The Ducan diet is very popular all over the world, primarily because of its fast and amazing results. It belongs to the systems of healthy eating. It allows you to lose weight and at the same time you do not suffer from hunger, because it is allowed to use more than a hundred different delicious and satisfying products.
Characteristics and rules of the Ducan diet
The main goal of the Ducan protein diet is to reduce fat and carbohydrate intake. They are necessarily included in the weight loss diet, but in a minimal amount. Proteins become the basis of the menu. They will need to be eaten in the amount recommended for weight loss (it is about 1, 5 g per kilogram of weight). As a result, it is possible to get rid of extra pounds and stabilize the achieved figure on the scales.
The choice for good reason fell on protein as the basis of the diet.
There are several reasons for this:
- To digest such substances, the body must expend the maximum amount of energy, and therefore calories.
- Pure proteins reduce hunger, prevent the retention of excess fluid in the body and increase its defenses.
- These substances prevent the skin from relaxing. If the body lacks protein, it will be extracted from the muscles.
It is very important to try to eat less salt while adhering to the agreed diet. This additive retains water in the body and increases hunger. But it is harmful to turn it off completely. Especially for people who suffer from low blood pressure.
Be sure to drink plenty of fluids at all stages of your diet. That’s at least 2 liters of different fluids a day. Water also removes the feeling of hunger, filling the stomach, and cleanses the body of all kinds of impurities. This is especially true with a protein diet. When protein is consumed in large quantities, the body constantly accumulates waste products that need to be removed from it. Otherwise, the long-awaited effect will not occur.
It is interesting that even carbonated drinks can be drunk on such a diet.
The main thing is to choose "light" options that do not contain sugar. Their taste also helps weight loss to cope with a strong craving for forbidden sweets.
Drinking is allowed at any time and regardless of the meal. The feeling of thirst must be completely satisfied, not dulled.
Description of phases
There are four main stages in the diet. The main goal of the first half of them is to get rid of extra pounds. And the second is to fix the new ideal weight.
You don’t have to limit yourself to certain parts at each stage. You don’t even need to count calories.
Phase 1 - attack
The Ducan diet attack is the initial stage. It is short, but challenging and effective. The usual food with carbohydrates is completely replaced by proteins. This leads to active fat burning.
On average, this phase is designed for 7 days. But under some conditions it can last from 3 to 12 days. It all depends on how many hated pounds a person wants to lose.
In the attack, it is allowed to eat protein foods from a special list. They can be eaten in any quantity and combined with each other. The main thing is to cook fat-free food. For example, cook or grill.
In the first stage, the weight begins to disappear very quickly. This encourages weight loss not to stop, but to continue to adhere to a heavy diet.
Phase 2 - cruise / alternation
The second phase turned out to be very long. This is the main reason why those who are thin often have breakdowns at this stage. The phase under discussion usually lasts from a few months to six months. You must adhere to a special nutritional system until the weight becomes ideal.
The main idea of the second phase is to change the menu. These are the days of eating completely protein foods or their combinations with vegetables. You can change your diet every other day, two, three.
Protein menus should consist of "offensive" products, and mixed raw, cooked, roasted vegetables should be added. The latter should make up about 60% of the diet.
Phase 3 - consolidation / consolidation
At this stage, the hardest part is over. You can slowly and gradually return to your usual diet. It is important to consolidate the achieved weight.
You will have to determine the duration of this phase yourself. To do this, you need to calculate the weight you managed to lose in the previous stages. For each kilogram dropped, you must add 10 days of "repair".
This period can prove to be quite long (especially if more than 10 kg has been lost), but it should not be feared. Now you can pamper yourself with even delicious desserts and other culinary delicacies.
- You have to eat five days a week according to the usual way of alternating.
- In the first half of the period, you can add 100 g of bread (whole grains), 200 g of fruit, 50 g of cheese to it every day.
- One day, consume only protein on an "attack" basis.
