The Ducan diet is very popular around the world, mainly due to its quick and amazing results. It belongs to the systems of healthy eating. It allows you to lose weight and at the same time not to go hungry, because it is allowed to use more than a hundred different tasty and satisfying products.
Features and rules of the Ducan diet
The main goal of the Ducan protein diet is to reduce the intake of fats and carbohydrates. They are necessarily included in the diet for weight loss, but in a minimal amount. Proteins become the basis of the menu. They will need to be consumed in the recommended amount for weight loss (about 1. 5g per kilogram of weight). As a result, it is possible to get rid of extra pounds and stabilize the achieved figure on the scale.
The choice fell on protein as the basis of the diet for a reason.
There are several reasons for this:
- For the digestion of these substances, the body must expend the maximum amount of energy and, therefore, calories.
- Pure proteins reduce hunger, prevent excess fluids from remaining in the body and increase its defenses.
- These substances prevent sagging skin. If the body lacks protein, it will be extracted from the muscles.
It is very important to try to eat less salt while following the discussed diet. This additive retains water in the body and increases hunger. But it is also harmful to completely exclude it. Especially for people with low blood pressure.
During all stages of the diet, be sure to drink plenty of fluids. This is at least 2 liters of various liquids per 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 proteins are consumed in large quantities, the body constantly accumulates waste substances that must be removed from it. Otherwise, there will be no long-awaited effect.
It is noteworthy that carbonated drinks can also be drunk on such a diet.
The main thing is to choose "light" options that do not contain sugar. Their taste also helps a weight loss 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 and not clouded.
Description of the stages
There are four main stages in the diet. The main goal of the first half of these is to get rid of the extra pounds. And the second is setting the new ideal weight.
At each stage, you don't have to limit yourself to certain portions. You don't even need to count calories.
Phase 1 - attack
In the Ducan diet, the attack is the initial phase. It's short, but challenging and effective. The usual carbohydrate food is completely replaced by proteins. This leads to active fat burning.
On average, this stage 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.
On the attack, it is allowed to eat protein foods from a special list. They can be consumed in any quantity and combined with each other. The main thing is to cook fat-free food. For example, boil or grill.
In the first stage, the weight starts to go away very quickly. This encourages weight loss not to stop, but to continue adhering to a difficult nutritional system.
Phase 2 - cruise / alternation
The second phase turned out to be very long. This is the main reason why those who are losing weight often fail at this stage. The phase under discussion usually lasts from a couple of months to six months. It is necessary to adhere to a special nutritional system until the weight becomes ideal.
The main idea of the second phase is menu alternation. These are days when you eat fully protein foods or combinations of them with vegetables. You can change the diet every other day, two, three.
Protein menus should consist of "attack" products and mixed raw, boiled and baked vegetables should be added. The latter should make up about 60% of the diet.
Phase 3 - consolidation / consolidation
At this stage, all the hardest is over. You can start slowly and gradually returning to your usual diet. It is important to consolidate the weight achieved.
The duration of this phase will have to be determined by you. To do this, you need to calculate the weight you managed to lose in the previous stages. For every pound you lose, you need to add 10 "repair" days.
This period can be quite long (especially if more than 10 kg have been lost), but you shouldn't be afraid of it. Now you can also pamper yourself with delicious desserts and other culinary delights.
- Five days a week, you need to eat according to the usual alternation pattern.
- In the first half of the period, you can add 100 g of bread (from whole grains), 200 g of fruit, 50 g of cheese every day.
- One day, he consumes exclusively proteins according to the "attack" principle.
- On the seventh day it is allowed to eat starchy food (200 g), a portion of pork, ham, sausages, a favorite delicacy.
- In the second half of the day you can already enjoy the "Festa" with sweet fatty foods and sausage twice a week. Days like these shouldn't happen.
The day of the "Feast" does not imply the use of "harmful things" during the day. It is only allowed to pamper yourself in 1-2 meals. Drinking high-quality weak wine is also allowed.
Stage 4 - stabilization
At this stage, weight loss will return to its usual nutritional system with some peculiarities. First of all, you must continue to follow the drinking regimen, continuing to consume a lot of water per day. It is very important to include in your schedule daily physical activity, at least minimal: exercise in the morning, walking, refuse the lift.
Be sure to organize fasting days periodically and eat 3 tablespoons every 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 making vegetables and protein products the foundation of your nutritional system forever. In this case, you can pamper yourself with 2 festive breakfasts or lunches a week, as well as 2 servings of products with starch in the composition.
However, it is recommended to leave one protein day per week. It will become a defense mechanism against repeated weight gain.
Permitted and prohibited products
The prohibited and permitted foods depend on the phase of the diet.
So, at first it is allowed to eat protein products from a special list.
it:
- horsemeat;
- Beef;
- bird;
- Ham;
- offal;
- fish (including canned and smoked);
- crab sticks;
- eggs;
- low-fat dairy / beverages and fermented milk products.
You can use 1 - 2 cooked sugar-free pickled cucumbers (per day), 1 onion, a small amount of tomato paste, vegetable oil (no more than 1 teaspoon), mustard, fresh / granulated garlic, fresh / dried herbs.
Make sure you use 1 - 1. 5 tbsp. L. bran. You can eat them in any form.
In the "alternation" phase, a variety of vegetables are added to all the foods listed above. Only legumes and potatoes will have to be completely eliminated.
These days are allowed:
- olives / olives (4 pcs. 2 times a week);
- flax and chia seeds (1 teaspoon per day).
There is still a need to consume oat bran.
As noted above, in the third stage cheese, bread, fruit and some favorite foods are added to the menu. The expansion of their list continues in the fourth phase. The portion of the bran is increased to 3 tbsp. L.
