What Is the Dukan Diet? Will It Help You Succeed?

The Dukan Diet is designed by Pierre Dukan, a French dietician and nutritionist. The diet is protein based and suggests a healthy meal plan copied from how primitive men used to have their meals when they would hunt for their food. The diet comes with 100 foods where 28 are from plant sources and 72 are from animals. You can also eat as much as you want so long as you only eat those 100 foods. The diet comes in 4 phases or ground pillars.

Attack Phase

The goal for this phase is to shed weight quickly (2 or 3 kg in two to ten days). This is said to be a way to jump-start your metabolism.

A person under the Dukan Diet must eat nothing else but lean protein. You can eat them without having to count the portions or in unlimited amounts. However, the protein food should be low in fat. For this phase, a person under the diet will have to eat at least 1.5 tablespoon of oat bran, which is the single source of carbohydrate for this phase. This food is rich in fiber and aids in suppressing hunger because it is said to grow to around 20 times its size when already in the stomach. Also, you must drink a minimum of 1.5 liters of water every day.

Cruise Phase

This phase differs among people based on certain personal conditions. This phase can allow a person to achieve his target weight by losing 1 kg every week. And if the person should shed 10 kg, this phase can last 10 weeks. Vegetables can be eaten in any amount, so long as they aren't starchy. Some of these vegetables that can be eaten in unlimited amounts include lettuce, spinach and green beans. A person can also consume unlimited amounts of protein foods listed in the 1st phase. Of course, bran and water consumption should not be forgotten.

Consolidation Phase

The goal in this phase of the Dukan Diet is for a person to avoid putting back on the weight he has lost. A person is allowed to eat unlimited amounts of vegetables and protein each day, one serving of low-sugar fruit, 2 slices of whole-grain bread and a portion of cheese. A person is also allowed to consume 1 - 2 portions of starchy foods and 1 or 2 celebration meals every week. A person can eat whatever he wants during a celebration meal.

Stabilization Phase

This is the maintenance phase where people can eat whatever they like so long as they can follow some rules including going for a walk every day for 20 minutes and eating the kinds of food in the stabilization phase for the rest of their lives.

If that sounds like something you can handle, the check out this Dukan Diet review to get the rest of the story. No one diet is right for everyone so make sure you have all the info before you go and commit to one.