The 17 Day Diet

Dr Mike Moreno's 17 Day Diet is a revolutionary new weight-loss programme that activates your skinny gene so that you burn fat day in and day out. The diet is structured around four 17-day cycles: Accelerate - the rapid weight loss portion that helps flush sugar and fat storage from your system; Activate-the metabolic restart portion with alternating low and high calorie days to help shed body fat; Achieve - this phase is about learning to control portions and introducing new fitness routines; Arrive - A combination of the first three cycles to keep good habits up for good. Each cycle changes your calorie count and the food that you're eating.

The variation that Dr. Mike calls 'body confusion' is designed to keep your metabolism guessing. This is not a diet that relies on a tiny list of approved foods, gruelling exercise routines, or unrealistic calorie counts that leave you hungry and unfulfilled.

Each phase comes with extensive lists of what dieters can and can't eat while on the phase, but also offers acceptable cheats. He advises readers not to drink while on the diet, but concedes that if they absolutely have to then they should at least drink red wine. Dr Mike knows that a diet can only work if it's compatible with the real world, and so he's designed the programme with usability as a top priority.