Simplifying The 17 Day Diet

There's obviously more to the diet than this, but this pretty much tells you what each cycle's purpose is.

Something to remember and remind all of us, as this is not always some remember or even realize:

Cycle 1:
Cycle 1 foods only

Cycle 2:
Cycle 1 foods any day; add some Cycle 2 foods on your C2 days in addition to your C1 foods

Cycle 3:
Cycle 1 foods any day; Cycle 2 foods any day; make sure to add some C3 foods to this cycle's menus.
Portion control!!!  This means each serving is portion-controlled, but if you are hungry 30 minutes after eating, you can eat again....and again....and again!

SUMMARY:
Cycle 1: Detox and getting out of the cravings mode.
Cycle 2: Transition into eating more variety
Cycle 3: The ACTUAL DIET!

Not All 17 Day Diet Pages Follow The Diet

There are quite a few Facebook Communities (now called Pages) and Groups related to the 17 Day Diet.

Most have the best of intentions in helping those new to the diet to understand what is and what isn't allowed, but moreso: WHY.

There are two Pages which are basically marketing pages for the books Dr Mike has authored:

1. One touts itself as the Official Page for the 17 day diet.
2. The other is Dr Mike's Page.

Neither are posting items that are compliant with the diet.  It has become apparent to us that there is a new Admin who is posting to both pages who is not familiar at all with the diet.

The Official page used to be the "Go To" page for those wanting information about the diet. When I started in 2011, it was chock-full of people who were familiar with the What's as well as the Why's and could explain that to you.  However, I am not sure it was ever intended to be anything more than a PR page for the book.  Facebook members morphed it into a Help page, but with the incorrect information being posted there lately, it is no longer a resource for information.

PLEASE be careful when searching for Pages and Groups on Facebook for the diet.  Some are promoting recipes that use sugar, butter, honey -- all of which are not allowed.

Know your Food Lists and Guidelines for the diet.

If you have any questions, my mailbox is always open to answer them (17DDGal@gmail.com).

Review: 17 Day Diet Breakthrough Edition

     This is a review of the 17 Day Diet Breakthrough Edition, released in late 2013.

     As some of you know, back in October 2013, myself and one other person that I am aware of were contacted by the Publisher for Dr. Mike’s new book to see if we wanted an advance copy of it for review and feedback.

     I was glad to be given the opportunity to do this, as he and I had discussed back in January 2013 some aspects of the diet that needed to be clarified; I was hoping that some of these things would be “fixed” in the new version of the book, along with flat-out errors, such as sugar-free yogurt, which does not exist, but no sugar added yogurt does exist.

     In mid-November I received the advance copy and went about reading the book to see what is different not only in the way of additions, but what in the original version had been updated.

     We are not recommending this book. If you have the original book and it has worked for you, you may want to stick with that version of the book.  Be aware that the new book is simply the entire original book with a few things added, and none of the errors corrected.

     Basically the contents of the original book are contained in their entirety in the new “Breakthrough” edition of the book. The only change is using 1 whole lemon for the Morning Wake-Up Drink and not ½. We recommend sticking with ½, as 1 whole lemon’s juice in 8 ounce of water will be pretty intolerable for most.

     The Breakthrough Edition claims faster weight loss with two optional items and contains some ideas for 17 minutes of exercises.  The two optional items are:

• An optional Transitional Day Fast which includes smoothies totaling 900 calories. 
• Optional supplements which claim to speed up your weightloss.

The following items are some of my concerns, and why I cautiously recommend the new book.

New Recipes: 
While the book boasts 50 new recipes “that meet the weight loss plan’s guidelines,” this is not quite true at the first printing.  About 30% of the new recipes in the book are not correct, either from an ingredient standpoint or a cycle standpoint.  The list of those non-compliant/non-compliant-to-stated-cycle recipes is listed at the end of this review.

Transitional Day Fast:

• Most who have been on this diet understand the need to eat enough and have been eating 1200-1500 calories a day. To cut your food intake down to 900 and by drinking meals only is a drastic change (albeit for one day only) to your eating.  I tried this for one day (mostly just to say I’d tried it!) and was nauseous and lightheaded the entire day.
• This also goes against what Dr. Mike has told us when he said “EAT your meals, do not DRINK them.”
• There needs to be some clarification on guidelines for using this for non-Transitional Day purposes other than “gain weight” or a “bad weekend.”  Some will take “gain weight” to mean permission to use it if they gain 2/10ths of a pound or some minor amount and we will be putting out fires with people using the Fast Day several times a week.  I have already had quite a few Facebook messages telling me that dieters are using this at any time they gain a little bit of weight (1/2 lb on up).

