Dukan Diet Day 5

I begin to feel the effect of lack of carbs...

Sugar free cordial drinks had been a life saving elixir for the past few days. I craved for sugary stuff, and at times, I can feel that my mind won't rest until I get a taste of sweetness. This is really unusual as I usually don't really crave for sweet things ( if I have any cravings, it is usually for peanuts!)

Today, it seems like I can no longer trick my body that effectively with sugar free cordial drinks! I need quiet a few glasses before "calming down". Can't seem to get my mind off carbs, cakes etc.  It is funny this is happening, but I managed to stick to the protein!

Two more day of proteins, and I will be able to add vegetables. I am doing a prolonged attack phase because there is a lot I need to lose! 

Dukan Diet Day 4, and I have lost....

1.5 kg!!!


That is not a lot  (some really irritating people lose 5 pounds in just three days), but it is quite an achievement for me. If you look at all the weight loss posts I have ever made in this blog, you will get what I mean. Let me remind myself that. 0.5 kg a day is just absolutely amazing!!! Too good to be true for a fat woman with PCOS.

Quite a lot of it must be water, as I did track my calorie input vs ouput, and I know I have a deficit of about 1700. That works out to about 0.5 kg body weight. Since I am losing 1.5 kg, I DON'T CARE!

My colleague who knew about my diet also complimented me. Another was very worried.  Gosh, this got be the toughest Monday. I have to think about what to eat, what to say to my well meaning colleagues and how to stay out of the chocolate fest! I told them I dont care about live or kidney damage, I wanna lose weight! If this diet allows me to achieve what will normally take 3 months of hardwork in 3 days, I am sticking with it!!!

I survived this horrible Monday by stopping 2 stations early and walked to the office. The long walk was a good time to prep myself for the day. On my way home, I walked another station again.

Lunch was on my own, going for a walk to a sushi place to get some salmon.  Lets home that the weight loss will make me more sufferable and my choice to abandon lunch with friends will be eventually forgive!

My food list;  I know.. very naughty. Cheated again with chicken wings!

egg	80
coffee with milk	25
bran	30
fibogel	5
coffee with milk	25
sashimi tartare	250
half pot muller corner	120
tea with milk	25
yogurt fat free 150g	150
bran	20
chicken thigh	200
roast chicken wing	200
chicken drumstick	300
sauce	30
xenical
cordial drink - sugar free	15
Intake	1475

Dukan Diet Day 3

for a woman who has PCOS is not that easy, especially in this wintry weather.

I crave for carbs!!!

The good Dr Dukan advised not to count calories, and to eat as much as we wanted, provided we stay within the "list" of permitted protein food.

One worry I had was the cost of diet. Proteins are not cheap, especially lean protein like chicken breast and fish.  Feeling the pain from the cost of salmon, I decided that this will be may chicken week.

Having butchered the whole chicken, I happily weighed (about 200 g each) and grilled the breasts with some Caribean spices for chicken ( yummy!!!) and ate the for both lunch and dinner.

Then, I had a nasty surprise.

Chicken breasts are not that innocent! That two breasts are at least about 80kcal.

Here is the nutritional value of the "healthy" chicken breasts. I am not sure if I like them very much....

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/2 breast, bone removed (110.0 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 202 Calories from Fat 73

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  8.2g 13%

Saturated Fat  2.3g 11%

Polyunsaturated Fat  1.7g

Monounsaturated Fat  3.2g

Cholesterol 83mg 28%

Sodium 68mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates 0.0g 0%

Protein 30.1g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 1% • Iron 6%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

LOOK AT THE FAT!!!!  There seems to be too much fat.  I was really upset and stared at the other 3 chicken I in the fridge! I can't have that much chicken - it will make me fat!

egg x2	160
yogurt 250 g	125
bran	20
cordial drinks	100
ham	100
1/2 roast chicken breast 110 gm	200
1.5 chicken breast	600
salmon 1/2	90
squids	80
sauces	100
coffee with milk	30
2 pieces crisps	30
2 pieces crabstick	52
tea with milk	25
agar plus ribena	15
Intake	1727

Hubby had been committing ultimate treachery since lunch. He had been watching with a whole bag of Walkers Sweet Chili Sensation.....................

Crunch... crunch... crunch....

Crunch crunch crunch...

I finally got really fed up and grab two pieces, put them in my mouth, and tried desperately to make them last.

