Dukan Diet Anyone? Success/Tips?

Many people have done it. Attack phase and "Pure protein" days (Thursday ?) are low fat and low carb hence tend to be a few hundred calories and unlikely to be over 1000. That'll give people cognitive dissonance problems on here so good luck with your discussion ;-)

I tried it about 3 years ago but I wasn't very committed - I lost 14lb the first month but I drifted away from it and put it back on. It will work if you want it to work and are serious about it but if you let bad habits sneak in (like I did) the flab will pile back on.
Good luck!

I went to the website and looked at the diet. It sounds like there's plenty of support, especially if you choose to pay for coaching. If you are not an experienced dieter (and let's be honest, no one *wants* to be, cause that only means you've been through a ton of plans indicating you haven't found something that suits you) this sounds like a good stepping stone.

I say go for it! :drinker: Many people on here will disagree as I'm sure you'll find out. Mainly because the knee-jerk response is due to falling for fad diets. Diet styles are equivalent to religions on here :blushing: Anyhow, it doesn't sound extreme and like I said, there seems to be plenty of support.

Good luck with it! :drinker:

It doesn’t seem extreme? It is one of the most extreme diets out there. You cut out carbs AND fats.

There are a few problems with this – no matter what people will say on here, you do need carbs. More than just giving you easy energy you need them to produce Serotonin. If you are low on this neurotransmitter you will develop mental problems like depression and anxiety. You need both protein and carbs to make this neurotransmitter.
So many people overlook this aspect when they go low carb.

Fats are healthy. You won’t manage to get enough fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K in your diet without fats and you will get into trouble as your hormones will go out of balance.

Not to talk about the fact that processing too much protein creates too many toxins as by-products of digesting protein, and the kidneys will struggle to clear it all. This will create a nitrogen imbalance in the body.

The point is to get good carbs and good fats and not too many of them.

There are other problems as well but I think the ones that I mentioned already are the most important ones and will deter any sane person that cares about himself.
I have tried the Atkins, Dukan and others so am speaking of experience.

If you want more advice I am happy to help. I am not saying that I know it all, but I have lost 42 pounds and kept it off for years, studied nutrition and tried every diet out there.

I lost over 100# on the Dukan diet. For me - it worked! When I went online to get my 'true weight" it said 155 and I said, "yeah sure - no way!" but tried anyway. Now I weigh between 117-120# and have been maintaining successfully for 3+ months. I now eat much more 'normally' but for me the changes have stuck after 18 months - there's no going back.

Pros - if you are committed, and don't cheat, AT ALL in the early going, you will lose weight quickly which is motivation to lose more of course. Its an all or none diet - you're either all in or your not. It is not weight watchers which I also have experience with. There are some foods you simply should not be eating no matter what anyone tells you (in my opinion). Dukan has things that are allowed and things that are not.

Cons - if you are addicted to carbs you will find it very challenging, as my husband and I did early on. A good friend of mine tried it after seing my success and was convinced she was dying becuase of early headaches and nausea. She stopped within 3 days - right about the time those symptoms subside. "Induction flu" they call it. Most of us are seriously addicted to sugar and you will have withdrawals. How badly do you want it?

If you need any help or have other questions - just message me.

The excess of protein will produce harmful by products that the body needs to work extra hard to eliminate. It is laborious for the body to convert protein into blood sugar and it does so if it has to. Why not make it more efficient and have good carbs that have nutrients and are slow releasing?
And I’ve noticed you’ve ignored the fact that the body needs carbs to produce Serotonin. You would cause a lot of damage with reduced amounts of Serotonin.

Do you not think that limiting veg and cutting out fruit is a recipe to disaster??

I did not read other responses so if this has been stated I'm repeating the validity of it. You don't need to do some special diet. Eat at a calorie deficit and exercise. Eating at a deficit will make you lose weight, the type of exercise you do will determine how you look once the weight is off. I suggest heavy lifting. You will be surprised how much it does for you physically as well as emotionally. If you are using MFP's method, you should eat your burned calories back. If not, I suggest calculating your TDEE and eating 15-20% below that.

You can lose at least 50lbs by May doing this! You will see a larger drop at first but it will slow down after a month or two!

dunkin donuts has some great healthy options, but i don't know what you'd eat for dinner.

Breakfast foods for dinner, always a winner. Just make it a bacon donut.

Just eat at a calorie deficit. That way, you don't have to give up ANY foods, just eat in moderation! Oh, and exercise helps!

I'm pretty sure the Duchess if Cambridge didn't have 40lbs to lose...she was never that big??

I don't know anything about Dukan or any other diet plan. What I can tell you is that I have 100+ lbs to lose. I have been logging my calories on MFP for the past 36 (maybe 37?) days and have lost 10 lbs so far. I'm staying within my calorie deficit, exercise sporadically and while trying to make a lifestyle change, I certainly haven't been perfect the last month. I've had pizza, wings, burgers, ice cream all withing the last month and still dropped 10lbs.

I know I won't continue to lose at this pace but hope to heck I will have lost 50 lbs by May!

Just saying, I think it can be done using MFP as your guide.

All the best! :drinker:

On the advice of my nurse practitioner, I am doing a modified dukan diet and am thrilled so far. I add coconut oil to it, 1-2 T. a day. And my homemade crockpot yogurt is full fat and cottage cheese is low fat. (Just cause that's what Sam's club has) I know we need fat. My mood has been better, so I'm not convinced on the serotonin issue. I only had 25 lbs to lose and it said I would lose it by the end of November. That motivated me to give it a whole hearted shot, knowing that it's possible for me to reach my goal by then. Then the 3rd phase is 3 days for every lb lost so I've got 75 days on that phase. In that phase, you gradually add in fruit and carbs and you get a cheat meal each week, while also having a pure protein day every week. I have lost 9 lbs since 9/16, so in 2 weeks. I want to follow the main timeline and learn better moderation but I'm not willing to go long term very restrictive so this seems like a perfect solution for me. I have high blood pressure also and it is slowly coming down. My joints are not as achy either. I use xylitol for sweetener and for the oat bran I make a "galette" with the oat bran, an egg and a couple T. cottage cheese. (What in the world is fromage frais?!) and a bit of xylitol and cinnamon if I'm wanting something a little sweet. so I'm tweaking it a bit but still losing at a good clip. Hope this helps. I also have teens and a husband who are junk food junkies so I had to get my mind in the mode to do this no matter what and it's working! Hoping eventually my hubby will come on board. I'm cooking healthier anyway for him, even though he still eats his junk.

I am jumping in here as a former successful Dukaner who lost 55 pounds and kept it off for one year +. I did the Consolidation phase for 8 mos and then got very sick with pneumonia...I was hospitalized 10 days and that just threw off my eating....I slowly gained back half the weight and am now facing the 'what to do".

Bottom line, it really works...I followed it to the tee for 7 months of Cruise and then about a year of Consol (never officially did Stabilisation).

Pros: It really works. It was only thing for me to really make a change. Its pretty easy to follow.
Cons: No fruit is hard, but you get used to it. Its animal based food, if you want more plant based.