Dukan Do It: Weeks 5 & 6…and a Dukantastic Giveaway!
My Dukan pledge has really been put to the test over the last couple of weeks. Between 4 days in Las Vegas and a weekend of camping, I found it really, really tough to stay on plan. I went into both situations planning to do the best I could, but to also not let my diet dictate either trip.
In Las Vegas, I started each day with an egg white omelet with just a little cheese, ham and spinach. This kept me full for most of the day. On the trade show floor, it's so busy and there's really no decent food options anyway, so I stuck with a big breakfast and a couple of Dukan snacks throughout the day. I did have a free full fat latte one day and a KIND bar. In the evenings, it was a little easier. I did have my fair share of wine, but found it pretty easy to eat steak or shellfish anywhere we went. On Tuesday, we were celebrating earning the top award at the show, and so our entire company and client went out for a celebratory dinner at Jaleo. So good.
The menu is tapas and since there was 16 of us, they just devised a tasting menu for us. Even with this, it was mostly meat and veggies...nothing carb-heavy or extra fatty. So delicious and it was such a great evening, so I didn't stress over it. I ate what I wanted (skipping dessert) and felt fine about it.
Camping was a bit harder. Lots of grilling which made things easier, but I did partake in too much dessert and a pancake for breakfast one morning. Oh well. Onward and upward!
I had a tough time getting back on the horse come Monday morning. I had gained 2 pounds, which I wasn't thrilled about but was ok with. This week I've been trying to do mostly protein days to get back on track!
Meanwhile, the nice people at Dukan found my story over here on TAA and reached out to me to review their new book, The Dukan Diet Made Easy (which they will also be generously giving away to one lucky reader!). I had the original book and cookbook and wondered how different Made Easy would really be.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this new version. I consider myself a smart person who loves to read and write so it's not as though the original book was too hard to get through, however, Made Easy is really just that. It's broken down into smaller snippets and chapters with tips on the insets and motivational testimonials woven throughout. While I could have sat down and read this cover to cover (and did for a few evenings), it's really designed to flip through, picking up tidbits and nuggets of information along the way.
I also think this book does a great job of breaking down the core principles of each phase. When I first started the Dukan diet, I felt a little confused as to what I could eat when and how much. Made Easy makes it more digestible from the get go. And one of my favorite features? The meal plans and new recipes! By week 6, I'm in a bit of a rut to be creative, so I'm excited to use this tool going forward. I think this is a great book for those of you thinking about starting this lifestyle change, or for those of you who are already doing it and need some extra motivation. I find that the more often I read and research about Dukan, the more engrained it is into my mind and the more likely I am to stick with it. This book will be a great tool to peruse each day for just the motivation I need.
I also got the chance to try some of the Dukan food products. I was skeptical about trying these, but when I knew I'd be on-the-go for over a week, I thought this was a brilliant idea to keep me on track.
These were a huge help while traveling. I made the chocolate oat bran muffins and packed them in a storage container in my carry on. Once at the hotel, I refrigerated them (which I highly recommend in order to preserve them...I stayed at the Vdara which has a kitchen in each room, but for other hotels, I recommend calling ahead and reserving a mini fridge). I found that I needed to add a little sweetener to these (about 1 Tbsp Splenda baking mix did the trick), but they were great to have for the week. I would also try making a batch and freezing them individually at home, so they can be grabbed and taken along for a day at the beach or in my lunchbox.
They also sent me some of the granola, which I'll admit, I was really unsure about. It looked a little unappealing and I was worried it would be a bit cardboardy...but this was my absolute favorite of the bunch. Apple and cinnamon flavored, this is great by the handful or mixed into yogurt. Super tasty! I found that I had to measure it out to keep myself from overeating it :\
The granola is especially great for those occasions when you can't make your pancake or if you (like Shaun) aren't really a huge fan of the pancake since one granola serving accounts for your daily oat bran intake. I, on the other hand, relish my pancake every single evening as dessert, so I see the granola being more of an on-the-go or travel snack...or for those days when I simply cannot get it up to make the pancake (which really does happen to me). All in all, I was really pleased with the Dukan snack foods and will be buying them again.
And now for the fun part....the giveaway!
A big thanks to the Dukan team for partnering with me on this. I really do believe in these products and so I'm really excited to share them with one lucky reader!
What: 1 lucky reader will receive a copy of The Dukan Diet Made Easy + 1 bag of Apple Cinnamon Dukan Oat Bran Granola (because I loved it so much!)
How: Just leave a comment telling me what foods you eat while traveling...do you bring with you? Indulge? How do you stay on track?
When: It starts...right now! And will end on Monday, June 30 @ 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time
Who: Everyone can join, but it's limited to those in the United States for shipping purposes. If you are already doing the Dukan diet, then please enter to win a free snack and a great book! And if you aren't doing it and are considering it, then this is a great chance to win some free research. And if you don't know what Dukan is and don't diet...well then I still hope you'll enter because you might just enjoy this book and you will also get free snacks ;)
And!: If you want to try out some snacks or other products, the Dukan team has also generously offered TAA readers an exclusive coupon code (TAPP15) to receive 15% off at Shopdukandiet.com! (not applicable on shipping nor taxes; valid until 7/31).
