Alternation - stage 2 of the Dukan diet: nutritional rules, menu for every day, recipes

In the first phase of the Dukan diet, you decided how many kilograms you want to get rid of. Now the time has come to act - get rid of excess weight. The process is not fast, that’s why it is called “Cruise”.

The second name - alternation - also has a basis. 28 vegetables are added to the initial Attack phase diet, which will significantly diversify your menu and make it even more healthy and effective.

Throughout the second phase, it is necessary to alternate protein and protein-vegetable days. This feature must be observed unquestioningly, otherwise you will have to wait a very long time for the result. It is in alternation that the secret of effective weight loss lies.

It will be interesting to read: The “Attack” phase of the Dukan diet - how to start losing weight today

How does Cruise work?

At this stage, it is important to even out the weight loss process. To ensure that the skin has time to adapt to new silhouettes and not hang in unsightly folds, carbohydrates are introduced.

Just as in the first phase, on protein days you use fat reserves, and on mixed days the body receives energy from incoming foods.

This allows you to lose weight slowly but evenly. In a week of eating this way, about 1 kilogram of weight is lost. In addition to losing weight, this stage is responsible for cleansing the body of waste and toxins. Vegetables containing coarse indigestible fiber play an important role in this process. Digestion improves, harmful substances are easily removed from the body.

Contraindications and side effects

The Dukan diet is prohibited in the following cases:

• age under 18 years;
• pregnancy or planning for it;
• lactation period.

A direct contraindication for the Dukan diet is any kidney disease. In addition, this nutritional system is prohibited for the following diseases:

• atherosclerosis;
• cholecystitis;
• hypertension;
• gout;
• gallstones;
• ulcer of the duodenum and stomach.

It is undesirable to lose weight using the French method in the following situations:

• intestinal atony;
• diabetes;
• gastritis;
• chronic constipation;
• allergy.

With caution, the diet can be used by people engaged in mental work, those whose work involves increased concentration (drivers, doctors, etc.), those suffering from metabolic disorders and people prone to depression.

Sometimes the Dukan diet can lead to the following consequences even in healthy people:

• Constipation. Most often occur on protein days due to a lack of fiber and fiber in food. The problem is solved by mandatory intake of oat bran;
• Due to non-compliance with the water regime or refusal to walk, weakness and dizziness may occur;
• At the first stage, bad breath may appear. This usually goes away by reducing the proportion of protein in the diet;
• A lack of carbohydrates may lead to some decline in mental abilities;
• Increased level of acetone in the blood. To avoid this, you need to drink enough fluids;
• Kidney problems.

Before you start eating according to Dukan, you should consult with your doctor about the compatibility of the diet and the characteristics of your body and health status.

Alternation scheme

To get a specific result, you should alternate days, adhering to a certain pattern.

If you are overweight - up to 5 kg - you can repeat every other day, that is, 1 protein, one protein-carbohydrate. You need to lose up to 10 kg - a 2/2 or 3/3 scheme will do. If you are overweight over 10 kg, you can eat according to the 5/5 plan. But Dukan himself still recommends sticking to the 1/1 or 2/2 scheme.

The duration of this stage of the Dukan diet is an individual indicator. You need to focus on the scales. Once your weight has reached the desired figure, the second phase can be considered complete.

If there is a breakdown

The Dukan diet is quite simple in its implementation, however, it can sometimes be violated. For example, when, at the height of one or another stage, a person allows himself sweets or alcohol, an extra portion of a starchy product or a forbidden vegetable. There is nothing critical about this, it is important to pull yourself together and do the following:

• do not despair and maintain a positive outlook on things;
• return to your previous regimen and extend the diet for several days;
• in the next few days strictly adhere to a protein diet;
• drink more plain water;
• get enough sleep;
• spend more time in the fresh air.

The diet is a very gentle diet for overweight people, for those who want to get rid of kilograms, but do not want to exhaust themselves. Like any diet, it cannot be absolutely permissive, but the restrictions at its core are more than acceptable.

