Progress on the Dukan diet

What's up?

2011-03-22T18:37:00.003+01:00

Some people have asked me what's up with the blog and if I'm still on the diet.

Well to be brutally honest, I have lost interest in the Dukan diet and therefore I don't feel like updating the blog. Like many dieters, I became obsessed with the diet when I was on it. Understandable as I was loosing kilos at the time. From mid 2009 to Christmas 2009, I lost over 30Kg. A massive amount as most would agree. But by the end of it I was sick of dieting, diet food and all the rigmarole associated with the diet.

Around that time I also worked for Dr Dukan helping him launch the diet in the UK. Stresses of work, commuting and business issues made dieting not very easy. Funny how so many office workers are on diet, but don't seem to be getting any thinner.

I tried restarting the diet once in 2010 and again in Early 2011. Each time I lasted about three weeks. I think that the previous knowledge of Dukan food just put me off. I suppose that the success of my 2009 diet was partly due to it being the first diet I ever did, everything being new and interesting. Doing it over just depressed me. So I ended up putting on about 20Kg over 2010. That is probably the most dangerous aspect of dieting. The speed that you can put it back on. It took me 15 years to go from normal weight to overweight, 6 months to loose most of it (under medical supervision so that part was OK), but one year to put 66% of the lost weight back on!

Now you may ask why someone who was so passionate about the diet and loosing the weight would ever let themselves put it back on and so fast. Well it is not so simple. Us humans often do things against logic and common sense. We are able to diet all week then binge on junk food and sweets if something cracks.

Where the Dukan Diet failed me is that I don't think that it is not geared up for someone like me who needed to loose quite a lot of weight and needed to be kept interested in the diet itself. Everyone I've met who had over 20Kg to loose failed on the diet at one point. The diet does work for people with less to loose. I know a few people who lost between 5 and 10 Kg and have kept most of it off.

So what about the aspects of the diet and my opinion of them? Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

The Dukan Diet makes you aware of the food types and teaches you about what is healthy to eat and what is unhealthy.
It teaches you to cook in a more healthy way.
You can loose weight quite fast in the initial stages of the diet if you stick to it.

Cons:

You get bored with some of the food quite quickly.
You get tired as you are not taking on sugars.
As you are tired, you don't feel like exercising. No exercise makes dieting more difficult.
A few other side effects of too much protein (sore joints for example).
The long-term post diet phase is not really sufficient.

I believe after doing the diet 3 times and methodically analysing my weight (spread-sheets etc.) and following what I eat, that the 2-phase approach of alternating between pure protein and then protein and vegetables is nothing but a gimmick. I abandoned the 2-phase ritual the last time I did the diet and lost a few kilograms quite easily and at the same rate as before when I was doing it by the book, but the process of dieting - Dukan or other just had got to me and I 'switched-off'.

I think Dr Dukan doesn't sufficiently address the cases of people like me who need to loose more weight, who will be longer on the diet and need better solutions for after the diet. I didn't get to the Consolidation phase and the Stabilisation phase of the Dukan Diet is not appealing enough.

Where I'm at now: I'm eating well. Not eating too badly, but if there is something tempting in the house bought for the kids, I just may be tempted. I do eat a bit of bread and drink some wine. We cook healthily and I walk briskly for about 40 minutes 5 times per week. I'm not really loosing much, but I'm not putting anything back on. Don't say 'Diet' to me please. I'll update this page at a later date and say if anything changes.

The Dukan Diet Recipe Book - Soon to be released

2010-09-07T14:34:00.002+02:00

Due for release on Amazon UK on the 16th September. This eagerly awaited book will compliment your Dukan Diet and give you loads of ideas for meals throughout all the phases of the diet.

Recipes come from the French recipe book as well as from UK sources using ingredients that can be all sourced in the UK shops and supermarkets. I had nothing to do with this book when working at Dukan & Co, but I did often speak to the translators and people working on it so I know they really did a good job on the content.

Recommended for all fans of the Dukan Diet and anyone looking for Dukan Diet Recipes.

Dukan Diet from an American perspective

2010-07-06T13:32:00.001+02:00

Marshall Brain wives his take on the Dukan Diet. Interesting to hear comments from an American perspective. Keep it up Marshall :-)

Dukan Summer Seafood Cream Salad

2010-07-04T13:53:00.001+02:00

Scallops (without coral)
Shrimps
Surimi (seafood sticks)
Smoked salmon
Garlic
Fat free fromage blanc
Parsley
Salt & pepper

Poach the scallops and shrimps for 5 minutes. Drain and cool. Mix together with diced surimi and chopped up smoked salmon. Add a crushed clove of garlic, some chopped parsley, salt & pepper to taste. Then mix together with some fromage blanc. Refrigerate.

