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The temptation of forbidden fruit: Why I can’t Dukan

Emma Jane

by Emma Jane

09 Feb 05:40am

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Filed under: Christmas, Diet, Dukan Diet, Health, Weight Loss

69 comments

Like many Australians, I spent the Christmas holidays growing as a person.

Oh, I shouldn't. Look at all that tomato! Pic: Supplied/Thinkstock

Unfortunately, I’m talking literally.

Over the summer months, I fed liberally from the five festive food groups: the rum ball group; the mayonnaise group; the house-made-of-stale-gingerbread group; the looks-like-the-placenta-scene-out-of-Poltergeist trifle group; and, of course, the furtive-third-helping-of-pavlova group.

As a result, I’ve put on weight and all my non-elasticised work wardrobe waistbands have been transformed into tourniquets.

If I were a better and more balanced person, I would have adopted some sensible CSIRO-style eating plan rather than signing up for the first celebrity-endorsed slim fest I found on the internet.

Then again, if I were a better and more balanced person, I wouldn’t have consumed the equivalent of a Sydney mortgage in chocolate money over Chrimbo in the first place.

Anyway: that’s how I ended up on the Dukan Diet.

This popular yet controversial weight loss scheme was invented by a bossy French carnivore whose strict, meat-heavy prescription bans all fruit and vegies for up to 10 days.

In short, you say farewell to fibre and a big hello there to constipation (no doubt one of the reasons the official Dukan web site sells a special supplement designed to, ahem, increase “intestinal transit time”).

My difficulties with the DD started early. Very early.

“If I have to eat one more broiled meat-with-more-meat dish, I’m going to hurl,” I told a friend last Wednesday.

“How long have you been at it?” she replied.

“I’m not starting until Saturday, so minus three days,” I explained. “But the anticipated deprivation is just so visceral.”

As things turned out, I managed to Dukan for only 11 hours and 14 minutes (though given I was asleep for much of this time, the tally gives an inflated version of my success).

What did me in was attempting to prepare Dukan’s breakfast staple, a “galette” made of oat bran, egg white, fat-free yoghurt and artificial sweetener.

The evil scramble I produced looked like something you’d feed a horse. A horse you wanted to put down. Inhumanely.

“What’s the point of being able to eat as much as you want if the only stuff you’re allowed to eat is revolting?” I moaned to my friend, so hungry for something that wasn’t a galette, I had begun salivating at the sight of my own straining muffin top.

And that’s when I abandoned the garden of weight loss Eden and ate a forbidden apple.

Like so many extreme weight reduction regimes, a far more accurate descriptor of this one had turned out to be “Ducan’t”.

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69 comments

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    • acotrel says:

      05:25am | 09/02/12

      ‘Like so many extreme weight reduction regimes, a far more accurate descriptor of this one had turned out to be “Ducan’t”. ‘

      How do they get their dollar out of the regime ?
      Do you sign up and pay, or is it about marketting certain types of food ?

      Reply

    • Vivian says:

      06:12am | 09/02/12

      No you don’t have to sign up. No you don’t have to pay. No it is not about marketing.

      As a matter of fact this is the most deceiving, under researched, misinformed article I have read on The Punch excluding the various pro AGW warming fantasies.

      For complete balance YOU CAN sign up to an official website for coaching/support etc for the diet however this is not compulsory nor is it required.

      The other way you could do it is by spending $20 to buy the book he published first in 2000 after his multidecadal experiences as a doctor. Dare I say it this guy is an expert as shocking as that may seem.

      Of course there are 100’s if not 1000’s of free websites if you need more than the book.

      So if you think he is in it for a dollar only the answer would be no. He is a doctor and obviously could make a quid anyway. He has a system that works. And it is not onerous. Good luck to him if he makes a quid, again you do not need anything special to do this.

      All foods are fresh that you buy from the supermarket. There is no “Dukan brand” steak.

      How do I know? Coincidently I am on the diet and have lost 12 kilos in about 3 weeks.

      I have never been on another diet but after a marriage breakdown, various mental health issues and other trevails my weight had blown out alarmingly. Sure this may not be for anyone but the author of this disgraceful piece may well have scared people off a system that works very easily and promotes more than just change with food with false and frankly pretentiously false claims.

      The Punch should actually get someone who knows more about the diet than me to do a story that debunks this abomination.

      In short, for $20 you can get a guide that helps you eat fresh food in a certain way and encourages exercise to assist you in losing weight.

      I now eat less, far less, always feel full, am a lot more alert, skin has improved and that is just some of the benefits. (Oh about the constipation - if the author had the most basic knowledge of the diet which is simply a high protein variant you are required to eat a certain amount of oat bran each day. In news just in oat bran helps you poop).

      Basically this story is about how one woman overate and is bemoaning the fact the first thing she tried required some change to her habits, a tiny bit of willpower and didn’t work in 24 hours.