Authorized Products

Protein products allowed for consumption in the first phase of the Attack are complemented by a vegetable assortment of 28 items.

Greenery

• Dill
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Celery
• Leaf salad
• Spinach
• Chinese cabbage
• Szavel and others

Vegetables

At the Alternation stage, it is allowed to eat non-starchy vegetables:

• Tomatoes
• cucumbers
• Eggplant
• White cabbage
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Kohlrabi
• Cauliflower
• Artichoke
• Radish
• Beet*
• Carrot*
• Zucchini
• Zucchini
• Pumpkin
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Green beans

*Beets and carrots are allowed to be consumed in very limited quantities. The high sugar content of these vegetables can slow down weight loss.

Carrots can only be used as a “vegetable”. Carrot juice is prohibited.

Nuts

According to one of the latest adjustments to the Dukan diet, the list of allowed foods at the Alternation stage was supplemented with nuts. You can use them both on protein-vegetable days and on purely protein days. The main rule is not to exceed the specified norm:

• Almonds - 25 g;
• Raw peanuts - 50 g;
• Roasted peanuts - 35 g;
• Hazelnut - 22 g;
• Walnut - 22 g;
• Cashews - 28 g;
• Brazil nut - 21 g;
• Pine nuts - 22 g;
• Sunflower seed - 30 g;
• Pumpkin seed - 30 g;
• Sesame seed - 28 gr.

These standards are for raw nuts. If you take roasted nuts (for example, almonds or peanuts), then their daily consumption rate will be reduced significantly.

IMPORTANT! If you have eaten the permissible amount of nuts, then you should not consume butter on this day.

Vegetable oils

At this stage, it is allowed to consume up to 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil per day. It is usually used during cooking (for example, frying with 1-2 drops) or as a salad dressing.

It is advisable to use unrefined oils, because... they contain a fairly high content of healthy fatty acids - olive, flaxseed, mustard, camelina, sunflower, etc.

Of the unrefined ones, for frying, it is good to use coconut oil.

Remember that if you ate a salad dressed with vegetable oil today, you can no longer eat nuts.

DOPs

• Corn starch - 1 tbsp. spoon or 20 grams;
• Skimmed milk powder - 2-3 tablespoons or 30 grams;
• Cheese (up to 7% fat) - 30 grams;
• Poultry sausages (up to 10%) - 100 grams;
• White table wine - 3 tablespoons or 30 grams - only for cooking;
• Coconut milk (up to 15% fat) - 100 grams;

It is important to remember that you can consume no more than two DOPs per day, including in ready-made dishes. For example: 30 grams of skimmed milk powder. Or 10 grams of cornstarch and 50 grams of coconut milk.

Other foods allowed on the Dukan Diet:

• Goji berries - 1 tablespoon on purely protein days, 2 tablespoons on protein-vegetable days;
• Shirataki noodles;
• Soy protein isolate;
• Wheat gluten;
• Low-fat cocoa;
• Psyllium;
• Egg powder;
• Gelatin - up to 30 grams per day;
• Apple pectin;
• Agar-agar;
• Sweetener (liquid or tablets);
• Sugar-free syrups - up to 20 ml.
• Chia seeds - 1 tbsp.

We think correctly

On the one hand, everything is extremely clear: what is there to count one additional additional plus one additional additional? But in reality, alas, it turns out that everything is not so simple, especially when you use all kinds of baked goods or other dishes that contain these products in your diet.

Of course, if, for example, throughout the whole day you ate 1 tablespoon of 3% sour cream and drank 50 ml of coconut milk, you know for sure that you met the norm. Or, let’s say, you used 2 teaspoons of soy sauce with sugar in the preparation of the chicken marinade, and did not consume any other products from this list, then you also met the daily norm according to the DOPs.