The Truth About The Dukan Diet

2010-06-09T13:16:00.000+02:00

Well I'm back. It's been a while but I've been otherwise occupied and not really following the diet as I should have.

I've also been working for Dr Dukan's company in Paris for the past few months on a short-term fixed contract, helping them set up their UK operation. Recruiting a team, organising web-design agencies, website SEO, lawyers and phone companies etc. Facebook, Twitter and the infrastructure to the forthcoming site. I'm not going to give out any company secrets, but I can give some first-hand info on how the whole Dukan machine works. More on that later.

I think I'll wait for the Football World Cup and all the associated BBQs to be done with before getting back to the diet itself in earnest. I need to finish what I started and get down to my target weight. After working for the last few months and not doing much physical exercise, I've gained a few Kilos, but not too many and I'm sure they'll be off again soon.

Thanks for all the comments on this blog. Unfortunately the blog and comments structure is not a great medium for two-way discussion, but I will add comments hopefully answering any questions that may come up.

Check out The Dukan Diet on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DukanDiet

And on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DukanDiet

Dukan Diet website (holding-site for the moment): http://www.dukandiet.co.uk

Something Sweet

2010-04-29T17:20:00.002+02:00

Gourmandises Light

Check them out. We had some of their wine-gum type sweets the other day in the office and they didn't last long. You can buy online.

Sweetners

2010-04-26T12:52:00.000+02:00

Daily Mail articles

2010-04-21T12:34:00.003+02:00

Yesterday and today, the final two articles in the Daily Mail were published.

Links to the articles:

The Dukan Diet: Put your fat cells on a revolutionary weight-loss plan

The Dukan Diet: Want to stay slim forever? Eat whatever you want - except on Thursdays

The Ultimate Diet: The French have kept it a secret for years. Now the protein rich Dukan Diet is coming to Britain

2010-04-19T09:19:00.004+02:00

Link:

The Ultimate Diet: The French have kept it a secret for years. Now the protein rich Dukan Diet is coming to Britain

The Daily Mail in the UK is serialising extracts from the English Dukan Diet book over the next few days.

If you want to see how the diet works before the book is published in May, check out the link above.

That sprat in the photo on the left doesn't look so good, but lets hope the diet catches on.

True Weight

2010-04-07T09:47:00.001+02:00

True Weight - is calculated from Pierre Dukan's 11 parameters.

True Weight - is the weight that is right for you, achievable, feasible, acceptable and above all maintainable - for life!

So what exactly is your True Weight? True Weight is an acceptable weight, not necessarily the lowest weight you've ever reached (in your adult life) or the weight you'd most like to get down to, but rather an achievable, comfortable weight that you can realistically maintain for the rest of your life.

Calculated from Dr. Pierre Dukan's 11 parameters, working out your true weight means you can slim sensibly and remain happy and healthy in the consolidation and permanent stabilization phases - i.e. forever!

Find your true weight

Calculate the target weight you can achieve with the Dukan Diet.

Still here

2010-03-15T15:42:00.000+01:00

I'm still on the diet - amazingly, but it's not going as fast as before. New full time job so much less time to go on long walks so obviously I'm going to loose less.

Spring is here soon and I'll be getting out more in the evening and perhaps earlier in the morning before work - so hopefully I'll get back on track soon.

In the meantime, I'm still eating my Dukan oat bran pancake every morning with smoked salmon and a fried egg - very nice. I'm still also sticking to the authorised diet foods, but sometimes have an extra yoghurt or two - no major digressions.

The lowdown on Health Supplements

2010-02-27T14:06:00.000+01:00

The dangers of relying on BMI

2010-02-19T18:22:00.001+01:00

Healthy Girl Branded 'Fat' by the NHS

The parents of a sporty five-year-old girl have received a letter from the National Health Service in the UK saying she is overweight. Lucy's Body Mass Index (BMI) is 17.7, which for an adult would be considered slightly underweight. But officials said that for a young girl, this meant she was 1% outside the healthy category and could be at risk of heart disease and cancer.

The body mass index (BMI) is used to estimate a healthy body weight based on a person's height. More info on Wikipedia.

