Cambridge diet questions

megsmum

Full Member
Hi

Was wondering how the CD diet is different to LL. I know it is a lot cheaper and you dont get the councelling sessions.

I dont get anything out of my councelling sessions and finding it harder to stick to LL every day. I was thinking maybe swapping to CD after my 14 weeks is up.

Do I still attend a meeting to be weighed? I have looked on the website and it mentions councellors but isnt very persific. I have emailed the one local to me for some more information but in the mean time thought i would ask on here

Thanks
 
i cant spell and i dont know how to edit
im quite new to CD and i love it, its one to one and you see your CDC once or every two weeks your choice, mine weighs me, asks me how i found the week, and helps me find way do get around things if i have a difficult week, CD i wouldnt say is counclling but i would say its great support and provides great motivation i look forward to my meetings wednesdays couldnt come around sooner x
 
CDC don't have to be councillors so I think the title is somewhat misleading. They have to be trained in the diet and offer you support when you go to be weighed.

My meetings are one to one and last about 10 mins if that, which is enough to stick you on the scales then pay for your packs and take them away. Not a lot of time to discuss anything deep before the next person arrives.

As far as the LL sessions go, they are there to provide a framework and the hardwork should be done at home.

If you are not doing that and thinking about why you are struggling to stick to LL when if offers so much regarding the counselling then how is CD going to be any easier for you?

LL tries to get us to think about how we are dealing with the diet and learn from our experiences. The packs provide all the nutrician we need so what is it about ourselves that makes us feel the need to eat? Until we can figure that out and learn ways to deal with it then how can we control our eating when we return to conventional food?

I agree that if I had just gone and 'done' the sessions then it wouldn't have been a lot of cop. I got out of LL what I put in all the time I wasn't at the meetings as that is when you think about how things relate to you. It was only when I stopped putting in that I stopped acheiving.

Unfortunately I can't now afford to return to LL but I know that is exactly what I need.

If you are getting nothing from the counselling then don't waste your money on LL, you'll get the packs in CD a lot cheaper.

I did find that as the weeks went by the counselling made more sense and I got more from them. :)
 
The differences between CD and LL are:

1. more flavours with CD - 6soups, 10shakes, 2teras (ready made up shakes in a box) and 6(real choc coated) bars, also mix a mousse
2. LL needs you to get a form signed by a Doctor prior to starting and every 4weeks to get blood pressure checked and signed. CD have a medical form you complete and in certain circumstances the CDC will then ask for a GP signature, if on SS you do AAM (add a meal) on 5th week.
3. CD have different plans .... 790/1000/1200/1500
4. CD is normally 1:1 counselling ... although some CDC's do group counselling. LL is group counselling.
5. CD is cheaper. LL more expensive.
6. CD don't train their counsellors in CBT - but some have some psychology type qualification. LLC are supposed to have had CBT training.
7. CD has 3sachets of 40g and LL have 4 sachets of 30g.

If you are not getting anything out of your counselling sessions then speak to a few CDC's locally before you swap and see how you get on with them. Ask about what type of counselling they do and see if you feel you can have a rapport with them. Maybe the 790plan - where you have 3 CD meals plus a meal of protein and veg or salad might help you???

Hope this helps!
 
My meetings are one to one and last about 10 mins if that, which is enough to stick you on the scales then pay for your packs and take them away. Not a lot of time to discuss anything deep before the next person arrives.

It seems ashame you are not getting the support from your CDC - if you feel she/he is rushing you, then why don't you look around and see if there is another one nearby??? There are new CDC's training all the time. We are all self employed (as are LLC) and obviously all CDC's don't provide the same service as the next one. It is important to have a bond with your CDC as she/he is there to help you on your weight loss journey.

I give my new clients a minimum of an hour for first visits and normaally 20/30mins for subsequent visits, but if they need longer that is fine. During that next visit i want to know how they've got on, problems, as well as weighing and measuring them.

Have a look on the website/'phone Cambridge and see if you can find someone else to help you achieve your goals.
 
Hi Megsmum
I swapped from LL to CD after 11 weeks. I felt I had taken all I could from the counselling at that point. The range of packs and bars are certainly better but although CD is cheaper, it is £50 per week for me as I am over 5' 8" so I get 4 packs a day. After having 4 on LL, I would have found it very hard to only have 3, so that's something for you to take into account.
There really isn't much in the way of counselling with CD, just a case of being weighed and getting the packs, but that's fine for me at this stage. I'm really glad I had the structure of LL at the start though so I can recommend both diets. Whatever you decide, good luck with it! You've done very well so far.
 
It seems ashame you are not getting the support from your CDC - if you feel she/he is rushing you, then why don't you look around and see if there is another one nearby???

I'm so rubbish at expressing myself :eek:

My CDC is great and would support if asked. The point I was making very badly is that the counselling on LL is very proactive. It makes me think about about myself and I still find this 1 year on.

My CDC will talk if I have something to raise but I have to know what I am working through. With LL you are given a structure of what to consider and that bought up issues I would never have considered on my own.

I feel that by having done the LL first it gives me a better chance of losing the weight through CD and then eventually keeping it off if I can keep my eye on the prize :rolleyes:

I personally don't feel that LL is for everyone. Those who have found that the weight has crept on over a number of years because they have consumed maybe 100 cals extra a day should have no problems. For those that have food issues I would recommend the LL at least for that Foundation stage.

Mind you we are all individuals and need to figure what's best out for ourselves :)
 
Hi

Not sure what I really want, a kick up the butt would be a good start.

Reason i thought about changing was the councelling thing. I know it is cheaper to but I also thought you were able to eat one meal a day on it.

