June 10th...confessions of a 17 Day Dieter!

Ok, tomorrow will be one week into the 17 Day Diet. Here's how it went...I had mild headaches the first 2 days in, I'm pretty sure is was the sugar withdrawal! Other than that, I have to say I feel great.  No bloating or upset stomach and I feel leaner.  Some of the issue's I had...Friday I was unorganized with my snacks and meals.  I got caught up doing errands and before I new it, fours hours had passed. With the exception of a coffee, I tried some Caramel Stevia in it, YUK! no thanks. The Stevia left a bad after taste. The result was, I totally crashed, even after I ate a healthy meal, I couldn't get the "feeling" of being full, even though I was.  My sugar level was way out of whack and my stomach and brain were not communicating.  I don't blame my stomach for not listening to my brain, my stomach was like, WTF are you doing, first no coffee creamer, then no chocolate, make your mind up lady! By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around I could feel my energy levels dropping bit, I noticed this during the week as well.  It does say in the book to decrease your activity level because of the reduced calories.  Yesterday and today I decide to add 1/2 cup of potatoes to my diet.  For the amount of activity I do I need more carbs.  For myself, I have to have the energy to work out, this is what I do for a living, therefore I have to tweak the diet to make it work for me.  As well I have dipped into the peanut butter and chocolate chips!...several times, arrr!! I have bought chocolate tea and it has seemed to curve the cravings...a bit.  I find with this diet, if you give into a little sweet, it's the end of you because you can never get enough, the sweet craving will never get satisfied, it doesn't go away...

until you go do a bunch of Burpees or go run up a hill, seriously!  

Tomorrow's a new day, get on with it.  If you want the results this book promises, I believe you will get them as long as follow it.  The book boasts, with each 17 day cycle, your changing your calorie count and the foods you eat.  Using variation, you prevent your body from adapting.  This body confusion, keeps your metabolism guessing the same way we always mix up our work outs.  This body/muscle confusion is what burns fat and calories.  This way the scale is less likely to get stuck!   
Some of you are starting the 17 Day Diet tomorrow, the purpose of the first cycle is to improve your digestive health and clear sugar from your blood to boost fat-burning and discourage fat storage.  

Here's what is going to happen to your body in the first week...


After 15 minutes: After the first morning of eating a healthy breakfast , your stomach’s satiety signals have registered in your brain, and you feel full. The body’s internal chemistry is at its most active first thing in the morning, so your breakfast is then used to the maximum. If you eliminated processed foods (white bread, sugary cereals) for whole grains and lean proteins like egg whites, along with fresh fruit, you should feel energetic and mentally alert after just one meal. 
After 3 hours: Your artery linings are able to expand sufficiently to increase blood flow to the body’s tissues and organs.
After 6 hours: The HDL (happy cholesterol) in your blood perks up and starts scouring LDL (lousy cholesterol) from the blood. You can think of LDLs as delivery trucks, depositing cholesterol in bloodvessels, and HDLs as garbage trucks, taking them back to the liver where they’re broken down. 
After 12 hours: Your body finally has an opportunity to burn the fat it has stored for energy because you’ve eliminated sugar. When you’re eating a lot of sugar, your body is so busy processing the sugar that it doesn’t have time to do its other job, which is to help the body burn fat. So guess what? The fat ends up hanging around. 
After 16 hours: You get a restful night’s sleep. 
After 24 hours: You’re 1 to 2 pounds lighter, because your body has begun to flush excess water and toxins from your system. 
After 3 days: Once your body senses it’s losing weight, its blood-related numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar) start traveling in a healthy direction. 
After 1 week: Your cholesterol levels can drop significantly. Blood levels of important disease-fighting antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E are higher. Your bowels are in better working order, and you should be at least 5 pounds lighter.
NOTE TO SELF...PACK SNACKS FOR AFTER YOUR WORK OUT!