There goes my determination, and that is only Day 3.But then again, I am quite proud that I stopped at 2 pieces. It could have been a lot worse.

Weight? I don't know. I tried not to weight in the first 3 days ( against the advice of Dr Dukan), in case nothing happens.  I think I can wait till the 4th day to see whether it paid off.

It is not that bad, I don't have any symptoms except carbo cravings. I even managed to make best use of the sunshine and walked about 1.5 hours slowly, covering enough distance to burn 300kcal!

Day 2, Dukan Diet for a FAT woman with PCOS ....

... who loves her carbs badly.  Yes, very very badly!

I woke up alright, didn't really feel hungry or anything. I just ran straight to the loo because of the amount of water I had been drinking all day yesterday. Thanks to the agar agar and oat bran, I had no constipation.

And then... the challenge. What do I have for breakfast? Being on this diet, I think it effectively means...

         EGGS

Saturday is the grocery shopping day, and the trip to the supermarket was a big torture.  I had to make the trip, because I need more ideas of what I can eat to survive this diet. Although there are 72 things on the dukan diet list for the protein attack phase, it means nothing much for a girl like me. I don't eat cows or lamb or mutton. In fact, I don't eat any big mammals, not even pork much!  I need a little bit more than chicken, salmon and EGGS! The trip to the supermarket itself is an interesting one, and I think I will write that up separately - I want to remember that fateful trip.

For dinner, we had a roast chicken! Hubby was really sweet and made that for me.  We used a new type of spice - "Carribean chicken spices" and that was yummy. I had half of the chicken ( that seems to be what many people on Dukan Diet are eating, from what I read in blogs), and felt a little too full. When I checked the calories of a roast chicken, I had a nasty surprise. 

ROAST CHICKEN is HIGH in calories!!!! For the size of the chicken I had, and taking into account a few small pieces of thin crunchy skin I had, that should be 800 kcal! That totally ruin an otherwise, very disciplined and successful Day 2 of Dukan Diet. I could only add in a Diet Coke after dinner.

3rd  Dec 2011 Saturday
egg	80
oat bran	20
1/2 salmon	100
agar + ribena	40
coffee+ milk	100
3 pieces ham	150
1/2 roast chicken	800
diet coke	3
omega 3 capsule	20
vitamin B capsule
Intake	1313
Walked to supermarket (30 min)	160

Dukan Diet Day 1

Day 1, I know will be a tough one, despite all the preparation in my Day 0

This is the day where I will make a big change in my lifestyle. How will my body react to this? 

I took the day off. I have heard from other women that cutting off carbohydrate = pulling out hair, and screaming at people.

NO one would want to see me like this at work!

Moreover, the office is full of Christmas goodies - minced pies, chocolates etc - you name it. There will also be lots of well meaning colleagues to warn me that high protein diets will kill my kidneys and livers. 

My fridge is full - chicken breast fillet, salmon, eggs, milk, and I was preparing to raid it to stay on course.

I had a lie in, and weighed myself right after the "morning toilet" 85.4 kg. I decided to have a set time for my "minimum" weight, and thought this would be the best time.

Had a breakfast of milk and coffee, and made a modified Dukan Galette using a dash of milk instead of quark. I found that really easy. Just beat the egg with the milk. Heat the non stick frying pan. Rub it with butter ( I am cheating!) and wipe off with kitchen towel. then just pour the mixture in, swirl for an even coating. Sprinkle with oat bran. I added some pepper and a dash of soya sauce for taste.

I like to fold mine, so I fold it twice. It is surprisingly yummy! I can eat it everyday! However, that does not seem to satisfy me and I fried another egg to keep myself happy. I decided to eat whenever I want.

After breakfast, I became engrossed with a book. However, by lunch time, I was craving for carbs! I had a salmon fillet, pan fried, but still eyed hubby's cookie jar. My home is now a danger zone! So I decided to give myself a treat and went for a massage. I felt so happy and contented after the massage and then I realised, I had a big cup of GINGER TEA, sweetened!  There is at least 2 tsp of sugar there, no wonder I was happy!

By late afternoon, my stomach was unhappy again, and I made myself a protein drink to replace my usual tea and biscuit ( I WANT MY BISCUITS and COOKIES!!!!!!)

I tried to sleep but could not. Whenever I close my eyes, I see this....

I "see" the cookie jar as soon as I close my eyes...

