Greetings my fellow Dukan-ers! I hope that first week wasn’t too rough for you, but just in case you feel like you’ve been deprived of all human food, brace yourselves, because veggies are here to save the day. Let’s give a big warm welcome to PHASE 2!
Phase 2 is the Cruise Phase and you continue its pattern for as long as you want to continue losing weight. This formula will make sense once you get to phase 3, where you continue that based on how many pounds you lose in phase 2 (I have yet to start phase 3 myself!). Beginning day 8 of your diet, you can start phase 2 and use whichever pattern is best for you. You can either have 5 consecutive veggie days followed by 5 consecutive protein and dairy days or just switch between veggie & pure protein days every other day. I like having vegetables every other day because the pure protein days give me a little bit of discipline. *Also: many of you fabulous followers have been contacting me with questions and, as I said before, I am here to help motivate you and push you to get that body you desire! I urge you to email me with any questions/concerns you have: yhosseini@umail.ucsb.edu.
All rules from Phase 1 remain the same.
Vegetables:You are able to choose from a number of vegetables and, YES, you may have an unlimited amount of all of these on your designated days! The permitted vegetables are as follows: artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, celery, chicory, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, French beans, leeks, mushrooms, onion, peppers, pumpkin, radish, salad leaves, sorrel, soya beans, spinach, swede, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnip, and zucchini. Carrots and beetroot are allowed in moderation. These options allow for a lot more creativity in your meals. My personal favorite is making omelets (yes, I am crazy about my eggs). In the weeks to come I will be posting some of my favorite recipe ideas, but I will give you an idea of which direction to go in now. An easy, basic omelet you can start with will include one full egg and three egg whites. Using a paper towel, dab just enough olive oil onto your pan and throw in some chopped onions (or bell peppers if you aren’t an onion person). Add in anything that might need to be cooked before you add the eggs, like tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. Adding a small amount of mustard to your veggies makes it delicious. Once they grill enough to your liking, add in your whisked eggs. Mix everything together while the eggs are cooking (this happens quickly so do not leave it unattended!) and have your favorite cheese(s) ready to put in. I like to use fat free American cheese singles. Throw them in, in strips, and give it about 20 seconds to melt and mix everything together once again and grab a plate and ENJOY! Let me know how it tastes ;)
Oat bran: up your oat bran intake to 2 tablespoons a day
Exercise: take that light exercise up a notch to 30 minutes a day
I am still doing phase 2 because I have not reached my desired weight just yet, but the length of this phase fully depends on each individual. Do not feel obligated to do it any longer or shorter than me. Again, please please please ask me any questions or concerns you might have (and include in your email if I could post your question anonymously to help other followers)! You are all doing great and it is only the beginning! I forgot to mention in my previous post, if you do not have a scale at home use a tape measurer. That was my issue for the time I spend away from home. If you are using a scale, weigh yourself every morning at the same time to get the most accurate feedback of your results. The same applies for using a tape measurer; measure yourself every morning at the same time and most definitely keep track of your progress. Ahh, I’m so excited for you all! I will be checking in with more recipes and answering more questions next time. Good luck lovelies!
xoxo Yassi