The Ducan Diet is one of the most advertised weight loss methods. Understanding how the diet works, what the "correct" weight is, and why eating Dukan's diet can be dangerous.
Who is Pierre Duke
The creator of the popular diet is not a nutritionist, but a therapist. Pierre Dukan was a general practitioner when an obese patient came to him in 1970. The man admitted that in order to lose weight, he is ready to give up any food except meat. The doctor developed a diet based on lean meat, non-starchy vegetables and a minimal amount of fruit. A prerequisite was the refusal of sugar.
Ducan argued that such a diet is better for natural metabolism: primitive man ate meat, seasonal vegetables, and fruits. Sugar in our understanding was inaccessible to him and therefore should be abandoned now.
After 30 years of experimentation and observation, Pierre Ducan released the book I Can't Lose Weight, which became a bestseller in 32 countries. The new method promised to lose 5 kg in one to two weeks, without being limited in the amount of food.
Celebrities who openly praised the new method increased the popularity of Ducan's designs. Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bündchen used the diet to lose weight after pregnancy and childbirth. Welsh singer Catherine Jenkins claims to be in shape feeding on Ducan's plan.
In 2012, the French Medical Council indicated that the nutritionist violated ethical principles by making medicine a commercial enterprise. In 2014, Pierre Ducan was expelled from the register of doctors for publicizing and publicizing the method.
How Diet Works
The Ducan diet implies a high-protein diet with a minimum of carbohydrates and fats. The scheme includes 100 products that can be consumed in any volume in the first few weeks.
The method largely reflects the ketogenic diet and other low-carb meal plans, in which the body is rebuilding itself for energy from fat and protein. The high protein content of foods helps balance insulin production and reduces the production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. We get full faster and eat less. However, the Ducan diet restricts not only carbohydrates but also fats. The safety and benefits of this approach are not supported by research.
Before moving on to a Ducan eating plan, you need to calculate your "correct" weight. This can be done using a special calculator. The calculation is based on height data, maximum and minimum weight, age, structural characteristics of the body. The calculator was developed by Pierre Dukan, therefore the result must be scientifically verified and consult your doctor.
Duncan's diet is divided into four phases:
- Attack.
- Alternation.
- Anchoring.
- Stabilization.
Noticeable weight loss starts already in the attack phase, which motivates you to continue eating according to the Ducan method. The reason for rapid weight loss is dehydration, because due to a lack of carbohydrates, the body loses fluid. However, experts do not confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method and the health benefits of the diet. Let's find out how the diet works and why it has many contraindications.
Stages of the Ducan Diet
The diet consists of four parts, the duration of which depends on the calculated "correct" weight. The first two steps are aimed at weight loss and the last ones are aimed at consolidating achievements. During the attack, only protein-rich foods are allowed. Then add starchless vegetables, limited fat and extra carbs.
The duration of the attack, alternation and reinforcement depends on how many pounds you need to lose to reach the "correct" weight. The final stage, which must be followed constantly, combines the fixative phase diet and weekly protein days in an attack pattern.
1. Attack
The phase lasts from two to seven days. If you need to lose 20 kg or more to reach the "correct" weight, the stage may take longer. The meal plan includes 68 protein foods and a few extras:
- meats: beef, veal, venison and other game, pork, lean bacon and soy, liver, kidneys, tongue;
- poultry: chicken fillet and liver, turkey, wild duck, quail, low-fat turkey and chicken sausage;
- fish and seafood: no restrictions, including canned tuna in water;
- vegetarian proteins: seitan - vegetable protein, meat substitute made from wheat gluten, veggie burgers and soy products, tofu and tempeh;
- eggs: chicken, quail, duck;
- low-fat dairy products: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta - no more than 1 kg per day.
The daily diet should include 1. 5 tablespoons of oat bran and at least 1. 5 liters of water. You can also add a tablespoon of goji berries, sweeteners, shirataki noodles, and unlimited diet gelatin.
Every day you need to devote 20 minutes of physical activity.
2. Alternation
The period for gradually getting the correct weight takes from a month to a year. The previous phase diet alternates every other day with a smoother and more extensive menu - 32 types of vegetables are added:
- spinach, kale, lettuce and other green vegetables
- broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts;
- Bell peppers;
- mushrooms;
- celery;
- asparagus;
- artichokes;
- zucchini;
- tomatoes;
- Pod;
- onion;
- pumpkin and pumpkin spaghetti;
- turnip;
- cucumbers;
- carrot;
- beet.
Allowed a teaspoon of olive oil for salad dressing or cooking in a pan and two tablespoons of bran. The period of physical activity is 30 minutes.
3. Anchoring
The duration of the step is determined at the rate of ten days for each kilogram lost. The goal is to avoid returning to the starting weight. You can mix any of the products from the first two steps, as well as add a limited amount of fats and carbohydrates:
- fruits: berries or chopped melon (100 g), one medium-sized apple, orange, pear, peach, nectarine or two kiwi fruit, plum or apricot;
- two slices of wholegrain bread a day;
- cheese, 40 g per day;
- starchy foods, 225 g per day: noodles, corn, beans, beans, rice or potatoes
- beef: roast beef, pork or ham once or twice a week.
Twice a week you can have a festive meal: starter, main course, glass of wine and dessert. One day a week should be protein (attack pattern). Bran - 2, 5 tablespoons, physical activity - 25 minutes.
4. Stabilization
The final step to help maintain the "correct" weight. There are no strict dietary restrictions, but you need to follow several principles:
- fixation phase products should be taken as the basis of nutrition;
- keep one protein day a week;
- walk for at least 20-30 minutes a day;
- drink 1. 5 liters of water and eat at least 30 g of bran a day.
The last step involves following your food plan at all times with a list of 100 foods with small additions.
