Protein diet of Pierre Dukan: description of the stages of the diet
Pierre Dukan outlined his methodology in detail in his work “I Can’t Lose Weight,” which was translated into Russian in 2011. In just a few years, the book became a bestseller on the Russian market, and the diet attracted thousands of fans. What is the secret of Pierre Dukan's author's program?
In his book, the French nutritionist tells stories of weight loss that ended disappointingly: people were never able to lose weight. The whole point is that we don’t know how to lose weight, says Dukan. To lose weight comfortably, you need to eat certain foods, and there are as many as 100 of them in the Dukan table, and this does not take into account numerous additional ingredients. Fasting and constant menu restrictions will never lead to a slim figure, says a doctor from France.
Here are the main advantages of the Dukan method:
- You eat foods containing protein whenever you want and in any quantity. You won't know what hunger is on the Dukan diet
- The result is noticeable already at the first stage
- You lose weight quite quickly, but without harm to your health
- You lose fat mass while maintaining muscle
- The condition of the skin, hair, nails improves
- The last stage of the diet is as close as possible to proper nutrition. The diet teaches you the right eating habits, so that once you lose weight, you won’t gain excess weight again.
IMPORTANT: Pierre Dukan asks to completely avoid oil and fat, sugar and alcohol when preparing food.
The entire weight loss journey is divided into 4 phases of varying lengths: attack, alternation (cruise), consolidation (consolidation), stabilization.
The attack phase is a literal attack on the weight. This is the shortest stage of weight loss that gives the most impressive results. The duration of the attack does not exceed ten days, and during this time you can lose as much as 7 kg.
During the attack, you are allowed to cook only protein foods. There are 72 of these products in total, and they are listed in the table of 100 products allowed on Dukanovka. You can eat protein meals at any time of the day and until you are full. Dukan gives permission to eat even at night. Any other products are excluded.
For the aroma and correct consistency of dishes, Dukan allows you to include the following ingredients in unlimited quantities:
- black, green, herbal tea
- natural black coffee
- drinks marked “light” - they do not contain sugar
- sugar substitutes, excluding glucose, fructose and sorbitol
- flavorings
- baking powder
- gelatin
- vinegar
- vanillin
- lemon juice
- natural soy sauce
- cinnamon
- greenery
IMPORTANT: An important commitment in the first phase is to consume 1.5 tbsp. oat bran every day. Bran can be eaten with fermented milk drinks, and you can prepare a variety of dishes based on it, including baking sweet buns.
When it comes to physical activity, a lack of carbohydrates in your diet is unlikely to give you enough energy to exercise. Dukan recommends daily brisk walks lasting 20 minutes.
The alternation phase (cruise) involves alternating protein and protein-vegetable days. In addition to 72 protein items, the menu now also includes 28 vegetables. Now your diet will become truly rich. You can still eat any dishes at a time convenient for you and until you are completely full.
Potatoes, beans, peas, corn and some other vegetables are prohibited on a cruise.
The stage continues until you achieve the desired result, that is, you lose all the extra pounds. On average, you will lose weight by 1 kg per week, at the end of the phase - by 0.5 kg per week.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to eat 2 tbsp. oat bran daily
To make weight loss even more effective, exercise yourself for at least 30 minutes a day. If you have no desire to visit the gym, walk briskly for half an hour every day. You should walk as if you are late for something.
Consolidation (consolidation) is a phase for fixing the achieved result. This is a very important stage, without which all your efforts will be in vain and the kilograms will return after a while. 10 days is how long it takes to maintain each kilogram you lose. Therefore, to calculate the time frame for the stage, multiply each kilogram you lose by 10.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to set aside one day a week for pure proteins. Let it be, for example, mandatory protein Thursday.
Every day you are now allowed to eat 1 fruit or a handful of berries and a couple of slices of hard cheese up to 40% fat. Treat yourself to lamb or pork 2-3 times a week. In the first half of consolidation, you can eat a product rich in starch once a week, in the second half - twice a week.
In this phase, a very pleasant bonus appears - a feast. A feast is permission to eat absolutely any food in one meal. It could be pizza or cake - any fatty and high-calorie treat. In the first half of the stage, feasting is allowed once a week, in the second - twice.
