The problem of excess weight is one of the most urgent in the world, every year this issue becomes more and more urgent. A sedentary lifestyle, love of television and computers, poor quality food, and chemical food additives negatively affect people's physical condition. Doctors have long been sounding the alarm, trying to draw attention to the global problem of obesity. This, of course, does not concern you or me, but it is not worth starting the situation either, especially since summer and holidays are coming soon.
In this article we will talk about the weight loss system of Pierre Ducan, a French nutritionist who revolutionized the world of dietetics, and who proposed a completely new method to lose weight, based not on reducing the amount of calories, but on the compositionand properties of food that enter the body.
What is the Ducan diet?
Pierre Dukan is a French physician and nutritionist who has been studying the effects of food on the human body for more than forty years. Having studied the eating behavior of people, he was able to discover the secret of reaching an ideal weight without fasting and severe restrictions on eating. Pierre Dukan has written 19 books, but the bestseller "I don't know how to lose weight" brought him the greatest fame, thanks to which more than 15 million people were able to lose weight.
Pierre Ducan's diet is designed for people who cannot starve, his motto is "Eat all you want and lose weight". Pierre Dukan first addressed nutritional problems when one of his clients needed help fighting obesity. After the doctor proposed his developments, the patient lost 3 kilograms in five days and in the next three days he lost another 1. 5 kg, which marked the beginning of Ducan's career as a nutritionist.
The system is based on the principles of a protein diet, which allows you to start the process of burning fat deposits and thus shedding excess weight without damaging muscle tissue. A sharp decrease in the amount of carbohydrates and fats consumed contributes to effective weight loss and "dry out" the figure. Note that this technique can be called the nutritional system rather than diet, because it is divided into four main stages, after passing which you can completely change your eating habits and learn to eat in such a way as to maintain an ideal weight.
When a large amount of protein enters the body, metabolism is accelerated, toxins and toxins are removed, hunger and constant nervousness disappear. However, a prolonged absence of the correct fats and carbohydrates in the diet can lead to poor health and the appearance of serious diseases, therefore, it is necessary to adhere to a protein diet clearly according to the scheme, listening to all therecommendations and following the rules.
The main difference between the Ducan diet and other methods is that it does not impose any restrictions on the amount of food consumed, you do not have to count every bite taken and suffer from hunger. The system ensures that the weight remains within the normal range even after the end of the diet.
The advantage of the Ducan diet is that it is very effective and does not cause hunger. The downside of all weight loss methods is usually standard - a poor diet balance, so you need to strictly adhere to the diet plan and listen to your feelings, if you feel uncomfortable, you may need to choose another option to lose weight.
Diet plan
The Dr. Ducan diet is the first to use a structured approach and a four-step weight loss system. The first two stages are aimed at effective weight loss, and the rest are aimed at consolidating the result obtained and stabilizing the weight. In the course of weight loss, one should be guided by a list of 100 allowed foods that can be eaten at different stages of the diet: 72 pure protein products: fish, meat, shellfish, plant proteins, low-fat dairy productsand 28 types of vegetables. Oat bran is an important part of the system, so don't neglect them.
In the "Attack" stage it is allowed to consume 72 products from the first group, in the "Alternation" stage (or "Cruise") another 28 vegetables are introduced into the diet. During the consolidation of the result, the body gets used to the new diet, and a pure protein Thursday allows to adjust the weight to avoid sudden fluctuations and loss of shape.
In the last, fourth stage, you can eat any food, but follow these rules:
- Observe a protein day once a week when eating pure protein foods
- Move at least 20 minutes a day and decline the elevator
- Eat three tablespoons of bran every day
In addition to nutrition, Dr. Ducan pays great attention to physical activity. He tries to walk every day and also works out in the gym, bike, swim, or dance. The main thing is to move more, because physical activity helps burn calories, converts body fat into a useful source of energy, and helps maintain muscle tone.
Before starting a diet, calculate your correct weight, on which Dukan's additional nutrition depends.
Remember the basic rules that must be strictly observed: drink 1, 5-2 liters of water a day, actively move and eat oat bran daily.
