The Duncan Diet is very popular all over the world, mainly because of its quick and amazing results. It belongs to the healthy eating system. It allows you to lose weight and at the same time not starve, since it is allowed to use more than a hundred delicious and satisfying products on it.
Features and rules of the Duncan diet
The main goal of the Duncan protein diet is to reduce fat and carbohydrate intake. They are necessarily included in the weight loss diet, but in minimal quantities. Protein becomes the basis of the menu. They will need to be eaten in the amounts recommended for weight loss (about 1. 5 g per kilogram of body weight). Thus, it is possible to get rid of excess weight and stabilize the figure achieved on the scale.
The protein-based choice that underlies the diet is for a reason.
This has a few reasons:
- To digest such substances, the body must expend maximum energy, and therefore calories.
- Pure protein reduces hunger, prevents excess fluid from remaining in the body and increases defenses.
- These substances prevent skin sagging. If the body lacks proteins, they will be extracted from the muscles.
It is very important to try to eat less salt while following the discussed diet. This additive retains water in the body and increases hunger. But excluding it completely is also harmful. Especially for people with low blood pressure.
During all phases of the diet, remember to drink plenty of water. This is at least 2 liters of different liquids per day. Water also eliminates hunger, fills the stomach and cleanses the body of all kinds of impurities. This is especially true of protein diets. When protein is consumed in large quantities, the body is constantly accumulating waste products that need to be eliminated from it. Otherwise, it will not have the desired effect for a long time.
Interestingly, even carbonated drinks can be drunk on such a diet.
The main thing is to choose "light" options that do not contain sugar. Their taste also helps losers cope with cravings for forbidden sweets.
It is allowed to drink at any time and regardless of the meal. The feeling of thirst must be completely satisfied, and not suffocated.
Description of the stages
There are four main phases to the diet. Their main goal in the first half was to get rid of the weight. And the second is to fix a new ideal weight.
At each stage, you don't have to limit yourself to certain sections. You also don't have to count calories.
Stage 1 - attack
In the Duncan diet, attack is the initial phase. It's short, but challenging and effective. Common carbohydrate foods are completely replaced by protein. This leads to active fat burning.
On average, this stage is designed in 7 days. But under some conditions, it can last from 3 to 12 days. It all depends on how many obnoxious kilograms a person wants to lose.
On attack, it is allowed to eat protein foods from a special list. They can be eaten in any quantity and combined. The main thing is to cook food without fat. For example, boiled or baked.
In the early stages, the weight starts to lose very quickly. This encourages weight loss not to stop but to continue to adhere to a difficult diet.
Stage 2 - cruise / rotation
The second stage turned out to be very long. This is the main reason why people who are losing weight often have a breakdown at this stage. The period under discussion usually lasts from a few months to six months. A special system of nutrition must be followed until the weight becomes ideal.
The main idea of the second phase is menu rotation. These are the days of eating protein-rich foods or combining them with vegetables. You can change your diet every other day, two, three.
The protein menu should include "offensive" products, and should include mixed raw, boiled, and grilled vegetables. The following food should make up about 60% of the diet.
Stage 3 - consolidation / consolidation
At this stage, all the hardest is over. You can slowly and gradually begin to return to your normal diet. It is important to reinforce the weight gained.
The duration of this phase will be determined by yourself. To do this, you need to calculate the weight you have lost in the previous stages. For every kilogram lost, you need to give yourself 10 more "fix" days.
This period can be quite long (especially if you have lost more than 10 kg), but you should not fear it. Now you can pamper yourself even with delicious desserts and other delicious food.
- Five days a week, you need to eat on a regular rotation.
- During the first half of this period, you can add daily 100 g of bread (from whole grains), 200 g of fruit, 50 g of cheese.
- One day, completely consume protein according to the principle of "attack".
- On the seventh day it is allowed to eat starchy food (200 g), a portion of pork, ham, sausage, a favorite delicacy.
