Weight Loss for a Life Change

The first day of a new year is the best time to renew one’s commitment to healthy living with weight loss. You’ve spent the past year focused on working toward your family’s success, or your career success and you’ve gotten busy or distracted from that goal. This could mean you put yourself last on the priority list or not even at all. As a result, you’ve been noticing that you’re in the department store again looking for a larger size pants, tops, dresses, or work clothes that camouflage as much as possible. Often times throughout the past year, you thought to yourself “so what I’ve put on a few pounds.” You may step on the scale to find out that the number you get, combined with your waist measurement, age, and height equal a BMI number (Body Mass Index) that you and your doctors are very disappointed with. So you’ve been trying, since the start of the holiday season to watch what you eat and exercise harder to sweat harder and ache more than you ever have before.

During the early stages of your DIY weight loss process, your skin and hair looks healthier from improved circulation, but the layers of fat on your abdomen, hips, buttocks, and legs are sometimes still there. So you still aren’t satisfied. On one hand, your doctors are noticing improvements in your blood pressure and cholesterol, but you want to look good too. On the other hand, the amount of time that the weight has stayed on has taken its toll on your respiratory ability to handle the work outs every single day. The workouts begin to take their toll on your joints and muscles. This doesn’t mean that your muscles won’t adjust to the workouts with time and efficient effort, but you do have to be careful with your aging joints. So you see this as the perfect opportunity to call upon the efforts and expertise of a weight loss professional at a medical or holistic facility to help you get on the right track in a careful and successful way.

One of the first pieces of information that you will receive will include the fact that effective weight loss for stubborn bodies is achieved by a multifaceted approach. There are several physical internal and external options that accompany therapeutic methods to help curb the behaviors that caused the food mistakes or unhealthy relationship with dieting. Therefore, practicing doctors, licensed dieticians and educated therapists treat patients with their wealth of experience, trail, and practice to create an individualized plan for each patient based on their methodology. They align the practice that will help each man or woman overcome their past hurdles. They work with each patient over several months or an entire year to find the right combination of treatment with medication, exercise routines, nutrition options and therapy supplementation to enact the behavioral change that each person would like to see. The development of healthy habits is critical to weight loss success. It will be those habits that keep the new body throughout the New Year and for the rest of your life.

Diets And Weight Loss Secrets – 3 Reasons Why Your Weight Loss Diet Is Not Working

Do you know diets and weight loss secrets that can really make you lose weight fast? You are really serious about losing weight fast, and it seems like ages now since you embraced your weight loss diet. But it’s not yielding any significant result, and you now find yourself on the brink of frustration. If this is really the case, it is time you sat back and investigated the reasons behind your poor results. Chances are that some of these bad habits have sneaked in and are disrupting your weight loss efforts.

1. Diet Traps

I won’t be surprised if you have fallen for one of these, considering the number of weight loss myths going about without knowing diets and weight loss secrets. One of the most common commercial tactics to appeal to dieters is manufacturing fat-free foods. You will see it on cookie boxes, jars of dressings and jams, and even ice-creams. What you need to realize is that losing weight fast does not involve cutting fat from your diet. What you need, instead, is to cut calories. However, to compensate for the lack of taste, when the fat is omitted, manufacturers load their products with flavored syrups, sugar, salt or starch. So, what you get at the end of the day is empty calories, which is counter-productive to your weight loss efforts.

Another diets and weight loss secrets you should know is that there are other common ‘weight loss’ food categories that people tend to fall for are flavored, fat-free yogurt and fruit juices. Both these may involve high quantities of added sugars, which end up packing you with calories, without making you feel full or satisfied. While 100% fruit juices are a lot healthier, they too contain none of the fiber of whole fruit, and therefore can’t make you feel satisfied. If you want to make a low-fat yogurt a part of your weight loss diet, get one which is also low in added sugar and calories.

2. Eating For Reasons Other Than Hunger

We all do this every now and then, some more than others. The problem is that if you get caught in the ‘comfort food’ trap every time you are feeling stressed or are dealing with loneliness or emotional pressure, it won’t do your weight loss efforts any favors, and you will only end up compounding your guilt. Of course, no one picks up a light salad when they are stressed! Try something different the next time you are really stressed, rather that rushing to your favorite hamburger joint or ice-cream parlor. Exercise is a far more productive way of relieving stress. You don’t have to pump iron in a gym. Simply go out for a walk to a nice place, do yoga, or even a little bit of meditation will help.

