Category Archives: Exercise

Proof that weight is now stable at new goal weight

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment

The trick with losing weight – no matter what program you choose to follow – is to keep the weight off and stabilise at the new goal weight that you have achieved.

How often do we hear that a person has lost 20 kilos only to have returned to their original weight (and often more!) within months of losing the weight.

susie and bill in the snow at Silver Star, BC, Canada

Skiing is great fun and good exercise for keeping the weight off

This is why the Dukan program works. First you lose the weight, then you need to consolidate that weight reduction over a period of time as your body recognises that this is the new ‘correct’ weight – otherwise the body thinks you are starving and stacks on any reserves that it can from your food/beverage intake.

We’ve been following the Dukan Diet (our modified version that allows some alcoholic beverages and more leeway with celebration meals) for over a year now and it’s clear that the consolidation phase which we have done for about six months has worked.

Recently we spent some time in Canada in the ski fields and, while we were doing lots of exercise, we were also eating lots of cinnamon buns and other treats like chocolate, hamburgers, spaghetti with creamy sauces and a bit more alcohol than usual! We tempered this with protein meals where we could fit them into the regimen. It worked! I remained at my 60 kilos and my husband actually lost some fat and gained muscle.

Exercise is mandatory for us. While in Canada, this was part of the fun. Now back in Sydney Australia, we walk every morning and sometimes in the early evening as well. We also are back on to our one day pure protein a week.

The secret is training your body to recognise your new reduced weight as the new correct weight for you. The Dukan Diet does this which is why I think it’s the best way to keep a slim figure as we get older.

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Exercise is essential to maintaining goal weight

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment

One of the big messages in Dr Dukan’s book is: if you don’t want to do regular exercise, don’t bother with my eating program.

At home in Sydney, Bill (my hubby) and I walk heaps and I go to the gym four times a week as well. Combined with the Dukan regimen of eating, we lost the weight we wanted to and have maintained our goal weight now for 12 months.

We have always exercised and somehow gradually put on weight over the years. Eating the Dukan way while doing the same exercise made all the difference. And importantly, how to keep the lost weight off is an issue. I know it’s a problem with most diets because there is no provision to ‘train’ the body to adapt to the new lower weight. That’s why I think the Dukan Diet works – but it is important to follow the program through to the end.

In saying that, we have found ways to modify the Dukan Diet to fit our lifestyle. The main principles we embrace – exercise and one day protein only a week – and it has worked. And we still can have our skinny bitch vodka and sodas after a strenuous day at the office. The office for us at the moment is a ski hill. Writing articles for ski blogs – is that really a job? Yes, it is. And it’s exercise that I can really get used to!

 

 

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Can you take off weight and keep it off?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment
Image of woman's fat tummy

Can we lose our fat tummies for ever?

I read an article in the New York Times a couple of days ago called ‘The Fat Trap’ and was a bit dismayed to read the final summation ‘Once we become fat, most of us, despite our best efforts, will probably stay fat.’

That is a sobering thought as the article suggests. However, it should be qualified. The reason people who lose weight ‘on a diet’ often gain that weight and more afterwards is because (as the article suggests) that the body goes into a survival mode following weight loss and it absorbs every ounce of energy it can to ‘restore’ the body to its normal weight – or in this case, overweight weight.

As the article says, ‘Their still-plump bodies were acting as if they were starving and were working overtime to regain the pounds they lost’.

Image of trim mother and daughter running out of the surf

Changing behaviour patterns for eating and exercise can help you stay trim for life

This is why the Consolidation Phase of the Dukan Diet is so important. It is this time that the body tries to regain the weight you have lost. What the Consolidation Phase does is retrain the body to accept the lower weight as the normal body weight. Dr Dukan talks about the ‘weight rebound reaction’ in his book – exactly what the article is talking about.

In the transition period of the Consolidation Phase, Dr Dukan advises to follow a modified eating pattern that will retrain your body to accept your new weight. And the length of time for this transition period is calculated on the amount of weight you have lost. He works in pounds not kilograms. If you have lost 20 pounds, then you calculate five days for every pound lost = 100 days.

