Dukan Diet Review

I’m anti-fad diet. They actually really annoy me. I’m a firm believer that as long as you’re eating healthy (without going over your daily caloric need) and exercising that you will indeed lose weight. I also believe that if you lose weight quickly that you will pack it on just as fast and then some. So when I was sent The Dukan Diet to review, I was not only skeptical but worried. Regardless, I dove in.

Dukan Diet

The Dukan Diet is written by Dr.Pierre Dukan. The Dukan Diet came to be after an overweight man came to him, sick of starvation diets and wanting to just eat meat. Out of frustration, Dr. Dukan suggested he eat just meat and come back to him in 5 days. The man lost a considerable amount of weight. This sparked inspiration and Dr.Dukan came up with one of the most sought after diet plans.

Why I decided to go ahead with trying the Dukan Diet out was the fact that protein was unlimited. In all of my nutrition plans that I follow protein is always in high amounts, and I know how important it is to not only satisfy you but help build muscle as well. I didn’t care for the fact that the first few days (attack phase) was low on vegetables, but it was only a few days. On all phases of The Dukan Diet, you must have oat bran. The amount you have depends on what phase you are on (1 1/2 tbsp in attack, 2 in cruise phase, and so on). It’s recommended you have it as a galette (a delicious mixture of oat bran, greek yogurt, egg whites, and stevia cooked like a pancake) or you can add it to yogurt, eat Dukan Diet bars, etc.

What is the Dukan Diet?

So the quick jist of The Dukan Diet is that you head to dukandiet.com and find out your “true weight”. It takes a lot into account to find this out like your current weight, your goal (which was 125), your wrist size, the highest you have ever weight, etc. My “true weight” is 128.8. The website does not recommend you ever go below your true weight. Which is fine, 128.8 sounds like a great weight for someone who is 5’3, like me. That being said, weight is a tricky thing. Especially at that point, a lot should be considered such as sizing, muscle, etc.

Dukan Diet Phases

Attack Phase: There are no counting calories on the Dukan Diet, but I still did just to see what consumption was. The Attack phase is anywhere from 3-7 days (depending on how much weight you want to lose) and it’s really easy to follow. Eat protein. You can have as much protein as you want, just watch your sodium. I followed this phase for four days and ate things like cottage cheese, natural deli meat, eggs, egg whites, and 0% greek yogurt. I have massive chocolate cravings at night, so what I did was add a little stevia into my yogurt and cocoa powder. It tasted like chocolate pudding and was really satisfying. I started the Dukan Diet at 144 pounds (I gained 10 pounds over the course of my big two-month move) and I ended the cruise phase at 138. That’s 6 pounds! Calorie wise I was eating anywhere from 800-1100 calories. The days I noticed I was that low in my calories I would force myself to eat more, I didn’t want my body to go into starvation mode. The positive side of things: I was incredibly full.

Cruise Phase: I was not perfect in this phase, in fact, the first night I entered the cruise phase I went out for a drink with a friend. It was a special occasion since we only see each other once or twice a year. I had chicken and greens for dinner, but down two sugary long island iced teas. Whoops! The cruise phase alternates protein days with protein and vegetable days. So every second day you have as much protein and vegetables you can have. I got down to 135.8, it was exciting I was so close to my goal and “true weight” of 128 pounds. I was going strong until I was sick of eating the same thing day in and day out. That’s where it went south. I had one cheat meal, which turned into a cheat day which rolled into a cheat weekend. BOOM just like that I was back at 140. If I want to keep positive in a course of two weeks, I’m still down four pounds (actually, it’s more like six now) that’s a normal weight loss anyway. I’m not going to complain. This is where I stopped The Dukan Diet. What a person is supposed to do is to keep going until you hit your true weight. I still had a way to go of strictly oat bran, veggies, and protein.

Consolidation Phase: I dreamt of this phase. I’m sure when you make it to this phase in the Dukan Diet you feel like a million bucks. For one, if you’re here that means you reached your true weight. Congrats! That’s a huge achievement. Are you ready to start living again? For every pound you lost, you need to be in the consolidation phase for 5 days. So it’s different for everyone. It’s about getting your body to adjust. On the consolidation phase you are eating veggies and protein BUT now you can add a piece of fruit and two pieces of wholegrain bread a day. You can also have two starches a week and some cheese. That’s not the best part…wait for it…two celebration meals a week! So two meals a week where if you want a burger or ice cream, have a burger or ice cream. It’s about a meal, not a whole day. This starts teaching you moderation.

Stabilization Phase: Now here is the phase that you will follow for the rest of your life. It’s easy enough. Eat whatever you want, just have one day a week where you just eat protein (just like the attack phase). It’s that easy. You are still supposed to have about 3 tbsp of oat bran a day. I’m not too sure on how I feel about this. You’re still going to have to use your head. 6 days a week you still can’t be eating pizza, take out and burgers and expect to lose weight. I’m sure you’re going to take some of the new skills you have learned and go with it. Either way, it’s promising that if you follow this you will be at a steady weight for the rest of your life.

I did like The Dukan Diet and I would attempt it again. For future use, I would have to have a plan with a variety of meal options for this to stick.

Have you tried The Dukan Diet? What are your thoughts?