The Dukan Diet by Pierre Dukan

who are already prone to constipation and for those who do not drink enough, constipation at this stage of the diet is even more likely. For others, bowel movements may simply be less frequent, but do not take this as a sign of constipation. It is just a reduction in the amount of waste due to the low fiber content of proteins.
    If this initial constipation bothers you, buy some wheat bran flakes and add 1 tablespoonful along with your oat bran to your galette or to your dairy products. Above all, drink as much as is recommended, because water not only makes you urinate, it also softens the stools, improving intestinal contractions and digestion.
    More serious constipation is unpleasant, and you must do somethingabout it. Your pharmacist can offer advice and may recommend some natural products based on fruit fiber. If these products are not enough, you need to see your doctor. Try to resist the temptation to take laxatives, which are too aggressive and to which you could eventually become habituated.
Your Hunger Will Disappear After the Third Day
    You will find your hunger disappearing after the third day because of the increased release of ketones, the most powerful natural hunger suppressants. The monotony of eating all proteins these first few days has a marked effect on your appetite. Hunger pangs and cravings for sugar disappear completely. The quantity of protein you consume, considerable over these first days, gradually decreases.
Should You Take Vitamins?
    I do recommend taking vitamins, but it is hardly compulsory for such a short period of only 3 to 5 days. On the other hand, if you need to follow the alternating protein diet for some time to deal with a major weight problem, it is a good idea to take a high-quality multivitamin. As soon as vegetables are allowed, you can have mixed salads with plenty of lettuce, raw peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers—a natural source of various vitamins.
What Results Can You Expect from the Attack Diet?
    The weight loss the pure protein diet produces is the most you could hope for in such a short period of time with a diet consisting of real food. It produces the same results as a powdered protein diet, or even total fasting, without any of their main drawbacks. Nevertheless, theweight loss depends on how many extra pounds you have at the outset. Obviously, someone who weighs over 200 pounds is going to shed those first pounds more quickly than someone just wanting to lose a few extra pounds before going on holiday.
    Some people have also been “vaccinated” against dieting by their previous failures with other diets. Age is significant too. For women, hormones play an important role during puberty, after pregnancy, with oral contraception and—I cannot emphasize this too strongly—during menopause and postmenopause, peaking especially with any temporary or prolonged hormone therapy treatment.
With a 5-Day Pure Protein Attack Diet
    Five days are generally the most popular and most effective time span, and usually the weight lost varies between 4 and 7 pounds. It may reach 8 or even 10 pounds for someone who is very overweight, especially an active man, or, at worst, it may only be 2 pounds for a menopausal woman on hormones who is prone to water retention and edema.
    A woman’s body retains water for 3 to 4 days before her period starts. This water retention reduces the elimination of waste and stops the combustion of fat, temporarily reducing the diet’s effectiveness and blocking weight loss.
    It is important to realize that in the days before a woman’s period starts, the weight loss process has not been interrupted. It has just been camouflaged by water retention, and it will resume 2 or 3 days after the period is finished. If not properly explained and understood, this premenstrual plateau can make women despair, as they understandably think that all their efforts have been in vain, undermining their determination and prompting them to give the diet up.
    So