It's easy to get confused by the modern variety of diets, but protein diets are on the list separately. Ducan's diet is a clear representative of protein food systems, which include eating enough food, but in different proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Basics of diet
Ducan's 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 develop a diet, but a balanced diet so that the body does not experience hunger and stress.
Weight loss is due to the burning of subcutaneous fat and carbohydrates by the body, while the stomach is not empty, but absorbs protein foods.
A good competitor here will be the Lesenka diet, the essence of which is the daily transition to different levels of nutrition. Different products, different approach for 5 days does not get bored.
Those who want to reduce their shape with the help of the Dukan diet should get acquainted with the basic principles:
- Lead an active lifestyle, move a lot, run or walk. Take daily walks in the fresh air for 30-40 minutes. Weight loss through dieting is unreasonable, the body must perform physical activity, because it is in the muscles that fat is burned.
- Drink plenty of water (not juice, compote or drink, but still water). During a protein diet, the body expels the accumulated fluid and replenishing it daily is the number one task for weight loss.
- Strictly follow the diet and the phases of the diet. If you are making personal adjustments to your diet or not following the regimen, then you should not expect an effective result.
- Exclude from your diet foods that contain light carbohydrates. It is allowed to use complex and indigestible carbohydrates in the form of cereals, bran.
- Oat bran should be a staple in your daily diet. They prevent constipation during the diet and give the body the right amount of carbohydrates.
The main stages of the diet
The Ducan 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 a total of four phases:
- Attack.
- alternation
- Anchoring
- Stabilization
It is worth considering each phase separately.
Attack phase
This is the first stage of the diet, involving eating only protein foods. The duration of the phase takes an average of 7 days, but the interval can include 3 to 9 days. The choice of the duration of the first phase is made individually and depends on the amount of overweight and the state of health of the person losing weight.
The additional 30 kg weight or more implies a maximum duration of the phase up to 9-10 days, in excess of 20 kg - 7 days, and in mild overweight up to 20 kg - 3-5 days. During this period, maximum weight loss occurs, which is associated with limiting the intake of carbohydrates and fats.
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 (daily use is mandatory), mustard, salt, onion, spices, tomato paste, crab sticks (not more than 8 pieces per day), lemon, olive oil. Dietary 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, then it should be eaten without 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 may become critical: dizziness, weakness, loss of consciousness and other symptoms indicate that it is worth moving to the next phase.
Alternating or "cruise" phase
The essence of this stage is the introduction of additional foods (vegetables, fruits) in the diet, but not continuously, but selectively at regular intervals. The intervals should be equal to each other: for one day, for two days or more, it all depends on the amount of overweight before the diet. If its value does not exceed 10 kg, then the interval can be minimal (1x1, 2x2), and if its value is more than 10 kg, then the maximum interval is 5x5.
The duration of the second phase is determined individually, as well as the first. The interval is from one to two months, and 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 of the first phase;
- vegetables that do not contain starch (cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms);
- unsweetened 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 of protein menu from the first phase, the next five days of protein-vegetable from the second phase. In addition, you can not mix the products of the second phase with each other, you can choose only two ingredients per day and use them.
Among the banned vegetables and fruits are: potatoes, corn, legumes, bananas, cherries, avocados, grapes.
If in the first phase there was a deterioration of health, then in the second phase the condition should be stabilized, health should be improved and metabolic processes will be restored.
Fixing phase
The third phase helps to consolidate the result, its duration also depends on the number of "lost" kilograms. For each kilogram of weight lost there are ten days from the third phase. The diet in this period is even more similar to the usual and should not cause discomfortwhen losing weight.
In addition to the products of the first and second phases, the diet includes the following:
- vegetables containing starch (potatoes, legumes, corn);
- pasta;
- cereals (rice, buckwheat, oats).
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 carb for breakfast, but skip lunch or dinner instead.
An important rule at this stage is the daily consumption of all fruits, except bananas, grapes and cherries. They have a lot of sugar, which quickly turns into subcutaneous fat.
