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Meteorologist Dennis Bowman's Key To Weight Loss: 17-Day Diet

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - You may have noticed our incredible shrinking Meteorologist Dennis Bowman.

He has lost more than 40 pounds since January and a lot of viewers have been asking how he did it.

Before the weight loss, Bowman was at 227 pounds. He's now 44 pounds lighter and his wife, Debbie has lost 41 pounds.

They lost the weight with exercise and a program called the 17-Day Diet.

What motivated them to start the diet after years of being overweight?

Dennis' doctor threatened prescription medications.

"My blood pressure was borderline high, my cholesterol was borderline high, and it was at the point where he said if you can't get this under control with diet and exercise, then I'll have to intervene medically," Dennis said.

For Debbie, it was something different.

"When I found out my daughter was having twins, my other daughter was saying, 'Mom you're going to need to go into training for this.' So, losing the weight was part of that training. I have so much more energy. I can get down on the floor with my grandchildren and I have no problem getting back up. You know, it's going to be a better life," Debbie said.

Debbie heard about the 17-Day Diet from the television shows "Dr. Phil" and "The Doctors."

It has three cycles, which last 17 days each.

The first cycle is low calorie and low carbohydrates.

They also drink lots of green tea, water and a cup of hot lemon water in the morning.

Dennis lost 16 pounds on the first cycle, while Debbie lost 12.

The second cycle gradually adds in some starches and more calories.

The third cycle has healthy fruits, fats, starches and unlimited veggies. Plus, Skinny Cow low-calorie desserts once a day satisfy their sweet craving.

Then, there's the lifetime eating plan, which gives you three free meals on weekends to splurge a bit.

The diet also advocates exercise.

"I hadn't run in about 15 years. I didn't know if I could run so the first day, Dec. 26 of last year, I ran down this block. I went from this corner to this corner, it's the length of two football fields and it didn't kill me. So, the next day I said, 'Okay I'm going to go to the next street, make a left, and I'll stop at the very first driveway," Dennis said.

Every day, Dennis added a little more to his run and got up to a mile in a month.

Now, he runs three miles every day after his job doing the weather on the morning and noon news on KDKA-TV.

"If I miss a day of running, I feel like, something's missing from my life now. And if we pig out and eat all the wrong stuff, we feel kind of off kilter with that too, so the whole mix has changed for us," Dennis said.

Dennis and Debbie hope to inspire even more people to get healthy, in addition to their friends and neighbors who are already trying the 17-Day Diet.

Debbie still has two pounds to lose to reach her goal, and Dennis would also like to lose a few more.

For more information on the 17-Day Diet click here.

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