Completely exclude fat, oil and mayonnaise from the diet, salads can be seasoned with lemon juice or soy sauce.
Steam, grill, bake, or boil food, or you can cook in a nonstick skillet.
It is advisable to abstain from alcohol, sugar, chips and fruits with high sugar content (bananas, cherries, cherries, grapes, figs).
If you carefully follow all recommendations, you can lose up to 5 kg. in the week.
During the diet, it is allowed to consume black, green and herbal teas, coffee, cola and light pepsi, low-fat cocoa (1 teaspoon a day), cornstarch (1 tablespoon a day), skimmed milk powder(up to 3 tablespoons per day), wheat bran (1 tablespoon), baking powder, gelatin, vanilla and cinnamon, sugar substitutes (except glucose, fructose and sorbitol).
Attack
So the first stage - "Attack", lasts from 2 to 10 days (depending on the weight you would like to lose), the duration is determined using the online calculator, which we have already discussed above, for example if 5 poundstoo many, then the "Attack" lasts 2 days, 5-10 kg. - 3 days, 10-20 kg. - 5 days. At this stage, the first results of the diet are clearly manifested, the weight loss is 2-6 kg. At this time, fats are actively broken down, so a dry mouth and slight odor may appear, but proponents of the diet argue that this is normal.
During the "Attack" the strictest food restrictions are applied and the daily menu includes only protein products:
- Lean beef or veal
- Calf kidney and liver
- Chicken and turkey without skin
- Beef or veal tongue
- Seafood and fish
- Skimmed ham (we do not recommend it for consumption, because domestic ham, unlike French, is not made with natural meat, but with ingredients of dubious quality with chemical additives)
- Skim milk, kefir and cottage cheese
- Onions, garlic, seasonings, vinegar, salt, soy sauce and spices
In the first phase, it is not allowed to eat rabbit, pork, duck, goose meat. Consume 1. 5 tablespoons of oat bran every day. Eggs are allowed in limited quantities (no more than 2 yolks per day, whites, as many as you like), crab sticks - no more than 8 pieces per day.
An example menu during the "Attack" might look like this:
1 day
Breakfast: scrambled eggs (2 eggs and 4 tablespoons skim milk), bran bread and low-fat cottage cheese, coffee or tea
Lunch: chicken broth
Afternoon snack: kefir
Dinner: steamed cutlets, bread
Day 2
Breakfast: bran and oatmeal with milk
Lunch: ear
Afternoon snack: kefir
Dinner: chicken cutlets, tea or coffee
Day 3
Breakfast: cheesecakes, tea or coffee
Lunch: baked fish with herbs and lemon
Snack: plain yogurt with oat cake
Dinner: Seafood cocktail
Late dinner: curd
Day 4
Breakfast: lightly salted red fish with oat cake, tea or coffee
Lunch: chicken breast baked in kefir
Snack: curd
Dinner: omelette and baked veal
Late dinner: kefir
Day 5
Breakfast: bran pancakes with cottage cheese
Lunch: fish, mustard sauce
Snack: natural yogurt
Dinner: Curd casserole
6 days
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, tea or coffee
Lunch: beef soup
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: Baked salmon fillet with mustard
7 days
Breakfast: curd casserole
Lunch: ear with oat bread
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: baked meat with melted cheese
Don't forget that you don't need to limit yourself to the size of the portion, you can eat as much as you want and a large selection of products allows you to create a menu for all tastes.
On the Internet you can find many interesting recipes to cook according to the Ducan system, here are some of them.
Chicken cutlets
Add 1 raw egg and 2 finely chopped boiled eggs, salt, pepper and green onion to the minced chicken (0. 5 kg). Fry without oil or steam.
Coffee cream
Low-fat soft cottage cheese - 400 grams, sugar substitute - 10 measuring spoons, coffee - 2 teaspoons, water - 50 grams. Brew coffee in 50 ml. water (if soluble, dissolve it), add the sugar substitute and strain into a bowl with smooth curd. Beat the dough with a mixer.
