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The 17 Day Diet is three phases long, each consisting of seventeen days. It is not one diet that only lasts for seventeen days.

There is also a fourth phase to the 17 Day Diet, but that is a long-term maintenance phase and more of a lifestyle change than a diet plan.  The goal of breaking up the diet into three different seventeen day phases is to avoid the dreaded plateaus that are common with other diet plans.

How does it Work?

The first phase of the 17 Day Diet is called “Accelerate.”   This phase consists of dramatically reducing your daily diet to the bare essentials and approximately 1,200 calories per day.  During this phase you can expect to lose 10 – 15 pounds, most of which will be water weight.  This phase will cleanse, hydrate, remove unhealthy carbs, improve bad eating habits, and stimulate your metabolism.

The second phase of the 17 Day Diet is called “Activate.”  During this phase you will introduce higher-calorie meals into your diet.  Alternating between low calorie and high calorie meals will keep your body’s metabolism guessing and help prevent boredom.  During the “Activate” phase you can expect to lose another 5 – 6 pounds.

The third phase, known as “Achieve,” is where you will start to stabilize your diet and prepare for a continual rate of weight loss.  Evening out your diet between a low calorie and high calorie diet will help your body get over the shock it went through during the previous two phases and get back on track to normalcy.  Dieters can expect to lose 2 – 3 pounds during the “Achieve” phase.

The fourth and final phase of the 17 Day Diet is called “Arrive.”  During this phase you are supposed to arrive at your desired weight and take the proper measures to ensure you maintain that weight moving forward.  The meals during this phase can be the same from one of the previous phases along with a few splurges on the weekends to prevent boredom with your diet.

Along with changes to your daily meals, the 17 Day Diet requires a bit of physical exercise as well.  During the first two phases you will need to exercise at least seventeen minutes per day.  It is recommended that you start with a light exercise such as walking because of the low calorie intake.  In the later phases, you will need to increase the amount of your exercise to 150 – 300 minutes per week.  This additional exercise will help promote additional weight loss and allow you to maintain your goal weight.

What can I Eat?

One of the best parts of the 17 Day Diet is the freedom you have when it comes to your menu.  This diet allows a great deal of variety, which keeps dieters happy and reduces the chance of boredom with the food which is why many people quit a diet.

A typical day during phase one will consist of unlimited lean protein, unlimited non-starchy vegetables, 2 low-sugar fruits, 2 low-fat yogurts, green tea, and 64 ounces of water.  During phase two, you can eat the same types of food but you will limit the fat intake to one serving while increasing the healthy carbs to two servings.  This will bring your daily calorie intake up to 1,500.

It is during phases three and four that dieters really start to see an improvement in their food choices.  Phase three allows for more healthy food choices to promote good lifetime eating habits.  Phase three food options are pretty similar to phase two except protein is restricted to portion sizes equal to the size of a sponge.  Dieters are allowed to add one alcoholic drink to their diet as well as a 100 calorie snack, greatly improving the variety of their daily meals.

Phase four assumes you have lost all of the weight you were looking to lose and gives you even more freedom when it comes to your diet.  During this phase you are encouraged to follow the daily plans from all of the first three phases to maintain your current weight and lead a healthy lifestyle.

If you are one of those people who are looking to lose weight but do not feel like tracking calories or fat grams, the Blood Type Diet may be right for you.  However, if more than one person in your household is looking to go on this diet and does not share your blood type, it may be difficult to stay within the constrictions of the diet for both of you to see any positive results.

How to Do It

As you would expect, the Blood Type Diet you will follow depends solely on your blood type.  If you are blood type O, D’Adamo suggests that your metabolism will benefit from lean meats, poultry, and fish.  You are restricted from eating grains, breads, and legumes.  Also, you should get plenty of exercise in order to see the best results.

If you are blood type A, which also stands for “Agrarian” in this diet, your plan will be more of a vegetarian diet.  D’Adamo believes people with type A blood inherited their metabolism from “more settled and less warlike ancestors.”  This diet plan contains lots of soy proteins, grains, and organic vegetables.  Gentle exercise is also encouraged during the Type A diet plan to promote further weight loss.

