Dukan for life (New beginning)

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orange_blossom

Full Member
I'm re-reading my Dukan Diet book and beginning again today. In the past, I was on Dukan long enough to lose 30 lbs. I was (am!) so carb-addicted that this was the only diet I could stay on for more than one day. But I was stupid and did not pay close attention to balance, nor to taking vitamin supplements. I got scurvy. :(

Now I have gained all 30 lbs back, plus more. In total, I have about 86 lbs to lose (6st 2lb). This time I will be much more careful about balancing nutrition and supplements.

I know that part of my problem previously was fear of succeeding at losing weight (long story, the basics are in my Intro post).

And so... Today is Day 1 of Attack Phase. :) Please wish me luck!

Does anyone know if a 12-14 day Attack is too long for this much weight to lose? With vitamins and lots of water, of course. Or should I kick it down to 10 or fewer days? I am in this for the long haul-- for life, actually, in every sense.
 
Hi Orange_blossom, First of all let me say welcome to the forum!
I have just read your intro post and have been in the same sort of relationship. Very violent and possesive man who controlled everything I did, so I am well aware of the feelings that ensue thro' such treatment over many years.
However..on to better things and well done in getting to grips with your demons and starting up your own diary too. I do hope that you will find the strength to continue on with your chosen diet regime and I am quite positive that you will find like minded participants to aid you as well.
I look forward to seeing your progress... :girlpower:

Onwards and Downwards!!
 
Orange blossom I haven't read your intro post yet but it sounds like it might be similar to my situation. Man complains loudly I'm fat and when he realises I'm losing weight he brings me home ice cream. WTF?
In any case do not do attack for that long! It won't help you lose faster. Have you gone on the website and had your calculations done? It seems the recommended attack phase is typically 5-7 days, and you'll lose the most weight in those first few days so it's more or less useless to keep on going with it. Just do the recommended number of days and hop right on into cruise, you'll enjoy the diet more that way!
Good luck on your second go-round, and scurvy sounds absolutely scary! Hope that's all well and behind you now :)
 
Hi CheeseGirl, thanks for the advice. I just went to the Dukan site and did the calculations. Looks like my True Weight is around 128, and Attack Phase should be around 4 days. Huh?! I thought 4 days was average for a 20 lb target loss, and that bigger goals required longer Attack. Also, part of my concern about a short attack is that my brain needs "re-programming" to detox off the carbs. Sort of like kicking a nicotine addiction. I'm afraid 4 days won't be quite enough and I'll be more likely to break the diet by starting Cruise a little too soon. The book says "When the goal is to lose over 40 pounds, when motivation is really intense, or when previous experience with other diets has always resulted in the lost weight being regained, this phase may last 7 days or even as long as 10 days."

Maybe I could split the difference and go with about 8 days -- still about 4-6 days shorter than I was thinking, but probably enough to get off the carb-go-round.

I feel your pain about having a nonsupportive mate/spouse. Yes, my ex husband would do exactly that too! Congratulations on 38+ lbs lost despite dealing with that! You're more than halfway to goal and I've no doubt you will achieve it. :) I would ask if you've talked to him about it, but having been there myself, realize that probably does no good or even makes things worse....

One of the things I'm so grateful for now is not having to deal with a diet-sabotaging spouse any more. I don't walk into my kitchen and find cakes and sweets have mysteriously appeared, or open the freezer and see several cartons of ice cream that weren't there before. Of course that also means there are no more excuses, either, and the only person who can sabotage me now is ME.
 
Yeah, careful because they seem to change the rules mid-game. Do your 8 days and then move on. What I've found is the body gets 'used to' the no carb regime and ultimately it slows your losses. Well you luckily seem out of the bad relationship - I just had a traumatic experience with my dog being attacked by a huge dog and I found out later from the bf that it's my fault for choosing to buy a flat in such a bad neighborhood. Gotta love that :)
You'll do well, the plan is a good one and it's really quite painless. I started to give up when the losses went to nothing and I think that after 5-6 months my body just quit responding. Maybe a few weeks off plan will help :)
 
I have the American version of the book. It's translated for "pounds" vs. "kilograms" or "stone" and all the food measurements/weights are adjusted for cups and teaspoons etc in recipes instead of weights or whatever you call them. It would be interesting to see if there are other differences as well, for the actual plan recommendations like phase length.

That's BS about you being blamed for your dog being attacked. I hope your pup is ok, or going to be ok. I have a couple of cats who would sulk and slash if I got a dog.

CheeseGirl, don't go off plan!! This plateau is your body trying to trick you into re-gaining the weight because that's easier to do than adjusting to your new set-point. If you're like most dieters, you've dieted over and over again. Aren't you tired of starting over again? Another failure, another new diet? Don't go there! So don't stop now. Please. Plateaus can stick around for a few weeks. Also keep in mind that it takes fewer calories to maintain lower body weight. I know Dukan isn't about counting calories. But honestly your BMR does go down as you get smaller, unless you burn more calories by being more active. So maybe adjust your intake quantities a little bit, and add even as little as 10 minutes more exercise than usual a few days a week. Hey, I'm counting on you to hang around here.
 