Stabilization 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 stay in shape without resorting to diets:
- drink plenty of water every day (at least 1, 5 liters);
- to lead 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 success for anyone who wants to overcome excess weight and, most importantly, to stay at the achieved level or to exceed it.
Approved products
You can summarize the list of permitted foods in the Ducan diet:
- meat (beef, veal, pigeon, chicken, quail);
- eggs (chicken, quail, preferably without 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 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 Dukan's cookbook include only foods from the list of permitted diets, which greatly facilitates the whole process of losing weight and inventing new dishes.
Among the simplest and most popular dishes it is worth emphasizing the following:
- Crab Salad. To prepare it you will need: half a Chinese cabbage, 4 sticks of crab sticks, 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 make the salad with lemon juice and homemade lean mayonnaise.
- "Fish meatballs 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 oatmeal. Preparation: mix the curd with the egg, add diced small fish without skin. Add spices and seasonings to taste. From the resulting mixture form balls and roll them in oatmeal, put in a pan or grill and fry over low heat. Do not use frying oil, do everything in a dry pan.
- Yogurt dessert. You can pamper yourself during the diet with 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 to a creamy mixture and also add to the mixture. The dessert can be sweetened with a sugar substitute, as well as added flavoring and salt. Pour the resulting mixture into a baking tray and place in the oven for 20 minutes.
- "Beef with eggplant. " For two servings you will need: 0, 3 kg of veal, 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 circles or cubes and pour water over them for 30 minutes (bitterness should come out). Drain the water from the aubergines and dry them on a paper towel. Cut the tomatoes into slices and the mushrooms into slices and put together with the eggplant in a saucepan. Add garlic and parsley, add water and cook for 30 minutes. Take a deep dish for the oven, put some vegetables on the bottom, then salted and peppered meat, and on top of the remaining vegetables. Send in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
You do not need to use recipes from the Ducan book at all, you can come up with your own menu of permitted products that suit the phase of the diet.
How much can you lose a pound
Before we talk about the approximate number of pounds lost, it is worth clarifying the factors that affect them:
- the presence of physical activity and its severity: if you do not exercise or at least do not walk, then you should not talk about a good result;
- lack of enough water in the diet: water contributes to weight loss, especially in a protein diet;
- the amount of overweight: nutritionists say that the higher the indicator of overweight, the more pounds a person who loses weight can lose;
- the duration of the diet and its individual phases.
The average weight loss 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 was marked by small losses, and the third and fourth completely consolidated the result.
Reviews of the Ducan diet
First review
"I've heard of the Ducan diet many times, but I didn't dare try it. Somehow scary, many talk about lower back pain, weakness and malaise. Maybe I will look for an alternative to this diet. "
Second review
"My husband's sister often visits France. There, this diet is just a brand, even in supermarkets there are separate shelves for products that meet this diet. She herself is trying this weight loss method. The result is 10 kg in 2 months. It will not stop.
I am currently on another diet, but in a month I will start the Ducan diet to stay in shape until the season.
Third review
"Girls, don't try this diet! I was careless and sat on it until the end. A week later I felt the ground coming out from under my feet, my eyes dark, my ears creaking. Low back or kidney pain, I do not know where, but it is very scary and dangerous.
I went to the hospital, where the nurse said I was not the first with such a diagnosis. Before trying this diet on yourself, you should undergo an examination and consult a doctor. Protein diet is very dangerous for the kidneys and can cause tissue damage, so do not experiment on yourself. "
fourth review
"I have tried this diet more than once. Thank God I didn't notice any side effects. Maybe because the first phase did not last that long (5 days), but in the second phase I did not alternate the days of the protein and protein-vegetable menu, I ate both protein and vegetables every day. I was pleased with the results (-8 kg). This diet could be resorted to more often, but it is very expensive, especially in winter.
Fifth review
"I recently watched a TV show and there the endocrinologist told me that it is impossible 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 everything on TV. But I thought, what if the negative reviews on the Internet are not without reason and you can actually harm your health?