The Dukan Diet

So I was watching Dr. Oz the other day, and he and several of his doctor friends were discussing the "latest craze in weight loss" - the Dukan Diet. Apparently it's popular in France, and several celebrities have been known to use it, therefore it must be good for you!

The Dukan Diet claims that you can eat whatever you want 6 days of the week, but must be "good" for one day. Somehow by doing this, dieters can expect to lose large amounts of weight very quickly. Seems fishy.

Participants start in the Attack Phase for 1-10 days depending on how much weight they want to lose. In this phase, you eat almost no carbohydrates and an insane amount of protein. The only fat you get is from oily fish (e.g. salmon). Because you are not eating carbohydrates, this means that you are eating NO fruit or vegetables. You also must eat oat bran. Dukan claims that you can lose over 10lbs in a week doing this.

I have no doubt that this is true - the majority of the weight that will be lost in this phase will be water. I've posted before about the importance of carbohydrates, and how in the absense of carbs the body will resort to breaking down other stuff to make glucose instead (e.g. lipid and protein). The catch is that if your body isn't getting glucose in its preferred form - i.e. carbohydrates, it needs to break down other stuff and uses energy to do it. This process will also more than likely leave you dehydrated. Over an extended period of time (more than about a week), you run the risk of entering ketosis, where the pH of the blood declines (becomes more acidic), and is an incredibly dangerous consequence. Might I also add that cutting out fruits and veggies sounds like a really awful idea? What about all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre that these foods give the body? Duh.

The second phase of the Dukan diet is the "Cruise" phase, where you eat the same stuff as in the first phase, but lucky you! You're allowed to eat non-starchy veggies every other day! You stay on this phase until you reach your goal weight. I repeat my concern in phase 1: veggies are a food group. Seriously??

The third phase is the Consolidation phase, where you are allowed to eat "celebration" meals twice per week. You get to eat whatever you want! Wine, pizza, whatever. So long as one time per week, you eat nothing but lean protein. The entire day. Sigh.............

The final phase is Stabilization, where you must eat only protein one day per week, you must continue to eat oat bran for the rest of your life, and oh yeah, this phase introduces ACTIVITY for the very first time in your entire journey.

The doctors on the show had mixed opinions. One lady was all "Well, at least people are losing weight :D!", while the other, smarter sounding doctors said that it was incredibly dangerous to be eating in the attack/cruise ways for a long period of time due to the intense carbohydrate restrictions, that losing such a significant amount of weight so rapidly would set dieters up for yo-yo-ing, and that healthy changes in behaviour are a much more substantial indicator of success than the number on the scale.

I was very troubled by hearing about this diet. It sounds very much like another Atkins situation, which was devastating. I think that it's actually quite sad that our society is so determined to find a quick-fix or band aid solution to weight loss that we are willing to risk our health to do it. Since when does it sound like a healthy idea to cut out an entire food group (fruit and veg especially) in the name of weight loss?!? Since when does activity serve no purpose in weight loss until you're actually maintaining!!!

The best way to lose weight, avoid yo-yo-ing and achieve a healthy lifestyle that you can maintain for the rest of your life cannot be found in a book, pill, or supplement. The absolute best way is to simply eat a balanced diet with a proper ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and to find them mostly in whole or less-processed foods. Not all fats, proteins and carbs are created equal, e.g. the refined sugar in your cookie is not the same as the naturally-occurring sugar in your apple. I'm currently in the middle of reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, where the main motto of the book is "eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants". Sums it up nicely, I think.

If you do choose to go with a weight loss program (WW, Jenny, Herbal Magic, etc etc etc), do your homework first. Does the program encourage you to eat a balanced diet from all food groups? Does it focus heavily on consuming way more of one macronutrient (e.g. protein) than others (e.g. fats) in such a way that does not allow for a balanced diet? What kind of support does the program offer (online tools, in-person support)? Does the program encourage activity? What is their maintenance plan - do they teach you how to maintain your weight over the long term in such a way that you will actually be able to eat that way forever, or do they require that you continue to buy their supplements/books/products for the rest of your life?

I'm a little bit biased towards WW because that was the program that I chose after doing my research 5 years ago. I liked that WW allowed me to choose any foods that I wished, so long as I stuck with my Points target. I needed to learn what foods were good bargains for the Points that I had available (usually these were the whole and less-processed foods), and needed to fit in Good Health Guidelines (fruit and veggies, lean proteins, liquids, etc) to ensure that I wasn't spending my entire day's points on cake and ice cream instead of real food. I needed to learn how to grocery shop and cook healthy recipes, and what to choose when I went out to restaurants (because I could go out to restaurants rather than being restricted by my mail-order food menu!). I started to exercise, because it was encouraged on the program by giving me extra Points. It was WW that taught me the basics of nutrition all that time ago, and gave me the passion for food and health that I am now using to pursue a new career.

That being said, I have no doubt that people who choose Jenny or other programs have success as well - but like I said, I don't know the ins and outs of their program (e.g. their maintenance plans, costs of food/materials, etc)!

The bottom line: Eating a balanced diet and healthy changes in behaviour are much more important in the long run than rapid weight loss. Rather than looking for a quick fix, look for a lifestyle that you can maintain forever!