Managed to play some computer games to take my mind off biscuits & cookies, and made some agar agar with sweeteners. Loved my salmon for dinner, and I also had some soup made with Gallo organic stock cubes, an onion and a carrot and "fish balls" ( you can get this from Asian foodstores - protein /carb content almost identical to crabsticks recommended by Dukan, if you go for good quality fish balls, but they are more fun!). I had just a couple of fish balls with the broth and left the rest to hubby.

Still feeling ravenous, and dying to CHEW, I gobbled up ONE LITRE of agar agar cakes. Gosh. Thank goodness that these had no calories, apart from the 40 or so I added from the Ribena Light to get some taste and vitamin C.

By 10 pm, I was ready for bed. Hubby found me fast asleep on my tummy, after falling asleep while doing my "bum crunch".

I have kept a record of what I ate below...very pleased that I limited total calorie in take to 1200 and have 720 deficit!

Since 1 kg weight loss = 3500 kcal deficit, I will be able to lose 1 kg in 5 days if I keep it up!

week 1	2nd Dec	Calories
	Milk + coffee	30
	Egg	80
	oat bran tbsp	30
	Egg	80
	salmon fillet 100gm	185
	ginger tea	50
	protein powder(1/2 scoop) n 100ml milk	100
	salmon fillet	200
	soup with fish ball	150
	chicken breast	250
	agar plus ribena	40
	Intake	1195
	20 minute walk	100
	rmr 86 kg sedentry	1816
	output	1916
	Balance	-721
	cumulative balance	-721

Dukan Diet Day 0

Tomorrow is the day - the big day, the day I start with the Dukan diet. 


There are three things that I need to do:
1) clear goal - worked out my "true weight" from the official Dukan website.
2) buy in to the whole idea - that high protein low carb diet work
3) Know the rules of the diet, and plan how to stick to it.


My GOAL
I have used the calculator available freely at the website to work out my "true weight" - the weight that I should be able to maintain.

My plan!  It will take a total of 169 days for me to reach target. I forgot to add the chart when I first posted it, and only done it a week later. This means that actually, I will reach target on 17th May 2012.
(have to say that I dont like the graphics. Why are we alone until we reach target, and then there is a man hugging us there at consolidation phase?)

Why & how high protein diet like Dukan Diet works?
The Dukan Diet starts with a short, sharp 'attack' phase where you eat nothing but protein - just meat, fish, eggs and no-fat dairy products, and ranges from 1 to 10 days. If you just have a few pounds to lose, you only need to spend a day or two here. But I am targeting a massive 23kg, and so I need 6 days!

This is supposedly the most effective phase, as you will be eating only pure protein. Dr Dukan consider this as the "bulldozer" phase, and the most prominent effect can appear in the first couple of days. Looking around the internet, some people have reported losing 1-2 kg itself in the first 2 days.  This is is not just fat loss of course, and as you will be losing water with it too. There are pages and pages of benefit of protein, but i will skip that for now.


I would imagine that the first two days will be the toughest. It is shocking - I can imagine "carbohydrate withdrawal syndrome" ( I coined this for myself) - irritability, serious cravings, lack of concentration, bad mood. However, this should be easier if I manage to stick with it till the third day, where ketosis is induced. When there is no carbs to burn, the body turn on fats and proteins and as a result produce ketones. These chemicals are responsible for keeping you full ( and happy).

The downside is I will likely to get bad breath and a dry mouth, and constipation!


Rules of the Dukan Diet


 The 4 things that I "MUST" do

1. Only have pure protein - lean meat(beef, veal, chicken, turkey), fish, tofu, low fat yogurt, milk, cottage cheese, crabsticks ( surimi), eggs.
2. 1.5 tbs of oat bran - must be taken every day
3. Drink at least 1.5 l of water
4. Walk for 20 minutes a day

Things that help me through this pure protein diet:

1. You can eat as much as you want, whenever you want, but only if it is in the "list".
2. Sweeteners, vinegar, spices, herbs, garlic, onion, gherkins, pickled onions (as condiments, but not in large quantities), lemon juice (on food, but not to drink), mustard and salt (in moderation), sugar-free natural ketchup in moderation, sugar-free chewing gum .
3. Diet Coke, sugar free Cordials
4. THIS IS MY OWN ADDITION - sugar free agar agar, home made
5. Flavoured low/no fat yogurt allowed

"The list of allowed protein"

1 Lean beef and veal or rabbit, not pork or lamb (trim all fat and avoid ribs as too fatty). Eat meat grilled, roasted or boiled and without using butter, oil or cream (not even low-fat versions). Other than steaming and putting them into the oven, it is also ok to 'dry fry' it - rub the surface of a frying pan with a few drops of oil on kitchen paper. Lean minced beef can be prepared as burgers or meatballs (mixed with an egg, spices, capers or gherkins) or enjoy frozen beefburgers (if less than 10 per cent fat).

