Health & Fitness

Posts on Healthy Diets and Fitness

The Nutrient Color Palette

6 Healthy Nutrients for Better Health

In support of a healthy diet program, the interesting color palette infographic, below, illustrates the health benefits to be enjoyed from the consumption of six healthy nutrients.

Consuming the right ingredients and maintaining the right balance will not only help you to loose weight and improve general health.

It will also significantly enhance the body’s imune system and the capability to handle stress whilst improving stamina and endurance capacity.

(click on infographic for larger size)

health nutrients infographic

Infographic by courtesy of Love Infographics.

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Dukan Healthy Vegetarian Diet

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Can The Dukan Diet be Classified as a Vegetarian Diet?

Amongst the various healthy diets available globally today, the Dukan Diet stands out as a special one with an excellent track record.  An interesting aspect of this diet is that it achieves its results through high protein and low carbohydrate intake.

The Dukan Diet consists of the following four phases:

  • Attack
  • Weight loss
  • Stabilization
  • Cruise

(A full definition of the above phases can be found here).

Protein rich foods typically include different types of red and white meats and fish. This is fair and good for meat eaters but what about vegetarians? The fact of the matter is that we can just as well refer to this diet as a healthy vegetarian diet provided that we select appropriate substitutes for the meats.

The Dukan diet sounds ideal, as it does not rely on starvation tactics. It simply requires you to consume food with high protein content, low carbohydrates content and little or no fats. Nuts and beans, typically a source of protein for vegetarians, are not allowed. So, how then can a vegetarian create a diet menu consisting solely of protein only meals?

For meat eaters this poses no problem because they can derive their protein content from lean meat and fish.

Pescetarians (vegetarians who eat fish) will not have too much trouble adhering to the rules of the Dukan diet, as they will find enough protein in fish and shellfish. Meals consisting of various types of fish, smoked salmon, mussels, prawn, crab, etc. will provide a sufficient supply of protein as well as variety. Many pescetarians also eat animal products such as eggs and dairy. Smoked salmon and cottage cheese, a meal also enjoyed by many meat eaters, makes a perfect and delicious meal suitable for all the phases of the Dukan diet.

However, there are vegetarians (possibly the majority) who do not consume fish. Strict vegetarians do not eat animal flesh and this includes fish! This brings us to the question: Is it possible for these people to benefit from the Dukan Diet?

The answer is a definite “Yes!”

Tofu

Although the Dukan Diet book is not specifically aimed at vegetarians, tofu is included as one of the permitted ingredients. Tofu is one of the healthiest and most popular choices for vegetarians to substitute meat in programs such as the Dukan Diet.

Tofu is a pure vegetarian product, made by coagulating soybean and water. It is produced from the curdling of soymilk and then pressing the curd to arrive at the final product. Tofu is very high in protein and calcium content and very low in carbohydrates.

There are sufficient delicious tofu recipes that you can try to ensure that your Dukan Diet stays on track.

TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)

TVP is not mentioned in the Dukan Diet book, however it is a high protein food with a very low level of carbohydrates. Quorn, a mycoprotein like TVP, is also not mentioned in the book. However, this is another high protein food that is very low in carbohydrates. This vegetarian substitute is now available in many different variations. Some have higher carbohydrate levels than others, so vegetarians need to be alert when shopping.

Skimmed milk, low fat cottage cheese, fromage frais, and quark are all mentioned and permitted on the diet. These foods can be used liberally although with some restriction on egg yolks and milk.

The challenge for the strict vegetarian, who wishes to follow the Dukan Diet, is to compile a viable meat free menu. While it may not be possible to reduce carbohydrate to the levels demanded by Dr. Dukan, it is certainly possible to get close to the ideal.

There are a lot of different food items, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian that can be included in the diet. For vegetarians there are not too many options in the first phase of this diet. However, the second phase of the Dukan diet is concentrated on vegetables so, you can enjoy a healthy vegetarian diet with protein rich vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, French beans, mushrooms, pumpkin, spinach and tomatoes. The third phase involves the inclusion of certain fatty foods and the fourth phase is basically a maintenance phase.

So, apart from a little bit of fancy footwork during the first phase, we can comfortably classify this program as a healthy vegetarian diet.

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Dukan Diet Recipes

A Brief Overview of the Dukan Diet Recipes Book

The Dukan Diet plan is based on a unique four-step programme. Two steps to lose weight and two steps to maintain your target weight for good.