IMPORTANT: The norm of oat bran at the consolidation stage is 2.5 tbsp.
Don't forget about physical activity for 20-30 minutes a day.
So, 3 stages of the diet are completed, and you are now the owner of an ideal figure. The final touch remains - the stabilization stage , which lasts your entire life. Don't be afraid of the deadlines, because now you can eat any food. Pierre Dukan leaves a set of rules that will help you never gain excess weight again:
- 3 tbsp. oat bran daily
- one protein day per week
- 1.5-2.5 liters of water per day
- daily walking
Dukan Diet Rules: List of Allowed Foods
Basic rules of “Dukan” for each stage:
- drink 1.5 liters of purified water without gas per day
- move more: forget about the elevator, walk instead of traveling by transport, etc.
- eat more protein and less carbohydrates
- walk briskly every day for 20-30 minutes
- Every day for the rest of your life, eat 1.5-3 tbsp. oat bran depending on the stage of the program
- cook without oil or fat
- boil, bake, stew, steam and grill and fry less
You can see the list of allowed foods on the diet in the table of 100 foods.
Table of 100 foods allowed on the Dukan diet
From the alternation stage, it is allowed to introduce 2 products per day into the diet from the list of ADOPs - additional products.
List of additional products on the Dukan diet. Allowed from rotation stage
Calculation of weight and duration of the Dukan diet. How long does each stage of the Dukan Diet last?
Determine the number of extra pounds you have. To do this, you will need to decide which scale mark will be your ultimate dream. This will be the ideal weight that you will achieve already at stage 2 of the program. Depending on the volume of excess mass, the duration of each stage is calculated.
IMPORTANT: There are services on the Internet for online calculation of diet time frames individually for everyone. To do this, you will need to fill out fields about your starting weight and the weight you are aiming for.
The first days of the Dukan diet
The first stage of the program may seem quite difficult, despite the permission to eat at any time of the day or night and in any quantity. Eating pure proteins can cause weakness, dizziness, and general malaise, because there are no carbohydrates in the diet. This is why Pierre Ducane does not recommend putting physical strain on yourself these days.
The incentive to stick to your diet will be rapid weight loss. Already on the second day of the attack you will notice the first results - 0.5-1 kilogram lost.
Many people have difficulty creating a menu for each day during the attack phase. We offer a sample menu for 1 day.
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs from 3 chicken eggs, a slice of lightly salted salmon, a cup of green tea
- Snack: low-fat natural yogurt with oatmeal
- Lunch: a portion of boiled beef, veal or chicken
- Afternoon snack: boiled seafood of your choice
- Dinner: salmon steak, glass of kefir 1% fat
"Pitfalls" of the Dukan diet
In this article, using the example of the popular Dukan diet, let me show you that such “fashionable” weight loss is not suitable for everyone. It may be hazardous to health. Let's take a look at the pitfalls of Dr. Dukan's diet, which is so popular.
The Dukan diet is designed for an absolutely healthy person; it is not intended for people with health problems. Animal meat contains a large amount of purine substances. They enter the body during metabolism and form uric acid. Excess uric acid aggravates diseases such as gout, psoriasis, urolithiasis, kidney stones, etc. Be careful with the amount of meat in your diet!
The essence of the diet is a diet with a large amount of protein foods, and virtually no carbohydrates and vegetable fats. The diet consists of 4 stages:
- “Attack” - a person eats only protein foods. Duration of the stage: 1 – 5 days, depending on the initial weight
- “Alternating” - a person alternates purely protein days with protein-vegetable days (that is, on these days, in addition to protein foods, you can eat vegetables). Duration of the stage: until the desired weight is achieved
- “Fixation” - you are allowed to add a portion of fruit, some bread, and starchy foods to your diet. Duration of the stage: 10 days per 1 kg of weight lost (that is, if a person has lost 4 kg, the stage lasts 40 days),
- “Stabilization” - a person returns to his usual diet, only leaving one protein day a week.
In addition, you need to drink at least 1.5 liters of water and eat 1.5-2 tablespoons of oat bran every day.
