What is Dukan Diet and its side-effects?

This article gives pertinent information about Dukan Diet and its side-effects

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Pierre Dukan, a French doctor and nutritionist, challenged with the case of obesity started to look for alternative ways in curing the illness. After 20 years of thorough research he published in the year 2000, a book called, “Je ne sais pas maigrir” or translated as, “I don’t know how to get slimmer.” It gained the best-seller in France after a year it has been published.
It was made a hit in UK when Kate Middleton, now the duchess of Cambridge, tried the Dukan Diet before her marriage to the beloved Prince William, she reportedly claimed a loss of two dress sizes. It also allegedly claimed to help five million French. The book is also gaining fame in the US in the year 2011 when actress/singer, Jennifer Lopez, lost pounds after her pregnancy by following this diet.
Dukan Diet: What is it? How does this work?
Dukan Diet is similar to the famous Atkins diet. Atkins and Dukan are much alike in terms of non-intake of carbs initially and do not require portion control or counting calorie consumptions. In Atkins, it requires net carbohydrate intakes and unlike Dukan, it suggests a daily intake of oats, increase water consumption and 20 minutes of everyday brisk walking. Dukan Diet adopts four phases namely: Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization.
Four Phases of the Dukan Diet
Attack: In this starter phase, the dieter is only allowed take protein rich foods that are exquisitely low in fat. Dr. Dukan provided 72-item list of foods to be eaten, it excludes pork, lamb, poultry products and cheeses. Food should always be cooked but without adding any fat to it, it best to cook in grilling or roasting. It also requires you to eat 1 ½ tbsp. oat bran & 1.5 liters of water per day. This phase should be followed around 2-7 days or more. Results from this initial phase within 5 days may result in 4-7 lbs. loss. This phase promotes quick loss of weight since it is strictly based on a protein-only diet.
Cruise: Cruise, the second to the fourth phase of the Dukan diet scheme. During this phase dieters who were only allowed to eat protein-only foods can now alternate a 28-items of non-starchy vegetables. They may take attack phase diet for today and take non-starchy veggie diet for tomorrow, and so this phase must go on by alternating these two types of diet each day. This phase may last long enough as much as you want by reaching your desired weight and assuring 2 pounds per week loss.
Consolidation: As one achieves the desired weight, one has to go the next phase called Consolidation, this is the maintenance phase of this diet scheme where you have to prevent putting back excess pounds. The plan in this phase is less strict compared to the first two phases. During this phase you are permitted to eat protein-only and veggie diet along with a piece of low-sugar fruit, 2 slices of whole grain bread and a portion of hard cheese. In this phase you are allowed to have 1-2 serving of starchy foods and one celebration meal per week. The phase of consolidation does not expect to loss off pounds but rather it is steadily the maintenance process.
Stabilization: Stabilization is the final phase and a life-long phase of the diet scheme. In here maintenance of the life-changing diet may be a challenging and tempting. During this portion of the scheme, one is already permitted to allow any food intake that a person wants and by also sticking to the diet rule in the consolidation phase. As Pierre Dukan suggest, that staying on the phase 1 rule once a week and eat whatever you like for the rest of the week lowers the chances of regaining weight.
Pros and Cons of Dukan Diet
Pros: The fast results of this diet scheme is beneficially rewarding and motivating. It allows you to have protein and veggie meal plan diets and does not require you to count off your calorie intakes.
Cons: It is highly restrictive and can exclude healthy foods. Dieters can experience side-effects such as symptoms of headaches, nausea, lethargy, irritable and loss of concentration. Dieters may acquire halitosis (bad breath), metallic tasting mouth and strong smell in their urines. For those people who have problems with their kidneys and liver are not advised to follow this diet plan. It is not also recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Views and Opinions by Health Experts on the Dukan Diet
There are lots of critics in this diet plan. Due to the restrictive type scheme of this diet, some fruits, grains and nuts which are healthy and have high amounts of vitamins and minerals that are vital to the nutrition of the body are eliminated. Keri Gans of American Dietetic Association, said that the lost amount of multivitamins that should be acquired from those restricted foods are not compensated in the Dukan diet. Experts have also criticized that experiencing such side-effects may not be healthy at all.

A Quick Look at Some of Today’s Most Effective Diets

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

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The Idiot-Proof Diet

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

The ‘calorie shifting’ model takes place because you eat every two and half hours. The theory is that because your body is consuming calories (energy) constantly throughout the day, it’s always in ‘burning calories’ mode instead of the ‘saving calories’ mode.

When you sign up for the diet, you get access to a diet handbook, an 11-day diet-plan and a diet calculator. You get to pick what foods you like to eat so don’t think that you’ll be tarving in this diet!

NutriSystem

The NutriSystem way of dieting is all about proper meal planning. People love this diet because it takes away the burden of trying to figure out what to eat during their dieting phase. You see, a lot of people actually get confused as to what they can eat when they want to lose weight. That’s not really surprising because there’s so much information out there and for every yay sayer, there is a nay sayer so it’s really tough to know what to eat.

