The Dukan diet has reached a level of popularity that myths and
rumors are now flooding the internet. This, in itself, is hardly a
surprise. The world's news media know the Dukan diet is hot topic and
articles about the diet will attract readers. So called experts, as well
as the real deal, will not want to be seen without an opinion on the
current hot diet topic. Dr. Pierre Dukan will know, I'm sure, that it
doesn't matter how good something is, if no-one has ever heard of it it
will die a quiet death without anyone noticing its birth or demise. It
is in his interests for his diet to be considered newsworthy. And in the
interest of anyone wanting to lose weight. I would have never known
about Dukan had I not read about it in a British newspaper.
Today
there are articles, news stories and magazine features aplenty on the
Dukan diet. Hack journalists, including those who happened, in a former
life and career, to be doctors will not find it hard to trot out a
thousand words or so on diets in general, with vague allusions to the
Dukan. In a time when increasingly more editors value their online
writers by the number of page views their articles get, it make sense to
use the world 'Dukan' in your title (even when your article is merely
about diets in general).
Well, they say than all publicity is good publicity and I supposed, that for Dr. Dukan, the media storm is exactly what he wants. Good luck to him I say. His diet helped me lose the weight I needed to and it came off easy! I admin a forum full of happy and successful dieters all singing, for no reason other than they experienced the Dukan and they are happy to share, the praises of the diet. The diet may not be a miracle. It certainly isn't magical but, as I discovered from personal experience, it works!
Of course, the need to be seen to know about the latest diet revolution has led to a lot of the old copy and paste and the beginning of some Dukan diet myths. Here is my guide, as someone who has enjoyed losing weight on this particular diet, to these myths.
Myth number 1 - the Dukan is a starvation diet
Well, this is a ridiculous claim. One of the strongest points in favour of this diet, for me at least, is the fact that you never have to weigh or measure your food and that you can eat as much as you like. There is no calorie counting and portion sizes are calculated on how hungry you feel. Still hungry? Eat some more!
The only reason, I can think of, why anyone would suggest, or appear to suggest, that the Dukan is a starvation diet is because they used the name of diet to attract readers but in their article, the writers are talking about fad diets in general.
I've read many an article on the Dukan that starts off by talking about this particular diet but then quickly turns into a very generalized article about weight loss in general. It is simply a category mistake to include this diet in with starvation or other silly fad diets. Anyone who actually bothers to read the official book will immediately see that the Dukan encourages you to eat as much as you want! No starvation here.
Myth number 2 - that the Dukan is a fad diet
There is a tendency to consider anything new as a fad. After all, we experience novelty every day. Yesterday's news is today's fish wrapper, or so they used to say when newspaper was used to wrap fish and chips (and people thought newsprint added to the flavour of their meal!)
Yes, the Dukan diet is new to English speaking countries. Although, not that new, I've been blogging about the diet for over a year now. But this weight loss program has a long history and the official book is translated into 10 different languages! In fact, the very first diets, were based on cutting down carbohydrates. The science behind the Dukan diet is nothing new.
Myth number 3 - That the Dukan is unhealthy
There are two ideas in play here. The first is a legitimate concern about high protein diets but the second idea is just a piece of nonsense. When the body breaks down protein there are waste products left over. To avoid problems like kidney stones, these products must be flushed from the system. This is achieved by simply drinking the recommended daily quantity of water. If you drink, in total not all at once, two liters of water (or iced-tea, soft drinks) a day you will have no problems.
However, if you don't drink this amount of water (or more if it's a very hot day) then your body will become dehydrated. This applies to everyone, not just people on diets. Women, are more likely to experience water retention if they do not hydrate their bodies by drinking water. This retained water makes a people look bloated and they will weigh more when they step on the scales. Since all dieters want to look less bloated and weigh less, it makes sense to drink plenty of water whether you're on the Dukan diet or following a different plan.
So, drink the water you are supposed to be drinking as a part of a healthy lifestyle and you will have no problems. If, like most people, you don't actually consume the proper amount of water a day, then once you start you should actually begin to notice the health benefits.
The nonsense claim about the Dukan diet being unhealthy comes from people who have no idea what this program involves. You can be sure that whenever an article about the diet appears online there will a whole slew of comments saying "just eat a healthy diet and take regular exercise!" What these people fail to understand Is that is exactly what the Dukan diet is all about.
In the book, Dr. Pierre Dukan, makes it absolutely clear that regular exercise is an essential part of his program. He takes his readers through the benefits of walking in particular, and insists that some kind of regular exercise is taken.
As for a healthy balanced diet, most people eat far too much carbohydrate. Of course, I know that there is carbohydrates in vegetables, but I'm talking about bread, potatoes, rice, pasta. The Dukan diet teaches us that not only is it possible to cut down these carbohydrates dramatically but without sacrificing taste, flavor and enjoyment.
People who already have unhealthy diets and lifestyles don't eat balanced diets. By following the Dukan diet, most find that they are introducing new foods (such a vegetables) and surprising themselves by enjoying these previously shunned food groups. Many people, after being on the diet, managed to break free from the lure of pre-cooked, processed foods.
