The 17 Day Diet - Day 14

If you've been reading the menus for the last 14 days, you may have noticed that this diet is loaded with fiber. You've seen the Metamucil commercials, so you know what fiber does, but did you know that eating high-fiber foods can help you lose weight for good?

Fibrous foods provide bulk and stimulate the release of appetite-suppressing hormones. As a result, you feel full while eating a meal, so you're less tempted to overeat.

High-fiber foods also take longer to chew. You may have to chew some foods 42 times before swallowing them. High-fiber foods may even have negative calories, because by the time you're done chewing them, you've burned more calories than the food provides.

Inhaling fiber-rich foods with have your body running strangely (for sure!). The fiber accelerates the the time it takes food to move through your intestinal tract. This means fewer calories are left to be stored as fat.

Beware however, if you're eating lots of fiber and not drinking enough water, it'll basically turn to cement in your colon. Yikes!

Here's tomorrow's menu.

Breakfast:

• 1/2 C Breakstone LiveActive cottage cheese
• 1 medium pear or other fresh fruit in season
• 1 cup green tea

Lunch:

• Eggplant Parmesan:
  
  Ingredients
  1 large eggplant (peeled)
  4 egg whites
  fat-free Parmesan cheese
  garlic powder (to taste)
  1 cup of low-carb marinara sauce
  
  Directions
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. In a shallow dish, beat egg whites and 4 T water until foamy. Dip eggplant slices into egg whites, then into fat-free Parmesan cheese, pressing cheese into eggplant. Place eggplant on prepared baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable spray and sprinkle with garlic powder. Spray vegetable cooking spray over eggplant slices. Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees, turning eggplant over after 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Cover with 1 C of low-carb marinara sauce. Bake for 20 minutes, or until eggplant is piping hot and sauce is bubbly. Makes 2 large servings.
• 1 cup green tea

Dinner:

• Plenty of broiled lean ground turkey
• Marinated Vegetable Salad:
  
  Ingredients
  4 C raw vegetables
  Fat-free Italian dressing
  
  Directions
  The night before, steam some raw vegetables in at least 2 cups of water until they're tender but still crisp. Place in a glass dish and pour dressing over veggies. Refrigerate overnight. Drain and serve on a bed of lettuce, top with roasted red peppers (no oil) from a jar. Makes 2 to 4 servings.
• 1 cup green tea

Snacks:

• 2nd fruit serving
• 2nd probiotic serving

Starting weight: 158.4
Current weight: 152.8