3. A Large Dinner

So you stay committed to a strict diet all day long, and anxious to avoid junk snacks and meals, you end up eating a meal or two less during your busy day. The inevitable consequence: a large dinner. However, night-time is the worst time to pack in the calories, and it can completely destroy your weight loss efforts. It is when your body is preparing to sleep and the last thing it needs is excess food. Also, a large dinner can affect the quality of your sleep negatively, and if your body is not well rested, your metabolism slows down. If you are serious about losing weight fast, you should eat frequently during the day (at least 4-5 times) and have a light dinner.

If you can avoid these common pitfalls by understanding diets and weight loss secrets, there is no reason why your weight loss diet won’t be a great success.

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Weight Loss Option Number One – Burning Calories In Food

What You Gain By Burning Calories In FoodFortunately, weight loss candidates are now exploring age-old realities about the human body, with its unique and specialized talent for positively adapting to and FLOURISHING in its surrounding diet / health / fitness / nutrition and weight management atmosphere. To encourage you to complete this comprehensive objective, your body recruits its greatest weight loss selection. It chooses burning calories in food you eat. This procedure involves allowing, processing, plus exploiting your calories consumed.Here, essential truths will reveal for you that, in order to shed unwanted body fat, you have only one proper solution. But, in regards to HOW you wish to achieve that goal, there are countless choices you might select.For example, in popular weight loss culture, thousands of people are employing the use of various diet-dipper, cholesterol-clipper, metabolite-mediator, carbohydrate-cutter, trim-topper, muscle-magic, pro-powder, slim-shaker, or “butt-breaker” style of body fat aid. But, ultimately you can only accomplish one meaningful event – and that is, to transform unused calories into usable energy, burning calories in food you consume.Want to see another display of how the fundamental fat-loss process really works? Essentially, these basic facts regarding “burning calories in food” describe uniquely positive plus potentially explosive advantages you can utilize.For instance, even when you elect to dance, run, cycle, swim, walk, spin, jump, climb, remain still, or just “vibrate in place,”… your body merely accomplishes one meaningful goal. When these things happen, you simply fulfill the objective of burning calories in food that exists within your digestive tract.Crucial Challenge for Burning Calories in FoodConsider sleeping, for example, as minute amounts of calories experience minor transformation (for males, it is about 1,700; and for females that amount is around 1,200 calorie). Suffice it to say that there is a primary focal point for you to continuously consider.The common objective is to smartly institute the mission of burning calories in food. For example, in our global weight loss society, even the most astounding instructional guidebooks online (like the fat-loss-for-idiots styled intellectual programs) still utilize calorie-shifting methods in burning enough calories for you to see weight loss results.Therefore, when you think of it from this point forward, you may want to adopt this beneficial suggestion: although it may be intellectually challenging to accomplish, do your best to accept this challenge – think of overweight issues from a wholly “refreshed” viewpoint. And, in case you are wondering, “How can I benefit from doing this,” here is a reliable reason: You may feel confident about adopting this exceptional and highly useful “fat-loss imagery” technique because the data you are now studying comes to you from a distinctively knowledgeable university graduate with a background that covers immense, approved fitness production plus successful hands-on expertise in showing everyday people how to achieve maximized and optimal diet related results.It is likely that you are quite serious about reducing unwanted fat and burning calories in food. And, we therefore encourage you to go forward without hesitation in visualizing weight loss ideas accordingly with terms like calorie transformation, calorie function, calorie processing, calorie expenditure, calorie comprehension, calorie control, calorie balancing, calorie aggregation, and calorie assimilation.Can you guess which two of these terms are the most essential ones? The answer would be calorie comprehension and calorie transformation. Why does this ring true? Because, continuously burning calories in food ultimately requires that you clearly comprehend why and how transform.Your Benefits From Burning Calories In FoodThousands of weight loss prospects get stranded by the wayside while “testing” the newest gadget or informational hearsay, but there is a tried and true way that you can easily avoid going down the tubes – plus, experience weight loss triumph, instead. One look around you can probably show that dietary supplements are failing masses of people; improperly performed exercises are quickly falling short of their intended benefits; plus, informational materials that lack journalistic truth are leading countless weight loss candidates toward wild goose chases that provide little more than emotional and physical dissonance.Such outcomes are occurring predominantly because human beings often learn the “correct” fat loss methods in a very roundabout manner. The direct road can show you that weight loss achievement comes by way of unfailing and long-lasting principles that you can depend upon, such as burning calories in foods you ingest.