Ricotta cookies
1 egg white, low-fat ricotta cheese - 2 tbsp. tablespoons (or regular smooth curd), oat bran - 2 tablespoons, sweetener. Mix the ingredients in a bowl, put in the form of cookies in a pan and fry on both sides or bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes. When the cookies are done, top with a mixture of curd, sweetener, and zest (vanilla, cocoa).
Cruise
During the second phase - "Cruising" or "Alternating", you will achieve the desired result, and the duration of the stage depends on how many kilograms you plan to lose. As the name implies, at this time protein days alternate with protein and vegetable days. If you need to lose weight less than 10 kg. Then the scheme can vary, for example, 1 day of proteins and 1 day - vegetables + proteins, 3 days of proteins and 3 days of vegetables + proteins, 5 days of proteins and 5 days of vegetables + proteins. Choose an option that is convenient for you. But if the excess weight is more than 10 kilograms, alternate 5 protein days and 5 protein-vegetable days. Thanks to such a system, the metabolism is normalized, toxins, toxins, fat and salts are removed from the body.
In the second stage, you can eat as much as you want, using foods from the allowed list and adding greens: tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, green beans, radishes, asparagus, cabbage, celery, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, beets, pepper. Don't eat potatoes, cereals and pasta, peas, corn, beans, lentils, olives, avocados, and beans.
It is advisable to limit carrots and beets, because they contain sugar, it is allowed to use tomato paste in small amounts of cooking. Every day you can choose only two products from which are added, eat products from the first phase without restrictions. Another prerequisite: eat two tablespoons of oat bran a day.
The menu in the "Cruise" stage looks like this:
1 day
Breakfast: herb omelette
Second breakfast: cottage cheese
Lunch: Tuna salad (tuna, green beans, hard-boiled egg, herbs. Season with lemon juice, yogurt and black pepper)
Snack: baked chicken breast with vegetable salad
Dinner: cabbage stewed with herbs and spices, boiled beef tongue with horseradish
Day 2
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bran breads
Lunch: meat and vegetable soup
Snack: bran pancakes with kefir
Dinner: baked chicken breast with herbs and roasted vegetables (aubergine, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes)
Day 3
Breakfast: ham omelette
Lunch: hodgepodge
Afternoon snack: curd casserole
Dinner: baked meat with vegetable salad
Day 4
Breakfast: hard-boiled eggs, lightly salted salmon, oat bread
Lunch: meatball and bran soup
Snack: cheesecakes
Dinner: Chicken cutlets with vegetable salad
Day 5
Breakfast: omelette and yogurt
Lunch: fish soup
Snack: cottage cheese
Dinner: meatloaf with baked vegetables
Anchor
The “Consolidation” (or “Consolidation”) stage is designed to consolidate the results obtained in the first two phases and gradually return to the daily diet. Rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, vegetable oil, fruits are gradually added to the main products. Every day you need to eat 2-3 tablespoons of oat bran and 3 teaspoons of honey. One day a week stay fully protein to avoid sudden weight gain. Pierre Dukan recommends protein on Thursday, but you can choose the day yourself based on your pace of life.
The duration of this stage depends on the amount of weight lost in the "Attack" and "Cruise" phases, calculated by the formula: multiply each kilogram lost by 10 days. For example, if you lost 3 kg, then the "Cruise" should last 30 days, and if you lost 10 kg, it will take 100 days to fix it.
Consolidation includes one fruit per day, one slice of low-fat cheese and roast lamb or pork several times a week, one serving of "starchy foods", and one "stomach feast. "Divide the third stage into two equal parts: during the first part you can eat a serving of "starchy foods" (rice-120 gr. , 2-3 baked potatoes, buckwheat or pasta) per week and a "stomach feast"(food, when you can eat whatever you want in the ration). In the second part, you can eat two servings a week of both.
