Monday, May 31, 2010

THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR (WEIGHT) PROBLEMS ...

.... is finally here. Ladies we need fear no more. The search is over. We finally have it. THE diet that will have us looking like Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen (rolled into one, if we're lucky), while we eat whatever we want, to lose 6kg in ONE month in the company of French women, doing it the French way.

THE DUKAN DIET IS HERE and the body + soul liftout from the Sunday papers has all the info - but of course because its so exceptionally good, you'll no doubt want to purchase the book as well (too lazy to insert the link for the book purchase).

No kidding, the opening blurb tantalises us with the promise that  numerous celebrities "live the Dukan life, all of them seduced by its promise of permanent slenderness while eating what you like."

Oh my, I'm so excited, I cant wait to read on. So read on I do and whats the first thing I'm told??? In the Phase One: Attack period I'm only allowed to eat lean protein full stop. No veges. No salads. But lucky me I get to have 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran to relieve constipation (yep that 1.5 tablespoons will make all the difference). I'll have to put up with a dry mouth and bad breath but hey, I'm losing weight so who cares (the price we're prepared to pay!!). Oooh I'm so excited to lose 3kgs in just 5 days (shame its just water but hey the number on the scales is going down!!).

After this groundbreakingly successful Attack Phase (if I havent attacked the biscuit jar or bread supplies) I then have a range of equally exciting phases to work through with rules, rules, rules, restrictions, restrictions and more restrictions but GUARANTEED slenderness. I wont waste any more of my or your time writing about them. I think you can tell what I think of it all by now.

So (breathing a sigh of bewilderment) here it is, another pseudo Atkins / South Beach meets The Zone and .....insert whatver else comes to mind ..... diet to solve all of our weight problems. Irrespective of what its doing for our bowel health, our brain function, our emotional well being and our self esteem. I guarantee its not ticking many any of those boxes.

Yet sadly I'm sure that thousands of women throughout Australia would have started the Dukan Diet today in their desperate struggle to lose weight and feel better about themselves. If only they knew that the answers are not in this (or any) diet book. Rules and restrictions are ingredients in the recipe for failure, low self esteem and personal growth. There is a better way, you just have to trust yourself to find it and follow it because its different for each individual.

And on that note, I'll step off my soap box and retreat back to my happy world of food freedom, choosing the lifestyle thats right for me and enjoying what it brings.

Cheers all

Magda

8 comments:

LizN said...

Hey Magda,
Whilst I don't like the sound of the Dukan Diet at all (kinda sounds like "mucus" eeewww) I have to disagree with your statement :
Rules and restrictions are ingredients in the recipe for failure, low self esteem and personal growth.
I don't believe this to be true. I think the world is a better place with law and order. Even in the realms of science, particles move into order. In terms of non dieting, I think you've made the rule for yourself never to diet or restrict stupidly, which is awesome. On the flip side, you may consciously restrict yourself from eating the entire cheesecake because you know you are "allowed" that it would make you feel extremely uncomfortable digestively speaking....

Does that make sense :)

LizN said...

I meant to put in "even because you know you're allowed"

ss2306 said...

Pissing myself laughing! You stay right up there on your soap box Magda.

I'd so like to get into this with regards to Liz' statement but I won't because this is not a debating forum but one day.........

Unknown said...

I saw this 4 page spread in the Body and Soul and it amused me that in the main paper there was this teeny article about the dangers of such diets. It really makes me wonder if French women are really as thin as the media like to make us believe. Who would want to follow a diet like this??

Magda said...

Hey Liz,

I know what you and I think you know what I mean (even if I didnt articulate it as best I could).

Yes Shelley, it was the typical "diet to solve all of our problems". I was just shaking my head while reading it.

Oh dont get me started on the French women Michelle. My year 11 French teacher was obese and ended up having her jaws wired to lose weight. Its just another sales pitch to make the diet look even more appealing to us.

M

Pip said...

Hi Magda,

The 'Body and Soul' part of the Sunday paper in SA must be the same as in WA. WA had that exact same article on the 'Dukan' diet and I read through it as well shaking my head in disbelief!

It sounds similar in a way to
'The BodyTrim package' some 'guru' in a health shop sold to me about 3 years ago. I couldn't open the package to read before buying and spent $149 on it on the word of the sales guy! Then got home, read the whole package, didn't even do an hour on the 'diet'! Bodytrim started with a 3 day protein only 'detox' and it sounds similar in many ways to Dukan. Only training encouraged on Body Trim was 10000 steps a day which would average around 6-7km for the average brisk walking female a day in walking and incidental activity. I'm sure it could work for some but you know....????? :-)!

Stephanie Davis said...

Hi Magda,
I saw a story on this new diet on 'a current affair' last night and had to laugh at some of the comments from women they were interviewing about it. one (it must be said, overweight) woman laughed at the idea that anyone would have the patience to stick to any diet for longer than 2 weeks.... I'm sure there are some sound principles in the book, its just the ridiculous promises they make that anger me - they are just like get rich quick schemes :P

Magda said...

Hi Pip and Steph,

you've both hit (another) nail on the head. The diet makes all sorts of promises which we all know dont work LONG TERM. Its a short term quick fix and its based on deprivation and following a list of "allowed foods" and "forbidden foods". Is it a lifestyle?? Well maybe for some but its certainly not a lifestyle that I'd enjoy for any length of time.

M