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

When a woman has firmly decided to lose weight and starts looking on the Internet for the best diet that gives almost instant results, it is difficult to stop her. Especially after she reads the praises in favor of one method or another. Today we will find out what the Ducan diet is, how effective it is, debunk myths and get acquainted with criticism.

The Ducan Diet - All The Important Nuances

The Dukan diet is based on eating foods high in protein and contributes to weight loss from one and a half to fifty kilograms. Tempting? Of course!

But how safe is it for health? Let's figure it 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 through a diet that included low-carb foods. Dukan, on the other hand, invented a new technique consisting of four stages - attack, alternation, consolidation and stabilization - which allow not only to lose weight, but also to maintain the weight in a constant state.

Since then, Ducan has taken up the study of protein-rich foods and their effects on the human body. Twenty years later, he wrote the book "I Can't Lose Weight", which has sold more than ten million worldwide. From that moment, the finest hour of the former neurologist began.

After the conducted opinion polls, it was found that 35% of people losing weight according to the Ducan method returned the lost kilograms within a year. 80% regained their former weight within four years.

Basic Principles

• Approved Products.Losing weight is allowed to eat foods rich in animal and vegetable protein, 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 on rough terrain. Well, or you can clean the apartment daily, moving vigorously with a floor rag. Here, as they say, everyone chooses how to increase their activity - fitness or weeding in the garden.
• Water!Don't forget to drink one and a half to two liters of clean water a 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 in order to know how many days you need to devote to one or another stage.

Doctors' opinion on diet

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

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

If you empty your glycogen stores, ketosis will begin - the breakdown of fat with the formation of a large number of ketone cells (acetone). A high concentration of glucose and acetone bodies in the blood can lead to an acid-base imbalance towards an increase in acid. Long-term disturbance of carbohydrate metabolism eventually leads to diabetic ketoacidotic coma.

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

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

Stage 1. Attack

This is the toughest and most difficult period. Usually it does not exceed seven days; the Ducan calculator will show you a more accurate figure.

Rules

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

Start each morning with a spoonful of oat bran. During the day, you can eat any food from the permitted list and in unlimited quantities. They need to be baked, boiled or steamed. Do not forget about water, since most drinks are prohibited, it is almost the only source of liquid.

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

Estimated weight loss - 2-5 kg.

Criticism

The "Attack" stage really allows you to reduce weight by a certain number of kilograms (this indicator is individual for everyone), but this does not happen due to fat burning, but through dehydration. But losing weight see the change in values ​​on the scales, are encouraged and continue to exacerbate the imbalance in nutrition.

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

The Chinese were very imaginative when choosing executions for criminals. The villains were punished sufficiently sophisticated that they would suffer as long as possible before dying. The sentenced were fed with meat alone for a long time, after which the unfortunate man died in heavy pain due to the processes of putrefaction in the intestines and poisoning of the body with toxins.

Carbohydrates are essential for humans to properly break down proteins and fats. If they do not enter the body, then a mandatory imbalance, metabolic disorders and intoxication await him.

During the "Attack" excess protein quickly begins to excrete water, which significantly increases the renal load. In addition, a smart organism tries to defend itself and tries by all means to retain the precious liquid in itself. As a result, when changing stages and introducing more benign dietary conditions, many begin to notice edema even after one eaten tomato.

One gram of carbohydrates retains 4 ml of fluid, and after carbohydrate starvation, this figure increases significantly. If a breakdown occurs, and it is inevitable due to an energy decline and imbalance, then you are unlikely to eat ordinary buckwheat - you will be drawn to sweet and starchy foods. And given the increasing water retention, the figure on the scales will definitely not please.

Allowed Products

This step includes 72 foods that are rich 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, then the restrictions are lifted - eat as much as you like.

You will definitely have to say goodbye to:

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

You can only eat protein foods!

