Kate Middleton’s Dukan Diet

In the months before Kate Middleton wed Prince William last year, she was all over the news for one noticeable thing – her dramatic pre-wedding weight loss. And the secret behind her supposedly effervescent weight loss is a diet plan that has been used by millions of people in France – the Dukan Diet.

The Dukan Diet is a diet plan created by French doctor Dr. Pierre Dukan, who developed his diet after trying to help a morbidly obese patient lose weight. After testing to see what worked, he discovered that combining high amounts of protein, along with a select carbs, as well as eating foods in a four stage plan, helped the human body dramatically loose weight.

And Kate has been so successful on the Dukan Diet she even had to get her ring re-sized (so it wouldn‘t fall off her fingers). For a peek at a much healthier version of the all-protein Atkins diet, here’s how Kate Middleton wowed the whole world with the Dukan diet.

How does it work?

The theory behind the Dukan Diet is relatively simple: Eat lots of protein, and stay full longer. This is also a low-calorie and low fat diet. And the diet also had Kate eat rolled oats each day, which also helped her stay full.

The Dukan Diet is divided into four phases aimed to help dieters with busy schedules, like Kate’s, be able to stay on task. Kate also made sure to drink copious amounts of water – to 1.5 liters of water a day – to make sure her kidneys remained healthy (since high protein diets can be bad for the kidneys).

Kate also make sure to walk 20 minutes a day, another important element of this diet to help spur weight loss, and she never took the elevator if the building was less than five stories.

How to do it

The first phase is called the Attack Phase, and is where the most weight loss is seen. During this phase, Kate ate nothing but lean protein, and she ate as much of it that she wanted. While pork and lamb were not allowed, fish, poultry, eggs, soy products, lean meats and nonfat dairy were among the proteins she ate. During this phase, she also ate 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran (from husks) each day.

The next phase is called the Cruise Phase. Kate added vegetables to her diet and made sure to not add any starchy potatoes or avocados, which are big no no’s according to Dr. Dukan. She only ate these vegetables every other day, but still continually ate unlimited amounts of lean protein.  She also upped her oat bran intake to 2 tablespoons a day.

The third phase of the diet is the Consolidation phase. During this phase, Kate ate an unlimited amount of protein and vegetables each day, one piece of low sugar fruit, two slices of whole grain bread and one portion of hard cheese. Also, Kate allowed herself 1 to 2 servings of starchy foods and one celebration meal each week, where she could eat whatever she wanted.

The last phase of this diet is the Stabilization phase, and taught Kate how to incorporate the diet into her life. She ate whenever she liked during this phase, and make sure to eat protein-only every Thursday, which according to Dr. Dukan is necessary in order to help keep off the weight. Kate also eats 3 tablespoons of oat bran each day for upkeep.

Kate has been married well over a year, and she still looks great thanks to this hugely popular diet.