     On the other hand, there is some excellent information about the Whys and Wherefores, as I call it. This information was scattered in the appropriate sections (as it should be) and was excellent information that we were not provided in the original 17 Day Diet book.

     NONE of the modifications that Dr. Mike made in the last 3 years were included in the new book, so we can only assume that they are no longer allowed.  This makes Dr. Mike look wishy washy and for those of us that run groups for this diet, it makes a lot more work for us; most of us do not make any money off of our groups or blogs, although some do derive an income from the concepts in the book. We run the groups because we believe in the diet.

     Overall, for those starting this diet for the first time or those who already have the original book, I would be cautious about purchasing it for some of the reasons stated in this post.

NEW RECIPES IN THE BOOK

• Real Bacon Bits as a product is listed in several recipes.  This product is not compliant in any way – it is made with real bacon and real sugar is added, neither of which are allowed.  Turkey bacon is allowed.
• Nectresse is a product listed in several recipes which is not compliant! It is made with processed sugar, along with monk fruit, as shown in the photo below.

The following itemizes the recipes, first by non-compliant recipes, followed by compliant recipes.

NON-COMPLIANT RECIPES

Incorrect Cycle and Ingredients:

New Book:

1. Brown Rice with Mushrooms incorrectly shows C2-4: turkey bacon makes this a C3 recipe.
2. Cactus Salad incorrectly shows C1-4: Cactus, serrano peppers and cilantro make this C3.
3. Ceviche incorrectly shows C1-4: Cilantro and chiles make this C3
4. Cream of Pumpkin Soup incorrectly shows C2-4: 8 oz cream cheese/4 servings=4Tbsp per serving which goes over for C2; this should be C3
5. Full-licious Salad incorrectly shows C1-4: Olives make this C4
6. Guiltless Potato Salad incorrectly shows C2-4: REAL bacon is not allowed; turkey bacon pieces would make this C3.
7. Harvest French Toast incorrectly shows C2-4: C3 due to bread
8. Mexican Huevos incorrectly shows C1-4: C3 due to jalapenos
9. Mint Choco Chip Soft Serve incorrectly shows C1-4: Calls for Nectresse which has both sugar and molasses in it. The Nectresse should be replaced with Stevia or Agave Nectar. If Nectresse is used, it becomes C4.
10. Mom's Apple Pie incorrectly shows C4: All items are C3 compliant; 1 cup ground almonds for 6 servings is 2/3 of a Friendly Fat per serving. I'd call this good for C3 as an occasional treat.
11. Oven Roasted Veggies incorrectly shows C1-4: Zucchini makes this C3
12. Picnic Beans incorrectly shows C2-4: turkey bacon makes this a C3 recipe; also Nectresse should be replaced with Stevia or Agave Nectar as Nectresse has added sugar & molasses and would be considered a C4 ingredient.
13. Southwest Slaw incorrectly shows C1-4: Bacon makes this C3, but needs to be turkey bacon and not REAL bacon pieces as the recipe states.
14. Stewed Zucchini incorrectly shows C1-4: Zucchini makes this C3
15. Sweet Potato Apple Casserole incorrectly shows use of Nectresse which has added sugar and molasses.  Use Stevia or Agave Nectar instead.
16. Tropical Pistachio Pudding incorrectly shows C2-4: Both sf pudding and pineapple are Cycle 3!!

From the Original Book:

1. Low-Carb Primavera Delight incorrectly shows C1-4: Spaghetti Squash is a C2 starch!
2. Sesame Fish: incorrectly shows C1-4; sesame seeds make this a C3 recipe

COMPLIANT RECIPES

New Book

1. Apricot-Glazed Lamb Chops
2. Asparagus Tarragon Salad
3. Avocado Stuffed with Scallops
4. Bacon Wrapped Scallops
5. Banana Ice Cream
6. Beef Fajita Salad
7. Blueberry Griddle Cakes
8. Breakfast Crisp  NOTE that this is 4 starch servings, not 2.
9. Catalina Grilled Steak
10. Chicken Kiev
11. Chicken with Orange Sauce
12. Chocolate Candies
13. Creamy Light Fettucine Alfredo
14. Crunch Salad
15. Drunken Pork Chops
16. Easy Gourmet Chicken
17. Elegant Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce
18. Fried Fish
19. Garlic Shrimp
20. General Slim's Chicken
21. Greek Chicken Stew
22. Mango Sorbet
23. Meat and Bean Burrito
24. Mexican-Style Shrimp
25. Old-Fashioned Beef Stew
26. Onion-Leek Soup
27. Pasta Caesar Salad
28. Poached Pears and Oranges
29. Salad in a Sandwich
30. Salmon Burgers
31. Shrimp Cocktail with Avocado Dressing
32. Smoked Salmon Rolls
33. South of the Border Scramble
34. Spinach Salad
35. Taco Salad
36. Tortilla Soup
37. Village Salad
38. White Bean Hummus

