Dukan diet Cruise Phase (Phase 2) week 9 – I’ve lost 32.0 pounds with no “plateaus”

by Marshall Brain

Here is my journey so far with the Dukan Diet:

And today I am reporting on my 9th week (days 60 through 67). This week I lost 2.6 pounds, for a total of 32.0 pounds since starting the Dukan Diet.

Day 60 –
– This morning on the scale I lost 0.6 pounds.
– Today I ate about a pound of chicken in curry sauce, a pound of tilapia, 6 ounces of round steak, 2 cups of cottage cheese and a big serving of chicken and stir fry vegetables.

Day 61 –
– This morning on the scale I lost 0.4 pounds. I weigh 197.8.
– Today I ate 6 ounces of round steak, a pound of chicken, 2 cups of cottage cheese, 3 eggs and a meal in a fancy restaurant. Fortunately it was a “Asian fusion” restaurant. So I had a small salad and something called Diablo Chicken, which was a chicken breast fried with a tempura batter, topped with chopped raw vegetables and a sweet sauce. I skipped the rice. I have no idea what the batter and frying and sauce did to the calorie count, but it was delicious.
– The kids and I went for a long walk tonight while Leigh played Tennis in her tennis league.

Day 62 –
– This morning on the scale my weight is unchanged. I still weigh 197.8.
– Today I ate a pound of chicken, a pound of tilapia, 2 cups of cottage cheese, and a big handful of cashews. OK, maybe two. But the good news is that the household is now free of cashews, because I ate them all and threw the container away. This should keep me away from nuts for awhile, and I have asked Leigh not to buy anymore.

Day 63 –
– On the scale I lost 0.8 pounds today. I weigh 197.0.
– In what is starting to look very much like a pattern, Leigh and I went to dinner at a friend’s house tonight and I ate too much. Here is how the day unfolded. Before going to the party the day was outstanding. I had 10 ounces of round steak, a pound of chicken, 2 cups of cottage cheese and a serving of asparagus. Then we went to dinner. The good news is that it was a very Dukan-friendly meal. They had smoked salmon (aka lox), Swedish meatballs, herring, and a very nice lettuce salad (It was the Swedish midsummer celebration if the menu didn’t clue you in). There was also some prosciutto and a huge platter of different breads. The bad news is that it all tasted so good. The meatballs in particular were heavenly (probably because they contained carbs now that I’ve looked them up) and I had 8 or 9. The lox was excellent, and there was a whole huge plate of it. And then for dessert there was cheesecake and strawberries. Amazingly, I completely abstained from the bread and had just one bite of Leigh’s cheesecake, but I did eat a lot of strawberries. Like maybe 2 cups. And strawberries are definitely not on the menu in phase 2, so that was definitely a transgression. They tasted like candy, even though they were simply cut-up fresh strawberries.
– Anyway, I now know the drill. When I go to a party it generally means that…

Day 64 –
– Today on the scale I gained 1.0 pounds. Yuck.
– So today I have tried to atone for my transgressions by being extremely good with food. Today I ate 2 turkey burger patties at a picnic, 2 cups of cottage cheese, 10 ounces of round steak, a handful of walnuts (bad), three eggs and a serving of asparagus. Even with the walnuts, I ate less than 1,500 calories today.
– Why am I eating walnuts? I was looking for something else in the pantry and came across a bag of walnuts. A couple days ago I speculated that nuts were a problem for me. I think that this revelation is coming into sharper focus…
– We also took a 3-mile family walk today.

Day 65 –
– Today on the scale I lost 1.0 pounds and I weigh 197.0 again.
– Today I ate 3 eggs, 6 ounces of round steak, half a pound of boiled chicken (Irena requested egg drop soup today, and I boiled some chicken to make broth for the base), half a pound of tilapia, 2 cups of cottage cheese, a handful of walnuts and a big serving of stir fry vegetables.
– Can I eat egg drop soup? The problem is the cornstarch (and I use more than in that recipe), which is pure carbs. I tasted it while cooking, but did not have a bowl of it.
– I rode 22 miles on my bike and walked 3 miles today with Leigh.
– All the exercise (or something else) helped my BP. It was down to 100/70 this evening.

Day 66 –
– This morning on the scale I lost 1.2 pounds. I weigh 195.8. Yay!
– BP this morning is 110/75.
– Today I ate 6 ounces of round steak, a pound of Tilapia, a handful of walnuts, 2 cups of cottage cheese, a serving of stir fry vegetables and chicken, and 3 eggs.

Day 67 –
– This morning on the scale I lost 0.2 pounds. I weigh 195.6. During the past week I have lost 2.6 pounds. I have lost 32.0 pounds since starting the Dukan diet.

In a post yesterday I mentioned that All the dire warnings I have gotten about the Dukan diet have turned out to be wrong. For example, many people have told me I would be so weak that I would be unable to exercise. I am not weak at all, and on Sunday I was able to ride my bike 22 miles and also walk 3 miles. Another example: In my nine weeks in Phase 2, I have not experienced any “plateaus” – the weight loss has been very consistent for nine straight weeks. As best I can tell, I have lost those 32.0 pounds without any negative side effects.

If I am going to get down to the target weight recommended by the Dukan diet web site I have about 10 pounds to go. If I am going to get down to the target weight recommended by the BMI scale, I have about 20 pounds to go. In my own personal history, anywhere in the 180s would be significant. The reason is because it’s been about 15 years since I last saw the 180s. In theory, in two or three weeks, I will be there. Onward!

[[Click here to find out what happened next…]]

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