Dukan diet

has anyone tried the Dukan diet? Any thoughts on it?
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Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited July 2015
    "The claim: You’ll lose up to 10 pounds within the first week, and continue at a clip of two to four pounds a week until you reach your goal weight – all while eating as much as you want (of the approved foods, of course). If you follow the rules to the letter, you’ll never regain"
    (http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/dukan-diet)

    Dumb diet is dumb.

    ETA: site reference
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    Never tried it, looks overly complex with too many rules. Basically low carb with a lot of added stuff that doesn't do much. Compliance would be a pain in the hindquarters.

    If you want to do low carb, there's a lot of resources for that with far less complexity. But no matter which way you go, figure out your deficit and eat to that. That's what loses the weight.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    It's very restrictive and complex. There's no reason to go on a diet like Dukan. Get a food scale, figure out your TDEE, subtract 20% from that number and log your food into MFP. Simple and (almost) free, with no books to buy and no gimmicks.
  • WeddedBliss1992
    WeddedBliss1992 Posts: 414 Member
    sounds amazing, ,which means it probably won't work
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    The one thing I remember about this diet plan when I first heard about it is that the British Dietetic Association called it the "worst". That was in 2011. If I remember correctly, the French doctor who developed it had his license pulled there in 2013.

    The fact that the plan itself tells you to take a multivitamin and oat bran as a fiber supplement while following it is a red flag. Eating nothing but protein for days on end is bad for your kidneys. Google "rabbit starvation".

    Just no.
  • shoshkabob
    shoshkabob Posts: 14 Member
    My mom swears by this diet, and lost 30 lbs at one point on it. She gained most of it back and is going on it again. Since I've gained so much weight I was desperate enough to give it a try, and after almost 2 weeks (6 days Attack Phase, 6 days Cruise Phase), I'm so done with it. If I eat another spoonful of yogurt I will probably vomit for days.

    PROS:
    • I now have an eye for foods that have less unnecessary fat or sugar in them. You can usually find replacements for the fatty/sugary foods you like that have less (i.e. using vanilla extract that doesn't have corn syrup, pickles that don't have added sugar in the brine, etc).
    • I've come up with more things to cook, since it involved so much meat and eggs.

    CONS:
    • Far too few things to eat, especially because I (a) keep kosher and (b) don't like fish. If I ate turkey or chicken, because I had to wait between meat and milk, I had almost nothing to eat until my waiting period was up. Most of his suggested recipes involve fish, which I don't like, and shellfish, which I cannot eat.
    • The first couple of days, the sudden drop in sugar and carbs left me a COMPLETE zombie. I almost crashed my car 3 times. (Fortunately, I managed to avoid any damage. thanks, reflexes!) I could not concentrate on anything.
    • Going to the grocery store on this diet is absolute torture. I never realized that 90% of the grocery store is fruit and carbs.
    • When I'm on a health kick, I usually eat a lot of avocados, nuts, veggies, and fruit, and I drop some weight. But the Dukan Diet allows NONE of this in the Attack Phase, and only SOME veggies in the Cruise Phase--a phase I was apparently supposed to uphold for 4 months. No thank you.
    • The ONLY sweet options are yogurt (if you add a crapload of Splenda to the fat-free greek yogurt) and fat-free jello cups. I have a HUGE sweet tooth. Not being able to even nibble on so much as a handful of dark chocolate chips made me absolutely miserable.

    Unless all of those cons don't sound like that big a deal to you, go for it! My mom only eats a grilled chicken salad and 2 meal replacement whey protein shakes a day and she loves it. But I would advise against it.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,207 Member
    Dr Dukan lost his licence to practice medicine for handing out prescription drugs which were not meant for weight loss but caused it as a side effect, for exactly that purpose. Apparently he had super faith in his own diet too.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Dunkin Donuts? YEP, they're in my diet!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited July 2015
    Lconsla wrote: »
    has anyone tried the Dukan diet? Any thoughts on it?

