HOTEL TERMAS MARINAS “EL PALASIET”nutritionist, Irene Domínguez, analyses the internationally famous Dukan diet method and reveals the pros and cons of a system that has captivated millions of people all over the world.
According to the European Health Survey released by the INE (Statistics
National Institute) in Spain, year 2009, more than half of the adult population are beyond their recommended weight. Specifically, a 16% of the adults suffer from obesity and a 37,7% is overweight.
From these figures it follows that one out of four Spaniards is worried about gaining weight and puts on a diet. It is strange to find someone who has not ever tried the so-called “miracle diets”. In fact, one of my workmates recently told me that he was following the Dukan diet (there is a moment of glory for every miracle diet and now it is Dukan’s turn). Indeed, my workmate has lost weight, but I am going to set forth which are, in my opinion, the causes of this weight loss, and clear up some points.
Dukan’s is based on a four-phase diet. The two first phases, the first phase (attack) shorter than the second one (cruise), are eminently hyperproteic (they reduce carbohydrates and increase protein intake). According to this method, these two phases must be followed until you reach your target weight. Imagine we want to lose 15 kg .we are very likely to follow this kind of diet for six months, and it can be very risky.
Prolonged hyper protein diets have been related to chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, renal failure, cancer or cardiovascular disease. Besides, there is no proof that a high protein diet helps to lose weight. In fact, weight reducing treatments have been proved to be effective if they are based on a negative energy balance.
I think it right to kick off with an attack phase, quiet strict (as long as it is of short duration) through which the patient experiences a rapid weight loss, to make him feel hopeful and reach an inflection point. Hyper protein diets are common during these attack phases because they highly reduce the body water percentage and have a very satiating power. Therefore, the patient gets “unbloated” but there is no fat loss if our diet is not hypo caloric as well.
According to a survey carried out in 2009, it has been proved that patients on different types of diet, with different percentages of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats), lost weight if they consumed less calories than their body needed, regardless of the way the macronutrients were distributed.
That’s why on asking my workmate what his diet exactly consisted of, I confirmed what I had imagined, he was consuming less calories than his body needed to use (probably he was bored with eating so much protein and his intakes were smaller and smaller because of boredom), and besides, he had started running regularly. Consequently, his weight loss has been caused by a calorie intake reduction (hypo caloric diet) no matter if the nutrients are proteins or not. Furthermore, thanks to the exercise, he had high energy expenditure, what contributed to a faster and more effective weight loss.
What I mean by this is that, if we have to follow a hypo caloric diet, which is actually going to be the most successful one, the diet must be as balanced as possible. Simply because we eat less, we need to keep a more watchful eye over our nutrient intake in order to prevent any lack of vitamins or minerals. We have to choose the right raw materials and not to eliminate carbohydrates which must be the basics of nutrition. However, refined carbohydrates are not useful; the perfect ones are those with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index, that is, whole-grain carbohydrates.
We must say that Dukan’s method tries to compensate the lack of dietary fibre (which would involve among others to suffer from constipation) including, as a supplement, oat bran.
But let’s go ahead on the analysis of the method. The author himself warns us about the fact that if we don’t pass on to phase 3, we may soon gain back the lost weight, and this is because, as previously stated, the body has lost corporal water (and luckily, some fat) but it has not taught us how to eat, that is, to shift into healthier habits to be maintained lifelong. If at this point we abandon the diet, logically we will go back to eating the same way as we did before following the method, and we will regain the initial weight, or even more. Therefore, the author urges us to proceed on to phase 3rd (the named consolidation phase) and you need to be on this phase ten days for every one kilo lost in order to achieve the necessary “change in habits”.
My workmate, for example, must stay on this phase of the diet for 3 months, span of time during which he is supposed to learn “how to eat better”, since in this stage, a more balanced one, more carbohydrates are slowly added: fruit and some whole-grain cereals (what I think it’s great!!)
Lastly, the phase 4th (the stabilization phase, which would be lasting all life long); this phase intends to make us aware of the fact that the diet is forever. The point is not only to reach the target weight and “voila”, but we also have to be PERMANENTLY careful about what we eat. One can indulge himself/herself once in a while, but moderately, and Eating habits must be based on a healthy diet.
Analyzing the whole thing:
Pros:
- It is a very long diet and necessarily involves changing habits due to its duration, unlike short-term plans like the pine apple diet or similar ones. According to the author himself, the people who quit half way through are likely to gain the lost weight back, therefore he stresses the need to follow the diet up to phase 4th.
- Even when the diet is over, there is a regular control for life (the so-called phase 4). However, the lifelong diet proposes 2 gala dinners or as I say “free dinners”. This is great, because everyone needs to indulge herself or himself from time to time, and besides, in our society many celebrations imply gathering around the table. If such occasional indulgences are not allowed, and I cheat on my diet one day, it will bring guilty feelings that can lead to abandoning the plan.
- It includes physical excercise as if prescribed by a doctor. That is, it recommends some physical activity as a necessary complement to the diet.
- The carbohydrates proposed in the final phases are the ones of low glycemic index (whole grain rice, vegetables or whole wheat pasta)
Cons:
- The first phase is really unbalanced, apart from boring and monotonous (eggs for breakfast, fish for lunch and meat for supper, this is not a diet, it is torture!!). I would only recommend this phase (by medical prescription) for a very very short period of time, because it really helps to get “unbloated” and it can mean an inflection point for those people who are lacking in willpower.
- The phase 2, which allows vegetables to be included, may be too long (depending on your target weight). If it is for a specific period of time, there is no problem (by medical prescription) but long-term adherence to diets that are high in protein can be harmful for your health.
- What I most dislike, and it is constantly repeated in phases 1 and 2, is the fact that diet followers are free as far as quantities are concerned. And it is a scientifically proven fact that in order to lose weight we must consume fewer calories than our body needs. Hence, if we stuff ourselves up with proteins, apart from being not precisely healthy, it will cause little or no weight loss at all.
- It is true that oat bran creates an effect of satiety; it also has a beneficial action on reducing cholesterol and regulating intestinal transit. Additionally, eating oat bran contributes to even out the fluctuation in blood sugar levels, but it is equally true that all alimentary fibres have the same good properties as the ones of the oat bran. Why to stuff oneself up with this complement instead of consuming fibre in a more natural manner? I sincerely prefer salad, fruit, vegetables, whole grain bread or pasta as he recommends in the last phases.
To sum up, a good diet for people who are lacking in willpower, since the changes during the different phases make it less monotonous, good because physical exercise is an integral part of the diet, and good because it proposes to change your eating habits for life, as the phase 4 lasts forever. However, I would eliminate some absurd restrictions like the one of only 100 allowed foods and the need to consume the oat bran complement, when natural and whole grain foods provide all the same benefits. Lastly, I would make some changes in the first two phases: I would simply wipe out the whole first phase (It is torturing and may have the dreaded rebound effect) and the second phase should be reduced to a limited and controlled period of time. Therefore, the method would be composed only of phases 3/4 (much more nutritionally balanced) including some high protein or detox weeks.
Irene Domínguez, nutrition specialist of BENICASIM HOTEL TERMAS MARINAS “EL PALASIET”