Sample menu at this stage:
1 day
Breakfast: apple and cinnamon cheesecakes
Second breakfast: yogurt
Lunch: vegetable soup and chicken cutlets with oatmeal bread
Snack: cheesecake
Dinner: grilled fish and vegetables
Day 2
Breakfast: baked chicken, hard boiled egg and yogurt
Lunch: vegetable soup and grilled meat
Snack: cheesecakes
Dinner: baked meat with rice and vegetables
Day 3
Breakfast: scrambled eggs and bran breads
Lunch: hodgepodge
Snack: Fruit
Dinner: fish and vegetables, glass of red wine
Day 4
Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole with red berries
Lunch: oat bran soup
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: Chicken cutlets with salad
Day 5
Breakfast: cheesecakes and coffee
Lunch: meatball soup with vegetables
Snack: Fruit
Dinner: baked meat with roasted vegetables
Stabilization
The final phase of the Stabilization Diet helps you transition to your daily diet so you don't gain weight later. At that point, your eating habits will completely change and you will clearly know which foods to avoid and which to limit.
You can eat anything, but don't get carried away by flours and fatty foods, and also include as much meat and vegetables as possible on your menu. To maintain the weight gained, follow these rules: eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran a day, limit yourself to protein on Thursdays, drink lots of water, and exercise or walk a lot. The more you play sports and pay attention to physical activity, the more likely that excess weight will not reappear.
Lastly, write a couple more recipes for Ducan's nutritional system:
Egg salad
Cut the hard-boiled eggs into cubes, mix them with a handful of finely chopped green onions, add low-calorie sour cream, and the salad is done.
Pan
2 tablespoons of oat bran, 1 tablespoon of wheat bran, 2 eggs, 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of kefir, a can of nonfat soft cottage cheese, 1 bag of baking powder. In a bowl, mix all the starch, bran, and salt. In another bowl, mix the kefir, eggs, and curd. We combine everything and put it in shape. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Baked hake in aluminum foil
Marinate the hake fillets in lemon juice, salt, add herbs, spices and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
What other options can you suggest?
The protein diet group, in addition to the Ducan diet, includes the classic French diet and the paleo diet, which Ducan himself calls a copy of his weight loss strategy.
French diet
The classic French protein diet is designed for 14 days, at this time you must strictly adhere to the menu, deviating from the strictly established diet is not allowed. The diet is based on meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, herbs, fruits, and dry rye bread. Bread and pastries, sugar, fruit juices, salt and various pickles, as well as alcohol are prohibited.
The technique is quite effective and guarantees a weight loss of 4-8 kg. However, like most diets, it is poorly balanced, so you should not stick with it for long. Another disadvantage of the French diet is the harsh diet that not everyone can bear. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the menu often suggests using boiled sausage or ham, and this moment provokes puzzling comments on the forums.
However, we must bear in mind that the diet came to us from France, and the quality of the products, in particular hams and sausages, in our country is completely different. If in France ham is made with natural meat, we cannot boast about it, so we recommend that our readers substitute natural meat for sausage.
The 7 Day French Diet Menu looks like this:
1 day
Breakfast: black coffee
Lunch: two eggs, lettuce, tomato
Dinner: 100 grams of cooked lean meat, lettuce
Day 2
Breakfast: black coffee, rye crouton
Lunch: a piece of cooked meat (100 grams)
Dinner: Lettuce and boiled meat salad
Day 3
Breakfast: coffee and rye croutons
Lunch: a medium carrot fried in vegetable oil, 1 tomato and a tangerine
Dinner: Salad with cooked meat, lettuce and two hard-boiled eggs
Day 4
Breakfast: same as the previous days
Lunch: a medium raw carrot, 100 grams of cheese and an egg
Dinner: fruits and kefir
Day 5
Breakfast: a medium raw carrot with fresh lemon juice
Lunch: tomato and 100 gr. boiled fish
Dinner: 100 gr. boiled beef
6 days
Breakfast: coffee
Lunch: boiled chicken, green salad
Dinner: boiled meat
7 days
Breakfast: green tea
Lunch: boiled meat and orange
Dinner: chicken with lettuce
The menu for the second week repeats the presented ration or you can create your own menu from the same products only in a different combination. The introduction of new products is not allowed.
Paleo Diet
This diet is also called "caveman diet", its essence is that you need to eat like our distant ancestors. Before the food revolution, which occurred 10, 000 years ago, people ate meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and berries. Then man invented agriculture and cereals and dairy products began to dominate the diet. In the modern world, hydrogenated fats and refined sugar, flavor enhancers, and colorings have been added to the menu.
