The Ducan diet is one of the most popular ways to lose weight. Understanding how the diet works, what is the "right" weight, and why eating Ducan can be dangerous.
Who is Pierre Ducan
The creator of a popular diet is not a nutritionist but a therapist. Pierre Ducan was a general practitioner when an obese patient came to him in 1970. The man admitted that due to weight loss he is ready to give up any food except meat. The doctor developed a diet based on lean meat, non-starchy vegetables and a minimum amount of fruit. A prerequisite was the abandonment of sugar.
Ducan said that such a diet is best suited for natural metabolism: primitive man ate meat, seasonal vegetables and fruits. Sugar, in our understanding, was unavailable to him, so it should be given up now.
After 30 years of experimentation and observation, Pierre Ducan has published a book, "I Can’t Lose Weight, " which has become a bestseller in 32 countries. The new method promised the ability to lose 5 kg in one or two weeks without limiting food intake.
Celebrities who openly praised the new method have added popularity to Ducan’s design. Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bündchen used the diet to lose weight after pregnancy and childbirth. Welsh singer Catherine Jenkins claims she is in good shape by feeding on Ducan’s plan.
2012The French Medical Council stated that the nutritionist had violated ethical principles by turning medicine into a commercial company. In 2014, Pierre Ducan was removed from the medical register for advertising and promoting the method.
How does diet work
The Ducan diet means a protein diet with the least carbohydrates and fats. The scheme includes 100 products that can be eaten in any amount during the first few weeks.
This method essentially reflects a ketogenic diet and other low-carb diets where the body is restored to get energy from fat and protein. The high protein content in the diet helps to balance insulin production and reduces the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin. We get satiated faster and eat less. However, the Ducan diet limits not only carbohydrates but also fats. The safety and benefits of this method are not based on research.
Before moving on to a Ducan meal plan, you need to calculate your "correct" weight. This can be done using a special calculator. The calculation is based on data on height, maximum and minimum weight, age, body structure characteristics. The calculator was developed by Pierre Dukan, so the result should be scientifically validated and a doctor consulted.
The Ducano diet is divided into four phases:
- Attack.
- Alternation.
- Approval.
- Stabilization.
Noticeable weight loss begins already in the seizure phase, which motivates you to continue eating according to the Ducano method. The cause of rapid weight loss is dehydration, as the body loses fluids due to lack of carbohydrates. However, experts do not confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method and the health benefits of the diet. Let’s find out how diet works and why it has so many contraindications.
Ducano diet stages
The diet consists of four parts, the duration of which depends on the calculated "correct" weight. The first two stages are designed to lose weight, and the last stages are to consolidate achievements. Only high-protein foods are allowed during an attack. additional carbohydrates.
The duration of the attack, rotation, and reinforcement depends on how many kilograms need to be lost to achieve the "right" weight. The last step, which needs to be followed regularly, is a combination of a fixation phase diet and a weekly protein daily attack.
1. Attack
The phase lasts from two to seven days. If you need to lose 20 kg or more to lose the "right" weight, the stage may take longer. The diet plan includes 68 protein foods and a few extras:
- meat: beef, veal, venison and other game, pork, lean and soy bacon, liver, kidney, tongue;
- poultry: chicken fillet and liver, turkey, wild duck, quail, lean turkey and chicken sausages;
- fish and seafood: no restrictions, including canned tuna in water;
- vegetarian protein: seitan - vegetable protein, meat substitute made from wheat gluten, vegetarian burgers and soy products, tofu and tempeh;
- eggs: chicken, quail, duck;
- low-fat dairy products: milk, yogurt, curd, ricotta - no more than 1 kg per day.
The daily diet should contain 1, 5 tablespoons of oat bran and at least 1, 5 liters of water. You can also add a tablespoon of goji berries, sweeteners, shirataki pasta and unlimited diet gelatin.
20 minutes of physical activity are required each day.
2. Alternation
Gradual achievement of the right weight takes from month to year. The diet of the previous stage changes every other day with a softer and extended menu - 32 types of vegetables are added:
- spinach, cabbage, lettuce and other green vegetables
- broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts;
- peppers;
- mushrooms;
- celery;
- asparagus;
- artichokes;
- zucchini;
- tomatoes;
- green beans;
- onions;
- pumpkin and pumpkin spaghetti;
- turnip;
- cucumbers;
- carrots;
- beets.
Allow a teaspoon of olive oil to pour into a salad or cook in a pan and two tablespoons of bran. The period of physical activity is 30 minutes.
3. Anchoring
The duration of the stage is set at ten days for each kilogram lost. The goal is to prevent a return to the original weight. You can mix any of the products of the first two stages, as well as add a limited amount of fat and carbohydrates:
- fruit: berries or chopped melon (100 g), medium-sized apple, orange, pear, peach, nectarine or two kiwis, plums or apricots;
- two slices of whole grain bread a day;
- cheese, 40 g per day;
- starchy food, 225 g per day: pasta, corn, beans, beans, rice or potatoes
- meat: roast beef, pork or ham once or twice a week.
Twice a week you can have a festive meal: a snack, a main course, a glass of wine and a dessert. There should be protein one day a week (attack pattern). Bran - 2, 5 tablespoons, physical activity - 25 minutes.
4. Stabilization
The last step in maintaining the "right" weight. There are no strict dietary restrictions, but you need to follow a few principles:
- the products of the fixation stage should be considered as the basis for nutrition;
- maintain one protein a day a week;
- walk for at least 20-30 minutes a day;
- drink 1. 5 liters of water and eat at least 30 g of bran per day.
In the last step, you always need to follow your diet plan and make a list of 100 foods with small additives.
