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!

Procrastinating the Diet Start Date? May 23, 2012

Weight: 161.2
Exercise: Walked 20 min.

My weight is fluctuating bw 161-163. Right now I’m a size 10. Can’t wait to wear an 8 and maybe someday a 6 again!!

I still haven’t started the diet, but I walked 20 minutes today. I also had my iced coffee without milk…thought I was going to have to get used to that, but then I realized I can have skim milk! Hey — better than nothing! And I use Stevia in the Raw as a sweetener, so that’s a change I won’t have to make. Whoopee!

Gearing up to lose weight while nursing – Dukan Diet – 1st Steps May 23, 2012

I had a baby about 3 months ago. My 3rd. I’m 41. I was in my 30s for the other 2 pregnancies, and while it has never been easy to lose weight, I was able to get my baby weight off without too much of a fight — those 2 times. But when I got pregnant this last time, I was NOT expecting it and I was about 10 pounds over my ideal weight. I’m 5’6″ and my ideal weight is 140. That’s a size 6 for me. At that weight, I feel great — healthy and “light.” Now that I’m post partum, I weigh 163. I haven’t seen the scale move in a few weeks, so I think it’s time to diet.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the Dukan Diet. It sounds similar to Atkins, but healthier and more realistic. I know a few people who have had success with it. I didn’t think I could do it while nursing, but I found a modification that is supposed to still allow you to lose weight while providing enough nutrients for your baby.

I should also mention that I loooooooove sweets. I was nicknamed the “candy fiend” when I was little, and the name still applies. If I could eat anything I wanted, it would be cookies and candy. And cake. And just about anything I can find with tons of sugar. I never really want to eat healthy foods. I also am often very lethargic (big shock, huh?!). (Although God has been helping me a lot with that!!) Since Dukan is supposed to help reduce sweet cravings and increase your energy, it seems worth a try.

Dukan has several phases. The first is the Attack Phase. You lose a lot of weight during this phase (up to 10#!) and it lasts 3-10 days depending on the person. Mine will last only 3 days. I’m using a free app on my iPhone — iDukan — to help track my progress. (DID I MENTION THAT I’M ALSO TRYING TO DO THIS ON THE CHEAP?! There’s a lot of free info out there, so I’m utilizing as much of that as possible.) iDukan helped me figure out how long my Attack Phase should last. You can do this at http://www.dukandiet.co.uk/.

SO…THE BASIC RULES…

Eat as much as you want from the allowed foods list.

Drink at least 1.5 quarts of water daily.

Eat at least 1.5 Tablespoons of oat bran daily.

Walk 20 minutes a day.

THE ALLOWED FOODS…

Unless otherwise stated, the foods should be les than 5% fat.

Lean beef, veal or rabbit (avoid ribs)
Chicken and turkey (except skin and outside part of the wings)
Ham (low fat and lean)
Beef, veal, or chicken liver
Any fish (except canned in oil or sauce)
Shellfish and crustaceans
Eggs (up to two per day, unlimited egg whites)
Dairy products (low fat, below 2% fat)
Sweeteners (except fructose based)
Vinegar, mustard, spices, herbs, garlic, onion (as spice), lemon juice (only as spice, not for drinking)
Sugar free chewing gum
Coffee, Tea, any drink with 0 calories

I’m not ready to start the diet yet. I still need to shop. But I’m SO ready to not feel like a sausage in my jeans!!! Once I get started, I’ll post my daily weight and what I eat, etc. I also plan to post pics – maybe minus my head!! I also plan to get my husband on the diet and I’ll post his progress too. But he’s shy, so no pics of him!

My progress will be slower than typical, bc I’m nursing. Oh yeah! That reminds me…here are the

ADDITIONS / MODIFICATIONS FOR NURSING MOMS:

eat all of the protein you want (from list)

eat all of the veggies you want (from list) (below)

2 T of Oat Bran per day

one slice of cheese per day

two slices of whole wheat bread

two servings of fruit

1 1/2 quarts of water per day

walk 25 minutes per day (I HOPE I CAN DO THIS! It’s hard with 3 kids and usually no sitter, and not sleeping much at night!!)

APPROVED VEGGIES:
Artichoke
Eggplant
Asparagus
Cabbage – all types
Beetroot
Broccoli and Purple sprouting broccoli
Carrot
Chicory
Courgette or Zucchini
Celery/ Celeriac or Celery Root
Cucumber
Leek
Fennel
French beans – String beans
Mushroom
Onion
Palm Heart
Pepper
Pumpkin – Marrow – Squash
Radish
Rhubarb
Salad leaves
Soy Beans
Spinach
Swede
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnip

Thats it for now! I hope you’ll follow along, and feel free to cheer me on!