The Skinny on the Dukan Diet:

I’ve been wondering what the Dukan diet is all about.

The Dukan diet is named after Dr. Pierre Dukan, the French doctor who developed this diet. It became a hit with 1.5 million French women who follow Dukan, and has caught on in the U.S. It’s popular among celebrities as well (of course), with Jennifer Lopez,  Kate Middleton, Gisele Bundchen, and Nicole Kidman reportedly following the Dukan diet.

Here’s a quote from Dr. Dukan’s book:

“My dear friends, today I am reaching out to you with the certainty that I can help you put an end to the inevitability of weight problems in North America. Now let this mutual journey begin!”

Indeed

What foods can you eat on the Dukan diet?

The Dukan diet has some similarities to the super popular Atkins diet. Like Atkins, the Dukan limits carbs. It’s actually divided into phases, which are called attack, cruise, consolidation, and stabilization. Here is the basic breakdown of the phases:

The diet is based on a list of over 100 allowed foods, as well as four specific ground pillars also known as phases: attack, cruise, consolidation, and stabilization.

The attack phase is designed to enable dieters to rapidly lose 2 to 3 kilograms in 2–7 days by kick-starting their metabolism. Dieters allowed to eat as much as they want of 72 protein-rich foods.

The cruise phase is designed to allow dieters to more gradually achieve the weight they aim for by eating protein-rich foods with the addition of 28 specific vegetables. The length of this phase is usually calculated as 1 kilogram of weight loss per week, but this is based on specific personal conditions. Tolerated foods are also allowed as per the program, but any weight gain will ban some of these.

The consolidation phase is designed to help in preventing any future massive weight gain. During this phase, fruit, bread, cheese and starchy foods are reintroduced into a normal diet, leaving two celebratory meals a week as directed by the plan.

Finally, in the stabilization phase, dieters can essentially eat whatever they want without gaining weight by following a few rules, such as having one protein day once a week, as well as eating oat bran a couple of times a week. According to Dukan, dieters shall follow this last phase for the rest their lives to avoid regaining weight.

During attack phase, you can lose 7 to 10 pounds in 5 days following the Dukan diet.

Exercise is a must-do with this diet plan, although it is not anything that seems like too much to ask. All you have to do is take a brisk walk every day, from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on which phase you are in.

Have any of you tried this diet? What kind of results have you achieved? Would you recommend it?

Here is a link to a Dukan diet recipe ebook so you can see what this diet entails.