A diet that mimics traditional ways

A few weeks ago I found out about the Dukan diet. I decided I was going to give it a test run.

Since diabetes, heart disease and obesity run in my family, I figured 2012 would be a good time to kick off a healthy-eating and exercise plan to get rid of a few pesky pounds.

I ordered The Dukan Diet book and got to work.

The Dukan diet sounds like the ideal aboriginal diet -- something very close to what we traditionally ate -- lean meat, some veggies and lots of water. It also means daily exercise, like walking.

You are allowed low-fat dairy products, like yogurt, milk and cheese. You also need to eat oat bran and drink lots of water every day.

Of the four phases of the Dukan diet, it was the first phase that sounded the worst. It's called "the attack phase." For five days I could only eat lean protein and low-fat dairy. Would I make it?

Before I got started I figured out my ideal body weight with the help of the Dukan website. I was surprised to find out I didn't have just 10 pounds to lose, but almost 20.

My BMI -- or Body Mass Index -- measurement is less than ideal. I'm just over the border of average weight and into overweight territory. Lovely. Here I thought I was doing OK because I could fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans.

Well, the "attack" part of the diet wasn't as hard as I thought. Here's what happened.

Day 1: I had eggs and lean ham baked in the oven for breakfast, then a morning snack of oat bran cooked in the microwave, with milk and cinnamon. I drank coffee, lots of water, and ate a skinless chicken leg for lunch. I walked to Giant Tiger for exercise, and bought some frozen salmon on sale. Dinner was a few slices of roast beef. I wavered and smelled a loaf of bread, then put it back.

Day 2: At my morning weigh-in I find I've lost 2.4 pounds. Impressive, but I chalk it up to water weight loss since I ate Chinese takeout the day before I started the diet.

My meals were the same as Day 1, with the exception of dinner. I ate the salmon I bought. Delicious! I walked to an Asian grocery store and bought some Basa filets that were cheap. I drank lots of tea to keep hydrated.

Day 3: Weight loss -- 0.2 pounds. I had two slices of baked lean ham, coffee and a glass of milk for breakfast. For lunch I ate eggs and cottage cheese. I drank lots of water and tea, and snacked on more cottage cheese in the afternoon. I cooked Basa filets for dinner. I didn't do any walking because the weather was bad. I was amazed I didn't feel hungry, even though I wasn't eating a lot. You know that "my tummy is smiling" feeling? I have that all the time, and my carb cravings are gone.

Day 4: Weight loss -- 1.6 pounds. Breakfast was oat bran, and a slice of ham. I ate some cottage cheese and two cans of smoked herring for lunch. I snacked on eggs, and made homemade chicken fingers for dinner.

Day 5: Weight loss -- 0.2 pounds. I ate ham and oat bran for breakfast. My mid-morning snack was plain yogurt flavoured with vanilla and Stevia sweetener. I had eggs for lunch and herring as a snack. Dinner was a splurge. A friend brought over some moose meat so I cooked it with some onions and made a nice gravy-like sauce. Wow -- this is living! I weighed myself on Saturday morning and found out the total weight loss for the week was 3.8 pounds. There are no hunger pangs with this diet. I feel full after meals, as well as a physical lightness. So on to the next part of this diet.

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So here's what I learned.

The cost of this diet is something to consider. It costs more at first, but over the long term it evens out.

I keep costs down by eating lots of eggs, canned fish, frozen fish and, in-season, veggies. I bought lean meats on sale, frozen chicken breasts, chicken legs and thighs and took the skin off myself.

Imagine the savings if I could eat freshly caught fish or wild game every other day. This is where people who live in remote communities can really have an advantage.

Now I'm on the cruise portion of the diet until I reach my goal weight. That means I can eat all kinds of non-starchy veggies every other day.

This diet may sound boring, but if you like to cook, it's pretty great. I've even found a diet cheesecake recipe and figured out how to make healthy iced cappuccino.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. You might want to give it a try, but read the book and talk to your doctor about your plans first.

Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer.

colleen.simard@gmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 4, 2012 J6