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| February 2010 |
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| November 2010 |
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One of Juanita's nephews recently sent us the picture on the left taken at the Bush family mini reunion near Houston in February. I was shocked and appalled. We didn't start the Dukan diet until a couple of months after the picture was taken, but the effect of the diet is obvious in the picture at the right taken at the end of November showing Juanita at twenty pounds less and me at 65 pounds less than this spring.
Notice that Juanita can get her arm around more than just my arm!
Also check out the Vibram five finger shoes - really comfortable!
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Note: The Amazon.ca link for "The Dukan Diet" book is for the edition following the one we used. It is scheduled for release on April 19, 2011.
For web articles that go into details of allowed foods and results go here, here or here.
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50 pounds lost in 4 months !
Dr. Pierre Dukan is a French doctor who moved into practicing nutrition
30 years ago. His diet program has changed the shape of France or at
least the shape of millions of French people. I first heard of his diet
on Pierre Bourque's site with a
link to a news article and a link to a pre-publication offer for the
English edition of the book Dukan
Diet on Amazon.ca
A
little Googling
resulted in a number of sites which purported to describe the diet plan.
It sounded like a winner and I proceeded and about a week later ordered
the book. Could have saved myself some effort by starting with the
book. The sites missed a few things and I filled in the holes with some
assumptions that were not quite with the program. Even with the missteps
of the first two weeks this diet has taken me from obese to merely
overweight in short order.
As of July 14th, 2010 I have lost 36
pounds in 82 days eating as much as I wanted and not suffering from hunger at all during the process even though limited by the
menu of a construction camp during much of that time.
September Update - 50 pounds weight lost in 4 months - In late August I had lost 50 pounds at the four month mark. Since then have fluctuated a little above and below that level while doing some traveling and an Alaskan cruise. I'm about to get serious again starting on September 20th. Juanita achieved her target 20 pounds loss and is on the consolidation diet.
November Update - 65 pounds weight lost - I'm still on the cruise diet. The rate of weight loss has slowed and I am starting to consider whether I am willing to lose 10 more to equal my weight at age 23 or perhaps to shoot for 80 pounds loss, which would be lower than any body weight I have experienced since before age 18. The 80 pounds would represent 1/3 of my weight when this diet started this spring. Even now I am at an amazing 77 pounds less than my pre-retirement weight and my blood pressure is in the normal range. On the other hand, I am starting to understand an anorexic's body image issues - a 12 inch waist reduction seems not quite enough. "Maybe 2 inches more." "Just get rid of that bit of pudge left at the belt line." Juanita has kept her 20 pounds off and has the sense not to try for more.
But, back to the book. The book
outlines a four step program that starts with protein only and then, in
step two, adds vegetables on alternate days. Once you have achieved your
ideal weight (not from insurance tables, but based on your diet and
weight history), you are led through a process where you should be able
to keep the weight off for the rest of your life. 95% of those who do
the last two phases are reported to keep the weight off for good. Of
those who skip the last two steps only 50% succeed in life long weight
stabilization.
Disclaimer: - I am not a doctor. Don't try this
diet on my advice and without the advice of a doctor. However if you do
try the diet, read the book. You don't have to buy it through the link
above, you can borrow it from the library or steal from your room-mate's
bedside table. Well, maybe just borrow it for a while. You don't want
to have a fat room-mate do you?
In addition to laying out his
diet plan and its history Dr. Dukan offers tremendous insight into many
subtle habit changes you can make to stack the scale in your favour e.g.
a 25 degree C. / 75 degree F. shower for two minutes can burn as many
calories as a two mile walk.
The Dukan
Diet Program summarized (p.13)
The attack diet:
Pure Proteins
Average Length: five days
The cruise diet: 100 unlimited foods in alternation
Average length: three days for each pound you want to lose.
The consolidation diet
Average length: five days per pound lost
The stabilization diet
One pure protein day every Thursday for life
No more
lifts* and escalators
3 tablespoons of oat bran a day
* elevators (The book has been translated into UK English, but is
understandable to North American readers)
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