The Consolidation Phase allows all the foods that were allowed in the Cruise Phase during weight loss with the addition of:

  • one piece of fruit a day
  • two slices of wholemeal bread
  • one serving of cheese per day
  • two servings of starchy food per week
  • additional ‘fatty meats’ such as leg of lamb and roast pork once or twice a week.

In addition, you can have one or two celebration meals a week with at least one meal between celebration meals (preferably longer).

That’s not a bad eating regimen to live by for the duration of time needed to stabilise your weight to maintain your new slim body. And of course, exercise is a must. You don’t have to work out crazily. A good 40 minute walk each morning before breakfast will increase your metabolism and the exercise will work to help keep your weight off.

I have not regained any weight over the past 12 months. Christmas did see a 2-kilo (approx 4–5 pounds) increase. But a couple of protein-only days has fixed that and we are back on the Consolidation/Stabilisation program that will keep the weight off for good.

Link to New York Times article, ‘The Fat Trap’.

 

 

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Survived the festival of food that is Christmas

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment

It’s New Year’s Eve – last day of 2011.

Image of Bill and Susie Christmas 2011 taken by Bill

Yes, we survived the Christmas festival of food and wine relatively unscathed

I started the Dukan Diet regimen in January and have maintained my goal weight for months now. And even over the Christmas period that has included lots of champagne, roast turkey and gravy and traditional plum puddings – not to mention the home-made chocolates, Christmas cake and so forth, I have only gained 2 kilos. This will be easy to take off with a couple of protein only days. So I am rather pleased with myself.

The lack of weight gain may be the result of continuing our exercise routine throughout. Bill, my husband, and I made an effort to walk before breakfast every day and to include natural exercise in our daily program. For example, while travelling to and from Brisbane by road from Sydney, we’d stop and walk along the beach and swim in the surf at many spots.

So we head into 2012 with renewed energy to maintain our goal weight. With six weeks of skiing coming up in January/February, we should not only be slim but extremely fit too.

All the best to others who want to lose excess weight. My advice: try the Dukan Diet. Even if you are like me and enjoy a good red or a glass of bubbles, it’s an eating program that can work to keep you slim – for ever!

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Posted in Exercise, Progress Reports

Succumbing to the silly season and maintaining weight loss

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment
Image of a slice of cake with cream and lots of sugar and fat

Christmas is a time of temptation – no question!

It’s impossible to escape the madness of pre-Christmas parties, dinners and drinks. The other day, we bought 14 bottles of bubbles to see us through the couple of weeks that lead up to Christmas day. Then there is Christmas dinner itself with all the wine, champagne, baked potatoes, roast Chickens, baked hams and Christmas pudding. Christmas really is like one long celebration meal.

So how does one enjoy the good times but retain the weight-loss gains?

Image of Gingerbread goodies for Christmas treats

More temptation

Champagne or Champagne-style wine with lots of bubbles is my drink of choice. But how many calories are in a glass of champagne?

One webiste says for each glass there are 91 calories. Not so bad! What about a bottle (750 ml) – 495 calories.

Another website says it’s more like 995 calories – almost a thousand extra calories. And alcohol also stops the liver from getting rid of fat so it’s a double whammy.

My strategy to get through the sillyness of the season is to double my protein only days to two a week: Monday and Thursday to help offset the additional calories. I’m also keeping my exercise regimen – 50 minute walk every morning, yoga three times a week and walking rather than driving for short trips to shops.

Image of a slim woman measuring herself with a tape measure

Yes, we can have our cake (and Champage) and eat it too without putting on weight

So far, so good. Still sitting at 60.3 kilos even though we’ve had lots of partying going on already.

Even in this mad time when little fat people in red suits are populating the shops and streets, it’s possible to maintain your goal weight. So far, so good.

 

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Get your figure back for summer

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment
Image of slim woman running in shallows at a beach

Look great this summer with some help from the Dukan Diet

Weight fluctuation over the winter months, that is, putting on weight, can be a problem for many. With the additional layers of clothing, it’s easy to hide extra kilos from that raspberry muffin we have every day with our morning coffee. Hey, it won’t be seen on the waistline for some time, so why not?