      Please get a lot better than this, and quickly too, Punch

    • sol says:

      08:30am | 09/02/12

      Excellent. You’ve made the link between people who are climate change deniers and those on fad diets. Also in the same category: Anti-vaccination lobby groups, 9/11 conspiracy theorists, feng shui experts, and people who read out your horoscopes from New Idea in the lunch room.

    • Bambi says:

      09:00am | 09/02/12

      Vivian, you can probably be forgiven for missing this in your carb-deprived state, but the piece was quite obviously intended to be lighthearted, not a genuine critique of the diet plan. I wonder how much a sense of humour weighs? You certainly seem to have lost that along with your 12kg.

    • RyaN says:

      10:14am | 09/02/12

      @sol: The word “denier” is a very scummy and very intentional reference to holocaust deniers, this is the kind of thing that makes less and less people actually want to listen to the people spouting the THEORY of global warming and instead classifies them as just extremist nut jobs. You aren’t one of those are you sol?

    • Scum Bag says:

      03:49pm | 09/02/12

      The Member for Bag on a point of order?
      Mr Speaker, I request RyanM withdraw his remark, “The word “denier” is a very scummy and very intentional reference to holocaust deniers…”.  It’s a personal and derogatory insinuation on my Christian name Scum, by innuendo, and I ask the member to withdraw unreservedly.

    • Emma says:

      07:06am | 09/02/12

      Doing some crazy and very unhealthy diet (cutting out veggies and fruits) is not helping. It has to be a sustainable change in diet. When I see people with meal replacement shakes in the office I dont give them longer than a week.

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      07:12am | 09/02/12

      No diet works unless you want it to work and are willing to make it work.

      My problems with weight don’t stem from whatever ‘diet’ I’m supposed to be on, it stems from the fact that I eat too much fucking food on the weekends, because I’ve grown up to associate lots of food with good times. 

      I would suggest the above is far more common than many would realise.

      I’m having a good week so far (I count my calories now, and try to stay under a certain amount while eating basically healthy stuff), this weekend will be the challenge.  After a long week, it’s really easy to just pig out.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      07:50am | 09/02/12

      There is always the difference of people like Emma who overindulged for a little while and want to lose the 2 kg to have the skirts sit less tightly again compared to people dealing with obesity. I can occasionally fall into the first category when I havent been disciplined for a while. You just have to up your game again and youre back on track.

    • acotrel says:

      09:59am | 09/02/12

      @Mahrat
      I’m building an exercise bike with an inbuilt generator, which powers a PC on the handlebars.  You might like one.

    • ZSRenn says:

      07:37am | 09/02/12

      Rice is the answer kiddies. Speeds up the metabolism and burns the food straight through you.

      Reply

    • Al says:

      03:35pm | 09/02/12

      Of course there are some rice breeds out there that have a greater effect (sharp increase, sharp decrease) than pure sugar on the human bodies blood sugar levels.
      Doesn’t mean it has speed up you metabolisim, just that it is more easily digested.

    • Mudguts says:

      07:39am | 09/02/12

      What about the good old seafood diet?

      Reply

    • Cam says:

      09:36am | 09/02/12

      That would be the ‘see food, eat it’ diet I assume?

    • sunny says:

      07:55am | 09/02/12

      I fed liberally from the prawn food group over the break. I feel sorry for those little guys because they taste so damn good (but all the same I hope the protect-the-whales people don’t ever shift focus to saving the prawns).
      I have tried Atkins and it didn’t work for me (transit time etc. .. the train was always days late). Someone I know highly recommended Dukan but it just seems like a more extreme Atkins so I didn’t even try it.

      I have been on the ‘pragmatic’ diet for a while. Cut out most vegetable oils and fried food (grill all meat - amazing how much fat drips off and still tastes awesome). Vegetable oils are good for the heart so replace them with exercise which is just as good for it. Cut out all breakfast cereals and white bread. Drink only lite milk and dairy. Eat a crap-load of fruit and veg (boil them if they need to be cooked). Eat mainly beef,lamb,fish,seafood (higher omega 3) and not much pork and poultry. Every now and then I go a bit wild and have the stuff that I don’t normally do (me and a Quarter Pounder value meal play lions and zebras).

      Reply

    • Elphaba says:

      08:14am | 09/02/12

      I had a friend try Atkins when we were in uni.  She lost a ton of weight, but when she went to the doctor and had her cholesterol tested, it was through the roof.

      I’m a bit dubious of any diet that emits complete food groups.  Minimise, yes (like carbs), but a diet that cuts out all fruit and veg or is ridiculous.

      A balanced diet is the way to go, just as you said.  And now and then, there needs to be a little indulgence - otherwise, life isn’t worth living!