2 All chicken and turkey (not goose or farmed duck) but remove skin before eating and avoid the outside part of the wings (too fatty). 

3 Ham if low-fat and lean. Aim for 3% fat or less.  Cut the rind off. Avoid deli, cured, and smoked hams (too fatty). 

4 Beef, veal or chicken liver. 

5 All fish white or oily, fresh, frozen, dried, smoked or canned (but not in oil or in any sauce containing fat), even crab sticks. 

6 All crustaceans and shellfish. 

7 Up to two eggs a day. Stick to 3 to 4 yolks per week if you have high cholesterol, but the white can be eaten without restriction. 

8 Non-fat dairy products such as 0per cent yoghurt, fromage frais, quark, cottage cheese, and skimmed milk. Natural ( plain) and flavoured yoghurts (coconut, vanilla, lemon) are allowed without restriction, but non-fat fruit yoghurts (containing fruit puree) should be limited to two a day (or avoided if you want a lightning start to the attack phase). 

Plan of sticking to it:

1. Stock up the fridge with the right stuff
2. Electronic weighting scale - decided to take two measurements a day, at  the same time. Morning, after going to loo. Night, before sleep.
3. Stocking up with "treats" - agar agar, sugar free cordials, diet coke ( not too sure about coke, the acidity may make me more hungry!)
4. Plan survival strategies at work
5. Have my own spread sheet, with food diary and cheat notes.

Shall I start on this Dukan thing?

Yes, start it!

1. Shown to be successful in producing results. Weight loss even in people who had found like difficult.
2. Pretty reasonable - advocates lean protein. The "Attack" phase, where you can only eat protein last about 5-7 days, after which you can have vegetables again. 
3. The attack phase brings about results quickly, producing and average of 4 - 7 pounds for a 5 days diet! that is about 2.5 to 3.5 kg! It usually takes me all summer of walking, dieting ( eating lots of green leafy salads -yuck) and walking to produce this before it disappears as soon as autumn starts and I cave it to a comfort food or two. 
4. In the "cruise phase" , the weight loss is expected around 3 pounds a week to begin with, followed by 2 pounds a week. In 2 months, the total expected weight loss is about 20pounds, 10 kg! It is about 5 kg in 1 month. 
5. The rate of weight loss is perfect. It means that I might drop a dress size by boxing day, go shopping, and update my wardrobe! I need fast weight loss, where i can replace the cloths, and have no turning back. 
6. Low carb diet is good for people with metabolic syndrome! That should be good for the insulin resistance.
7. Improves fertility? reduced insulin resistance, reduced weight should me increased fertility. I have also read that high protein is supposed to be good for the quality of eggs (blush)
8. I actually like oat bran, and the oat bran omelette suggested by this diet.

No, this is crazy!

1. Proteins? That is lean protein only. Not even beans. That is a lot of chicken and fish. To survive on chicken or fish for a week will make me catty or foxy, or both.
2. $$$$$ Hmmm.. how much will it cost to fill myself up with mainly chicken and fish?
3.  bad breadth - you will get this if you go on ketosis
4. killing my kidneys?!! And lots to toilet runs - since you need to drink lots of water
5. killing my liver?
6. Constipation ...yuck
7. Body ordour...yuck
8. moodiness - due to lack of carb. some people feel light headed.

Hmmm.... 

1) protein is still better than salads, right?

2) $$$$ - i just checked to cost of IVF. If I can avoid paying for an IVF, that pays for enough chickens for years.

3) 3-7 - ok, lets be honest. When you are obese, you  get them all.

4) 8 - ok, if you are infertile, hairy, obese, dying to have sugar all the time, you still have it.

Verdict - giving it a try!!!

Low carbohydrate diet - is it good for people with PCOS?

I am going to take a big big step and try the high protein, low carb diet, favoured by the Dukan Diet. A main difference ( and advantage!) of the Dukan Diet over the very famous Atkins Diet is it emphasis on lean protein. So, it is a low fat, low carb high protein diet.

