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Duke Diet

Description:

Duke University operates an online program, 27 fitness centers, and a residential program lasting one to four weeks for people who want to lose weight. Dating back to 1969, these programs are leaders in the field of weight loss management. The facilitators claim that participants lose an average of 1 percent to 1.5 percent of their body weight per week (about three pounds), and 80 percent maintain their losses one year after completing the program.

The Duke program is not just a diet, but a system of exercise and mind/body classes to help overweight people and those with eating disorders make lasting life changes. The program offers help with hunger management and finding the right diet and exercise plan to fit your individual needs.

The team of professionals at Duke claims, “Our ‘diet’ is really a self-care plan – a plan that can help you not only lose weight but also improve your overall quality of life.”

It is definitely not a quick-fix or crash diet, but a program that requires meal planning, cooking, and setting aside time to perform a variety of floor exercises. For the first month on the diet, you follow a daily menu plan using required recipes. You choose from a moderate carbohydrate or regular version of the same diet, but you follow it exactly. If you feel too hungry, you add calories; if you are not losing weight, you subtract them.

Each week has a different emphasis when it comes to the mind/body connection and exercises. For example, one week you learn about stress and false hunger, and the next you learn about emotional eating. Facilitators teach you to measure quantities of foods at first until you to learn to “eyeball” portions. For example, two starches equaling 160 calories can be a portion of cooked pasta, rice, or cereal “the size of a baseball.” One fruit is a baseball-sized apple or orange, or grapes “the size of a light bulb.” A serving of cheese is the size of two dominoes.

See: Eisenson, Howard (MD) and Martin Binks, Ph.D. The Duke Diet (New York: Ballantine Books), 2007.

Created: 1969

Categories: Low Fat, Camps and Residential Weight Loss Programs, Low Calorie, Activity Emphasis, Cognitive Behavioral Approach

Website:

Meetings: Yes

Books: Yes

Expert Review:

The Duke Diet is basically a hospital-exchange diet familiar to licensed dieticians. You get a daily allotment of fruit, vegetables, starches, proteins, and fats based on your body size and activity level. A person on a 1,200-calorie diet may have three 3-ounce portions of protein, three fats, three starches, two fruits and three vegetables. You choose your portions from a list of foods with equivalent calories and you can exchange them on a daily basis.

Sample Menu:

DUKE DIET TRADITIONAL MEAL PLAN (1,200 CALORIES)

One-Day Menu

 

BREAKFAST

½ cup dry oatmeal cooked with ¾ cup soy milk and ¾ cup blueberries

 

LUNCH

Ham sandwich made with 3 oz. lean ham, 1 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese, two tomato slices, and one lettuce leaf on two slices whole-wheat bread

½ medium banana with ½ cup nonfat yogurt

 

SNACK

Choose from snack list++

 

DINNER

Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables* (one serving)

1 cup raspberries with ½ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt sprinkled with 1½ tablespoons sliced almonds

 

*Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables (four servings)

4 ounces ziti pasta                              1 cup 1% fat cottage cheese

2 cups zucchini                                   3 cups low-salt tomato sauce

2 cups chopped bell peppers                ½ cup skim mozzarella cheese

2 cups chopped onion                          ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup chopped asparagus

1 cup chopped carrots

 

Cook the ziti. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray and spread the vegetables in a single layer. Roast the vegetables for 15 to 20 minutes. Fill four individual casserole dishes with equal amounts of ziti. Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Divide the vegetables between the casseroles. Layer each alternately with ¼ cup cottage cheese and ¾ cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

 

DUKE DIET MODERATE CARB MEAL PLAN (1,200 CALORIES)

One-Day Menu

 

BREAKFAST

1 egg plus ½ cup egg substitute scrambled with two slices turkey bacon, one small orange

 

LUNCH

Green salad with avocado, 4 oz. chicken, ½ orange, 1½ tablespoons almonds, and fat-free honey dressing

 

SNACK

Choose from snack list++

 

DINNER

Turkey, Cheese and Kale Panini*

 

 

*Turkey, Cheese and Kale Panini

1 cup fresh kale                                  1 oz. reduced-fat provolone cheese

2 slices whole-wheat bread                  3 slices tomato

1 oz. low-fat cheddar cheese                2 oz. roasted turkey breast

 

Cook kale in water until tender, then season with salt and pepper. Drain the kale. Layer the cheese, tomato, kale, and turkey on one slice of bread and top with other slice. Spray a pan with cooking spray and cook the sandwich until golden brown on both sides.

 

++Snack list includes combinations like l cup nonfat milk with 2 gingersnaps; 1 cup unsweetened applesauce with 1 cup nonfat milk; 1 cup cereal with ½ cup nonfat milk; ¼ cup cottage cheese and one small pear; one hard-boiled egg and one orange, etc.

 

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Expert Comments:

A balanced diet that includes cognitive behavioral change and activity as critical elements.



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