Dieters with type B blood have a more nomadic digestive system and can eat low-fat dairy, meat, and produce during their meals.  However, those with type B blood should avoid wheat, corn and lentils.  Moderate exercise is recommended for this diet group.

Finally, those with type AB blood have a more sensitive digestive track and should avoid chicken, beef and pork, but are encouraged to enjoy seafood, tofu, dairy, and most produce.  An exercise regimen that includes calming exercise will best suit those with type AB blood when following the Blood Type Diet.

Does it Really Work?

While the Blood Type Diet is lacking in scientific evidence proving that certain blood types benefit from eating specific types of food, there are some good diet recommendations included with this diet plan.  Reducing your daily calorie intake while simultaneously increasing the amount of exercise you get will help promote weight loss regardless of your blood type.

Many Different Types of Diet Plans

There are many different types of diet plans around these days including short term and long term diets.  Short term diet plans such as the 3 Day Diet, Raw Food Diet and 17 Day Diet focus on losing weight immediately.  These diet plans are designed for people looking to see results as soon as possible and not interested in changing their lifestyle.  Oftentimes, people who follow these diet plans will gain the weight they lose right back because they do not make the necessary changes to their lifestyle that promotes healthy living.  They will shock their system with a reduced amount of calories and increased exercise to drop weight quickly.

Long term diet plans such as the Jenny Craig Diet, South Beach Diet, and Weight Watchers Diet are designed to help people change their eating habits for the rest of their lives.  This change in eating habits will promote rapid weight loss as well as enable you to keep the weight off in the future.  Long term diet plans will introduce you to the right kinds of food you should be eating on a daily basis and show you how important it is to continue to eat these foods in order to maintain your ideal body weight.

Provides Variety

The best part about following a diet plan to help you lose weight is that you can switch back and forth between plans.  Typically, diet plans are broken down into smaller phases that have their own specific goal in helping your body lose weight.  Once you pass through the initial phases of a diet plan, you will usually enter a long term “maintenance” phase where you will continue to follow the rules of the diet from all of the previous phases.  Once you reach this final phase of a diet plan, you can switch over to a different diet plan for a bit of variety.

Almost all diet plans preach the same principals to their followers, which is cut out high calorie foods such as sweets and get more exercise.  Since almost all diet plans preach the same message, you can mix and match the meal plans from various diet plans once you reach their final phase.  This will provide you with a plethora of meal options and prevent fatigue with one diet.  Usually, dieters falter when they become bored with their food options following one plan.  If you add an influx of other meal ideas, you will have a nice variety of healthy meals to follow when looking to lose weight.

Provides Structure

Diet plans are also a great tool for losing weight because they provide structure in someone’s life to help them lose weight.  By providing dieters with a strict meal plan, diet plans lay out the foods you can and cannot eat.  Following a diet plan to the letter will ensure that you do not eat any unhealthy foods that will reduce your chances of losing weight.

Many diet plans will even provide you with a weekly meal plan, removing the need to come up with your own meal ideas.  This makes it extremely easy to plan your meals for the week as you can purchase all of the ingredients in one shopping trip to the grocery store.

It’s No Secret at All

Rihanna does not rely on some cray diet scheme or weight loss program to look so good.  Rather she follows a pretty simple exercise regimen that can be done in the comforts of your own home.  With the help of her trainer, ABC’s lifestyle show “The Revolution” co-host Harley Pasternak, Rihanna follows a simple exercise plan that literally anyone can do.

While on the road, Rihanna will squeeze in a minimum of three 25 minute workouts a week.  These workouts mainly consist of cardio exercises such as biking or cycling, jumping rope without a rope, stationary jogging, and jumping jacks.  Once Rihanna is settled in one place, she will increase her workout load to five days a week, with 30 minutes of cardio per day.

