Cambridge Diet

[triplethefun]

Starting diet today - as of midnight! Got all my packs for the week ahead, want to lose at least 4 stone. Anyone been on this diet got any tips? Feeling stupidly confident!

I have been on the cambride for 3 and a half months and have lost just over 5 stone. My brother has lost 7.

It is the best diet I have ever been on (and I have done them all!!)

It is hard core though! You get moments where you dont think that you can do it - but these get less and less as time goes on. Now I am quite capable of sitting in a resturant and not eating! (went on holiday and did this every day) something that I never thought would be possible.

It has changed my life and I cant sya enough how with a bit of will power and determination it is so easy.

some tips:

• drink LOTS of water - when you are hungry usually you are thirsty - I drink about 3 litres a day
• Ignore what people say about the diet - or people who try and sabatage you
• get all of the help that you can. Plan for when you are off the diet and thikn about the causes ofyour overeating

I use these websites an they have been a lifeline for me:
mike diary this guy lost a lot of weight and wrote an online blog. You could follow it from the beginning. It has loads of tips, and great recipies that you can do with your food packs

cambridge forum this is a forum and website dedicated to the diet. You can chat with people who are in your position and get tips and support

another excellent forum

I do a lot of the recipes with the food packs. I add pepper and tabasco to the soups - this is fine on the diet. You will find that some of the flavours you have you wont like - you end up with a list of favourites.

The first week or two can be dire as your body adapts - this is normal and soon you will be in ketosis where you will feel 100 times better - so dont over do it for the next couple of weeks.

I have been using things to analysis why I am obese. For instance I read Dr Phils weightloss challenge book - this goes over why we overeat.

I also used Paul mkenna cds to help contol my cravings!

Good luck - any questions ask away and let me know how you are getting on.
x

Hi
Im on my third week and it is absolutely fantastic.I have lost 16lbs in 2 weeks
This is a brilliant forum for Cambridge dieters;
herethis

All the best.

Emily05 and Wisp thanks for great replies! You've both done so well - it makes me even more determined.

Had first shake (banana) at lunchtime - tasted fine.

This is going to take a fair bit of concentration I think, earlier today I made my little girl a juice and absent-mindedly tasted it! Realised immediately that I'm going to have to be on the ball all the time.

Yep I did that a few times over the first few days too !! Things like popping a cube of cheese in my mouth and tasting what I was cooking the family for dinner- then realising!

You probably will feel hungry over the next 3 days or so, but this will go,and you feel great with loads of energy. It does sound to good to be true- but it really is!
For the first time in over 3 years I didn't have to take painkillers for period pain-and I'm sure its down to me having the right balance of nutrients and no tonnes of chocolate and carbs.
keep me updated how you get along!

triplethefun - just checking in to see how you are getting on. x

Have just phoned a councellor wbut she was with a client. so have to phone back later! really want to try this, but am scared of...

a) failure (and I told you so's)
b) loose skin
c) my dds noticing i am not eating and it affecting them

Hi daphib
I'll try and answer your questions
a) failure (and I told you so's)
I have failed countless diets through binge eating and giving up-This is my third week nearly and it is a doddle. Not even tempted to eat-which I never thought possible !!

b) loose skin
Havn't noticed anything at all yet.Some who have lost vast amounts of weight say there is baggy skin,Al thats vanishing is fat, and my skin feels really smooth.( It never did before!)

c) my dds noticing i am not eating and it affecting them;
This was my worry too, but theres soups, milkshakes, and on the 2nd week chocolate bars-so I can sit down with the family and eat my soup out of a bowl with a spoon, and tbh my children havn't said a word to me. I just told them Mummy is eating less food, as I want to lose weight to be healthier.

This really is the best diet I've ever done.It has given me a complete break from food, and I feel fantastic with fast results, Ive lost over 8 inches in 3 weeks.Please ask away !

Emily05 - Day 2 and so far so good! Loved all the shakes so far, feeling a little hungry but just concentrating on drinking enough water. Didnt manage to drink enough yesterday, am writing it down now. Thanks for support.

Dabihp - I had all those concerns too, I just reckoned I wasnt setting my kids a good example anyway by eating rubbish. I dont think they'll really notice I'm not eating, maybe they'll wonder why I'm not picking at their leftovers!

I was worried initially about how my dh would react, he's slim - always has been/always will be - his usual advice is "eat less, move more" but this time he's been really supportive, it's spurred me on even more!

Ps Have already had negative remarks from a friend - totally disapproving. Another very supportive. One I dont dare tell yet!!

just spoke to woman, wa a bit dishearteding.. she use diet 20 yrs ago to lose 10 lbs! (fgs, you could lose that having a big p...) lol, well, anyways now she reckons she uses 2 day for breakfast and lunch. to 'maintain'.

she said cos i have a lot to use maybe i should see gp. (also cos i have pcos) so have appointment for nurse on monday, for insulin resistant test and talk abotu weight things... sigh.... £32.55 a week, will have to convince dp! she also said i should strt eating 'green and white foods' and cut out stuff i shoudlnt be eating to 'prepare' for ketosis! if i could just eat green and white foods i wouldnt need cambridge!!!

