The Ducan diet is one of the most advertised weight loss methods. Understanding how the diet works, what the "correct" weight is and why eating according to Dukan can be dangerous.
Who is Pierre Ducan?
The creator of the popular diet is not a nutritionist, but a therapist. Pierre Dukan was in general medicine when an obese patient came to see him in 1970. The man admitted that in order to lose weight he is ready to give up any food except meat. The doctor developed a diet of lean meat, non-starchy vegetables, and a minimal amount of fruit. A prerequisite was the rejection of sugar.
Ducan argued that such a diet was the best for natural metabolism: primitive man ate meat, fruit and vegetables in season. Sugar in our understanding was inaccessible to him and therefore should be abandoned now.
After 30 years of experimentation and observation, Pierre Ducan published the book I Can't Lose Weight, which has become a bestseller in 32 countries. The new method promised the ability to lose 5 kg in one or two weeks, without being limited to the amount of food.
Celebrities who openly praised the new method have added popularity to Ducan's designs. Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bündchen used the diet to lose weight after pregnancy and childbirth. Welsh singer Catherine Jenkins claims to be fit by feeding on Ducan's plan.
In 2012, the French Council of Physicians indicated that the nutritionist violated ethical principles by making medicine a commercial enterprise. In 2014 Pierre Ducan was expelled from the register of doctors for advertising and promoting the method.
How the diet works
The Ducan diet implies a protein diet with a minimum of carbohydrates and fats. The scheme includes 100 products that can be consumed in any volume in the first few weeks.
The method largely mirrors the ketogenic diet and other low-carb food plans, where the body is rebuilding itself for energy from fat and protein. The high protein content of foods helps balance insulin production and reduces the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin. We get full faster and eat less. However, the Ducan diet limits not only carbohydrates but also fats. The security and benefits of this approach are not supported by research.
Before moving on to a Ducan meal plan, you need to calculate your "correct" weight. This can be done using a special calculator. The calculation is based on data on height, maximum and minimum weight, age, structural characteristics of the body. The calculator was developed by Pierre Dukan, so the result should be scientifically verified and consult with your doctor.
Ducan's diet is divided into four phases:
- Attack.
- Alternation.
- Anchoring.
- Stabilization.
The noticeable weight loss begins already in the attack phase, which motivates you to continue eating according to the Ducan method. The reason for rapid weight loss is dehydration, since due to a lack of carbohydrates, the body loses fluids. However, experts do not confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method and the health benefits of the diet. Let's find out how the diet works and why it has many contraindications.
Stages of the Ducan diet
The diet consists of four parts, the duration of which depends on the calculated "correct" weight. The first two phases are aimed at weight loss and the last ones are aimed at consolidating the results. During the attack, only high protein foods are allowed. Then add non-starchy veggies, limited fats, and extra carbs.
The duration of the attack, alternation and reinforcement depends on how many kilos you have to lose to reach the "correct" weight. The final phase, which must be adhered to consistently, combines the fixation phase diet and weekly protein days into one attack pattern.
1. Attack
The phase lasts from two to seven days. If you need to lose 20 kg or more to reach the "correct" weight, this phase may take longer. The meal plan includes 68 protein foods and some additional ones:
- meat: beef, veal, game and other game, pork, lean and soy bacon, liver, kidneys, tongue;
- poultry: chicken fillet and liver, turkey, wild duck, quail, lean turkey and chicken sausages;
- fish and seafood: no restrictions, including canned tuna in water;
- vegetarian proteins: seitan - vegetable proteins, wheat gluten-based meat substitute, veggie burgers and soy products, tofu and tempeh;
- eggs: chicken, quail, duck;
- low-fat dairy products: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cottage cheese - no more than 1 kg per day.
The daily diet should include 1. 5 tablespoons of oat bran and at least 1. 5 liters of water. You can also add a spoonful of goji berries, sweeteners, shirataki noodles, and unlimited edible gelatin.
