If you’re like most of us around here, you’ve been working hard for years in an attempt to lose the last ten (okay, thirty) pounds. Whether you’re carrying excess weight from pregnancy or stress eating matters not, what’s important is that we’re pretty much all on a mission to lose a little (or a lot) in the New Year. The good news is that research on losing weight has brought about a sort of revolution in the way experts think about weight loss. Gone are the days of limiting yourself to carrots and celery sticks and here to stay are days filled with fatty fish, leafy greens and even butter!
The Dukan diet might just be the thing to get you to your goal weight, and with not a single calorie counted. The promise to lose the weight quickly and without tracking your food intake – with no chance of regaining if you stick to the plan – is pretty incredible, we think. U.S. News tells us it works because, “Limiting carbs, the body’s preferred energy source, forces the body to turn to an alternative fuel – stored fat.” We’re taking a moment to examine the Dukan diet and the why’s and how’s of the promised weight loss.
All You Can Eat
The first phase of the Dukan diet is basically a protein diet—an all you can eat smorgasbord of protein rich foods. From lean beef and venison to eggs and nonfat dairy, it’s all fair game and in unlimited portions. People who have been burned by hunger from calorie-cutting love this aspect of the Dukan diet and we don’t blame them. Stuffing your face with as much of the approved “Attack” phase foods sounds pretty darn good. If you’re worried about getting bored, know that this phase is only supposed to last for a maximum of ten days. Dukan says a typical Attack phase is five days and people who don’t cheat can expect to lose between four and seven pounds. Sounds good to us! http://www.dukandiet.com/
Read Related: Alka-What? Things You Need to Know About the Alkaline Diet
You Get to Add Back Veggies
After the initial Attack phase comes the “Cruise” phase. In this phase, you get to add back some yummy, healthy vegetables. Critics of the Dukan diet say that limiting veggies is a bad thing but Dukan insists that the long-term phase of the diet (Cruise during weight loss and Consolidation to maintain) include lots of healthy, antioxidant-filled vegetables to keep followers healthy and regular in the bathroom. Dukan says you can expect to lose two to four pounds per week during the Cruise phase of the plan.
A Long Way to Maintenance
As mentioned above, the Consolidation phase is what you do when you’ve lost the weight you want to lose. It involves adding back in grains and fruit as well as cheese so it sounds pretty sustainable to us. The appeal of the Consolidation phase is that it supports long-term habits to keep the weight off for good, and who doesn’t want that? You’ll be on Consolidation for five days for every pound lost so, if you’ve lost twenty pounds, you’ll be in the Consolidation phase for 100 days.
Designed for Permanence
After Consolidation comes the “Permanent Stabilization” phase. In this phase you get to eat whatever you want for six out of the seven days of the week! Sounds like a great permanent solution to us. The catch here is that the seventh day needs to be even more strict that the Attack phase you started with. It’s still an all you can eat style of eating on that day but your food choices are limited to pretty much only protein. Still, one day a week doesn’t sound so bad, right?
The Dukan diet may seem like a protein diet like Atkins, but experts may prefer Dukan since it’s relatively low-fat in comparison to Atkins fat free-for-all. We say, any diet that doesn’t have us counting calories or obsessing about food groups sounds great, as long as it works. Stock up on real meat, eggs and protein and prepare to lose it for good this time, right?