So, far from being healthy, the Dukan diet encourages you to drink the correct amount of water, to take regular exercise, to eat healthier, more balanced meals and to avoid highly salted processed foods as well as fatty, sugary snacks and desserts.
If all the diet is telling us to do is eat healthily and to take regular exercise you may wonder what is so special about the Dukan diet. The answer is the way the program makes weight loss so much easier than other diets. The reason I managed to lose weight and keep it off, was simply because I found the plan easy to follow and stick to. Two things that made it so much easier, for me, was the speed of the weight loss and the lack of hunger and food cravings.
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Well, they say than all publicity is good publicity and I supposed, that for Dr. Dukan, the media storm is exactly what he wants. Good luck to him I say. His diet helped me lose the weight I needed to and it came off easy! I admin a forum full of happy and successful dieters all singing, for no reason other than they experienced the Dukan and they are happy to share, the praises of the diet. The diet may not be a miracle. It certainly isn't magical but, as I discovered from personal experience, it works!
Of course, the need to be seen to know about the latest diet revolution has led to a lot of the old copy and paste and the beginning of some Dukan diet myths. Here is my guide, as someone who has enjoyed losing weight on this particular diet, to these myths.
Myth number 1 - the Dukan is a starvation diet
Well, this is a ridiculous claim. One of the strongest points in favour of this diet, for me at least, is the fact that you never have to weigh or measure your food and that you can eat as much as you like. There is no calorie counting and portion sizes are calculated on how hungry you feel. Still hungry? Eat some more!
The only reason, I can think of, why anyone would suggest, or appear to suggest, that the Dukan is a starvation diet is because they used the name of diet to attract readers but in their article, the writers are talking about fad diets in general.
I've read many an article on the Dukan that starts off by talking about this particular diet but then quickly turns into a very generalized article about weight loss in general. It is simply a category mistake to include this diet in with starvation or other silly fad diets. Anyone who actually bothers to read the official book will immediately see that the Dukan encourages you to eat as much as you want! No starvation here.
Myth number 2 - that the Dukan is a fad diet
There is a tendency to consider anything new as a fad. After all, we experience novelty every day. Yesterday's news is today's fish wrapper, or so they used to say when newspaper was used to wrap fish and chips (and people thought newsprint added to the flavour of their meal!)
Yes, the Dukan diet is new to English speaking countries. Although, not that new, I've been blogging about the diet for over a year now. But this weight loss program has a long history and the official book is translated into 10 different languages! In fact, the very first diets, were based on cutting down carbohydrates. The science behind the Dukan diet is nothing new.
Myth number 3 - That the Dukan is unhealthy
There are two ideas in play here. The first is a legitimate concern about high protein diets but the second idea is just a piece of nonsense. When the body breaks down protein there are waste products left over. To avoid problems like kidney stones, these products must be flushed from the system. This is achieved by simply drinking the recommended daily quantity of water. If you drink, in total not all at once, two liters of water (or iced-tea, soft drinks) a day you will have no problems.
However, if you don't drink this amount of water (or more if it's a very hot day) then your body will become dehydrated. This applies to everyone, not just people on diets. Women, are more likely to experience water retention if they do not hydrate their bodies by drinking water. This retained water makes a people look bloated and they will weigh more when they step on the scales. Since all dieters want to look less bloated and weigh less, it makes sense to drink plenty of water whether you're on the Dukan diet or following a different plan.
So, drink the water you are supposed to be drinking as a part of a healthy lifestyle and you will have no problems. If, like most people, you don't actually consume the proper amount of water a day, then once you start you should actually begin to notice the health benefits.
The nonsense claim about the Dukan diet being unhealthy comes from people who have no idea what this program involves. You can be sure that whenever an article about the diet appears online there will a whole slew of comments saying "just eat a healthy diet and take regular exercise!" What these people fail to understand Is that is exactly what the Dukan diet is all about.
In the book, Dr. Pierre Dukan, makes it absolutely clear that regular exercise is an essential part of his program. He takes his readers through the benefits of walking in particular, and insists that some kind of regular exercise is taken.
As for a healthy balanced diet, most people eat far too much carbohydrate. Of course, I know that there is carbohydrates in vegetables, but I'm talking about bread, potatoes, rice, pasta. The Dukan diet teaches us that not only is it possible to cut down these carbohydrates dramatically but without sacrificing taste, flavor and enjoyment.
People who already have unhealthy diets and lifestyles don't eat balanced diets. By following the Dukan diet, most find that they are introducing new foods (such a vegetables) and surprising themselves by enjoying these previously shunned food groups. Many people, after being on the diet, managed to break free from the lure of pre-cooked, processed foods.
So, far from being healthy, the Dukan diet encourages you to drink the correct amount of water, to take regular exercise, to eat healthier, more balanced meals and to avoid highly salted processed foods as well as fatty, sugary snacks and desserts.
If all the diet is telling us to do is eat healthily and to take regular exercise you may wonder what is so special about the Dukan diet. The answer is the way the program makes weight loss so much easier than other diets. The reason I managed to lose weight and keep it off, was simply because I found the plan easy to follow and stick to. Two things that made it so much easier, for me, was the speed of the weight loss and the lack of hunger and food cravings.