Cambridge Diet (aka 1:1) - Autumn 2022

[ThierryEnnui]

Can't see an active thread for the Cambridge Diet at the moment, so thought I'd start one!

Been on plan (Step 1B) since end of September and am approaching the 2 stone lost mark. I did Cambridge almost a decade ago and it was a very different diet (product wise) back then. I much prefer the variety and the general flavours they have now and am finding it weirdly easy to stick to.

Anyone else currently following the diet?

Hello!

Yes I am, although I am on day 2 of step 1! So very early days for me.

I have started on 4 products per day which I think I do need.

Hello @Holidayhomehell! Nice to have company in here!

I'm on 4 products too (as am 5ft 8). Which products have you gone for?

Day 3 and 4 were probably the hardest days of this for me, and on Day 5 I felt brand new. If you can get through these next couple of days you'll have done the hard bit!

I have to say I feel quite good. I mean, I am missing proper food but would be lying if I said I was starving.

Just coming to the end of day 3 and feel ok.

I am 5ft9.

Well done on your weight loss! That is so quick.

I weigh in on Monday and praying for a decent loss. Will be so disappointed if it’s not good. I do feel less bloated already which is good.

Today I have had a chicken noodle soup for lunch then an orange bar for snack. I had sweet chilli noodles for dinner and will have syrup porridge for supper. What have you had?

TMI but tonight I didn’t make it to the toilet when I needed a poo 💩 very embarrassing to say this! Is this a thing?!

Just to add - I have 4 stone and 10lbs to lose 😞

Glad that you aren't finding Week 1 too tough. It really is by far the worst bit, so you should be sailing in the next couple of days!

Absolutely normal re: the poo! It could well be caused by getting into ketosis. I now have the opposite issue a few times a week!

I usually have a shake'n'go product (really like all the flavours, but the fruity yoghurt ones are my favourites), 2 bars (cookies and cream and fruit and nut are the best IMO) and a spag bol for dinner - which isn't to everyone's taste but I blast it with a load of black pepper and actually it's pretty good. Definitely makes me feel like I've had a "meal" in the evening!

What do you make of the noodles? I haven't tried those before.

Oh, I should say, I have almost exactly the same to go - 4 st 12 lbs!

Glad the poo situation is fairly normal!!

The sweet chilli noodles weren’t the best. I think the spag bol is much nicer.

I like the soups so far, and had a lemon bar today which was quite nice! I also really like the syrup porridge, which I plan to have tonight for supper!!

Im out late tonight because I’m at a&e - drama today but all ok. But I have whiplash…I’ve had two products today and am struggling a little tonight. It’s the hardest challenge of the week so far! But I am determined to not blow it.

Hope you’ve had a good day!

How have you managed meals out etc? Have you found you have still lost if you have had a night off plan?

From mid November I’ve got quite a few dinners out which will involve drinks too.

Ah so we are very similar!! I want to get to 12 stones. I’ve never been that before, at least not since I was in my late teens.

Day 6 successfully completed.

Today was harder than I thought it would be. Saturdays often involve a nice dinner or take away so I really struggled - but I powered on!!

Tomorrow I have a busy day so hoping that helps.

Ah im glad i found this thread! I started on step 1B on Thursday so just going into day 4. Finding it ok so far, the products in general are nicer than i expected them to be. I had pesto pasta yesterday and the chicken and mushroom soup and enjoyed both. Didnt like the orange bar, its far too sweet for me and just made me feel sick by the end! Trying to up my exercise a little by going for some walks too so hoping that helps. Cant wait to see what ive lost in a week. Ive got about 6st to loose altogether 😭

Hi, can I join too! I have just contacted my local consultant today hoping to start this week. I have around 4st to lose and if I don't do something now I never will. I feel like I need a complete reset. I'm nervous about starting and not having my morning coffee plus having to cook meals for the rest of my family. Do any of you have any advice on this? Glad I've found you all and sounds like you are off to a great start

Hi! So happy to see other people!