    • sunny says:

      09:03am | 09/02/12

      Absolutely agree @Elphaba. No point losing a lot of weight if ya feel like crud all the time or are suddenly worse off health-wise.

      And I forgot one thing: Drink a LOT of water, have it in tea and coffee if necessary. Green blend high antioxidant coffee is the best thing ever invented .. aside from shell-free prawns (patent pending) Bottled water is worth a try -in my opinion it tastes better than tap water but that is just me.

    • Bambi says:

      09:26am | 09/02/12

      Not to mention, people on Atkins or Dukan… reek. I’m sorry, but there it is. When you completely eliminate carbs and live on a diet of meat and cheese, your breath is foul enough to strip paint and all the Extra in the world can’t fix it.

    • Gymmer says:

      10:01am | 09/02/12

      Totally agree Elphaba, a diet that omits veggies is ridiculous. Reduce intake of starchy, carby vegetables if you want to lose weight but other than that I wouldn’t do it.

    • Elphaba says:

      10:20am | 09/02/12

      @sunny, I don’t mind tap water.  We have one of those filter thingys on the tap at work, but at home, I just fill bottles straight from the tap and stick them in the fridge.

      This habit of course needs to broken before I travel anywhere, since I don’t trust tap water OS.

      I’m not a tea and coffee drinker, but I do drink juice in the mornings.  A small glass of the no added sugar stuff.  For the rest of the day, I just drink water.

      @Gymmer, absolutely.  Christ, if I can’t snack on vegie sticks in between meals I’m reaching for the chips.  Might as well go hard or go home! lol

    • marley says:

      10:37am | 09/02/12

      @elphaba - re overseas tap water - it depends where you are.  You can sure as hell drink it in any city in North America or Western Europe, in places like Singapore and Japan (not near Fukishima, obviously) and in quite a bit of Asia (not India or its neighbours, of course).  Just do a bit of reading up first, and don’t get paranoid about it.

    • Elphaba says:

      10:52am | 09/02/12

      @marley, I tend to find most places have their own refillable bottles with purified water in the hotel fridges, which I just drink.  I brush my teeth with those as well.  It might be a little weird, but I haven’t been sick yet, and it’s not a great inconvenience. smile

    • bella starkey says:

      11:05am | 09/02/12

      @ marley:

      You cannot drink the water in LA. oh I made that mistake, oh I was so ill.

      I’m not sure if it is the same for all counties in southern california but I won’t risk it. I thought the locals were being pretentious twits but only drinking bottled water, turn out the stuff is filthy.

    • Jim says:

      08:20am | 09/02/12

      Here’s the secret to losing weight everybody…...............

      Burn more calories than you consume

      That’s pretty much all you need to know; if you do that then you’ll lose weight.

      Reply

    • Kylie says:

      08:44am | 09/02/12

      I know its so amazing, ‘how did you loose weight? Oh I just moved more made better food choices’

    • Emma says:

      08:45am | 09/02/12

      Jim

      True. But the difference is why way of eating leaves you most satisfied while doing so. Thats the point.

    • Sarah says:

      09:01am | 09/02/12

      And stop putting processed junk in your mouth. Look at it and ask yourself - did it come out of the ground or from an animal or did it come from a tree? No? Well then its processed and don’t bloody eat it.

      So - go for a 20 minute walk every day and avoid processed crap and you’ll lose any excess weight you’re carrying and maintain a much healthier body and overall weight in the end.

      We don’t need these gimmick diets and fancy stuff. Keep it simple and be smart.

    • Seth Brundle says:

      12:13pm | 09/02/12

      I see.

      So if I burn 1000 calories per day, I will lose weight by eating 800 calories of chocolate, but eating 1000 calories of fruit and vegetables will keep me fat?

    • Markus says:

      12:39pm | 09/02/12

      @Seth, I read skepticism in your question, but yes.

      Keep in mind we are talking about energy content, not mass. Kind of like the ‘what weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks?’ joke.

      By mass, an 800 calorie chocolate bar will of course be a hell of a lot less food than 1000 calories of fresh vegetables.

    • Smidgeling says:

      02:04pm | 09/02/12

      Seth- Approximately 25g of chocolate has 250 calories, which is 1/8 of a guy’s calorie intake for the day.

      200g of cooked skinless chicken breast has slightly less calories than that. Think about the difference in which one will keep you full…

      It’s your kind of skepticism that has resulted in so many fat-assed, unhealthy people.

    • Seth Brundle says:

      04:08pm | 09/02/12

      I merely re-iterated the original post.  If it is as simple as calories in vs calories out, then what I said is true.
      It also means I am a biological freak since eating the right foods I can eat far more CALORIES than I normally do, yet I lose 1kg+ per week.
      It’s calorie counting that results in so many failed diets.  Its that simplistic view that has caused so many people to give up and return to poor lifestyles, rather than trying to make an effort about discovering how your bodies actually work and undertanding food and digestion.  Your body is not the result of simple arithmetic.

