Outline of the Dukan Diet

The Dukan Diet is one of the most talked about diets in 2011, not least because Kate Middleton’s mother was said to be avidly following it during the lead up to her daughter’s marriage to Prince William.

The Dukan Diet was created by Dr Pierre Dukan, a popular French nutritionist and author of 19 books. His successful diet is the result of his thirty years as a nutritionist.

You can find out all you need to know from the Dukan Diet Homepage

But for a general outline, read on.


What Sort of Diet is it?

The Dukan diet is a high protein and plant based diet which aims to help dieters return to the sort of food our early ancestors in the hunter-gatherer times might have eaten.

How Does it Work?

The diet follows four phases, beginning with the ATTACK phase which is designed to produce immediate weight loss results. This phase should be followed for around a week, though people who are particularly obese may stay on it longer.

The second stage is the CRUISE phase, which when diligently followed, should take the dieter to their ‘True Weight’ – this is the target weight the dieter hopes to achieve. This stage involves alternate days of eating only protein and days where protein and vegetables are eaten together. As a general guide, dieters should expect to lose a steady 2 pounds a week, though this will naturally vary from person to person.

The third stage, CONSOLIDATION, should be started on the magical day the dieter reaches their goal weight. They should then stay on this phase of the diet for a total of 5 days for every pound lost. Foods with a higher carbohydrate level are introduced which should teach the body to learn again how to properly digest carbohydrates.

Finally, the DEFINITIVE STABLIZATION phase allows free reign to eat as you please. However, this is under the condition that you allocate one day each week as a protein only day. Dieters should find this phase the easiest to follow, not least because they should be at their desired weight so hopefully want to stay that way! This phase is essential to the diet plan since 95% of people who follow a diet, tend to regain the weight once they come off it.

What Can You Eat?

During the first ATTACK phase you can eat high protein foods without the fat. For example poultry, fish, lean meat, eggs, seafood and low fat dairy such as cottage cheese, yogurt and skimmed milk. Pretty much everything else isn’t allowed apart from herbs and spices to flavour your food as well as lots of water.

The CRUISE phase allows vegetables, which, after a week of eating only protein, are likely to be welcomed with enthusiasm. But, once again, there are restrictions as to which vegetables are allowed. Carbohydrate rich vegetables such as potatoes, legumes, as well as rice shouldn’t be eaten. But there are 28 vegetables which are recommended for the diet.

Foods allowed in the CONSOLIDATION phase are carbohydrate rich including bread, potatoes, cheese, rice and pasta. You can also eat one portion of fruit but bananas, grapes and cherries aren’t allowed. Bread, cheese and starchy foods are all strictly portioned, so no bingeing allowed.

The DEFINITIVE STABILIZATION phase includes all foods that you would like to eat, plus you must eat three tablespoons of oat bran each day. Although you can eat what you want, you should still avoid using sugar or eating unhealthy sweets.

Are There Side Any Effects?

Possible side effects include bad breath due to the high levels of protein early on in the diet. Also, the lack of fibre may cause constipation during the first phase and energy levels may be low. However, these symptoms are likely to decrease as subsequent phases are reached.

Overall, the Dukan diet can work extremely well for those who are able to stick to it. The different phases help to keep dieters motivated until their reach their target weight. It attempts to retrain eating habits and may help to break unhealthy eating associations or addictions to certain foods. Furthermore, because so many peope who lose weight, go on to regain it again, the diet actively encourages successful slimmers to maintain  their weight by allocating one day a week to eating only protein. Doing this should keep dieters focussed on their eating habits so they'll have no need to diet again.

If you want to try out the diet, you'll need The Dukan Dietbook to help you turn your food into tempting dishes and the The Dukan Diet Recipe Bookmight come in handy too.

Dukan Diet Book

Dukan Diet Recipes