What Is The Dukan Diet?
The Dukan diet has four phases during which certain foods are prohibited, in order to promote the consumption of proteins and thus encourage weight loss.
A balanced diet is essential for good health. Usually when we decide to stick to a new style of eating for the purpose of controlling body weight, we seek advice from different sources. So that we can select the scheme according to our interests. However, not seeing a specialist can lead us to make bad decisions. Today we are going to tell you about the Duncan diet.
What is the Dukan diet
There are many food options available today to make us lose weight. A plan prepared in advance by a nutritionist gives us a feeling of security. It also facilitates the process of adjusting to a new way of eating. Some of the most well-known diets include the Points Diet, the Mayo Clinic Diet, and the Dukan Diet.
The Dukan diet offers the patient the opportunity to lose weight quickly through a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It is divided into 4 phases, which focus on losing weight and, subsequently, maintaining the goal achieved.
French nutritionist Pierre Dukan created this diet. He rose to fame in 2000 when he published his first weight loss book, titled ” Can’t Lose Weight “.
His method of losing weight quickly became popular. However, the medical community greeted him with considerable skepticism. In 2011, the Spanish Association of Dietitians and Nutritionists strongly rejected the effectiveness of this diet. She considered it fraudulent and without scientific basis.
This diet based on carbohydrate restriction evolved nonetheless. Several articles, such as the one in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences , claim that this type of diet is useful in managing and preventing the development of certain diseases.
But… why is the Dukan diet considered a fraud?
Losing weight inappropriately can lead to loss of muscle mass. The Duncan Diet is a high protein diet. It is indeed based on increasing the protein intake, beyond current recommendations (around 90 g / day). It also involves reducing the consumption of other nutrients such as carbohydrates.
Until recently, it was claimed that this protein intake could lead to kidney problems. This assertion is nevertheless today questioned. On the other hand, we know with certainty that large doses of protein improve the maintenance of muscle mass in adult individuals. This is notably indicated in an article published in the journal Nutrients .
According to the Consumers and Users Organization (OCU), this diet may cause you to lose muscle mass, cause constipation, fatigue, cramps, and liver and kidney problems.
The current literature, however, considers high protein and low carbohydrate diets to be safe and, in many cases, recommended.
Phases of the Dukan diet
The diet is divided into four phases, which focus on losing weight and then stabilizing the goals achieved.
The attack phase
During this stage, the patient should consume foods rich in animal protein. He should in no case consume sweets and carbohydrates.
To obtain the desired result, it is important to accompany this intake with a large amount of water. It will indeed act as a purifying element. The duration of this first phase will depend on the amount of weight you want to lose (1 to 7 days).
The alternation phase
During this stage, the patient should continue to consume a lot of animal protein, while starting to include vegetables. Vegetables should be raw or cooked in water and salt.
You have to start by introducing vegetables every other day so that the effects are not so sudden on the body. It is also advisable to include 30 minutes of physical exercise per day. Its duration is 7 days per kilogram to lose.
The consolidation phase
When the patient has reached their ideal weight, they can gradually include fruits and carbohydrates. Including consuming a cheat meal from time to time.
During this step, it is then recommended to include fruits, wholemeal bread, cheese and other dairy products. We will eat protein exclusively one day a week in order to avoid the rebound effect. This phase lasts 10 days per kilo to lose.
The stabilization phase
This is the last phase of the Dukan diet. The patient has normally reached their ideal weight, so it is essential that they return to normal eating habits.
It is appropriate to maintain weight, keep for life two rules: eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran per day, walk 20 minutes a day and forget the elevators and only consume protein on Thursday. According to the author, this will help the body to relax without needing to resume bad habits from the past.
From now on, exercise should be an integral part of an individual’s routine. Each person should spend at least an hour a day doing high and medium impact exercises.
The Dukan diet, a better plan than we thought
Critics of the Dukan regime were numerous at the beginning. It does appear to be effective for weight loss, however, and is not negative in terms of health.
Today’s high protein diets have come a long way. There are indeed other more flexible options than the Dukan diet, which gain more support and have the health benefits of reduced carbohydrate.
