The Cambridge Diet

MadAdey

MadAdey

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Well I have just completed day 2 of the Cambridge Diet. That is milkshake for breakfast and lunch followed enough food to feed a 2 year old and a milkshake for dinner. mmmmmmmm grilled chicken breast and some cabbage with pepper on for tea. No sauce or gravy.

It is like chinese water torture everytime someone eats on the telly or an advert for fast food comes on....

Some people may think I'm crazy doing a diet that involves eating 600 calories a day:mmm:

But hey I will do anything to get back into the pink golf trousers........:rofl:

Is anyone else doing one of these crazy diets instead of a more conventional one?
 
You're doing a diet that involves eating LESS than 6 slices of bread a day and think that's healthy :mad:

Starve yourself thin springs to mind!
 
Never really agreed with these diets where you basically starve yourself.

Your basically starving your body which yes can cause you to loose a lot of weight quick but as soon as you go off the rails a bit you body will try to cling on to every last bit of fat,carbs etc as its starved of food.

I've always said you can eat what you want within reason as long as you do some sort of exercise/activity to burn it off.
 
I'm just cutting back on the booze, crisps and sweeties. Sounds way easier, although I'm still finding it difficult. Especially the booze.
 
seen soneone post on hear the other day about it. i looked it up was interested but it involved spending money so i didnt bother. please let me know how you get on and how fast you see results as im gettin married in august so might be very interested in following this plan up
 
People should try looking into things before criticising. This was developed by a professor of nutrition at Cambridge university. Of the RDA that you get told to have how close do you even get to it. I am now feeling fantastic As I received 100% of mine now.
 
I wasn't criticising I was just saying I don't agree with all these supposedly fancy diets where you hardly eat proper meals.

Loosing weight and staying healthy is simple.

Eat within reason and do plenty of exercise.

These diets do work for quick short term weight loss but i personally I don't think they are good for long term weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
 
I did get very overweight and was touching nearly 18 stone 3 years ago. I had kept the weight off with great ease until now. I have not done anything except sit on my arse since August as I have had this broken shoulder. Problem is when you do a very physically demanding job then all of a sudden can barely walk to the toilet it is very easy to put weight on. Last time I did this I lost 38 pound in 9 weeks. I now see what they say about once you get overweight you will always have to be careful as the weight can just creep back up on you.
 
Adey, I am doing something similar, Drawboy did the CD and he lost a lot of weight quickly. I am not doing the shake thing but certainly consuming similar calories to yourself. Day 11 today and still going strong, keep it up.
 
MadAdey said:
People should try looking into things before criticising. This was developed by a professor of nutrition at Cambridge university. Of the RDA that you get told to have how close do you even get to it. I am now feeling fantastic As I received 100% of mine now.
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Did you do any research before you started the diet?

To quote an accredited health professional Mike Howard - Dipl.flm, BCRPA (TFL)

The Cambridge Diet should be used only under the guidance of a medical practitioner In the UK, the diet is only available through accredited counselors and to people with a BMI above 25.

Despite research confirming the benefits of VLCD’s they should only be used under medical supervision. Exercise cannot be maintained (except for very low intensity exercise) during the diet, and additional fiber may be required to prevent constipation.

Be very careful with the Cambridge Diet.
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I could do it since my BMI is 41.9. But hate veg and don't think I'd like the shakes.

Just to throw something else in. Having watched a show last year called Half Tonne Dad, they had the man on 1200 calories a day and his BMR would have been at least 5 times that I guess since he weighed like 50 stone.
He lost like 9 stone in a month.

Before when I dieted I did the ketosis diet (Very Low Carb) and saw great results, whilst doing resistance training and some cardio. In 2 months I lost 1.5 stone, but lost 8 inches off my waist and put muscle on my arms, back, shoulders and chest etc.

After stopping it I can't say that I suffered or put weight back on quickly when going back to the carbs full time. My added weight is from snacking at work mainly.
 
Fad diets don't work longterm, the diet that gets the weight off is the diet you have to stay on to keep the weight off -milk shakes for life, really??. If you want the best evidence based weight loss program -join a diet club, weight-watchers, diet world, fat-fighters(:whistle:) and the like.
 
Of the Cambridge Diet/Lighter Life/Milkshake diets I will say this:

I have family members who have done it with success...but once you finish your course of "milkshakes" and start introducing proper food and proper portions back into your routine it is very, very hard to keep the weight off. So to those who have done it, I wish you the very best of luck. I don't necessarily agree with it, but whatever works for you, I hope it keeps on working.
 
Yerman said:
Fad diets don't work longterm, the diet that gets the weight off is the diet you have to stay on to keep the weight off -milk shakes for life, really??. If you want the best evidence based weight loss program -join a diet club, weight-watchers, diet world, fat-fighters(:whistle:) and the like.
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I used to subscribe to that but you have to get the weight off first THEN live to a workable daily/weekly diet.