From the Original Book

1. Balsamic Artichoke
2. Chicken Vegetable Soup
3. Dr Mike's Power Cookie
4. Eggplant Parmesan
5. Egg-White Veggie Frittata
6. Greek Egg Scramble
7. Kefir Smoothie
8. Lettuce Wraps
9. Marinated Vegetable Salad
10. Oven Barbecued Chicken
11. Salad Nicoise
12. Salmon Lemenato
13. Spanish Omelet
14. Spicy Yogurt Dip and Veggies
15. Super Salad
16. Turkey Black Bean Chili
17. Yogurt Fruitshake

 

Healthy Replacements

What About .... The 17 Day Diet Cookbook?

Some of you know that I have Dr. Mike's 17 Day Diet Cookbook and have gone through it for inconsistencies and non-compliances and asked me to post the information that I have.

The following is a list of all the recipes in the cookbook.  Those that are non-compliant, for whatever reason, are shown at the end.

Also, keep in mind for any snacks that if they have fruit in them, they are to be eaten by 2 p.m. or at least 8 hours before you go to bed.

This is not all-inclusive; this list was put together during a basic "skimming" of the book. If you know of any other inconsistencies or errors, please let me know and I will update this listing.

The number before the recipe name is the cycle that it is first allowable cycle for the recipe.

3 Amaranth Polenta
3 Arroz con Game Hens
3 Baked Bananas
1 Balsamic Artichokes
3 Banana Chocolate Smoothie
3 Beef Barley Soup
1 Berry Frozen Yogurt
3 Better Migas
1 Blackened Catfish
3 Breakfast Pizza Bagel
3 Brie and Mango Quesadilla
3 Broiled Miso-Glazed Salmon
1 California Tuna Salad
1 Chicken Vegetable Soup
3 Crab Cakes
3 Crab Gaspacho
2 Crab Tabouleh
1 Creamy Smoked Salmon Rolls
1 Curried Poached Halibut
2 Dr. Mike's Power Cookies
3 Easy Cioppino
2 Eggs, Lox, Onions
2 Falafel Salad
1 Green Tea-Spiked Applesauce
3 Grilled Pineapple with Vanilla Ricotta & Pistachios
1 Grilled Tuna Nicoise Salad
2 Italian Shrimp and White Bean Salad
3 Jerk Chicken
3 Kale Chips
1 Kefir Smoothie
3 Lamb & Sweet Potato Stew
1 Lemon Pepper Salmon in Tomato Cups
2 Microwaved Mashed Potatoes
2 Mushroom Barley Saute
1 Mushroom Spinach Frittata
1 No Fuss Eggplant Parm
3 Open Faced Ruben
1 Oven Roasted Cauliflower & Broccoli
1 Oven-Barbequed Chicken
3 Oven-Fried Pork Chops
1 Peach Melba Smoothie
3 Peach Raspberry Granola Chips
3 Popcorn Spice Mix: Cajun Spice
3 Popcorn Spice Mix: Curried Cheddar
3 Popcorn Spice Mix: Parmesan & Herb
2 Pumpkin Polenta
2 Roasted Shrimp and Broccoli
3 Roasted Trout Almandine
3 Shrimp Soba Noodle Salad
3 Shrimp Vindaloo
2 Slow Cooker Cuban Ropa Vieja
3 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
3 Snapper Veracruz
1 Snappy Eggs
1 Spanish Omelet
2 Spiced Edamame
1 Spiced Plum Soup
1 Spicy Green Beans
3 Spinach Mushroom Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
2 Stewed Mussel
1 Stir Fried Chicken and Cucumbers
3 Stuffed Acorn Squash Halves
3 Stuffed Figs
1 Super Salad
1 Tandoori Chicken Breasts
3 Tex-Mex Millet Salad
1 Tilapia Baked in Packets
3 Turkey & Mushroom Sloppy Joes
1 Turkey Picadillo Lettuce Wraps
2 Tuscan Pork Tenderloin
2 Warm Curried Quinoa Salad
3 White Bean & Oat Burgers
2 White Bean & Red Pepper Dip
1 Yogurt Cheese
1 Yogurt Fruitshake
3 Zucchini, Lemon & Parmesan Saute

