Can The Dukan Diet Help You Lose Weight?
The Dukan Diet by Dr. Pierre Dukan is currently #4 on the New York Times Hardcover Advice Best Seller List, so I thought I’d check it out.
The Dukan Diet is one of the most popular diet plans in France. More than 10 million copies of this book have been sold globally. Kate Middleton (now the Duchess of Cambridge) reportedly used this diet to drop 2 dress sizes before her marriage to Prince William.
The Dukan Diet consists of 4 steps:
Attack Phase: Protein-only diet for 1-10 days, depending on how much you weight you want to lose. Drink at least 1.5 quarts of water a day.
Cruise Phase: Protein + vegetables, alternating with a protein-only diet, until you reach your target weight, typically 3 days for every pound you want to lose.
Consolidation Phase: Protein + vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, with one protein-only day per week. 2 servings of carbs allowed per week. 5 day for every pound lost.
Permanent Stabilization Phase: Eat what you want, fall back to the Consolidation Phase diet if you start to gain weight, eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran a day, and take the stairs.
The pure-protein aspect of the Dr. Dukan’s Attack Phase is a bit worrying. As most diet professionals do, he recommends that you consult your doctor before starting on the Dukan Diet.
In my opinion, the Dukan Diet is overly-restrictive and would be difficult to maintain for long periods of time. The low-carbohydrate content in this diet would also make it difficult to sustain any sort of workout schedule. Dr. Dukan doesn’t recommend anything more strenuous exercise than walking and taking the stairs, especially during the pure-protein Attack Phase portion of the diet.
The FAQ’s on the Dukan Diet website say, “Although the Dukan Diet is effective for losing weight, it’s not the best approach for athletes looking to drop a few pounds. Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for performance. Eliminating them will reduce workout quality and game performance. It may also result in a breakdown of muscle protein, which reverses the effects of hours spent in the weight room.”
Have you tried the Dukan Diet? How did it work for you? Tell me in the comments.
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