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Day 2 Not so bad, slight headache, but only slight.
Day 3 Not so bad again.
Day 4 Felt really well, no hunger. Tested and I was in ketosis.
So I expected to feel great today, but it's been the worst so far. I haven't cheated, have drunk enough water to sink a battleship. Feel down and teary and hungry. I am told this will pass and I am determined to get through the first week without cheating.
Will see what the scales say on Thursday. Oh and so far I have had all my shakes made with hot water, which I feel has helped me.
Good luck for Saturday. Woke up ok today too, not hungry, drinking plenty of water. Have decided to take each day as it comes and hopefully get through each one.
Hi all x I did cambridge for 6 months and lost 7 stone but in the last 2 months I have been comfort eating and being a pig and put 25lbs back on I restarted on monday and I am on day3 now and determined to get back to my goal weight
I am a Cambridge Counsellor and I am happy to help with any questions you may have I did the diet myself and lost 3 1/2 stones in 13 weeks. I am now pg with number 3 The aim for me losing weight was to ttc again because I realised that being as overweight as I was could have led to a problematic pregnancy as my BP was beginning to be an issue.
Hi SpookyMadMummy - Please could you help me? I have just finished my 7th day and although only occasionally hungry, I feel awful in myself. I feel really depressed, I could sit and sob, infact almost like I did after ds3 3 years ago (pnd).
My DH says I look ill, as did the woman in the local shop. I get weighed tomorrow and am going to talk it through with my cc. Just wondered if this was normal and will it fade off? According to pee stick on Sunday, I am in ketosis.
I have 3 stones to lose, but would rather carry it than feel like this for a few months
Percent it may be that Sole Source does not suit you. Some people do feel like you do. You have a couple of options. Stick it out or move up to a food plan. Lots of people don't want to move to a food plan because they find taking food out of the equation is what they need. The first food plan step is adding an extra 200 calories, its a small amount of protein and vegetables. Its not alot, it can fit on a small plate, but it may help. Have a chat to your CDC. Have you cut out caffeine? sometimes when you cut out caffeine it can have this effect. I know the diet says have black tea and coffee with a tablet sweetener, but tbh I would prefer that my clients continue having at least a couple of cups a day with a splash of skimmed milk. Its not detrimental to the diet as far as I have seen so far. I see anything up to 40 clients a week on various stages of the diet,. It is not unusual for this to arise. Hth.
I've recently lost 6 stone in 4.5 months with Cambridge and would be happy to help in any way that i can even though i'm now following a plan with food.
Percent, i did also feel very down in the first week or so and on occasional days whilst on the plan. In a way i think i was mourning food and felt miserable because i felt i was being deprived.
I spoke to a fellower CDer who suggested a simple change in outlook, and that was to stop thinking that i was being deprived or that i was depriving myself but to look at it from the perspective that this was a choice i had made to achieve my weight-loss goal. Sounds a bit daft but its quite empowering and really did make a difference to my general outlook.
Of course there were days when i still felt terribly gloomy about the whole thing, i think thats a natural human response but it never lasted thankfully.
Also i think that when you start to see the physical changes it becomes a little easier to pick yourself up too.
It will take your body and your mind a little while to adjust, hopefully things will improve very soon.
SpookyMadMummy, Sorry I didn't get online before I went for weigh in.
I don't drink coffee or tea, so don't think it's caffeine (even though I know it's in the chocolate I am no longer eating ).
I am having my 3 shakes and water only. I know what you are saying re introducing a meal, but I would rather follow a "food" diet if that is the case. But thank you for the help.
Thanks to rhubarbshmoobarb and cheekysealion too, helpful to know you have felt similarly.
For those hoping to start, please don't let me put you off. I expect I am just odd
Hang in there and try not to be disappointed - I "only" lost 3lbs my first week. The amount i lost in total though was more than comparable with anyone who had a huge 1st week loss. It all will even itself out in the long run. Its worth remembering, as with any weight-loss plan a lot of your first loss will be water weight and this is especially true of Cambridge being carb-restricted. If you prepped before starting and had already cut down on your carbs you wont get that same huge loss in the first week, which can be mostly attributed to water.
With regard to the ketosis high can i just say, for me, it wasnt really a high lol. I had a buzz certainly for a few days after getting in the pink but that didnt last and i just found myself feeling normal as opposed to buzzed.
Dont be too quick to dismiss the diet, it can truly be life-changing but at the same time is def not for everyone. Try and ride out the low feeling for now and see what happens in the next week or two.
Oh and yes i had some very very vivid dreams rofl - usually about a guy from work and very explicit so i had no complaints about them, they were actually quite enjoyable
Well done on 4lbs off - it really is a fab achievement and good luck for the coming week
Thanks for that. I think I just expected to feel really good. I was happy before I started. As I said I am doing another week, but I really do look and feel ill.
Lucky you with the vivid dreams, mine aren't nice. Would happily cope with the ones you had.