To summarize, the diet comes down to a protein, low-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, which already contradicts a “healthy diet.” At the same time, the diet itself is not so fast; many people spend months and years on this diet.
And what's the result?
Many people who are losing weight go on a diet without realizing that they have any contraindications. By the way, consuming too much protein puts a strain on the kidneys. The risk of exacerbation of chronic diseases increases many times over
You may be accompanied by stomach pain, heartburn, dry mouth, fainting, pain in the kidneys and joints, loss of teeth, severe hair loss.
When consuming large amounts of protein foods, the body becomes strongly acidified and a deficiency of vitamins and minerals develops. And low fiber content in the diet provokes constipation. Plus, the lack of cereal products in the diet provokes an acute shortage of B vitamins.
Failure on the Dukan diet: what to do?
IMPORTANT: A positive aspect of the diet is a huge number of dishes, including cakes, pizza and other delicacies, which can be prepared from permitted products.
However, even on such a loyal diet, eating breakdowns occur. Most often this happens when you are hungry and there are no necessary products at hand. Some women find it psychologically difficult to stick to a clear plan, so they break it and overeat.
In case of overeating, the main thing is not to despair and clearly continue the Dukan scheme. For the next 2 days, strictly adhere to a clean protein menu. The total duration of the diet will have to be increased by 3-4 days. Drink more fluids, get enough sleep and walk more.
Lost weight after the Dukan diet: before and after photos
Dukan express diet for 7 days: menu
The express diet for a week was developed by Dukan for those people who have already completed all stages of his main program, but subsequently did not follow the recommendations and gained several kilograms. The 7-day version of the protein diet offers a more complete and balanced menu. This is a ladder, each step of which represents 1 day of the week with its own set of products. Every day 1 new product is added to the menu.
- Day 1 - pure proteins
- Day 2 - proteins and vegetables
- Day 3 - add 150 g of fruit
- Day 4 - add a slice of whole grain bread to all the listed products
- Day 5 - Add 4 slices low fat cheese
- Day 6 - add 220 g of starchy foods (cereals, pasta, legumes)
- Day 7 - all the listed products, as well as one feast - a meal in which you can eat any dishes, including sweets, fast food, wine
IMPORTANT: Do not forget about the daily norm of oat bran in the amount of 1.5 tablespoons, 1.5 liters of liquid per day, as well as 30 minutes of physical activity.
The light version of the Dukan diet, designed for 7 days, will allow you to lose about 700 g per week. Repeat the “ladder” exercise until you lose weight completely. To consolidate the result, use the principles of the consolidation and stabilization stages.
Disadvantages of the Dukan diet during the “Cruise” stage
If the “Attack” phase can harm the body, provoking complications of existing pathologies and awakening new ones, then the “Cruise” can worsen the condition of the kidneys and other internal organs. The characteristic disadvantages of this direction lie in the duration of the second stage. The protein diet alternates with “vegetable” days. For every extra kilogram of weight - a week of cruise travel. What if there are 50 extra kilos? In the latter case, radical weight loss is possible only under the supervision of a doctor!
Thanks to prolonged and uncontrolled use of the technique, you can almost completely destroy the kidneys, worsen the condition of the walls of blood vessels and increase the pressure to critical levels.
Even the British Dietetic Association believes that if you follow the Dukan diet without medical supervision, you can harm your body.
The benefits and harms of the Dukan diet: doctors' opinion
“Dukanovka” is that rare case when the author of the diet is not a journalist or a housewife, but a certified doctor. Pierre Dukan is a neurologist by profession. He drew attention to the problem of obesity when his friend needed help losing weight. Thanks to a protein diet, Dukan's friend lost 3.5 kg in 5 days. Thus began Dukan's history as a nutritionist, and today the Frenchman can boast of more than 30 years of practice in the field of obesity treatment.
Despite all of Dukan's achievements, his medical colleagues do not really like him. The French doctor’s technique is called harmful and even dangerous. Among the positive aspects, one cannot fail to note the effectiveness of the program. People really lose weight thanks to the Dukan scheme.