Startup menu
Attack
- Breakfast: low-fat cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, coffee or tea, water. Lean milk and sweeteners can be added to tea and coffee at any meal.
- Lunch: chicken breast in a pan, shirataki pasta in broth, diet gelatin, iced tea.
- Dinner: steak and shrimp, diet gelatin, coffee or tea, water.
Alternation
- Breakfast: scrambled eggs with three eggs, tomato slices, coffee, water.
- Lunch: fried chicken and salad with French sauce, Greek bran yogurt, iced tea.
- Dinner: fried salmon fillet, boiled broccoli and cauliflower, diet gelatin, decaffeinated coffee or tea, water.
Approval
- Breakfast: omelette of three eggs with cheese (40 g) and spinach, coffee, water.
- Lunch: a portion of turkey with two slices of whole grain bread, 80 g of cottage cheese mixed with bran and cinnamon, iced tea.
- Dinner: pork in a pan and roasted zucchini, small apple, decaffeinated coffee, water.
Effectiveness of the Ducan diet
No diet provides a long-term weight loss effect, and the diet can be unhealthy. After a temporary weight loss, people return to their previous state, and sometimes they recover more strongly than before changing their diet. A safe and effective way to achieve the desired weight, maintain health and good physical shape is by helping professionals choose the right lifestyle and diet that can be realistically monitored on a regular basis.
. . .There are many scientific publications that focus on diets that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates. However, there are few qualified studies using the Ducano method.
In 2015, data were collected in Poland from 50 women aged 19-64 who followed the Ducan diet and consumed about 1, 000 calories per day, including 100 g of protein. Study participants lost 15 kg in 8-10 weeks.
In January, the US News & World Report, one of the top three US economic, political and health weekly newspapers, published a ranking of 23 experts in the diet. 5, and the health benefits are 2. According to doctors, there is no evidence that losing weight with the Ducan method can be long-lasting and safe, while the list of products is unreasonably limited and the diet rules are too complicated. One expert openly called the diet "idiotic. "
The diet is effective in the first weeks. There is no research to support regular weight loss, and the long-term health effects of diet have not been studied.
Ducano diet damage
The diet is believed to be suitable for healthy people from 18 years of age. The method is not recommended for chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders, pregnancy, breastfeeding.
This diet has all the disadvantages associated with a low carb diet as well as some specific side effects as many healthy foods are not included in the eating plan.
Fast weight loss
The biggest disadvantage of the Ducan diet, according to British nutrition experts, is that it can be harmful to health:
- Initial weight loss results from dehydration;
- The diet is not balanced, so you need to take extra vitamins;
- Keep in mind the daily amount of water and the right portion of oat bran to ensure a minimum amount of fiber.
Disease risk
Due to the lack of vitamins and useful trace elements, the diet can provoke:
- osteoporosis;
- gastrointestinal and gastrointestinal problems;
- cardiovascular disease;
- hormonal disorders;
- nervous system disorders.
"Ketogripas"
Changing your diet can be a painful condition typical of the initial stage of high-protein diets. The cause of malaise is changes in metabolism as the body is restored to get energy from fats and proteins. Fatigue, increased hunger and thirst, attention and sleep disorders, mood swings, headaches, indigestion and tachycardia may be felt for several days.
Researchers speculate that avoiding this diet could lead to health problems in the future. Because diet is limited, most people finally stop eating according to plan - they find it boring and uncomfortable to follow a list of 100 foods and their rules of rotation.
The Ducan diet is believed to be suitable for most healthy people, but has serious contraindications. Such a diet can provoke diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and nervous systems, as well as hormonal disorders.
Key facts about the Ducan diet:
Per
- The Ducan method helps to lose weight fast;
- during the first two weeks, you can count calories and eat allowed food with almost no restrictions;
- high protein content quenches hunger and helps to eat less;
- diet provides mandatory physical activity.
Before
- rapid weight loss results from body dehydration;
- the list of foods is limited, so the body does not receive the necessary nutrients. On protein days, there are no vegetables in the diet, in other stages the amount of carbohydrates is limited;
- dietary fiber is less than the daily allowance of 5 g instead of the recommended 25-38 g;
- there is no scientific evidence that such a diet leads to sustainable weight loss;
- there are no data on the long-term health effects of diet.
Doctor's comment
"The Ducano diet is one of the most famous ways to lose weight. And this diet was tried in time by most of the patients who come to me for a consultation.
A valid question arises: then why do they need the help of a professional nutritionist-nutritionist? The answer is simple: most of those who have lost weight have returned to their previous eating habits within a few years, which means starting weight. Unfortunately, this is the reverse side of many diets that people resort to to lose weight. And the Ducan diet is no exception.
But that’s not the main argument I wouldn’t recommend resorting to this diet.
The main harm of this type of nutrition is the lack of essential macro and micronutrients for a long time. The deficiency of vitamins and minerals can be compensated by special biologically active complexes, but this does not replace the natural intake of natural macro- and microelements. Such deficient conditions reduce immunity and impair the functioning of all organs and body systems.
Ducan diet increases the load on the excretory system, liver, so it is categorically contraindicated in people with chronic renal and hepatic insufficiency, pregnant and lactating women, those with impaired protein metabolism, gout, bladder and cholelithiasis. Also in exacerbation of chronic diseases - gastritis, ulcers, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, pyelonephritis.
The Ducan diet is a serious stress on the body, the potential harm from it greatly outweighs the benefits, and the result is very unstable in the long run.
Follow the principles of optimal nutrition, have adequate physical activity, monitor sleep and drinking regime. You will not get the result you want, and your health will be fine.