The Dukan Diet with Jodi Waktins.

All across the globe, people find themselves looking for different diets to kickstart their health at the beginning of the year. It can be overwhelming searching for the right diet and completely understanding the risks associated. The Dukan Diet is a popular trend that offers its own twist on a low-carb, high-protein diet that might interest those pursuing to lose weight fast. By eliminating foods and slowly adding them back to your routine, it helps kick-start weight loss and helps you learn how to eat in moderation.  

Designed by French physician Pierre Dukan, the Dukan diet is a low carb eating plan that is based on how humans ate thousands of years ago as hunters and gatherers. Designed to help with weight loss, the eating plan is particularly high protein. The diet is separated into four phases: Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization. 

 The Attack Phase 

According to dukandiet.com, during this phase you are supposed to eat foods found in the “pure protein” list. This list includes lean meats, poultry, fish, shellfish, vegetarian and vegan proteins (soy foods and veggies burgers, etc.), eggs, and fat-free dairy products. In this phase of the diet, the goal is for rapid weight loss and kick-starting your metabolism by eating fewer calories and losing “water weight.” This phase lasts between 2-5 days and in addition to the diet, you are to drink 1.5 liter, eat 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran, and receive 20 minutes of exercise a day. 

The Cruise Phase 

During this phase the focus is to start introducing foods back into your diet. While in the attack phase you only eat proteins, the cruise phase allows you to incorporate 32 approved vegetables into your eating plan. You also get to eat anything on the 100-food item list found on the website, and it is recommended to switch between pure protein days and protein and vegetable days. With increases in your daily amount of oat bran and exercise each day, this phase is to last three days for every pound you would like to lose.

The Consolidation Phase 

Unlike the last two phases, the focus during this phase is to maintain your weight loss without regaining. You can begin eating bread, fruit, and hard-rind cheese during this phase. You are also supposed to stick to a single day each week where you only eat protein and get 25 minutes of exercise a day.  

The Stabilization Phase 

The focus during this phase is long-term maintenance of your weight and lifestyle. The goal is to maintain your weekly pure protein day, continue drinking water, eating oat bran, and exercising daily.  

Clearly the diet is strict in its nature of limiting many foods and eliminating even more. Though some argue that exclusively eating protein is good for your metabolism and helps you lose weight, Jodi Watkins says differently. 

 We had a chance to speak with author and wellness mentor Jodi Watkins about her perspective on this diet and philosophies on nutrition. Watkins offers perspective on the dangers of these diets and why it’s important to learn about personal nutrition needs.  

When asked what her thoughts are on the high-protein, low-carb diet, she said, “It’s all about moderation, right? So most people just aren’t getting enough protein for their body, but when you start telling them to eat enormous amounts of protein—now their liver has to go to work. You can overeat on protein, you can overeat on carbs, you can overeat on fats.”  

While the diet may be beneficial for those looking to make major changes to their body for a competition, it’s not necessarily the right choice for the average person just looking to get healthier. Watkins goes on to describe the major issue with a lot of restrictive diets—that they don’t teach people about nutrition for their bodies for the long-haul.  

“I teach people how to eat to fuel their bodies for their needs at that specific time in their life,” said Watkins. “So I want people to learn how these nutrients affect their bodies and why they are important. So if you’re not teaching people their fuel requirements, it’s a cycle.” 

Written by Janah Brown