Most people think that 'diet' or 'dieting' means eating less, starving yourself of food. But the true meaning is far from it. Diet Forum
A 'diet' (nutrition) is the total food you consume, and 'dieting' is the selection of food to get your body weight under control (weight loss) and maintaining it.
Dieting can be to lose weight or to gain weight, some athletes for example diet to gain weight.
The Dukan Diet as shown on Today Tonight is a new and effective diet put together by a Swedish health professional 'Dr Pierre Dukan', The Dukan Diet Book by Dr Pierre Dukan is published by Hodder and Stoughton. RRP $29.99.
Diet food is food that aids in weight loss and body weight control. Discuss your diet here.
The Dukan Diet starts with a short Attack phase, where you eat nothing but protein – just meat, fish, eggs and non-fat dairy products.
The ‘Attack phase’ of the diet is the kick-start that gives you the initial momentum and sets the tone for the other phases, you can lose as much as three kilograms in five days at this stage.
You can stick to the ‘Attack phase’ for as little as one day or as long as 10 days, but if your goal weight is 12 to 20 kilograms away, then five days produces the best results.
If you have about six kilograms to lose, two or three days on the Attack phase works well; if you are looking to slim down by only three kilograms, a single day in the Attack phase (where you’d be expected to lose one kilogram instantly) is often enough to get you started.
If you eat only protein, your body produces ketonic cells, which are powerful natural appetite suppressants and therefore a short-term, protein-rich regime purges the tissues of excess water, dulls the appetite, while maintaining muscle tone.
Proteins are relatively low in kilojoules and their complex structure means the human body has to work harder to digest the proteins – you will burn more kilojoules processing protein than any other food you eat.
After one to 10 days in the Attack phase, you move on to the ‘Cruise phase’. This is the workhorse stage of the diet, where you alternate pure protein days with days when you add vegetables to your protein.
Body weight will drop at a rate of about 1000 grams a week, but with a range of meat and vegetables to choose from, you won’t be hungry.
At the stage when you reach your ideal weight the ‘Consolidation phase’ kicks in, releasing dietary constraints and putting fruit, bread, cheese and starchy foods such as pasta back on the menu.
You are even encouraged to have two totally unrestrained meals a week, meaning you can eat what you want. This is a doctor’s recommendation and an important part of the diet’s acceptance that you can relish food and stay slim forever.
You won’t lose weight in this phase, but nor will you gain weight.
Consolidation has been designed to stop you going back to your former eating habits and to set your body’s equilibrium.
If you stick to the plan for five days, for every 0.5 kilograms you lost in previous phases, your body will consolidate the weight loss.
When your time in Consolidation is up and your weight has stabilised, you are free to eat and drink whatever you like for the rest of your life, but you must adhere to that one Dukan rule: protein only on Thursdays. Forever.