not sure why you would need to do that except if you are really crushed for time. Most of the recipes in the book are quick and easy to prepare.

It's all about fresh cleansing vegetables, hot green tea (ick),fresh food, probiotics and low fat/low sugar/low cholest.

I'm thinking you could take a lot of different kinds of fresh vegetables and broil/boil them up for eating during the week. The only thing I would do ahead of time would be to prepare turkey burgers or season your chicken, turkey, fish and then bake/grill when you get home. Tuna steak takes 7 minutes on the grill. When I am short on time I grill a tuna steak, boil and mash some cauliflower as a side dish and grill some asparagus. It takes me 20 minutes to do that meal. You can have 2 egg yolks a week. I'm thinking you could do that ahead of time and enjoy with some Breakstone LiveActive cottage cheese and a piece of fruit. Dr. Moreno's recipe for Chicken-Vegetable soup (Activate Cycle) is great! I always add more cabbage and seasoning to his recipe. Double up the recipe and freeze for quick meals. Fresh berries in plain low fat/sugar free greek yogurt will become a sinful treat. Sometimes I would add a tablespoon of "Casa Giulia" marmalade, jelly or jam to the yogurt. YUM! This is my favorite brand of purchased jelly. The Sour Cherry jelly is to die for in yogurt. Balsamic vinegar will become your best friend. I use it on so many things as it lends a flavoring that beats butter. NOT!!!! ;-)

Drink lots of water and I love to drink the hot lemon water every morning that he recommends. It really does help. I thought it was a crazy thing to drink hot water with lemon but hey it worked for me.

I'm not sure I could prepare meals ahead of time for this way of eating. It may help if you wash all vegetables, season meats, chicken, fish or turkey ahead of time and prepare your sides that evening. Make enough to bring to work for lunch the next day. Good luck vettin!

Here's a great low fat spinach dip. I also make the regular recipe and sub half tofu for the mayo and sour cream, then just add a dab of lowfat mayo and lowfat sour cream for flavor.

Lowfat spinach artichoke dip

I can of white beans--butter beans go well, as do cannelini.
1/2 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, or about 1-2 cups from a bag, which is how we buy it. Could use 5 oz. fresh, just steam and dice.
1 jar of marinated artichokes, chopped.
1/2 large red pepper diced or one canned roasted red pepper diced.
3 chopped scallions or 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
couple cloves garlic to taste, or the equivalent garlic powder
1 tsp. italian seasoning and/or some fresh basil
dash of lemon juice
couple TBLSP parmesean cheese and a dab of neufatchel if you can eat either of those. Go easy, since this is where the fat comes in.
Salt and pepper to taste. Not needed if you use the parmesean and canned beans.

Combine spinach and beans in the food processor. Spoon out of the processor and add the other ingredients. This should meld for at least 30 min. before eating.

Yesterday I made the easiest chili I have ever made in my life, and it was great.

Throw it in the Crockpot Chili

Ingredients to throw in:
1 chopped onion (red or white)
1 can beans of choice--black or kidney are my favorites
1 cup Morningstar Farms fake meat crumbles, (or 1/2 lb. crumbled cooked lowfat meat of choice)
1 cup frozen corn
1 diced zuchinni
1/2 diced green pepper
1 can Hunts diced tomatoes with spicy red pepper. I had never had these before, they were GREAT. You could use the fire roasted diced tomatoes, or the ones that come with jalepenos. If you can't get any of these, improvise with regular diced tomatoes and canned peppers.
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce plus some water for rinsing out the can
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. commercial chili powder
1/2 tsp. ancho chili pepper
1/2 tsp. hot or mild paprika or a mix
Adjust hotness to your taste with cayenne. This version was hot enough for us as is.
Throw all this in the crockpot and simmer for about 2 hours on high and 1-2 hours on low. Lowfat and tasty! I served it with baked tortilla chips and a dab of guac which I make by mixing avocado and salsa.

It sounds interesting. SWMBO and I might try it.

This comes from a blog called A Farm Girl's Dabbles. Quinoa & Black Rice Salad with Cumin & Avocado
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients

1/2 c. short-grain black rice (or substitute another color of short-grain rice)
1 c. red quinoa, rinsed well (or substitue another color of quinoa)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. cumin seeds (I just used ground cumin, 1 heaping tsp.)
3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 T. 1" pieces chives
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced into wedges
1 lemon, sliced into wedges
Preparation

Farm Girl's Note: black rice and red quinoa are available at better supermarkets and at natural foods and specialty foods stores. I found mine at Whole Foods.

Bring rice and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, combine the quinoa, bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the quinoa and let it sit in the hot saucepan, covered, for 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Fluff quinoa with a fork.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add this to quinoa. Then add the rice to the quinoa mixture and stir well. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, fresh lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lpink's notes: This needs to be kicked up a notch. More salt, more dressing, more seasonings, more veggies. I added chopped grape tomatoes and green pepper. (That's why it probably needed more salt, lol!) Could add celery and cuke too, and some nonfat feta.

Serve salad with avocado and lemon wedges.

Source

Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit magazine, November 2011

I like eating this kind of food so I don't consider it a diet. I also think that the combo of foods at the cycle time metabolizes your bodies system. Reading the material has helped me to be mindful and present in my food choices. The hot glass of lemonwater every a.m. is an example of information you may not find searching the internet.

For me it's been worth it as a reference over the last 5 months. Once you "do" the 3 cycles you can adapt the books recipes to your liking. Or as some have said in this post, low-fat recipes are fine once you do the 3 cycles. Totally doable.