It's easy to get lost in the variety of modern diets, but protein diets stand out on the list. The Dukan diet is a prominent representative of protein food systems, which involve eating enough food, but in a different ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Diet basics
The Dukan diet is known in many countries. The effectiveness of this approach has been proven by numerous studies and applications. However, nutritionist Pierre Ducan himself claims that he developed not a diet, but a balanced diet so that the body does not feel hunger and stress.
Weight loss occurs because the body burns subcutaneous fat and carbohydrate stores, while the stomach is not empty, but digests protein foods.
A good competitor here will be the Lesenka diet, the essence of which is the daily passage of different levels of nutrition. Different products, different approach for 5 days you never get bored.
Those wishing to reduce their forms using the Dukan diet should familiarize themselves with the basic principles:
- Lead an active lifestyle, move a lot, run or walk. For daily walks in the fresh air, lasting 30-40 minutes. Losing weight through diets is unreasonable, the body must engage in physical activity, since it is in the muscles that fatty tissue is burned.
- Drink plenty of water (no juice, compote or drink, but always water). During a protein diet, the body empties accumulated fluid, and its daily replenishment is the number one task for weight loss.
- Strictly follow the diet and the phases of the diet. If you make personal adjustments to the diet or do not follow the diet, you should not expect an effective result.
- Eliminate foods containing light carbohydrates from the diet. It is allowed to use complex and indigestible carbohydrates in the form of cereals, bran.
- Oat bran should be an essential ingredient in your daily diet. They prevent the formation of constipation during the diet and give the body the right portion of carbohydrates.
The main phases of the diet
The Dukan diet is not based only on the observance of a certain diet, but on the division of the whole diet into phases that correspond to your diet and the list of products. There are four phases in total:
- Attack.
- alternation
- Anchoring
- Stabilization
It is worth considering each phase separately.
attack phase
This is the first step of the diet, it consists of eating only protein foods. The duration of the phase takes an average of 7 days, but the interval can be from 3 to 9 days. The choice of the duration of the first phase is made individually and depends on the amount of excess weight and the state of health of weight loss.
An additional weight of 30 kg or more suggests a maximum phase duration of up to 9-10 days, with an excess of 20 kg - 7 days, and with a slight excess weight up to 20 kg - 3-5 days. During this period, maximum weight loss occurs, which is associated with the limitation of carbohydrate and fat intake.
Recommendations: the attack phase accepts the consumption of protein products of animal origin: meat, fish, seafood and dairy products. You can use them in unlimited, but reasonable quantities, and in any form (fried, boiled, steamed).
As for the accompanying additives, their list includes: oat bran (their daily use is mandatory), mustard, salt, onion, spices, tomato paste, crab sticks (no more than 8 pieces per day), lemon, olive oil. Of the drinks, diet drinks, fat-free kefir, tea and coffee are allowed.
Meat should not be fatty, pork, lamb, rabbit, duck, goose are excluded. If a bird is present in the diet, it should be eaten without the skin. The restriction applies to vegetables and fruits.
During this period, the body experiences stress, there is a restructuring of internal metabolic processes. For some, this period can become critical: dizziness, weakness, loss of consciousness and other symptoms indicate that it is worth moving on to the next phase.
Alternate phase or "cruise"
The essence of this stage is the introduction of additional foods (vegetables, fruits) into the diet, but not continuously, but selectively at a certain interval. The intervals should be equal to each other: in a day, in two or more days, it all depends on the amount of excess weight before the diet. If its value does not exceed 10 kg, the interval can be minimal (1x1, 2x2) and if its value is greater than 10 kg, the maximum interval is 5x5.
The duration of the second phase is determined individually, as well as the first. The interval is one to two months, the duration directly depends on the amount of weight lost during the first phase. The bigger it is, the longer the second phase should last.
The diet should be more varied in the second stage, so you can add the following foods:
- all products from the first phase;
- starch-free vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms);
- unsweetened fruit;
- skimmed milk and cheese;
- bread.
You can add fruits and vegetables only on days whose menu corresponds to the second phase. That is to say 5 days a protein menu of the first phase, the following five days a protein-vegetable menu of the second phase. In addition, you cannot mix the products of the second phase with each other, you can only choose two ingredients per day and use them.
Prohibited vegetables and fruits include: potatoes, corn, legumes, bananas, cherries, avocados, grapes.
If during the first phase there was a deterioration in the state of health, then in the second phase the state should stabilize, the state of health should improve, and metabolic processes will be restored.
"Fixing" phase
The third phase consolidates the result, its duration also depends on the number of "lost" kilograms. For every kilogram of weight lost, there are ten days of the third phase. The diet in this period is even more similar to the usual and should not interfere with weight loss.
In addition to the first and second phase products, the diet also includes the following:
- vegetables containing starch (potatoes, legumes, corn);
- Pasta;
- cereals (rice, buckwheat, oatmeal).
At this stage, it is allowed to break the diet twice a week, but at the expense of one meal. For example, you can eat your favorite carbohydrate meal for breakfast, but skip lunch or dinner instead.
An important rule at this stage is the daily consumption of any fruit, except bananas, grapes and cherries. They contain a lot of sugar, which quickly turns into subcutaneous fat.
"Stabilisation" phase
This phase is the last and, in fact, a postulate for later life after the diet. Its rules are simple and following them will allow you to always stay in shape, without resorting to diets:
- drink plenty of water every day (at least 1. 5 liters);
- lead an active lifestyle;
- once a week arrange a protein menu that meets the requirements of the first phase;
- daily consumption of oat bran.
