Cambridge Diet????????

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Replies

  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    lots of negative comments! those who go bingeing after this plan are silly, you need to make the lifestyle choice not to get back into the bad habits :grumble:

    Good luck with your shakes and hypnotherapy lifestyle.
  • Bulletproof_Helen
    Bulletproof_Helen Posts: 209 Member
    lots of negative comments! those who go bingeing after this plan are silly, you need to make the lifestyle choice not to get back into the bad habits :grumble:

    Good luck with your shakes and hypnotherapy lifestyle.


    ooh get back in the knife drawer mr sharp! I gave up on the shakes and the hypnotherapy, I do like to try everything before quitting completely, I now do Slimming World and exercise and have more success! How about a nice snide remark now!
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
    Firstly it's your choice how you choose to lose weight.

    I did the Cambridge diet in 2012. I lost 30lbs and have mostly maintained with the exception of holiday gains! There are 5 different levels ranging from under 500 calories to 1800 kcals. Depending on how much you want to lose and how quickly it depends on what level you start at.

    I'm not gonna lie, it was very hard to start with but you soon adapt. If you intend on exercising you will not be able to do the 500 kcal plan as you won't have enough energy.

    I turned my diet into six meals by dividing each meal into two so my body thought it was eating more and don't forget to drink lots of water as it will keep you fuller.

    Friend me if you want a buddy who will support you as I know what you'll be going through!

    Good luck x

    Its most definitely ops choice but why would you do something that actually sounds like torture and has negative impacts on the body as the others have stated. Are you still doing this type of diet now?

    Op pls dont do it. So many people have been successful by just slightly reducing what they normally eat
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    lots of negative comments! those who go bingeing after this plan are silly, you need to make the lifestyle choice not to get back into the bad habits :grumble:

    Good luck with your shakes and hypnotherapy lifestyle.


    ooh get back in the knife drawer mr sharp! I gave up on the shakes and the hypnotherapy, I do like to try everything before quitting completely, I now do Slimming World and exercise and have more success! How about a nice snide remark now!

    Well done for coming to your senses and thank you for being brave enough to come back to the forum to let everyone know what does and doesn''t work.
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
    What do you have to lose?

    Your health.

    I'd say that's not something you should gamble with just to lose a few quick pound that will just come right back.
  • Transformer711
    Transformer711 Posts: 55
    It seems like a lot of the Cambridge detractors don't have a clue what the diet is about. Yes, it's low calorie but you don't have to start on the 400 calorie a day option. It goes all the way up to 1500+ calories a day for those who don't wanted to be as restricted.

    And, it's not 'bad for the body'. By taking those three shakes you'll have 100% of your vitamins, minerals and protein in a day. Just punch them into MyFitnessPal if you don't believe me.

    'Cambridge is a fad' is another popular one. The definition of a 'fad' is when one loses weight without having learnt anything. It's not just diets like Cambridge that can be fads - ANY diet can be a fad if the person doesn't learn about healthy eating in the process. There have been people who've lost a ton of weight on MyFitnessPal and gained it all back because they didn't change their previous habits. That's a fad. There are people who go to the gym and 'clean eat' for 6 months only to gain it all back because they hadn't actually learnt anything. Bottom line is, whether something is a fad is dependant on if the person actually learns anything. Cambridge has a full maintenance plan which they recommend if one doesn't want to gain the weight they've lost back. You won't be living off shakes for the rest of your life.

    Yes, Cambridge CAN be extreme, but it is effective. It's safe (it's one of the most researched diets out there), and you won't gain the weight back if you follow the maintenance plan and stick to it. Your chances of gaining the weight back after doing maintenance is no more than if you did conventional eating:"/MFP/exercise.
  • jbse26
    jbse26 Posts: 39 Member
    Hi
    I guess you're from the UK? Why don't you start with the NHS plan?Link at the end. It is easy to lose a kilo a week (or it was for me) and all the advice is backed up by the BMA and its all totally free! It introduces a new thing to do each week for 12 weeks so you don't get thrown in at the deep end. People are right you have to keep the weight off or there is no point, and it seems hard to know what to do when you stop a VLCD. On the other hand i have lost weight "slow and steady " at 1 lb a week and also put it all back on, including on here ( Lost 40 then put back 56lbs with MFP and began again this May )so there is no perfect answer- go with what works for you but please try and think what you will do to keep the weight off- again the NHS plan is helpful on this and it combines easily with MFP- but there are more UK products in the data base it uses. The forums on here are the best by far though.
    Good Luck.!There are a lot of scare stories on here but i have seen people at work use Cambridge and they were fine, it's just they put the weight back on afterwards. You could save your pennies and join a gym? The NHS does not condemn it so I would not be swayed by the doom mongers unless they can provide some hard evidence against it if it is what you want to do. NHS just says it is problematic in terms of compliance.

    http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/losing-weight-getting-started.aspx
  • chatterbox3110
    chatterbox3110 Posts: 630 Member
    Sorry, but I'm another one who would advise against any liquid diet replacements. I used them years ago and lost a lot of weight in the first couple of weeks, then for 6 weeks solid I never lost a pound, despite using it exactly as directed. I felt very unwell, and regained the weight I'd lost and more once I stopped it.

