The Ducan diet is one of the most advertised methods of weight loss. Understanding how the diet works, what the "correct" weight is, and why it can be dangerous to eat, according to Dukan.
Who's Pierre Ducan?
The creator of the popular diet is not a nutritionist, but a therapist. Pierre Dukan was in general practice when an overweight patient came to him in 1970. The man admitted that in order to lose weight he is ready to give up food except meat. The doctor developed a diet based on lean meats, non-starchy vegetables and a minimum amount of fruit. A prerequisite was the rejection of sugar.
Ducan argued that such a diet is best for the natural metabolism: the primitive man ate meat, seasonal vegetables and fruits. Sugar in our understanding was unavailable to him and therefore it should be abandoned now.
After 30 years of experimentation and observation, Pierre Ducan published the book I Can't Lose Weight, which became a bestseller in 32 countries. The new method promised the possibility of losing 5 kg in one to two weeks without limiting yourself in the amount of food.
Celebrities who openly praised the new method 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 in shape by feeding on Ducan's plan.
In 2012, the French Medical Council stated that the nutritionist violated ethical principles by turning medicine into a commercial business. In 2014, Pierre Ducan was expelled from the medical record for advertising and advertising for the method.
This is how the diet works
The Ducan diet involves a protein with a minimum of carbohydrates and fats. The scheme includes 100 products that can be eaten in any volume in the first weeks.
The method largely reflects the ketogenic diet and other low-carb meal plans in which the body rebuilds itself to get energy from fat and protein. The high protein content of food helps balance the production of insulin and reduces the production of ghrelin, the hormone of hunger. We get full faster and we eat less. However, the Ducan diet limits not only carbohydrates but also fats. The safety and benefits of this approach are not supported by research.
Before moving on to a Ducan meal plan, 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, body structural properties. The calculator was developed by Pierre Dukan, so the result should be scientifically verified and consult your doctor.
Ducan's diet is divided into four phases:
- Attack.
- Switch.
- Anchoring.
- Stabilization.
Noticeable weight loss begins already in the attack phase, which motivates you to continue eating according to the Ducan method. The cause of the rapid weight loss is dehydration as the body loses fluid due to the lack of carbohydrates. However, experts do not confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method and the health benefits of 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 aim to lose weight, and the last are aimed at consolidating the results. During the attack, only foods high in protein are allowed. Then add non-starchy vegetables, limited fat and extra carbs.
The duration, change and reinforcement of the attack depends on how many kilos you have to lose to achieve the "correct" weight. The last phase, which must be constantly adhered to, combines the diet in the fixation phase and weekly protein days in an attack pattern.
Attack
The phase lasts from two to seven days. If you need to lose 20 kg or more to achieve the "correct" weight, the stage may take longer. The meal plan contains 68 protein foods and a few extras:
- meat: beef, veal, game and other game, pork, lean and soybacon, liver, kidneys, tongue;
- poultry: chicken fillet and liver, turkey, wild duck, quail, lean turkey and chicken sausages;
- seafood: no restrictions, including canned tuna in water;
- vegetarian proteins: seitan - vegetable protein, meat substitute made from wheat gluten, vegetarian burgers and soy products, tofu and tempeh;
- eggs: chicken, quail, duck;
- low-fat dairy products: milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta - 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 tablespoon of goji berries, sweeteners, shirataki noodles and unlimited diet gelatin.
Every day you need 20 minutes of physical activity.
2. Switch
The period of gradual attainment of the correct weight takes from one month to one year. The diet from the previous phase alternates every other day with a more gentle and expanded 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;
- tube.
Allow one teaspoon of olive oil for salad dressing or cooking in a saucepan and two tablespoons of bran. The physical activity period is 30 minutes.
3. Anchoring
The duration of the stage is determined at a rate of ten days for each kilogram lost. The goal is to prevent a return to the starting 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: berry or chopped melon (100 g), a medium-sized apple, orange, pear, peach, nectarine or two kiwi, plum or apricot;
- two slices of wholemeal bread a day;
- cheese, 40 g a day;
- starchy foods, 225 g per day: pasta, corn, beans, beans, rice or potatoes
- meat: roast beef, pork or ham once or twice a week.
Twice a week you can eat a festive meal: starter, main course, glass of wine and dessert. One day a week should be protein (attack pattern). Bran - 2, 5 tbsp, physical activity - 25 minutes.
4. Stabilization
The last step to help maintain the "correct" weight. There are no strict dietary restrictions, but you must follow several principles:
- products from the fixation phase should be taken as a basis for nutrition;
- hold one protein day a week;
- walk at least 20-30 minutes a day;
- drink 1, 5 liters of water and eat at least 30 g of bran a day.
The last step always involves following your meal plan with a list of 100 foods with little additions.
Menu for the initial stages
Attack
- Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, coffee or tea, water. Skimmed milk and sweeteners can be added to tea and coffee at any meal.
