The Whole Dukan Plan and an Atkins Comparison May 28, 2012

Here are the 4 phases of the Dukan Diet. I thought I’d already laid these out, but I can’t find it in my past posts. Sorry!!

1. Attack Phase – short phase where you eat only lean proteins and nonfat dairy. Lose weight fast during these few days – very motivating! Eat all you want of the 72 allowed foods. (I’ll post the allowed foods separately.)

Nursing moms add daily:
2 servings of fruit
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 slice of cheese
2T oat bran instead of 1.5
All allowed vegetables

As a nursing mom, I didn’t think I’d lose fast with all these add-ons, but I’ve lost 5# in 2 days!!

2. Cruise Phase – longest phase; lose the bulk of your weight. Alternate pure protein days (as in Attack Phase) with protein + vegetable days.

3. Consolidation Phase – lasts 5 days for every pound lost; Eat as much protein and vegetables each day as you want.
Add:
1 serving of fruit/day.
2 slices of whole wheat bread/day, with low-fat butter.
1 serving of hard cheese/day.
1 serving of ‘starchy foods’/week in the 1st half, increasing to 2 servings/week in the 2nd half.
Eat 1 celebration meal (Eat whatever you want!) a week in the 1st half of the Consolidation Phase. Eat 2 celebration meals in the 2nd half!

4. Stabilization Phase – Eat whatever you want! But use the basic tenets of the Consolidation Phase as a base.
Pick 1 day/week – for the rest of your life – when you eat nothing but protein. This is what allows you to eat normally for the other 6 days of the week without putting any weight back on.
Never take elevators or escalators again!
Eat 3T of oat bran a day.

ALL PHASES:
Drink at least 48 oz. of water.
Walk for 20 minutes a day.
Eat 1.5T of oat bran a day.

COMPARISON TO ATKINS
Dukan is much healthier than Atkins and it has a plan for keeping the weight off. For a Dukan v. Atkins comparison, click here: http://www.dukandiet.com/The-Dukan-Diet/The-Dukan-Diet-vs.-Atkins.

Keep the questions coming!

Dukan Day 2 – Lost 3#! But can I really do this?! May 28, 2012

Weight: 161.2
Exercise: Walked 45 min

I ate:
Fried eggs – 2 yolks & 1 white
2 slices sourdough toast
1 c strawberries
Grilled Filet mignon
Nonfat yogurt w/stevia, cinnamon & 2T oat bran
Grilled hamburger w/fat free cheddar
Grilled steak (not sure what kind)
Sugar free jell-o cups
Water
Iced coffee w/stevia & skim milk

Today was hard. It’s hard to only eat meat, and I really like steak. I know I could make all sorts of fabulous recipes, but I’m not a cook. I’m also tired & busy right now. I have 3 kids. Two are wild Indians and the other is 3 months old!!

I feel too restricted by the food list. You can eat as much as you want but the choices aren’t exciting me. Except for the filet – I’ve got to get more of that! I miss fruit, and I’m even allowing myself 2 servings a day bc of nursing.

It’s motivating that I lost 3# and Husband lost 2. I’m going to keep trying. I know it’s hard for H too, and he’s a HUGE protein eater. Time will tell what we end up doing. Maybe this will just be a springboard to healthier eating. But we really need structure, and I know I’m better off without all those carbs bc of the gluten. My digestion is waaaaaay better!!

Dukan Day 1 – Not Super Easy! May 27, 2012

Weight: 164.2
Exercise: Walked 25 min

I ate:
Fried eggs – 2 yolks & 1 white
Bacon (reduced fat bacon is allowed – see below for pics of what I found)
Fat free cottage cheese
Iced coffee w/Stevia & skim milk
2 pieces dry sourdough toast (an add-on for bf’ing) (I read that your body processes sourdough similarly to whole wheat.)
Watermelon (an add-on for bf’ing)
Roast beef slices
Low fat ham slices
Filet Mignon grilled w/Trader Joe’s South African seasoning
Hamburger grilled w/a little mustard & sugar-free ketchup
Plain yogurt w/stevia, cinnamon & oat bran
“Skinny” water
64 oz water
Coke Zero
1 sugar free jell-o cup

Husband is really glad he can have eggs & bacon. 🙂 I’m thrilled I can have my iced coffee! I got our water ready in big containers this morning so we won’t forget and can work on it all day.

It wasn’t really that easy. I’m used to eating cereal and pita chips! I enjoyed the filet tho!!! Sugar free ketchup is something to get used to. I did find a great dessert – yogurt, stevia & cinnamon — delish! There are a lot of recipes online but I don’t really cook. But when we start eating vegetables I’ll make a dip recipe I found – just garlic, yogurt & dried dill.

We didn’t eat all of the cookies last night, and H says he keeps thinking about them. I’ve got to go throw them away!! Late-night bingeing could occur!!

Can’t wait to see if we’ve lost any weight tomorrow!

Diet Starts TOMORROW! May 25, 2012

Weight: 164(!)
Exercise: Officially: None (Unofficially: Walked around school carnival w baby in Bjorn)

We start tomorrow! I gained weight today. Ugh. I hope this will be the last of THAT!

I was reading Dukan’s book (The Dukan Diet) yesterday and I found a couple of quotes I really liked:

“…what overweight people most hate and simply cannot do is decide for themselves when and how they are going to deprive themselves of food.”

“For big eaters, the very idea of having to ration their happiness [i.e., food] is preposterous.”

We always say we’re turning over a new leaf, but how quickly we go back to our old habits without some structure. Often the very same day!!

I’ve been in a carb rut lately. Cereal (one of my all-time favorite foods), pita chips (LOVE!), regular chips (My 8-yo got mad at me for finishing off the bag yesterday. My defense: “I LOST CONTROL!”). Partly bc I’m nursing and the baby can’t tolerate a lot of foods, like dairy and a lot of vegetables. But I’m going to try to reintroduce a little of each thru the diet. She’s 3 months now — maybe she’s ready for it!

10:20 pm Just went to my 3rd grocery store. Think I’m finally ready. Couldn’t resist some treats tho!