5 essential principles of the Ducan diet + the opinion of doctors

When a woman has made a firm decision to lose weight and starts searching the internet for the best diet that gives almost instant results, then it is difficult to stop her. Especially after reading the praise for one method or another. Today we will find out what the Ducan diet is, its effectiveness, we will debunk myths and get acquainted with reviews.

The Ducan diet - All the most important nuances

The Dukan diet is based on the use of foods rich in protein and contributes to weight loss from one and a half to fifty pounds. Tempting? Of course!

But how safe is it for your health? Let's find out.

Identity of the author

French general practitioner Pierre Dukan, whose diet once excited millions of overweight people, has been developing it for twenty years.

In the mid-seventies of the last century, obesity was fought with a diet that included low-carbohydrate foods. Dukan, meanwhile, invented a new technique consisting of four stages - attack, alternation, consolidation and stabilization - which not only helps to lose weight, but also to keep the weight in a constant state.

Ducan has since embarked on the study of high protein foods and their effects on the human body. Twenty years later, he wrote the book I Can't Lose Weight, which has sold over ten million worldwide. From that moment on, the best hour of the old neurologist began.

After the opinion polls carried out, it was found that 35% of people who lost weight according to the Ducan method returned the pounds lost in one year. 80% have regained their former weight in four years.

Basics

• Approved products.Losing weight is okay to eat foods rich in animal and vegetable proteins, which are easily absorbed by the body and contribute to weight loss.
Movement
• .Physical activity is imperative - morning exercises, a gym or at least walking over rough terrain. Or you can clean the apartment daily by moving around vigorously with a floor cloth. Here, as they say, everyone chooses how to increase their activity - fitness or weeding in the garden.
• Water!Remember to drink a bed and a half to two liters of clean water per day.
• Bran.They are essential as a source of fiber, which contributes to proper digestive processes.
• Calculator.Before starting a diet, you need to calculate your Dukan weight so that you know how many days you need to devote to one or the other stage.

Doctors' opinions on diet

If you completely exclude carbohydrates from the diet or drastically reduce their amount, the body willy-nilly, but will start to take in the missing energy, breaking down fat. But first, it will deplete all the glycogen stores stored in the liver, and only then will it reach the fat stores on the sides and hips.

Glycogen is a store of energy, thanks to which the body can quickly fill the lack of glucose. Its amount in the liver in an adult is 100-120 g.

If you drain your glycogen stores, ketosis will begin - the breakdown of fat with the formation of large numbers of ketone cells (acetone). The body's high concentration of glucose and acetone in the blood can lead to acid-base imbalance towards increased acid. Long-term disruption of carbohydrate metabolism ultimately leads to diabetic ketoacidotic coma.

Those interested in the Ducan diet should know that a positive result without compromising health will only be possible if the pancreas is able to produce enough insulin, which lowers the concentration of glucose in the blood.

Low-carbohydrate diets are especially dangerous for people with metabolic disorders, and they may not even know it, as these disorders do not manifest with the usual diet. As a result, acidosis may develop, which is manifested by frequent headaches, chronic fatigue, arrhythmia or heart palpitations, constant drowsiness and weakness.

Step 1. Attack

This is the hardest and most difficult time. Usually it does not exceed seven days; the Ducan calculator will show you a more precise figure.

Rules

At this point you need to completely eliminate carbohydrates from your diet and increase the use of protein products. The body is saturated with protein, rebuilds metabolism and quickly destroys body fat.

Start each morning with a spoonful of oat bran. During the day, you can eat any food from the authorized list and in unlimited quantities. They need to be baked, boiled or steamed. Remember water, since most drinks are prohibited, it is almost the only source of liquid.

The body begins to rebuild itself, so you should not fully engage in sports, it is better to limit yourself to walking or just gymnastics.

Estimated weight loss - 2-5 kg.