However, a protein menu has a negative impact on metabolism. For the normal course of processes in the body, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and a full range of vitamins and minerals are required. A person following the Dukan diet remains deficient in fats and carbohydrates, as a result of which his metabolism is disrupted. To properly break down fats and remove them, you need carbohydrates. If there is a lack of them on the Dukanovka, drinking 2 liters of ordinary water per day is vital.
IMPORTANT: Lack of nutrients, as well as fairly strict restrictions in foods, cause weakness, headaches, and loss of strength.
A large amount of protein in your diet is a guarantee that you will not starve. This is undoubtedly a positive side of the diet. But in addition to healthy foods, Dukan is not against sweeteners, preservatives and other harmful additives.
In addition to all of the above, a protein menu negatively affects the functioning of the kidneys, heart and bone composition.
Dukan diet: harm and problems of diet
Cruise stage
At the stage called “Cruise”, you are allowed to add fruits and vegetables to your diet. But they also contain extremely few carbohydrates. Completely protein days are alternated with mixed protein and vegetable days, but this does not help the body in the fight against the stressful conditions into which it has been driven.
What is harmful about a protein diet is its disharmony, which lies in the fact that limited fruits and vegetables do not provide the necessary nutrients, and the complete absence of cereals also affects the lack of vitamins, which causes various nervous disorders and poor functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Stage "Consolidation"
The so-called “Consolidation” is a long stage that should successfully lead to weight loss. The advantages of a protein diet at this stage are that this is an intermediate period of transition from a constant protein diet to a balanced diet. New fruits and vegetables and fermented milk products appear in the diet, but one day remains entirely composed of proteins, and this should bring some benefit.
Stage "Stabilization"
But what are the disadvantages of this diet? The body still needs fats and carbohydrates in much larger quantities. The stage called “Stabilization” should attract more of the fats and carbohydrates it needs, albeit in small quantities, but the consequences of metabolic problems may already manifest themselves, so the harm from a protein diet is obvious.
What else is dangerous about the Dukan diet? Its harm is that a complete rejection of fats still leads to huge risks of having a stroke or heart attack. Vegetable fats protect our heart by taking care of cholesterol levels. It is extremely difficult to replace them with anything, and constantly eating meat greatly increases the risk of cholesterol plaques. The unfortunate kidneys, which have also been mentioned more than once, also come under severe attack, since a large number of toxins make them weak and unprotected, and this leads to severe intoxication of the weakened body.
Read also: Diet after food poisoning in a child
The effect of the Dukan diet on the kidneys, heart, bones
A heavy dose of protein on the Dukan diet can lead to kidney failure, says nutritionist Alexey Kovalkov. A large amount of protein creates a large load on the genitourinary system, and the lack of fats and carbohydrates aggravates this problem. Pierre Dukan himself claims that he is aware of a possible problem with the kidneys, and therefore recommends daily drinking and walking as means that can relieve the load on the kidneys.
Nutritionist Veronika Klementieva calls the first stage of the program the most destructive of all. The menu proposed by Dukan can double the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, which is a direct path to atherosclerosis. Most overweight people have high cholesterol levels, which they should get rid of through foods that can cleanse blood vessels. Pierre Dukan proposes a diet that, on the contrary, increases the amount of bad cholesterol.
The Dukan diet may reduce bone density. A large amount of protein provokes the production of sulfates in the body - chemicals that literally wash away calcium from bone tissue. It is animal protein that leads to this effect, large quantities of which Pierre Dukan suggests consuming.
IMPORTANT: If you begin to have kidney or heart problems, stop the diet immediately and consult a doctor.
Why doctors are against the Dukan diet
It is necessary to examine in more detail the harm of a protein diet and the negative attitude of doctors towards it. The main advantages of a protein diet are rapid weight loss and the absence of hunger, and the weight lost on proteins usually does not return. But do not forget that the Dukan diet has contraindications. It is known that with it you can eat as much protein as you want. But your overall health will deteriorate over time. The following symptoms will appear:
Read also: Mercury vapor poisoning: causes, first aid, prevention
- weakness,
- absent-mindedness,
- lack of energy.
All this will be associated with a lack of fats and carbohydrates, which will not be beneficial to your body.