So Simple You Can Do It At Home

Rihanna’s workout is so simple you can do it at home.  With Rihanna focusing mostly on cardio exercises, there is no need for fancy, expensive machines.  If you have a bike, you can get your daily cardio exercise in by riding around your neighborhood.  Try to traverse as many hilly areas as possible to increase the difficulty and really get your heart pumping.  If you do not have access to a bicycle, you can still get in a good cardio workout at home.

One of Rihanna’s favorite exercises is jumping rope without a rope.  Simply hold your arms out at your side like you are holding a jump rope and continue to jump up and down as if you were jumping rope.  After several minutes of this exercise your heart rate is sure to be increased and your glutes tightened.  Another great way to get a cardio workout at home is stationary jogging.  You can turn on the television or radio to your favorite station to keep you entertained as you jog in place and get your blood flowing.  If you get bored jogging in once place, you can always move the exercise to your stairs and jog up and down those for a bit of variety.

While Rihanna certainly does have an enviable figure, it is not impossible to get a similar figure yourself.  Fitting in a minimum of three 25 minute cardio workouts per week will help get you on track to having Rhianna’s body, however, you should striver for five, 30 minute workout routines each week.  Something as simple as jumping jacks, jogging in place, or riding a bike can put you on the path to having Rihanna’s figure.

Standing for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, the DASH Diet is recommended by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.  This low-sodium diet centers on eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, and whole grains.  There are some excellent recipes included in the DASH Diet that keeps many dieters content and happy with their meal choices.

Breakfast Recipes

The DASH Diet has many delicious breakfast recipes that will help you start your day.  Here are three of the more popular breakfast meals you can eat while on the DASH Diet.

1. Maple Glazed Apples with Spiced Yogurt and Granola – A delicious way to start your day as this recipe utilizes the staple foods of the DASH Diet; fruit, yogurt and granola.

2. Muesli Breakfast Bars – This breakfast dish is perfect for those on the go as this recipe combines rolled oats with nuts and fruit and packs it into a mini bar that you can take with you on the road.

3. Lean Country Style Breakfast Sausage – Most diets limit your intake of meats, not the DASH Diet.  As long as you use lean ground pork loin and ground turkey breast, you can still enjoy tasty breakfast sausage when on the DASH Diet.

Lunch Recipes

The DASH Diet does not skimp when it comes to lunch either as there are some delicious options for those following this diet plan.

1. Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers – The meaty textured Portobello mushroom makes for a great substitute for a hamburger.  A Portobello mushroom only has 30 calories whereas a hamburger can have as many as 235 calories and 16 grams of fat.

2. Chicken and Portobello Baguette – Boneless chicken breast, Portobello mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, and Dijon mustard are the perfect ingredients for a tasty sandwich.  Make sure to place your items on a whole-grain baguette to limit the amount of calories of this tasty meal.

3. Tuna Pita Pockets - If you are not a fan of chicken or Portobello mushrooms, you can try the Tuna Pita Pockets. Canned tuna is an excellent source of low-fat protein and provides many other essential vitamins and minerals, including selenium, iron, vitamin B-12, and magnesium.  Add chopped vegetables in your pita and this meal makes a great lunch or light dinner.

Dinner Recipes

1. Beef Stroganoff – Rather than using noodles, you can substitute rice pilaf for this recipe.  Also, do not forget a side of vegetables to turn this into a delicious, hearty meal

2. Mango Salsas Pizza – Everyone loves pizza, but it can seem nearly impossible to have this dish when on a diet.  For this recipe you will replace traditional pizza toppings with fruits and vegetables.  Mix together red and green peppers, onions, mangos, pine apples, lime juice, and cilantro for your toppings and enjoy this flavorful pizza dish.

3. Mediterranean-style Grilled Salmon – Grilling your salmon instead of frying it will reduce the calorie amount.  In this recipe you will use basil, parsley, garlic and lemon juice to season your salmon, providing you with a mouthwatering dish perfect for any dinner.

While these are just a few DASH Diet recipe ideas for each meal, the options are virtually endless when it comes to preparing meals for the DASH Diet.  As long as you use the main foods associated with the DASH diet – fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats, and seafood – there is no restrictions on the type of meals you can prepare when following the DASH Diet.