Review

The "Attack" stage really helps to lose weight by a certain number of kilograms (this indicator is individual for everyone), but this does not happen by burning fat, but by dehydration. But weight loss sees the values ​​change on the scale, is encouraged and continues to exacerbate the nutritional imbalance.

The body is struck by the almost complete elimination of carbohydrates from the body. The person begins to feel weakness, fatigue, irritability. At this time, it is better for his family and colleagues to stay away from him - mood swings can spoil the emotional history of family and team for a long time.

The Chinese were very imaginative about the choice of the execution of criminals. The wicked have been punished sophisticated enough that they suffer as long as possible before they die. The condemned were fed only meat for a long time, after which the unfortunate died in severe pain due to the processes of decomposition in the intestines and poisoning of the body with toxins.

Carbohydrates are essential for humans to properly break down protein and fat. If they do not enter the body, then an obligatory imbalance, metabolic disorders and intoxication await it.

During the "attack", excess protein quickly begins to excrete water, which greatly increases the kidney load. In addition, an intelligent organism tries to defend itself and tries by all means to retain the precious liquid in itself. As a result, when changing the stage and introducing more benign eating conditions, many begin to notice swelling even after eating a tomato.

One gram of carbohydrate retains 4 ml of fluid, and after a lack of carbohydrates, this number increases dramatically. If a blackout occurs and is unavoidable due to an energy drop and imbalance, you are unlikely to eat regular buckwheat - you will be drawn to sugary and starchy foods. And given the increasing water retention, the number on the scale certainly won't please.

Authorized products

This step includes 72 foods high in protein, which you can find on sites promoting this diet. Among them - lean meat, poultry, fish and seafood, milk and its derivatives with low fat content, eggs. True, during the day you can eat only two full-fledged eggs with yolk and protein, and if the yolk is excluded, the restrictions are lifted - eat as much as you want.

You will definitely have to say goodbye to:

• coffee and tea;
• salt, mustard and spices;
vinegar
• ;
• all kinds of green vegetables - no herbs, vegetables, fruits and generally a complete ban on plant foods;
• oils and fats, of vegetable and animal origin;
• alcohol and most drinks.

You can only eat protein foods!

Weekly menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Chicken egg omelet, baked in the oven.	Chicken soup. Boiled chicken meat.	Curd casserole.
Tuesday	Steamed cheesecakes.	Lean meat soup, boiled egg.	Baked meat.
Wednesday	Bran pancakes.	Meatball soup.	Boiled chicken breast.
Thursday	Steamed or boiled fish.	Lean Chicken Soup. Boiled liver, kefir.	Chicken cutlets, skimmed milk.
Friday	Hard-boiled eggs, chicken nuggets, breaded in oat bran.	Salmon ear. Boiled chicken fillet.	Seafood cocktail.
Saturday	Shrimp omelet.	Beef steaks.	Baked mackerel, kefir.
Sunday	Grilled chicken breast.	Chicken broth with hard-boiled eggs.	Cottage cheese, skim milk or kefir.

Recipes of the Ducan diet for the attack phase

In order not to reinvent the wheel and not invent what to cook, you can use ready-made recipes according to Dukan.

Lean chopped chops

You can take any lean meat - chicken, turkey, rabbit, or beef. It is finely chopped or passed through a meat grinder, a raw egg is added, then it is beaten well and flat cakes are formed.

Each flatbread is dipped in an egg and breaded in oat bran. Prepare the chops on the grill, in a slow cooker on "Bake" mode or fries in a Teflon pan without oil.

Chicken soup

Everything is simple here. Boil the chicken breast until tender, cut it into small pieces or grind it with a blender and put it back into the boiling broth. Beat a few eggs with a fork and pour into the broth in a thin stream. After a few minutes, the protein soup is ready.

Stage 2. Alternation or "Cruise"

This is the most important step in Dukan's method for weight loss. At the second stage, the desired indulgence begins. What is that?

