It's easy to get confused with the modern variety of diets, but high-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 proportion 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 did not draw up a diet, but a balanced diet so that the body does not experience hunger and stress.
Weight loss occurs due to the fact that the body burns subcutaneous fat and carbohydrate reserves, 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 approaches for 5 days do not get bored.
Those who wish to reduce their forms with the help of the Dukan diet should familiarize themselves with the basic principles:
- Lead an active lifestyle, move around a lot, run or walk. For daily walks in the fresh air, lasting 30-40 minutes. Losing weight through diets is not reasonable, the body must engage in physical activity, because it is in the muscles that fat tissue is burned.
- Drink plenty of water (not juice, compote or drink, but still water). During a protein diet, the body gets rid of accumulated fluid, and its daily replenishment is the number one task for weight loss.
- Strictly adhere to the diet and the phases of the diet. If you make personal adjustments to the diet or do not follow the regimen, then you should not expect an effective result.
- Eliminate foods that contain light carbohydrates from the diet. The use of complex and indigestible carbohydrates in the form of cereals, bran is allowed.
- 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 correct portion of carbohydrates.
The main phases of the diet
The Dukan diet is based not only on following a certain diet, but on dividing the entire course of the diet into phases that correspond to your diet and the list of products. There are four phases in total:
- Attack.
- alternation
- Anchorage
- Stabilization
It is worth considering each phase separately.
attack phase
This is the first stage 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 range 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 the slimmer.
30 kg of extra weight 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 of weight up to 20 kg - 3-5 days. During this period the maximum weight loss occurs, which is associated with the limitation of the intake of carbohydrates and fats.
Recommendations: the attack phase accepts the consumption of protein products of animal origin: meat, fish, shellfish and dairy products. You can use them in unlimited but reasonable amounts and in any form (fried, boiled, steamed).
As for the accompanying additives, their list includes: oat bran (its 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.
The 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 one day, in two days or more, it all depends on the amount of excess weight before the diet. If its value did not exceed 10 kg, then the interval can be minimum (1x1. 2x2), and if its value was greater than 10 kg, then the maximum interval is 5x5.
The duration of the second phase is determined individually, just like the first. The interval is from one to two months, the duration directly depends on the amount of weight lost during the first phase. The larger 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 the products of the first phase;
- non-starchy vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms);
- sugar-free fruits;
- skimmed milk and cheese;
- bread.
You can add fruits and vegetables only on those days whose menu corresponds to the second phase. That is, 5 days a protein menu of the first phase, the following five days a protein-vegetable menu of the second phase. Also, you cannot mix the products of the second phase with each other, you can choose only two ingredients per day and use them.
Among the prohibited vegetables and fruits are: 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 the metabolic processes will be restored.
"fixation" phase
The third phase helps to consolidate 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 one and should not cause discomfort in losing weight.
In addition to the products of the first and second phase, the diet also includes the following:
- starchy vegetables (potatoes, legumes, corn);
- pasta;
- cereals (rice, buckwheat, oatmeal).
At this stage, it is allowed to break the diet twice a week, but to the detriment of one meal. For example, you can eat your favorite carbohydrate food for breakfast, but skip lunch or dinner instead.
An important rule at this stage is the daily consumption of any fruit, except for bananas, grapes and cherries. They have a lot of sugar, which quickly turns into subcutaneous fat.
"stabilization" phase
This phase is the final one 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 a lot of water every day (at least 1. 5 liters);
- live an active lifestyle;
- once a week, organize a protein menu that meets the requirements of the first phase;
- daily consumption of oat bran.
The implementation of the above recommendations will lead to the success of everyone who wants to overcome excess weight, and most importantly, to stay at the level achieved or to overcome it.
approved products
You can summarize the list of foods allowed in the Dukan diet:
- meat (beef, veal, pigeon, chicken, quail);
- eggs (chicken, quail, preferably without yolk);
- low-fat dairy and dairy products (milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, cheese);
- shellfish 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;
- sugar-free fruits;
- various sugar-free drinks, tea, coffee;
- spices, condiments, dressings.