Every day it is necessary to dedicate 20 minutes of physical activity.
2. Alternation
The period of gradual achievement of the correct weight lasts from a month to a year. The diet of the previous phase alternates on alternate days with a sweeter and more extensive menu - 32 types of vegetables are added:
- spinach, kale, lettuce and other green vegetables
- broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts;
- peppers;
- mushrooms;
- celery;
- asparagus;
- artichokes;
- zucchini;
- tomatoes;
- green beans;
- onion;
- pumpkin and pumpkin spaghetti;
- turnip;
- cucumbers;
- carrot;
- beet.
Allowed a teaspoon of olive oil to dress the salad or cooking in a pan and two tablespoons of bran. The period of physical activity is 30 minutes.
3. Anchoring
The duration of the stage is determined at the rate of ten days for each kilogram lost. The goal is to prevent a return to the original weight. You can mix any of the products from the first two phases, as well as add a limited amount of fat and carbohydrates:
- fruit: chopped berries or melon (100 g), a medium-sized apple, an orange, a pear, a peach, a nectarine, or two kiwis, a plum or an apricot;
- two slices of wholemeal bread a day;
- cheese, 40 g per day;
- starchy foods, 225g per day: pasta, corn, beans, beans, rice or potatoes
- meat: roast beef, pork or ham once or twice a week.
Twice a week it is possible to have a festive meal: appetizer, main course, glass of wine and dessert. One day a week should be protein (attack pattern). Bran - 2, 5 tablespoons, physical activity - 25 minutes.
4. Stabilization
The final step in helping to maintain the "correct" weight. There are no strict dietary restrictions, but several principles must be followed:
- the products of the fixation phase should be taken as the basis of nutrition;
- keep one protein day per week;
- walk at least 20-30 minutes a day;
- drink 1. 5 liters of water and eat at least 30g of bran per day.
The last step is to follow your meal plan at all times with a list of 100 foods with small additions.
Menu for the initial stages
attack
- Breakfast: low fat cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, coffee or tea, water. Skim milk and sweeteners can be added to tea and coffee at any meal.
- Lunch: Fried chicken breast, shirataki noodles in broth, diet jelly, iced tea.
- Dinner: steak and shrimp, diet jelly, coffee or tea, water.
Alternation
- Breakfast: three egg scrambled eggs, tomato slices, coffee, water.
- Lunch: Fried chicken and salad with French dressing, Greek bran yogurt, iced tea.
- Dinner: Baked salmon fillet, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, diet jelly, decaffeinated coffee or tea, water.
anchor
- Breakfast: a three-egg omelette with cheese (40g) and spinach, coffee, water.
- Lunch: a portion of turkey with two slices of wholemeal bread, 80 g of cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, iced tea.
- Dinner: Pork in a pan and grilled zucchini, a small apple, decaffeinated coffee, water.
Effectiveness of the Ducan diet
No diet alone provides a long-term weight loss effect, and the diet can be unhealthy. After a temporary weight loss, people return to their previous state and sometimes recover more strongly than before the change in diet. A safe and effective way to achieve the desired weight and maintain health and good physical shape is with the help of specialists to choose a suitable lifestyle and diet that can be realistically observed on a regular basis.
. . .There are many scientific publications that focus on the effectiveness of high-protein and low-carbohydrate diets. However, there are few studies qualified according to the Ducan method.
In 2015, data was collected in Poland from 50 women aged 19 to 64 who followed the Ducan meal plan and consumed around 1, 000 calories per day, including 100g of protein. Study participants lost 15 kg in 8-10 weeks.
In January, the United StatesNews & World Report, one of the top three US economics, politics and health weeklies, published a dietary chart of 23 experts. Ducan's diet came last on the list, receiving 1. 9 out of 5 points. Experts rated the diet's effectiveness at 2. 5 and the health benefits at 2. According to doctors, there is no evidence that losing weight according to the Ducan method it can be long-term and safe, while the list of products is unreasonably limited and the dietary rules are too complex. One expert has openly called the diet "idiotic".
