Dukan Diet - Things you should know
llsand
Posts: 87
Hello everyone !
I’d like to share my experience doing the Dukan diet with you
I’ve been living in France for the last ten years and first did the Dukan diet for the first time 8 years ago (as you know, he’s a French doctor and therefore it was popular here long before it went to the US ). It was my first diet and I lost an average of 30pounds in a little over two months. Did the consolidation etc etc everything correctly and maintained more or less that weight for a good two years. Unfortunately, I suffered a miscarriage and when in a slow depression. I soon found out the problem with this diet… it unfortunately does not do well when depression as you have to follow it strictly and that not compatible if you can imagine! The problem is that in four years I’ve actually gained double the amount of pounds lost ( yes 60pounds now and for the first time in my life obese ). I’ve finally decided to go back on this diet as it worked well the first time and now understand that regardless of what may happen in the future, coming off it is a big error.
Just wanted to share this with you all as I know it’s the new trend in the US but it’s actually coming to an end over here in France (The equivalent of the FDA or “Doctors syndicate” asked to revoke Dr Dukan’s licence but he took his retirement therefore they couldn’t do it anymore) He has since made the diet less restraining and adapted certain things but it’s still something to be careful with. One thing for sure, I’ll probably have more trouble loosing the weight this time around because the body develops strong defences against this diet once you’ve done it before ( don’t know if he mentioned this in the US book but he does here ).
I think it’s the best thing to do for obese or over weight people who need a radical change, but, you need to be vigilant and responsible in the long term because you can gain twice the weight you lost in no time.
Hope this helps some of you who are hesitating and clears up any confusion for others. I know this diet by heart and will be doing this again (this is my first day on it and feel great).
I’d like to share my experience doing the Dukan diet with you
I’ve been living in France for the last ten years and first did the Dukan diet for the first time 8 years ago (as you know, he’s a French doctor and therefore it was popular here long before it went to the US ). It was my first diet and I lost an average of 30pounds in a little over two months. Did the consolidation etc etc everything correctly and maintained more or less that weight for a good two years. Unfortunately, I suffered a miscarriage and when in a slow depression. I soon found out the problem with this diet… it unfortunately does not do well when depression as you have to follow it strictly and that not compatible if you can imagine! The problem is that in four years I’ve actually gained double the amount of pounds lost ( yes 60pounds now and for the first time in my life obese ). I’ve finally decided to go back on this diet as it worked well the first time and now understand that regardless of what may happen in the future, coming off it is a big error.Just wanted to share this with you all as I know it’s the new trend in the US but it’s actually coming to an end over here in France (The equivalent of the FDA or “Doctors syndicate” asked to revoke Dr Dukan’s licence but he took his retirement therefore they couldn’t do it anymore) He has since made the diet less restraining and adapted certain things but it’s still something to be careful with. One thing for sure, I’ll probably have more trouble loosing the weight this time around because the body develops strong defences against this diet once you’ve done it before ( don’t know if he mentioned this in the US book but he does here ).
I think it’s the best thing to do for obese or over weight people who need a radical change, but, you need to be vigilant and responsible in the long term because you can gain twice the weight you lost in no time.
Hope this helps some of you who are hesitating and clears up any confusion for others. I know this diet by heart and will be doing this again (this is my first day on it and feel great).
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Replies
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Did you do the last Two phases coming off the diet before? I have lost nearly fifty pounds doing this and eleven pounds left to go to target but am wondering how it will pan out. I am going to follow the next stage, the consolidation which is still restricted for five days for every pound lost. What has the dukan relaxed the rules on then? I am sorry that you were suffering from depression hopefully you can get back on track. I really miss my vegetables and fruit but I do feel so much cleaner on is diet that I hope I have learned to take aWay some new eating habits from it.0
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Hi Jaxson65,
Yes i did everything perfectly and actually maintained a healthy weight for two years. I did gain one pound here and there but it came of quite easily. At some point you do become very aware of what you are eating and know what makes you gain weight and lose it ( as you might already know ) but the problem is that you remain very vulnerable to any diet change and when something disrupts that balance, it can go wrong very quickly. From what I’ve read and seen, you need to maintain the weight for at least 5 years for your body not to relapse quickly.