Among the cheeses, it is worth choosing hard varieties. From fruits, bananas, cherries, grapes, dried fruits can not be eaten.
At any stage of the diet under discussion, most sweets are strictly prohibited. For example, bars, cakes, pastries, sweets. During the consolidation of the result, you can pamper yourself with a cube of dark chocolate or 1-2 fruit candies once a day. The exception is feast day meals, when your favorite cake is also allowed.
The list of prohibited products at all stages includes muffins, baked goods, nuts, pasta dishes, butter, goose and duck meat, mayonnaise and all sauces based on it, ketchup.
Detailed menu for every day
During the "attack" period, the diet will be as follows:
- Scrambled eggs for breakfast, poultry soup for lunch, cheesecake / casserole for afternoon tea, seafood in any form and sour milk drink for dinner.
- Bran porridge (oatmeal), beef chops, oatmeal muffins, poultry meatballs / cutlets.
- Boiled eggs, croquettes, orange juice pie and pollock casserole with eggs.
- Omelette, fish soup with hard-boiled quail eggs, egg white and lemon cake, squid and / or fish salad.
- Grilled poultry, bran pancakes, white fish pie.
- Eggs (in any form) with ham, lean meat fillet steaks, biscuits (on bran) and yogurt, omelette with seafood.
- Omelette with parsley, chicken meat, cheesecake and yogurt, mince pie and kefir.
During the alternation phase, the base of the menu can be kept unchanged, but vegetable salads can be added every other day. For example, chops, kibble or steak. It is also allowed to cook meat, poultry or fish along with vegetables.
During the "fixation" phase we recommend the following weekly menu:
- Ricotta casserole for breakfast, lemon soup with (wholemeal) bread for lunch, fruit as a snack, stewed vegetables and chicken for dinner.
- Oatmeal and a slice of cheese, pasta with baked meat, cottage cheese, cutlets with salad.
- Scrambled eggs ham and cheese / scrambled eggs, borscht, biscuit and croquettes, chocolate soufflé with lemon juice, baked seafood.
- Cottage cheese and fermented milk drink, grilled poultry, kefir with croutons, shrimp and hard-boiled eggs.
- Ricotta, chicken broth with meatballs and bread, fruit, mushroom cream.
- Rice with cutlets / meatballs, vegetable pancakes, cheese cake, salad with fish cutlets.
- Cottage cheese and a piece of cheese, chicken broth and quail eggs, fruit, baked vegetables with cheese.
The menu of the third stage can also be repeated the fourth, without forgetting the days of the "party" and the other indulgences allowed.
Training with the Ducan diet
Pierre Dukan notes that high-quality weight loss and an ideal figure are impossible without regular physical activity. The nutritionist recommends combining his special nutritional system with training.
You can start with the minimum: replace the elevator with climbing stairs, get out of public transport a couple of stops before home, morning exercises with 3 - 5 exercises.
Active walking should gradually become a daily weight loss workout.
You need to start with 20 minutes of walking, gradually increasing the time. It is advisable to walk in the open air in prominent terrain.
If you decide to include hard physical training in your daily routine. For example, a visit to the gym, so in the first stage of the diet is strictly prohibited. You can only go back to training in the food alternation phase. It is better to actively engage in those days when vegetables are added to protein dishes.
Water aerobics has a beneficial effect on the figure. If possible, it is worth visiting the swimming pool 1-2 times a week. It is not at all necessary to exercise in water with a trainer. You can only swim for fun. At the same time, calories will be actively burned, and the reliefs of the figure will approach the ideal.
The advantages and disadvantages of this weight loss method
The diet under discussion has its pros and cons. They should be carefully studied by every person who has decided to lose weight in this way.
Benefits:
- Efficiency. If you strictly follow all its rules, about 1 pound of excess weight will go away per day.
- The ability to increase muscle tone, make the skin supple and cope with cellulite.
- There is no need to constantly weigh portions and count calories.
- The ability to eat certain dishes / products in the quantity necessary for satiety.
Disadvantages:
- Imbalance. With long-term adherence to such a diet, a lack of certain vitamins and minerals is found in the patient's body.
- Possible side effects. In the first stage, some patients develop dizziness, a feeling of constant fatigue.
- Halitosis. This problem occurs when proteins are the basis of the human diet for a long time.
- High cost. The diet consists of expensive, high-quality foods.
How to get out of the diet correctly
To maintain the results, it is necessary to exit the diet correctly. The exit from it begins at the consolidation stage. Previously banned new foods are added to the weight loss diet gradually and in small portions.
When quitting the diet, it is important to keep exercising and drinking plenty of water. Gradually it is allowed to return desserts to your diet. But let it be high-quality bitter chocolate, fruit and berry marshmallows, honey and other useful sweets.
Contraindications and possible harm
There is a whole list of contraindications that are an important reason for choosing a different diet for yourself.
So it is forbidden:
- People with metabolic problems. Including patients with pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus.
- Patients with chronic disorders of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, the entire urinary system. It is on these organs and systems that high doses of protein in the body will exert a serious load.
- Pregnant women and women during lactation. With such a diet, the most pregnant girl and her baby will lack vitamins and nutrients.
- People under the age of 18. Especially for girls with an unstable menstrual cycle. Otherwise, losing weight may face its serious violations or the complete disappearance of menstruation.
- People with diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Losing weight lacks fatty acids in the diet, which can lead to exacerbation of ailments.
- For women during menopause or on the eve of / after it. An unbalanced diet during this period can cause hormonal disturbances.
- People with mental problems and increased emotionality. A lack of carbohydrates in the diet affects the functioning of the brain.
In order for the Ducan diet to be effective and safe for a person, it is worth consulting with a specialist before starting it. Especially if the man or woman has health problems.