I've looked at my BMI, even used the nice BMI calculator at the NHS, but it is flawed as it gives my BMI now as 33.1. Obese. OK, I'm still fat, but getting slimmer ;-).

My problem with this tool and the formula used is that for me to get in to the green, I would have to get down to 79 kg (BMI of 24.9). At 80 kg I'll have a BMI of 25.2 and that is considered as overweight and unhealthy.

I'm built like a rugby player - probably because I played rugby for a decade in my youth - with large bones and I doubt that I could get much below 90 kg. The Dukan Diet Ideal Weight Calculator says I'll get to 90 kg. Perhaps the BMI shouldn't be used by the NHS if it is going to be seen as so inaccurate by so many people.

Re-launching the diet - Attack phase #2

2010-02-16T12:32:00.001+01:00

Since Christmas I have been wavering around the 106Kg mark. I've been still on the diet - in the sense that I've been eating mainly protein, but virtually every day having some beans or other veg in the evening. So I haven't been doing the alternating PP and PL.

Also, probably due to the cold, I haven't been out walking or riding my bike. We walk once a week around the town, but it's not really enough to do any damage to my excess kilos.

So I have decided to re-launch the diet. I am following the online coaching at RegimeDukan.com and started the Attack phase #2 yesterday.

I think that this will revitalise my diet and get me down to my ideal weight this Summer. This is the schedule that the online coaching proposes:

Wish me luck as this is the toughest part of any diet - getting rid of the last few kilos.

Back on Diet

2010-01-18T15:53:00.000+01:00

OK, Monday. New week, festive season over, snow and cold weather gone. No more Christmas chocolates in the house. Time to get back on track.

I had hoped never to weigh myself again. The scale was a source of negativity.

Well that is not possible. You can't diet properly and not follow your weight. So I weighed myself again today. Actually I have weighed myself 3 times since I paused the diet just before Christmas. I went up by 2.7 Kg around New Year. and have lost almost Kilo a week since then so I'm basically a little more than where I left off. I'm at 106.9 Kg, 63% of my goal. I had reached 67% (105.3 Kg) on the 17th December when I stopped.

So I'm back eating protein and going for walks.

I have figured out a major reason why people find it very difficult to break through to their goal weight once they have lost quite a bit of excess weight. Part of the problem are the old clothes in the cupboard.

I used to be quite trim - about 16 years ago. I had a small collection of clothes then, nothing fancy.

As I did well in business there was more stress, more sandwiches and booze - got fat. More money allowed me to buy some very nice clothes during that period and I never threw anything away. These were about XL sized clothes - jackets, pants shirts etc.

Got fatter - Bought fat clothes. Big ugly XXXL T-shirts, fleece over garments and baggy jeans. Not nice.

Went on diet (this one that I'm on), lost weight and a few months later found that I could fit into a whole wardrobe of XL clothes that I hadn't worn for 10 years. This is where I am now. Enjoying the state I'm in. Feeling healthy, fitter and looking better.

Now I need to move from 63% to 100% and then perhaps another 4 or 5 Kg for good measure. I still need to loose 20 Kg. That will mean that even these XXL and XL clothes will be too baggy and I'm going to have to by a new wardrobe of L sized clothes. I hate clothes shopping... now perhaps you see my dilemma ;-)

Dukan to launch in United Kingdom

2010-01-08T09:33:00.000+01:00

Dr Dukan has announced that his diet will be made available to the British public during 2010. That would mean the book will be available in English and some web content would probably come too.

Good news for the country with the highest percentage of overweight and obese people in Europe.

Happy New Year to all who read this blog - Please continue to follow as the diet continues - I appreciate your support.

After a very good festive season...

...good for diet or good fun with lots of Christmas spirit - don't ask... ;-)

...I'm back on the diet. Well sort of. It's cold and I think the body is needing internal warmth so some biscuits with tea are needed in the morning.

We've stopped the flow of spirit and the detox is over so we can get on with the normal routine now.

I haven't been anywhere near the scales since before Christmas - they were a source of despondency. I'm thinking seriously of not getting on the scales again. We can see by looking at our bodies if we loose weight or not and we know that if we follow the diet, don't cheat and do some exercise that we will loose over the long-term... so who actually needs scales?

A friend suggested just weighing myself once a week. I may do this - until I find the need to chase the weight and do it again every day.