However, with NurtiSystem, they do all the meal planning and portion controlling for you. You just need to sign up to any of their diet programs (e.g., Women’s Program, Men’s Program, Vegetarian Program, etc.) and order a multi-day (usually for 28 days) diet program.

After you choose your diet program, a menu is presented to you and you simply choose what you want to eat. The meals are then delivered to your doorstep at various intervals during your diet program.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet is popular because the name alone conjures bikini-clad bodies! Add to that the fact that it was founded by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston, then you have a sort of ‘doctor recommended, doctor approved’ seal on the diet as well.

At first glance, the South Beach Diet looks a lot like the Atkins Diet in the sense that it restricts carbohydrates during the initial phase of the program (there are 3 phases). The first phase (14 days) encourages ‘normal eating’ in the sense that you can pretty much eat whatever you want but you must NOT eat bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. Fruit is also not allowed. No sugar. No alcohol.

The second phase allows you to SLOWLY introduce these items back into your diet but at lesser levels that you consumed them before of course. The third phase is more about general maintenance.

Weight Watchers

Probably one of the longest running diet programs out there is Weight Watchers. It believes in the overall approach where food, exercise, behavior and support are addressed.

Weight Watchers is known for advocating a point system for foods. Using this system, one calculates the calorie intake of the foods he or she eats. The number of points you can have in a day varies depending on your weight. The beauty of the program is that there are no gut-wrenching food restrictions so you never feel deprived of anything. However, the point system teaches you how to balance your meals so that even if you indulge on one food item, you don’t go overboard and consume too much in a day.

Lose Weight and Get Rid of Fat Once and For All

The process of weight loss can be one of the most challenging journeys, and like all worthwhile ventures it is important to know what works and what doesn’t work. There are 5 weight loss tips that will help you shed the pounds and improve your health.

1. Eat at least 35 grams of fiber a day.

Fiber helps to reduce the absorption of calories from the food you eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture proved that eating 36-50 grams of fiber a day left 130 unused calories in the stool. What does that mean exactly? That means that fiber literally pulled the fat out of the body. I know that may sound far fetched, but the research appears to back up this concept. Researchers at the University of Kiel in Germany determined that for every gram of fiber you eat, you eliminate between 8-12 calories. If you do the math, using a conservative number of 7, you could potentially eliminate 245 calories eating 35 grams of fiber a day. Pretty cool, huh? For more information on this concept read “The Fiber 35 Diet”.

2. Get 1000 mg. of Calcium From Food a Day.

Research shows that those people who get 1000-12000 grams of calcium a day from food lose more weight than those who don’t get enough calcium in their diet. Michael Zemmel, Ph.D wrote, “The Calcium Key: The Revolutionary Diet Discovery That Will Help You Lose Weight Faster”. Zemmel conducted a study with mice in which they were all fed a high fat diet so they would gain weight. Then they were divided into four groups. The first group was allowed to eat whatever they wanted. The second group had a low calcium, low calorie diet, and the third group had a low calorie diet but they were given calcium supplements. The fourth group had a low calorie diet, and they also received calcium, but the calcium came from non-fat milk. Results showed that high calcium groups lost the most weight and their amount of fat decreased the most. The group that received their calcium from milk, rather than supplements, lost the most weight and fat. To conclude, you will lose some weight if you take calcium supplements, but you will really see results if you get your calcium from dairy products such as yogurt, low fat milk and low fat cheese.

3. Eat smaller portions.
We are so conditioned to eat everything on our plate that we rarely think about whether we are actually hungry and need the food. Begin to think consciously about your level of hunger and start eating smaller portions during meals. While you are eating ask yourself if you are genuinely hungry. If the answer is no, put your fork down and set aside your leftovers for later. The food isn’t going anywhere. Learn to delay gratification and you will find that eating smaller portions will inevitably make you smaller as well!

4. Don’t Eliminate Your Favorite Foods.

People tend to become martyrs when on a diet. Some people almost seem to believe that a diet isn’t a diet unless they suffer. Weight loss should not be torture and you should not have to cut out “all chocolate” or decide you won’t eat ice cream for a whole year. Cutting out all of your favorite foods will have the opposite effect that you intended because you will suddenly start to crave every food you can’t have. The mind is a powerful thing; tell yourself that you can have your favorite food occasionally and it won’t have the same power over you.

5. Have the Right Mindset.

Don’t get caught in all or nothing thinking such as, “If I can’t follow my diet 100%, then I might as well quit”. It’s obvious why this thought pattern can be so detrimental. The idea that one has to be perfect is an unattainable goal. Understand that you will make mistakes and if you don’t give up you will learn from those mistakes. Don’t allow yourself to be short sighted. Some people think that because they are busy they can put their health on hold. Remind yourself of your priorities and remember that if your health fails, you won’t be able to participate in all the things that keep you busy now. If you follow these five principles you will find that your body will shrink and your overall health will improve.