So when I was on night shift last night, I was just browsing recipes as I need some new ideas... and I came across a diet called "The Dukan Diet"... Apparently this is the diet that Kate Middleton followed right before her wedding to slim down.
Doesn't she look fabulous?? Since I have huge celebrity fan love for the Duchess... I started looking into this diet. I was reading that Kate's mother got her started on this diet, and now she's hooked. I thought at first it's just another "fad" diet, but I am feeling a little lost in terms of what to do with my own diet..
So.... I need something to follow. Since I've started up with hot yoga and the gym,I would like to kick my bad food choices out the door, and maybe... just maybe drop a few pounds... yessss... sadly to say, my jeans are really starting to feel snug! Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who gain the weight on my butt and thighs and everywhere below the belt...LOL.. I hate it.. I have never had a problem with my upper part and my stomach, but ugggghhh... my lower half hates me!!! I'm not talking a lot... but just until I'm comfortable that my pants won't split when I sit down.
Anyways...moving on... I would really love to try out this diet. I wanted to know what you all thought about it before I start. It's called The Dukan Diet.
It is one of the most popular diets in France. There is no calorie counting and there are 4 phases that you go through: attack, cruise, consolidation, and stabilization.
1. Attack - You eat low-fat protein only. And drink a lot of water (coffee, tea and diet sodas are ok, but they have to be zero calories and zero fat). Your protein most likely will be lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, but there are also dairy possibilities like fat free yogurt (greek is my favorite) and cottage cheese. You can season your protein with anything like salt, vinegar, onions, mustard, normal spices (oregano, basil, pepper, etc.) and so on. You also need to incorporate 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran. There are these really aweome oat brean pancakes that you can make for breakfast. Looks so yummy!!
However, instead of going cold turkey, you can reduce your carb intake lower each day. I find it's too much of a shock to the system, so I would opt to lower my intake each day.
2. Cruise - In this phase, you introduce vegetables. Basically you are eating nothing but proteins and veggies.The types of veggies allowed in this phase are pretty much anything green (ie. spinich, broccoli, green beans, cucumber etc.) Salad is included too. You also up your oat bran intake to 2 tablespoons a day and increase your brisk walk to 30 min everyday! Your menu could include soups or stews that combine protein and vegetables (just another alternative meal).
3. Consolidation - This is the maintenance phase and commences once you have achieved your goal weight. You will continue to base your diet on protein and vegetables but are also allowed to slowly add watery fruit (like watermelon, cantelope, melon etc), bread (whole grain) and cheese back to your diet. You are also allowed to have a "celebration meal" once a week where you can eat whatever you would like. You can also add an extra serving of carbs per week (ie. pasta, potatoes, rice etc). Again, lots of H2O throughout the day.
4. Stabilization - This is the ongoing lifestyle phase of the Dukan Diet. In this phase you are instructed to go back to eating whatever you like while continuing to use the rules of the Consolidation Phase as a guideline. One day of the week dieters are instructed to eat only protein.
You might see that this is very similar to the Atkins diet, except that you aren't consuming crazy amount of fat. Water is also extremely important. You MUST drink as much water as you can, because in the attack phase where you only eat protein foods, you could be a little constipated.. So the oat bran and water help to release that.
This is a harder diet to follow. For someone like myself, who LOVES junk food, I will have a hard time adapting. However, I want to follow this diet 98% of the time, but I also want to allow myself a little bit of carbs because my body needs at least a tiny bit of carbs for energy. I will keep it at a minimum though.
Some of the inspiring celebriteis who are following this diet are: Kate Middleton & her mother, Gisele Bundchen & Jennifer Lopez to name a few. Since they have such rockin bodies... That inspires me even more!!
This is a harder diet to follow. For someone like myself, who LOVES junk food, I will have a hard time adapting. However, I want to follow this diet 98% of the time, but I also want to allow myself a little bit of carbs because my body needs at least a tiny bit of carbs for energy. I will keep it at a minimum though.
Some of the inspiring celebriteis who are following this diet are: Kate Middleton & her mother, Gisele Bundchen & Jennifer Lopez to name a few. Since they have such rockin bodies... That inspires me even more!!
What do you all think? Would this be a diet that you would follow? Comment below and tell me. If you are interested, just google the diet, and it will give you some awesome recipes.
I think it's important to get into a habit of making healthier choices, whether it's following a diet or not. I would not diet for the rest of my life, nor do I want to be stick thin... But I would like to follow something that clicks my mind away from grabbing for the junk food in the grocery store and keeps me in line. At the end of these phases, I want to be able to go to the grocery store and tell tell that chocolate bar and chips GOODBYE!!!
I think it's important to get into a habit of making healthier choices, whether it's following a diet or not. I would not diet for the rest of my life, nor do I want to be stick thin... But I would like to follow something that clicks my mind away from grabbing for the junk food in the grocery store and keeps me in line. At the end of these phases, I want to be able to go to the grocery store and tell tell that chocolate bar and chips GOODBYE!!!
Enjoy your night everyone!!
Mel
xoxo