A break from the Dukan Diet

2009-12-21T11:50:00.003+01:00

The book doesn't go into details when it comes to long periods on the diet. Obviously when you "hit a wall", you should exercise a little more and perhaps eat a little less.

My PP phase #14 didn't go so well with a rise of 0.9 Kg over the 5-day period. No change to my eating habits, no cheating, but I think the onset of the cold weather may have had something to do with it. Perhaps my body reacted to the cold and decided to stock up for the cold. This is not an exact science.

The PL phase #15 went a bit better. I lost 0.6 Kg over the period and I walked every day of the week. A good 45 minute walk at a good pace. This was the week when the cold rain and frost turned to snow and ice. There is still snow everywhere here (photo of the garden below) and it's quite nice to walk around the town in these conditions.

I have now decided to take a break from the diet. It is tiring to be constantly watching your weight and depressing when you increase your weight when you've been dieting and exercising.

So I am not going to weigh myself every day until after the 6th January. I shall still eat sensibly, not drink too much and keep walking through the snow. I'll even put up a few recipes for a Dukan Christmas feast.

Weights & Measures

2009-12-09T10:13:00.000+01:00

We weigh and measure ourselves every morning without getting on a scale or pulling out a tape-measure.

When we get out of bed as a fat person, we huff and puff and complain of a bad night's sleep. Does a thin person complain like this? I'm not sure, but I doubt they do for the same reasons. Five months into my diet and over 30 Kg lighter I am very much aware of this new body and am delighted on how it works and feels. Getting up in the morning is so much easier. I feel good. I come down for breakfast without complaining of sore joints as I strain to make each step of the steep staircase and I can get in and out of the shower without fear of slipping and falling. I haven't even weighed myself yet with a scale, but I am lighter.

When you get dressed as a fatty, you struggle to get your pants on and you moan about not finding a shirt that fits. You despair and seeing the last hole of your belt tie up your ample waistline. 30 Kg lighter and with a considerably thinner girth, every morning when you get dressed you are happy to be able to wear clothes that you haven't touched in over 10 years. I take pleasure at making new holes in my belt so that I can hold my now baggy pants up. I delight at the thought of going out and buying some nice new clothes - not yet though, perhaps next Spring when I'll be even more trim. I haven't measured myself with a tape, but I know I am thinner.

Report PL #14

2009-12-07T08:04:00.001+01:00

I skipped the last PP report - I felt as though nothing much had changed - it had actually - I lost 0.8 Kg over the 5-day period. This PL period I've lost 0.8 Kg, but it's better than the previous PL period where I lost 0.1 Kg.

What frustrates me, even though I'm not going up is just staying the same weight. 3 times in the last 6 days I've just stayed on the same weight. Anyway, here is the graph:

The graph is flattening out and it's taking longer to loose the weight. I suppose that I am physically more able to go out and work off the rest by some energetic method, but I'm loath to do so these days. The bad winter weather is not pleasant waking and I haven't felt like sweating in the exercise machines. Perhaps tomorrow...

Report PL #13 & into a good start to PP

2009-11-28T08:59:00.002+01:00

When you loose weight you are happy and when you don't loose you are sad.

Quite pathetic, but this diet really takes over and becomes the #1 issue of your life for the weight loss period. Lets just hope that nothing else of importance comes along.

The last PL (Protéins Legumes / Protein & Vegetables) period was bad. I did not deviate from the diet, but I went up in weight for every day except the last. I nearly threw the scales out the window. I ended up loosing 0.1 Kg over the 5-day period and ended up 106.7 Kg, 29.1 Kg loss and at 64% towards my goal weight. Boy, was I sad.

Second day into the latest PP (Protéins Pures / Pure Protein) and I've lost a Kilo over two days. Now down 30 Kg overall at 66% (two thirds) towards my goal weight!

So, I'm feeling happy.

Why Americans are Fat

2009-11-25T15:04:00.010+01:00

Heart disease is the number one killer in America and one of the main reasons are too many individuals are overweight. This infographic lays down the facts and reveals why Americans are so chubby. Click on image for larger view.

Created by OnlineEducation.net

Oat Bran - The magic food

2009-11-23T11:38:00.004+01:00

An integral part of my Dukan Diet régime is Oat Bran (Son d'Avoine). My wife an I eat one of these oat bran pancakes every morning for breakfast with eggs, smoked salmon or whatever we fancy. Over the week-end when we have more time we have the pancakes with a mushroom omelette or sweet with cinnamon and sweetener. There are many ways to eat this and it helps keep you hunger free until lunchtime and it keeps your intestines working properly. Besides, there are apparently added benefits of oat bran reducing the risk of certain cancers. So what exactly is oat bran? Where does it come from and how is it different to normal rolled oats?

