On average 70% men and women in the UK believe their own diet to be "quite healthy" while only 10% believe it to be "not very healthy or very unhealthy". With these statistics in mind one would think that the nation as a whole is quite healthy, right? Who would have thought that nations average BMI (kg/m2), the indicator used by the government to identify overweight and obesity, would be 26.5 which lies in the overweight bracket? 66% of the UK population is overweight or obese! Every start of the new year, all magazines, whether for men or women, are filling pages with the newest diets, diet book sales soar, everyone wants to start off the year by losing the few pounds they claim to have gained by consuming far too much gravy on the turkey and plucking to many chocolate decorations of the christmas trees. What i wanna find out, whether there is in fact a sustainable diet, which will fit in with my hectic lifestyle, travel schedule, nurture my love for traditions and passion for cooking, make me feel good on the inside as well as the outside and allow me that treat that i cant possibly live without. No matter how much make up one applies, how many niptucks we have, real beauty comes from the inside, from what we feed our body and soul...
Zone diet? The Dukan Diet? Gi diet? Cabbage Diet?
With a world and web of unlimited diets available and 20% women in the world being on some sort of diet at any given time, I am going to write my own diary while searching for the ultimate diet... not a crash diet that will through me right back to point zero as soon as accomplished, but the sustainable lifestyle diet that will....
The Dukan Diet is a weight loss diet that promises long lasting slimming results. It is achieved by following a 4-step program, combining two steps to lose your unwanted weight and two steps to keep it off for good.
Step 1 is called the Attack Phase, which consists of 2-7 days consuming pure proteins, only.
Step 2, the Cruise Phase, is the workhorse stage of the diet where one alternate pure protein days with days when u include a delicious array of unlimited vegetables.
Step 3, Consolidation, adds fruit, cheese and starchy foods and 2 celebration meals a week, allowing 5 days for every pound lost.
Step 4, Stabilization, allows one eating what one likes without regaining wait by following 3 simple rules, including the famous "protein thursdays".
Attack:
The initial phase, no matter how much weight one wants to lose, kicks off with a pure-protein diet. The amount of days depend on the amount of weight one desires to shed, usually 2-10 days. This highly specific diet creates a psychological trigger and metabolic surprise, whose combined effects cause a decisive weight loss. The following foods are allowed in unlimited quantities with no exceptions
Lean meats such a beef and veal, however pork and lamb not. Offal as well.
All kinds of fish and shellfish
Poultry- chicken, turkey but avoid eating the skin.
Low-fat, lean ham with any rind cut off is allowed
Eggs and non-fat dairy products such as 0% yoghurt, quark, fromage frais and cottage cheese. Natural and flavored yoghurts are allowed without any restriction but avoid yoghurts which have a fruit puree base which contains a lot of sugar. Go for the vanilla or lemon flavor.
Extras such as coffee, tea, skimmed milk, sweeteners, vinegar, spices, herbs, shallots and onions, mustard, gherkins, lemons are all allowed to induce flavor.
Oil and butter is forbidden.
Obligatory is 11/2 tbsp of oat bran and most importantly a lot of water and a reduced salt intake.
Cruise
The second phase consists of two altering diets: one day the protein +vegetable diet and then the pure protein diet, and so on until one reaches ones target weight.Not all vegetables are allowed but the following can be eaten raw, steamed, grilled or cooked in unlimited quantities :
Tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, leeks, green beans, cabbage, celery, fennel, aubergines, courgettes, all kinds of salads, peppers,artichoke, even carrots and beetroot.
Vegetables considered to be starchy foods are forbidden. Those include potatoes, rice, corn, peas, beans, lentils and avocado.
This altering is to be continued until the target weight is reached.
Consolidation
Phase three, although might seem insignificant is crucial. it stabilizes ones eating habits for the future and is what creates the long lasting slimming effects of the diet.
This transition diet lasts depending on the amount of weight lost. Multiply every pound shed by 5 days, which will give you the total amount of days of consolidation. This diet consists of
Foods from the protein diet in the attack phase
Vegetables from the cruise diet
One serving of fruit per day, except for bananas, cherries and grapes
Two slices of wholemeal bread a day
40g cheese per day
Two servings of starchy foods a week
Lamb and pork(lean cuts)
+ two celebration meals per week ( free to eat anything, but no binging)
And most importantly one day of pure protein, like in the attack phase.
Stabilization
In order to permanently stabilize ones diet the following precautions should be taken and rules followed:
Eating whatever one desires six out of seven days, eating protein only one chosen day of the week for the rest of ones life. All this while keeping the consolidation foods as a platform.
Today, more than 1.5 million women swear by the Dukan Diet...and is said to be the explanation why french women appear to be so effortlessly chic and slender, at any age.
