Notes About the Dukan Diet

Like for almost every girl, my looks have always been very important to me, and not because of male attention - I have taken care of that one already - but because of myself. My weight especially has been very important to me. I've never been a tiny girl, my body type already denies me the chance of ever being one (I've got hips and boobs), but throughout my adult life I have been slimmer than this.

Last summer, I managed to slim down from 76kg (the heaviest I have ever been) to 66kg in four months, and I didn't do much - just remained active in my job, and ate in a more healthy manner (thanks to mom's cooking!). After Christmas, however, I let myself go off a little bit, and most of those kilos I lost have returned. When I hit the scales last Sunday, I was in shock... 74kg! Naturally I was aware of the fact that I had just gone out partying on Saturday night, and obviously felt bloated after the cider and the inevitable 4am pizza, but still... It was shocking.

I could have easily treated my sadness with a big serving of cake, but instead, I didn't. As I was surfing the web, I found a story on DailyMail's website (oh yes, I do check out DailyMail for good gossip, insert disapproval here!) about a 'revolutionary' French diet called the Dukan Diet. When I saw that, I figured out... why not give it a go? I've got nothing to lose, except for 10kg!

The diet starts with a so called 'attack' phase, where you eat nothing but protein. There is a calculator online, at www.dukandiet.co.uk, which will tell you how many days you need to be on the 'attack' phase. For me it was two days. So two days I had a hard boiled egg and tea for breakfast, a non-fat yoghurt with oatbran sprinkles for snack, roast chicken leg for lunch (without fat & skin of course), another non-fat yoghurt with oatbran for snack, and then a steak for dinner. In addition, I had tea and water. Naturally the first two days were painful - I wasn't feeling hungry because of all the protein, but I did notice the lack of energy, especially because 20 minutes of brisk walking is required, every day. However, I survived :)

On the third day I started the 'Cruise' phase, which means you alternate vegetable&protein and pure vegetable days, until you get to your ideal weight. Trust me, by the end of the protein attack phase, you want to eat as much vegetables as you can: I made a cabbage stew, with cabbage, onion and lean ground beef, spicing it up with pepper, salt, paprika and a tsp of light soy sauce. It was yummy.

In the evening, I did slip a little: it was my housemate's birthday party, and I did share a piece of cake with my boyfriend. However, I only had 4 teaspoons of it! Nevertheless, when I stepped on the scale this morning, on my fourth day, I was shocked... 71kg!!! So basically, in three days, I have lost 3kg?

Indeed it has been painful, but I think I will continue with this. The fatigue I experienced is also vanishing. Now I'm not saying this is the diet for everyone, I did WeightWatchers before, but I think I am the kind of person who needs a dramatic change to get on with a diet. So... we'll see how this goes. Until further notice...