    I have not tried this particular diet, but I wouldn't want to either. Here is their premise:
    The theory: Counting calories isn’t the key to weight loss. Protein is. It’s a weight-loss powerhouse – it’s filling, takes time and work to digest, and has very few calories for each gram of food compared to carb-heavy foods. When protein supplies the majority of a diet, and fats and carbs are all but squeezed out, fast weight loss ensues. (Limiting carbs, the body’s preferred energy source, forces the body to turn to an alternative fuel – stored fat.) That’s motivation enough for dieters to follow a strict plan that rewards the faithful by slowly adding back the bread, cheese, and fruit they so dearly missed

    I suggest staying away from diets that make grand promises and that promotes that you do not have to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    Just eat what you like in moderation and meet your calorie goals to lose weight. That's it. Period. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    sounds amazing, ,which means it probably won't work

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  • susanna9992015
    susanna9992015 Posts: 13 Member
    I started attack phase yesterday..... It was easy to follow. It's really not that complicated.
    Now, I just returned from an all inclusive resort where I ate whatever I wanted and drank way too much alcohol so my weight was way up above normal but I Lost 8.4 pounds in first day!!!!!! WOW!!! And mind you I'm not morbidly obese or anything. I'm 5' 7" and my normal wight is about 145 but I've gained 15 lbs over last 2 years. I was up to 168.8 after my vacation
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    I started attack phase yesterday..... It was easy to follow. It's really not that complicated.
    Now, I just returned from an all inclusive resort where I ate whatever I wanted and drank way too much alcohol so my weight was way up above normal but I Lost 8.4 pounds in first day!!!!!! WOW!!! And mind you I'm not morbidly obese or anything. I'm 5' 7" and my normal wight is about 145 but I've gained 15 lbs over last 2 years. I was up to 168.8 after my vacation

    First, don't confuse shedding water weight and normal daily fluctuations with actual weight loss. A person's weight on the scale can fluctuate by 5+ pounds during the day depending how much they eat and drink, and how much they eliminate.

    Second, this particular diet works by setting a calorie deficit. It's just a very rule-bound way of accomplishing it so that you have to buy a book and they try to hook you into monthly "coaching" fees. You can accomplish the same results without the rules and book/coaching expenses.

    US News has a decent review of the diet here: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/dukan-diet
    Spoiler alert: they give it two out of five stars on almost all categories.

    If you want to try it, fine. Consider, however, having a fallback plan of logging and tracking your calories the way MFP allows without a lot of rules and for free.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    I started attack phase yesterday..... It was easy to follow. It's really not that complicated.
    Now, I just returned from an all inclusive resort where I ate whatever I wanted and drank way too much alcohol so my weight was way up above normal but I Lost 8.4 pounds in first day!!!!!! WOW!!! And mind you I'm not morbidly obese or anything. I'm 5' 7" and my normal wight is about 145 but I've gained 15 lbs over last 2 years. I was up to 168.8 after my vacation

    First bold - you gained a bunch of water weight because you ate what you wanted.

    Second bold - you then lost some of that water weight, plus a little more from a small glycogen spill.

    It's impossible to lose 8 lbs of anything but water in a day. You would have to literally defy physics. It would be more believable for you to tell me that you took off in unassisted flight like a bird.

    Unless you're telling me that this diet magically allowed you to reach a 29,400 calorie deficit in that one day.
  • susanna9992015
    susanna9992015 Posts: 13 Member
    Duh!! I know it's water weight !!!!! Still lost it overnight and feel so much better. First day of diet!! And yes I did lose 8.4 pounds overnight.... I ate until I was full yesterday , had total of 40 carbs and drank 2.5 liters of water and still lost...... Geez this is supposed to be support here.... I'm out!!!
  • susanna9992015
    susanna9992015 Posts: 13 Member
    Basically quit being negative
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited July 2015
    tell me that you took off in unassisted flight like a bird.

    People don't fly!

    Well, maybe they do..... :D

    1413618630651_wps_1_Gary_Connery_the_man_who_.jpg

    I agree with the rest. :) : >:)
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    tell me that you took off in unassisted flight like a bird.

    People don't fly!

    Well, maybe they do..... :D

    1413618630651_wps_1_Gary_Connery_the_man_who_.jpg

    I agree with the rest. :) : >:)

    I stand corrected. That looks awesome!
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    Basically quit being negative

    So, explaining the results you observed in a rational and straightforward way are being negative and make you rage quit? I hope you don't have the same reaction the first time you stall, because that does happen due to weight loss not being a linear process.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    Duh!! I know it's water weight !!!!! Still lost it overnight and feel so much better. First day of diet!! And yes I did lose 8.4 pounds overnight.... I ate until I was full yesterday , had total of 40 carbs and drank 2.5 liters of water and still lost...... Geez this is supposed to be support here.... I'm out!!!

