“Je ne sais pas maigrir” which translates to I Don’t Know How to Get Slimmer is a book that swept France off its feet. It has sold over 1.5 million copies and is a mainstay on the top 10 French Amazon website for three years.

This book isn’t only a big hit in France, it also sold 10 million copies worldwide and has been published in 32 countries and is sold in 14 languages.

So what is this book? And why is it such a big hit? This book, more popularly known as the Dukan Diet book is based on 20 years of research of Dr. Pierre Dukan. The diet proves that you can stay in shape and keep your body fit by going on a protein rich, low fat diet.

Dr. Pierre Dukan’s Theory

“You cannot lose your own fat by eating fat from other sources” – Dr. Pierre Dukan

The diet is based on a very simple theory which states that protein is good for you while fat and carbs are bad for you. Dr. Dukan points out some important points to prove that eating protein will help you lose weight.

 

  1. It takes longer for proteins to be broken down, so they stay longer in your stomach which helps prolong the feeling of fullness.
  2. Since proteins take longer to break down, the body has to exert more effort which results to more calories burned. The body burns up 30 calories for every 100 calories of protein consumed while it only takes 12 calories to burn 100 calories of fat and 7 calories to burn carbs.
  3. Unlike protein, fat has very little effect when it comes to reducing our appetite, and excess fat in the body can lead to unwanted health problems.

How does the diet work?

The Dukan Diet is composed of 4 phases:

Stages of the Atkins Diet

  1. The Attack Phase. This phase is the start of the diet in which you must consume low fat, protein rich foods.
  2. The Cruise Phase. When you reach this phase limited vegetables should be taken every other day only.
  3. The Consolidation Phase.This phase requires you to add more vegetable and consume it every day with fruit.
  4. The Stabilization Phase.The final phase of the diet and is important to keep all the weight off. When you reach this phase, you can eat normally but must sustain a wholesome protein diet once a week during Thursdays.

Follow this and omit any type of fizzy, fruity, and sugary drinks and you’ll lose all that weight in no time.