“There is no diet that will do what eating healthy does.
Skip the diet. Just eat healthy.”

Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, Whole 30…the list is endless!! In my quest to find my holy grail, being a diet that would make me eternally skinny, my first flirtation with the removal of all carbs from my meals was with the Dukan diet, promoted by a French doctor of the same name. It purports to allow you to live a “normal” life once you have attained your true weight, indulging twice a week with cheat meals but remaining permanently slim. Oh really!! Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it??

The diet has four stages:-

1. Attack phase – protein only period lasting up to a week (number of days dependent on number of kilos to lose) which is essentially just meat and eggs
2. Cruise phase – re-introducing vegetables every alternate day to your diet in order to attain your target weight
3. Consolidation phase – other foods are gradually re-introduced and two cheat meals are allowed per week. There is also a mandatory protein only day every week.
4. Stabilisation phase – which is for the rest of your life and requires one pure protein day weekly, 3 tablespoons of oat bran every day and daily exercise (incredibly only 20 minutes of walking and taking the stairs wherever possible).

Was it successful? Yes and no…I did initially lose the weight and entered the consolidation phase, where I then successfully followed a high protein/no dairy/no carbs Paleo diet for three years (“relaxing” on weekends and holidays but then losing any weight gain once I returned, by following these strict dieting guidelines). However, as I mentioned in my “In the Beginning” blog, to my shock when I returned from a holiday in Japan in late January last year, I found that cutting out all these different food groups made no difference to my weight and the 3 to 4 kilos I had gained wouldn’t budge this time!

Therefore, and this is another vital tip, this year I tried something different and re-introduced a small amount of “good” carbs in each meal ie sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa and dairy ie Greek yoghurt. This, in conjunction with reduced portion size, has predominantly been the main change in my food, that has led to my significant weight loss.

I am now certain, that as I exercise daily, my body needs a certain amount of carbs for energy and that a balanced diet in the right proportions is the key to successful weight loss. Furthermore, my cutting out carbs meant my body was not experiencing the highs and lows in my insulin production, which caused my body ie metabolism to “slow down” and hang on to the fat, as it produced cortisol to combat the stress associated with being in “starvation” mode. I truly believe the only type of food that should be completely cut out of your diet are highly processed and refined foods. I also have eliminated sugar (including fruit) out of my diet, apart from my two cheat meals per week where I do indulge in dessert and red wine.

I think the Dukan Diet was correct, in it’s assumption that once you have reached your target weight, it is possible to maintain it, with eating well 80% of the time. However, I do also think that portion size, plays a crucial role in keeping the weight off, as regardless of whatever anyone says, it still comes down to calories in and calories out (see my portion size blog) and must ideally be in conjunction with an exercise program that incorporates weight training (see my weights blog) to assist with maintaining and even speeding up your metabolism, which then allows you to burn more calories and lose weight.

I was at first apprehensive allowing carbs back into my life after 3 long years but the results speak for themselves and I must admit, as long as they are low GI ie “good” carbs and consumed in small quantities, they do play an important role in your diet. I have also revelled in the diversity in my now well balanced meals, the reduced cravings and associated mood swings plus the added bonus of far more energy to live my life.

So go on, give it a go and live dangerously…put a little carb in your life!!