    • Heather says:

      08:29am | 09/02/12

      I too pig out on weekends - exacerbated by the dreaded fermented grape, and find an adapted Dukan is good to keep the weight off. By adapted, I mean adding fruit, vegetables (steamed or raw darlings, not chips or caesar salad) and mediterranean foods (olives). But I can’t do the attack phase of the Dukan for even the minimum two days, I usually lapse by early afternoon because I love fruit, veggies and nuts. However, the science is definitely in, that high protein diets are much more effective for weight loss than are high carbohydrate diets, but they need to be combined with exercise, and (horror) cut or eliminate alcohol. It’s easier just to eat fresh and not smother food with sauces, or fry it. If the stuff you eat can go off, it is good, if it lasts 10 years on a shelf….

      Reply

    • patsy says:

      11:16am | 09/02/12

      @Heather-my friend (a personal trainer) and I were talking about how much weight a recently turned vegetarian friend had put on. NUTS and cheese are fattening. So steer clear of them and enjoy your wine.

    • heather says:

      02:46pm | 09/02/12

      yes patsy, they are, but everything is fattening in enough quantity. nuts are a very important food source. believe it or not, you need fat in your diet, and nuts are a healthy source of fat. cheese can be very very fattening, but you just need to be aware of quantities…like 1 alcohol unit (100ml eeek) 25g of hard cheese is not very much. actually, IMO (well not just me, lots of researchers agree), that the worst culprits are soft drinks, and the worst of those are….DIET soft drinks. Sweeteners stuff up your insulin balance, leaving you hungrier.

    • Gregg says:

      08:29am | 09/02/12

      It’s all mind over matter Emma and if you really want to lose some weight with some sensible eating and exercise you will.
      As a little encouragement to yourself, you could consider what the fat will be doing for you longer term and that could be heart disease or diabetes.
      If you want to kick start with some food changes, think of what is called the hospital diest, something they use for patients if they consider weight may be an additional risk to surgery.
      Based on soup and you can make your own based on spring onions, capsicum/peppers and cabbage, use a can of tomatoes and water and spice up with whatever you like..
      Soup every day as much as you can take and then add
      Day 1. Any fruits you like except bananas and I’d also watch the grapes as they are extra sugary.
      Day 2. Only veges
      Day 3. Mix of fruit and veges but no bananas and no spuds
      Day 4. Eight, yes eight bananas and skim milk
      Day 5. Some lean beef and six fresh tomatoes or a can of them
      Day 6. Lean beef and vegies, no spuds
      Day 7. Brown Rice, fruit and vegies.
      No bread or other pastries during the week and no alcohol and in addition to the soup as much water as you can take in, aiming for at least 2L
      You could vary the use of beef with having chicken, skinless of course and grilled or microwaved or fish.
      You’ll feel cleansed at the end of the week and realise what healthy eating can do for you and celebrate with your favourite desert without over indulging.

      I’ve used that week of eating on one occasion and it worked but even without it, I’ve now cut my food load way back and actually lost weight over Xmas.
      It can be done, If you really want to.

      Reply

    • TChong says:

      09:00am | 09/02/12

      Gregg
      “Hospital diet”?
      A ( public) hospital would be very unlikely to keep a patient in hospital, long enough to lose wait.
      ( Private hospitals- they’ll keep you in, as long as you are willing to pay)

      If for elective, or planned surgery, an obese patient would be told by the aneathasist ( my usual poor spelling) or specialist, what the risk factors were, and go home, think about, and do something about it.
      I cant think of any ( surgical )  procedure that couldnt be carried out, on an obese person, if it were for a Life Threatening Event ( LTE)

      Your diet sounds good, glad it works for you.

      I think the “hospital"part of the diet, ,is more a selling point   for the punters to think some one “official” is vouching for this. Much the same as when sales girls don white lab coats to look the part as reps of the Ponds Bewty Institute.

    • bella starkey says:

      11:27am | 09/02/12

      I thought the public hospital diet is when they keep you nil by mouth for a procedure but keep bumping you down the list until you really do look sick.

    • Ryan says:

      02:17pm | 09/02/12

      This ‘diet’ was written many, many (20+) years as a joke. It was called the Scared Heart hospital diet. Amazing it is still in circulation and followed by people.

    • Gregg says:

      06:44pm | 09/02/12

      Joke or not Ryan, it works but it is not offered as a long term diet but something to kick someone off on eating better food.
      Sticking to it and maximising the soup and exercising moderately, most people can lose 3 kg. in one wekk and some double up with about the same loss.

      Go back to old habits and just like any diet, the weight plus possibly more will come back, permanent weight loss for most being all about a bit of discipline.

