I want to write this to motivate and get people to understand that it does work.  In the middle of December I watched the Dr. Phil Show and The Doctors about The 17 Day Diet.  My husband and I had been looking into different plans to set us on our way but we could not find something to fit us both.  I was all about just trying portion control and he really wanted something more strict so that he knew he could succeed.  Now let me say that I rarely watched either of these shows but for some reason this day I just sat down for a minute and was hooked on hearing about this diet.  As soon as the show was over I called my husband and told him that I found something that I thought would work for us.  We ordered the book and waited.  When the book arrived I read it completely and knew that it was right for us.  Now it was the week before Christmas so my husband and I decided to wait until the Monday after Christmas.  Two reasons: (1) my husband was off work for that week and (2) we wanted to set ourselves up for success.  Once we started we were hooked.  The amount of weight loss was amazing and with that much success so quickly it inspired us even more!  We both want to lose about 100 pounds and so that is 200 total for the both of us.  We started our Journey on December 26th and at the end of February (yes just two months of dieting) we have lost a total of 113 pounds.  My husband has lost 72 and I have lost 41!!!!!  I am so proud of us both.  With this weight problem my husband's blood pressure was SEVERELY high.  He was put on blood pressure medicine in January and now they have had to come back and reduce the dosage because the combination of medicine and weight loss was causing it to be to low.  In December I went walking with a friend and had to stop several times because my back was hurting so bad that I could not move my legs.  We did not work out at all during the two months because we really felt like we needed to lose some to get to a place that we could set ourselves up for success in physical fitness.  We had in the past been so physically fit that we knew if we started and could complete it then we were setting our selves up for failure.  At the beginning of March though turned our new chapter; we are still following the diet and now we are walking.  That mile walk that I thought I was going to die on in December was completed last week without being out of breath at all!  I was so excited.  Now while my husband is coaching my son's baseball team - the other mom's and I are walking and it feels great!  Just with the success that we have had with this diet has led to many more in our small town to start it.  There are over 10 different people and couples that have started The 17 Day Diet and we are all LOOKING GOOD!!!  I hope anyone who is out there that thinks it is a hopeless battle at least will committ to this diet for 17 days - it will change your life.  IT HAS CHANGED OURS AND OUR KIDS LIVES!!