The English-speaking countries have known about the Dukan for just over a year now, and in this year the weight loss program has gone from little known diet secret to popular diet choice. In this article, I'll be looking at the pros and cons of the Dukan diet.
The advantages of The Dukan Diet
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1. The low carbohydrate, high protein diet is a fast weight loss diet. Many people report losing several pounds in the first few days. Noticeable weight loss is achieved very quickly. This is a huge motivational advantage. There is little more dispiriting, when in comes to diets, that feeling like weeks of hard work has achieved nothing at all. The rapid weight loss is one of the most important pros of the diet. Most people can last a couple of weeks on a new diet before slipping. After a few weeks on the Dukan, the weight loss already achieved is too great for people to easily throw away in return for some junk food.
2. One of the most miserable feelings of a diet is the hunger and food craving. Constantly feeling hungry, wanting food, is exhausting. After a few weeks of this, the majority of people crack and dive into days of binging to make up for their weeks of pain. The Dukan diet is a low hunger diet. The high protein content of the program means that dieters feel very little hunger. In fact, by following the Dukan diet you are naturally taking appetite suppressants. High protein meals fill you up more quickly and leave you feeling fuller for longer. Obviously, it is easier to stick to a diet that isn't constantly weakening you through hunger.
3. A unique quality of the Dukan diet, as far as I am aware, is that the program works as a kind of reset button for your eating habits and tastes. Due to the early restrictions, the Dukan re-tunes your attitudes to food. Portion control is naturally reset to eating as much as you need to feel satisfied, rather than eating as much as you can. Fatty and carbohydrate heavy foods are very easy to eat in large quantities. Both of these foods encourage over-eating, fatty food actually stimulate appetite, allowing you to eat more. High protein meals fill you up much more quickly and as a result you eat less.
A second adjustment to your eating habits is that the Dukan reintroduces (or for some, simply introduces) an appreciation of fruit and vegetables. Tastes, food cravings and palettes are reset so that fresh vegetables taste great and are a welcome part of any meal. Fruit is eagerly anticipated. The final result is that a balanced and healthy diet is desired and enjoyed rather that something that is considered ideal but unattainable.
4. There is no calorie counting or food weighing on the Dukan diet. From the 100 allowed foods, you can eat as much as you want. Simply eat when you want and how much you want. Some people are naturally skeptical when they hear these claims. How can you eat as much as you want and still lose weight? Well the answer is in the sentence - you can eat as much as you want. This isn't the same as eating as much as you physically can stuff inside yourself! Due to the satisfying nature of high protein meals, people feel fuller quicker. The feeling of satisfaction, that you've eaten as much as you really want to, comes about much more quickly that with previous meals. The result being that you can genuinely eat as much as you like and still lose weight.
The Dukan diet is based on sound nutritional principles. While the diet is new to the English speaking countries it has been around for decades. Unlike other fad diets, the Dukan diet is proven as a healthy and responsible weight loss method.
The Cons of the Dukan diet
1. Some followers of the Dukan report that their appetite can disappear completely. That is, they go from a uncontrollable need to eat food to very little desire to eat at all. This isn't a fear or reluctance to eat, they eat their meals as normal but without a strong craving to eat. A few people in this situation, while appreciating that weight loss has become very easy indeed, miss the eager anticipation and joy of eating whatever they want. Once the weight loss phase of the Dukan diet is over, and more foods are introduced, the former desire for food returns but not as the compulsive need to stuff and stuff until you can't eat any more.
2. The Dukan diet is difficult to follow without prior preparation. It is difficult, although not impossible, to find suitable food when out and about. Without making sure that you don't end up in this situation, you can also find yourself at home of an evening with no suitable food in the house. The choice is to either go to bed hungry or to slip from your diet and eat something you're not supposed to.
3. If you are on a budget, it can be easy to spend a lot of money of Dukan diet friendly foods. Fresh fish, expensive cuts of meat, organic vegetables, all added up and the weekly shopping bill can look formidable. However, this doesn't have to be the case. Careful planning and intelligent shopping will allow you to follow the Dukan and keep to a modest budget.
Conclusion
It is easily to see why so many people are turning to the Dukan diet for their weight loss solution. For most people the pros outweigh the cons and the experience of the Dukan diet is more enjoyable and rewarding than that of previous diets. In fact many of the negatives can be eliminated or avoided with just a little careful thought and preparation.
If you are unsure whether the Dukan diet is the right choice for you then you can always give it a trial run. Try it for a week. If you are pleased with the results you can keep on going.
Is The Dukan Diet Worth It? Pros and Cons of The High Protein Diet
Start the change now. You can follow my progess on the Dukan diet from day one of the attack phase until the end. I have included all my recipes and menu ideas as well as top tips in getting the most out of your Dukan diet experience. If you're ready to lose weight fast without hunger click Dukan diet to begin your journey.