Success with Dukan??

Michelleanon

A friend of mine had a baby 7 months ago and put on a bit of weight (about 45lbs). She has done the Dukan diet since July 2012 and is in the "maintenance" stage now after loosing all that she put on shy of 5lbs..She looks absolutely amazing.
I am now on day 2 of the "attack" phase.
Does anyone have any feedback on this diet plan? success stories, advice??
Thanks.......

jennb44

My former boss is on it...she is in the maintenance phase after being on it for a year. I hadn't seen her in that timeframe, but saw her a week ago and man oh man, did she look awesome. She lost 70lbs and she says she is so happy and never going back to what she used to be (190-200 lbs) - she even throw out all her old clothes. I was very intrigued by the whole Dukan diet and looked up some things on line. It is a very strict diet during the attack phrase and you only get to choose from 100 foods which are all non carb. I just know for myself, that doing no carb was going to be very very hard for me, so what I am trying to do is do is low carb foods instead. I am going to see how this works for me first and go from there. I wish you the best of luck and would love to become a "friend" to see how you do on this.

dovetail22uk

I'm not critisising cos I don't know anything about it but....:yawn:

I thought this chap had been widely discredited and was currently hanging his head in shame? (or rolling around laughing in piles of money)

JustCallMeTes

Someone from my job did it and lost all of her post pregnancy weight.. I'm starting tomorrow I bought the book and it tell you EVERYTHING you need to do! Let me know if you're planning to do it too.. I could always use a buddy!

Michelleanon

Hey there, I am on day 3 of the "attack" phase...the hunger pangs are starting to ease a little and the answer seems to be to make sure you have something at hand to eat so that you dont go into that "eat anything" to satisfy. I have to say I went to bed last night feeling good and full...Let's hope I keep going. I do intend to!!! I am also going to the gym and doing the required cardio and some weights...

diaryoffatgirlslim

Hi guys
I am on day 4 of a dukan restart. I started in Sept last year after having my baby but with the silly season and numerous out of town visitors coming to see the baby, there was alot of eating out. Luckily I didn't gain by eating whatever I wanted over the last few months, but I regret wasting all that time when I could have been much slimmer right now.
When I did attack last year, I struggled big time. I wasn't hungry but I missed veges ALOT. It was the longest 5 days of my life but was totally worth it because the weight came off.

This is the only diet that has seemed to work for me so far, I have tried Weight Watchers, Biggest Loser, Light and Easy.. restricting my calorie intake hasn't helped me budge any weight for some reason, just kept me busy counting calories.

Dukan is just easier for me because I don't need to measure/count everything and can eat whenever. So far, I have lost 5.9 Kg, another 3 Kg until I reach pre-pregnancy weight and then another 12 to goal!

amyjude

Awesome!!!! Keep it up!!!!! I'm on day 19 and have lost 10.4 lbs. I've had two 'not great' dinners that definitely caused a bit of a setback, but was RIGHT BACK on the plan the next morning. You'll do it!!!!

Ree1109

I'm three days in on my first attempt and have dropped 2kg (4.4lbs)
Any advice is welcome. I'm planning on trying to stick with the Attack Phase for another week.
The food isnt too restrictive if your a little inventive with how you do it. I'm definatley not bored.

calajane

I tried it two years ago and quickly lost a lot. the change was remarkable, but when I slipped I slipped hard and got the worst jojo effect yet, gaining twice what I lost.

Strict diets are simply not for me, especially when my family can't be on the same diet as I am (my mom's diabetic), so now I just count the calories and hope to lose weight, even if it takes me longer.

CoRyan2

I tried the Duken Diet and lost a fair bit of weight, I found it very hard to stick to and when i gave it up, the weight returned with vengence.

shelleycolton

Oh my mum and dad do dukan and haven't looked back at all in terms of weight loss; both have reached and are maintaining their Dukan target for sometime; when i go round on their attack day they eat some weird food. The only caution I have the amount of eggs they ate; so they have done a cholestrol test and in my mum this had noticibly increased; i'm not saying the weight loss hasn't been a huge health benefit but i would have a test before you start and during the diet at sensible intervals, just keep an eye on it. Hope this helps, ps Im a convert to the oat bran defo keeps you filled up!

pkw58

I am month 14 on Dukan, have been at "stabilization" or maintenance for over 6 months. The strict no carbs is only for a very few days, the attack phase. We have a Dukan group here on MFP. Oat bran daily is a must on the cruise phase or "losing weight" phase ii of the plan.

I lost 46 pounds and do my best to combine dukan with logging here on MFP ... it is not for everyone, but for me, life changing and a lifestyle I can own!

luzmidd

Love it! Lost 20lb, my exact goal to lose, and kept it off when I went into stabilization! I was in last phase for 4 months, didn't gain a single pound. It sounds really tough but once you are into it, it is so easy.