    • Anon says:

      08:37am | 09/02/12

      Ahaha my friend, you went about this completely the wrong way. The first few weeks of the Dukan are hell, yes, but I think you made it worse.

      Breakfast: Oat bran and Yoplait Forme “fruit” yoghurt. None of that galette stuff. Ugh.
      Snacks: Cans of tuna
      Lunch: Smoked salmon
      Dinner: Lean steak, baked salmon with herbs, grilled pork chops (so lean!), chicken breast grilled in an ever so slight smattering of pesto

      You can do the attack phase without going mad, trust me!

      Reply

    • Your name:Pudel says:

      10:44am | 09/02/12

      The first couple of days of attack are tough.  I found from day 4 of attack until present that the dukkan diet is the easiest diet I have ever been on.  Lost 13kgs and have another 8 to go.  I am no longer obese, and getting closer to a healthy weight all the time.  I feel 10 years younger.
      I just eat my oatbran straight.  The second stage (cruise) is when you lose most of the weight, it is a pure protein day, followed by a protein vegetable day.  Once you have lost the weight you then have a consolidation phase, where you add in a piece of fruit and a couple of slices of wholegrain bread and a protion of hard cheese.  One protien only day a week and 2 celebration meals a week, where you eat what you wish for 3 courses.  That is actually a pretty healthy diet.
      I have gone off the diet whilst on holidays (and last Sunday whilst away from home) the difference I find with this programme and others is it is easier to get back on the wagon.  A pure protein day puts you back on track. 
      Yes you do without some foods, but in my case I feel I have finally discovered a way to be and retain a healthy weight.  It has set rules and is focused on low fat, low carb and fresh food.
      For me personally Dukan has been the answer to my weight issues.

    • Smidgeling says:

      02:09pm | 09/02/12

      The Dukan diet is a warped and bloody stupid version of a healty diet.

      The ONLY reason for doing the all protein part of the diet is to give people quick results in the first few weeks because most people are too lazy to stick to a proper diet.

    • iansand says:

      08:40am | 09/02/12

      Eat less of a balanced diet, and exercise more.  That’s it.  There is no more.

      A couple of years ago I knocked off about 8 kg, and it has stayed off, by following that simple rule.  I dropped a size in pants and close to a size in shirts.  I even lost a bit more while in the USA (now THAT’S an achievement). 

      I do live alone, and I have a very spartan fridge, which reduces temptation considerably.  This also means that I can miss entire aisles in Coles or Woolies.  When you start looking at it, an extraordinary amount of shelf space is devoted to absolute crap.

      Reply

    • Mayday says:

      09:21am | 09/02/12

      So very true and I agree about the spartan fridge.

      Aisle after aisle filed with processed rot that is full of emulsifiers and preservatives all cheap and nasty with little nutritional value.

      If the stuff is in the house it will be eaten impulsively whereas if it means an effort in purchasing the snack the brain will have a bit of time to think it through.

      So Emma you overindulged on food while your daughter missed out on Santa and all the fun that brings, bah humbug to you!

    • Duncan says:

      08:55am | 09/02/12

      I tried this Dukan diet for about 5 weeks, religiously. It did not work for me but during this time, my wife lost about 8 kgs.
      After discussion with some others it appears that some blood types are not good candidates. I am A+ and it did not work. My time on it was no problem as I enjoy meats. The rest of the diet was ok, too.
      Now I am on a home delivered balance 1800 calorie diet and in my second week. I am now losing weight and already have lost 2 kgs by day 10. My exercise regime is fairly good as I usually cycle for up to 2 1/2 hours on 4 days a week.  During that time I usually manage to travel up to 70 kms. So my exercise is not a shopping bike ride.
      So some diets work for some people and not for others. Let’s all keep trying to find that diet that works and keep up regular exercise.

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      09:09am | 09/02/12

      I jumped ont he Dukan bandwagon befor eChristmas - and I dropped 10 kilos in jsut under 4 weeks. I was never starving and found a great variety of ways to do the allowed foods. I fell off the bandwagon on December 25 and have managed to put 5 kilos back on since then. I do plan on getting back into it once work settles down a bit.

      As for the authors complaints - darl, there is a plethora of FREE Dukan related websites with hundreds of recipes - all broken down into the phases for you. If a broken down old football player like me can manage to make a variety of tasty healthy foods and not get bored with the same thing day after day - what excuse do you have?? Try typing in Dukan recipes into Google. Being a Journo you’d have Google (or Wikipedia) set as your home page and yu can obviously spell Dukan so whats your problem?

