
Once upon a time, during the archaic Paleolithic Era of human history the Neanderthal wandered the Earth. This prehistoric period was distinguished by small herds of people, subsisting on edible plants and scavenging wild beasts. Unfortunately for us, the modern day inhabitants of the Earth, our metabolic makeup is greatly influenced by our antecedent – the Neanderthal.
During the childhood of the human experience, food was never a guarantee. The body (which is paranoid) would store every precious calorie for future use; hence the reason starvation is the body’s default.
When the body experiences prolonged low energy intake, it enters into a successive series of metabolic modes. Starvation is a defensive mechanism of recognizing that food is scarce. Resources are re-allocated in preparation for what could be an extended period without caloric intake. Sustenance high in sodium is desired during starvation for its water retention properties and its sugary pleasure is sought after for the quick energy deliverance.
Before you punish and bully yourself, recognize that food cravings have a philological base: you can thank the cave man. It’s no surprise that the early cave people were very active since domestication of livestock came after the Neolithic Revolution. It’s very likely human genes evolved with the expectation of requiring a certain threshold of physical activity. Lucky us; we inherit a paranoid starvation metabolic defense yet gain the need to have a substantial physical exertion: serendipity at its finest.
Fast forward about 2.6 billion years. What do you see? According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, more than 70 percent of the total daily energy consumed by all people in the United States comes from foods such as dairy products, cereals, refined sugars, refined vegetable oils and alcohol. That sounds lovely. The result is a country with one of the highest obesity rates, a high diagnosis of cardiac illnesses, and impressively profitable market of fast food. Yet again we find ourselves in an oxymoron; we like to eat oil and fat, yet we want to look lean and toned. So what do we the ingenious human do? We diet, of course.
Many people enjoy following a “diet” at first. It is energizing to renew a commitment to clean eating and the prospect of losing weight; it’s enticing. The new “It Diet” is keeping pace with the desire for a quick fix.
The aim: Lose weight in a controlled and healthy manner, in a timely fashion.
The claim: Lose 10 to 12 pounds within the first 17-day cycle. Hence the name 17-Day Diet.
The Philosophy: The regimen is purposely built to help you shed pounds quickly and permanently. The plan is centered on, “caloric shifting” to avoid boredom and keeps your metabolism guessing. The diet is presented in four easy-to-follow steps that won’t starve you and provides a unique exercise and nutrition plan that is easy to adopt.
Cycle One “Accelerate”: strips your diet down to approximately 1,200 calories per day. The creator Michael Moreno, MD promises, “Weight loss of 10-12 pounds” of which most is water weight.
Cycle Two “Activate”: The food plan is alternated with a slightly higher caloric intake. This is where the concept of calorie confusion comes in to speed up the metabolism and yields five to six pounds lost.
Cycle Three “Achieve”: Moreno claims this is the stabilization phase in which healthier foods are introduced and weight loss slows to two to three pounds.
Cycle Four “Arrive”: Indicative to the name, this phase is where you arrive at your desired weight. In this phase the individual follows one of the meal plans from weeks prior and indulges in controlled weekend splurges.
During Cycle 1, individuals will intake slightly less than the FDA suggestion of 20 to 35 percent daily calories from fat. The diet is also lacking in the acceptable range of carbohydrate intake. But these are mere details.
This diet itself does have positive attributes such as clean eating and portion control. The concept of caloric shift, though, holds no scientific grounding that it will increase metabolic rate. The food plan also calls for no fruit after two p.m. which is slightly bizarre.
Moreno claims,“it is harder to burn off these calories and they might get stored as fat.”
Nutritional experts concur it’s not so much the timing of caloric intake but rather the total number of calories consumed and in counterpart burned.
There are some red flags for those who are looking to complete or are currently participating in the 17-day diet or similar suits. Like any diet, the focus, cutting calories, eating healthy foods, limiting sugars, alcohol, and refined starches, and getting regular exercise are the keys to success.
Beware: 17-day diet calls for subthreshold intake, 1,200 calories each day during the first cycle, which could be dangerously low, especially for an active person. The body may go into starvation mode if its caloric minimum is not met. For most individuals this is anywhere from 1,800 to 2,000 calories. However, there are splurge weekends during Cycle 4. But be mindful; a weekend of havoc could underscore your progress.
In truth, most diets don’t work well. And why the hell not? If you put in the efforts, why does that notorious cellulite always find its way back to the thighs? Why does the stomach always feel the need to fortify a protective layer of fat around the abdomen? Well, you can “diet” your way to long-term sustainable health. Losing weight and the track to fitness is very gradual. Putting years of toxins and fat into your body is going to take a few months, at least, to rectify. A liberalized meal plan that reintroduces healthy foods in proper portions is a great starting block. If you start now, you will be ready for the itsy bitsy tinnie weenie yellow polka dot bikini.