Contents
Pierre Dukan invented his method in the early 70s, but this nutrition system has gained popularity in our days. Why such excitement? Moreover, experts warn: the Dukan diet can be dangerous to health.
Basic Ideas
- Lose weight quickly and without feeling hungry: the promise of Dr. Dukan is extremely tempting.
- 90% of diets are doomed to failure. And yet, many continue to hope …
- Doctors and nutritionists oppose any rigid diets.
In the world of diets, another fad: today it is unlikely that you will be able to go to a restaurant and not meet an adherent Dukan there in the “attack phase” – with burning eyes and a plate full of meat, fish or crustaceans. Hundreds of sites, blogs, and forums in multiple languages discuss the details of the trendy diet that promises a sure-fire way to lose weight without starving yourself*. Meanwhile, when nutritionist Pierre Ducan, a medical doctor by training, published his book I Can’t Lose Weight in 2000, it went almost unnoticed**. Dukan developed his “master plan”, based on unlimited protein intake, in the early 1970s, and in the following decades, many of his losing weight patients, having completed the course, safely returned to their (unwanted) weight. So why is this technique so popular these days? Well forgotten old? But the facts are eloquent: Ducan’s books have been translated into 24 languages and occupy the first lines in the sales ratings. Only in the doctor’s homeland, in France, more than 2 million copies have already been sold. Millions of Internet users subscribe to his paid coaching program, he has a Twitter blog and an iPhone app, videos of his advice are broadcast on video hosting sites – and all this, not counting the many products with the Dukan sticker that are sold in European supermarkets.
Miracle as a method
There are many reasons for this success, says psychotherapist Gérard Apfeldorfer, a specialist in eating disorders. First of all, Pierre Dukan offers not a diet, but a method. The word “diet” is associated in our minds with severe restrictions, with the need to sacrifice your favorite eating habits, mercilessly limiting yourself in the choice of products and their quantity. The “method” avoids such a harsh picture: the very term instills in us the belief that we have finally found the right path, which, as the doctor promises, will lead us out of the “fat captivity”. In addition (which is very tempting!), starting from the very first phase of the method (there are four in total: attack; cruise, or alternation; consolidation; stabilization), a person loses weight without feeling hungry (proteins provide a pleasant feeling of satiety). “Such a quick result corresponds to the desire to get everything and as soon as possible, which is so characteristic of our time,” the psychotherapist comments.
And we are likely to enjoy the food: the recipes compiled specifically for the Dukan diet, in general, taste good. In addition, in order for us to feel like active participants in the process of losing weight, we are invited to play sports. No, no exhausting workouts! A daily walk and a few household exercises (vacuuming an apartment or, say, putting winter things in a closet) will be enough. These efforts will be enough to say with satisfaction: “Yes, I really deserve a slim figure!” Let us add to this a special feeling of exaltation, which the followers of Dukan tell about. “With this diet, the brain no longer receives glucose, but ketone (acetone) bodies, derivatives of decaying fatty acids, cause a feeling of euphoria,” explains Gerard Apfeldorfer. All this together is easily able to convince that we have found a wonderful method for getting rid of extra pounds.
Diets: rules and exceptions
Separate.
They offer to eat to the full on one condition: you can not mix glycides and lipids, and then fats will not accumulate in the body. The most famous are the Montignac diet, which divided meals into glycid and lipid, and the Atkins diet, which forbade eating foods containing sugar. And he allowed meat, fish, eggs, vegetable and butter to be consumed without restrictions … up to a heart attack.
Low-calorie.
This is simple arithmetic: the fewer calories, the fewer kilograms. If you consume from 1000 to 1200 kcal per day, the weight will be lost as quickly … as the tone. And these losses will be very tangible. If fasting attracts you with its radicality, then you are welcome: the Mayo and Scarsdale diets preach a complete rejection of calories, and then in two weeks, among other things, the amount of fat will also decrease slightly.
Protein.
Protein helps you lose weight, keeps your skin supple, makes you feel full… You won’t go hungry, but nutrient and mineral deficiencies will quickly force you to put vegetables back on your plate.
“Magical”.
They are simply wonderful, extraordinary, but what the mechanism of their action is based on … this is a big secret! These, in particular, include diets based on blood groups.