Rules

28 others are added to the 72 previously authorized products, mainly vegetables. The duration of the period depends on the expected weight loss - one week is allocated for one kilogram.

During this period, there is an alternation of protein and protein-vegetable days. The body is already a bit used to “bullying” and nutritional inaccuracies, so weight loss will not be as active.

If you need to get rid of five kilograms, the alternation mode will be done in one day - protein, protein-vegetable day. From 5 to 10 kg - 2/2 or 3/3 scheme. And more than ten kilograms - 5/5.

And if in the first phase it was possible to eat an unlimited number of protein products, then here the portions of vegetables are regulated.

Statistics indicate that at this point the average person does not lose more than 400-500g of weight per week. This means that the regime is nowhere near as quick and efficient as it is "trumpeted" by stakeholders.

Review

So what do we have at this point? Not 72 products, but 100! It's just a feast for the tummy!

The period of weight loss is quite long, you need to adhere to a special program - alternate protein and protein-vegetable days until the weight reaches the desired figure. If you need to lose a dozen kilograms, you may not be able to get to the grave in three months. But it is scary to think of what kind of harm those who have to get rid of 30-40-50 kg are doing themselves!

Authorized products

Raw, boiled, baked or steamed vegetables are allowed during this period.You can diversify your diet with a little dry wine (no more than 100g), low fat cheese, mustard, low fat lactic acid products, and also:

• tomatoes and cucumbers;
• carrots;
• cabbage;
• beet;
• green beans;
• zucchini;
mushrooms
• ;
• radish;
• eggplants;
asparagus
• ;
• hot red pepper.

But remember that frying or adding oil is strictly prohibited. And no one canceled the obligatory bran, at this point their daily intake increases to two tablespoons.

The following foods are prohibited:

• starchy foods - potatoes, avocados, legumes, artichokes, corn;
• all grains;
• industrial sauces - mayonnaise, ketchup and others;
• desserts and pastries;
• fat.

Weekly menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	An omelette made with chicken eggs and skimmed milk. Fresh grated carrots.	Vegetable soup. Beef steak.	Baked meat. Fresh vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs.
Tuesday	Hard-boiled eggs. Fresh greens.	Mushroom soup. Vegetable stew with pieces of chicken breast.	Baked mackerel marinated in mustard.
Wednesday	Curd. Boiled egg. Kefir or low fat milk.	Soup with vegetables and meatballs. Steamed fish cakes with herbs.	Chicken breast.
Thursday	Chicken cutlets. Fresh vegetables.	Chicken broth with egg and herbs. Lean boiled meat.	Cheesecakes or curd casserole.
Friday	Low fat yogurt. Omelet with herbs.	Fish soup. Boiled salmon.	Grilled chicken breast with vegetables. Kefir.
Saturday	Cucumber and tomato salad. Fried eggs.	Cauliflower soup or broccoli puree. Turkey cutlets.	Zucchini pancakes. Baked fish.
Sunday	Curd casserole. Low fat milk.	Thick soup with mashed vegetables. Steamed chops with vegetables.	Fillet of hake cooked in milk.

Ducan diet recipes for alternating stages

At this point, the culinary possibilities widen considerably and Ducan's recipes are more numerous and varied.

Zucchini snack with chicken curds

The chicken fillet is finely chopped or passed through a meat grinder. Spices, onions and garlic are added to the minced meat.

Zucchini are cut into circles, the middle is cut out to create a depression in which the minced meat, tomato slice, cottage cheese are placed and sprinkled with black pepper.

The appetizer is baked in the oven for half an hour.

Stuffed mushrooms

• The legs of large mushrooms are carefully separated, finely chopped and cooked in their own juice until tender.
• Chicken fillet is boiled, chopped and combined with cooked mushrooms.
• The resulting mass is filled with natural low-fat yogurt and placed in mushroom caps.
• Stuffed mushrooms are baked in a well-heated oven for 40 minutes at 180 ° C.
• Before serving, the mushrooms are decorated with finely chopped herbs.