    Geez the "keto flu" effect does weird things to people.
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    Lconsla wrote: »
    has anyone tried the Dukan diet? Any thoughts on it?

    Don't do it.

    Anything but a lifestyle change is not going to give long term results.

    Learn to know how many calories you burn, eat less of them, exercise more, lift weights.

  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
    I really clicked on this thread because I thought it was a doughnut diet. I was hoping. :)
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  • susanna9992015
    susanna9992015 Posts: 13 Member
    Geez.... Like I said what support. What's it like to go through life being a negative nelly????

    Anyway I'm motivated and excited won't let bunch Curmudgeons get me down

    Time for my awesome Pilates class and 6 mile walk
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Lconsla wrote: »
    has anyone tried the Dukan diet? Any thoughts on it?

    I have not tried this particular diet, but I wouldn't want to either. Here is their premise:
    The theory: Counting calories isn’t the key to weight loss. Protein is. It’s a weight-loss powerhouse – it’s filling, takes time and work to digest, and has very few calories for each gram of food compared to carb-heavy foods. When protein supplies the majority of a diet, and fats and carbs are all but squeezed out, fast weight loss ensues. (Limiting carbs, the body’s preferred energy source, forces the body to turn to an alternative fuel – stored fat.) That’s motivation enough for dieters to follow a strict plan that rewards the faithful by slowly adding back the bread, cheese, and fruit they so dearly missed

    I suggest staying away from diets that make grand promises and that promotes that you do not have to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    Just eat what you like in moderation and meet your calorie goals to lose weight. That's it. Period. :)

    In regards to their "theory:" carbs and protein are both 4 calories per gram of food. SO their statement of "protein . . . has very few calories for each gram of food compared to carb-heavy foods" is kind of a lie. Yeah, you can eat fewer calories because protein is more dense, but it isn't lower calorie gram for gram when compared to carbs.

    OP, don't do fad diets. They aren't sustainable in the long term.

    Put your stats in MFP, pick a reasonable weight loss/week goal, and eat to the calorie goal MFP gives you while being mindful of your macros. You can quite literally eat whatever you want and lose weight as long as you're in a calorie deficit. It isn't a wise idea to eat nothing but pop-tarts, but you could. That's why I say eat to your calorie goal while being mindful of your macros (carbs, fat, and protein).
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    edited July 2015
    Geez.... Like I said what support. What's it like to go through life being a negative nelly????

    Anyway I'm motivated and excited won't let bunch Curmudgeons get me down

    Time for my awesome Pilates class and 6 mile walk

    So, anything but unconditional approval and agreement with you is unsupportive. Check.

    We'll look forward to your "Why aren't I losing?" thread in a few weeks. Good luck.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    Geez.... Like I said what support. What's it like to go through life being a negative nelly????

    Anyway I'm motivated and excited won't let bunch Curmudgeons get me down

    Time for my awesome Pilates class and 6 mile walk

    Realism and science = negativity. Got it.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    Geez.... Like I said what support. What's it like to go through life being a negative nelly????

    Anyway I'm motivated and excited won't let bunch Curmudgeons get me down

    Time for my awesome Pilates class and 6 mile walk

    there is being supportive and there is being "yes" people. we are not the latter
    this diet is a diet and diets don't work, because once you stop you go back to your old behaviors. also restrictive diets lead to cheating binges. it also does not teach you how to be healthier.

    if diets worked, we'd all be the weight we wish we were
  • ca22h
    ca22h Posts: 4 Member
    moyer566 wrote: »

    there is being supportive and there is being "yes" people. we are not the latter
    this diet is a diet and diets don't work, because once you stop you go back to your old behaviors. also restrictive diets lead to cheating binges. it also does not teach you how to be healthier.

    if diets worked, we'd all be the weight we wish we were

    But the Dukan isn't an unhealthy diet to follow and actually the principle is based on life long alteration of your eating habits and is the complete opposite to a fad
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
  • oldmanrivererik
    oldmanrivererik Posts: 28 Member

    Ive been on it since Sept 10 and have lost 36 pounds. Its hard at first but it gets easier. If you follow it through it should train you to live differently. If I go back to eating a lot of sweets and crap then yes I'll gain the weight back. But it does indeed work

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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