No point saying, Ill eat healthily and lose a pound a week. Someone needing to lose half a stone, maybe that might work but to those of us who need more "wholesale" losses, it needs to be a little more dramatic. How you do that is up to you, exercise or calorie cutting. Speaking to a doctor is advised though as I did last month.
Maintaining exercise is key once it is off.
 
Try the Oxford diet,always beats the Cambridge.
Dieting is easy,just burn off more calories than you eat.
Most people know the foods to stay away from,but temptation takes over.
Also a diet will never work without will power.
 
pokerjoke said:
Also a diet will never work without will power.
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Im full of it at the moment..... and willpower :D

I honestly have never wanted it shifted more than now, perhaps in the past it was because I disliked some of the foods I now really dont mind and am able to eat in relatively large amounts.
 
When I was at college we done a big project on different diets. All diets will work if you stick to them as generally you are taking out a certain food group which means you take off weight that way. All diets will come with the small print saying you should still exercise every day. The conclusion was that if you do a good work out for 30 mins a day then this should lead to a healthier lifestyle as someone has said before with the diets when you take out a certain food group then add it back in you can quite easily gain what you have lost. The workouts dont have to be extreme to say you need to go to a gym but it can be as easy as running up and down there stairs, or if your kids have a wii or an xbox then you can get fitness programs through that which can be very good. Main thing though is exercise if you are burning more calories off than you are taking in then you will lose the weight.
 
All you need to lose weight and keep it off (as I said before in the other thread) is an understanding of the energy balance.

Neutral energy balance is when the calories you take in is equal to the calories expended = Weight is maintained.

Positive energy balance is when the calories you take in is greater than the calories expended = Weight is gained and fat stores are increased.

Negative energy balance: calories you take in is less than the calories expended = Adipose (fat), glycogen, and muscle (in extreme circumstances) can be used for energy to make up the caloric deficiency. The Ideal situations is weight is lost and fat stores are reduced.

It really is that simple.

I really am strongly against these fad diets (Cambridge, ketone, Atkins) simply because, yes they deliver results in the short term in the form of weight loss, but at a massive long term cost. Eating below your body natural BMR, nevermind accounting for activity, is dangerous.

Catabolism occurs at this level of calorie intake. In essence your body breaks down muscle mass to try and fill the gap it needs to function efficiently. Less muscle = lower metabolism.

So, when you finish your fad diet, you have lost the weight you desire, but you will have drastically lowered your bodies metabolic rate (through catabolism). Now you go back to a resaonale ammount of calories your metabolism isn't quick enough to process the new intake of calories and, guess what, you'll begin to gain weight again in the form of adipose tissue (fat = stored energy).

A former work colegue did this diet. Lost around 3 stone. His lifestyle and eating have changed for the better but he's steadily gone back up to the weight he was before. Ultra-low calorie diets should only be prescribed by a medical professional and monitored as such.

In essence unless you plan on eating <1000 calories for the rest of your life, it's not going to work.
 
Ok then I am going to tackle the negativity one at a time. The Cambridge Diet was developed in 1970 by Dr. Alan Howard at Cambridge University, England. So for someone to be at one of the top institutes in the world that says a lot to me.

YERMAN well if you actually read what you wrote it makes no sense at all. DO you actually know anything about weight loss? I am hardly going to stay on shakes for life am I? You loose the weight then manage your calorie intake to stop the weight going back on.

JAMMAG Yes you can put weight back on very quickly once you reintroduce food groups. But reintroducing kebabs and pizza will do that to anyone.....;)

GARETH check out the diet it actually puts your body into ketosis not catabolism. ketosis is the process of the body living from fat reserves not muscles. the idea of the diet is to make your body eat fat reserves getting rid of the fatty cells that attract even more fat to it. You do not need to eat <1000 calories for life. once you achieve your target weight you then go on a program slowly introducing food groups back. you then maintain your weight by making sure that calorie intake = calories used. if they are equal then you do not gain weight no matter what. If your mate gained all his weight back then more fool him for going back to his old ways.

People call this a fad diet. Got news for you it is not. Developed and used for the last 40 years is hardly a fad. Atkins diet now there was a dangerous fad diet. Eat as much as you want and it will force your body into starting to burn off fat?

The idea of the diet is to change your eating habits. Some people have a high metabolism that burns off fat when it is needing energy. Some peoples bodies want to consume fat and sugar as that is an easy way to get energy. The idea is that doing this diet the correct way will get your body to burn fat stores rather than asking for you to consume fats and sugar and get you out of the habit of wanting to consume them also.

Call it a fad call it whatever. I did this diet 3 years ago and lost nearly 3 stone in a short period of time. I had a knee injury and stopped exercising because of this and my weight ballooned. I am having to go on this again as I have done nothing for 4 1/2 months due to my shoulder that got smashed to pieces, except sit around consuming the same calories as I was before. I have a very active life playing football twice a week, golf 3 or 4 times a week and going to the gym, so my body is use to consuming 3000-3500 calories a day as my job is very physical also. So when you keep eating that amount as that is what you are use to my weight has shot up again.
 
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