- On the seventh day, it is allowed to eat starchy food (200 g), a portion of pork, ham, sausage, one favorite dessert.
- In the second half of the day in the "Feast" with fatty sweet food and sausages can already be enjoyed twice a week. Days like this should not follow each other.
"Feast" day does not involve the use of "harmful things" throughout the day. It is allowed to please yourself only in 1-2 meals. It is also allowed to drink high quality weak wine.
Phase 4 - stabilization
At this stage, weight loss will return to their usual food system with some peculiarities. First of all, you need to continue to follow a drinking regimen, continuing to consume a lot of water daily. It is very important to include in your schedule daily physical activity, at least minimal - exercising in the morning, walking, refusing the elevator.
Be sure to schedule fasting days regularly and eat 3 tablespoons each day. l. oat bran in any form.
To maintain your ideal weight for a long time, it is worth taking the third phase as a basis and from vegetables and protein products to forever create the basis of your diet. In this case, you can treat yourself to 2 breakfasts or lunches a week, as well as 2 servings of starchy products.
It is recommended to continue to leave one protein day a week. It will become a defense mechanism against repeated weight gain.
Permitted and prohibited products
Prohibited and permitted foods depend on the stage of the diet.
So, initially, it is allowed to eat protein products from a special list.
It:
- horse meat;
- beef;
- bird;
- ham;
- viscera;
- fish (even canned and smoked);
- crabs;
- eggs;
- nonfat milk / fermented milk drinks and products.
You can use 1 - 2 pickles cooked without sugar (daily), 1 onion, a small amount of tomato paste, vegetable oil (not more than 1 teaspoon), mustard, fresh / granulated garlic, fresh / dried herbs.
Be sure to use 1 - 1, 5 tbsp. l. bran. You can eat them in any form.
In the "alternation" phase, all the above foods are added to various vegetables. Only legumes and potatoes will need to be completely eliminated.
These days are allowed:
- olives (4 pcs. 2 times a week);
- flax and chia seeds (1 teaspoon daily).
There is still a need to consume oat bran.
As mentioned above, in the third phase, cheese, bread, fruit and some favorite foods are added to the menu. The expansion of their list continues in the fourth phase. Part of the bran is increased to 3 tbsp. l.
Among the cheeses, it is worth choosing hard varieties. Fruits, bananas, cherries, grapes, dried fruits cannot be eaten.
At any stage of the diet in question, most sweets are strictly forbidden. For example, bars, cakes, pastries, sweets. During the consolidation of the results, you can smear yourself with a cube of dark chocolate or 1-2 fruit candies once a day. The exception is holiday meals, when even your favorite cakes are allowed.
The list of banned products in all stages includes muffins, bakery products, nuts, dough dishes, butter, goose and duck meat, mayonnaise and all sauces based on it, ketchup.
Detailed menu for each day
During the period of the "attack" the diet will be as follows:
- Scrambled eggs for breakfast, poultry soup for lunch, cheese cakes / casseroles for afternoon tea, seafood in any form and a sour milk drink for dinner.
- Bran porridge, beef cutlets, oatmeal rolls, poultry meatballs / cutlets.
- Boiled eggs, lumps, orange juice pie and polloka pan with eggs.
- Omelet, fish soup with boiled quail eggs, egg whites and lemon dessert, squid and / or fish salad.
- Grilled poultry, bran pancakes, white fish pie.
- Eggs (in any form) with ham, steaks of lean meat fillets, biscuits (on bran) and yogurt, omelet with seafood.
- Omelet with primrose, chicken, cheesecakes and yogurt, minced meat pie and kefir.
During the alternation phase, the base of the menu can be kept the same, but salad vegetables can be added to it every other day. For example, cutlets, lumps or steaks. It is also allowed to roast meat, poultry or fish together with vegetables.
In the "fix" phase, the following weekly menu is recommended:
- Fresh cheese casserole for breakfast, lemon soup with bread (integral grain) for lunch, fruit for afternoon snack, stewed vegetables and chicken for dinner.