The diet was devised by Dr Pierre Dukan, a French medical doctor who has spent most of his career helping people to lose weight permanently. The diet became a word-of-mouth bestseller in France and has subsequently spread to more than twenty countries with the book translated into ten languages.

The Dukan Diet recipes are contained in a book, which is an essential guide for followers of the increasingly popular diet. The book makes it easier to persevere with the diet by adding variety to the diet through the over 350 recipes suitable for the four weight loss stages of the programme.

The book starts off with various meal ideas for the protein-only Attack stage and then moves on to many more recipes to keep you motivated during the Cruising stage, which allows you to add vegetables to your diet. The recipes enable you to eat well and enjoy it whilst still losing weight.

The book is packed with ways to spice up your meals and stave off repetition and boredom. Once your goal has been reached, there are recipes for mouth-watering sauces and dressings as well as a wide selection of delicious desserts.

Some of the more negative comments from purchasers of the book were as follows:

  • The variety of recipes, for starters and desserts, is not as comprehensive as for the main meals
  • Many of the recipes serve two, four or six, which requires a bit of arithmetic to produce a single portion
  • In some countries the cost of the ingredients might be exorbitant

However, most readers are very happy with their purchase of the book as the Dukan Diet recipes enable them to make their meals much more interesting as it provides a lot more variety.

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The Dukan Diet Menu

3

Menu for the Four Phases of the Dukan Diet Plan

Phase-1 (Attack)
(Note: If you are a vegetarian, we would suggest that, at this point, you go and see how to ensure that this progam also serves as a vegetarian diet)

Beef and veal

Ground beef, provided it contains less than 10% fat

Almost all cuts of steak except T-Bone.

Oil and butter are not allowed for frying. So, either grill or roast the meat in the oven or use a non-stick pan.

Meat can be cooked to taste. However, the more it is cooked the closer it gets to pure protein as it contains less grease.

Poultry

Plain or smoked turkey

Chicken (preferably the white meat). Try to avoid the darker meat and the skin from chicken roast.

No duck or goose.

Seafood

All fresh (not canned) seafood and fish (grilled, steamed or smoked)

Eggs

Pure white egg consumption is unlimited but limited to 3 or 4 per week if you retain the yolk.

Dairy products

Fat free milk, plain yogurt or cottage cheese.

Should plain yogurt not appeal to your palette, you could consider one fruit flavoured, fat and sugar free yogurt per day.

Fluids

Water is one of the most important ingredients of the Dukan Diet menu and you need to drink lots of it. Any mineral water is good. However, if your local authority supplies you with good quality tap water, there is no need to waste you money on bottled water and pollute the environment with plastic! Be careful with sparkling water as most of them have a high salt content.

Diet soda can be taken within reason.

Vinegar is quite acceptable for flavouring.

Condiments

Onions, garlic, herbs and most spices can be used to add character to some boring dishes.

Plain mustard and salt may be taken in reasonable quantities.

Sweeteners such as aspartame and splenda can be used if necessary.

Snacks

There are many sugar and fat free health bars available from your local supermarket and these can be taken in unlimited quantities.

Phase-2 (Weight Loss)

PP

(same as in Attack phase, above)

PL

Vegetables (raw or cooked) are as follows:
Tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, celery, radish, fennel, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and eggplant. All types of salad, even carrots, beetroot (in moderation) and artichokes (in small quantities)

Dressing

No oil, no fat and no sugar.

Cooking method

No butter, no oil. Either use cooking spray or boil the vegetables in water, with spices added to taste.

Starchy foods to be avoided for the duration of the Dukan Diet Plan are:
Potatoes, rice, corn, beans, peas, lentils and avocados

Phase-3 (Stabilization)

For this phase, the menu does not require you to alternate between PP and PL any longer as it is almost entirely based on the PL menu as described in phase-2. It also introduces some foods that were excluded from phases 1 and 2 but with the following restrictions:

2 slices per day of whole wheat bread.

1 serving per day of cheese (about 40g).

2 servings per week of starch food (pasta, couscous, lentils, rice, potatoes). Avoid cooking these with oil or butter.

2 servings per week of lamb, pork or ham.

1 serving per day of fruit excluding bananas, grapes, cherries and nuts.

2 fully unrestricted meals (not days) per week – no seconds!

The 2 meals have to be separated by at least 24 hours.

You are allowed to have a whole lunch or dinner, including wine and desert (all in moderation).

Stretch these meals as long as you can and enjoy them

And then, very important:

1 day per week of PP (as described in phase-1). Pick the same day every week and try to stick to it.