In addition to the developed diet plan, nutritionist Dukan has published a cookbook with recipes. The dishes in the Dukan recipe book include only foods from the list of allowed diets, which greatly facilitates the entire process of losing weight and inventing new dishes.
Among the simplest and most popular dishes, the following should be noted:
- "Crab salad". For its preparation you will need: half of Chinese cabbage, 4 sticks of crab sticks, 4 tablespoons of canned corn. Finely chop the cabbage and crab sticks, shred 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 dumplings 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 oatmeal. Preparation: mix the cottage cheese with the egg, add small chopped cubes of skinless fish. Add spices and seasonings to taste. Form balls with the resulting mixture and pass them through oatmeal, put them in a pan or grill and fry them over low heat. Don't use oil for frying, do everything in a dry pan.
- Yogurt dessert. You can pamper yourself during the diet with a dessert, for which you will need: 0. 2 kg of low-fat natural yogurt, chicken eggs - 2 pieces, 50 g of cornstarch. Put all the ingredients in a bowl except the eggs. They should 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. The dessert can be sweetened with a sugar substitute, in addition to adding flavoring and salt. Pour the resulting mixture into a baking dish and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.
- "Veal with eggplant". For two servings you will need: 0. 3 kg of beef cut into small cubes, 1 eggplant, 2 tomatoes, 0. 150 kg of mushrooms (champignons), 1 clove of garlic, parsley, salt, pepper. Preparation: cut the aubergines 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 aubergine in a saucepan. Add the garlic and parsley, add water and cook for 30 minutes. Take a deep dish for the oven, put some vegetables on the bottom, then the salted and peppered meat, and the rest of the vegetables on top. Send to the oven for 15-20 minutes.
It is not necessary to use recipes from Dukan's book, you can also create your own menu from allowed products that correspond to the diet phase.
how much can you lose a kilo
Before talking about the estimated number of fallen 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 talk about a good result;
- lack of sufficient water in the diet: water contributes to weight loss, especially with a diet rich in protein;
- the amount of excess weight - nutritionists say that the higher the indicator of excess body weight, the more kilograms a person who is losing weight can lose;
- the duration of the diet and its individual phases.
The average indicator of weight loss can be considered from 5 to 15 kg. Also, 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 fully consolidate the result.
Dukan Diet Reviews
First check
"I heard many times about the Dukan diet, but I didn't dare to try it. Somewhat terrifying, many talk about lower back pain, weakness and general malaise. Maybe I'll look for an alternative to this diet. "
Second revision
"My husband's sister often visits France. There, this diet is just a brand, even in supermarkets there are separate shelves for products corresponding to this diet. She herself tried this method of losing weight. The result is 10 kg in 2 months I will not stop.
I am currently on a different diet, but in a month I will also be starting the Dukan diet to get fit for the season.
third review
"Girls, don't try this diet! I was careless and sat on it to the max. A week later, I felt the ground go under my feet, darkened in my eyes, screeched 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 that I was not the first with that diagnosis. Before you try this diet yourself, you need to undergo an examination and consult a doctor. A high-protein diet is very dangerous for the kidneys and can damage the tissues, so don't experiment on yourself. "
fourth revision
"I have tried this diet more than once. Thank God I did not notice any side effects. Perhaps because the first phase did not last as long (5 days), but in the second phase I did not alternate the days of the protein and protein-vegetable menu, I ate proteins and vegetables every day I am satisfied with the results (-8 kg) This diet could be used more often, but it is very expensive, especially in winter.
Fifth review
"Recently I watched a TV show, and there the endocrinologist told me that it was impossible to do without carbohydrates and glucose. Our brain feeds on them, and if they stop entering the body, then the brain first starves, and then dies. I don't know if this is true or not, they can say anything on TV. But I thought, what if the negative reviews on the internet are not without reason and can actually harm your health?