Who is the boss of your life?
YOU ARE!
I’m pretty sure it’s OK to customize the 17 Day Diet to fit your body type and your lifestyle.
There’s nobody holding the 17 Day Diet book over your head and making you commit to drinking the hot lemon water every morning when you’d rather sip your tea or coffee.
We all have our own lives, our own likes and dislikes and quirky habits.
As long as you’re committing yourself to a lifetime of treating your body, mind and soul as best as you can, then I think you’ll get an “A” for effort.
So, you now have permission to customize the 17 Day Diet to fit within your lifestyle and your belief system.
Do I Have to Drink the Hot Lemon Water?
I hear from many blog readers that the hot lemon water doesn’t agree with their tummy in the morning.
Guess what? You are allowed to skip the hot lemon water.
Drink more water throughout the day to help flush those toxins and improve your digestion.
Why cause unnecessary stomach pain because some book tells you to drink the hot lemon water? It’s not worth it.
Too Many Choices in Cycle 2 May Cause Me To Fall Off the Wagon
I get it! I really do! When I was on Cycle 2, I was really excited to introduce beef and rice into my diet every other day.
However, Cycle 2 also caused me to cheat more on the diet than I should have because having too many choices gave me too many choices!
So, why not limit your Cycle 2 day to every two days rather than every other day? If it means you’ll stick to your diet, I give the “GO AHEAD” to keep you on track.
Chia and Flax Seeds
Hey, these two healthy weight-loss wonders are not on any of the 17 Day Diet Food Lists. However, seeds are on the Cycle 3 food list and are listed as a friendly fat.
I personally enjoy ground flax seed in my yogurt — it helps keep me full and satiated and keeps me away from temptation.
I’ve had many blog readers ask if they can use chia seeds on Cycle 1 because of their wonderful health benefits. Guess how I answered their question?
“It’s not on this approved food list by name, but seeds are allowed in Cycle 3. I personally think they should be allowed on any cycle. If you see that your weight is not coming off, then stop eating them and see if that helps”.
I never had one person come back and say that eating chia or flax seeds prevented them from losing weight.
Transitional Day Fast
Here’s a prime example of how you have the ultimate say in how you live your life on the 17 Day Diet.
Dr. Moreno introduced a few new “breakthroughs” in the diet that resulted in the new 17 Day Diet Breakthrough Edition published in December 2013.
As part of the newly updated diet, you are now allowed to have a Transitional Day Fast in between each cycle or after you have had a few bad days and need to get back on track.
Now, this transitional day fast is OPTIONAL! In the book the doctor explains that only YOU know how your body will react to a fast.
What Does This All Mean?
Here’s the deal. Ultimately, you are in charge of yourself. Nobody else can make a decision for you. You are responsible for what you put into your mouth.
If you feel you need to customize the 17 Day Diet to fit your lifestyle, then by all means, do it!
I’ve been loving the 17 Day Diet since 2011. I love sharing my favorite healthy recipes and meal plans to keep you motivated and on the right path to success!
When I’m not hanging out here, I enjoy quick trips to the Oregon Coast, designing my jewelry line and watching Outlander!
Are you new to the 17 Day Diet? Check out my latest book, Fast Track Your Weight Loss With The 17 Day Diet on Amazon! (aff link)
I a really enjoying your C1 recipes that you have send me.So far I have lost 1.2kg. Is it possible for you to can send me another recipes for C1 to finish up my 17th day?
Cynthia, congrats on your weight loss. There are many recipes on the blog that you can choose from to create your last menu: https://17ddblog.com/category/17-day-diet-recipes/
What kind of green tea should I take?Should it be a green herbal tea or any kind of green tea?
Cynthia, I think the important thing is to make sure it is real green tea.
Is it OK to eat white tuna instead of light tuna in Cycle 1?
Beth, C1 really calls for lean proteins. From what I’ve read, the white tuna is a bit higher in fat than light tuna. In the end, I think it’s your choice. I personally prefer Albacore Tuna over the other stuff (even though the 17DD book says to avoid Albacore due to metal). Try the white and if you don’t lose weight, omit it to see if that is the reason why. Good luck!
Is it okay to eat a lot of fish & tuna instead of chicken?
Cynthia, you can eat the protein of your choice.
I really like eating raw vegetables instead of steamed vegetables.Sometimes I eat them for lunch & supper with my protein.Will this cause any problem with my 17 Day diet in C1?
Cynthia, it shouldn’t. Just make sure you drink plenty of water!
Should I drink my green tea immediately after a meal or can I drink it after 10-20 minutes after having a meal?
Cynthia, you can drink your green tea any time you wish!
What difference does it make between eating your boiled/steamed vegetables most of the days at lunch & my raw vegetable salad with protein at dinner?
I don’t think it make much difference!
Can I have at least 1 cup of coffee with low fat milk & sweetener in the morning?
Cynthia, there is A LOT of information on this blog. There is also a search bar in the upper right hand corner on the desktop site that you can use to find a lot of your answers. Check out this post for more info on coffee: https://17ddblog.com/is-coffee-allowed-on-the-17-day-diet/
We like game meats ie: deer,
rabbit etc. can we eat them on the 17 day diet cycle 2 We have been on the lifestyle for 10 days so far hubby loss 25 lbs. and I have loss 23 it is very easy for us fulfilling and I know we will get through the holidays using the fasting day this is not a diet per sac it is a lifestyle I have Hashimoto thyroid and this is the only diet that I have lost weight with full of energy I would recommend to friends
Hi Phyllis – congrats to you and your hubby on the weight loss! Unfortunately, game meat is not on the diet. However, I truly believe you can customize to your liking. Why not try incorporating game meat into a few of your days and see what happens!
I’m on day 16 of the diet but have restarted a bunch of times. Overall it’s been a month and I’ve lost 25 pounds. I’ve felt great up until the last week when I’ve had stomach pains. I haven’t been doing anything different than usual and in wondering if it has to do with the lemon water as you suggested in this article. If love to hear your thoughts!
Ashlee, the first thought is — are you constipated and if not, are your bowel movements regular? If those two items aren’t a problem, look at both your lemon water and green tea. Stop using one of them and see if this helps.
I am on day 20 of my diet and I have lost about 16 pounds, so things are going great. I’m on cycle to now, and I have a question regarding oatmeal – It says 1/2 cup is allowed, but is that 1/2 cup uncooked or cooked? I’ve been using 1/2 cup uncooked because it’s easy to measure of course, but I’m wondering if that’s too much. Thank you, I love your blog! It’s very helpful.
Hi Cecy, oatmeal is measured after it’s cooked. Here’s a complete list of all serving sizes for future reference: https://17ddblog.com/food-serving-sizes-for-the-17-day-diet/
Thank you, Torey!