Here we have a diagram of an oat plant and the cross-section of a grain. Notice the germ in the middle and the bran outside that. The chaff surrounds the germ and bran.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Rolled oats breakfast cereal is usually made from the grain that has had the chaff and bran removed. See more info on Oats here (Wikipedia).

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains. See more info on Bran here (Wikipedia).

So what does it look like?

Here we have Rolled Oats, Oat Bran and Wheat Bran.

Some people confuse Oats (Rolled Oats or Porridge Oats) with Oat Bran.

Rolled Oats on the left, Oat Bran on the right.

For the sake of the Dukan Diet, we're interested in Oat Bran (Son d'avoine in French), not Rolled Oats. Dr Dukan says that we can have two tablespoons of Oat Bran per day and one tablespoon of Wheat Bran per day. Mix it up with an egg and a couple of tablespoons of 0% cream cheese and you can have a substantial pancake or add it to your yoghurt or 0% cream cheese as a desert. We sometimes add a teaspoon or two to a chicken curry sauce to thicken it.

What is it made up of?

Nutritional value per 100 g
	Rolled Oats*	Oat Bran**	Oat Bran*	Wheat Bran*
Energy	380 kcal / 1610 kJ	311 kcal / 1312 kJ	246 kcal / 1029 kJ	248 kcal / 1038 kJ
Carbohydrates (glucids)	67 g	51.7 g	66.22 g	47.8 g
- Sugars	1 g		1.45 g	9.68 g
- Dietry fibre	10 g	17.8 g	15.4 g	4 g
Fat	6 g	5.1 g	7.03 g	3.4 g
Protein	16 g	12.8 g	17.3 g	8.8 g
* USDA National Nutrient Database ** Moulin des Moines

Where do you get it?

We have only found it in Health shops. Bio-shops in France that specialise in Bio foods. The bran is not too expensive, but it is difficult to get hold of on a regular basis. We are luck to have three Bio-shops within our area, but all three don't always have what we want. So we now order it in bulk. For one we get it at a good price and for two, we can share it with the few friends and family around us who are also on the diet. We buy the Oat Bran for €4.25 / Kg and the Wheat Bran for €1.80 / Kg. These are the best prices in our region.

25 Kg of Oat Bran and 5 Kg of Wheat Bran.

Click on the image for a larger version and a better look at the label.

There will be Dukan Diet products hitting the shelves in future. Perhaps packets of ready mixed bran and definitely pre-made Dukan pancakes/muffins. Some supermarkets in Paris carry some of these products, but I doubt that the pre-made products will end up on the shelves of every supermarket for some time. In the mean time, make your own and enjoy this magic food.

More info on Oat bran at BranFacts.

Eu Não Consigo Emagrecer: A verdadeira dieta das francesas

2009-11-22T10:46:00.004+01:00

Eu Não Consigo Emagrecer: A verdadeira dieta das francesas (I Can Not Loose: The True French Diet)

The Dukan Diet book is available in Portuguese and is being sold in the Brazilian market.

Here are a few places selling the book online: http://www.bondfaro.com.br/

Report PP #12

2009-11-22T10:27:00.001+01:00

I'm not motivated to put up a graphic now, perhaps later.

Weight: 106.8 Kg. Lost 0.5 Kg over the 5-day period. Down 29 Kg in total and 63% towards my goal weight. I didn't have time to walk or exercise due to some meetings and a busy week. Exercise is the key to getting the fat off. You can't do it by diet alone. You need to burn those calories.

I manages to convince my local butcher to go onto the Dukan Diet. I keep him updated with my diet progress and this time I went shopping for fillet steak and turkey, he asked about the diet and the books. He is probably about 25Kg overweight and admits to being tired all day.

I'm going to do a post this week on oat bran as we've just bought a large batch at a good price. Perhaps I should go into the bran distribution business.

Report PL #12

2009-11-17T07:57:00.000+01:00

Going well. A good loss. Feeling good. A couple of 3 km walks and a few sessions on the elliptical trainer.

I'm trying to remember when it was that I weighed this much on the way up. I suppose it was around 2000/2001 during the dot com boom era - I was eating out too much and not exercising enough and that was the beginning of the weight problem.