Today, 70% of the calories a person gets from foods our ancestors never even imagined, so proponents of the "cave diet" suggest going back to where you started and stop eating"unnatural food for its kind". Interestingly, research supports this theory. In 2008, scientists from the University of Karolinska transferred a group of men and women to the Stone Age menu. Within three weeks, calorie intake dropped by 35%, blood pressure dropped by 5%, and the risk of blood clots dropped by 72%.
The main characteristic of the paleo diet is that you can eat as much as you want, just follow that all products repeat the diet of the ancient peoples. Interestingly, this technique does not limit your intake of adequate fats and carbohydrates. The diet helps normalize blood sugar levels, reduces cholesterol levels and helps lose extra pounds due to the large amount of protein and the combination of meat with vegetables and fruits.
The diet is based on all kinds of lean meats, fish and shellfish, eggs, fruits (except nuts), vegetables, except potatoes and corn, nuts. All grain products (they cause inflammation in the body), milk and dairy products (often contain hormones due to dishonesty of manufacturers), flour and confectionery products and fast food should be excluded.
The paleo diet menu can be not only tasty, but also healthy:
Breakfast: for two servings a handful of frozen berries, 3 handfuls of red currants, 1 cup of unrefined sugar, a handful of crushed hazelnuts, 2 large pinches of jasmine tea, lemon.
Spread the red currants on a tray and sprinkle with sugar, when the sugar dissolves, transfer everything to a bowl. Put the other frozen berries in a pan and put on the fire when they release the juice, add jasmine tea, pour lemon juice and stir. Pour the mixture over the red currants, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and eat.
Lunch: 4 servings: 4 chicken breasts, 6 turnip tubers, 5 small turnips, 4 peeled kohlrabi tubers, 10 small beets. Adobo: a good portion of olive oil, lime juice, 3 minced chili peppers and 3 cloves of garlic, a pinch of coriander, cinnamon, ginger, dried parsley and oregano.
Mix the marinade ingredients and rub the chicken breasts with them. Put the tubers in foil and fields with oil, bake for 40 minutes in an oven preheated to 220 degrees. Grill the chicken breasts for 12 minutes (flip once). If there is not enough salt, add a little cooked food.
Dinner: Mackerel with salad. For 4 servings, you will need 4 mackerel, lime, olive oil. Grate the fish with a mixture of mustard and olive oil, fry on each side for 5 minutes. Take a large quantity of watercress, cut 4 tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 red onion and cover with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. Serve the fish and salad wonderfully and garnish with lemon wedges, now you can enjoy a wonderful dinner.
What they say about the Ducan diet
The Dukan diet is very popular, it is actively discussed, groups and blogs are created on social networks, in which recipes, reviews of doctors and those who lose weight about the diet are published.
Among celebrities, Jennifer Lopez, Gisele Bündchen, Keith Middleton and American culinary expert Gina Keatley are addicted to the Ducan diet. In general, the reviews confirm the effectiveness of the diet and active weight loss, but there are also negative comments, so I would like to point out once again that the diet must be strictly adhered to according to the rules, it is impossible to remain seated fora long time, because an imbalance in the diet leads to a number of diseases.
Negative reviews are often associated with non-adherence to dietary rules and amateur performance, so we recommend that you avoid being creative and stick to the plan. The effect of diet on the body is individual, listen carefully to your feelings and if you feel that the diet is not suitable for you, choose another option.
There is a myth that the Ducan diet is prohibited in France and Europe, but in fact it is not true, because the authorities cannot prohibit the diet. However, the British Association of Nutritionists in the United Kingdom (one of the oldest organizations of its kind, founded in 1936) has criticized the Ducan diet many times and for several years in a row has called it the worst popular diet.
The negative opinion of nutritionists is based on an unbalanced diet and insufficient calories. Doctors warn that by sticking to the diet, you will face a lack of vitamins and minerals, poor digestion (limited consumption of vegetables and fruits), and lack of energy (low carbohydrates). If the Ducan diet is used by an actively working person (it does not matter if they are engaged in mental or physical tasks), then there is a significant risk to health.