Menu for early stages
Attack
- Breakfast: Low-fat cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, coffee or tea, water. Skimmed milk and sweeteners can be added to tea and coffee at any meal.
- Lunch: chicken breast in a pan, shirataki noodles in broth, diet gelatin, iced tea.
- Dinner: steak and shrimp, diet gelatin, coffee or tea, water.
Alternation
- Breakfast: three egg scrambled eggs, tomato slices, coffee, water.
- Lunch: Fried chicken and salad with French dressing, Greek bran yogurt, iced tea.
- Dinner: Roasted salmon fillet, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, diet gelatin, decaffeinated coffee or tea, water.
Anchorage
- Breakfast: a three-egg omelet with cheese (40 g) and spinach, coffee, water.
- Lunch: a portion of turkey with two slices of whole wheat bread, 80 g of cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, iced tea.
- Dinner: frying pork and grilled zucchini, a small apple, decaffeinated coffee, water.
Effectiveness of the Ducan Diet
No diet alone provides a long-term weight loss effect, and diet can be harmful to health. After a temporary weight loss, people return to their previous state and sometimes recover more strongly than before the diet change. A safe and effective way to reach your desired weight and maintain your health and fitness is with the help of experts to choose an appropriate lifestyle and diet that can be realistically and regularly observed.
. . .There are many scientific publications that focus on the effectiveness of high protein and low carbohydrate diets. However, there are few studies qualified according to the Ducan method.
In 2015, data from 50 women aged between 19 and 64 years were compiled in Poland, who followed the Ducan meal plan and consumed about 1, 000 calories a day, including 100 g of protein. Study participants lost 15 kg in 8 to 10 weeks.
In January the US News & World Report, one of the top three US weeklies on economics, politics and health, published a diet ranking of 23 experts. Ducan's diet came last on the list, getting 1, 9 out of 5. Experts rated the diet's effectiveness at 2, 5 and the health benefits at 2. According to the doctors, there is no evidence that losing weight according to the Ducan method can be safe and long-term, as the list of products is excessively limited and dietary rules are very complex. One expert openly called the diet "an idiot".
The diet is effective for the first few weeks. There is no scientific research to support sustained weight loss and the long-term health effects of diet have not been studied.
The harms of Duke's diet
The diet is probably suitable for healthy people over 18 years of age. The method is not recommended for chronic gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders, pregnancy, breastfeeding.
The diet has all the disadvantages of low-carb diets, as well as some specific side effects, as many healthy foods are excluded from the eating plan.
fast weight loss
The main disadvantage of the Ducan diet, according to British nutrition experts, is that it can be harmful to health:
- Initial weight loss occurs through dehydration;
- The diet is unbalanced, so you need to take additional vitamins;
- Remember the daily amount of water and the amount of oat bran needed to ensure a minimum of fiber.
disease risk
Due to the lack of beneficial vitamins and trace elements, the diet can cause:
- osteoporosis;
- problems with the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract;
- heart and blood vessel diseases;
- hormonal disorders;
- nervous system disorders.
"Ketogripp"
When changing the diet, it is possible to develop a painful condition, which is characteristic of the initial phase of diets with a large amount of protein. The reason you feel bad is a change in metabolism, as the body is rebuilding itself to receive energy from fats and proteins. Fatigue, increased hunger and thirst, attention and sleep problems, mood swings, headaches, indigestion and bouts of tachycardia can be felt for several days.
Scientists speculate that avoiding this diet could lead to future health problems. And because the diet is limited, most people end up stopping eating according to plan - they are bored and uncomfortable following a list of 100 foods and the rules for their rotation.
The Ducan diet is presumably adequate for most healthy people, but it has serious contraindications. This diet can cause diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems, as well as hormonal disturbances.
Key Facts About The Ducan Diet:
Per
- the Ducan method helps you lose weight quickly;
- for the first two weeks, you can't count calories and eat foods that are allowed almost without restrictions;
- a lot of protein decreases hunger and helps you eat less;
- the diet provides mandatory physical activity.
Against
- rapid weight loss occurs due to dehydration of the body;
- the food list is limited, so the body doesn't get the necessary nutrients. During protein days, there are no vegetables in the diet, in the following stages the amount of carbohydrates is limited;
- dietary fiber content is below the daily norm - 5 g instead of the recommended 25–38 g;
- there is no scientific evidence that such nutrition leads to sustainable weight loss;
- there are no data on the long-term health effects of diet.
Doctor's Comment
"The Ducan Diet is one of the most famous ways to lose weight. And this diet has been tried in due course by most patients who come to me for consultation.
A reasonable question arises: why, then, do they need the professional help of a nutritionist-nutritionist? The answer is simple: most of those who lost weight returned to their previous eating habits, that is, to their original weight in a few years. Unfortunately, this is the other side of the diet that people turn to in pursuit of thinness. And the Duke diet is no exception.
But that's not the most important argument, so I wouldn't recommend resorting to this diet.
The main harm of this type of nutrition is the lack of essential macro and micronutrients for a long time. The lack of vitamins and minerals can be compensated for by special biologically active complexes, but this does not replace the natural intake of natural macro and microelements. These deficient conditions lead to a decrease in immunity, a deterioration in the functioning of all the organs and systems in the body.
Dukan's diet increases the load on the excretory system, the liver, and is therefore categorically contraindicated for people with chronic kidney and liver failure, for pregnant and lactating women, for those with impaired protein metabolism, gout, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. And also during the exacerbation of chronic diseases - gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, pyelonephritis.
The Ducan Diet is a serious stress on the body, its potential harm far outweighs the benefits, and the result is very unstable in the long run.
Follow the principles of optimal nutrition, get adequate physical activity, and monitor your sleep and drinking regimen. The desired result will not be long in coming and your health will be in order. "