always going to be the pure protein days that get the machine moving and that are responsible for the diet’s overall effectiveness. So do not be surprised to see your weight go down at regular intervals. The weight loss levels out during the vegetable days and then drops down to another level during the pure protein days, and so on.
A Choice of Alternating Rhythms
The diet of alternating proteins, building on the momentum and speed generated by the pure protein Attack diet, is now responsible for guiding you to your chosen goal. This phase will occupy the largest part of the strictly weight loss period of the Dukan Diet.
The rhythmical addition of vegetables greatly reduces the pure proteins’ impact and gives this entire second phase in the diet a kind of syncopated pace, both for organizing your meals and for the results obtained. Thus there will be pauses interrupted by accelerations, a series of conquests followed by resting periods, all leading in alternate sequence, nevertheless, to your end goal.
What rhythm should this diet take? I will sum it up briefly:
In the short term, the most effective rhythm is 5/5:
5 days of pure proteins followed by 5 days of proteins + vegetables. This is not the easiest rhythm: it does start off spectacularly, but it slows down and may become burdensome.
The other solution is the 1/1 rhythm:
1 day of pure proteins followed by 1 day of vegetables + proteins. This alternating rhythm takes longer to get going, but in 20 days it will have caught up, and over the long term it is easier to follow and generates less frustration.
There is a third way, which is suitable if you only have a little weight to lose, the 2/7 rhythm:
2 days of pure proteins on Mondays and Thursdays and 5 days of proteins + vegetables during the rest of the week.
Finally, there is a variation on the 2/7 rhythm—the 2/0 rhythm:
2 days of pure proteins per week, on Mondays and Thursdays, followed by 5 days of no particular diet but avoiding any extremes. This is the diet that best suits some women with cellulite, who are slim on top but heavy around the hips and the thighs especially.
Some Additions for the Cruise Phase
Oat Bran
During the Cruise phase, the amount of oat bran you should eat is increased from the 1½ tablespoons per day of the Attack phase to 2 tablespoons per day, prepared in the same way as for the Attack phase.
Exercise
Similarly, the recommended exercise is increased from the 20-minute walk of the Attack phase to a 30-minute walk in the Cruise phase. If you are on a stagnation plateau, increase this to a 60-minute walk for 4 days, just until you break through this plateau.
How Much Weight Can You Expect to Lose?
If you are significantly overweight, by 40 pounds or more, the loss is difficult to predict week by week, but experience has shown that one can expect to lose around 2 pounds a week.
During the first half of the Cruise phase, when you can expect a weight loss of 3 to 4 pounds per week, you can potentially lose the first 20 pounds in approximately 2 months.
Beyond the first 2 months, the curve decreases progressively because of a metabolic defense mechanism that I will explain in further detail when we come to the Consolidation phase, the third stage of the program. The curve then flattens at just over 2 pounds per week before dipping below 2 pounds a week, with odd periods of stagnation for women with premenstrual syndrome or if there is any bingeing.
On this subject, you need to know that the body puts up little resistance to the loss of the first few pounds. It has a greater reaction when the plundering of its fat reserves becomes more threatening. In theory,this would be just the moment to step up your diet. But in practice, the very opposite often occurs. The strongest willpower sometimes weakens in the face of long-suppressed temptations, and invitations to eat out that were once declined are now accepted.
But the real threat comes from elsewhere. The loss of the first 20 pounds
A Choice of Alternating Rhythms
The diet of alternating proteins, building on the momentum and speed generated by the pure protein Attack diet, is now responsible for guiding you to your chosen goal. This phase will occupy the largest part of the strictly weight loss period of the Dukan Diet.
The rhythmical addition of vegetables greatly reduces the pure proteins’ impact and gives this entire second phase in the diet a kind of syncopated pace, both for organizing your meals and for the results obtained. Thus there will be pauses interrupted by accelerations, a series of conquests followed by resting periods, all leading in alternate sequence, nevertheless, to your end goal.
What rhythm should this diet take? I will sum it up briefly:
In the short term, the most effective rhythm is 5/5:
5 days of pure proteins followed by 5 days of proteins + vegetables. This is not the easiest rhythm: it does start off spectacularly, but it slows down and may become burdensome.
The other solution is the 1/1 rhythm:
1 day of pure proteins followed by 1 day of vegetables + proteins. This alternating rhythm takes longer to get going, but in 20 days it will have caught up, and over the long term it is easier to follow and generates less frustration.
There is a third way, which is suitable if you only have a little weight to lose, the 2/7 rhythm:
2 days of pure proteins on Mondays and Thursdays and 5 days of proteins + vegetables during the rest of the week.
Finally, there is a variation on the 2/7 rhythm—the 2/0 rhythm:
2 days of pure proteins per week, on Mondays and Thursdays, followed by 5 days of no particular diet but avoiding any extremes. This is the diet that best suits some women with cellulite, who are slim on top but heavy around the hips and the thighs especially.
Some Additions for the Cruise Phase
Oat Bran
During the Cruise phase, the amount of oat bran you should eat is increased from the 1½ tablespoons per day of the Attack phase to 2 tablespoons per day, prepared in the same way as for the Attack phase.
Exercise
Similarly, the recommended exercise is increased from the 20-minute walk of the Attack phase to a 30-minute walk in the Cruise phase. If you are on a stagnation plateau, increase this to a 60-minute walk for 4 days, just until you break through this plateau.
How Much Weight Can You Expect to Lose?
If you are significantly overweight, by 40 pounds or more, the loss is difficult to predict week by week, but experience has shown that one can expect to lose around 2 pounds a week.
During the first half of the Cruise phase, when you can expect a weight loss of 3 to 4 pounds per week, you can potentially lose the first 20 pounds in approximately 2 months.
Beyond the first 2 months, the curve decreases progressively because of a metabolic defense mechanism that I will explain in further detail when we come to the Consolidation phase, the third stage of the program. The curve then flattens at just over 2 pounds per week before dipping below 2 pounds a week, with odd periods of stagnation for women with premenstrual syndrome or if there is any bingeing.
On this subject, you need to know that the body puts up little resistance to the loss of the first few pounds. It has a greater reaction when the plundering of its fat reserves becomes more threatening. In theory,this would be just the moment to step up your diet. But in practice, the very opposite often occurs. The strongest willpower sometimes weakens in the face of long-suppressed temptations, and invitations to eat out that were once declined are now accepted.
But the real threat comes from elsewhere. The loss of the first 20 pounds
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