High protein diets are bad for your kidneys and liver, and therefore I have always been very very sceptical about them. There is a link between PCOS and NAFLD ( Non alcoholic fatty liver disease), and I don't want to put myself at further risk. Spent a couple of days researching on whether high protein diet would be bad for me.

There isnt much real evidence or data out there - only lots of OPINION from "experts". There isnt a study specifically looking at whether high protein diet is good or bad for people with PCOS. However, what is known is these diets are effective in weight loss! This para from editorial in a gastroenterology journal summarised it well:

Low-carbohydrate diets have long been considered fad diet by the medical profession. Several questions have been raised regarding their weight loss potential and possible adverse effects. Public interest continues unabated, and books detailing low carbohydrate lifestyles are regulars on best seller lists. A number of studies have be en publ i shed  in  r e c ent  y e a r s  e va l u a t ing  the  e f f e c t s of low-carbohydrate diets on weight loss as well as on metabolic markers, comparing these diets to traditional low-fat diets. However, none has compared their effects on liver histology and NAFLD. Effects on obesity and biomarkers of the metabolic syndrome will be reviewed, given their important etiologic association with NAFLD.

and....

Caution must be exercised in subjects with baseline a b n o r ma l  l ow - d e n s i t y  l i p o p r o t e i n  ch o l e s t e r o l  l e ve l s. E f f e c t s  o n  b i o ch emi c a l ma r k e r s  a s s o c i a t e d  w i t h  t h e metabolic syndrome appear to be more favorable with low-carbohydrate diets. In general, these diets show greater improvements in insulin sensitivity, triglyceride and highdensity cholesterol levels. It is possible that for patients with the metabolic syndrome, a low-carbohydrate diet may be more advantageous. This, in turn, may positively affect NAFLD. 

I don't have a cholesterol problem (yet!) - so I do have a LDH ( low density lipoprotein) problem. I am going to get started on this Dukan Diet thing! Watch me shrink.

Dukan Diet, will this be the holy grail?

Unless you had live in a cave, it is quite difficult to escape "Dukan diet". It first gained prominence as the diet of the Middleton girls ( including the mum, Carole), and responsible for Kate's weight loss and Pippa's bum. A couple of days a go, the British Dietetic Association voted it as the No 1 BAD DIET, and the ever Middleton obsessed Daily Mail wasted no time in splashing it in the headlines: Kate Middleton's diet slammed ineffective.

To be honest, I am quite fed up of this loss weight healthily type of things. I only crash diet-ed once in my life, and know that weight rebounded horribly. I hope the Dukan diet is worth the risk on my kidneys!

This diet promises a lot. A couple of pounds on just a few days of eating of protein sounds a lot to me, especially when it takes so much efforts for me to lose a pound.

Still thinking on whether i should give it a try. Is it worth to go on this Dukan diet? It is bad, but if it is effective, should I try this diet? Cutting out carbs seems not a bad idea for someone with PCOS, but is it easy?

I think I better read up more before I try!

Skin - do you have large pores?

My skin pores enlarged quite a lot in the past few years, especially after I started to have PCOS.

Acne is usually associated with PCOS, but I  noticed that my skin pores, especially those around the T zone enlarged considerably after I have PCOS. Skin become oilier. 

Vitamin D - is a supplement needed for pregnancy?

The nurse had mentioned to me about starting vitamin D supplement, along with folic acid. According to her, women planning to have a baby should take both vitamin D and folic acid.

While the importance of folic acid is undisputed, vitamin D is a new thing to me.

Why do pregnant women need to take vitamin D?
Studies have shown that a lack of vitamin D may be associated with premature birth.

Does that mean I need to take a pill? Can't I just get it from a few hours of sunshine?
The advice about whether taking Vitamin D pills is necessary or not is conflicting (UK does not recommend that pregnant women should taking vitamin D) A main reason is how easy it is to obtain this vitamin - just get some sunshine. However, that may not be the case in the long winter months, or if you dress in a way that minimise exposure to the sun.

Other than the sun, we also get vitamin D from food, such as oily fish like salmon and mackerel ( which also supplies the DHA and EPAs!).

Other reasons to have enough vitamin D when preggie:
Vitamin D is involved in the proper regulation of calcium and phosphate in the body - which is necessary not only for the development of the baby's bone  and healthy development of muscles etc. You also need it to make sure that your own bones and teeth are well maintained.