Continuing the Cruise Phase of the Dukan Diet: Dealing with setback

A couple of days ago I started to tell you about my experience on the Cruise Phase of the Dukan Diet. This is the time when the diet delivers the real results and gets you to the weight you want to be.

Despite claims that it is complicated, it is simply a matter of alternating the protein only days with protein and vegetable days. It is surprising to discover just what you can eat within these restrictions. I have said it many times before, but I was never hungry or dissatisfied with what I ate during the diet. 

It was when I reached the thirteenth day that the scales showed my weight was 89.6kg. The first time it was below 90kg. (90kg is more or less 200lbs, so it is just as important a landmark in imperial measurements!) This was a tremendous feeling of achievement. I was still eating galette for breakfast everyday, either with lean turkey or chicken slices. Occasionally I had what became my favourite: smoked salmon and fat free fromage frais on the galette. That is a really luxurious breakfast treat. For a more substantial meal, you can add a poached egg.

By this stage I had already experienced the first setback. As early as day six I saw my weight go up for no apparent reason. After nine days (adding the Attack) of steady weight loss this was traumatic! In the early stages of a diet it is easy to be discouraged. You aren't confident about what you are doing and, if you have been overweight for a long time you will have the nagging feeling that nothing is going to work. If you've tried other diets in the past and failed, you are sure to respond badly to any setback.

All kinds of things can change the way we lose weight. It is perfectly natural for progress to be erratic, to stop or even to go into reverse for brief periods. Subtle changes in activity, climate, health etc can change the way we retain water or all sorts of other factors which will result in a sudden halt in weight loss. 

Remember that the change is temporary. If you simply continue with the diet plan, your weight should start to go down again after a couple of days. If it hasn't in three days, consider whether you have drunk enough water, or whether you have kept up the walking. Drinking more water helps the movement of food through the system and assists the metabolic processes. 

Water is also a factor in another matter. Constipation. The restricted diet can have an unsettling effect on your regularity, especially on the days when you don't eat vegetables. The only fibre you are getting is the oat bran. Drinking plenty of water is the best way to keep things moving normally. 

There were a couple of times during the Cruise Phase that my weight either stopped going down, or even went up briefly. Having stuck to the plan the first time and then seen things get back on track, I was less concerned when it happened again. I kept records of my declining weight and could see on a graph how I was progressing. The setbacks were tiny blips on a steady downward trend. You will see this for yourself. Stick to the plan and watch the fat fall off!