Read more:
- Consciousness on a strict diet
What is the danger of a protein regimen
“My cholesterol levels have risen sharply, my kidneys are not working … Maybe this is due to the fact that I have been on the Dukan diet for 4 months already?” * Complaints of fatigue, cramps, constipation, general weakening of the immune system are not uncommon on the forums. “Patients often come who have gained more weight than before, and those who still follow a diet, but are literally on the verge of bulimia,” Viktor Makarov complains. These risks are inherent in all types of diets, but the scope of the phenomenon is worrying. “People with normal weight go on this diet to quickly lose a few pounds, not knowing that this can upset the balance of the body, ceasing to distinguish between hunger and satiety,” the psychotherapist continues. And this is not the only danger. Endocrinologist Olga Yatsishina, a specialist at the European Medical Center, warns of a possible hormonal imbalance associated with a strict regimen: “The level of progesterone and estrogen in women is rapidly falling, which causes menstrual irregularities and can lead to the cessation of menstruation.” The thyroid gland can also be affected: a drop in the level of active thyroid hormone T3 causes hypothyroidism. In addition, animal proteins have a strong oxidizing effect and, if consumed alone, disrupt the acid-base balance in the body. And repetitions of the “attack phase,” the endocrinologist warns, increase the risk of osteoporosis. N.V.
* dukandiet.ru
Read more:
- Food and the Brain: Being Scared to Lose Weight and Be Smarter
Thirst for control
However, research data mercilessly report that when following even a completely balanced diet, only 5% of people manage to lose 5% of their weight and keep the result for five years ***. “The state of our fat reserves is connected with the central nervous system,” explains psychotherapist Viktor Makarov, scientific director of the Rehab Family clinic. “At the slightest weight loss, a protective reaction of the body is activated, which activates the accumulation mode.” But even if we admit that in nine cases out of ten, the followers of Dukan return to their original weight, each of them hopes in the depths of his soul: maybe I will be the tenth? Relying on diets is like going to fortune tellers: a person regularly sees that predictions do not come true, but still continues to hope to find one that will finally hit the mark … Especially since Pierre Ducane tirelessly assures that the success of his method is due solely its efficiency.
Today, “controlling your weight” for many also means “managing your life,” Gerard Apfeldorfer emphasizes: “The glamor of harmony is so strong that many only want to surrender to the mercy of the new method (and its author), which promises rapid weight loss. “. A nutritionist warns: the desire to lose weight, conquer your appetite, your desires easily turns into an obsession. “If a person fails, it often does not even occur to him that the diet itself is to blame. No, he experiences the most severe sense of guilt, reproaching only himself for being weak-willed!”
Food without borders
An important detail: the adherent of the Dukan diet is convinced that he does not subject himself to any restrictions. “This is part of a program to attract new customers and reinforce far from safe mechanisms in their eating behavior,” explains Gerard Apfeldorfer. “Eat as much meat as you want! – Pierre Ducan cordially invites. “And don’t worry about the amount of food: if you follow my method, then it will be difficult for you to eat everything.” True, something (desired) will have to be replaced with something else – but these are just details … Isn’t it in this “food without borders” that the main catch is hidden? Like all other rigid dietary systems, the Dukan method is fraught with the emergence of a compulsive addiction to food, a kind of food mania, which leads to the loss of the most important sensations – hunger and satiety. “And then people have to deal with the consequences that pour from this“ cornucopia ”for a long time,” Viktor Makarov jokes sadly. He, like many of his colleagues, increasingly has to work with depression caused by the return of the previous weight.
To the Dukan method, as well as to any diet in general, nutritionist Gerard Apfeldorfer is unequivocal: “If we want to cope with excess weight, first of all, we should not rely on the miraculous power of any regimen – even the most “scientific” and “ right “- nutrition”. Take care of yourself and understand your needs; appreciate the taste and properties of different products and cook them with pleasure; more often to share a meal with friends, relatives and generally with people who are pleasant to us; never swallow food on the run or to drown out unpleasant emotions and unspoken feelings … Only such an attitude to food can bring joy and be harmonious. And it will always allow you to get up from the table on time – with ease in your soul and body.
* The most popular Russian-language sites are dukandiet.ru, pierredukandiet.ru
** P. Dukan “I can’t lose weight” (Eksmo, 2012).
*** The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2001, № 11.
See also:
10 tips to eat well and stop on time