- Oatmeal and a slice of cheese, pasta with roast meat, cottage cheese, cutlets with salad.
- Scrambled eggs with caiman / scrambled eggs, borscht, biscuit and lumps, chocolate souffle with lemon juice, baked seafood.
- Drink from cottage cheese and fermented milk, grilled poultry, kefir with bread croutons, shrimp and boiled eggs.
- Fresh cheese, chicken soup with meatballs and bread, fruit, cream of mushroom soup.
- Rice with cutlets / meatballs, vegetable pancakes, cheesecakes, salad with fish cutlets.
- Fresh cheese and a piece of cheese, chicken soup and quail eggs, fruits, vegetables baked with cheese.
The menu of the third phase can be repeated on the fourth, not forgetting the days of "feasts" and other permitted indulgences.
Exercise with the Ducan diet
Pierre Dukan notes that quality weight loss and an ideal figure are impossible without regular physical activity. The nutritionist advises combining his special diet system with training.
You can start with the minimum - replacing the elevator by climbing stairs, getting off public transport a few stops before the house, morning exercises with 3 - 5 exercises.
Active walking should gradually become a daily weight loss workout.
You need to start with a 20 minute walk, gradually increasing the time. It is desirable to walk in the fresh air on the terrain.
If you decide to include heavy physical training in your daily routine. For example, visiting the gym, then in the first stage the child is strictly forbidden. You can only return to training during the food exchange phase. It is better to actively deal with those days when vegetables are added to protein dishes.
Aqua aerobics has a beneficial effect on the figure. If possible, it is worth visiting the pool 1-2 times a week. There is no need to exercise in the water with a trainer at all. You can just swim for fun. At the same time, calories will be actively burned, and the reliefs on the figure will approach the ideal.
Advantages and disadvantages of this weight loss method
The diet in question has its advantages and disadvantages. They should be carefully studied by any person who has decided to lose weight this way.
Advantages:
- Efficiency. If you strictly follow all its rules, then you will lose about 1 kilogram of extra kilograms per day.
- The ability to increase muscle tone, make the skin elastic and deal with cellulite.
- You do not need to constantly weigh portions and count calories.
- Ability to eat certain foods / products in the amount needed for satiety.
Nah:
- Imbalance. By long-term adherence to such a diet, the patient's body is deficient in certain vitamins and minerals.
- Possible side effects. In the first stage, some patients develop dizziness and a feeling of constant fatigue.
- Halitosis. This trouble occurs when protein has long been the basis of the human diet.
- High price. The diet consists of high quality, expensive food.
How to properly get out of the diet
To maintain results, you need to get out of your diet properly. The way out of it starts in the consolidation phase. New, previously banned foods are added to the diet of people who lose weight gradually and in small meals.
When quitting your diet, it is important to keep exercising and drinking plenty of water. You are gradually allowed to return desserts to your diet. But let it be high-quality bitter chocolate, mallow from fruits and berries, honey and other useful sweets.
Contraindications and possible damage
There are a number of contraindications that are an important reason to choose a different diet yourself.
Therefore, it is forbidden:
- People with metabolic problems. Including patients with pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus.
- Patients with chronic diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, entire urinary system. On these organs and systems, large doses of protein in the body will have a serious load.
- Expectant mothers and wives during breastfeeding. With such a diet, a pregnant woman and her baby will lack vitamins and nutrients.
- Persons under 18 years of age. Especially for girls with a disordered menstrual cycle. Otherwise, weight loss can be faced with its serious violations or complete disappearance of menstruation.
- People with heart and blood vessel diseases. Weight loss in the diet lacks fatty acids, which can lead to worsening of the ailment.
- For women during or before menopause. An unbalanced diet during this period can cause hormonal disorders.
- People with mental health problems and increased emotionality. Lack of carbohydrates in the diet affects brain function.
In order for the Ducan diet to be effective and safe for a person, it is worth consulting an expert before you start it. Especially if a man or woman has any health problems.