      For the record, the ‘gallete’ is pretty ordinary. Throw some cinnamon into it and it tastes a lot more edible. Its the easiest way to get your daily oatbran requirement into you. Even my kids munched through it OK once e put cinnamon into them. You can also make the cookies or a almost bread as well. For main meals I was happily munching away on a variety of chicken meals, lean steak and even lean sausages. I mad eup my own sauces to go with them using the Natural youghurt and other bits and pieces ie chilli, garlic, varius mustards etc I did the attack phase for 10 days - even my missus and old girl made it through 7 days easily. I swapped out all sugar for Splenda….I admit, that took more gtting used to than anything else….but I got used to it and was pretty happy to do it after reading a few articles and some Youtube’d scientists talking about the harm sugar is doing to us all.

      Its not that hard a diet to follow. Eat some no/low fat dairy like Forme Yoghurts whenever you want (no fruit pieces ones). Eat as much lean meat as you like. 2 tablespoons of oat bran a day (I either did the gallete or used it as a coating on meat or threw it into the meat balls/rissoles I’d make). Do that for 2-7 days - its up to you how long based on how much you want/need to do - and then you can introduce a whole bunch of vegetables back into the diet and you alternate all protein days with protein and vegetable days until your target weight. Then you can start bringing back in all the other foods and learn to maintain your weight. Eventually, you go back to eating normally - but hoepfully you’re better educated as to what various foods do to your body and the only requirement is that you do a single all protein day a week.

      Give it a go, its not that onerus. And that reminds me, I need to stock up on chicken breasts and some nice steaks…..

      Reply

    • Anonymous says:

      09:16am | 09/02/12

      I have lost 11.5 kilos in 10 weeks on this diet. Since having a baby several years ago, I tried *everything* with no luck - calorie counting, Weight Watchers, gym - and nothing worked. My doctor suggested this!
      I have found it very difficult. I went on the Attack phase for 6 days - pure protein. I now alternate protein days with protein and veg days with 2 tablespoons of oatbran each day. I also go to the gym 5-6 times a week. The thing that keeps me going is stepping on the scales every coupe of days and seeing and feeling the results. I had a blood test at 9 weeks and everything is normal and my cholesterol result is much better. I have never had contipation problems and feel great.
      This isn’t for everybody, but it works for me. Make up your own minds smile

      Reply

    • Eleanor says:

      09:28am | 09/02/12

      I’m doing low refined carbs and, coupled with weightlifting 3-4 times a week, I’ve already dropped 5kg since NYE. Booyah!

      Basically, it’s no bread, wraps or pasta, no potatoes, no added sugar, and no rice. I’m eating lean meat to get my required protein per day (which is really freakin’ important. Not only does this preserve and help increase lean muscle mass, it also keeps you fuller for longer), and non-starchy veggies, like spinach, beans, capsicum, tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, fruit (my mainstays are a banana at breakfast, and strawberries and blueberries with yoghurt or oats), nuts and dairy by way of sugarfree yoghurt and skim milk.

      I’m finding it’s sustainable and I’m really enjoying the variety of the food I can eat, and once you get over you carb cravings, you don’t miss them at all. I’m also amazed at how gross eating farinaceous food makes me feel. I never realised just how bloated it made me feel.

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      02:14pm | 09/02/12

      So basically the Atkins diet and weights? Yeah you are right about carbs though. I found once I cut the carb addiction it was easy to control your blood sugar spikes too./

    • Eleanor says:

      02:45pm | 09/02/12

      To my understanding, Atkins focuses on having a high amount of fat and protein? I’m avoiding saturated fats and having a moderate amount of unsaturated fats, through a daily serve of avocado and raw nuts. I try to keep it as simple as I can. I decided to remove carbs since at 22, I was pre-diabetic and insulin resistant and I thought “this is just not on”. So far, so good!

    • Black Poloneck says:

      09:45am | 09/02/12

      Hmmm -Diets - Emma is practising for the Womens Weekly

      Reply

    • Fiona says:

      09:48am | 09/02/12

      My husband and I have gone sugar free since New Year. Hasn’t been hard for me, but hubby has a shocking sweet tooth, mainly for baked goods and biscuits. I have only lost a bit because I didn’t eat much sugar anyway, but he’s lost a couple of kilos already. He’s 52 and me 44 so we know it’s harder to keep weight off at our ages without real effort. I’ve already noticed how I can’t achieve the same muscle tone from exercise as I had 5 years ago.

      Sugar interferes with your body so much. It’s in so many processed foods, often under another name it’s no wonder people have no idea how much they consume. I’ve already noticed how much better my skin is looking, in fact my crowsfeet seem to have become less deep and I have a nice glow, which people are noticing. I have read about how sugar ages you.

      I’ve tried every sort of eating regime over the years, with varying success. I went on a replacement meal diet in order to lose weight before major surgery. Lost 10kg, but 3 years later I’ve regained plus more. It seems the only way I lose weight is by extreme diet change. If my liver isn’t functioning properly my metabolism crashes.