Weekly Menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Oven-cooked chicken eggs with milk.	Chicken soup. Boiled chicken meat.	Curd casserole.
Tuesday	Steamed cheese cakes.	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, skim milk.
Friday	Boiled eggs, chicken nuggets, breaded with oat bran.	Salmon ear. Boiled chicken fillet.	Seafood cocktail.
Saturday	Shrimp omelet.	Beef steaks.	Baked mackerel, kefir.
Sunday	Grilled chicken breast.	Chicken broth with boiled eggs.	Cottage cheese, skim milk or kefir.

Ducan Diet Recipes for 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 Minced Chops

You can take absolutely any lean meat - chicken, turkey, rabbit or beef. It is finely chopped or passed through a meat grinder, a raw egg is added, and 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 in the "Baking" mode or fried in a Teflon pan without oil.

Chicken Soup

Everything is simple here. Boil the chicken breast until tender, cut into small pieces or grind with a blender and toss back into the boiling broth. Beat a couple of 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 stage in Dukan's method of losing weight. At the second stage, the desired relaxation begins. What is it?

Rules

28 more are added to the previously allowed 72 products, these are mainly vegetables. The length of the period depends on the expected weight loss - one week is allotted for one kilogram.

During this period, there is an alternation of protein and protein-vegetable days. The body is already somewhat accustomed to "bullying" and nutritional inaccuracies, so weight loss will not be as active.

If you need to get rid of five kilograms, then the alternation mode will be in one - protein day, protein-vegetable day. From 5 to 10 kg - 2/2 or 3/3 scheme. And over 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 say that at this stage, the average person loses no more than 400-500 g of weight per week. This means that the diet is far from being as fast and effective as it is "trumpeted" by stakeholders.

Criticism

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

The period of weight loss is quite long, you have to adhere to a special schedule - alternating protein and protein-vegetable days until the weight comes to the desired figure. If you need to lose a dozen kilograms, then in three months, you may not bring yourself to your grave. But it’s scary to think what kind of harm those who need to get rid of 30-40-50 kg do to themselves!

Allowed 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 100 g), low-fat cheese, mustard, low-fat lactic acid products, and also:

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

But do not forget that frying or adding oil is strictly prohibited. And nobody canceled the obligatory bran, at this stage their daily intake is increased to two tablespoons.

The following foods are prohibited:

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

Weekly Menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	An omelet made from chicken eggs and skim milk. Grated fresh carrots.	Vegetable soup. Beef steak.	Baked meat. Fresh vegetables - tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs.
Tuesday	Boiled eggs. Fresh greens.	Mushroom soup. Vegetable stew with chicken breast pieces.	Baked mackerel marinated with mustard.
Wednesday	Curd. Boiled egg. Low fat kefir or milk.	Vegetable and meatball soup. 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 greens.	Fish soup. Boiled salmon.	Grilled chicken breast with vegetables. Kefir.
Saturday	Cucumber and tomato salad. Fried eggs.	Cauliflower or broccoli puree soup. Turkey cutlets.	Zucchini pancakes. Baked fish.
Sunday	Curd casserole. Low fat milk.	Thick vegetable puree soup. Steam cutlets with vegetables.	Hake fillet stewed in milk.

Ducan Diet Recipes for Alternating Stage

At this stage, the culinary possibilities expand significantly, and Ducan's recipes are more numerous and varied.

Curd and chicken zucchini snack

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

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

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

Stuffed champignons

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

Stage No. 3. Consolidation, or Consolidation

The lost weight needs to be saved. This is what the third phase of the diet is aimed at.

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. Serving size should not exceed 220 g.
• At least once a week, you will have to eat pure protein food. This day is called "Protein Thursday" by adherents of the diet, but you can choose any other day of the week, but it is desirable that it occurs after the "holiday" excesses.
• Obligatory bran should be eaten daily for 2. 5 tablespoons. And do not forget to drink clean water - at least one and a half liters a day.

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

Criticism

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

The theory says that the body will try to get back the lost kilograms by any means. It craves this passionately, you, accordingly, try to resist it 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 portion of fruit and a "feast" of a one-time intake of complex carbohydrates a week, after which you need to arrange a fasting day on pure protein.