    Liquid diets are fine in the short term for a 'quick fix' but if you need to lose a lot of weight then a change of lifestyle and eating habits is what's needed. I've used MFP for a while now, and although I'm having a stressful time at the moment due to personal circumstances, I've only gained a couple of pounds whereas in the past it would have all gone back on again and more, so logging my food intake on here works for me.

    I'd also add my sister in law ended up in hospital on a drip after using liquid meal replacements as she was so malnourished, and the supplier didn't want to know.

    I wish you luck though and hope you're successful.
  • Transformer711
    Transformer711 Posts: 55
    It's not a rule that you'll gain weight back just because you did a liquid diet. The gaining weight happens as a result of not having learnt about healthy eating. It's nothing to do with the method. Cambridge is well known to be nutritionally balanced. You have a consultant whom you meet with weekly and they monitor your progress. In fact, my doctor recommended it to my dad who is obese. Would a doctor recommend a diet that is as nutritionally unbalanced as people make out Cambride is? Probably not. Also, to do the 100% liquid plan on Cambridge (Sole Source) you need a letter from a doctor. It's not something anyone can jump on as a "quick fix".

    I'm not saying Cambridge is for everyone. But honestly, some of the these comments are just full of scare mongering, citing tons of issues with the diet without actually having any evidence for it.
  • CupcakeDefeater
    CupcakeDefeater Posts: 113 Member
    Hey thought I would chuck in my opinion

    I love the Cambridge diet! Not only have I kicked any unhealthy food cravings I had, but I have also kicked some of my bad habits! Since starting 7 weeks ago I am 35lbs down, can actually run on the treadmill and now love going to the gym. I completely stopped biting my nails, no longer drink alcohol every evening and have cut down on cigarettes from 20+ a day to 5 or less. These were not conscious decisions either I just realised around week 4 that I no longer went through my tobacco as fast, and my nails I only really noticed when I scratched my leg on day (after being attacked by a swarm of wasps- another story for another day lol!) and nearly drew blood! Haha

    My hair is so much healthier, my skin is the best it has ever been (probably because of the sheet amount of water I now drink!) I'm never hungry and am more energetic than I have ever been (basically jump out of bed every morning- always up before my alarm!)

    For me the Cambridge weight plan basically saved me. I had one weekend off plan, 2 days at a wedding eating whatever I wanted and drunk way too much. I probably gained 1 lb that weekend but by the time my consultant came round a week later I was down 7 from the previous weigh in.

    You have to follow the steps to go back up to eating a 'normal' diet - which is not the 'normal diet you had in the first place!' You can't just stop and eat like before - why do people always use "once you eat normally you will gain all the weight back and more!" As a reason not to do this diet? Of course you will! You gained all the weight you had in the first place by eating what you considered 'normal' follow the steps and learn what cal you need to maintain, people are not going from a vlcd eating one plate of pasta and suddenly being 70lbs overweight again! It's just a trial and error and making sure you are giving your own body what it needs to maintain.

    I would recommend this diet to anyone, but the key is finding a good consultant. Mine is lovely and comes round my house so I can't get away from those scales lol! - cheat or not she is going to find out hahahaha !

    I hope you let us know how it goes if you decide to give it a try! But good luck with whichever way you choose to loose! Xx
  • CupcakeDefeater
    CupcakeDefeater Posts: 113 Member
    Sorry I also forgot to say I also broke my diet coke addiction! Which is probably the best side affect of this diet - honestly before I would choose diet coke over cigarettes - my addiction was that bad 2-3 ltrs per day bad!

    Edited spelt coke wrong - auto correct use your imagination hahahahaha xx
  • mizroxy13
    mizroxy13 Posts: 466 Member
    If its not something that you can continue forever its not going to be useful in the long run...Just learn moderation and eat at a calorie deficit. It really is that simple.


    THIS.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,513 Member
    yes they might say they are 100% of the vitamins and minerals you need in a day but that standard nummber is a one size fits all

    my endocrinologist suggested strongly that i went on them and paraded me to other women with pcos as his success story 6 months in

    by 8 months i had become deficient in many vitamins and minerals and was so run down it took 5 courses of antibiotics to clear chest infections and the gym took the decision to ban me

    i then gained 18lb in a week while still following the plan and the head office called me a liar and said i was obviously binging when my consultant rang for advice

    that was the last day i gave money to those people. i marched down to the gp who did bloods and a few other tests, diagnosed me with hashimotos, another chest infection and gave me tablets for the water retention

    i became very ill, frequently collapsed including at the top of the stairs and ended up needing a stick to walk with

    i only got rid of that damn stick a few months ago. i take double dose multivitamins along with vitamin d and iron to keep me out of the deficiency ranges

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