"who gives a hoot?": Doing it Dukan

At the beginning of the year I embarked on a journey to get myself back into a healthier lifestyle. Not being one who enjoys working out in the least, I decided to give the Dukan Diet a try.

My mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law had all done this diet and were successful in losing weight - and keeping it off. They all look fantastic and I figured I would give it a try.

Turns out I really enjoy this program. If you'd like more information and details on this regime, check out Dr. Pierre Dukan's website. I'll skip over all the nitty gritty of things and let you do that on your own.

For me, it takes a lot to break my bad habits. It took me over 20 years to stop biting my nails if you're looking for an example. So I needed something that was strict, but lenient (is that even possible? It is!) if I ever slipped up. The Dukan Diet is perfect for me. The first few days were hard because I had no idea what I was doing and had no game plan. Now, six weeks in, I can think on the fly and am surprised with the results.

I have tweeked the diet a bit to my likings (I have veggies every day in an awesome smoothie in the morning, when I'm still in the phase where I should rotate such days) but nothing that would halt my progress. It's slowed down, yes, but I'm not struggling.

That was my main concern and worry. That if I struggled at any point, I would give up. Not saying there hasn't been days where I've wanted to just call it quits - oh boy have there ever - I just really want to see this through, because I feel good. About myself and about my results.

Here is a recipe for some muffins that I've made that I adore. And hey, they're good for you...

Dukan Lemon Muffins

11 g baking powder
3 eggs
Lemon juice of half a lemon
Lemon rind from one lemon
6 tbsp oat bran
200 ml skim milk
3 tbsp skim milk powder
3 tbsp sweetener of choice (I use stevia, and only 1 tbsp)

Pre-heat oven to 200'C. Mix all ingredients except for egg whites (separate from yolks) together until combined. Beat egg whites and when they form stiff peaks, fold into mixture (don't over mix). Spoon into muffin tins. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Tada! That simple, and actually really tasty.

There are also recipes for Dukan pancakes out there, so you can always be sneaky and make those healthy things for your family and they'll be none the wiser. Like my daughter this morning...

My daughter is a big ham and loves to play it up for the camera...

Just another Saturday at our place... After we did our usual routine - coffee, groceries, Walmart - we came home and she decided that she wanted to dress herself since we planned on spending the rest of the day at home. Herein lies the results of her... Individuality...