Working on Dukan - My journal to a slimmer me.

[Dukanista]

Hi PJ,

I'm smiling at your blog, as I also do masses of reading up and research when I find something I'm interested in!

i started dukan about 16 months ago and it was the first time I'd ever stuck to a diet / eating plan in my life. The principles just make so much sense and it completely changes the way you look at food, and arms you with real knowledge about nutrition. Unfortunately I've had a hectic year with moving continents, relocating pets, changing jobs, buying a house, etc, with the result that some of the weight has crept on. But now I know exactly what to do, so I'm not worried about getting it off. I'm around 22 BMI which sounds good but I am short and have a small bone structure so find that BMI alone doesn't give an accurate picture. And the scales can show the same weight but my clothes will be tighter or looser depending on what type of exercise I'm doing. So go with how you feel instead of just looking at the numbers.

As for fibre, I've used wheatgrass powder in a glass of water (or mixed with soy milk or whey protein powder) since I started dukan, and never had constipation problems. And recently I've started using shirataki/konjac noodles, which are entirely soluble dietary fibre and can be used even in attack phase. And of course oat bran and wheat bran. I hadn't read about the 25g recommended fiber per day or really paid attention to soluble vs insoluble fiber before, but will keep a closer eye on it now!

Have a great weekend,

Cx

 

[Pjamber]

Dukanista - I definitely see how Dukan really educates a person about food! I find myself realizing how little good food people actually eat in an average meal. So many carbs and never enough protein - and WAY too much salt!
In some weird search that I did today, I found out that a tbsp of cinnamon has 4.1 grams of fiber in it! I always put a lot of cinnamon in my pancakes when I make them, and I think that's why I've never had a problem with constipation.
I need to get my hands on some shirataki noodles, though! What have you been doing with them? I've had them before at chinese restaurants, and they don't seem like they'd be good unless eaten with those kind of spices.

 

[Maintainer]

They smell rather fishy when they first come out of their soggy packet, so they need a good rinse, and they're then tasteless but will pick up any flavour you care to cook them with. I tend to throw them into a Dukan friendly quorn/mince bolognese sauce, but Dukanista is far more inventive!

 

[Dukanista]

Haha - invention is my middle name! But I did live in China for 14 years and had loads of practice substituting ingredients because I couldn't get many western foods. When you find yourself using fermented tofu as cheese spread, you know you've come full circle

Some people do complain about the taste of the noodles (starchy? Never heard fishy before!) but I honestly haven't noticed, and I tried about 4 different varieties last week!

I admit I have been adding spices like garlic, chilli and curry to most of my dishes so that could be the key, but it seems to work just as well with creamy sauce (try herby/garlicky cottage cheese with some chicken slices). I read somewhere that because they are basically water and fiber, they have no taste of their own and will soak up any flavor you put them in, so I tend to throw them into the dish as early as possible and let them cook together. And rinse very well before you use them, in warm water.

So far I've tried them with chicken, tuna, tofu, beef mince and quorn (the last 2 are in the freezer!) and all seem to work well. I saw a lovely recipe for paella in one of the threads that will be my next experiment.

I found them for about £1 a pack in Chinatown, and H&B has a few varieties too now. Fill yer boots!

 

[Pjamber]

Wow! Thanks ladies! I will be on the lookout for these noodles, soon. I, myself, just moved to a new large city, so I haven't figured out where a good Chinese shop is yet. But, I'll be looking!

 

[Dukanista]

You can get them online too, but I think it's more expensive.

2 masters degrees PJ? You must be mad!

 

[Pjamber]

Dukanista,
Some people move up, some people progress laterally. I'll be finished up by November with both of them, though! Things do get pretty crazy. I'm just working on my theses now, which is proving to be quite the pain. I'm just hoping to be finished soon so I can get a job and start making money instead of spending it. This diet has given me something else to focus on when I need a reprieve.
I've seen the noodles online, but because I live in such a large city - DC - I figure that I should be able to find some around here. I just need to head over to Chinatown and find a store.

 

[Dukanista]

Hehe - I know the feeling. I've been thinking about a phd for a few years now and just don't think it's going to happen

Yes, I'm sure you'll find them in DC. Where were you living before, btw?