The fact is that the process of gluconeogenesis begins in it, that is, the body suddenly starts the process of feeding with its own liver . In this case, the protein that is not absorbed is released again through the liver and kidneys. There is a danger of developing stones in the bladder.
Along with fat, the body begins to break down muscles, including the heart. In addition, without carbohydrates the body cannot cope with the breakdown of fats, which can cause severe poisoning and various unpleasant consequences. You must remember to drink at least two liters of water if you decide on such a diet, but this also does not guarantee good kidney function. That is, the Dukan diet brings serious harm to your overall health. Many people experience kidney pain and an unpleasant acetone odor from the mouth.
Carbohydrates are needed for the functioning of all tissues. They supply food to our brain, because it needs a lot of glucose per day. And a lack of fat inevitably entails negative consequences.
What else is the danger of a protein diet? Research suggests that severe lack of fat increases the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The consequences of the Dukan diet may not be pleasant. It can cause prolonged constipation and bad breath, and worsen the condition of the skin. Neither vegetable oil, nor bran, nor water, nor physical culture can completely replace all its negative effects.
Of course, if you do not have serious contraindications for the Dukan diet, then it will not cause destructive harm, but if you are not in excellent health, then to lose weight you should try something less radical and more useful. To start, you can simply cut down on carbs, drink more water, walk a lot and exercise. Suffice it to remember that at the first stage of the diet, the body loses weight due to the removal of water from the body and at the same time is very hungry. Energy comes from carbohydrates, and water comes out of muscles, so the answer to the question of whether this diet is harmful is already a little clear.
Read also: Types of anesthesia, its harmful effects on the human body
A huge amount of protein is difficult for the body to digest without the participation of fiber, as the meat fills the digestive tract and rotting occurs. Toxins go to all organs. A large amount of water will lead to edema and heavy load on the unfortunate kidneys, liver and other organs. The harm that the Dukan diet causes is becoming clearer. Unlimited consumption of meat leads to cholesterol plaques, problems with blood vessels and the heart.
Description of the Dukan diet by stages: contraindications
Be attentive to your health and before entering the diet, consult your doctor for contraindications. The following contraindications exist for the Dukan diet:
- hypertonic disease
- any kidney problems
- cholecystitis
- cholelithiasis
- problems with the gastrointestinal tract
- gout
- atherosclerosis
- diabetes
- allergic reactions to foods on the diet menu
The diet is also prohibited for children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women.
Dukan diet contraindications “Attack” stage
Essentially, the first phase is nothing more than the same protein diet in its pure form. 72 high protein foods and a small amount of bran are allowed for consumption. First of all, such a menu can harm the kidneys, since they have to remove from the body a huge amount of salts, which are saturated with meat ingredients.
What are the dangers of kidney failure? For example, in the body there is an increase in the concentration of uric acid, the salts of which are deposited in the tissues of any joints. The joints of the toes are most often affected and gout develops. The disease is characterized by severe pain at night.
Do not forget that excess meat in the diet affects the state of the cardiovascular system. With a deficiency of proper and healthy fats, a serious deterioration in the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels occurs, which inevitably leads to an increased risk of disruption of normal blood flow.
Doctors who care about the condition of their patients warn that when using the Dukan method, it is necessary to take a blood test for cholesterol. If the normal value increases by about 2.5 times, you should abandon this diet. In fact, the complete absence of vegetable fats in this dietary direction deprives the heart muscle of protection, which significantly increases the likelihood of coronary disease and stroke.
A protein diet, with an insufficient amount of vitamin complexes, provokes dysfunction in the liver and disruption of the stable course of the menstrual cycle in women. The harm caused by fashionable diet trends can lead to infertility. Maybe you should listen to the opinion of doctors who have carefully studied the pros and cons of a protein diet and not risk your own health?
When deciding to go on a diet, a woman should take into account the existing contraindications to the Dukan diet:
- predisposition to diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- kidney dysfunction;
- disturbances in liver function;
- high blood pressure;
- reproductive system problems;
- joint diseases.
If you have at least one of the above contraindications, you should not get carried away with Mr. Dukan’s system, since the harm caused to any system of the body will certainly affect others.
