Indian and eggetarian dietplan followed by me to replace the highly non-veg 17 day diet

The Desi (and vegetarian except for eggs) dietplan of the 17 days diet

Hi all.

Getting down to business. Weigh yourself (preferably in pounds) before you start! You can weigh in daily or every 2 days if you like.

Remember you NEED to exercise atleast 17 mins every day as per the Dr. Mike. Lets make that a round figure of 20 mins -brisk walking/jogging,etc. 

The diet plan:

This diet was created by a famous doctor- Dr. Mike Moreno. The diet is centered around four 17 day cycles:

Cycle 1: Accelerate- the rapid weight loss portion, which helps remove sugar and fat storage from your system

Cycle 2: Activate- the metabolic restart portion, with alternating days of accelerate and activate day diet plans that keeps the body guessing and you dont reach a plateau.

Cycle 3: Achieve- a phase that involves learning to control portions and introducing new fitness routines

Cycle 4: Arrive- a combination of the first three cycles and learning good habits that last a lifetime.

Dr. Mike’s 17 Day Diet consists of specific food plans for each cycle. In my earlier experience with the diet a few years back I had lost around 7-8 kgs and kept it off till I became pregnant with my little girl.

One important thing --if you are not averse to eating a variety of non veg food items, then do try the actual diet which involves eating a lot of animal based protein like chicken, fish, turkey, etc. You can get a copy of it here 

http://smile.amazon.com/The-17-Day-Diet-Thorndike/dp/1410441490/ref=as_sl_pd_tf_sw?&linkCode=wsw&tag=jasbl089-20

However, even in that case, please do join us so we can try and reach our weight loss goals together. To encourage others, do write in your starting weight and final weight in the comments.

Now, the meal plans that I've come up with are for ethical vegetarians who also eat eggs basically an eggetarian. 

I will also be using some of the substitutes suggested by Dr. Phil. However, in my experience its difficult to stop eating dal at just 1 bowl. 

http://www.drphil.com/shows/page/Meatsubstitutes

For cycle 1, the carb cravings hit me at night so usually I drink up something like kokum sherbet, chaas or soup. Thats why I have usually a beverage recipe for the nighttime meal.

This blog actually lifts a lot of out of the book -do go through if you dont have the book

http://17ddblog.com/food-lists/cycle-1/

After a week of following my suggested diet, you'll get the idea of what you can and cant do for the first 17 days. Be creative and design your own menu -as long as you get your yogurt, fruit, enough protein, avoid carbs, and drink water. 

Cycle 1

Day 1 

Gen goal: to drink 10 glasses or 8 eight oz glasses of water. This is a daily must.

Some other minor things:

1. Eat as much veggies and protein as you want. For us it translates to lots of egg whites as too much egg yolk can get your bad cholesterol up.

2. Two servings of probiotics a day are required -i.e. yogurt 

3. Two fruit servings are required.

Breakfast : 

Start with a glass of hot water with lemon in it when you get up. The book says just this but I add just a teaspoon of honey to it.  this is a daily must. 

Take 2 egg whites and make an omelette by adding lots of chopped vegetables like carrots, spinach-be creative! Use olive oil as up to 2 tablespoons of it daily is allowed in the diet! 

My personal favorite is -1 crimini (or any other)mushroom chopped in to tiny pieces and sautéed in olive oil. To this I add chopped spinach and then pour in the egg whites. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fat free parmesan cheese (this is actually allowed!). I have it with a tablespoon tomato ketchup.

A cup of green tea.

While coffee and regular tea are best avoided to let your body detox, if you just cant resist it like me, then drink a small cup (Indian teacup and not these huge American coffee mugs) of almond milk coffee. The taste takes getting used to but its healthy.

I guess a small cup of regular tea could work but its best to have green tea as recommended in the book. No sugar and No artificial sweeteners except stevia based ones are allowed (if you must. Try and avoid this too if you can, I cant).

Pre-lunch snack: 1 orange.

Lunch :

Take a big bowl of yogurt (दही ), peel and chop an organic apple finely and add to the yogurt. Sprinkle some sunflower, flax and chia seeds on this. I love this and can have it everyday! Trust me -its very filling. You can sub other fruits like strawberries or blueberries (bananas NOT allowed in this phase). 

Evening snack: 

another small bowl of yogurt. A cup of green tea at least an hour after the yogurt.