- Lunch: chicken breast in a pan, shirataki noodles in broth, diet gelatin, iced tea.
- Dinner: steak and shrimp, diet gelatin, coffee or tea, water.
Switch
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs from three 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 gelatin, decaffeinated coffee or tea, water.
Anchoring
- Breakfast: an omelette with three eggs with cheese (40 g) and spinach, coffee, water.
- Lunch: a portion of turkey with two slices of wholemeal bread, 80 g cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, iced tea.
- Dinner: pork in a saucepan and grilled courgette, a small apple, decaffeinated coffee, water.
The 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 they recover stronger 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 an appropriate lifestyle and diet that can realistically be observed regularly
. . .There are many scientific publications that focus on the effectiveness of diets high in protein and low in carbohydrates. However, there are few qualified studies according to the Ducan method.
In 2015, data from 50 women aged 19-64 were collected in Poland, following the Ducan meal plan and consuming around 1, 000 calories a day, including 100 g of protein. The study participants lost 15 kg in 8-10 weeks.
In January, the U. S. News & World Report, one of the top three weekly magazines in the United States on economics, politics, and health, published a diet ranking of 23 experts. Ducan's diet came last on the list and received 1. 9 points out of 5. Experts rated the effect of the diet at 2, 5 and health benefits at 2. According to doctors, there is no evidence that weight loss according to the Ducan method can be long-term and safe, while the list of products is unreasonably limited and the dietary rules are too complex. An expert openly called the diet "idiotic".
The diet is effective for the first few weeks. There is no scientific research that supports sustained weight loss, and the long-term health effects of diet have not been studied.
The harm of the Ducan diet
The diet is probably suitable for healthy people over 18 years. 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 as well as a few specific side effects, as many healthy foods are excluded from the meal plan.
Rapid weight loss
According to British nutritionists, the main disadvantage of the Ducan diet is that it can be harmful to health:
- Initial weight loss occurs through dehydration;
- The diet is not balanced, so you need to take additional vitamins;
- Remember the daily amount of water and the required portion of oat bran to ensure a minimum of fiber.
Risk of disease
Due to a lack of vitamins and beneficial trace elements, the diet can cause:
- osteoporosis;
- problems with the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract;
- heart disease and blood vessels;
- hormonal disorders;
- disorders of the nervous system.
"Ketogripp"
By changing the diet, a painful condition is possible, which is characteristic of the initial phase of diets with a large amount of protein. The reason for feeling uncomfortable is a change in metabolism as the body rebuilds itself to receive energy from fat and protein. Fatigue, increased hunger and thirst, problems with attention and sleep, mood swings, headaches, indigestion and tachycardia can be felt for several days.
Researchers speculate that avoiding this diet could lead to future health problems. And because the diet is limited, most people eventually stop eating according to plan - they get bored and feel uncomfortable by sticking to a list of 100 foods and the rules of their rotation.
The Ducan diet is probably suitable for most healthy people, but has serious contraindications. Such a diet can cause diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems as well as hormonal disorders.
Key facts about the Ducan diet:
About
- The Ducan method helps to lose weight fast;
- for the first two weeks you can not count calories and eat permitted foods with almost no restrictions;
- a large amount of protein suppresses hunger and helps to eat less;
- the diet includes mandatory physical activity.
Against
- rapid weight loss occurs due to dehydration of the body;
- the list of foods is limited so that the body does not receive the necessary nutrients. During protein days there are no vegetables in the diet, in the next steps the amount of carbohydrates is limited;
- the dietary fiber content 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 impact of diet on health.
Doctor's comment
"The Ducan diet is one of the most famous ways to lose weight. And this diet was tried well in advance by most of the patients who come to me for consultation.
A reasonable question arises: why then do they need professional help from a nutritionist? The answer is simple: the majority of those who lost weight returned to their previous eating habits, meaning that their original weight within a few years. Unfortunately, this is the downside of most diets that people resort to in the pursuit of slimness. And the Ducan diet is no exception.
But this is not the main argument, due to which I would not recommend resorting to this diet.
The biggest 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 with special biologically active complexes, but this does not replace the natural intake of natural macro- and microelements. Such deficiencies lead to a decrease in immunity, a deterioration of the work of all organs and systems of the body.
Dukan's diet increases the load on the excretory system, the liver, therefore it is categorically contraindicated for people with chronic kidney and liver failure, for pregnant and lactating women for those who have decreased protein metabolism, arthritis, urolithiasis and cholelithiasis. And also during exacerbation of chronic diseases - gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, pyelonephritis.
The Ducan diet is a serious stress for the body, the potential damage from it greatly outweighs the benefit, and the result is very unstable in the long run.
Follow the principles of optimal nutrition, have adequate physical activity, and monitor your sleep and drinking regimen. The desired result will not wait long and your health will be in order. "