How does the Nurtisystem diet work?

The Nutrisystem diet focuses on getting its clients to eat balanced meals in appropriate portion sizes.  Without limiting what you can and cannot eat, the Nutrisystem diet promotes a healthy lifestyle by providing prepackaged meals in the appropriate size.

In addition to the balanced meals that are delivered to your doorstep, the Nutrisystem diet helps dieters change their mindset which will help them be successful in reaching their weight loss goals.  Nutrisystem diet clients will receive a 12-week, self-guided “Mindset Makeover” behavior guide which addresses everything from curbing cravings to the importance of social support when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals.  Also, clients will also receive support through online communities and over the telephone.

The Nutrisystem diet can be customized for both men and women as well as people with type II diabetes, vegetarians, and older dieters that may require certain nutrients.  There are no requirements such a weigh-ins, counting calories, or preparing certain meals associated with the Nutrisystem diet.

What kind of food can I eat?

The best part of the Nutrisystem diet is that it does not limit the types of food that you can and cannot eat.  As long as you find a meal listed among the Nutrisystem prepackaged meals, you can eat whatever you like.  With more than 120 entrees and desserts to choose from, the Nutrisystem diet offers a comprehensive list of meals that you are able to eat.  These meals promote a balanced diet and typically contain 55% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 20% fat.

The prepackaged meals are designed to be supplemented with six servings of fruits and vegetables a day to help satisfy your hunger with low calorie foods.  Dieters will eat five meals per day while on the Nutrisystem diet, which will also help further control hunger.

How to be successful with the Nutrisystem diet

The Nutrisystem diet is one of the easiest diet plans out there.  However, in order to reach your weight loss goals you will need to make some changes in your daily life.  Only eating the prepared meals is the first step you will need to take.  Eating these meals will ensure that you stick to a healthy, balanced diet.  Once you are in a routine of eating healthy meals in the right portions, you will then need to introduce daily exercise into your routine.  Without any physical activity, you will be unlikely to see the weight loss you are seeking.  Even a modest 30 min of exercise per day will help you lose the weight you desire.

What is the goal?

The main purpose of the Mayo Clinic diet is to get you to change your daily routine so that you can lead a longer, healthier life.  Other diets try to get you to lose as much weight as possible in a short amount of time without thinking about the long term.  This is why so many people lose a little bit of weight when they go on a diet and then gain it right back once they are off of it because they did not change their lifestyle.  The Mayo Clinic diet will help show you how to choose healthy foods and portions which will lead to a healthier lifestyle.

While you may have a short term goal of losing excess weight, the main reason to partake in the Mayo Clinic diet is because of the long term positive effects it will have on your body.  Using the Mayo Clinic diet’s Healthy Weight Pyramid, you will be able to plan your daily meals with the main goal of leading a healthy lifestyle.

How does it work?

The Mayo Clinic diet is a mixture of eating healthy and increasing physical activity with the end goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Rather than try and lose as much weight as possible in a short amount of time, the Mayo Clinic diet focuses on changing your lifestyle so that you can lead a healthy life.  The Mayo Clinic diet has two main parts: Lose It! and Live it!

Lose It!

This portion of the diet is a two-week phase that helps you jumpstart your weight loss goals.  During this two-week period you will focus on removing five unhealthy lifestyle habits and replacing them with five healthy habits.  Doing this simple task, along with 30 minutes of exercise a day, can help you lose as much as six to ten pounds in just two weeks.

Live It!

During the Live It! phase of the diet, you will learn more about healthy food choices, portion sizes, menu planning, and sticking to your new healthy habits that will allow you to live a healthier lifestyle.  The purpose of this phase is to help you to continue your weight loss at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per week.  Once you reach your ideal weight, you can then focus your efforts on maintaining your weight by using the healthy lifestyle techniques you have gained during the Live It! phase of the diet.

You can go here to find a sample menu of the Healthy Weight Pyramid.

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While the Raw Food diet can certainly help you lose weight, it is more of a lifestyle than a short-term weight loss plan.  The Raw Food diet consists of a lot of preparation time in the kitchen, which is something that needs to be considered before immersing yourself in this diet.  You will find yourself chopping, peeling, straining and blending a lot of fruits and vegetables.