Step 3. Consolidation or consolidation

The lost weight must be recorded. This is what the third phase of the regime is all about.

Rules

• A number of other products are added to the diet, it is allowed to hold a "belly party" with high-calorie dishes twice a week. The serving size should not exceed 220 g.
• At least once a week, you should eat pure protein food. This day is called "protein Thursday" by followers of the diet, but you can choose any other day of the week, but it is desirable that it occurs after the excess of the "holidays".
• Obligatory bran should be consumed daily for 2, 5 tbsp. And do not forget to drink clean water - at least a liter and a half a day.

The stage is designed for a fairly long period - every ten days 1 kg is lost during the alternation phase. If in the second stage you lost 15 kg, the third stage will last 150 days.

Review

If you are still alive and in relatively good health after the first two steps, we will continue to analyze our fascinating quest "How to spoil your health in search of an ideal figure and at the same time make fun of your loved ones. "

The theory says that the body will try to regain the lost kilograms in any way. He craves it passionately, so you try to resist him no less passionately.

Well what can we say, the body is exhausted, dehydrated, deprived of many useful substances. And now he is given one hundred grams of whole grain bread a day, a small serving of fruit and a "feast" of a single intake of complex carbohydrates per week, after which you have to organize a fasting day with pure protein. .

It is at this point when tasty food is allowed that the weight can start to "jump" like a kid's yo-yo toy. The feeling of hunger is strongly exacerbated, the gripping hands are attracted to eat forbidden foods or to prolong the "vacation".

The problems with the nails, skin and hair are starting to bother me again. Weight loss feels weakness, weakness, drowsiness, chills often occur. In general, again, everything is bad.

Authorized products

At this point you can enter the scheme:

• fruit, except bananas and grapes (not more than 100 g per day);
• whole grain bread (literally two slices);
• low fat cheese;
• Starchy vegetables - legumes, rice, potatoes and corn
• durum wheat pasta;
• honey;
• spices.

Of course, the products of the first two phases are preserved.

Weekly menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Curd casserole. Tea.	Goldfish ear. A slice of whole grain bread. Fruit.	Baked chicken fillet with vegetables. Kefir.
Tuesday	Milk porridge. Boiled egg.	Vegetable soup. Pasta. Boiled veal.	Fish cakes. Fresh vegetable salad. Curd mousse with pieces of fruit.
Wednesday	Mushroom and cheese omelet.	Green bean soup. Baked fish.	Beef stew with vegetables. Sponge cake with red fruits.
Thursday (protein day)	Curd. Hard-boiled eggs.	Chicken broth. Boiled fish.	Meat, chicken or seafood.
Friday	Cheesecakes or curd casserole.	Borscht. Chicken cutlets.	Mashed potatoes. Fresh vegetable salad.
Saturday	Buckwheat milk porridge.	Mushroom soup with meatballs. A slice of whole grain bread. Vegetable risotto.	Vegetable stew. Steamed cutlets.
Sunday	Fried eggs. Cheese. Coffee.	Sorrel soup with hard-boiled eggs. Boiled chicken. Fruit.	Vegetable salad. Seafood cocktail. Dried fruit compote.

Ducan Recipes

Lightly salted salmon salad

Ingredients:

• salmon - 150 g;
• lettuce leaves;
• cherry tomatoes - 5-7 pcs. ;
• green apple - 1 pc. ;
• fresh cucumbers - 2 pcs. ;
• feta cheese - 140 g;
• lemon juice - 3 tbsp;
• sugar - 2 tbsp.
• wine vinegar - 1 tsp.
• red pepper - to taste;
• olive oil;
• cilantro or chopped parsley.

All the components of the salad are cut into arbitrary slices, mixed and seasoned with lemon juice. Such a salad can be prepared for a festive table, and your guests will not even suspect that they are eating a dish of Ducan.