How to manage Bland Diet

What is a bland diet? It is a diet specially set to treat certain gastrointestinal or stomach problems such as heartburns, ulcers and gas.

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An answer to a question, what is a bland diet, is that it is a simple treatment for people suffering from any one or more gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic gastritis, ulcer, esophagitis and dyspepsia.

Bland diet is a dietary regimen for people suffering from stomach disorders. Hence, it is quite understood that ingredients of a bland diet are soft food items, which are easy to digest with a capacity to keep the acidity to low levels. Questions about diet may be asked to your physicians and he/she can suggest the diet or recommend a dietician to do it.

Diet medical questions may include the queries about the food stuffs to eat and food stuffs to avoid during the time while a person experien ces any gastrointestinal disorders. However, before a dietician could decide the bland diet for a person, he/she needs to seek answers to several medical questions related to the person such as any food allergies or irritations associated with any food items and emotions medical questions of people.

Bland Diet:

The diet prescribed as a bland diet will include food items that are easy to digest and low in fiber and acid contents. Even giving up alcohol and smoking is advised while patient is on bland diet. Also a patient is advised to have 4 to 6 light meals after regular interval to avoid heavy and large meals.

Chewing food properly and eating slowly helps in the digestion of the food. Adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and controlling anxiety are supportive treatments for the standard treatment of the problem.

Allowed Food Items:

• Dairy Products
Milk, cheese, yogurt with low-fats and other dairy products are easily digested and hence, can be included as a part of bland diet. However, there is no restriction on ice-creams and one may consume even ice creams during bland diet, but it should not have any product such as nuts that are not allowed in bland diet.

• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables and fruits are allowed to a bland dieter. However, while carrot, squash, green peas are good to eat in a bland diet, broccoli, onions and green peeper should be avoided as it forms gas. In fruits, oranges, grapefruits, and bananas are allowed.

• Proteins
Protein requirement of the body, while on a bland diet should be met with soy products and meat. Fried chicken and greasy hamburgers are not allowed to be consumed, while grilled and baked chicken is allowed.
Low-fat peanut butter and eggs are also efficient to meet the body’s protein requirement in a bland diet.

• Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are contained in whole grain breads, pasta, oatmeal, corn flakes, white rice and sweet potatoes. All these food items are allowed.

Bland diet is designed for treating certain medical circumstances such as gastrointestinal problems. Hence, to answer what is a bland diet, we can say that this is a diet that aims at improving the digestion with the help of a timed-routine diet and soft to digest food items. Once the problem is controlled patients can return to their normal diet.

A Quick Look at Some of Today’s Most Effective Diets

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

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The Idiot-Proof Diet

The idiot-proof diet is all about calorie shifting. That is, in this diet, you shift your food intake throughout the day instead of eating just 3 meals a day. The diet is popular because it’s actually very easy to follow and there are hardly any restrictions when it comes to the types of food you can eat.

The ‘calorie shifting’ model takes place because you eat every two and half hours. The theory is that because your body is consuming calories (energy) constantly throughout the day, it’s always in ‘burning calories’ mode instead of the ‘saving calories’ mode.

When you sign up for the diet, you get access to a diet handbook, an 11-day diet-plan and a diet calculator. You get to pick what foods you like to eat so don’t think that you’ll be tarving in this diet!

NutriSystem

The NutriSystem way of dieting is all about proper meal planning. People love this diet because it takes away the burden of trying to figure out what to eat during their dieting phase. You see, a lot of people actually get confused as to what they can eat when they want to lose weight. That’s not really surprising because there’s so much information out there and for every yay sayer, there is a nay sayer so it’s really tough to know what to eat.

However, with NurtiSystem, they do all the meal planning and portion controlling for you. You just need to sign up to any of their diet programs (e.g., Women’s Program, Men’s Program, Vegetarian Program, etc.) and order a multi-day (usually for 28 days) diet program.

After you choose your diet program, a menu is presented to you and you simply choose what you want to eat. The meals are then delivered to your doorstep at various intervals during your diet program.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet is popular because the name alone conjures bikini-clad bodies! Add to that the fact that it was founded by a cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston, then you have a sort of ‘doctor recommended, doctor approved’ seal on the diet as well.

At first glance, the South Beach Diet looks a lot like the Atkins Diet in the sense that it restricts carbohydrates during the initial phase of the program (there are 3 phases). The first phase (14 days) encourages ‘normal eating’ in the sense that you can pretty much eat whatever you want but you must NOT eat bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. Fruit is also not allowed. No sugar. No alcohol.

