Sometimes I still get hungry....

When I was on the 1st (Accelerate) cycle, I often would get really hungry, mostly in the evening--fortunately the next cycle (Activate) adds in a few healthy carbs so I don't get really hungry anymore. I'm very carb sensitive, and when I don't have them I get seriously hungry.  But for whatever reason, when I was in the Accelerate cycle, during the day I would be fine, but in the evening around 8pm sometimes I would get sooo hungry.  And of course every commercial was a food commercial.  The last thing you want to feel on a diet is hunger because you're already feeling some kind of way because you've been forbidden to eat the things that you normally love to eat, and now after eating the fairly uninspired foods on your plan, you're still hungry!  Makes it all too easy to throw your hands in the air and shout "what's the use!" and return to your old bad eating habits that got you into trouble in the first place.

So I said hunger would make it easy to give up; that doesn't mean we should give up.  And with the 17 Day Diet, it's easier to address your hunger than with most other diets.  I like the fact that in the Accelerate cycle, lean proteins and cleansing vegetables are unlimited.  So if I'm still hungry after a meal, I usually just have another piece of protein, for example, a small chicken breast.  Yeah, it may not be as delicious as that slice of Oreo cookie cheesecake, but it's not going to destroy your diet (or clog your arteries for that matter).  But having the extra protein does it for me; once those gnawing hunger pangs are satisfied, it makes it a lot easier to stick to the diet.

One thing to remember is that although this diet lets you have unlimited lean protein and vegetables in the Accelerate and Activate cycles, don't throw portion control to the wind.  Dr. Mike stresses that you have to become attune to your body so that you learn to judge your level of hunger and to pay attention to when your hunger is satisfied.  In a nut shell, eat until you are no longer hungry, but don't continue to eat until you are stuffed. 

One more thing that helps me with hunger is the diet's Chicken-Vegetable soup.  I like to make a big batch and freeze it so I always have it on hand.  If you have a small bowl before a meal, it helps you to eat less, and you can have a bowl as a snack when those hunger pangs hit.  You can also have a big bowl for lunch.  The diet's recipe is kind of bland so I spiced mine up.  Here is the recipe, and my changes follow:

Chicken-Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
4 baked chicken breasts, diced                 2 large celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage                    1 15-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 large carrot, chopped                             1 14-oz can of fat-free chicken broth
I cup okra, sliced                                      1 12 teaspoon salt
1 large onion, chopped                              14 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Place all ingredients, except chicken, in a large pan and simmer for one hour or until vegetables are soft.  Add in chicken and heat thoroughly.  Enjoy this soup for lunch or dinner.  Makes 4 servings.

Now that  is the book's recipe, but I tweaked it a little--I could tell it was going to be bland as-is.  I used half of a fresh small cabbage and one large onion, and I used frozen vegetables--a half bag of Italian vegetables and a half bag of gumbo vegetables.  I used two cans of fat-free chicken broth (equals 28 oz) and a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, and I increased my chicken to 6 breasts.  I seasoned with lite soy sauce, Italian seasoning,  basil, bay leaves, fresh garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder and seasoned salt.  This tuned out delicious and with my additions it made a double batch so I can freeze some for later.