What he has changed compared to 8 years ago is that we now can eat 0% fruit yogurt ( only plain 0% yogurt was allowed before ), we can chew sugar free gum ( it wasn’t allowed because sugar free gum has sorbitol and it tricks the body into producing insulin just like if you were eating real sugar) He has the 2 protein / 2 protein+veggie cycle and doesn’t recommend the 7 day cycle (if I remember correctly, we had a choice between the 3, 5 or 7 day cycles before), I haven’t finished the new book ( this one has actual recipes contrary to the first who had none) but I think he no longer recommends a lighter version of this diet to pregnant women and more vegetables are allowed etc etc.
Over here because this diet has been around for a while ( I think I was part of the first wave of ppl to try it 8 years back) we’ve been able to see the long term effects of the diet. It really makes you feel great, I’m actually looking forward to the feeling but there is no room for error for at least 5 years or else you are back to square one and your body develops serious defenses against it.
Although i know that it's going to be harder and i know that i can't make any errors after i've finished with it, I’m hoping this time is will be my last because there's no way in hell i'm putting on twice of what i have to loose now! 0 -
If anyone that's doing the same diet want's to add me as a friend, no problem ! 0
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Hello, thanks for sharing your experience!! gaining all my weight back - ormore - is really what I fear the most. But I've been plateauing since 2 weeks now and I wonder if this diet will ever work for me!0
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Hi
This time around i actually am plateauing from the beginning which is scary. My body is now so resistant, I’ve had trouble loosing during the attack phase although I do everything correctly. This is expected from someone who has done the diet before so I’m not worried. But I’m a little frustrated as normally I’d have better results.0 -
WOW that is some food for thought now. I have eight pounds to go and then onto Phase III. I have decided that I will not go back on the bread which is going to be hard when I am in France this year for my holidays as that was always my favourite part but I think I have a bit of a wheat intolerance anyway so that should help me along the way to stay off it. I used to do a diet club in Jersey and the teacher was always talking about the bad effects of flour which I think is probably a lot of the problems that we have today because flour is in everything nearly in the food chain. I have not been as stringent on the diet as my sister who has actually lost a stone (14lbs) more than me in the same time frame but I know that in her mind she has made this a life changing experience and she will not come off the diet now and she too is worried about going onto the next phase and keeping it off.
With regards to the yoghurts it's funny because I was eating the flavoured yoghurt to start with all the time and now I don't because I like the fromage frais with splenda and lemon essence or I do the same to Philadelphia cheese when I want something a bit more and I find the flavoured yoghurts now far too sweet.
Chewing gum or mints I have because my breath has been horrible throughout the whole of this diet but I am not religious about them and don't always have them to hand.
It is a shame that it is harder the second time round because you know it's going to take a lot more willpower than before and you know what is ahead of you too. But you have done it before and you can do it again. Keep focused and think about your good end results. Too much is made on the Dukan diet about getting on the scales on a daily basis to see the weight and yes it is fun at the beginning but you start to become consumed by the scales after a while and I am not so sure that that is a good thing really. I am not going down as low in weight as the diet has suggested because I am older now and I think that sometimes it is better to have a little plumpness rather than to be skinny and wrinkly looking. I am vain and would rather look a bit more youthful than old for my years.
Good luck and keep me posted.0 -
Hi
Thank you for the encouraging words It’s great to have someone else’s perspective on the subject especially someone who has lost so much weight.
It’s true that we become completely obsessed with the scale but I need it now as I don’t feel the change but need to see it at least on the scale.
Will keep you updated on my journey !0 -
this is great info esp from a person who has exp it and has had complete success and who has seen the long-term effects (thanks much for the warning).
Today is my Day 1 on Dukan. I am planning on following the program as suggested in the book. I am so frustrated with the other diets I have tried in the past. I plateau very quickly and that scares me. Hoping Dukan will prove that wrong. For that, I will have to stick to the plan to see some results. I want to lose 25+ lbs to get to my goal weight.
Please feel free to add me.
Cheers!0 -
Thanks for this post. I have been struggling with the diet ever since my holiday and the change in weather. My body craves carbs in all shapes and forms, and stupidly I gave in to temptation. As a result I've gained weight slightly quicker than I lost it. The weight goes back on in the worst place - straight to the belly, waist and face. I'm struggling to get back on track and my appetite seems to be huge at the moment. I was going to do a few days of attack but can't face the strictness of it, so am trying to stick with PV days. Best of luck to everyone.0
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Now I know i will never go off the plan. It is really working well for me. I am on phase 4 and find it incredibly easy to bypass bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. I will be a dukanite for one year on New Year's Eve.. Even on consolidation I switched the allowed "whole grain bread" for an apple.0