- In the second half of the day, you can enjoy the "Party" with sweet treats and hot dogs twice a week. Days like this shouldn't be one after another.
A "Holiday" day does not imply the use of "harmful things" throughout the day. Only pampering yourself for 1-2 meals is allowed. It is also allowed to drink high-quality weak alcohol.
Stage 4 - stabilization
At this stage, weight loss will return to their usual nutritional system with some peculiarities. First of all, you need to continue to stick to your drinking regimen, continue to consume plenty of water every day. It is very important to include in your daily schedule of physical activity, at least a minimum - exercise in the morning, walking, refusing the elevator.
Make sure to schedule your fasting days periodically and eat 3 tablespoons a day. l. Oat bran in any form.
To maintain your ideal weight in the long run, you should take the third stage as the basis and make vegetables and protein products the basis of your nutritional system forever. In this case, you can pamper yourself with 2 festive breakfasts or lunches per week, as well as 2 servings of products with starch in the composition.
So still have a protein day per week. It becomes a defense mechanism against repeated weight gain.
Allowed and Prohibited Products
The foods that are prohibited and allowed depend on the phase of the diet.
So at first you are allowed to eat protein products from a special list.
It:
- horseflesh;
- beef;
- bird;
- ham;
- internal organs;
- fish (even canned and smoked);
- pincers;
- egg;
- beverages and low-fat dairy products/fermented milk.
You can use 1-2 cooked unsweetened pickled cucumbers (per day), 1 onion, some ketchup, vegetable oil (no more than 1 teaspoon), mustard, fresh garlic/seed, fresh / dried herbs.
Make sure to use 1 - 1. 5 tbsp. l. bran. You can eat them in any form.
During the "rotating" phase, a variety of vegetables are added to all of the foods listed above. Only beans and potatoes will have to be completely removed.
These dates are allowed:
- olives / olives (4 pcs. 2 times a week);
- flax and chia seeds (1 teaspoon per day).
There is still demand for oat bran.
As noted above, in the third stage, cheese, bread, fruit and some favorites are added to the menu. The expansion of their list continues in the fourth phase. The bran portion is increased to 3 tbsp. l.
Among cheeses, it is worth choosing hard varieties. From fruits, bananas, cherries, grapes, dried fruits are all inedible.
At any stage of the diet under discussion, most sweets are strictly prohibited. For example: bars, cakes, pastries, sweets. In the process of consolidating results, you can enjoy one dark chocolate or 1-2 candied fruit once a day. The exception is holiday meals, when even your favorite cake is allowed.
The list of prohibited products at all stages includes muffins, pies, nuts, dough dishes, butter, goose and duck meat, mayonnaise and any sauces based thereon, ketchup.
Detailed menu for each day
During the "attack" period, the diet will be as follows:
- Scrambled eggs for breakfast, poultry soup for lunch, cheesecake/casseroles for afternoon tea, seafood of any kind and yogurt drinks for dinner.
- Bran porridge (oatmeal), beef ribs, oatmeal muffins, meatballs/poultry cutlets.
- Boiled eggs, nuggets, orange juice cake and pollock stewed with eggs.
- Omelet, fish soup with boiled quail eggs, dessert with egg white and lemon, squid and/or fish salad.
- Grilled poultry meat, rice bran cake, white fish cake.
- Eggs (in any form) with ham, steak from lean fillet, biscuits (whole bran) and yogurt, omelette with seafood
- Omelette with parsley, chicken, cheesecake and yoghurt, mince pie and kefir.
During the rotation period, the menu base can be kept the same, but vegetable salads can be added on alternate days. For example, ribs, nuggets or steak. It is also allowed to grill meat, poultry or fish along with vegetables.
The following weekly menu is recommended at the "repair" stage:
- Cheese casserole for breakfast, lemon soup with bread (whole grains) for lunch, fruit for an afternoon snack, vegetable stew and chicken for dinner.
- Oatmeal and a slice of cheese, pasta with barbecue, fresh cheese, cutlet with salad.