Incorrect Cycles or Meals and/or Non-Compliant Items

1 Bavarian Chicken Breasts
This is listed as Dinner, but with Apples in it, it should be eaten before 2 pm.

2 Brown Rice Biryani
NOT Cycle compliant. Cilantro is Cycle 3 Also, mixed vegetables usually includes corn; along with the rice, this becomes a before 2 pm/8 hours before bed recipe.

2 Cantonese Stir-Fried Shrimp
This is listed as dinner incorrectly. Corn is to be eaten before 2 pm/8 hours before bed.

3 Chicken & Apricot Saute
This is listed as dinner incorrectly. Apricots are to be eaten before 2 pm/8 hours before bed.

1 Chocolaty Frozen Yogurt
This is NOT cycle compliant. Buttermilk is not permitted until Cycle 3.

2 Easy Chicken Posole
This is listed as dinner incorrectly, as hominy should be eaten prior to 2 pm/8 hours before bedtime.

2 Easy Succotash
Note that this should be eaten by 2 pm/8 hours before bedtime due to the corn and edamame

2 Fast and Easy Chili
This is listed as dinner incorrectly, as corn should be eaten prior to 2 pm/8 hours before bedtime.

1 Greek Egg Scramble
Cheeses used in this recipe should be fat-free, not low fat.

2 Grilled Spiced Peaches
Incorrectly calls for sugar-*free* yogurt (there is no such thing). Also, raspberry flavored yogurt will probably have *added* sugar (unless it is CarbMasters brand)

1 Low Carb Primavera Delight
NOT cycle compliant -- spaghetti squash is Cycle 2

2 Mexican Chocolate Pudding
NOT cycle compliant -- Tofu (made from soy) is Cycle 3

3 Polynesian London Broil
Incorrectly listed as dinner; this is a by 2 pm/8 hours before bed meal due to the pineapple.

3 Slow Cooker Brown Rice Congee
Calls for dry roasted salted peanuts; salted peanuts is not a good idea (water retention)

2 Smoked Turkey and Lentil Salad
NOT Cycle compliant -- deli turkey is not allowed until Cycle 3.

2 Super Strawberry Smoothie
This calls for sugar-*free* yogurt--this does not exist. Strawberry flavored yogurt will probably have sugar *added* to it, which is not allowed.

2 Turkey and Bulgur Meatloaf
Bulgur is a starch and should not be consumed for dinner in C2

2 Weekend Morning Grits Casserole
This is NOT Cycle compliant; soy is not permitted until Cycle 3.

Recipes on this blog

About the recipes here

Most of the recipes were submitted by members of two Facebook Communities and three Facebook Groups for the 17 Day Diet.

I am very careful about not violating copyright for others' recipes. I have had my recipes show up elsewhere and while I am more than happy to share them, it would have been nice if credit where credit is due had been given.

Not everyone feels that way or acts that way.

I do grab photos from other websites in order to "tease" you the reader and get you to go to those other sites for their recipes. Visual temptations are the best!

On the Facebook Communities and Groups associated with this blog, we do not feel that 17 Day Diet recipes that are out on the internet are boring or unoriginal.  Quite the contrary! There are so many great recipes out there.

I don't know that there are any original recipes any more these days -- when we come up with something we think is original, nine times out of ten, that same exact recipe can be found on the internet somewhere already! And truth be known, with the internet, it's hard to say who originated the recipe in the beginning anyway.


My feeling is that there are so many GREAT recipes out there, why the heck would we not share, and for free?  There is no need to pay for recipes when there are limitless recipes that are great, savory, and make you want to come back for more!

So enjoy the recipes here, and ask questions if you're not sure about something.

Ready to Quit? Read this first!

If you're not losing, check these things first before deciding this is not for you!

1. Refresh your memory of the book's instructions. It's amazing how much we forget if our head isn't totally "in the game."

2. Are you adding "not allowed" items into your meals. If so this can slow or stop weight loss. Even just a little bit can sabotage some of us.

3.  Are you sure the food you're eating is allowed on the cycle you're currently on? Double-check your food against the food lists for a couple of days, just as a double-check.