The second phase allows you to SLOWLY introduce these items back into your diet but at lesser levels that you consumed them before of course. The third phase is more about general maintenance.

Weight Watchers

Probably one of the longest running diet programs out there is Weight Watchers. It believes in the overall approach where food, exercise, behavior and support are addressed.

Weight Watchers is known for advocating a point system for foods. Using this system, one calculates the calorie intake of the foods he or she eats. The number of points you can have in a day varies depending on your weight. The beauty of the program is that there are no gut-wrenching food restrictions so you never feel deprived of anything. However, the point system teaches you how to balance your meals so that even if you indulge on one food item, you don’t go overboard and consume too much in a day.

Get Slim With Atkins Diet Plan

The Atkins’ diet has been a craze for a couple of decades. Here’s how you can gain from it.

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All of you who are reading this article right now have definitely been on a diet at some point or the other of your lives. The battle of the bulge is an ongoing problem and we are always on the lookout for various means to win this war.

Along with exercise, our diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing our weight. Hence, this obsession persists in all of us to undertake some form of dieting. But going on a diet is definitely not an easy thing. What to eat and what to stay away from is always a perennial problem.

One of my friends told me that she ate the normal menu which she cooked for the family, but her weight loss recipe is “portion control.” This is a really simple diet plan. In this plan, you cut down on the portion of food you consume. For example, if you usually have two pieces of toast for breakfast, you should eat only one piece. If you normally eat two cups of rice for lunch, cut it down to one cup. In this way, you are automatically reducing your calorie intake by half.

Another popular method of dieting is to stop all intake of fatty foods and sugar. In this diet, you cut down on your oil, butter and ghee intake which automatically reduces your fat deposits.

While I was leafing through a magazine, I read about one of our Hollywood celebrities following the Atkins’ diet. This immediately aroused my curiosity about the diet. Though I have heard about the diet many times, I had no inside knowledge about it. So, I immediately set to work on it and found out certain basic facts’ about the Atkins diet which I want to share with my readers.

The Atkins’ diet made its first appearance in 1972 and was invented by its namesake, Dr Atkins. According to him, this method enables us to lose weight by inducing a change in metabolism. Our body burns both fat and carbohydrates to provide energy. If we reduce the intake of carbohydrates significantly, our body starts burning only fat to provide energy. This method is called “lipolysis”, which in turn induces ketosis. In ketosis, our body burns fat as fuel. Atkins also felt that ketosis will affect insulin production which will result in less fat being formed. And, once your body enters ketosis, your cravings for carbohydrates will reduce significantly which, in turn, will reduce your body weight.

The major difference between Atkins’ diet and other types of diet is that, while most diets restrict calorie, intake, the Atkins’ plan encourages us to eat more. While most of the diets recommend low fat, high carbohydrate intake, Atkins’ does just the opposite. Instead of carbohydrate and sugar, this diet wants us to consume plenty of fat and protein.

The core principle of the Atkins’ diet is that, by limiting carbohydrates, our body is forced to burn its stored fat, rather than carbs for fuel.

The Atkins’ diet has a four carbohydrates stage plan induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and lifetime maintenance. With the help of these four stages, you can reduce as well as maintain your weight throughout your life.

Induction – phase 1: This phase lasts for two weeks, by the end of which you can obtain significant results. Another point is that, in this diet plan you can begin at any of the phase. But it is recommended to start with induction. As you cut back on your carbohydrates significantly in this phase, you will jump start your weight loss programme. In this phase, only 20 gm of carbohydrates are allowed and hence your weight loss is significant. As you drastically cut down on carbohydrates your body shifts into high gear and starts burning fat. This takes about 48 hours to occur and you may feel hungry and irritated for the first three-four days. But don’t worry, as soon as your fat starts getting converted to fuel, you will feel fit as a fiddle. Induction will strengthen your immune system and also improve our long-term health.

Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase 2: In this phase, the weight loss pace slows down as you add nutrient-rich carbohydrates to your diet. During this period, you will boost your body’s ability to burn fats as well as understand your body better. You will find the right amount of carbohydrates which you can consume and still lose weight. Your body will also prepare itself for permanent weight management. The amount of carbohydrates which you can eat is increased to 25 gm per day for the first week and increased in five gm instalment for the next few weeks. If your weight loss is significant, you can increase your carbohydrate intake. A person has to be on OWL till he or she is within three-five kg of their goal weight.