You can still have your morning coffee. I have mine with a splash of milk - consultant told me she didn’t ever stop milk but switched to a splash of skimmed, it’s technically not allowed though. Could you switch to black?

My husband has been cooking this week mainly.

I have to say that it’s honestly need easier than I thought it would be. It’s been hard but, if I am truly honest with you and myself, I’ve not been as hungry as I thought I would be.

Im not a huge fan of the bars - the lemon was nice but the others I’ve tasted so far have tasted very strongly of sweeteners. For 200 cals I feel they could be better. Maybe it’s ingredients in them that add the vitamins that alter the taste? Not sure!

I have the pesto pasta tonight for “dinner”.

Will come back and share my first weeks loss tomorrow.

Hello all! Lovely to have new faces, welcome!

@Holidayhomehell sorry for my radio silence! And well done on getting through Saturday. I struggle at weekends a bit, as it feels like 'treat time' but I have my weigh-ins on Monday mornings which is usually a big enough deterrent to stay away! I'm aiming for 10st 5lbs goal weight which sounds absolutely tiny for my frame - but like you, I don't think I've been that weight since I was about 15! (I'm 30 now). Current weight today is 15st so some way to go still.

@Fluffypinkcushion welcome! We all seem to be on 1B so far. It's funny how our palates are all so different - I can't stand the soups or the pesto pasta but love the bars! Glad you are finding it fairly ok so far, I know I've said it lots upthread but I really did find Week 1 much, much harder than any subsequent weeks. I feel like I'm in a proper routine now. I do feel like I should say, for full disclosure, I live alone and don't have kids so I realise it's a lot tougher for those of you with family in the house being surrounded by (and cooking) regular food. Much respect to you all!

@Mostlygrumpy hello! Cambridge is a great 'reset' diet I think. I felt a bit like you - I was in a bit of a spiral and thought it was now or never. Really glad I took that plunge. I started on 26th September and already feel a million times better, healthier and more attractive than I did. The weight does drop off, though it's also about riding the bumps as they come - i.e. hormonal fluctuations, water retention etc. One week I stayed the same despite having been religiously 100% and felt really deflated - but the following weigh in was about 6lbs so it all does balance out in the end!

@ThierryEnnui Sounds like you are doing brilliantly so far! Do you just weigh weekly? I'm a bugger for weighing every morning and could do with stopping. I'd worked hard to avoid doing it and just pop on every 5ish while i was "cutting down" (aka faffing around and putting more on).

@Mostlygrumpy Ive got 3 children and a husband to cook for at some point but husbandhas cooked this week. He works during the week though so not fair to expect him to cook all the time. Hes massively supportive though thankfully. He's planned meals that im not too bothered about and been to do the food shop this week and bought flavoursof crisps for the kids that i dont like to try to help. He cooked today and it smelled amazing but i went for a bath while they ate. Hoping that taking my daughters to their clubs and my son to toddler groups will help distract me during the week. Today has been the first day i feel hungry going to bed. Doesn't help that i didnt like my last product so didnt end up eating it!

@Holidayhomehell good luck for tomorrow, hope youget a great loss. Like you, not a big fan of the bars. Things in general seem to be so artificially sweet and haven't really got a sweet tooth!

Evening everyone.

Had my first weigh in this morning and I lost 12.5lbs!! Couldn’t believe it! It has given me the motivation to keep going with the plan. I also lost a total of 11inches too.

Was glad to pick my weeks products, chose my favourites from last week. Mainly lemon bars, chicken noodle soup (love it!), syrup porridge, a few shakes and some of the main meals.

Had the tikka style curry tonight and it was very tasty.

I’ve been keeping my porridge for supper as I struggle in the evening.

How are everyone’s tummy’s?

I went from having diarrhoea, to not pooing at all, to a little diarrhoea again today!

