The Dukan diet is a popular diet plan formulated by a French doctor Pierre Dukan. The special feature of the diet plan is that you need not sacrifice your favorite dishes to lose weight.
How to lose weight is the problem of a majority of the people all over the world. If you search the internet you are sure to come across numerous suggestions.
When you meet your friends at the weekend, each and everyone is ready to give you a lot of suggestions. Some ask you to go on a fast and some ask you to go to a gym and work yourself out.
Almost all diet plans help in reducing weight, but the problem is that when you go back to your normal dieting habits, you will regain the lost pounds. The best diet plan is a plan that keeps you slim and fit forever.
This diet plan makes sure that the weight lost is not regained. Let us see how.
The Dukan diet plan is divided into four stages. The first two stages reduces the weight and the next two stages maintains the same weight.
The four stages are called by Dukan as attack, cruise, consolidation and stabilization. They are explained below.
Dukan Diet Attack Phase
The attack phase consists of a purely protein menu. He gives a long list of protein rich foods that can be eaten.
The list includes poultry, fish, eggs, all types of seafood, and beef etc. The diet plan at this stage strictly prohibits fat.
The meat, poultry and beef should be free from fat and should not be cooked in oil. You can take dairy products but they should be fat-free or should have a very low fat content.
Drinking at least one and a half liters of water is compulsory. You can take black tea or green tea without adding milk.
Dukan Diet Cruise Phase
In this stage plenty of vegetables should be added to the diet. The vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, sprouts, spinach and all types of vegetables that have no or little starch content. The vegetables are an addition to the pure protein diet.
Dukan plan suggests that for every pound you want to lose, you should follow this protein plus vegetable for three days. The diet should be continued till the target is reached.
Dukan Diet Consolidation Phase
This phase is very important because the body may regain the lost pounds in this stage. Dukan is very strict about the timescale set for this stage.
He sets 4-5 days for every pound lost in the first two stages. In this stage you should add fresh fruits to the diet. Cheese, starchy vegetables and two celebration meals are allowed in this phase.
Make sure that your celebration meals are not on the same day and are not consecutive. Give a break before going for next celebration.
Dukan Diet Stabilization Phase
This is the phase that is permanent and you are supposed to follow this for the rest of your life. Dukan advises to follow some rules to maintain your ideal weight.
The first one is every Thursdays should be a protein only day.
The next one is include oat bran in your meals. Oats are rich in fiber that the protein rich food lacks.
The third one is to avoid lifts and escalators and use stairs whenever and wherever possible.
The Dukan diet plan has both advantages and disadvantages.
Dukan Diet Pros
The benefits are that the plan does work and you are sure to burn fat and see a notable difference in your weight. He gives importance in maintaining the ideal weight.
The diet plan is loved by the non-vegetarians who hate diet plans that follow a strict vegetarian diet. It is easy to follow and the diet does not leave you craving for food.
Dukan Diet Cons
The cons of Dukan diet are that it has some side effects like high cholesterol, risk of gout due to protein rich diet and constipation etc.
It is expensive. It is not suitable for all. It is not advisable for pregnant women and people who have liver and kidney problems.
Atkins diet also focuses on proteins, but it does not avoid fat and oils. Those who follow Dukan diet lose weight fast, whereas, people following plans like weight watchers lose weight slowly.
This diet plan promotes self control that is very important in losing weight. As the Dukan diet plan is divided into four stages, it motivates the people more than any other plans.
