The Dukan Diet - a closer look

Some of you may have seen the link I posted on my facebook or twitter pages recently to the comments I made on the Dukan diet that were published in Monday's Herald Sun.

No unfortunately they're not my abs..

I thought I would write about this diet in more detail to explain why the Dukan diet is NOT the same as a high protein & lower carb or low GI diet. It is these diets which have shown positive results including weight loss & the maintenance of weight loss. The Dukan diet may seem on the surface to be similar, but it isn't. It is still a restrictive diet and promotes unbalanced eating habits. Read on to find out more...

What is the Dukan diet?

The Dukan Diet is not just a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. It also requires you to exclude major food groups and it encourages poor eating habits. It starts you off on a protein only 'attack' phase, where it requires you to consume only lean meats, fish, eggs and low fat dairy. What this does is sends your body into a state where it starts breaking down its lean muscle mass to use as energy. Carbohydrates usually supply the body with energy but as these are eliminated from the diet, the body has no choice but to start attacking the muscles. And this is what you see on the scales. A reduction in muscle mass. You'll also find that you lose 'weight' due to fluid losses.

After the first phase, the diet becomes less restrictive. You are slowly allowed to introduce fruit (but only 1 piece a day), vegetables, and eventually even starchy vegetables like potatoes - shock horror yes you're allowed to eat carbs!! The final stage then makes out that you're back to your original eating plan, as it allows you to eat whatever you like, provided you stick to a couple of conditions. One is that you continue to exercise (this is a plus) and the other is that ONE DAY in EVERY WEEK you must go back to the original 'attack' phase and eat protein only foods for the entire day. This has to happen one day in every week of your life in order for the diet to work. So is it a healthy diet? No. One that cuts out most major food groups (even if it is for one day a week) could never be classed as a healthy diet.

Let's forget about diets

Whenever I hear of someone going on a diet, I always ask them whether they think they will be able to stick to this diet for the rest of their life. If the answer is no, then I ask them why they would choose to commence a restrictive diet that they can’t maintain.

Going on any diet means changing your normal eating habits to something that is unfamiliar and unnatural.

Ask yourself realistically if you are happy to restrict so many foods that you love.

Will it have an impact on my loved ones?

If you are considering a diet, it’s important to have a think about how this diet is going to affect the people around you. Children are very good at picking up habits from their parents and dietiting can be one of them. In order to teach your kids healthy habits you need to be a good role model yourself. And there's always social situations to think about and how easy it will be to maintain a such a strict diet when social events come up.

How dieting can mess with your mind...

Dieting can also mean entangling yourself in an emotional rollercoaster. One minute you may be feeling good and motivated as you’ve lost some weight, and the next you may feel down and miserable because you’ve regained the weight or can’t seem to lose any more.

The majority of diets do not work.

You’ll feel like a failure when in reality the diet has failed you.

Dietiting encourages unnecessary food restriction and negative associations with foods. Yet really there are no bad foods, it’s how much and how often you eat them that's important. I've plugged this book before but I will do it again. It's called Weight Loss for Food Lovers: Understanding our minds and why we sabotage our weight loss by Dr George Blair-West. It focuses on how you can create a positive relationship with food.

Nutrition info you need to know

Overall the Dukan Diet fails to provide a balanced eating plan. Here are some nutritional consequences that you should know about:

• Even in the final (and least restrictive) phase of the diet, you still won’t be getting the energy, fibre and antioxidants for one day every week. These are nutrients that your body can't afford to go a day without.
• Dr Dukan recommends taking a multivitamin supplement on the diet, but as we absorb vitamins and minerals better through our foods, taking a supplement is no replacement for a balanced diet. Nutrient deficiencies that could develop whilst on this diet include vitamin A, C, folate and B vitamins.
• Another side effect of the Dukan diet is constipation, as fruit and vegetable intake is restricted and you are only allowed to eat a certain amount of oat bran. To me, this is a clear signal that the diet is not good for your body.
• Eating large amounts of red and processed meats has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and some cancers.
• Eating a diet very high in protein is also not recommended as it can result in calcium being lost from your bones, meaning that you may be more likely to develop osteoporosis later in life.
• People on the Dukan diet may also consume more salt or sodium, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

But what if I have a wedding coming up and I want to lose weight quickly... it can't be that bad for you in the short term can it?

Yes it can, here's why:

1. Dieting stuffs up your metabolism.

Rapid weight loss such as what the Dukan diet encourages means that your metabolism is altered. When you diet, your metabolic rate crashes due to the loss of lean muscle mass. Instead of burning fat stores, your body clings to these tightly as a back up as it thinks it’s being starved. As soon as you return to your normal eating patterns, your body will create more fat stores just in case it goes into starvation mode again, meaning that you are likely to regain the weight and more.

So the end result is a loss in lean in muscle mass and a gain in fat stores. Maintaining your lean muscle mass is important as this is what helps to kick start your metabolism and burn body fat.

2. Other negative consequences...

Other than a reduced metabolic rate, rapid weight loss can also have a number of negative consequences including tiredness and fatigue, bad breath, headaches, nausea and vomiting, as well as the formation of gallstones and even gout.

My final message... and the SECRET to losing weight and keeping it off

The key to successful, long term weight loss is eating a wide variety of nutritious foods in the right portions. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, lean meats, beans, eggs and low fat dairy coupled with regular physical activity is the best solution to losing weight and keeping it off long term. It may take a little longer than you would like, but the difference is that you’ll keep it off. Cutting out major food groups, even for a day here and a day there, is a recipe for disaster, not just for your body but for your emotional wellbeing as well.

Remember there is no magic pill or quick fix when it comes to sustainable weight loss. An Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) can help you design a healthy eating plan that fits in with your daily lifestyle, without excluding the foods that you love. Find an APD on the DAA website at http://www.daa.asn.au/ or call 1800 812 942.

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