Creamy salmon soup

Ingredients:

• salmon fillet - 300 g;
• onions - 2-3 heads;
• low-fat cream - 100 ml;
• potatoes - 2-3 pcs. ;
• medium sized carrots - 1 pc;
• greens, spices - to taste;
• vegetable oil for frying.

First, you need to cook the broth from the red fish fillet and the whole onion. The rest of the onion is finely chopped and fried with grated carrots.

The potatoes are peeled and cut into cubes or slices in the usual way. A fish came out of the broth and crushed.

Vegetables, fish and spices are sent to boiling broth for 20-30 minutes. After the potatoes are cooked, you can add cream.

Finely chopped greens are poured onto a plate before serving.

Step 4. Stabilization

Finally, at this point, you can eat whatever your heart desires, if you follow the mandatory rules.

Rules

• Eat only protein foods once a week.
• The daily serving of bran is not canceled - now they must be consumed in three tablespoons.
• Water consumption should remain unchanged - at least one and a half liters per day.
• The diet should be balanced as much as possible. To do this, it is recommended to eat a slice of cheese, two starchy vegetables, a few slices of whole grain bread, vegetables, protein products and fruit for dessert every day.
• Meal sizes should be moderate - more often than larger.
• Oily fish should be replaced by other seafood.
• Compulsory physical activity must be preserved. Make sure you go up the stairs avoiding the elevators.
• Try to avoid stress.

You should follow these guidelines for life if you don't want to gain weight.

Review

As soon as the desired results have been achieved, most of those who lose weight slack off and indulge in the “bad stuff”. They go back to their old diet and start EAT!

Now think, why do you need this torment, if in the same year you could lose weight just by removing fast carbs, sausage, fried foods and pickles from your diet? At the same time, there would be no need to limit yourself to a hundred products and deprive the body of the complex carbohydrates it so badly needs.

Contraindications

The Ducan diet is strictly prohibited for people suffering from:

• kidney disease and renal failure;
cholecystitis
• ;
• pressure problems;
• disorders of the cardiovascular system;
• stomach ulcer;
• intestinal dyskinesia;
atherosclerosis
• ;
• stones in the gallbladder.

Do not experiment on yourself for expectant nursing mothers, although Dukan has developed a special method for pregnant women. Refrain from such "treatment" for obesity in children, adolescents and the elderly.

Pros and Cons of the Dukan Diet

If you believe the creator of the diet, the benefits of the weight loss method are as follows.

• For a long time the weight will remain unchanged after losing weight to the desired values.
• The diet is absolutely safe and very effective.
• You can eat permitted foods in any amount and when you want. And since there are over a hundred of them, you can always diversify your menu with delicious dishes.
• The result is visible from the first days.

It would seem - eat as much as you want, when you want, and lose weight! Story! But if you take off your rose-colored glasses and dig deeper, then a harsh reality appears before us in all its glory. To know.

• Fats are almost completely excluded from the diet, which leads to a deterioration in the condition of the skin and many diseases - atherosclerosis develops, cholesterol metabolism is disturbed, the reproductive systemis inhibited, the general mental state worsens, because the nervous system is not functioning properly.
• The diet is out of balance, which means that the body receives less nutrients and elements.
• Any restriction and rejection of certain products causes a "shock" to the body, so a person begins to feel weakness, fatigue, his performance decreases.
• According to the diet, you have to eat oat bran every day, and they are not sold on every street corner.

Conclusion

Each person is the blacksmith of their own happiness, and also decides how to manage their body. He can be cared for and fed both lying on the sofa and playing sports in the gym. Or put it under extreme stress in the form of popular, but rather sophisticated, diets like the Ducan Method.

We do not limit your freedom in any way and do not try to dissuade you from making decisions. Love yourself, do not have irreparable experiences on the body and be healthy!