      But now I’ve stopped bringing sugary foods into the house. We drink full fat milk, and eat full fat Greek style yoghurt. Many low fat diet yoghurts are in fact high in sugar. We feel great now. Still eat all sorts of foods, just not processed sugar laden poison.

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      01:04pm | 09/02/12

      I’m day five sugar free Fiona and today… I am hurting. I just want to go to sleep and eat stuff. But I am trying to tell myself that I only WANT those things… I don’t NEED them.

    • Gymmer says:

      10:13am | 09/02/12

      I really just don’t get these types of diets. Maybe they will work in the short term and you will lose fairly substantial amounts quickly but I bet the rates of people putting the weight back on shortly after is pretty high. (Plus any diet that omits fruit and veg must mean you miss out on some important vitamins, fibre etc.) Unless its weight you put on from having a baby I don’t believe in ‘diets’ to lose weight, it has to be a lifestyle change. 

      I don’t eat a lot of carbs, have decent amounts of lean protein, plenty of vegies, small amount of raw nuts, low fat dairy, not much alcohol, plenty of water and 2 serves of fruit a day. I have a medical condition that means it is very easy to put on weight and hard to lose it (body can’t process carbs and sugar properly) so if *I* can lose weight eating a normal balanced range of foods like that then I find it hard to believe that 95% of other people can’t as well. No need to go on shakes, all meat, caveman, diets etc. 

      I know there were occasions in my past where I would lament that I was doing all the right things and not losing weight - when I really looked back at what I was eating I would find that I was not being 100% honest with myself and I needed to be more mindful of everything I put in my mouth.

      Kate Middleton did Dukan for her wedding apparently…I thought she looked far better before.

      Reply

    • TheRealDave says:

      12:18pm | 09/02/12

      Just to interject a bit. You don’t ‘go without fruit and veg’ on Dukan. You do for the first ‘Attack Phase’ which lasts from between 2-10 days - depending on how much you weight and how much you want to loose. Most ladies only have to do it for 2-5 days at most. Us bigger blokes can elect to stick with the Atatck Phase for a couiple more days. The next stage re-introduced a whole bunch of vegetables you can eat to your hearts content.

      Take a read up on the details of the ‘diet’. The only thing it cuts completely, or as much as possible, is carbs. Its heavy on the protien, low fat, as litlte sugar as possible, I didnt do anything special with my salt intake and a lot of water. I was drinking near 3 litres a day - bu tthis was December and I was riding a bike 3 times a week.

    • Gymmer says:

      01:36pm | 09/02/12

      Hi TRD, I was just going by what was said above and the limited stuff I’ve seen on Dukan, but I left it in general terms anyway. If any diets do omit fruit and veg then I don’t agree with them. That’s good that Dukan doesn’t long term, but I still think it’s unwise to go without them for even 5-10 days. Any food plan that has an ‘attack phase’ is not for me. It may work for others (I’m pleased for them - I really hope the weight stays off and they get healthy) but imho I think it’s better to just learn some life long lessons of eating a healthy and a balanced diet, exercising and get on with it. 

      I’m not sure what the ‘attack phase’ of Dukan is meant to do ( and I don’t care to research and read about it) but if it is meant to kickstart or boost your metabolism or kick carb cravings etc. then exercise and laying off the carbs/sugar for a few weeks will do that anyway.

    • Josephine says:

      10:20am | 09/02/12

      I actually lost weight over the holidays without really trying. You could say that I had the opposite of a Dukan diet. I don’t eat meat, but ate fresh vegies, salads, fruit,  nuts, legumes, wholegrain bread, the occasional seafood and pasta. Also a piece of chocolate cake most days (that I made myself but with a only quarter of the sugar that the recipe asked for). And I went walking for about an hour a few times a week which is less exercise than I normally do outside of the holidays.
      I’m still amazed at how I managed to pull it off, not that I’m complaining. And to top it off, my doctor complimented me on the good condition of my skin when I went for a check up yesterday.

      Reply

    • AdamC says:

      10:39am | 09/02/12

      Losing weight is like saving money. Most of us just aren’t very good at it. That is probably why there are so many people trying to help us do both. And I am sure a lot of their programs and systems work in the short term. But, for most of us, the eternal problem is that, to contradict Kate Moss, a lot of things do taste better than skinny feels.

      So long as I can fit comfortably into 31 inch trousers, I don’t stress. The days where I aspired to buy those 28 inch Calvin Klein jeans are behind me, alas.

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      12:31pm | 09/02/12

      No one should have to diet. I know it’s good for the short term fix, but healthy eating should be part of your life and not consciously done. I know, I’ve been there. After I finished growing I continued eating what I ate during high school and quickly whacked on 14 kgs. Worked it off. But eating a plant based diet, drinking water and exercising is the best way. I am not going to tell people to be vegan (that’s my personal choice) but I seriously think everyone’s addiction and dependance on meat has something to do with our obesity crisis. Not only is it notoriously bad for your bowels it’s high in saturated fat.  We never had the supply of meat as we do now thanks to factory farms so people go for their taste craving and go for the easy protein instead.  A humble chicken used to be a luxury, now it’s so common it’s a basic food group. People also don’t understand that meat and dairy industries fund the healthy food pyramid which is drummed into kids heads is often wrong and they often contradict each other.

