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The Dukan Diet for Losing Weight: Does it Work?

Written By: Paul

dukan diet meals vegetables and greens
Last Updated on July 27, 2022

Are you interested in losing weight and want to learn more about the Dukan diet plan? Then you have come to the right place. So, what is the Dukan diet? In the guide below, you will find out about the Dukan diet rules, what you can and can’t eat on the diet, and the possible health risks of the Dukan diet plan.

You will also discover the significant health benefits of the Dukan diet plan. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

What Is a Dukan Diet?

dukan diet vegetables

So, what is the Dukan diet? The Dukan diet consists of consuming more protein than other diets and greatly limiting carbohydrate intake. The Dukan diet consists of approximately 100 different foods for you to try.  The foods are all made of meat, proteins, or vegetables. Further, you can eat as much as you want as long as you eat only the foods on the list of 100 items. 

What Can You Eat on the Dukan Diet?

Among the 100 different foods, the list includes 68 items of pure protein and 32 foods that are solely vegetables. However, you can try eating other foods during the later stages of the Dukan Diet. 

Essentially, much of your diet will include meat and fish. In particular, the Dukan diet focuses on low-fat proteins and fat-free dairy products. 

What Can't You Eat on the Dukan Diet?

You will need to limit the number of carbohydrates and fats you consume on the Dukan diet plan. Additionally, the Dr. Dukan diet eliminates sugar from your consumption. 

You may also want to avoid eating out at restaurants because you won’t have the chance to control how the chefs prepare the food. You won’t know exactly how fatty the steak or other protein you ordered is.

What Are the Health Benefits of a Dukan Diet?

The health benefits of pure protein diets including those of the Dukan diet phases are:

  • Feeling more full after eating
  • Decreasing the amount of ghrelin in your system, which is a hunger hormone
  • Leading to a loss of body fluids and providing weight loss
  • Boosting the level of glucose balance in the body

Furthermore, the Dukan diet instructions require you to go on a 20-minute walk every day, which keeps your muscular and skeletal systems healthy.

What Are the Health Risks of a Dukan Diet?

High-protein diets may not offer a healthy approach to weight loss since it eliminates some key food groups like fruits and grains. As such, it does not provide all the necessary nutrition for the human body.

Long-term health problems are also a risk if you stay on the Dukan diet for too long. Eating tons of protein can lead to metabolic diseases. High protein diets also stress the kidneys since there is extra waste that needs to get eliminated when you digest protein.

Some possible health risks include:

  • Kidney disease
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Liver disease
  • Osteoporosis

What Are the Phases of Dukan Diets?

Dukan diets have different phases. The Dukan diet attack phase focuses on consuming only food from the “pure protein” list. The reason is that eating only protein should boost your metabolism and help you lose weight more quickly.

Then, the Dukan diet cruise phase weight loss requirements modify the foods you can consume by adding 32 vegetables to the list. At this point, you can eat all 100 items from the list. You need to change between pure protein days and protein plus vegetable days during the cruise phase. 

The consolidation phase is all about avoiding gaining extra weight. You can add some starchy foods during this phase, such as a piece of fruit, hard-rind cheese, and two slices of whole-grain bread.

The stabilization phase involves:

  • An all-protein diet one day per week
  • Eating 3 tablespoons of oat bran per day
  • Exercising for 20 minutes per day
  • Drinking 1.5 liters of water every day
  • Take the stairs as often as you can

How to Start a Dukan Diet?

dukan diet menu egg tomatoes salmon fish

You can start the french diet Dukan requirements anytime you like. You will first need to look at the list of 100 items allowed and then purchase the ingredients at the market during your next shopping trip. 

What Is a Sample Daily Dukan Diet Menu?

A sample daily Dukan diet menu includes:

  • Breakfast of fat-free yogurt, two tablespoons of oat bran, and one egg
  • Lunch of one egg, smoked salmon, and chopped parsley
  • Dinner of meatballs or chicken with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and seasonings

Does the Dukan Diet Work?

The first stages of the Dukan diet will lead to major weight loss since very few carbohydrates are allowed in the diet. However, when you start to add carbohydrates back to your diet, you may gain some of the lost weight back.

Does the Dukan Diet Help You Lose Weight?

High-protein diets like the Dukan diet do help people lose weight. However, there is no evidence that the last phase of the diet, which requires only one pure-protein day per week, will maintain your weight loss.

Is the Dukan Diet Considered a Healthy Diet?

The Dukan diet is not necessarily healthy since it gets rid of many healthy foods and brings medical concerns due to the large amount of protein you would consume. The diet is also not too effective for long-term weight loss.

Is the Dukan Diet Expensive?

The Dukan diet can get expensive since meats and fish are relatively pricey foods. Vegetables and meat are some of the more expensive foods you can purchase.

What Are the Other Diets Similar to the Dukan Diet?

The Atkins diet is very similar to the Dukan diet since both are based on removing carbohydrates from your diet and eating foods high in protein. However, the Atkins diet does not limit dairy fats, saturated fats, or any fats from meat.

Wrap Up

If you’re looking for a quick way to lose weight temporarily for your wedding or summer trips to the beach, then try the Dukan diet. However, don’t make it a long-term solution. 

Reference Section

Dukan diet: Phases, effectiveness, and more

Medicalnewstoday.com

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219612

Dukan Diet Review: Phases, Menu, & More

WebMD

https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/dukan-diet

The Dukan diet: Everything you need to know about the high protein plan

GoodtoKnow

https://www.goodto.com/wellbeing/the-new-dukan-diet-80999

The Dukan Diet Review: Does It Work for Weight Loss?

Healthline

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dukan-diet-101

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Hi, I'm Paul. Welcome to my website! I, along with my cronies, are leveraging our years of working in the food industry to review meal and drink delivery services. We review. You eat happily ever after.

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