Pre-maintenance – (phase 3): Pre-maintenance is a practice run for lifetime maintenance. In this phase, you are fast approaching your target. As long as you continue to lose weight, you can increase your weekly allotment of carbohydrates by another 10 gm. You will be in this phase till you reach your goal and stay on it for one month. The ultimate goal here is to achieve a state of balance called Atkins’ Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE). The ACE is your individual level of carbohydrate intake wherein you neither gain nor lose weight.

Lifetime maintenance phase 4: In this phase, you have to focus on your individual ACE and strive to stay within two kg of your ideal weight for the rest of your life. By following a sensible eating plan, you gain energy, better health and confidence in yourself.

By following these four phases, you not only achieve your dream weight but are also able to maintain it throughout your life. You can learn more about this diet by reading the book, Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. But, as with any other diet, this plan also has its pros and cons. The good point is that this diet recommends exercise as a vital part of the weight loss programme. Another point to be noted is that you cannot start on carbohydrates after you lose weight as this will result in your gaining back all that you have lost.

Medical experts advise that people who have gout, kidney problems, diabetes or are pregnant women should not follow this diet plan. As this diet is very stringent, do consult your doctor/dietician for proper advice.

Your dietician will provide you with a proper menu chart as to what should be eaten, in what quantities, etc, based on your eating habits and general lifestyle.

Happy dieting and hoping to see slimmer and fitter readers.

5 Diet Plan Saving Tips !

Guilty and frustrated from cheating on your diet plan? These diet plan saving tips will keep you on track!

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It’s nine thirty at night and you have followed your new diet plan perfectly to a tee all day. A pizza advertisement comes on the commercial break of your favorite show and you notice it is close to your next mealtime.
Up to the kitchen you go to eat your next meal. When in the fridge pulling out your nicelyprepared diet plan meal, you notice some left over Fettuccini Alfredo your wife or roommate brought home. Sure looks good you think as you catch a little bit of saliva about to drip on your shirt!

“Just a little taste won’t hurt my diet plan,” you justify…

“ I’ve stuck to my diet plan all day……”

A little taste and before you know it you tell yourself the extra carbs and calories will be a good boost to your workout tomorrow!

An hour later your gut is stretching and Indigestion plagues you from cheating on your diet plan!!

“I should have stuck to my diet plan!” is going through your head as you lay down to have nightmares of a fat ass! “Tomorrow I’ll stick to my diet plan “, you chant in your head!But you fall from your diet plan only a day or two later!

The occasional stray from your diet plan can really add up!And billboards,tv’s, radios and people are everywhere pushing fast foods and junk to sabotage your diet plan!

Here are five diet plan saving tips to arm yourself against the onslaught of the Cheating War!

Diet Plan Tip #1 – Eat Slowly – Take your time when you sit down to eat.

The chances you will stuff yourself or overeat diminish and you will reach the point of satiety much more quickly if you eat slowly!

The more you are satisfied with what you have eaten the less likely you will continue to think of food. That chocolate Black Forest cake won’t be as tempting either!

Diet Plan Tip #2 – Have Delicious Meals That Fit Your Meal Plan Prepared Ahead Of Time.

Having meals prepared ahead of time makes it convenient to eat according to a plan and on schedule.

You can make it more convenient to stick to your diet plan than it is to eat that bag of candy by having your diet plan meals prepared and available when it is time to eat– and when you gethungry.

Diet Plan Tip #3 – Get Used To Eating For Your Purpose Instead Of For Your Taste Buds.

Satisfying your taste buds when you get the urge to gorge down a Big Mac will never develop a healthy, lean, muscular physique! Keep in mind you are eating to develop a lean, healthy muscular physique every time you open your mouth! The temporary taste satisfaction of a jelly-filled donut will be gone real fast but the empty calories you just devoured can defeat a whole day’s worth of bodybuilding effort!

Diet Plan Tip #4 – Be creative with your cooking to make sticking to your diet enjoyable.

Ideally, with proper preparation and some reciperesearch you can create delicious mouth watering meals that meet your diet plan criteria. Learn to cook. Employ spices from other parts of the world. India and China are twocountries with interesting choices to really spice up your diet plan. When you don’t have to force feed yourself with your nose plugged the chances are much higher you can stick to your diet plan more easily!

Diet Plan Tip #5 – Drink Water.