I do know 4lbs is still good and thanks for the good luck
I've been seriously considering going back to Cambridge, sometimes wish i had gone all the way with it to goal instead of switching. A month would get me there with a couple of weeks to spare before Christmas to help stabilise the carb thing.
A friend who had to give up Cambridge for medical reasons has given me her left over packs (all in date). I thought about SpookyMadMummy's advice about moving up the plans and have been having 4 shakes a day instead of 3.
What a difference, I feel almost good now. I am 5ft 7 and it's obvious (to me anyway) I need the 5ft 8 plan. Before I felt like everything was shutting down, now I'm fine.
So glad I didn't give up. Hopefully see a change on scales too and will let my cc know what I am doing on Wednesday when i get weighed. I can cope if I stay feeling like this!
iLoveIceCream - def use a hand blender to make your shakes, a cheapy one will suffice and you can always experimant with more or less water to get a consistency you're happy with. Weeing on a Ketostick will show whether you're in Ketosis (it will turn pink) My CDC gave me some but you can buy them online or from most Chemists.
You dont need to waste money on ketosix to be honest!
I always know I am in ketosis when I wake up with a really dry mouth, other signs are not feeling constantly hungry, feeling more energetic and unfortunatly bad breath!!
Percent- glad you are feeling alot better aslong as you listen to your body you will be fine, I am glad you found a solution that works for you x
Iloveicecream- definatly get a blender ( mine was £6 from asda a couple of years ago and its still going strong!!) It makes a massive difference to the shakes
Would agree with RFN2 on the Ketostix - the only time i tested was in the first week just to confirm. After that i relied on the fact that if i was following the plan correctly that i would indeed be in Ketosis. And the manky mouth is pretty good confirmation lol
Oh yes very manky mouth here! Vile feeling on my tongue and dry all the time. How's everyones day gone so far? Mine's gone well, feel quite good infact
I saw my CDC today to get back on Cambridge. I lost nearly 3 stone recently between LL and Cambridge, but have been comfort eating since August and have now put back on just over a stone. I still need to lose about 2stone 5lbs to get to goal.
I am going to try soooooooo hard to get onto sole source. I've never done it on Cambridge only on Lighter Life but i wish I could get my head in the right place to do it. Definitely not looking forward to the next three days.
Also looking forward to trying the new Cambridge Porridge, which they didn't have last time I was on it.
Well it was weigh in today and I lost 0lbs. So I have done two weeks and lost 4lbs. But I now feel great,my clothes are looser and I feel slimmer. So I'm carrying on and hopefully at some point, it will show on the scales.
Well done percent, do you know why you're not losing the average per week? Glad you sound upbeat about it all though and feeling good.
I'm on day 2 now, currently having a butterscotch shake. I'm trying to get my head into the zone for doing sole source and I just don't think I'm going to manage it.
If I'm finding it really hard tonight, I will have a small meal, it might at least keep me going until I get into Ketosis and I'll see how it goes then.
Mumhadenough, nope, no idea why, though it is totm for me, so that might be contributing. I hated ss on 3 drinks, now I'm on 4 it's a doddle.
This is my first time on Cambridge, so really I have no advice to give. I found the first week awful,infact I felt dreadful until I went onto 4.
I started it because my eating was out of control. I just woke up and stuffed my face from the moment I got up and I never used to be like that until I had child no.5. I'm happy because I feel Cambridge is allowing me to regain control. I have decided to ignore the scales, unless of course, they show a huge loss, then I might take notice again.
Thats probably a good idea percent, cos as long as you feel better in yourself, thats all that matters!
I too really need to get a grip on my eating, I am just a pig really. I LOVE food and would quite happily sit eating from one hour to the next.
The clincher for me was on Saturday, as I'd gone for a spa day and I swear I must have consumed 10,000 calories as we had a full breakfast, champagne lunch, afternoon tea, 2 course dinner at night and several several wines and vodkas. That was my blowout! With Christmas on the way I need to get back into my lovely size 12's.
I was sooo chuffed at going from a 16/18 down to a 12, I want that feeling back again!
How's everyone doing? I am still plodding on, 4 packs and buckets of water ;)
Mumhadenough, I ate like you. Infact as I was eating one thing, I would be planning what to stuff in after! It's actually a relief to not be thinking that way at the moment.
Still here, lost 3lbs this week, takes the total to 7lbs. Clothes are a lot slacker even though weight loss isn't showing on the scales. Is everyone else still going?
Hiya... new on cambridge, day 9, and looking for some moral support really as don't know anyone else who is doing this in my area... I have a counsellor but she's new to it, and no support club where I live. Am doing sole source and have lost 10lb which is fab, but just wanted some day-to-day support... it is hard! I do have hungry times and haven't really got the ketosis buzz, though I do feel better and more alert than when I was stuffing on bread, cakes and sweet stuff. Chose this because I need to break those habits... funny that the foods I'm craving are salads and healthy savoury stuff! Has helped just reading through you thread, to know that I'm not the only one on this path... it does seem like a crazy time of year to start cambridge, but hey!