I am now 4 months pregnant, but you can be sure that as soon as I get the clear from my doctor after birth, I will be back on Dukan to lose my pregnancy weight!

beautmel

After putting on a few unwanted kg's over xmas I'm trying to shift it. Started the Dukan on Sunday. Weiged myself on Monday and lost 1.5kg! I had some veg and half a cup of oats on Tuesday so cheated a bit but I went to the gym in the evening and thought I needed some carbs for my workout. Anyways, super strict again yesterday with the attack phase but come this morning I've gained 100 grams. Going to do another day of attack today and see what the scales say tomorrow.

Good luck everyone!

mockchoc

I had a couple of friends do it and they gained it all back plus some more.

Kimmybean13

The dukan is a life long diet. The people who fail on it or gain everything back are people who ignore what the diet actually says. I know this because I was one of those people who for no real reason ignored the advice that is actually given. The life long commitment doesn't even ask for much, just one day a week to keep it off forever. Of course there are people out there who claim to have 'dukaned' but have gained back weight, and every single one of those people I have come across have in reality given up on the diet. The diet isn't the issue, the diet isn't wrong, it's biologically sound developed by a doctor. Every person I have read about discounting the theory actually re-states the theory wrongly, usually because they are regurgitating second hand information which doesn't actually reflect what Dr Dukan said.

lori_en

I did it for the best part of a year and lost about 20lbs, but it was very difficult to maintain and about a year to the day of starting it I had gained all my weight back.

For me the Dukan Diet didn't work and made for a really hard year, but it has helped me in terms of how I see different food etc, so I eat a lot better than I did before I was on the diet. Through eating normally but healthily, I'm now at the lightest weight I was when I was on the diet and I'm finding it a lot easier to maintain now than I did before

littlecrystal

May be a silly question, but doesn't it encourage to eat whatever amounts of allowed food? Doesn't it teach to overeat so you never eat hungry? That's why I am not on Dukan. I am trying to learn to eat sensibly and drop binge eating.

luzmidd

It teaches you that you can eat certain foods in unlimted quantities, yes, everything within moderation. Its a very structured diet, and if you read up properly and follow the diet to the end, anyone can have success with it, I think people who do Dukan and gain their weight and more back, didn't follow all the principles of the diet.

alycat1990

Personally I tried the Dukan diet in July of 2011 - it lasted for about 2 weeks before I wanted to stab myself with a fork from not eating any carbs.

From personal experience I have had much more success with weight loss using my fitness pal - and logging all foods - including breads, rice, and fruit.

I may be no doctor - but I know from my schooling as a nurse that its important to incorporate all food groups into your diet. Including fruit and grains.

I also know that too much protein can cause kidney failure, and I know that is a large debate with the cons of the dukan and atkins diet due to their "unlimmited" amounts of proteins.

To me the large time-frame of rotating days of pure proteins and veggie/protein days is too long to follow - and unrealistic.

Sorry if this is very antagonistic - and critical - especially for those that HAVE had success with this diet - I'm just saying it doesnt work for everyone, and I was a prime example. Just make sure you research it through before doing it and talk to your healthcare provider.

Timetochange4ever

I've never heard of this diet before, can someone give me some more info like what you would eat in a day etc?

JudyB21

The Dukan diet gets results.....7-10lbs in 5 days. BUT it's horrible....you lose your appetite and I couldn't eat properly after doing it! Plus I gained weight PLUS some after reverting to a 'normal' diet.

littlecrystal

The more I read, it sounds like a horrible diet. Who wants to eat proteins all life long, have a kidney failure, and, I hear from my friends, have a bad mouth breath?

luzmidd

Look, different diets work for different people. If you can lose weight by only logging your food, still eat rice, bread, etc. then lucky you. I couldn't, and I had grat success on Dukan. My kidneys are fine, I didn't only eat protein, except on attack phase, where I actually still had yoghurt and cottage cheese added into the mix, only for 4 days. The rest of the diet you have lots of veggies, you have fruit, cheese, bread, celebration meals (i.e anything your heart desires...)

If you know how the diet works, I mean really know, not just think its a low carb, high protein diet, then you will see how easy it is, how much variety there is in it, and how structured it is. The diet literally re-teaches you good eating habbits.

It works for some people, it doesn't work for others, but the people who have had success on Dukan, actually followed the diet to the tee, the ones who "gained all their weigh and then some" probably didn't follow through with all four phases.

jbrush45

tried the Duken Diet and lost a 2 stone I found it very hard to stick to and when i gave it up, the weight returned with vengence
I am now on the 5-2 Diet find this diat far better to maintaine my weight using myfitnesspal

Anastazia36

What I know is that you will put back all the weight with any diet if you don't follow the rules of each of them.
I did Duncan Diet and I lost 8 kgs, but then i switched to the Cambridge weight plan because I needed someone to check on me.
I will go back to Duncan after I lose some weight because Cabridge is a bit expensive for my pocket.

