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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Diet?!…I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Diet!

Ah, the holidays!  There’s nothing like having to rush out to Dollar General 30 minutes before dusk on Halloween night only to discover that the only candy left is the “bad” kind because somehow all the Twix, Butterfingers, Hershey bars and Snickers have disappeared from the candy bowl at home (“and it was scarcely odd, because they’d eaten every one” – The Walrus & the Carpenter, Lewis Carroll)
Therefore, I have resolved the following:                                      
1.      Not to buy Halloween candy until October 30th;
2.      Walk at least 30 minutes a day; and
3.      Start back on The Dukan Diet. 
I love this cover! Makes me want to go to Paris

Yes, I was one of the millions of sheep, who bought the book after finding out Kate Middleton used the diet to lose weight before her wedding to Prince William in April, 2011.  [baaaaaa].  But, what is more surprising than me being a fad follower and royal watcher is that this diet actually works exactly like it says in the book!  I am living proof, I tell ya’. 
Here’s the catch, though, this is not a diet you can stop and start whenever you want. In order to have long-lasting effects, you have to follow through.  I started the first phase, “Attack,” in early May of this year, and got through it reasonably well with a loss of about 8 lbs.  Pretty good, but the best thing was the belly fat that I tend to accumulate was melting away! Then, I hit the “Cruise” phase and all hell broke loose! I just didn’t make an effort to remember to alternate days of pure protein and protein with vegetables. And, I missed fruit. And, it got hot and I couldn’t walk anymore because it was like walking on the surface of the sun. And, I have many other excuses, but none of them come close to the truth, which is that I just didn’t want to do it anymore.  But, I’m starting again so I pulled the book out and re-read it. 
Dr. Pierre Dukan, the diet developer and author of The Dukan Diet, gives easy to understand examples and directives as well as provides short chapter summaries. Because the diet is four phases:  Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Permanent Stabilization, the book’s format is easy to follow and especially easy to reference with recipes and menus located at the back of the book. 
I liked Dr. Dukan’s writing style and his ability to tell his story in a compelling way – the preface “A Decisive Encounter, or the Man Who Only Liked Meat” was one of the reasons I bought the book. Dr. Dukan presents complicated, and what has been so often contradictory information in a way that is organized, simplified and helpful. I liked that he presented his theory first and then gives general nutritional information in only about 20 pages, since some books [ahem..Atkins..cough] take FOREVER to actually get to the point – the diet!  Not only does Dukan present the diet quickly, but he also puts the most obvious questions and answers to them within the phase section.  If you just want a refresher, then you can check out the chapter summary breakdowns instead.   
A short book (263 pages) with easy to understand concepts and directions describing a way of losing weight that actually works! Pick up The Dukan Diet and it will persuade you to make a change. 

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