The Dukan Protein Diet was created in 1975. It is based on 72 protein-rich foods: meat, fish, seafood, dairy, tofu, as well as vegetables and fruits - that is, you don’t have to go hungry and suffer. Dukan’s book "I Can’t Lose Weight" was published in France in 2000 and has since been endlessly republished in different languages in millions of copies. The book was published in other languages only in 2011, and now Pierre Dukan has come to give an interview, conduct a seminar and meet with admirers.
— Monsieur Dukan, at the beginning of your book there is a dedication to your wife and children. Our Internet resource is entirely dedicated to family life, giving birth and raising children. How important do you think family is in today's world?
— I am a traditional person. I believe that finding a woman—a real woman—is a great blessing. Now everything is changing so quickly, many things are being devalued, traditions are being destroyed, so it is very important to have a woman nearby - an understanding, devoted one. It’s important that she complements you, because I can do something that my wife can’t, and she, in turn, brings something that I don’t have. This is the foundation.
My wife gave me two children - and the three of them, as well as my readers, are the most valuable thing in my life. This is not a joke, but really very important. Our children, thirty years spent side by side, are already from the realm of spiritual, religious, this is the magic of life. I think that marriages that take place on the run, when spouses are changed like handkerchiefs - getting married, getting divorced - are bad. This behavior makes a person more fragile, less stable - and this has a negative impact on health. When we are happy, when we are satisfied with our family, our relationships with our children, then we are better able to resist life’s troubles.
— What do your children do?
— My son is a financier, lives in Paris, works with me: he deals with everything related to finance, the Internet, the website, the products that we release to make it easier for people to follow a diet.
My daughter Maya is finishing her studies - she is studying at the Higher Economic School (Ecole de Commerce). And there is a very funny story connected with her name, I’ll tell you now. A patient with a German surname came to see me - she had a Swiss husband - named Maya. I said, "Oh, my daughter’s name is the same as yours. "She asked why we named our daughter that. I explained: "Because I respect Picasso very much, and one of his daughters is named Maya. "And do you know what the woman answered? "It's me. I'm Maya Picasso. "
— Tell us a little about the products of your brand - and how they can be bought in our country?
— The first product that I began to produce under my own name was bran. The fact is that bran is one of the most important products of the diet, but it is very difficult to find in France. Bran is very useful: firstly, it cleanses the intestines, and secondly, it provides the necessary calories. As a result, we began to import them from Finland, and then we found out that the product was actually from another country - that is, through Finland it came to France. (Canada is the largest supplier of bran in the world). When people "tried" this product, they came to us with suitcases and bought everything. Then I decided that it was time to start selling bran - and that’s how the first product appeared.
Later, they began to produce cakes (biscuits) made from bran, which I recommend using during the first stage of weight loss - this is an excellent tool for combating hunger: a person with an uncontrollable appetite can eat them as much as he wants. In my book I give a recipe for such flatbreads: in addition to bran, you need liquid cottage cheese, protein and a little vegetable oil. But many readers wrote to my website about how nice and convenient it would be to buy ready-made flatbreads. Then we began to produce them. Then they started making ketchup - without salt, without sugar. We now produce more than 50 products and sell them all over the world. I hope that in 3-4 months, at the beginning of next year, they will begin to be sold in our country.
— How relevant do you think the problem of excess weight is in our country?
— I was surprised to read on the Internet that in the megacities of your country there are more overweight people than in Paris. People eat fast food and move little. But if you eat like the Americans, then you will become like the Americans! We must remain true to ourselves, preserve food traditions. You are now at a turning point - you can still do something, stop, so as not to lose your balance.
In general, the problem of excess weight is not just a whim dictated by women’s desire to look more elegant and youthful. It is known that obese people live 9 years less than people with normal weight.
I am a doctor, I am not a businessman. And ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor. When, after graduating from high school, I had to choose between art and medicine, my mother, she has always been a beacon for me, said: "If you become a doctor, you will always be able to draw or collect art, but if you become an artist, you will never be able topractice medicine. "
Because I am a doctor, I take great pleasure in healing everyone who can be healed. And, in my firm belief, excess weight is not even an acute form of the disease, it is a persistent and chronic disease.
In the 70s, everyone wanted to lose weight quickly and didn’t think about the fact that the weight would inevitably come back later. People now understand that weight needs to be maintained throughout life. Many diets do not stand the test of time due to the lack of a consolidation step.
When I first started, patients who initially lost weight would return to my office again after six months. I improved the technique and they started coming back within a year. But as a doctor, I was not satisfied with this result either - I wanted them to be cured forever. Therefore, in the end, I brought my method to perfection: I offer patients not only fish, but also a guide to fishing, that is, a diet plan, according to which they can not only quickly and effectively cope with obesity, but also maintain the results for a long time and without outside help.
— How do you respond to criticism of your methodology?
— I emphasize that my method was created to get rid of excess weight. It is necessary to distinguish between a diet for a person with 10-20 extra pounds and the usual diet of a person with normal weight. My technique is based on a very short and concentrated period - from one and a half to three months - this is an "attack" on weight, this is war. Then it’s easier, but you still, of course, need to monitor your diet - if a person has a problem such as excess weight, there is a tendency to become obese. For example, according to the recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization), the daily diet should contain 55% carbohydrates. However, the standards were adopted in the 60s; for the current sedentary lifestyle, this is too much. When you eat sugar, your body doesn't want it because it understands that sugar is dangerous for the body and should be completely eliminated from your diet.
Very important - and this is not news - physical activity. I was born into a world in which it was natural to move, and I didn’t feel obligated to prove it. But modern society encourages all kinds of technologies that make a person’s life easier, make him move less—this is precisely the view that needs to be overcome.