Dinner :

Legumes (दालें) and even kidney/garbanzo beans aka chickpeas (राजमा /छोले )are not allowed on this cycle.

Soup made of tomatoes -try this http://www.veggiebelly.com/2013/02/quick-healthy-tomato-soup.html

Or from one of my favorite chefs (avoid the corn flour as its not allowed)- http://nishamadhulika.com/hot_and_soft_drinks/mixed-vegetable-soup-recipe.html

Or this soup by substituting chicken broth with vegetable broth - http://www.tipsonhealthyliving.com/diet-and-fitness/17-day-diet-recipe-17-day-slimming-soup

Day 2

You survived Day 1. Come on to day 2 now by first weighing in!

Breakfast :

2 whole eggs scrambled away with onions, tomatoes and all other veggies that you can think of. A cup of green tea.

Pre-lunch snack: 

An apple.

Lunch :

Salad- my DIY home salad is a lot of greens from the Costco Spring mix, topped with sunflower seeds, chia seeds, an egg white omelette, dried cranberries, chopped strawberries, chaat masala and a little lemon. You can make any combination.

If at work, a good option is the Subway Veggie delight salad with an extra egg white and a couple of fat free dressings like Honey Mustard and Sweet Onion. These do have sugar though and are technically not allowed in this phase but a very little bit should be ok.

Chai time :

A cup of green tea. 
A little sugar free yogurt (obviously not with the tea).
Any fruit like strawberries/blueberries/orange/apple/plums/pears/peaches/red grapes/prunes post lunch is ok but it should be before 2 pm. (save the fruit list -these are the only fruits allowed on Cycle 1).

Dinner: 

At least one serving of probiotics a day is a must in this phase. Drink a glass of chaas and eat any vegetable being cooked at home as long as its cooked in less amount of olive oil. 

I liked this recipe of chaas - http://maayeka.blogspot.com/2015/04/chaas-ka-masala-spice-mix-to-make.html

A big big bowl of steamed veggies (I use the Costco frozen mixed veggies after removing corn as its not allowed in this phase) with salt. You can add soya or other sauces in moderation to make it taste better.

Day 3

Breakfast :

Smoothie time : Check which ingredients you have on hand and make a smoothie from this. 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_smoothie_recipes

Mangoes to be avoided for these 17 days though :( 

One egg white omelette with this.

Pre- lunch snack :

Apple or 1 cup of blueberries. A cup of green tea an hour after this.

Lunch :

An egg white omelette with spinach and onion. Use lots of spinach from the Costco organic spinach box. The last time I did the diet around 4 years back, I used to make this in the morning and take to work. While the onions became a little purple, it still tasted ok at lunchtime. 

Evening snack: 

Green tea and yogurt spread over time. 

Dinner: 

Any veggie that you are cooking for your family. You can have any amount of veggies throughout this cycle. Cook with a little quantity of olive oil. Potatoes are NOT allowed so just take them out of your plate. I'm making cauliflower गोभी आलू  रसे वाला .   

http://nishamadhulika.com/en/127-gobhi_masala_curry.html

If you still feel hungry, eat a boiled egg. I poach it in the microwave in a minute's time. Basically take around 3/4 cup of water, pour out the egg on top of it, pierce the egg yolk several times with a knife and then keep in microwave for around 1 minute. Take it out when it looks done and use a sieve (छलनी )to get the egg. 

Day 4

Breakfast :

A cup of yogurt with some blueberries/strawberries or other fruit allowed on this cycle. 
A cup of green tea. 

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits.  Apples are part of the dirty dozen list so its best to have them organic. 

Lunch :

Salad -with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery, spinach, lettuce, etc. American like to drizzle 1 table of olive oil on this. But I prefer to use the olive oil for my evening subzi so I will sprinkle chat masala or some fat free salad dressing like herbed vinegar or balsamic vinegar. 

Evening snack: 

Green tea and yogurt spread over time. 

Dinner: 

1 scrambled egg with 2 scrambled egg whites topped with salsa. A little of the subzi cooked at home. I cooked green beans with aloo and ate just the beans. 

Day 5

Breakfast :

Egg white (with 2 egg whites or up to 4 egg whites) omelette with spinach/onions/mushrooms/carrots and any other combination of veggies that one likes.

