The Dukan Diet with Tips for Filipinos

If you’re Filipino and you’re into the Dukan Diet, chances are that you would be scrambling about town to find the food that you can eat.  Here is how to do the Dukan Diet and the places to get the ingredients and food that you can consume while you’re on it. 

Dukan Diet Attack Phase (Phase 1)  

The Dukan diet Attack Phase is the most simple to remember but it is also the most difficult to adhere to.  However, it is in this phase that the most rapid weight loss occurs.  It is done anywhere from 2 to 10 days.  Dieters lose 5 to 7 pounds in 5 days.  Someone I know (Doc Mercy, this is you!) lost 10 lbs in 7 days.  Just don’t overdo it.  It is not a balanced diet and most dieters tend to become constipated.  It’s good that fat-free yogurt is allowed during this phase and will help address the problem of constipation.  Milk Kefir is also allowed as long as it is fat free.  I would suggest you take both.  Personally, I have lost weight just taking these two products with my regular meals.  In the Philippines, you can buy fat free, sugar free natural yogurt from Yoggie’s Yogurt Station.  Our yogurt do not have any emulsifier or other known stabilizers so you get a product that is purely made from milk and milk solids. 
The daily intake for this phase recommends the unlimited consumption of only lean protein from pork, beef, fish and eggs along with 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran and 1.5 liters of water daily.  However, in the US, tenderloin pork is allowed.

Attack Phase Food List
These are mostly what you can eat during this phase:
•    Seafood – any as long as it does not have carbs (e.g. breadcrumbs, flour, etc), or oil or in a sauce that has oil or fat.

•    Meat -  lean cuts of beef, veal or venison, low fat slices of ham with all rind and fat removed, lean bacon, calves  liver and kidneys, rabbit or hare.  The US version of the Diet also allows pork tenderloin.   Lean cuts of chicken, turkey, ostrich and other birds  without any limitations as long as they are devoid of all fat including the skin.  You are also allowed to eat chicken livers.  I found some ostrich meat at Rustan’s Grocery.

•    Dairy Products and Eggs – virtually any fat-free, sugar-free dairy products such as skim milk, quark, fromage frais, kefir or yoghurt can be eaten.  Yogurt is specially important to prevent constipation which is the usual complaints of Dukan dieters.  If you can find fat free ricotta and cream cheese, those are allowable too.  At Yoggie’s Yogurt Station, you can buy your yogurt, kefir, ricotta. 
Sugars from fruits are not allowed.  The consumption of up to 2 eggs a day in the attack phase.  I suggest you get the organic eggs which has very little cholesterol.  I found some cheap organic eggs are available at the organic stall at the fresh produce at Market Market.  Tofu and soy products are allowed. 

•    Herbs and Spices - You can use any herb or spice in any phase of the diet. However, they should be used sparingly – only to give some flavour to your food.  There ’s a wide selection that I found at the SM Megamall grocery.  Also, there’s a store at Market Market that sells unusual herbs and spices.  It is located across serendra right beside Fiorgelato.  The name eludes me this time. 
Even salt is allowed.  Just try not to be tempted to put too much of it as the proteins will be taxing on the kidneys already. 

•    Vinegar - All vinegars are allowed in all phases.  Some lemons can be used too for flavouring.

•    Sweeteners - Aspartame, Stevia, Splenda(sucralose) and Xylitol are allowed. I suggest you go for stevia instead.  You can buy the plant and use the leaves.  They’re available at the Manila Seedling Bank.  However, if you prefer the dried and readymade ones, I believe they’re available at the AANI stalls at Quezon City Memorial Circle.  Healthy Options has them too but those are a bit pricey.
Chewing gum can be used to freshen your breath.  It also helps you get rid of the hunger pangs. 

•    Drinks - You can drink skim milk, coffee, diet soda (as long as it is under 1 calorie per glass), green tea or fruit teas.   

•    Goji Berries - A tolerated item according to the official site.  Yoggie’s has this too. 

•    Brewer’s Yeast and Multivitamin Supplements
I will write about these in another blog tomorrow:
Dukan diet Cruise Phase (Phase 2)
Dukan diet Consolidation Phase (Phase 3)
Dukan diet Stabilization Phase (Phase 4)

Yogurt and the Dukan Diet

I had a lady doctor come over today to buy some fat-free natural yogurt.  In the Philippines, there are but a few who make yogurt and most are either whole milk or low-fat.  Thus far, this lady said I'm the only yogurt maker with fat free yogurt that she found on the internet. 

Anyway, it turned out that she is on the attack phase (the very first phase) of the dukan diet and had very little choices for food variety that she wants to add yogurt or fat free dairy to her list. So, she tried to ask me and while I do not have fat free yogurt in my product list, I do give in to some client requests such as this.  She contacted me yesterday, and today, she came over to pick it up. 

So what's the Dukan Diet all about?  As I understand it, it is a diet formulated by a certain Dr. Pierre Dukan who is a French medical doctor.  The diet has 4 phases and the very first one, the attack phase, involves ingesting only protein.  Some people claim to have lost 10 pounds in 3 days.  This lady doctor said she has so far lost 10 pounds in 7 days.  Not bad.  perhaps I'll give it a shot.  Anyone care to try? 

For fresh yogurt in manila and other dairy and probiotic needs, visit www.yogurtstation.blogspot.com.  

Yo! Yogurt

I've just recently discovered (or rediscovered) how wonderful home-made yogurt could be. Not just me, but both my husband and daughter love its rich, creamy flavor specially with fruits. It's a good substitute for cream for salads and has recently become one of the staple in our breakfast table. I remember how my mom used to prepare it for us and how I (naturally!) despised it then because it really takes some getting used to. These days, kids are exposed to a so many flavors that it doesn't take so much for them to acquire new tastes as the case with my daughter.

Not only does yogurt taste good, it is in fact healthy. It has helpful bacteria known as probiotic that your digestive system can benefit from. It actually encourages the growth of normal flora in your gut. Wikipedia has a long list of its benefits that you may want to

Here's how to prepare it:

slightly heat by constantly stirring 1 liter of milk (whole, low fat or skimmed) to slightly above room temp.
add 1/2 cup natural plain yogurt and mix until yogurt has been dissolved.
cover and keep in a warm spot (such as an oven)for about 8 hours. serve cold.

We love adding fresh fruit to it. The family's favorite is pineapple.

Yogurt

Not sure if you would agree but I find that yogurt is really healthy. It's good eaten alone, with fruit or as a salad dressing. I'd like to share the recipe with you.

In a pot, heat 1 liter of milk until just warm. Dissolve 3 tablespoons plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. cover and keep inside the oven or in any warm, dark place for about 10 hours.

Milk can be either liquid or powder. When using powder, reconstitute it with 3 cups water to 1 cup milk proportions. I use the High Calcium, Low Fat Monami Milk. So far, it has yielded the best tasting yogurt.

Sugar can be omitted if you are on a diet. I added it to the recipe to let the bacteria grow faster. I remember that technique from breadmaking.

So, there you are. Happy eating!