Drinking water between meals can help to reduce your hunger pains temporarily by giving a sense of fullness. For those of you that sabotage your diet plan munching here and there,keeping a water bottle with you wherever you go can really help.Just sip away when its oral satisfaction rather than hunger driving you.

What is Dukan Diet and its side-effects?

This article gives pertinent information about Dukan Diet and its side-effects

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Pierre Dukan, a French doctor and nutritionist, challenged with the case of obesity started to look for alternative ways in curing the illness. After 20 years of thorough research he published in the year 2000, a book called, “Je ne sais pas maigrir” or translated as, “I don’t know how to get slimmer.” It gained the best-seller in France after a year it has been published.
It was made a hit in UK when Kate Middleton, now the duchess of Cambridge, tried the Dukan Diet before her marriage to the beloved Prince William, she reportedly claimed a loss of two dress sizes. It also allegedly claimed to help five million French. The book is also gaining fame in the US in the year 2011 when actress/singer, Jennifer Lopez, lost pounds after her pregnancy by following this diet.
Dukan Diet: What is it? How does this work?
Dukan Diet is similar to the famous Atkins diet. Atkins and Dukan are much alike in terms of non-intake of carbs initially and do not require portion control or counting calorie consumptions. In Atkins, it requires net carbohydrate intakes and unlike Dukan, it suggests a daily intake of oats, increase water consumption and 20 minutes of everyday brisk walking. Dukan Diet adopts four phases namely: Attack, Cruise, Consolidation and Stabilization.
Four Phases of the Dukan Diet
Attack: In this starter phase, the dieter is only allowed take protein rich foods that are exquisitely low in fat. Dr. Dukan provided 72-item list of foods to be eaten, it excludes pork, lamb, poultry products and cheeses. Food should always be cooked but without adding any fat to it, it best to cook in grilling or roasting. It also requires you to eat 1 ½ tbsp. oat bran & 1.5 liters of water per day. This phase should be followed around 2-7 days or more. Results from this initial phase within 5 days may result in 4-7 lbs. loss. This phase promotes quick loss of weight since it is strictly based on a protein-only diet.
Cruise: Cruise, the second to the fourth phase of the Dukan diet scheme. During this phase dieters who were only allowed to eat protein-only foods can now alternate a 28-items of non-starchy vegetables. They may take attack phase diet for today and take non-starchy veggie diet for tomorrow, and so this phase must go on by alternating these two types of diet each day. This phase may last long enough as much as you want by reaching your desired weight and assuring 2 pounds per week loss.
Consolidation: As one achieves the desired weight, one has to go the next phase called Consolidation, this is the maintenance phase of this diet scheme where you have to prevent putting back excess pounds. The plan in this phase is less strict compared to the first two phases. During this phase you are permitted to eat protein-only and veggie diet along with a piece of low-sugar fruit, 2 slices of whole grain bread and a portion of hard cheese. In this phase you are allowed to have 1-2 serving of starchy foods and one celebration meal per week. The phase of consolidation does not expect to loss off pounds but rather it is steadily the maintenance process.
Stabilization: Stabilization is the final phase and a life-long phase of the diet scheme. In here maintenance of the life-changing diet may be a challenging and tempting. During this portion of the scheme, one is already permitted to allow any food intake that a person wants and by also sticking to the diet rule in the consolidation phase. As Pierre Dukan suggest, that staying on the phase 1 rule once a week and eat whatever you like for the rest of the week lowers the chances of regaining weight.
Pros and Cons of Dukan Diet
Pros: The fast results of this diet scheme is beneficially rewarding and motivating. It allows you to have protein and veggie meal plan diets and does not require you to count off your calorie intakes.
Cons: It is highly restrictive and can exclude healthy foods. Dieters can experience side-effects such as symptoms of headaches, nausea, lethargy, irritable and loss of concentration. Dieters may acquire halitosis (bad breath), metallic tasting mouth and strong smell in their urines. For those people who have problems with their kidneys and liver are not advised to follow this diet plan. It is not also recommended for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Views and Opinions by Health Experts on the Dukan Diet
There are lots of critics in this diet plan. Due to the restrictive type scheme of this diet, some fruits, grains and nuts which are healthy and have high amounts of vitamins and minerals that are vital to the nutrition of the body are eliminated. Keri Gans of American Dietetic Association, said that the lost amount of multivitamins that should be acquired from those restricted foods are not compensated in the Dukan diet. Experts have also criticized that experiencing such side-effects may not be healthy at all.