The scales are moving in the right direction - I weighed myself this morning and I have lost 1llb!

I was really worried that I was going to be one of those people who because of previous dieting would be immune to the Dukan diet after the initial loss. I need to remind myself to be proud of my achievement so far, I have lost 32llbs in 49 days! That by any standards is pretty fantastic.

I think at the start of the diet, because you can lose so much weight, you get a little spoiled and find it hard to adjust to losing 1 / 2llbs per week. But I need to remember that even 1 / 2llbs is a great loss per week.

The other day I found my weight loss record for when I was doing the Lighter Life diet (2004) and my weight loss was exactly the same! 31llbs in 42 days. Crazy when you think that doing Lighter Life you are only consuming powder sachets with minimal calories each day.

Note to self - Dont do another attack phase prematurely.........I saw a comment by Pierre Dukan on one of the forums and he said not to attempt another attack phase unless your weight loss has stalled for at least 10 days as it could put your body in panic mode and stop weight loss for longer.

Great information on all things Dukan.

I came across this site today and thought it was really good, Amber seems really well informed and keeps upto date with all the latest Dukan News / Forums.

http://thedukandietsite.com/

Dukan Forum

I've just been looking at the forums on the Dukan websites (UK / US). There are some really helpful hints.
I'm assuming the worst - my weight loss is stalling and may well be coming to a stand still! Im trying to collect information on the different ways to combat this. I may be over reacting but I'm trying to calm down and not panic!

1) Make sure you are doing the prescribed exercise (30 minute walk per day). Increase this to 60 minutes for 4 days of the week until weight loss starts again.
2) Make sure you are drinking enough 1.5 - 2 litres per day.
3) Make sure you are eating enough protein.
4) On the Protein & Veg days, veg should only amount to a third of your plate, 2/3 should be protein.
5) Dandelion tea / green tea can be a good way of getting rid of hidden water retention.
6) Cut out tolerated foods for 4 days.

I read an encouraging post on a forum:
Losing weight quickly means your body has to stop in its tracks for a short while in order to adjust to the weight loss process. Your body doesn't like to see its reserves melting and it takes it some time to adapt. Believe me, this stagnation occurs in every diet, especially when the weight loss is fast, but I assure you the weight will keep dropping at about 2 pounds a week now.

Weight Loss - Pure Protein (PP) Vs Protein & Veg (P&V)

This week I have only lost 1.5 llbs. I do alternate days PP / P&V. On the weeks where I do 4 P&V days I seem to lose less weight than when I am on a week with 4 PP days.
I may change things about slightly so that every week I do 3 days P&V and 4 days PP.

It's been a very stressful week & I've found it difficult not to turn to food as a comfort. I must admit that although I haven't cheated I probably ate too much veg, so note to self - WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES!

Great Recipe - Delicious!

http://charlottesdukandiet.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/recipe-taco-mince/

I also added some worcestershire sauce at the end, gave it bit more depth of flavour and covered up the cornflour taste.

Update 4th Dec 2011. I have just read that despite worcestershire sauce being used in recipes in the Dukan Diet books, it is technically not allowed due to its sugar content (same with chinese plum sauce). I however have eaten both of these things (in ignorance) and it hasn't hindered my weight loss at all. Not that I'm encouraging breaking the rules, I guess it can affect everyone differently.

Massive Inspiration!

Just reading this blog is enough to inspire confidence and a determination to succeed!

Take a look!

http://beatlekitten.blogspot.com/

Tip if you reach a Plateau in your weight loss.

I read this on another blog and thought I would give it a go when / if this happens to me.

My method is to eat protein only. I eat only lean turkey sandwich meat, chicken breasts, and tuna. I drink only water and diet drinks. Do that for as long as you can stand, and your body will go into ultra fat burning mode. Be forewarned however that during the first 4 days or so you may experience physical and mental lethargy so don't attempt this ultimate attack phase during an important or intense time in your life like a major presentation or job interview or something. After the 4th day though you will feel much better and your appetite will be naturally decreased. The weight will drop amazingly fast. Be wary of salt intake though. Through seasoning the lean protein you sometimes end up consuming more salt than you think. Drinking plenty of water will counter that efficiently.

Dukan True Weight - Day 42

According to my true weight calculation my True Weight is 180.84llbs. This is above where I would ideally like to be (161llbs) but maybe this is more realisitic for me. Dukan says that you have to be happy at whatever weight you reach and it has to be realistic in order for you to be able to maintain that weight. I suppose I'll just have to see how I feel when I get there. I have had a baby at my heaviest weight so I cant expect miracles.
Despite losing over 5llbs last week I feel quite down, so far in the diet I have been very positive and cheerful, but I'm struggling now, I always knew that my mental struggle would be harder than my physical one. Nagging doubts start to creep in - what if you lose all this weight and you're still not happy? What if you lose the weight and you look awful with lots of sagging skin? All your hard work will have been for nothing (and the thoughts go on and on!)
However I know that I won't stop doing the diet and I am confident that I can lose weight so that is something to cling to until I start to feel better again.

Please Ask.....

If anyone has any queries about the diet, what I've been eating, etc, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK.

Or if anyone wants to share their experience or recipe ideas that would be fantastic!
Look forward to hearing from you x

Cruise - Alternating Pure Protein / Protein & Vegetables.

I decided to follow the books advice and follow the 1PP/1P&V alternating method (1 day of pure proteins / 1 day of protein & veg). I have alot of weight to lose so Dukan recommends this method as there is less chance of you tiring of it and suffering from the side affects of PP days, i.e. constipation / bad breath.

I started the Cruise stage on 22.10.2011. Since then I have lost another 12 3/4 llbs taking my total loss to 26 1/4 llbs (weight 15.11.2011).

Attack

I did a 10 day attack phase and lost 13.5llbs.

My weight loss history.

I suppose if I was to try and pinpoint a place where my weight issues started it would be following a period of bullying in highschool by my closest friends. This for me was literally life changing.

Over the years I have tried a variety of diets from calorie counting ones to Atkins, Lighterlife, Lipotrim and Slimming World. I'm 5ft 7 and I've weighed anything from 135llbs to 288llbs.

My husband read about The Dukan Diet in one of the national newspapers, he thought we both should give it a go. Quite reluctantly I agreed, he ordered the diet book/recipe book and we started to clear out all our food cupboards. We got rid of everything that wasn't in the book. I haven't looked back since!

No-one will lose weight unless they want to and are ready to.
This is true of me - as much as I resisted the idea when my husband suggested it, in my heart I knew that I was ready to do something about my weight.

I began the diet on the 12.10.2011.

My first post.....

I'll make this note at the start of my blog - I'm not that great at using a computer so you'll have to bear with me!

I'm hoping to update my blog at least once a week but more often if I can.

After seeing the blogs of others detailing their Dukan Diet experiences I thought that I should do the same. I believe that it will help me get my thoughts together / keep motivated so I can succeed in my weight loss journey and if it helps others in a similar position that would be great.

My Start Weight - 281.5llbs. (WOW I can't believe how difficult that was for me to put in writing!)