Dukan Diet Phase 3: Adapting to Your New Weight & Consolidation

In the third stage of the Dukan diet, your body will learn to adjust to its new weight

 

When you reach your target weight, it’s time to embark on the Consolidation phase to ensure your body settles at its new weight.

Fat is a way of storing surplus calories and we became good at storing it so we wouldn’t starve when food was scarce.

So calorie restriction triggers a series of chemical reactions that intensify hunger pangs, reduce energy consumption and take you into a kind of hibernation.

Your body can also become ruthlessly efficient at assimilating calories. If you normally glean 100 calories from a slice of bread, you could now glean 120 to 130 calories from the same slice. Your body is now a calorie sponge, so you are vulnerable to weight gain.

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The consolidation phase

Dr Dukan’s Consolidation stage is designed to control your body’s excessive reactions and prevent any weight rebound. It provides a crucial period of transition between hard-line dieting and a return to normal eating.

Clinical evidence shows the high-risk period for regaining weight after a diet is about five days for every half-kilo lost, so Dr Dukan believes that's how long you should safely stick with the Consolidation phase. So if you have lost five kilos, you should stay in the phase for 50 days.

You can introduce small quantities of carbohydrates during this stage, but they should never be the bedrock of your diet.

Consolidation rules

• STAY in the phase for 5 days for every half-kilo lost in the previous phases.
• EAT as much protein and vegetables as you want.
• ADD 1 serve of fruit a day (no bananas, grapes or cherries).
• EAT 2 slices of wholemeal bread a day.
• EAT 1 serve (40g) of hard cheese a day.
• ENJOY 1 serve of “starchy foods” a week in the first half; increase to 2 a week in second half. Includes pasta, couscous or polenta (225g), lentils, beans, chickpeas, brown rice, potatoes.
• ADD lamb and pork once or twice a week.
• ENJOY 1 “celebration meal” a week in the first half; increase to 2 in the second half.
• KEEP 1 pure protein day per week.
• EAT 2 tablespoons of oat bran a day.
• WALK at least 25 minutes a day.
• DRINK lots of water.

Completed Stage 3? It's time to move on to the Dukan Diet Stage 4 - Stabilisation

If you missed it, catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Dukan summer diet plan.

Read the full Dukan Diet meal plan.

Read our fact sheet on the Dukan Diet.