- Ham and cheese / scrambled eggs / scrambled eggs, borscht, biscuits and nuggets, chocolate soup with lemonade, grilled seafood.
- Cottage cheese and fermented milk drinks, grilled poultry, kefir with toast, shrimp and hard-boiled eggs.
- Cheese sticks, chicken broth with meatballs and bread, fruit, creamy mushroom soup.
- Rice with cutlets/meatballs, vegetable pancakes, cheesecake, salad with fish cutlets.
- Cheese sticks and a piece of cheese, chicken broth and quail eggs, grilled fruits and vegetables with cheese.
The menu of the third phase can be repeated on the fourth day, not forgetting about the days of the "party" and other permissible meals.
Exercise with the Duncan Diet
Pierre Dukan notes that it is impossible to lose high-quality weight and have an ideal body without regular physical activity. Nutritionists recommend combining your particular nutrition system with exercise.
You can start with the bare minimum - replace the elevator with taking the stairs, get out of public transport a few stops in front of your house, do a morning workout with 3-5 exercises.
Active walking should gradually become a daily exercise for weight loss.
You need to start with 20 minutes of walking, gradually increasing the time. It is recommended to walk in the fresh air in relief terrain.
If you decide to include hard physical training in your daily routine. For example, a trip to the gym, then at the first stage of the diet is strictly prohibited. You can only return to exercise in the phase of alternating foods. It is better to actively participate in the days when vegetables are added to protein-rich dishes.
Water aerobics has a beneficial effect on the body. If possible, you should visit the pool 1-2 times a week. It is not necessary to practice in the water with a coach. You can just swim for fun. At the same time, calories will be actively burned, and the fitness indicators will approach the ideal level.
Pros and cons of this weight loss method
The diet being discussed has its pros and cons. They should be carefully studied by each person who decides to lose weight in this way.
Benefits:
- Effective. If you strictly follow all its rules, then about 1 kg of excess weight will disappear per day.
- The ability to increase muscle tone, make the skin elastic and cope with cellulite.
- No need to constantly weigh portions and count calories.
- The ability to eat certain foods/products in the quantities necessary to feel full.
Defect:
- Imbalance. With long-term adherence to such a diet, the patient's body will lack some vitamins and minerals.
- Side effects may occur. In the early stages, some patients appear dizzy, feeling tired all the time.
- Halitosis. This trouble occurs when protein has been the basis of the human diet for a long time.
- Expensive. The diet consists of high-quality, expensive foods.
How to get out of the diet correctly
To maintain the results, you need to get out of the diet correctly. The exit from it begins at the consolidation stage. New, previously banned foods are added to the weight loss diet gradually and in small portions.
When quitting the diet, it's important to continue exercising and drinking plenty of water. Gradually it is allowed to return to your diet. But let it be high-quality bitter chocolate, fruit and berry marshmallows, honey and other useful sweets.
Contraindications and possible harm
Having a complete list of contraindications is an important reason to choose another diet for yourself.
So it is forbidden:
- People with metabolic problems. Including patients with pancreatitis and diabetes.
- Patients with chronic diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract, the entire urinary system. It is on these organs and systems that high doses of protein in the body create a serious load.
- Mothers and women during lactation. With such a diet, pregnant women, especially the fetus, will be deficient in vitamins and nutrients.
- Persons under 18 years old. Especially for girls with irregular menstrual cycles. Otherwise, weight loss can be faced with its serious violations or the complete disappearance of menstruation.
- People with heart and blood vessel diseases. Weight loss lack of fatty acids in the diet, which can lead to exacerbation of diseases.
- For women during menopause or before/after it. An unbalanced diet during this period can cause hormonal disturbances.
- People with mental problems and increased emotions. A lack of carbohydrates in the diet affects brain function.
For the Duncan Diet to be effective and safe for a person, you should consult a specialist before starting. Especially if the man or woman has any health problems.