Good luck!
13 Comments | June 25, 2014 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged Dukan | in Things I Love Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (13)
I have found that when I travel it is pretty easy to stay on the diet if I do a couple of things.
1. Always have sugar free ketchup for those days when there are only hamburgers.
2. Make a few pancakes before hand for my snack at night
3 Learn to love fat free greek yogurt.
4. If I am going someplace where there is sure to be refrigeration, I bring fat free cream cheese also.
Not too hard to travel on Dukan.
5. Granola and dukan bars are a big help.
Love the diet.
That book sounds great. I read the original book as well and I really recommend it to anyone doing this diet! It really helps understand why you are doing it and makes the process easier. My go to is 0% Fage Greek Yogurt with sweet n low and cinnamon mixed in! I get sick of it after too many days in a row, but it ALWAYS keeps me full! I also keep my travelling pretty open for wiggle room with the diet so I can enjoy the summer while staying healthy!
Great Giveaway! When traveling I go all out and eat whatever my tummy desires. It's a problem even when I'm not traveling. I would love to try a healthy lifestyle but I just don't know where to begin. It is all so overwhelming.
I don't usually diet on vacation, but I really try to make the before and after vacations count! Have never tried The Dukan diet, but have been following along on your journey... This book would give me the ground work to try the diet!
Been on my own low carb diet since Nov. Twenty lbs lighter. Started in an effort to lower my blood sugar. Which I did. Weight loss is the added bonus. Hadn't heard about the Dukan diet, but interested to learn more after reading this. On my recent trip I mostly stayed low carb. Was pretty easy. Although the dinner rolls and desserts were always tempting.
Before we flew from FL to NY for a wedding a couple weekends ago, I made a double-batch of the Dukan oat bran "muffins," with the lemon flavoring. We took 4 with us to eat on the road, and I froze the other 4. My husband & I do fairly well with Dukan when we are not away from home, but the last 2 weekends were very challenging being out of town and tempted with so many options out & about at restaurants. We've been back on track this week, and ought to be fine at home this weekend. Thanks for sharing the Dukan diet with us, as it is working for both of us! (OH, and I'm going to try to make a big batch of the oat bran pancakes this weekend and freeze them! My husband's been making them for us every morning for breakfast, so I want to try to make it easier on him!)
When I travel, I try to keep breakfast and lunch as close to what I would have at home (oatmeal, eggs, and then salads) and have dinner with most variety. It works for me! I'm definitely wanting to give Dukan a try.
You have me intrigued by this Dukan diet. I have to admit, I am similar to Dayna in that I try to be good before and after a trip with my eating/dieting. Snacks that I like to bring are usually almonds or granola bars. When on vacation, I do try to be "good" while still enjoying the destination's fine eats! Omelets, fruit, fish, salads... but if it is something that is a "must have", I'll indulge. :) I made a personal goal to get back on track starting today! Personal stories like these help motivate me.. and I thank you for that! :)
Firstly, I must acknowledge how excited I am that my two FAVORITES have teamed up to bring us something truly spectacular! The Avid Appetite & The Dukan Diet, I thank you.
Now, for my go-to travel snacks:
1. Never leave the house without bringing your handy Dukan Galette. It is the PERFECT on the go snack
2. Crudités
3. Cottage (cheese)
4. Tuna Salad made with Greek Yogurt
5. 1 bag of Apple Cinnamon Dukan Oat Bran Granola (which I have not yet tried, but hope to if I am selected ;) )
And that's me...just living the Dukan lifestyle :)
Traveling is always a bit of a challenge when attempting to adhere to a diet but I've actually found that Dukan allows for more flexibility than most of the other diets out there.
I've found that breakfast and dinner are definitely the easiest. I usually go for eggs and some additional protein at breakfast and usually a protein/veggie filled dinner. Lunch can be trickier since it's easy to reach for what's convenient as opposed to what's healthy but I try to eat a big breakfast and snack on smaller snacks, like cheese and deli meats for lunch.
Dukan!
I have been following something similar to Dukan and it's been great.
I usually indulge while traveling, but I haven't been traveling much lately with 2 little ones. Speaking of, you have me intrigued about this Dukan Diet for post-kiddo weight loss. Not sure if you can attempt it while nursing, but I'll have to investigate...
I always fail so hard on vacations. If I am going really seriously then I try and stick to low-carb over anything. So I'll eat steaks and cheese and whatnot. It's definitely not the best or healthiest option but for me carbs and sugar are the real killers so I try t stay away from those for as long as I can on vacation.
I've found myself to be seriously struggling with Dukan -- not the diet's fault but my own! Week days have been fantastic and I'm super strict but I've been going away every weekend and I started a new job and it's just hard. I'm really looking forward to just getting back into the groove of it all and start losing weight again.