The story of the origin of Pierre Ducan's diet is quite interesting. The French neurologist had a friend who could not get rid of the excess weight and asked for his help. Pierre had no qualifications in dietetics at the time, so he didn't want to agree for a long time. In addition, his friend had one condition: he accepted any restrictions, but left the meat in the diet.
Therefore, the doctor advised him to eat only meat and drink 2 liters of water for five days. And to his surprise, the man managed to lose 5 kilograms in this way. The decision was made to continue the diet. Over the next five days, the man lost another 3 kilograms, and on the tenth day he began adding vegetables to the diet. Thus the idea of the famous Ducan Diet was born out of the blue. And the patient managed to normalize his weight, losing 40 kilograms. Read more about the facts, rumors, recipes, and the idea of the method in our next article.
The essence of the diet is to consume the maximum amount of protein. It allows you to eat 100 types of products in unlimited quantities (72 of animal origin and 28 of vegetable origin) and is based on natural products.
Ducan argued that a high amount of protein in the diet helps normalize weight. After all, proteins are low in calories, and by digesting them, the body consumes more energy than when it consumes carbohydrates. As a result, the fat is burned.
By limiting itself in the consumption of carbohydrates and fats, the body enters a hunger-like state and consumes the body's fat reserves.
There are 4 phases in the Ducan diet: attack phase (2-10 days), cruise phase (15-330 days), consolidation (50-500 days) and stabilization (for life).
Attack phase
This phase starts the metabolism in the body and it is during this period that a weight loss of 2-3 kg occurs within 2-10 days.
You can choose protein foods among the 68 allowed, the quantity is not limited and it is not necessary to count calories. This can be low-fat beef, fish, chicken, egg, soy, or cottage cheese. Allowed: Chicken, chicken liver, turkey, beef, lean bacon, veal cutlets, braised veal, etc. The only carbohydrate source allowed at this stage is 1. 5 tablespoons of oat bran.
You need to drink at least 1. 5 liters of water and exercise every day for 20 minutes.
Cruise phase
The essence of this stage is to gradually achieve the desired shape by adding 32 types of vegetables to the diet.
During the second stage, a person usually loses 2 kilograms of weight within a week.
You can eat unlimited protein, just like in the attack phase, as well as non-starchy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, or green beans. Protein foods and vegetables should be alternated daily.
We must not forget about the use of water (1. 5 liters per day) and 1 tbsp. oat bran.
Consolidation phase
In the consolidation phase, the main task is not to lose weight, but to avoid weight gain.
You can eat an unlimited amount of protein and veggies, low-sugar fruits, cheese, and wholemeal bread.
During this stage, you can eat 1-2 servings of starchy food and 1-2 dishes that are not on the allowed list.
During the consolidation phase, it is sufficient to consume a pure protein meal one day per week, preferably on the same day each week.
Make sure you remember physical activity.
Stabilization phase
This is the longest of all stages. Its goal is to balance a person's nutrition forever.
You can eat absolutely anything by following a few simple rules. Save a protein day once a week, as in the attack phase.
Eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran a day and exercise for 20 minutes a day.
Below we have prepared for you an example of a weekly Dukan diet for the first phase:
| Day of the week | Breakfast | Dinner | Dinner |
| Monday |
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Cooked fish |
| Tuesday |
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| Wednesday |
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Chicken nuggets with bran |
| Thursday |
|
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Chicken with curry |
| Friday |
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Beef steak |
| Saturday |
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Baked meatballs |
| Sunday |
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|
Stewed seafood |
