The Dukan Diet Diary - Life on the Low Carb Weight Loss Plan

The Dukan Diet Book

The Dukan Diet begins with the history and theory of the Dukan diet. What you're getting is an explanation of why the Dukan diet is high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat, low sugar and low salt. The importance of drinking water and taking regular exercise is explained as well as stressed by Dr. Dukan. Reading this section is not essential to losing weight on the Dukan diet – if you already know the basics but, in my opinion, is the difference in having an easy time on the diet or a stressful one

As I discussed in a previous post. When you don't understand the diet and why certain foods are to be eaten or avoided you are limited to blindly following set rules. Unsure of yourself and desperate to succeed, it is all too easy to massively err on the side of caution and eliminate anything not explicitly mentioned by some ‘authority' as OK. This uncertainly that you are following the diet properly is also stressful when of course it needn't be.

Here are some interesting points raised by Dr. Dukan in this section:

In the discussion of carbohydrate he says:

"Carbohydrates contain only four calories per gram, but usually their intake is large so the calories soon mount up [...] Furthermore, we digest starch and flour products slowly, producing fermentation and gas, which causes swelling as unpleasant as it is unattractive."

On protein and skin tone

"A diet lacking in proteins forces the body to use its own muscles and the skin's proteins, so the skin loses elasticity [...] these effects cause aging of the skin, hair, and even general appearance which friends and family soon notice."

"[On a protein rich diet] the weight loss is rapid and toning, muscle firmness is maintained and the skin glows, allowing you to lose weight without looking older."

Dukan continually stresses the importance of water.

"To simplify things, it may seem essential to burn calories so that our fat reserves melt away; but this combustion, as necessary as it is, is not enough. Losing weight is as much about eliminating as it is burning [...] A diet that does not involve drinking sufficient quantity of water is a bad diet. Not only is it ineffective, but it leads to the accumulation of harmful waste."

Of course while drinking a lot of water is good, water retention is not. The way to avoid water retention is not by cutting down on water intake but salt intake. Dukan says:

"one litre of water weighs two pounds and two teaspoons of salt are enough to retain this water in your body's tissues for a day or two."

We not only have a reminder on the dangers of too much salt but also of two much time on the bathroom scales. If you eat a meal with a high salt content and weigh yourself in the next couple of days then you'll see the water weight and get depressed.

On exercise, an often debated issue on Dukan diet forums, Dukan is very clear:

"I have there therefore decided to include exercise and in particular walking as a full driving force in my programme. I now no longer recommend it but I PRESCRIBE it as I would medication." (his emphasis)

There is an entire chapter devoted to exercise in The Dukan Diet. It opens with:

If you REALLY want to lose weight,
If you REALLY want to never again put weight back on,
You must TOTALLY change how you view exercise. (his emphasis)

Dukan spends the chapter discussing how exercise makes a difference to the diet. We all know that exercise helps you lose weight but it's interesting to read about why it helps. He includes a long discussion on the benefits of walking.

Dukan diet recipes and menus

The Dukan Diet has a large section of recipes and menu ideas. Now it's great fun coming up with your own ideas and these recipes can only help. There are inventive ways of adding flavour to your meals with Dukan diet friendly sauces and marinades. Some good ideas for desserts are included too, in case you have a sweet tooth. You'll refer often too this section of the book, I'm sure. At the back of the book there is a list of 100 allowed foods on the Dukan diet, listed in categories: meat, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, non-fat dairy, tofu, vegetable. I didn't know I could have pumpkins or swedes whilst on the Dukan diet!

Dukan diet alternating PURE PROTEIN and PROTEIN + VEGETABLE (1/1 or 5/5?)

During the second phase of the Dukan diet (the one I've been referring to as The Weight loss phase) should you alternative protein only days with protein + vegetable days or do 5 days protein only followed by 5 days protein + vegetable, then 5 days protein only, and so on. The simple answer is that you can do either and that although the weight loss is more rapid in the 5/5 things even after twenty days or so. The confusion arises from the fact that Dr. Dukan first suggested only 5/5 but after subsequent result he discover that motivated dieters found it easier to follow 1/1 days. You have to read The Dukan Diet for a more thorough explanation.

The Dukan diet review : conclusion

How effective the Dukan diet is, you'll have to judge yourself or follow this blog and see how I get along. The Dukan Diet book however is well worth a read. The price is very reasonable, I paid £12.99 at Waterstones but I've seen it cheaper if you buy online. The information is nicely presented, with complex ideas explained in simple terms but without dumbing it down too much. Dukan is keen on motivation and he is trying to motivate you as you read his book. So obviously the book is not just information about nutrition but an encouragement to follow the Dukan diet. Consequently, proteins come out very much as the good guys, with fats, carbs and sugars the bad guys.  However the book isn't a diatribe against certain foods, Dukan's claims seem reasonable and well thought out.

The biggest thing you'll get from reading The Dukan Diet is confidence. Confidence that the Dukan diet will succeed where other diets have failed (perhaps you'll discover the reason for previous failure in Dukan's discussions) and confidence that you are following the Dukan Diet correctly if you have learnt about it 2nd hand from others. The recipes are numerous and inventive. And easy to cook too.