Anyways, the point is that weight returns with any diet if you don't keep an eye on the scales...
My moto is that "Diet starts after diet finishes"

SmileyC68

Hi there - my husband and I did the Dukan Summer 2011. He lost 2 stone and I lost 1.5. It was quite easy at the time and we were both determined but unless you adopt this completely as a lifestyle change it will eventually creep back on as it did with us as it can be very restrictive. So now I have adopted a new lifestyle change and I am doing the 5:2 eating plan. I eat lots of vegetables and drink lots of water and restrict my calorie intake to 500 calories 2 days a week. I can relax a bit the other 5 and have a few treats, go out for dinner and drink a little alcohol. This makes it far more sustainable for me long term and 4 weeks in I am really enjoying it and have lost 10 lbs so far!

loseweight222

I am on my first day in the attack phase and I do have to say the oat bran bread with turkey rashers and scrambled egg is a god send it takes away any cravings and is so tasty, I am finding it quite easy just depends on you really and what you prefer I like the strictness of the diet I know where I stand and love cooking so the recipes are good and tasty although I don't like the word diet I call it a lifestyle change. I feel like I have full control of this life style change and don't feel like it has control over me like many other diets tried before. so all in all a thumbs up with this one :-) see how I feel in 3 days :-/..... any body have any tips or recipes please share

tunesntea

Personally I tried the Dukan diet in July of 2011 - it lasted for about 2 weeks before I wanted to stab myself with a fork from not eating any carbs.

From personal experience I have had much more success with weight loss using my fitness pal - and logging all foods - including breads, rice, and fruit.

I may be no doctor - but I know from my schooling as a nurse that its important to incorporate all food groups into your diet. Including fruit and grains.

I also know that too much protein can cause kidney failure, and I know that is a large debate with the cons of the dukan and atkins diet due to their "unlimmited" amounts of proteins.

To me the large time-frame of rotating days of pure proteins and veggie/protein days is too long to follow - and unrealistic.

Sorry if this is very antagonistic - and critical - especially for those that HAVE had success with this diet - I'm just saying it doesnt work for everyone, and I was a prime example. Just make sure you research it through before doing it and talk to your healthcare provider.

Too much protein can be a problem but ATKINS is high fat, not high protein.
The USDA recommends 10 to 35% protein and atkins recommends 30% protein, 60% fat, 10%carbs. People that aren't using that ratio aren't properly following Atkins. Follow the ratios and there shouldn't be protein problems.

Im not familiar with Dukan enough to comment.

Allterrain_Lady

Please, don't do this diet.
I did it, about ten years ago when M. Dukan just released his book called 'Je ne sais pas maigrir' ('I don't know how to lose weight')
It seemed written for me. It was not. I lost about 19lbs in 9 months. Without eating any carbs, any fat, no fruits (I mean, SERIOUSLY, NO FRUITS?!).

I was dizzy all the the time, I lost my hair, my smile and my social life.

When I stopped the diet, overnight, because I couldn't stand it anymore, I put the weight back on twice as fast it came off. And then some. It took me a very long time to recover. Physically, of course, and emotionnally. I was complete mess, bordeline ED, scared of food.

If I may add, about 10 days ago, Dukan got banned from the "Ordre des Médecins" (basically this is the Official Doctor association in France)
He's not a Doctor anymore. He's facing several law suits for prescribing diet pills to his patients, for turning medecine into a business and because this diet sucks!

Please, take an hour or so to read his book carefully. You'll see that he writes like a guru would.
Everything he says is so supposed to be gold. If you follow the rules, all the rules, all the time with absolutely no window for when 'life happens' you'll succeed. If not, if you make ONE tiny step on the side, you'll fail and it's gonna be your fault.

But, guess what, life happens! This guy is dangerous. Nobody and I MEAN nobody has succeeded in the long run. Even here in France, where is considered as a 'miracle worker' (that being less and less true, thank God!)

I can't believe how I got stuck in this mess. He takes credit for everything good (short time good, I insist) and finds a way to blame his patients for EVERY fail!

GET THE HELL OUT before you metabolism is so screwed up, you'll have a lot of trouble trying to be healthy again. You can't cut out whole groups of food from your life for such a long time.

Feel free to rant, to tell me I'm a hater and I should rut in hell or add me as a friend to say 'thanks' but please don't do this to your body!

MapleFlavouredMaiden

Some questions to ask yourself:

Is it a diet with a name?
Does it require you to pay money for it?
Does it restrict specific foods, calories, or macros?
Do you really want to stay on this diet for the rest of your life (or risk regain)?


From what I know it is just a low carb diet re-imagined. This is nothing new and is the same old garbage as all the others.

Here's some solutions:

Do some actual real nutritional research
Focus on health rather that "losing weight fast"
Recognize that "losing weight" isn't the same as losing fat
Get up and do some exercise including strength training and forget about magic diets
Accept that it's all about calories in/calories out, weigh your food, eat at a small deficit (TDEE - 15%)
Don't get ripped off by fad diet gurus (including paleo, whole30 garbage, etc.)