Agree that lots of things are artificially sweet. The spaghetti bolognese is so strange! Wonder why they make it so sweet!

That's amazing @Holidayhomehell well done, you must be over the moon with that loss. My FaceTime with my consultant is tonight and I actually can't wait to get started.

@Holidayhomehell thats a fantastic weightloss! Im the same as you, ive had a bit of hard to go to the loo then today been particularly loose. Ive had the spag bol tonight and it is very strange. Its sweet and an odd texture! Dont think ill get it next week. My favourite is the noodle soup too. Expected it to be tasteless and watery so only got 1 too so will def get more for next week. Ive been saving a bar for evenings and tend to have the yogurt drink or smoothie for breakfast. Need to work it out better next week because tomorrow ive got two yogurts and 2 soups opps! @Mostlygrumpy good luck tonight, hope it goes well!

Morning all, how are you getting on?

@Fluffypinkcushion I do weigh every morning - it's a blessing and a curse really. The good part is that I can see fluctuations happen daily, which I think can take away that glumness if you get a disappointing weekly weigh-in, but the curse is that it can also be pretty demoralising if for e.g. you bounce up by a couple of lbs one day with no explanation. Mostly I do it because I have a spreadsheet and I like watching the trendline moving down!

@Holidayhomehell that's an absolutely brilliant loss, well done! You must be chuffed. I just realised I didn't answer your question upthread about meals out etc. I try and limit them, but when I do go I try and check the menu beforehand and pick something low carb - so recently I had a baked salmon fillet with green salad whilst the table around me tucked into burgers! But honestly, I didn't really feel like I was missing out. Christmas party season will be tricky as I do like a drink, but just trying to be selective in what I say yes to!

Tummy-wise I'm a bit more regular now than I was in week 2/3 when I had pretty awful constipation. I actually found that coming off plan for a 'conventional' meal got things moving again and I haven't really suffered since, but I have also upped my water quite a lot. I use the water flavourings and now probably do about 4 litres a day.

Hi @ThierryEnnui yes still on plan. Was out this evening and drank two diet cokes. Everyone else was drinking Prosecco and getting stuck in to the crisps and dip! Can’t actually believe I didn’t get tempted.

I have a day / evening out next weekend though and know I won’t have as much control then, so I didn’t want to blow it this evening for the sake of a couple of drinks.

Cant wait for Monday so that I can say I have succeeded for two full weeks!!

Hi, how are you all getting along? I'm on day 4 and I'm really hungry today. Plus got my period too so usually I would be inhaling chocolate. I'm not going to say I'm finding this easy but hopefully I will get less hungry as the week goes on. Managing all my water and never out the loo! I like the spag Bol and the chicken curry. Wasn't a fan of the macaroni. My first weigh in is on Friday so fingers crossed.

Hi all, Can I join the gang? I'm only day 3 and doing OK. Have already made my order list for next week as I completely messed up and have 3 portions of porridge for Thursday! 🙄 Am managing OK with water consumption, don't mind the stag bol and chicken noodle soup. Am adding lots of fresh coriander & chilli to everything. 💯 improvement! I've got 5.5.stone to lose, and feel pretty elated to be taking the first steps. As I'm veggie, my husband and daughter are independent in the kitchen, and I'm not tempted by the meaty stuff they cook. I've found the Fibre powder a great help 😉💩🤷🏻‍♀️

Morning!
Hello @CreepingCrone and @Mostlygrumpy!

The first week is the hardest I think. Keep going you are nearly there!!

I am now in to my third week on 1b. Finding it ok. This weekend was torture - got my period so I feel your pain!! I was hungry all weekend so just tried to keep busy.

I went for my second weigh in and lost 5lbs, despite having my period. So I was delighted. I’ve now lost 17.5lbs and 15inches in 2 weeks.

Excited to hear how much you lose this week…it will be really motivating for you to see I think.

That's amazing, well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