Phase-4 (Cruise)

Apart from the 3 tablespoons of oat bran every day, the Dukan Diet menu for this phase only requires you to follow the rules of Phase-1 for the one-day-a-week pure protein diet.

Buy the Dukan Diet book now at Amazon and start losing weight tomorrow

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The Dukan Diet Plan

5

The Four Phases of the Dukan Diet Plan

This outline of the Dukan Diet plan is not meant to be a substitute for the Dukan Diet book but it is intended to give you a very good understanding and background with regard to the concept behind this weight loss programme. It is however not recommended that you proceed with the diet purely based on this outline.  We would therefore strongly advise that you invest in the book in order to do justice to this healthy diet. The four phases of Dr Dukan’s diet plan are as follows:

1.        Attack

During this initial phase of the diet, the sudden weight loss can be quite astonishing whilst both rewarding and motivating. This phase is quite straightforward in terms of the choice of food to consume. It is critically important to stick to the menu and deviation is not an option. This phase is also known as PP (pure protein) as you are only allowed to have proteins. No physical exercising is required.

The duration of this phase is dictated by your objective but on average will be about 5 days. The general guideline is as follows: If your overall objective is to loose;

  • Up to 10 lbs, duration 2 days, with a weigh loss of 1 to 3 lbs during the phase
  • Between 10 and 20 lbs, duration 3 days with a weigh loss of 3 to 5 lbs during the phase
  • Between 20 and 40 lbs, duration 5 days with a weigh loss of 4 to 6 lbs during the phase
  • More than 40 lbs, duration 7 days+

It is not recommended that you extend this phase beyond 10 days. If you do, even larger quantities of water consumption would be required and it would be advisable to consult your GP.

One of the advantages of a protein diet is that the appetite tends to reduce after a few days and the craving for food subsides.

If you happen to be a vegetarian, you may want to, for this phase, take a detour to go and see how to ensure that this plan also serves as a vegetarian diet.

Menu

Beef and veal

Ground beef, provided it contains less than 10% fat

Almost all cuts of steak except T-Bone.

Oil and butter are not allowed for frying. So, either grill or roast the meat in the oven or use a non-stick pan.

Meat can be cooked to taste. However, the more it is cooked the closer it gets to pure protein as it contains less grease.

Poultry

Plain or smoked turkey

Chicken (preferably the white meat). Try to avoid the darker meat and the skin from chicken roast.

No duck or goose.

Seafood

All fresh (not canned) seafood and fish (grilled, steamed or smoked)

Eggs

Pure white egg consumption is unlimited but limited to 3 or 4 per week if you retain the yolk.

Dairy products

Fat free milk, plain yogurt or cottage cheese.

Should plain yogurt not appeal to your palette, you could consider one fruit flavoured, fat and sugar free yogurt per day.

Fluids

Water is of utmost importance and you need to drink lots of it. Any mineral water is good. However, if your local authority supplies you with good quality tap water, there is no need to waste you money on bottled water and pollute the environment with plastic! Be careful with sparkling water as most of them have a high salt content.

Diet soda can be taken within reason.

Vinegar is quite acceptable for flavouring.

Condiments

Onions, garlic, herbs and most spices can be used to add character to some boring dishes.

Plain mustard and salt may be taken in reasonable quantities.

Sweeteners such as aspartame and splenda can be used if necessary.

Snacks

There are many sugar and fat free health bars available from your local supermarket and these can be taken in unlimited quantities.

Rules

Eat whenever you are hungry

Eat only from the given menu

Always have food at hand to still the cravings

Have a couple of glasses of water with every meal

Reduce salt intake

Take some flaxseed (linseed) oil if the intestinal rhythm gets upset

Weigh yourself daily to monitor progress and sustain motivation

Constantly evaluate the appropriateness of the products that you eat

Consider taking a multi vitamin supplement should the phase be longer than 5 days

Do not

Skip any meals

Eat bread or cereals for breakfast

Use oil or butter

Add sugar or fruit to your fat free dairy products

Flavour meals with tomato sauce (ketchup)

Go to restaurants if it can be avoided

Exercise vigorously – a 20-minute walk will do

2.        Weight Loss

The second phase of the plan guides you to the targeted weight that you set yourself at the beginning of the diet. You can expect to loose 2 to 3 lbs per week on average while eating as much as you like. This phase comprises two alternating sub-phases that run continuously until your weight goal is reached.

The sub-phases are:
PL – Protein and vegetable (Legume)
PP – Pure Protein

As phase-1 was a pure protein phase, only the PP sub-phase was introduced. This phase introduces the PL sub-phase, which is required to round off the menu for this phase.