But most dishes, especially baked goods, contain both corn starch and skim milk powder, and not 20-30 grams each. That is why we will now figure out, using the example of a recipe for one cake, how to calculate the number of DOPs in a given dish, and also calculate how many days this dessert will have to be stretched out.

To begin with, the recipe for the cake itself, as well as its preparation:

Cake "Coffee Pot"

Ingredients:

For the biscuit:

• Skimmed milk powder – 30 grams
• Corn starch – 40 grams
• Egg whites – 3 pieces
• Chicken eggs – 3 pieces
• Instant coffee – 1 tablespoon
• Baking powder – 1.5 teaspoons
• Sweetener - to taste
• Salt - a pinch

For cream:

• Milk 0.5% – 400 ml
• Egg yolks – 3 pieces
• Corn starch – 20 grams
• Instant coffee – 1 tablespoon
• Sweetener - to taste.

Preparing the biscuit:

Separate the whites from the yolks. Add all other ingredients to the yolks except salt and whites. Beat the resulting mass until smooth.

Beat the whites (there should be 6 of them) with salt to strong peaks, so that when you turn the bowl over, the protein mass stands in place (or you can also check with a spoon - it should stand in this mass).

Gently mix the protein foam with the dough (mass of yolks + all ingredients), adding in parts.

Mix gently from bottom to top, being careful not to damage the whites.

Divide the dough into 2 parts, bake separately, or simultaneously in two forms. The shape should be no more than 20cm.

Bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes. We check the readiness with a toothpick or stick - it should be dry.

Cut each cake into two parts and cool.

Preparation of cream:

Mix milk with all ingredients - egg yolks, corn starch, instant coffee, sweetener. Mix everything until smooth, cook over low heat until thickened, constantly stirring the cream with a spoon.

Cool the finished cream until warm and brush the cakes with it.

Place the cake in the refrigerator to soak in the cream for at least 4-5 hours, but preferably overnight.

This was our recipe for a rather tasty and easy-to-prepare cake. Now let’s get down to the most important thing – calculating additional supplements.

Among the ingredients for the biscuit we see corn starch, in the amount of 40 grams, which corresponds to two DOPs. Also in the list of ingredients, there is skimmed milk powder in the amount of 20 grams, which corresponds to one DOP. Thus, in just one biscuit we get 3 DOPs, which is already too much in terms of quantity for 1 day. Next, we consider the composition of our cream: among the ingredients we again see corn starch in the amount of 20 grams, which corresponds to 1 DOP.

Total:

Biscuit 3 DOP + Cream 1 DOP = 4 DOP per cake.

Therefore, this cake is designed according to the additional supplements for 2 days, provided that no other additional products are consumed during these days.

If your menu, in addition to the cake, contains a couple of dishes containing additional products, then, of course, the calculations will become more complex, but remembering the school mathematics course, you can cope with this. In this case, I suggest putting a little effort into counting the number of DOPs in each serving.

As an option, you can weigh the finished dish (in our case, it’s a cake). The resulting weight will correspond to 4 additional weights. You can write this number down. And then, it will be elementary to calculate how many DOPs are contained in each piece that you cut for dessert. To do this, you will also need to weigh a piece of cake and write down the number. And then, remember the rules of proportion:

Weight of the cake in grams (let’s say 700 grams) – 4 DOPs

Your piece in grams (let’s say 150 grams) – X extras

We get: 150*4/700 = 0.86 DOPs in the piece you cut off.

And in the same exact way, you can calculate the number of DOPs in each serving of any dish; I repeat, this is the case if you have several DOP-containing dishes, baked goods, etc.

But, in my opinion, it is much easier not to complicate your life, but simply to enjoy the opportunity to eat deliciously and lose weight, and for this, simply do not combine such complex dishes in one day. It’s better to exclude all additional supplements for 2 days and calmly eat one and a half cake today and one and a half tomorrow, without complicating your life with weighings and calculations.

