The Dukan Diet promises that you will lose weight and they’re correct. You will lose weight in the same way that you would lose weight if you just stopped eating. It’s true that removing carbohydrates from your diet will help you lose weight but it’s also true that not filling up your gas tank will help your car to lose weight. Unpleasant and unintended consequences result in both cases.
The first phase of the Dukan Diet is called the “Attack” phase and once you start to feel the pangs of deprivation you’ll start to understand why. Only lean protein is allowed in this phase and the weight loss is expected to be seven pounds in week one.
Only protein is allowed in phase one of the Dukan Diet and this includes any lean meat, fish, eggs or soy. No pork or lamb is allowed because of the high fat content. You will be drinking 1.5 liters of water every day and you must take one and a half tablespoons of oat bran. The craving for carbohydrates kicks in sometime on the second day and another piece of steak or scrambled egg just doesn’t do anything to quell the cravings.
The second phase lasts a lot longer and depends on how much weight you want to lose The goal here is to lose 2 pounds per week. In phase 3 the plan becomes less restrictive and you are not expected to lose any weight. The goal is to stay in this phase for five days for every pound that you’ve lost. According to the book, this will reinforce the weight loss and prevent weight from coming back. Phase 4 is the maintenance stage of the plan. The promise here is that if you stick to the weekly an all-protein day with exercise you should be able to keep your weight at the stable level.
Dieting generally involves some uncomfortable feelings. Somewhere between feeling hungry and mild feelings of deprivation are fairly common. The Dukan Diet also warns you to expect constipation, bad breath, fatigue and dry mouth along with the hunger. Some common sense might lead you to suspect that these symptoms may not be the trademarks of a diet that’s doing your body good.
There is no doubt that this extremely restrictive diet will help you lose weight but sticking to it is a different matter. The elimination of entire groups of healthy food and the unpleasant side effects makes The Dukan Diet an unrealistic and unhealthy way to lose weight. Fad diets like this are impossible to actually stick to. Until you change your diet to consist of high-nutrition, low-calorie foods you will continue to experience the yo-yo effect that this diet is guaranteed to give you.
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