Archive for October 20th, 2010

• Day 241: Bad News! Dukan Diet Two-Week Update

  Date: 2010.10.20 | Category: Uncategorized | Response: 7

  

  So after one week on the Dukan diet, I lost four pounds.  Yay!

  Now, I did have the feeling just before I hopped on the scale for the two week weigh-in yesterday that I hadn’t lost much, maybe even nothing.

  However, I was not prepared for the devastating read-out:  I had gained almost two pounds.  Yes, you read that right.  GAINED.

  So let’s review:  two weeks of nothing but protein, some vegetables, fat-free/sugar-free yogurt and I lose a TOTAL of two pounds?

  As I wrote in all upper-case in a furious email to a friend:

  I MIGHT AS WELL BE HAVING A HOT FUDGE SUNDAE WASHED DOWN WITH SUPER-SIZE FRIES AND SEVERAL BLOCKS OF HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE FOR EVERY MEAL!

  Yes, I’ve cheated.  I must admit this as I have witnesses, who’d rather not be identified on this blog…

  Do you want to know how I’ve cheated?

  I’ve had butter with my hard-boiled eggs and ketchup with my steak and hamburger. I use some olive oil in the pan when cooking the meat. (Butter and oil are banned on Dukan.)  I’ve had at the most two glasses of red wine with dinner on maybe two occasions.  Wow.  Call the Dukan police.  Bring the leg irons!

  Does the above cheating make you then lose one pound a week rather than the 5 to 6 pounds per week everyone else loses?

  I felt very discouraged.  To make myself feel worse, I called a friend who had effortlessly lost 22 pounds in three months on Dukan.

  “Poor you,” she cooed, with that awful tone as if she realized I was somehow not part of the Dukan winners inner circle  - and clearly have the unfortunate metabolism of an alien life form.

  She was just trying to be nice but just FYI, “Poor you” might be my least two favorite words in the English language.

  So what do I do?  Normally this is when I would quit.  But like the no-candy year, having this blog helps me stay straight.

  Because I went public with going on the Dukan diet, I’d rather not  bail on it.

  But even if I didn’t have this blog, I thought, what if I just continued – even though this diet doesn’t seem to be working for me.

  It’s a metaphor for many things in life.  You know, you try something and you work at it – and nothing happens. And you have to out yourself as not being successful (so far) at the venture.

  I have a friend on Long Island who loves men and loves being married.  But she had the worst luck with guys.  She was married three times and each marriage ended badly, with the guy often being a jerk and dumping her in a devastating way.

  I marveled at how she would talk about it openly, since it seemed to me the experiences were so humiliating.  She’d be upset, then get over it and literally get right back on the horse.  She’s now married for the fourth time, happily.

  So what if you acknowledge a certain type of failure with what you’re trying to do – and then continue it anyway?  What lies down the road?  More failure or eventual success?

  The second week of Dukan was easier psychologically and physically for me. I’ve had less bad dreams and more energy.

  So I’m now starting my third week on the Dukan diet.

  That’s the good news!

  Stay tuned,