How does the Raw Food diet work?

The Raw Food diet is different than most diets in that you will never have to cook your food.  Rather than cook their food, raw foodists use food dehydrators that lend crunch to fruits and vegetables.  The main belief behind the Raw Food diet is that cooking food at high temperatures robs it of its valuable enzymes and vitamins.  All meals planned under the Raw Food diet cannot be prepared above 118 degrees.

Benefits of Raw Food

While there is not much medical literature on the subject of the Raw Food diet, a few studies do exist that appear to back up the claims that cooking food at high temperatures kills important nutrients.  One research project showed that eating raw, cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale may reduce the risk of bladder cancer.  Cooking these vegetables at high temperatures rids them of their isothiocyanates, agents that alter proteins in cancer cells.

However, on the other side of the argument, the American Dietetic Association argues that preparing food below 118 degrees does not kill harmful, food-borne bacteria, leaving yourself vulnerable to other food relate illnesses.

Is the Raw Food diet healthy?

As is the case with diet that focuses on eating one type of food, the health benefits can affect every person in a different way.  Replacing a balanced diet with a Raw Food diet can deprive you of some essential vitamins such as B12, which is found naturally only in animal products.  A B12 deficiency can lead to anemia and neurological impairment as B12 assists with red blood cell development.

If you ensure that your body is getting the required vitamins and nutrients that are lacking in the Raw Food diet, this particular diet plan can be healthy and lead to significant weight loss.  Taking additional supplements to make sure that your body receives these vitamins and nutrients will help you realize the biggest benefits when going on the Raw Food diet.

How does it work?

The Jenny Craig diet plan is broken into three different levels.  The first level teaches dieters how to eat small, frequent portions of the food that they love.  It is through theses smaller portions that the Jenny Craig diet is able to not limit the types of food that you can eat.  The second level of the program teaches clients how to increase their energy levels through simple exercise.  The third level of the Jenny Craig diet teaches dieters how to install more balance into their lives so that they can maintain a healthy lifestyle that will enable them to maintain their weight loss goals.

What sets the Jenny Craig diet apart from other weight loss plans is the 24/7 support offered through the program.  Clients of the Jenny Craig diet are able to get information and support through a telephone hotline at anytime during the night or day.  This support is unprecedented when it comes to diet plans, and is one of the reasons why so many people have success with the Jenny Craig diet.

In addition to the telephone hotline, the Jenny Craig diet offers two different programs.  One is centered around physical Jenny Craig centers.  There are over 650 centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico, so clients should not have too much trouble finding a diet center nearby.  However, if you do not think you will be able to attend a Jenny Craig center on a regular basis, the Jenny Craig diet also boasts an at-home program that offers diet information by telephone and mail.

What can I eat while on the Jenny Craig diet?

The centerpiece to the Jenny Craig diet is its prepackaged meals.  The diet plan offers frozen breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and even desserts consisting of your favorite foods.  While the diet program does not limit you on what you are allowed to eat, the Jenny Craig diet teaches its clients to focus on moderation, balanced diet, and increasing physical activity.  The prepackaged meals encourage dieters to familiarize themselves with correct portion sizes, with the end goal of weaning clients off of the prepared meals.  By getting its clients to first recognize correct portion sizes, the Jenny Craig diet then teaches its clients how to cook for themselves in such a way where they are not overindulging and able to reach their desired weight.

Will You be successful with the Jenny Craig diet?

To be successful with the Jenny Craig diet you will need to be willing to change your current lifestyle.  Recognizing that you can eat whatever food you wish as long as it is in moderation is one of the main goals of the Jenny Craig diet.  Correct food portions coupled with regular exercise is how the Jenny Craig diet gets its clients to lose weight.  As long as you are willing to follow the instructions of the Jenny Craig diet and seek help from the many support options that the diet plan offers, you will undoubtedly lose the weight you wish to lose when on the Jenny Craig diet.