According to Pierre Ducant himself, the effectiveness of his method is due to the careful selection of nutrients contained in food, with an emphasis on proteins. The fact is that proteins have a moderate calorie content (4 kcal per 1 g), but the body spends a lot of energy on their digestion. In addition, they are absorbed much slower than fats and carbohydrates. That is why after eating meat, fish or cottage cheese, we feel full for a long time. Unlike most weight loss methods, the Ducan diet is designed not only to lose weight, but also to consolidate and stabilize the results.
Stages of the Ducan diet
Dukan's diet consists of four successive phases, which, according to the author, ensure its reliability and effectiveness. The first two stages are designed to lose excess weight, and the last two - to consolidate and stabilize the results achieved.
Stage 1. Attack
Duration: from 2 to 7 days, depending on how many kilograms you need to lose.
Estimated weight loss: 2-6 kilograms.
The essence of the first stage is fast weight loss in a short period due to the use of only pure protein products.
Ducan's diet menu for this phase
You can choose from 72 protein foods.
These are all lean meats (veal, beef, horse meat, with the exception of entrecote and beef sirloin), offal, lean ham, all fish without exception, all seafood, poultry (except for duck and goose), eggs, low-fat dairy products.
Pierre Ducan also recommends consuming 1. 5 tbsp. tablespoons of oat bran a day. Oat bran helps not to feel hunger, helps to eliminate fluid, as well as excess high-calorie food from the body.
The products allowed on the Ducan menu can be eaten in any quantity, at any time. Combine them or consume them separately. Only you need to cook without adding fats.
Stage 2: alternation
Duration: 2 to 6 months.
Estimated weight loss: 1 kg per week.
The process of weight loss at this stage continues to the optimum.
The essence of the second stage of the Ducan diet is the alternation of protein and protein-vegetable days. Day - pure proteins, day - proteins and vegetables. A 5/5 scheme is also acceptable - that is, five protein days and five protein-vegetable days
Ducan's diet menu for this phase
Raw and boiled vegetables are added to the previous diet: tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, asparagus, leeks, asparagus beans, cabbage, mushrooms, celery, dill, all types of lettuce, endives, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, carrots and beets(the latter should not be consumed at every meal).
You can eat them in unlimited quantities, at any time. Avoid starchy vegetables: potatoes, peas, beans, lentils, beans, as well as avocados and artichokes. It is recommended to increase the amount of oat bran to 2 tbsp. spoons per day.
Stage 3. Anchoring.
Duration: depends on the number of kilos lost. It will take 10 days to fix 1 dropped kilogram. For example, if you have lost 10 kg of weight, it will take you 100 days to consolidate what you have achieved.
This is a transitional phase from the Ducan diet to the regular diet. This phase is needed to consolidate the achieved result.
At this stage, the diet is expanded by adding new carbohydrate foods. A nice innovation - two festive meals, during which you can eat everything that you have been deprived of for a long time. True, there is one condition here, such lunches or dinners should not follow one after another. The optimal time interval between them is four to five days. Another feature of the 3rd stage of the Ducan diet is the introduction of one pure protein day per week. This measure is preventive. It will help fight light weight gain during the transition phase.
Ducan's diet menu for this phase
During the week, two slices of bread are added to the diet, one serving of fruits or berries (except for bananas, grapes, cherries, as well as dried fruits and nuts), forty grams of cheese (except for Camembert, Roquefort and goat cheese), two servings of starch-containing products without oil (durum wheat pasta, couscous, bulgur, polenta, buckwheat, lentils, rice, potatoes and rice).
Stage 4. Stabilization
Duration: In fact, this stage will continue throughout your life if you want to always be in perfect shape for you.
Basically, it is returning to your normal diet and maintaining the weight you have achieved.
Ducan's diet menu for this phase
When choosing products, you no longer need to follow strict rules and restrictions, but you should take the diet of the third transitional period of the diet - the stage of consolidating weight - as a basis. This is the foundation of a healthy diet. Pierre Ducan also recommends keeping one pure protein day a week to prevent excess weight gain and not forget about the daily intake of oat bran, the amount of which should be increased to 3 tbsp. l. in a day.
Important note! Eating a large amount of protein foods during the Ducan diet, you must drink at least 1. 5 liters (and preferably 2 liters) of water per day. Unlike most others, protein foods do not dissolve completely, so the body builds up some waste, such as uric acid, that needs to be flushed out. Our kidneys have mechanisms to remove such waste, but this requires increasing the amount of fluid we consume.
And lastly, physical exercise is "prescribed" for all those who are losing weight on the Ducan diet, as a prescription drug, as well as the obligatory twenty-minute daily walk and refusal to use the elevator.