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 do not have to be hungry and suffer. Dukan's book "I Can't Lose Weight" was published in France in 2000 and since then it has been endlessly reprinted 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.
— Mr. Dukan, at the beginning of your book there is a dedication to your wife and children. Our online resource is entirely dedicated to family life, 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 wife – a real wife – 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 next to you - an understanding, devoted one. It is important that she completes you, because I can do something that my wife cannot, and she, in turn, brings something that I do not have. This is the foundation.
My wife gave me two children - and all three, as well as my readers, are the most valuable thing in my life. This is not a joke, but very important indeed. Our children, thirty years passed side by side, are already from the spiritual, religious sphere, this is the magic of life. I think that marriages that take place on the run, when spouses change like handkerchiefs - get married, divorce - 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 withstand the troubles of life.
– What do your children do?
— My son is a financier, he lives in Paris, he works with me: he deals with everything related to finance, the Internet, the website, the products we put out to make it easier for people to follow a diet.
My daughter Maya is finishing her studies - she studies at the Ecole de Commerce. And there is a very funny story associated with her name, I will tell you now. A patient with a German surname came to visit 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 a lot and one of his daughters is called Maya. "And do you know what the woman replied? "It's me. I'm Maya Picasso. "
— Tell us a little about your brand's products - and how they can be bought in our country?
— The first product I started producing 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 cleans the intestines and secondly, it provides the necessary calories. As a result, we started importing 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 it was time to start selling bran - and so the first product appeared.
Later, they began to produce cakes (biscuits) made from bran, which I recommend using during the first phase of weight loss - this is an excellent tool to fight hunger: a person with uncontrolled appetitehe can eat them as much as he wants. In my book I give a recipe for such bread: in addition to bran, you need liquid curd, 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 bread. Then we started producing them. Then they started making ketchup - no salt, no sugar. We now manufacture 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 start to be sold in our country as well.
— How important do you think is the problem of excess weight 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 Americans, then you will become like Americans! We must stay true to ourselves, preserve food traditions. Now you are 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 fad dictated by women's desire to look more elegant and youthful. It is known that obese people live 9 years less than people of normal weight.
I am a doctor, not a businessman. And since I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor. When after high school I had to choose between art and medicine, my mother, who 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 to practice medicine".
Because I am a physician, I take great pleasure in healing all who can be healed. And, according to my firm belief, excess weight is not even an acute form of the disease, it is a continuous and chronic disease.
In the 70s, everyone wanted to lose weight quickly and did not think about the fact that the weight would inevitably return later. People now understand that weight should 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 come back to my office 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 save the results for a long time and without outside help.
— How do you respond to criticism of your methodology?
— I emphasize that my method is designed to get rid of excess weight. It is necessary to distinguish between a diet for a person with 10-20 extra kilograms and the usual diet of a person of 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 a fight. Then it is 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 fat. For example, according to the recommendations of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization), the daily diet should contain 55% carbohydrates. However, the standards were adopted in the 60s; for today's sedentary lifestyle, this is too much. When you eat sugar, your body does not want it because it understands that sugar is dangerous to 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 where it was natural to move and I didn't feel compelled to try. But modern society encourages all kinds of technologies that make a person's life easier, make him move less - this is exactly the point of view that needs to be overcome.