Orange, don't worry about the differences between the US and UK books, I think mainly the American book allows pork which is considered by some of the diehards to be a no-no (the original French version having no pork whatsoever). I myself have the UK version of the book (although I'm American) and I've been following that, so just stick to lean proteins and you'll be fine.
Pup seems to be fine but sad, hope it hasn't scarred her more than she already was!
I haven't given up yet, just not sure what to do now. I started last year at 251lbs, lost a bunch on cambridge but gained a lot back after quitting it, I've now lost that gained back weight and am wondering how to get on with these last 30 lbs. Dukan is great though, don't get me wrong. I give it credit for helping me lose these awful pounds as I now feel fantastic. :)
 
Maybe try Consolidation for a month, then go back to Attack for a few days, then Cruise again? At least then you will have a plan to guide you the whole time, rather than flounder about (no pun intended) which would make it too easy to go completely off the rails.
 
Yay me. Coming to the end of Attack Day 1, and haven't cheated once. Haven't really wanted to, either. Which is odd, and nothing short of a miracle. Maybe I finally really do have my head in the right place. I even remembered to take vitamin supplements!

Haven't weighed yet. Not sure whether to weigh daily or weekly. Or monthly. I know Dukan suggests to weigh daily, but being too dependent on numbers backfires on me sometimes.
 
Yes Emmaline it is, thank you! I cannot count how many days I woke up motivated and enthusiastic to start a new diet, and then completely and spectacularly blew it before bedtime. So even a single day is huge. I'm not completely done with today yet, but this time it feels like I really will do it.

And so will you, right!!
 
Orange honey when you think about it, this diet is so easy! Just make sure you have muffins and sf jelly made in case of a sweet tooth attack and what I found was ALWAYS have some protein food made up. It took me a few weeks to figure this out and so I went through a few days of hunger but once I got the hang of being prepared it was all smooth sailing. Incidently, if you haven't tried the mince flan from the recipe thread - make it today! It's awesome and it got me through some tough times :)
 
Muffins, really? Dukan muffins, if there is such a thing, or real ones? If they're normal muffins, do you find it difficult to get back on track? I think I might.

Mince flan sounds interesting, but I'm not sure what "mince" is. Is that mincemeat like the stuff in Christmas pies? Or just ground meat? Or something else? Whatever it is, I'd have to make it myself because mince is not the kind of thing easily found in American stores. :( But I like flan. And I like mincemeat pies. (Oh, who am I kidding. I like anything as long as it's edible!)
 
Orange, I'll switch to American for a while! Mince is just ground beef, you're allowed up to 10% fat but I know you can get even leaner at Kroger for example? I can only find the 10% here but if you can get the 3% or 5% that'd be better. Brown it and drain the liquid if you need to, add some chopped onion and a small thing of tomato paste (or only half if it's for a PV day). The original recipe is in the recipe thread and I think it contains cinnamon and a chili pepper (jalapeno might be nice), I also add seasoned salt and chili powder and whatever else sounds nice at the time. Once it's cooled a bit I add a tub of quark but since I've never known quark to be available in the US maybe you could try some ff sour cream? Or even just some ff greek yogurt. Then add an egg, mix it all up and bake for 20 or so minutes at around 350F. It's fab hot or cold and I've been known to eat the entire lot in a day!
 
Thanks, CG! I'm learning all sorts of new words here. Quark? thought that was either software or a piece of a hadron. Somewhere else here there were a lot of references to quorn? wtf? :confused: I felt like an idiot but had to ask. Thanks for the recipe idea and the translation. I found the flan in the Recipe thread, and with your translations got it figured out now. Jalapeno does sound fun in that mix. Peppers of all sorts are plentiful here.

Muffins sound good too. But think I will hold off on those until waaaayyyy down the line when I'm not so prone to going off the wagon. Think any sweet taste too soon would send me grazing uncontrollably.

What part of the US did you live in before moving out of country?
 
You're most welcome! I do miss the pepper variety, in my area there are only a few types of peppers and I mostly miss stuff like Anaheim chiles and the like. Don't worry about quorn, it's a veggie meat alternative (maybe something like gardenburgers, but actually probably not, can't really comment as I don't know it) only available in certain areas of the world. It's not available here but frankly I much prefer meat anyway :)

Now I have to sound like an idiot - hadron? Isn't that something like the big Swiss Cern particle thingy? Wow, I am truly an idiot!

Don't worry about the muffins, they kept me sane the entire time and I highly recommend them. Kind of bready and sweet at the same time (although you can make them savoury), they take only minutes to make and in my opinion will actually keep you from the bingeing.

I'm from the Denver area :)
 
Jeez, it just came to me - the particle accelerator that will one day blow up a good portion of the Western or actually Eastern hemisphere :) Denver's a great city, lots to do year-round and the views of the Rockies - just fabulous.

And I guess I see your point about a tub of any food :) I like it though!
 
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