Oh dear Dabihp!!
Sadly thereare some pretty useless Councellors out there!!
Are there any others in your area?
It really does make a difference having a good councellor to see you through it.
If you have any medical problems you will need the GP to sign a form to say it will be safe for you to do.

Triplethefun: Great to hear you are getting on well-keep glugging the water-it really does make a difference !

dabihp - it is recommended that a week or two before you go on the cambride you cut out carbs and eat healthy - this makes the impact of actually going on the diet less severe. Saying that I didnt!! I ate what I wanted! Infact my brother pigged out before doing the diet (last supper and all that) so really it is up to you.

Your doctor will be familar with this sort of diet, I had nearly 10 stone to loose - but wasnt recommened to see my doctor - I am assuming that you are because of pcos.
I think that it is important to be happy with your councellor - In my area there are quite a few - do you have anymore that you could try?

I totally agree with wisp on what she said.

when I strted the diet I had failed soooo many that I didnt give a damn! But I was worried because this was my last chance to loose weight - I had tried everything. You must not worry about what other people say - or set yourself up for failure - take each day as it comes.

My skin is ok - I will have some loose skin - but I think that I would have had that no matter what diet I was on - I use bio oil and tone up as much as I can.

My ds has noticed that I am not eating 'normal' food. I just told him I am training to run a marathon (well I do hope to do one - so it is kind of tru) To be honest I was sending him worse messages when I was bigger - because my diet was soooo bad and I was so unfit that I couldnt keep up with him.

triplethefun - you are doing great! You can so do this and when the results start showing it will give you motivation as well. The hunger gets better and easier I promise - keeping a log of much you are drinking is a great idea, as it easy to loose track.
I have had all sorts of comments about my diet - doesnt bother me now. My doctor knows that I am on it and is pleased beacause 3 months ago I was 19 stone and always seeing her for all sorts of illness! Now I am 13 stone (something) and am so much healthier. Just tell your friends that the diet was designed by doctors and that it is only short term.

funny story - I bumped into a friend earlier today and she didnt recognise me!! I have just had my hair cut and now wear contact lenses - and also with the weight difference - she walked past me!! It was only when my son shouted to her that she realised!

End of day 3 and struggling a little. Hope I wake up tomorrow feeling more positive.

Just keep thinking - it will get better! I promise. Once your body has adjusted you will feel normal again. I hope that you are ok x

Stick with this!! Day 3 and 4 were awful for me, but a million times easier after I got past the first week, and my brain actually stopped thinking about food !!

Thanks for words of encouragement guys. I had a bad day yesterday - 1 year since my dad died - I hate the fact that the last time I saw him I was so overweight. He would have wanted me to be healthy and slim as I was years ago.

Anyway, I'm more determined than ever to do this. Hopefully it will get easier. I managed to cook a roast chicken dinner tonight for everyone - I love the smell of roast chicken!!

How is everybody getting on?

Hi Emily05, 2nd weigh in today lost 5lbs. Total loss of 16lbs in just 2 weeks! Feeling great, skin is smooth, clothes looser, feeling really positive that I can do this. How are you getting on?

hello. could anyone give me a brief run down of what this diet entails please? thanks.

Here we go- I was on the cambridge diet at the beginning of the year. I lost 4 stone and have maintained the weight..plus lost a few more lbs since around march/april. If you have any questions feel free to ask! BTW well done everyone who is on it..it is hard but very worth it!

The Cambridge Diet has developed from its origins as a very low calorie diet (VLCD) and is now used as both a VLCD and as the foundation for a range of weight management programmes from 415kcal to 1500kcal per day. All the programmes are based around a nutritionally complete formula food providing 100% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of all vitamins, minerals and trace elements available in a range of flavours in powder, liquid and bar form.

Formulations and energy levels vary slightly world-wide to comply with individual country legislation, but the results are the same - excellent weight loss combined with nutritional assurance.

We believe it is the Perfect Diet because it is:

easy to use and relatively inexpensive
has nutritional assurance
is healthy and fundamentally safe
produces excellent weight-loss in the desired time-scale
The Cambridge Diet tastes good and comes in a number of different formats:

as individual meals in sachets of powder which are mixed with water to produce soups and milkshakes.
as ready-mixed Tetra Briks; and as chocolate-covered meal bars. Cambridge is available in a number of flavours, each representing a balancd meal of about 137 kcal.
Everyone who uses Cambridge should follow the four stages of every programme: preparation, weight loss, stabilisation and maintenance. This will help to ensure that you will successfully manage your weight - over the long-term.

The Cambridge Diet is only available through independent Cambridge Counsellors who provide a personal screening, advisory, monitoring and support service - a major factor in maintaining motivation and achieving success. The Counsellors are accredited after a period of training and they agree to follow a Code of Conduct when dealing with customers.