But summer is on the way, we’re wearing lighter clothes and it’s time to take off that extra weight we’ve put on.

Firstly, make a commitment to exercise for half an hour every day. Set your alarm for a 1/2 hour earlier and do an early morning walk which stimulates your metabolism amazingly. If you miss a morning, go for a walk when you come home from work. Just walk!

Add to the walk the principles of The Dukan Diet (which is a way of eating rather than a diet) and you’ll be at your goal weight in no time.

Let’s say you want to take off six kilos, start with a two- or three-day protein only Attack Phase – that can really give your weight loss a big boost. Then do the Cruise Phase of one day protein and the alternate day protein and vegetables repeating until you are at your target weight. Consider taking something to keep your bowel movements regular during this period.

BTW, throughout the whole process, one and a half tablespoons of oat bran a day. I make Dr Dukan galettes but others I know put oat bran on their yoghurt or add to milk drinks.

Following this, Dr Dukan recommends some time to consolidate your lower body weight and to get your body to understand that this is your real weight. During this phase you can have lots more to eat and celebration meals as well (see Dr Dukan’s book for exact details). One protein-only day a week is part of this consolidation phase to prevent a weight rebound reaction.

My husband and I have found that our weight has stabilised at our new weights – that’s what I mean by a ‘way of eating’ as it’s not about continually dieting. And it’s been painless. We can eat well, have treats during celebration meals, and look good in our bathers on the beach this summer. Best of all, we have huge amounts of energy and look and feel healthy.

Oh yes, we do drink wine if we go out for dinner. I try to limit my wine nights to three a week – maximum. So far, so good. I’m still at my goal weight of 60 kilos.

I should have called this blog ‘Get your figure back forever‘ because if you follow the principles of the Dukan Diet, you’ll maintain your real weight for the rest of your life.

And that’s got to be a good thing.

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Yoga: a critical part of my exercise routine

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment
Yoga pose for yoga classes

This is not me but I do this Yoga pose!

I have recently discovered the wonder of yoga and now do four classes a week. I find it is great for strengthening the body and the meditation relaxes the mind.

I do two types of yoga. Japanese Yoga is about rejuvenating the vital organs in the body: such as the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and digestive system. Not very well known from what I can see, my teacher, Kellie, has her own Japanese Yoga website.

The second type of yoga is more traditional, Hatha Yoga, with downward dogs, happy baby poses (interesting one), tree poses and the like.

Yoga is additional to the advice by the good Dr Dukan to walk every day for 20 to 40 minutes. My husband, Bill, and I do an early morning 40-minute walk around the foreshores of the Balmain Peninsula which has stunning Sydney Harbour views – how lucky we are.

The walk to the gym is about 15 minutes so that’s another 30 minutes walking as well.

Exercise is essential for the Dukan Diet, even the modified version that is working for us. If you want to lose that fat, walking is great. Yoga is my bonus exercise which I love.

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Stagnation on the Dukan weight-loss program

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Susie Stevens| Leave a comment
Runnning feet on road

If your weight is stagnating on the Dukan Diet, try something different. Add some interval training in your daily walk alternating between walking and running.

What is stagnation: simply that your weight gets stuck at a certain point and won’t seem to budge (below of course!) that weight. Dr Dukan writes about this in his book.

Recently I stayed on 65 kilos no matter what I did. Well, that’s not true but even a couple of pure protein days didn’t seem to do the trick.

My solution was to increase my aerobic exercise at the gym. I continued to walk in the mornings (40 minutes before breakfast). I still walked to my yoga classes (another 40 minutes all up) but I also added 10 minutes on a walking machine of two minutes at normal pace, one minute at high rate interval training.

It did the trick. After three days of the additional aerobic workout, I weighed in at 62.6 kilos.

Your solution may be different but sometimes it’s a matter of adding something or subtracting something: a bit more exercise or a bit less food intake.

Remember: it’s vital to drink at least 1.5 litres of water – can be tea or coffee that helps make up the total but I try to drink my water straight unless it has a splash of vodka in it!

Read about what you can eat in the Attack phase which will normally get your weight moving in the right direction.

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