 

[Pjamber]

Before I lived in the Midwest, in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. Quite a bit of a change from there to here!

 

[Maintainer]

Funnily enough, over here, I can't find them in Chinese speciality food stores, only Japanese ones! (And if you google "shirataki" and "fishy smell" you'll find I'm far from alone in smelling FISH! Perhaps they're a different variety?!!)
Isn't internet fabulous when you can be chatting to people from all different parts of the world with such interesting things to pass on

 

[Pjamber]

Maintainer - I'll make sure that if I can't find them in a Chinese store, that I look at the Japanese markets. And the internet is a great place! I enjoy meeting everyone on here and learning all this great information!

 

[Sander23]

Thanks for all of your support and the great nutritional info you've reported. What are your theses about?
I'm a native Seattleite who is now living in the Midwest - so I had to adjust from the big city to the rural life when we moved out here 3 years ago

 

[Pjamber]

Sander, where in the Midwest do you live? I feel like I read it somewhere in one of your posts, WI? Maybe I'm just making it all up.
My first thesis is for my English degree and it's about a science fiction/fantasy novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. I'm working on a made up device in the novel, shifgrethor and arguing that it is a theme in the novel. My second thesis will be a presentation basically of a science fiction magazine that I developed in grad school at ISU. So, that one will be quite easy. The first one is the bane of my existence. I've learned more about how much I don't know about lit theory with this thing.

On a fantastic note: I received my 12 boxes of oat bran in the mail today that I ordered off of Amazon.com! I'm now ready to start experimenting with all sorts of food stuffs! YAY! And it's my favorite brand of oat bran.

 

[Dukanista]

Wow, I'm a huge SFF fan and just read left hand of darkness a few months ago! Interesting topic.

Enjoy your oatbran. 12 boxes??!

 

[Pjamber]

DUDE! (Sorry, I was born in California and I never grew out of that word) You should tell me what you think of the novel and your thoughts on shifgrethor.

And, yes, 12 boxes! I really love this stuff and it's sooo cheap when you buy it online. It was $20 for 12 boxes, instead of about $3 for one. Totally worth it to store it.

 

[Maintainer]

Just two tablespoons (or three if you're stabilising) per day though, huh? Any more and it apparently can interfere with our absorption of necessary vitamins and minerals (and any medication we may be taking. I might be able to find you a link...
(here's the best I could find at short notice: Properties of oat bran)

 

[Emskylou]

Hi PJ just thought I'd pop over & say Hi!"

 

[Pjamber]

Maintainer- thanks for the info! I'll make sure to adhere to the recommended amount. I wanted to try various other ways to eat it. I really just like it in yogurt, but I figured that I'd try other things too.

Emskylou - Hi! I've been following you in your diary and you have made some great progress! I'm excited to see you slim down and into your new clothes! I've got a bunch of clothes that I'd like to get into too. I was super fit about three years ago - before I got married - and that's where I'd like to be again. I can't even get them over my thighs and definitely can't zip them up.

I did some fun weight lifting yesterday for my arms, shoulders, and pectoral muscles - I've lost like a whole cup size since I've started Dukan and I just don't feel quite so "perky" - and I can definitely feel it today. I just need to keep at it instead of just doing it one day and calling it good.

 

[Dukanista]

DUDE! (Sorry, I was born in California and I never grew out of that word) You should tell me what you think of the novel and your thoughts on shifgrethor.

Hmm, I'll have to think back. It was an interesting idea and I remember thinking it had a lot in common with the Chinese concept of 'face', but there were so many themes in the novel I didn't delve deeper into this one. Plus when you're reading a novel for pleasure rather than academic purposes, I guess you have a different approach. I did almost sign up for a MOOC on SFF interpretation recently, and this was one of the readings. So maybe I'll see when that's running again and sign up

 

[Sander23]

<Running off to reread The Left Hand of Darkness>
I am a huge SFF fan and voracious reader - I wish I had been brave enough to follow that path, but instead I went the safe route into Tech Writing (we have a lot of amateur SF writers in that field). We might need a new thread just for this topic