4. Minimum 1,200 calories (no you don't HAVE to count calories but be familiar with what 1,200 actually looks like for you) AFTER exercise? You should be eating a bare minimum of 1200 calories PLUS whatever you burned off in exercise.

5. If you are hungry eat! This diet is designed like fuel for your car...you have to have a full tank of gas to make it to your destination.

6. Are you finding you are hungry? If so you aren't eating enough.

7.  Remember this is not like most diets where you have to eat less to lose.  With the 17 Day Diet, the more you eat, the better your losses will be (you're giving your body more fuel to burn off those calories and the fat).

8. Are you eating your fruits.

9. Are you getting your water in.

10. Are you eating the probiotics. Are they with NO sugar added? This is important!

11. Are you eating your Friendly Fats? This is one that a lot of us tend to forget, but it is very critical to our weight loss (2 Tbsp of flaxseed or olive oil per day).

12. Certain foods can cause constipation...is this an issue for you?

Starvation Mode and Minimum Calories

Periodically, there seems to be some confusion on whether or not we need a minimum number of calories and if so, what that minimum number is.

The number (minimum) to try and hit is 1,200 NET for women and 1,500 NET for men (although for some it's slightly different).  It's not really magic, but it will help to keep you steadier in your weight loss and will definitely keep you healthier.  It's very important.

NET is calculated: Calories consumed minus what you burned off during exercise.

Read that again: it is the minimum you should be eating, not the maximum; you will probably lose at a higher rate if you add to that, taking into account your body's metabolism and your activity level.

For me, 1,350 to 1,375 is my sweet spot (which I've talked a LOT about on my Facebook community).  Others do best at a lot more, others do good at dipping below 1,200 every now and then.  KNOW YOUR BODY!

Why 1,200 calories? After all, it is not mentioned in the book.

The menu plans in the book only come up to 800-900 calories and women require 1,200 to keep from going into starvation mode (1,500 calories for men); starvation mode slows down your metabolism and your weight loss--sometimes completely halting it.

Remember also: Eat when you are hungry-- as much as you want from list of unlimited proteins and cleansing veggies lists.

Remember that the meal plans in the book are suggestions -- you'll do just as well by following the diet by making your own choices from the food lists.

We all need to add foods from the list of unlimited proteins and cleansing veggies list to reach your required food for the day.

Now on the whole issue of "why 1,200 calories as a minimum?" question:

Our bodies need a certain number of minimum calories NET just to function. For women, that minimum is 1,200 calories a day and for men, it is 1,500 calories per day.

When your calories dip under that minimum on a regular basis, your body will go into famine or starvation mode, which means that without enough calories (remember calories = fuel for our bodies) our bodies start to think that we aren't getting enough nutrition and won't be getting any for some time.

So, instead of burning the fuel you have put in, it starts to store it as fat.

The same thing happens if you don't eat often enough, oddly enough!  If, say, you're eating every 8 hours, your body knew it wasn't going to get any food/energy during that time, so it won't burn any of it. Ideally, with the snacks and meals on this diet, it's a good idea to try and eat every 3 hours or so.

This means you need to eat a minimum number of calories on a regular basis! It does not mean that if once in a while (say once or twice a month) you have one day where you get less than the minimum that you're going to stall your weight loss or damage your health.

17 Day Diet Books

As you all know, the book that Dr. Mike wrote, The 17 Day Diet, has been hugely successful and as a result, he has authored a Workbook and also a Cookbook.

My recommendation is to not purchase the Workbook as there are some errors in it regarding what foods can be eaten in which cycle.  The Cookbook has a few errors in it, but mostly is a good thing. There are 80 recipes in it, with 10-12 of them being repeats from the book.

This is a reminder to all of us to be familiar with the food lists so that you know when something says it's C1 and you know it's not.

There is also a special edition of the book which is being marketed through Direct Mail (mass mailings).  You know those -- the ones where they tell you that you can preview it for 21 days before you have to pay for it? That's it!

The special edition of the book has no content change (even my favorite guffaw that says to eat sugar-free yogurt when there is no such thing, as opposed to no sugar-added yogurt which is what I believe the intent is).

There are, however, some additions to the book.  The special edition has a journal, it has an Index (Yay for that, right?!!!) and profiles 4 people who have been successful on the diet.  Nice stories about how the diet has changed lives, in my opinion -- but then again, I'm one of the four profiled.