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

A bowl of yogurt sweetened with some of the allowed fruits or things like blueberry sauce. 

Evening snack: 

Green tea and sunflower seeds.

Dinner:

A big bowl of carrot peas vegetables. Cooking this without the potatoes 

http://nishamadhulika.com/sabzi/sabzi_sookhi/aloo-gajar-sabji-recipe.html

Kokum is the Indian version of Garcinia cambogia. While not sure about its benefits, I am making this kokum sherbet without the sugar. I am using Truvia (a Stevia leaves based sweetner).

http://maayeka.blogspot.com/2013/05/kokum-sharbat.html

Day 6

Breakfast :

2 hard boiled or poached eggs
A fruit and a cup of green tea.

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

Grilled tofu and Zucchini from this recipe (without the bread bit, obviously). To be had with Cilantro (धनिया) chutney.

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2011/05/22/grilled-tofu-sandwich/ 
 Or chilly tofu from here 
http://holycowvegan.net/2012/07/chilli-tofu.html

A glass of sweet lassi but with Truvia replacing the sugar. Alternatively, chaas or salty lassi.

Evening snack: 

Green tea. A small bowl of sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds. I love the Sprouted sunflower seeds from Go Raw http://www.goraw.com/p/75/sprouted-sunflower-seeds

Dinner: 

A half cup of legumes (दाल). 

Any veggie prepared for dinner (without potatoes and with minimal olive oil). I am making baigan bharta. 

Usually my sweet cravings kick in by this time so I need to have some of this really yum (you'll thank me for pointing you to it -good!) mint lemonade (with Truvia) -this recipe makes 4 glasses so you can halve it if needed -

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2008/05/07/mint-lemonade/

Day 7

Breakfast :

2 or 4 egg whites omelette or try this recipe (skip the cheese or replace with grated parmesan)
http://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/nutrition/eggwhite-omelet-mushrooms-tomato-cheddar
Green Tea.

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

Salad with spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives with seeds of choice. A little bit of fat free dressing of choice like balsamic vinaigrette. 

Evening snack: 

A bowl of yogurt.  If having with fruit, try to have it before 3 pm at least. 

Dinner:

A lot of steamed veggies (from the list of cleansing veggies -refer the blog for the list (
http://17ddblog.com/food-lists/cycle-1/) sprinkled liberally with chat masala.
A small bowl of sambhar (dals or legumes are not allowed on this cycle but a bowl of legumes should be ok. In my experience, on the days I eat dal and I cant resist at just one bowl and end up having at least 3, I do not lose lbs. Same for paneer -just 5 or 6 small pieces should be ok but I usually cannot stop at this and no pound loss the next day).

Day 8

Breakfast :

A whole egg-cooked with vegetables in either an omelette or in a scrambled manner, a fruit and a cup of green tea. 

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

Yogurt with fruit and some seeds thrown in. Try this asaparagus recipe http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2009/03/22/asparagus-with-ginger/

Evening snack: 

A cup of green tea. 

Dinner:

Egg whites fried. A bowl of soup as mentioned in the the diet earlier. Or try this soup which has an egg http://www.foodtourist.in/chinese-egg-drop-soup/  

Day 9 

Breakfast :

Egg whites omelette with vegetables like spinach, mushroom, tomatoes and onions. 

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

Steamed veggies. Leafy salad with non fat dressings -if you have dijon mustard, try this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/yogurt-salad-dressing/detail.aspx

Evening snack: 

A cup of green tea. 

Dinner: 

Egg curry -I make it with potato but do not eat the potatoes. Try this recipe without the cream http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-shahi-egg-curry-255633

Remember -no more than 2 egg yolks a day to prevent high cholesterol. 

A glass of lassi with greek yogurt and Stevia. 

Day 10

Breakfast :

Smoothie. You could try 1 of the smoothies here but remember that pineapple is not allowed on Cycle 1. http://17ddblog.com/smoothie-recipes-17-day-diet/
A cup of green tea. 

Pre- lunch snack :

Any of the allowed fruits. 

Lunch :

Eating kale and tofu salad for lunch (use a little honey instead of sugar)today. http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2013/02/16/kale-and-tofu-salad/ 

Evening snack: 

A cup of green tea. Fruit. 

Dinner:

Any green veggie being cooked for the family. A bowl of dal/sambhar.