Having started this Dukan program trial on September 7, I am three and a half weeks into it. I lost 8.5 lbs the first week, and have lost another 3 lbs since then for a total of 11. 5 lbs, with 13.5 pounds to go. I have felt frustrated with the program because it does tout a two pound a week weight loss and after the first week, I have seen no where near those results. To me, it feels as if the weight is creeping off, not dropping off! For the Cruise phase which I am currently in, I am alternating each day with pure protein vs. pure protein & vegetables. I am thinking of switching to 5 pure protein days and then 5 protein & vegetable days to see if that accelerates things, but I will continue my continue method for one more week.

This past week was tough, as I had out-of-office conference to attend where lunch was provided. Not knowing what to expect, the first day, I brought raw carrots and cottage cheese which I ate discreetly on break. When lunch was served, I was actually able to eat something there, having two small slices of chicken marsala, steamed vegetables and salad. Nonetheless, I gained a pound a half the next morning, which I attribute to the sodium in the chicken and related fluid retention. Expecting the lunch to be similar the second day and discouraged by the weight gain on the scales that morning, I did not bring anything with me and would not have had time that day to eat it discreetly anyway. I ate breakfast at 6:00 AM and had nothing more all morning. By the time lunch was served at 12:30, I was quite hungry but lunch that day was an assortment of sandwiches and salads that had things I couldn't eat on the program. So I skipped lunch, and ate as soon as I was able, but it was close to 3:00 PM. I ate pork loin and ricotta cheese. Then, I wasn't hungry again until about 8:00 PM when I had some poached salmon-- not the best time of day to be eating that type of food. Fortunately, this awkward eating pattern didn't adversely affect my weight loss. I lost the 1.5 pounds of fluid retained the previous day as well as an additional quarter pound. I honestly expected to see a net weight gain at the end of those two days!

This coming weekend, I will likely take a break from the program-- not to go hog wild, but I feel like I've been on the program for longer than 3.5 weeks. I can't say that I am bored, but if the weight is going to come off this slowly, it is hard justify such a strict eating regime for a sustained period of time with no breaks and mediocre results. After next weekend, I plan to begin again, doing pure protein for 5 days, then 5 days of pure protein & vegetable. This is essentially starting the Attack phase all over again, but perhaps that will wake up my sluggish metabolism to let go of some of this stored fat.