The link for the new edition of the book is below.  I MUST ask you NOT to repost this link on Facebook communities for the 17 Day Diet.  There were agreements made between the folks handling the Direct Mail sales of the book and the sales of the original book and it is very important for each not to tread on each other. Please don't disappoint me by reposting the link below on any FB communities.  THANK YOU so much for that.

Here's the link for the Direct Mail promo of the book:
 http://www.17daydietdirect.com/

The book comes with 3 other publications (one of which is called 17 Minute Meals or something like that!) and does cost more than the original book is selling for now.

The Great Zucchini Debate

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a long time, as it comes up periodically on a lot of online forums for this diet and that dead horse gets beat to death yet once again.  I figured it was time to weigh in on zucchini and why we can't have it (the quick answer is: Because Dr. Mike said so.....but there is more to the answer than just that).

Per Dr. Mike on 1/16/2013: The foods listed in your book under the Cultural Exceptions chapter are substitutions which can slow your weight loss down.  Unless you will walk away and not try this diet without them, they should not be used.  Use only the foods listed in the chapters for Cycles 1, 2, and 3.

The Great Zucchini Debate!

We all know we need to become familiar with the foods listed in the book for C1, as well as the additions to the C1 food list for the alternating days of C2.

We also know that C3 is the most liberal of the cycles, with the most amount of foods allowed before considering going on the Maintenance.

But there is always that question of "WHY oh WHY can't I have zucchini on C1? It's listed in the Cultural Exceptions chapter for Persian, so tell me why I can't eat it too."

It depends on whether you want to maximize your weight loss or not and whether you want to second-guess the author of this diet.  He has told us a few of the reasons he chose the foods he chose (low carb, low on the glycemic index, etc.), but he hasn't told us all of them. Nor is he likely to, in my opinion.

Some people don't care if their loss is slow.  It's your choice, after all.  And everyone's bodies respond to food differently.

It's my feeling that if he wanted us to eat these foods in C1, they would have been included in the food list for C1 and not on an "exception" list.  The Cultural Exceptions chapter is (in my opinion and impression) for those who, if they could not have some of the foods listed, would not continue on this diet. Dr. Mike agrees with this.

In C1, don't look at the foods you cannot have instead of all the food you can have and justify eating some of those non-allowed foods.

I know it doesn't seem like that to you or like you're trying to second-guess Dr. Mike, but sit back and really think about it.  Why not just follow the diet as written and wait for the cycle where those foods are introduced?

"Oh sure, Simmie," you say. Such a strong position to take. Hard-a** even.

Yes it is -- and it's because I've found the closer I stick to the foods listed for each cycle, the better I was at losing weight.  Zucchini in particular, hindered my losses in C1 (this was before I realized it's not allowed until C3).

Call for Smoothie Recipes!

I'm looking for smoothie recipes from everyone!

There are so many good ideas out there and I thought it would be good to put them all in one place, so I set up a Filter (Label) to show just the smoothies on this blog.

If you have any smoothie ideas, please send them to me either as a comment here or to my email at 17DDGal@gmail.com and I'll add them -- you will be given FULL credit, something I always do when I know  who the Recipe Author is!

Here's the link:
http://17ddgal.blogspot.com/search/label/Smoothies

Switching up C3

For those who've been around the block a few times on this diet and want to stay on C3, but need some ideas on how to switch things up and keep fooling your metabolism, here's some things that I did that accomplished this.  I'm a longtime C3-er (I was on it continuously from April 2011 through early-January 2012).

* Add or delete 1 carb for a few days

* Add or delete 1 fruit for a few days

* Add a probiotic (I never went down on these!!!) or increase your portion size to 8 ozs or 9 ozs from the 6 oz serving we use

* Vary the kind of protein you eat every few days (I am a chicken person, so I will switch to pork or go vegetarian for a few days on the weekend to do this)

* Vary the kind of carbs you eat (I always eat an oatmeal cookie muffin loaf in the morning [1.5 starches], so I switched to a sandwich mid-day for a few days)

* Try the zigzag calorie method. There are zigzag calculators online. I used this once and didn't do anything; then I used it again about a month later and didn't go *quite* as high as the calculator suggested (1,800) and it popped something loose on the loss

* Do what I did this last time: 3 days C3 followed by 2 days C1 and keep repeating -- this really kicked something loose with 7.3 lbs in 2.5 weeks, whereas previous cycles had been 0.1, 0.3, 2.6, 3.1, etc.

* Eat one meal that is not allowed: for some reason, with some people when you go back to the healthy eating you're used to, the disallowed items eating seems to kick something loose; I know it did for me (I did this for about 3 days at one point).