Prohibited Products

There are products that, of course, diversify the menu, but definitely will not help you lose weight. Eliminate them from your diet during the diet:

• Potato
• Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Corn
• Avocado
• Olives (olives)

Potatoes and legumes contain a large amount of starch, which is very easily converted into sugar, so what you lost in the first phase will be replenished without problems when consuming these products. It’s simply pointless to continue the “Cruise” with them, just like with cereals or pasta, regardless of the type of flour.

Recipes for the Alternation Phase

Since this stage allows you to consume not only meat products or eggs, but also all kinds of vegetables, this significantly expands the boundaries in the search for good, and most importantly, permitted recipes. Let's list some of them.

Spinach roll with salmon

Ingredients:

• Pack of frozen spinach (400g)
• Milk – 50 ml
• Eggs - 5 pieces
• Low-fat cottage cheese - 150 g
• Lightly salted salmon - 200 g

Thaw the spinach and squeeze out all the liquid. Beat milk with eggs and add to spinach. Can be passed through a blender to obtain a homogeneous mass. Distribute the resulting mass on a baking sheet lined with a silicone (Teflon) mat. Bake for about 10-15 minutes (check for doneness) at 180 degrees. The main thing is not to overdry.

After cooking, separate the spinach layer from the mat, brush with soft curd, sprinkle with pepper and salt to taste. Place salmon slices on top. Roll it into a roll. Place in the refrigerator for several hours (preferably overnight, pre-wrapped in cling film)

Stuffed champignons

Ingredients:

• Large champignons - 10-12 pieces
• Chicken fillet - 2 pieces
• Natural yogurt, low-fat - 100 grams
• Greens (for decoration)
• Salt, pepper - to taste

Wash the champignons and separate the caps from the stems. Finely chop the legs and simmer in a frying pan until cooked. Boil the chicken fillet. Cut into pieces and combine with mushroom stems. Season with yogurt and fill the caps with this mixture. Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet and bake for 20-40 minutes at 180 degrees. Before serving, you can garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.

Herring under Du-shuba

Ingredients:

• Lightly salted herring (barrel) - 200 grams
• Cauliflower - 400 grams
• Beets - 2-3 pieces
• Onion - 1 piece
• Carrots - 1-2 pieces
• Chicken egg - 2 pieces
• Natural yogurt or low-fat soft curd - 200 grams

Boil eggs, beets and carrots (can be done together) until tender. In a saucepan, boil the cauliflower with salt, drain the water, and mash the cabbage into a puree (you can use a blender). Next, we assemble the layers:

1. Cauliflower puree;
2. Spread with yogurt or cottage cheese;
3. Herring, diced;
4. Chopped onion;
5. Spread with yogurt or cottage cheese;
6. Grated carrots;
7. Spread with yogurt or cottage cheese;
8. Chopped boiled egg whites;
9. Grated beets;
10. Spread with yogurt or cottage cheese;
11. Finely grated egg yolks

Leave in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours (preferably overnight)

When is a diet needed?

For certain diseases. For example, the DASH diet has been proven to be beneficial for hypertensive patients. This is a diet rich in fresh vegetables, grains and fruits, while it is low in animal fats and salt. This style of eating reduces blood pressure and reduces the risk of cardiovascular accidents by 13%. And if you add physical activity, you can also lose weight.

The diet is followed by people with disorders of the absorption of various substances. For example, celiac disease - gluten intolerance. They avoid foods rich in gluten - wheat, rye, sausages, canned food, some sauces and yogurts. Those who suffer from galactosemia - milk lactose intolerance - also have to limit themselves. Both conditions are detected in a laboratory through a blood test ordered by a doctor.

Menu for 7 days

Below is an example of a menu that corresponds to a rhythm of 1 after 1 day for 7 days. You can independently create a menu for the scheme that suits you, without hesitation in mixing the products offered for the Cruise phase.

The menu for each week of the Alternation or Cruise phase should be drawn up for the week at once, so you can plan your shopping on the weekend and always know what to cook.

It will be interesting to read: Recipes for the Attack phase - the best recipes for the Dukan diet