Although it is suggested that a duration of 5 days produces optimum results, there is no hard and fast rule as to the duration of each sub-phase. The duration can therefore be set to tie in with your weekly work schedule. Bear in mind that it is not convenient to go away on a trip “armed” with two sets of food.

As was the case in phase-1, there is again no restriction as to how much and how often you can eat. The only difference is that during the PL sub-phase, you can now mix and match vegetables and proteins as much as you like.

Menu

PP

(same as in Attack phase)

PL

Vegetables (raw or cooked) are as follows:
Tomatoes, cucumbers, leeks, celery, radish, fennel, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and eggplant. All types of salad, even carrots, beetroot (in moderation) and artichokes (in small quantities)

Dressing

No oil, no fat and no sugar.

Cooking method

No butter, no oil. Either use cooking spray or boil the vegetables in water, with spices added to taste.

Starchy foods to be avoided are:
Potatoes, rice, corn, beans, peas, lentils and avocados

Rules

Alternate consecutive days of PL with the same number of consecutive days of PP.

Eat whenever you are hungry

Eat only from the given menu

Order steamed vegetables when eating in a restaurant

Always have food at hand to still the cravings

Have a couple of glasses of water with every meal

Watch your salt intake

Take some flaxseed (linseed) oil if the intestinal rhythm gets upset

Weigh yourself daily to monitor progress and sustain motivation

Constantly evaluate the appropriateness of the products that you eat

Consider taking a multi vitamin supplement should the phase be longer than 5 days

Do not

Eat vegetables only, during the PL phase

Skip any meals

Eat bread or cereals for breakfast

Use oil or butter

Add sugar or fruit to your fat free dairy products

Flavour meals with tomato sauce (ketchup)

Go to restaurants if it can be avoided

3.        Stabilization

Well done! You have made it to phase-3 of the diet plan because you have reached your targeted weight. Now, please do not underestimate the importance of this phase as those hard earned lost pounds are at risk if you do not strictly follow the rules or complete the whole phase. The body needs to adapt to the new weight and it needs time to do so.

Before we look at the rules, we are going to use a formula to calculate the duration of the stabilization phase first. The formula is based on the premise that the body requires 4.5 days, per lb of weight lost, to recover. So, for example, if you lost 30 lbs, you will need to comply with the rules of the stabilization phase for 135 days.

30 x 4.5 = 135

Menu

This phase does not require you to alternate between PP and PL any longer as it is almost entirely based on the PL menu as described in phase-2. It also introduces some foods that were excluded from phases 1 and 2 but with the following restrictions:

2 slices per day of whole wheat bread.

1 serving per day of cheese (about 40g).

2 servings per week of starch food (pasta, couscous, lentils, rice, potatoes). Avoid cooking these with oil or butter.

2 servings per week of lamb, pork or ham.

1 serving per day of fruit excluding bananas, grapes, cherries and nuts.

2 fully unrestricted meals (not days) per week – no seconds!

The 2 meals have to be separated by at least 24 hours.

You are allowed to have a whole lunch or dinner, including wine and desert (all in moderation).

Stretch these meals as long as you can and enjoy them

And then, very important:

1 day per week of PP (as described in phase-1). Pick the same day every week and try to stick to it.

In tabular format:

Every

Day

 Protein: as per phase-1 menu
6 Days

A Week

 Vegetables: as per phase-2 menu

One serving of fruit, 2 slices of bread, one serving of cheese
Twice

A Week

 One serving of starch: Pasta, couscous, potatoes, lentils

One serving of lamb, pork or ham

One frugal meal with starter, main course, desert

Rules
Strictly comply with the calculated duration of the stabilization phase

Keep careful records of the weekly food intake in order to comply with the rules

Always have food at hand to still the cravings

Have a couple of glasses of water with every meal

Watch your salt intake

Take some flaxseed (linseed) oil if the intestinal rhythm gets upset

Weigh yourself daily to monitor progress and sustain motivation

Constantly evaluate the appropriateness of the products that you eat

Consider taking a multi vitamin supplement

Do not

Have second servings during your unrestricted meals.

Have your two unrestricted meals on the same day.

Skip any meals

Use excessive oil or butter for cooking

4.        Cruise

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Dukan Diet plan. These are your only long-term commitments to maintain your current weight forever:

1.                   One day per week of pure proteins.

2.                   Eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran every day. Mix it with food or water or, as Dr Pierre Dukan suggests, make a pancake with the bran mixed in.

Buy the Dukan Diet book now at Amazon and start losing weight tomorrow

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