Implementation of the above recommendations will lead to success for everyone who wants to overcome excess weight and, most importantly, to stay at the level reached or exceed it.
Approved products
You can summarize the list of foods allowed on the Dukan diet:
- meat (beef, veal, pigeon, chicken, quail);
- eggs (chicken, quail, preferably without a yolk);
- low-fat dairy and sour-milk products (milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, cheese);
- seafood in any form and in any quantity;
- crab sticks;
- river and sea fish;
- Oat bran;
- vegetables that do not contain or contain a small amount of starch;
- unsweetened fruit;
- various sugar-free drinks, coffee tea;
- spices, seasonings, dressings.
In addition to the developed diet plan, nutritionist Dukan has published a cookbook with recipes. The dishes in Dukan's cookbook only include foods from the list of allowed diets, which greatly facilitates the whole process of losing weight and inventing new dishes.
Among the simplest and most popular dishes, the following should be highlighted:
- "Salad Crab". For its preparation you will need: half of Chinese cabbage, 4 sticks of pollock, 4 tablespoons of canned corn. Finely chop the cabbage and crab sticks, mash the cabbage and season with salt. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and dress the salad with lemon juice and homemade lean mayonnaise.
- "Fish balls with cottage cheese. "For cooking you will need: 0. 2 kg of fish (salmon), 0. 4 kg of low-fat cottage cheese, 1 chicken egg, 4 tablespoons of flakes ofoats. Preparation: mix the fromage blanc with the egg, add the small cubes of minced fish without the skin. Add spices and seasonings to taste. Form balls from the resulting mixture and roll them in oatmeal, put them in a pan or grill and fry over low heat. Do not use oil for frying, do everything in a dry pan.
- Yogurt dessert. You can indulge yourself during the diet with a dessert for which you will need: 0. 2 kg of plain low-fat yogurt, chicken eggs - 2 pieces, 50 g of corn starch. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, except the eggs. They need to be divided into proteins and yolks: immediately send the yolks to the finished mixture and beat the proteins with a whisk until creamy and also add them to the mixture. Dessert can be sweetened with a sugar substitute, as well as the addition of flavorings and salt. Pour the resulting mixture into a baking dish and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
- "Beef with aubergines. "For two portions you will need: 0. 3 kg of beef cut into small cubes, 1 aubergine, 2 tomatoes, 0. 150 kg of mushrooms (mushrooms), 1 clove of garlic, parsley, salt, pepper. Preparation: cut the eggplant into rings or cubes and pour them with water for 30 minutes (bitterness should come out). Drain the water from the eggplants and pat them dry on a paper towel. Cut the tomatoes into slices and the mushrooms into slices and put them together with the eggplants in a pan. Add garlic and parsley, add water and cook for 30 minutes. Take a hollow dish for the oven, put some vegetables in the bottom, then salt and pepper meat, and the rest of the vegetables on top. Send to the oven for 15-20 minutes.
It is not at all necessary to use the recipes from Dukan's book, you can also compose your own menu from permitted products that correspond to the diet phase.
How much can you lose a kilo
Before talking about the estimated number of lost kilograms, it is worth clarifying the factors that affect them:
- the presence of physical activity and its severity: if you do not play sports or at least walk, then you should not speak of a good result;
- lack of sufficient water in the diet: water contributes to weight loss, especially with a protein diet;
- the amount of excess weight: nutritionists say that the higher the excess weight indicator, the more kilograms a person losing weight can lose;
- the duration of the diet and its different phases.
The average weight loss indicator can be considered 5-15 kg. In addition, each phase has its own changes and weight loss. The first phase of the diet is the most important, as it contributes to the maximum rate of weight loss. The next second phase is marked by small losses, and the third and fourth completely consolidate the result.
Reviews of the Dukan diet
First revision
"I've heard of the Dukan diet several times, but haven't dared to try. Somewhat scary, many talk about lower back pain, weakness and discomfort. Maybe I'll look for an alternative tothis diet. "
Second review
"My husband's sister often comes to France. There, this diet is only a brand, even in supermarkets there are separate shelves for products that correspond to this diet. She herself tried this method to lose weight. The result is 10 kg in 2 months. Won't stop.
I am currently on a different diet, but in a month I will also start the Dukan diet in order to be fit for the season.
Third review
"Girls, don't try this diet! I was careless and sat on it to the fullest. A week later, I felt the earth leave under my feet, it was dark in my eyes, it creaked in my ears. Pain in the lower back or kidneys, I don't know where, but it's very scary and dangerous.
I went to the hospital, where the nurse said I was not the first with such a diagnosis. Before you try this diet on yourself, you must undergo an examination and consult a doctor. A protein diet is very dangerous for the kidneys and can damage tissues, so do not experiment on yourself. "
fourth exam
"I experienced this diet more than once. Thank goodness I didn't notice any side effects. Maybe because the first phase didn't last that long (5 days), but in thesecond phase I did not alternate the days of the protein and protein-vegetable menu, I ate both protein and vegetables every day I was satisfied with the results (-8 kg) It would be possibleto resort to this scheme more often, but it is very expensive, especially in winter.
Fifth review
"I recently watched a television program, and there the endocrinologist told me that it is impossible to do without carbohydrates and glucose. Our brain feeds on them, and if they stop entering thebody, the brain first starves, then dies. I don't know if it's true or not, they can say anything on TV. But I thought, and if the negative reviews on the Internetwere not without reason and that in fact you could harm your health?