What is the Dukan Diet? It is a diet plan based on the consumption of protein foods. According to Irene Jackson-Cannady, the diet was developed by French general practitioner and nutritionist Pierre Ducan in 2000.
The diet is based on the following principles:
- Variety of products. At the initial stage of the diet, only protein consumption is allowed, but over time the diet becomes more extensive.
- Control of the drinking regime. An increased content of protein foods in the menu can cause dehydration, so women should drink at least two liters of water a day, and men - three, as Arend-Jan Meinders says.
- Cut out sugar. A high level of glucose in the body causes a decrease in the breakdown of fats. Fructose-based sweeteners are used to sweeten foods.
- Reducing salt intake.
- Fractional feeding. Food is taken 5 times a day.
What can you eat on the Dukan diet?
The diet plan consists of four phases, each of which allows for the consumption of different foods.
The first stage is "attack". The most difficult and shortest phase, which lasts from 5 to 7 days. During this time you can lose 2-3 kg. During this period, only protein foods are allowed:
- meat (beef, lamb, lean pork, chicken, turkey, rabbit, quail, offal);
- eggs (whites - without restrictions, yolks - no more than two days);
- seafood and fish (lean white and red fish, mussels, squid, shrimps, cuttlefish, scallops);
- low-fat milk, kefir, cottage cheese, cheese;
- soy meat;
- Spices, dry herbs, vinegar, mustard.
The second stage is "alternation". At this time, one protein day, as in the "attack" phase, is replaced by another, which allows adding greens and non-starchy vegetables to the menu. The duration of the stage depends on how much a person wants to lose. To lose 1 kg of weight, you need to follow the recommendations of the 1-week phase.
You can eat all the foods that are allowed in the "attack" phase and also add to the menu:
- whole wheat bread;
- asparagus
- mushroom
- Tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, eggplant, zucchini, radish, beet, avocado, white and cauliflower, broccoli;
- spinach, sorrel, any greens;
- Olive oil (no more than a tablespoon per day).
The third stage is "consolidation". The phase aims to prevent weight gain. About 500 g of weight will be lost per week, so the duration of the phase depends on the goals. You can treat yourself to any forbidden food with two meals a week.
You should consume at least three tablespoons of bran or fiber every day. In addition to the allowed foods in the "attack" and "alternation" phases, you can add to the diet:
- honey (no more than three teaspoons per day);
- seasonal berries and fruits;
- lentils, peas, beans;
- olive;
- nut;
- corn;
- rice and buckwheat;
- Pasta made from durum wheat.
The fourth stage is "stabilization". During this phase, you can eat all the previously allowed foods. At the same time, you should continue fractional feeding, eat bran daily and consist only of proteins once a week. As long as a person is subject to the "stabilization" phase, they will remain thin.
The effectiveness of the diet
Proteins are more difficult to digest than fats and carbohydrates, so the body uses the energy it gets from already stored fats. In addition, protein food causes a feeling of fullness for a long time, therefore, a person does not overeat and does not eat unhealthy food. As the candidate of medical sciences Marina Altashina notes, the abundance of protein in the diet allows you to lose weight without losing muscle mass.
Since the diet consists of four stages, the last of which can be followed for a lifetime, the Dukan meal plan provides long-term results.
Menu for the week
How to start the Dukan diet? To make it easier to stick to dietary restrictions, reduce the amount of sugar and salt you eat a week before changing your diet. Start replacing regular bread with whole grain or crisp bread.
After preparation, which includes self-motivation, go to the first stage of the Dukan diet - "Attack". Let's take a closer look at the weekly menu.
First day
- Breakfast: fried turkey fillet, two egg omelet and skim milk.
- Second breakfast: cheesecakes.
- Lunch: shrimp and squid soup.
- Afternoon breakfast: bread with slightly salted salmon.
- Dinner: low-fat cottage cheese.
Second day
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs, baked lamb.
- Second breakfast: a glass of low-fat kefir, boiled pork.
- Dinner: chicken broth with aromatic herbs.
- Afternoon breakfast: rabbit stewed in milk.
- Dinner: steamed veal cutlet.
the third day
- Breakfast: boiled egg, beef, marinated with spices, fried.
- Second breakfast: cottage cheese.
- Dinner: meat soup cooked with kefir.
- Afternoon breakfast: omelette with liver pate.
- Dinner: boiled squid and shrimps.
the fourth day
- Breakfast: cheesecakes.
- Second breakfast: bread with low-fat cheese.
- Dinner: soup with veal and turkey.
- Afternoon breakfast: milk.
- Dinner: baked quail.
fifth day
- Breakfast: steamed omelette, fried chicken fillet.
- Second breakfast: kefir.
- Dinner: liver and turkey pate, bread.
- Afternoon breakfast: cottage cheese.
- Dinner: Mussels in milk mustard sauce.
the sixth day
- Breakfast: two boiled eggs, spicy baked veal.
- Second breakfast: whole grain bread with low-fat cream cheese, lightly salted salmon.
- Lunch: seafood soup.
- Afternoon breakfast: cottage cheese.
- Dinner: fried pike fillet.
the seventh day
- Breakfast: fried egg with beef.
- Second breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese with sweetener.
- Lunch: mussel and squid soup.
- Lunch: steamed chicken and turkey cutlets.
- Dinner: Grilled pork steak
Between meals it is allowed to drink not only water, but also coffee, tea without sugar and herbal teas. After a week, go to the next stage of the diet.
Dukan diet is effective for weight loss. However, it involves serious limitations, so to avoid harming yourself, be sure to consult your doctor before starting it.
Attention! The material is for informational purposes only. You should not apply the treatment methods described here without first consulting your doctor.