It is at this stage, when yummy is allowed, that the weight can start to "jump" like a child's yo-yo toy. The feeling of hunger is sharply exacerbated, grabbing hands are drawn to eat prohibited foods or extend the "holidays".

Problems with nails, skin and hair are starting to bother me again. Losing weight feels weakness, weakness, drowsiness, chills often occur. In general, once again everything is bad.

Allowed Products

At this stage, you can enter into the diet:

• fruits, except for bananas and grapes (no 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;
• some honey;
• spices.

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

Weekly Menu

Day of the week	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	Curd casserole. Tea.	Red fish ear. A slice of whole grain bread. Fruit.	Baked chicken fillet with vegetables. Kefir.
Tuesday	Oatmeal with milk. Boiled egg.	Vegetable soup. Pasta. Boiled veal.	Fish cakes. Fresh vegetable salad. Curd mousse with fruit pieces.
Wednesday	Omelet with mushrooms and cheese.	Green Bean Soup. Baked fish.	Beef stew with vegetables. Sponge cake with berries.
Thursday (protein day)	Curd. Boiled eggs.	Chicken broth. Boiled fish.	Meat, chicken or seafood.
Friday	Cheesecakes or curd casserole.	Borsch. 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. Steam cutlets.
Sunday	Fried eggs. Cheese. Coffee.	Sorrel soup with boiled eggs. Boiled chicken. Fruit.	Vegetable salad. Seafood cocktail. Dried fruit compote.

Ducan Recipes

Salad with lightly salted salmon

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 tablespoons;
• sugar - 2 tsp;
• wine vinegar - 1 tsp;
• red pepper - to taste;
• olive oil;
• chopped cilantro or parsley.

All salad components 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 from 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 boil 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, cut into cubes or slices in the usual way. A fish is taken out of the broth and crushed.

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

Finely chopped greens are poured into a plate before serving.

Stage 4. Stabilization

And finally, at this stage, you can eat whatever your heart desires, if you follow the mandatory rules.

Rules

• Eat only protein foods once a week.
• The daily portion of bran is not canceled - now you need to eat them 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 consume a slice of cheese, two starchy vegetables, a couple of slices of whole grain bread, vegetables, protein products, and fruit as a dessert every day.
• Meal size should be moderate - more often than larger.
• Fatty fish should be replaced with other seafood.
• Mandatory physical activity must be preserved. Make it a rule to walk up stairs, avoiding elevators.
• Try to avoid stress.

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

Criticism

As soon as the desired results have been achieved, most of those losing weight break loose and indulge in "all bad". They return to their old diet and start EATING!

Now think, why did you need this torment, if in the same year you could lose weight by simply removing fast carbohydrates, sausage, fried foods and pickles from your diet? At the same time, one would not need to limit oneself to a hundred products and deprive the body of the complex carbohydrates it needs so much.

Contraindications

The Ducan Diet is strictly prohibited for people suffering from:

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

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

Pros and cons of the Dukan diet

If you believe the creator of the diet, the advantages of the method of losing weight 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 highly effective.
• You can eat permitted foods in any quantity and whenever you want. And considering that there are more than a hundred of them, you can always diversify your menu with delicious dishes.
• The result is visible from the very first days.

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

• Fats are almost completely excluded from the diet, and this is fraught with deterioration of the skin condition and many diseases - atherosclerosis develops, cholesterol metabolism is disturbed, the reproductive system is inhibited, the general mental state worsens, since the nervous system does not work properly.
• The diet is unbalanced, which means that the body does not receive enough nutrients and elements.
• Any restriction and rejection of certain products leads to a "shock" for the body, so a person begins to feel weakness, fatigue, his performance decreases.
• According to the diet, you need to eat oat bran every day, and they are not sold on every corner.

Conclusion

Each person is the blacksmith of his own happiness, and also decides how to manage his body. It can be groomed and nurtured both while lying on the couch and playing sports in the gym. Or subject him to extreme stress in the form of popular, but rather sophisticated diets, such as the Ducan method.

We in no way limit your freedom and do not try to dissuade you from making decisions. Just love yourself, do not make irreparable experiments on the body and be healthy!