      Golden Rule = Eat less. Exercise More.

      Reply

    • Sarahh says:

      02:02pm | 09/02/12

      Meat and dairy are at the top of the healthy food pyramid, as in, eat less of, somehow I doubt that those two industries are funding that.

    • Lj says:

      08:27pm | 09/02/12

      “We never had the supply of meat as we do now thanks to factory farms”

      maybe I misconstrued what your’re trying to say here, but I would have though that ‘back in the day’, it would have been easier to spear a deer, or net some fish, rather than set up an industrial vegie farm ?

    • Malik says:

      01:36pm | 09/02/12

      These “lose weight quick, eat protein bars and drink shakes” diets are stupidly bad for you and rarely work in the long run. I think its time some serious investigation was done into the long term effects of these diets since a lot of studies show people who shed weight quickly will put it back on over the next 5 years.

      The only way to do it is to change your eating habits, exercise more and don’t expect miracles. Plan to lose weight over a period of months, not weeks. Adjust your diet to eat foods that are actually good for you and don’t make drastic changes in calorie intake, also exercise regularly. Weight loss doesn’t take a fad diet, it takes a lifestyle change.

      Reply

    • Smidgeling says:

      02:52pm | 09/02/12

      Malik- why let logic and common sense get in the way of your hopes and dreams?!

      Crash diet, then blame genetics for the fact you can’t lose weight and say it’s unhealthy for you to be slimmer…isn’t that the way to go?

      If people were honest with themselves and were prepared to be accountable for the stuff they eat we probably wouldn’t have many overweight people around. Fair cop if you’re happy to be fat for the luxury of nice tasting food though…

    • Ridge says:

      01:57pm | 09/02/12

      Kika, you are entirely wrong, except for your golden rule.

      And to simplify that further, you just need to eat less.

      Of course, Jim’s reply was really all there is to it.

      /thread

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      02:12pm | 09/02/12

      No, I am entirely right. You just don’t want to know the truth. Ask your parents and/or grandparents about the availability of a humble chicken back in the 60’s. They were once a year things. Not everyday.

    • Gymmer says:

      02:54pm | 09/02/12

      hmm, ok I was interested enough in this question to email my Mum who was a kid/early teens in the 60s. She says that they ate fish once a week, had a roast on Sundays (chicken, beef or lamb) and that every other meal during the week was typically meat and 3 veg. (My mum’s family wasn’t well off either, far from it).

      Having said that I agree we do eat too much meat (particuarly red meat), my boyfriend and I enjoy our meat free meals a few nights a week. Falafels, mmmm.

    • Smidgeling says:

      02:06pm | 09/02/12

      “If I were a better and more balanced person, I would have adopted some sensible CSIRO-style eating plan rather than signing up for the first celebrity-endorsed slim fest I found on the internet.”

      You pretend as though ‘fresh veges and lean meat’ is a complicated concept…surely it’s not that freakin’ tricky.

      Reply

    • lj says:

      08:33pm | 09/02/12

      To all those on here critising the diet, do any of you actually know what’s involved ? or what the final aim / target of the diet is ?

      The dukan diet DOES allow veg, and once your on the third of the 4 phases, you’re even allowed chocolate, and jelly beans, and ice cream, and quater pounders.

      For those of you who are looking to loose weight, what have you got to loose ? for those that don’t need to loose weight, good for you, but how about being more supportive of the others ?

      Reply

    • James says:

      04:15pm | 17/10/12

      I’m sorry, there’s really no such thing as a safe diet pill. They amolst all contain stimulants that can damage the cardiovascular system, and then there’s Alli, which can give you explosive diarrhea, so I don’t think you want that pill either. Diet and exercise should work perfectly fine. I think you’re probably either not giving it enough time (you should give it at least a month before you decide you’re not seeing results), or you aren’t dieting or exercising right.As for your diet, you should be eating high protein, high fat (saturated not trans, and no that’s not unhealthy), low carb, low sugar. Keep your calorie intake around 1500 a day, carbs around 100-150 g a day, and as little added sugar as you can manage. Make sure to eat lots of fruits and veggies too.And you need to push yourself when you exercise. A nice easy pace won’t do anything. You have to get sweaty, tired, and work hard. If you don’t feel tired when you’re done, if you’re not out of breath, you’re not doing it right. And you need to do both cardio and weight training, but on different days. Try and work out for at least an hour, 4-6 days a week.

      Reply
 
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