The diet is effective in the first few weeks. There is no scientific research to support sustained weight loss, and the long-term health effects of the diet have not been studied.
The harms of the Ducan diet
The diet is supposedly suitable for healthy people over the age of 18. The method is not recommended for chronic gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders, pregnancy, lactation.
The diet has all the disadvantages of low-carb diets, plus some specific side effects, since many healthy foods are excluded from the meal plan.
Rapid weight loss
The main drawback of the Ducan diet, according to British nutrition experts, is that it can be harmful to health:
- Initial weight loss occurs through dehydration;
- The diet is not balanced, so it is necessary to take additional vitamins;
- Keep in mind the daily amount of water and the necessary portion of oat bran to ensure a minimum of fiber.
Risk of disease
Due to the lack of vitamins and beneficial trace elements, the diet can provoke:
- osteoporosis;
- problems with the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract;
- diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- hormonal disorders;
- disorders of the nervous system.
"Ketogripp"
When changing the diet, a painful condition is possible, characteristic of the initial stage of diets with a large amount of protein. The reason for the malaise is a change in metabolism, as the body is rebuilding itself to receive energy from fats and proteins. Fatigue, increased hunger and thirst, attention and sleep problems, mood swings, headaches, indigestion and tachycardia attacks may be felt for several days.
Scientists speculate that avoiding this diet could lead to future health problems. And because the diet is limited, most people eventually stop eating according to the plan - they get bored and uncomfortable sticking to a list of 100 foods and the rules for their rotation.
The Ducan diet is presumably suitable for most healthy people, but has serious contraindications. Such a diet can provoke diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems, as well as hormonal disorders.
Key facts about the Ducan diet:
For
- the Ducan method helps to lose weight quickly;
- in the first two weeks, you can not count calories and eat permitted foods with almost no restrictions;
- a large amount of protein dulls hunger and helps to eat less;
- the diet includes mandatory physical activity.
Versus
- rapid weight loss occurs due to dehydration of the body;
- the list of foods is limited, so the body does not receive the necessary nutrients. During the protein days, there are no vegetables in the diet, in the later stages the amount of carbohydrates is limited;
- the content of dietary fiber is below the daily norm - 5 g instead of the recommended 25-38 g;
- there is no scientific evidence that such nutrition leads to sustainable weight loss;
- there are no data on the long-term health effects of the diet.
The doctor's comment
"The Ducan Diet is one of the most famous ways to lose weight. And this diet has been tried in due course by most of the patients who come to me for a consultation.
A reasonable question arises: why, then, do they need the professional help of a nutritionist-nutritionist? The answer is simple: most of those who have lost weight have returned to their previous eating habits, which means that within a few years the original weight. Unfortunately, this is the flip side of most diets that people resort to in pursuit of thinness. And the Ducan diet is no exception.
But this is not the most important topic so I would not recommend resorting to this diet.
The main harm of this type of nutrition is the lack of essential macro and micronutrients for a long time. The lack of vitamins and minerals can be compensated for by special biologically active complexes, but this does not replace the natural intake of natural macro and microelements. Such deficiency conditions lead to a decrease in immunity, a deterioration in the work of all organs and systems of the body.
Dukan's diet increases the load on the excretory system, the liver, so it is categorically contraindicated for people with chronic renal and hepatic insufficiency, for pregnant and lactating women, for those who have impaired protein metabolism, gout, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. And also during the exacerbation of chronic diseases - gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, pyelonephritis.
The Ducan diet is a serious stress to the body, the potential harm that comes with it far outweighs the benefit, and the result is very unstable in the long run.
Follow the principles of optimal nutrition, exercise adequate and monitor your sleep and alcohol consumption regimen. The desired result will not be long in coming and your health will be in order ".