I dont get a lot from my councelling but keep hopeing it will all fall into place one day. I am nibbling more each day, I know it is wrong and I am totally ashamed of myself. But I feel I am wasting my time. I want to do the 14 weeks but really not sure if I can carry on with abstinance after that. I suppose I had it in my head from the start I would be doing 14 weeks and then slowly intoducing food. It wasnt explained properly and I didnt ask so faults on both sides. I also thought when I was near my target weight I would go back to a slimming club like Weight watchers were I could eat normally and keep get weighed every week. Keeping it in check and only paying about £5.75 a week instead of £66. See I have a lot of stuff going on in my head.

I dont want to stop losing weight but I need to get this undercontrol. I have so much more to loose I would be daft giving up now. Can you tell I am thinking as I write. Help what should I do lol.

Not going to do anything until my 14 weeks are up so have another month to go
 
Hi Megsmum, Cambridge has several different plans and there is one where you can have one meal a day. Sorry I didn't realise that's what you were interested in.
 
Hi Megsmum,

Sorry to hear your not getting the counselling aspect of the whole LL experience. I think the big selling point of LL is it's counselling aspect and this is reiterated time and time again in all of it's publicity material. However the quality of the counselling varies very greatly from counsellor to counsellor. Personally I think if you get stuck with a dud counsellor then your just paying £66 a week for foodpacks which you may be getting a lot cheaper on Cambridge or another VLCD.

Yes it is true that you have to commit 100% to the counselling in order to get the most out of it, however it's very difficult to do that if your LLC is not the most skilled in terms of counselling. I wouldn't beat yourself over it.

You are a paying customer, you are going to your LLC for a service, it is her role to guide you and assist you through this LL experience and yes you have to do a lot of the hard work yourself but that doesn't take away from the important role your counsellor plays - especially in Foundation. Some people need more support than others, some take to the programme like a duck to water whilst others struggle - either way the most important factor is the money you are paying every week to get the service that is advertised. If your not, then you have every right to be concerned.

I think if LL are using the counselling aspect of their programme as a unique selling point then they should regulate their counsellors a lot more and make sure that they are providing the service they charge £66 a week for - feedback from customers can help greatly in this (if they take it on board) , so whatever you decide to do, Cambridge or LL make sure you are getting the service the company is claiming it's counsellors are providing and if not, then speak up, if your counsellor won't take your comments on board then go to head office.

Hope you make the right decision for you.


:)

x


 
Hi

Thanks for the info

I spoke last night to my councellor, in fact the whole group did as someone else has the same concerns as me. She told us when the follow up classes are and what will happen. I thought I had to sign up for another 14 weeks of abstinance and she said no you can take it a week at a time. I have so much more to loose but I just couldnt get my head around another 14 weeks. I feel a lot better with this idea. Unfortunutly the class time doesnt suit but I will have to work around that. And I dont know yet whether the person I get a lift home with will be carrying on as she has a problem with work on that day, So we will see.

I think I will stick with LL and see the councelling through. I dont think it is my councellor that is the problem it is me. I just cant get my head around things. I keep getting told it will all fall into place so waiting that day.

Thanks again it is really great I can come on here and have a moan and ask questions.
 
Hi Megsmum,

Just wanted to try and give you a bit of reassurance. You won't know me as I am one of the annoying lurkers who comes on every day, reads all the threads but very rarely posts! However, what you've said really resonated with me and I hope that my experience might be relevent to your situation. I started LL on 7 February this year as a size 24 and weighing 20 stones 12 pounds - totally fed up and sick with myself. This week I have gone into route to management weighing 10 stones 5 pounds and as a size 10-12 (I'm 5'8" tall). I feel amazing for having lost over half my body weight. However, it is only in the last 3-4 weeks that I have got my head around the counselling. For months I've gone to group week in and week out and smiled and agreed with the general logic of what I have been told but it never really seemed to give me personally any answers and I couldn't understand why - (I'm lucky, I have a good counsellor - knowledgeable and supportive and very quick to get to the root of an issue). I was beginning to despair that it would ever be totally real for me and I was terrified that I would lose the weight having not learned any lessons and just put it all back on again. This is a very genuine and real fear for me because twice previously in my life I lost around 8-9 stones and then spent the next year to 18 months promptly putting it all back on - and more. I am not sure why it just all gelled, but over about a 2 week period things just fell into place in my head - I've never done thought records or really done any of the exercises in the green book in detail, just read them through and thought yes, that makes sense and moved on. Maybe if I had spent more time thinking in the earlier stages it would have sunk in sooner....but, I don't think so. I think I needed to lose the weight and free my head from feeling so bad about myself before I could allow myself to open up to my deepest thoughts and emotions. I think I was just too vulnerable before - even though at the time I would never have said that that was so.

Now it's day three of route to management, I'm nearly 9 months down this road and my head is in a totally different place to where it was. I feel so positive about the future, my fears have gone and I know that this time I have the tools to make this work for me. I know it's not going to be easy but it's achievable because something fundamental has changed in my head. It takes a long time - it took us all a long time to get to the stage we were in when we joined Lighterlife and it takes a long time to do meaningful unscrambling in your head.

You're on a similar journey to me ( I see from your ticker) and you can do it and I'm certain it will work for you, you just have to be patient, go along the path and trust in the process. Completely. That means no picking and nibbling, that is totally counter-productive for you and it will just eat away at your confidence and belief in yourself. If you can, try to just give yourself up to the programme - this is your life, for now, in time your life will change again and it will be so much better than what you have known - try to just accept and take it as it comes.

I'm rambling now, so I'll stop but I wish you all the best and really hope you can find the right path for you.

Tina
 
Thank you Bluekitten, I am pleased to know it WILL all make sense to me eventually. My counsellor is very good, but it all seems to go over my head, I join in but I don't think I'm really with it. I keep meaning to study the green book, but never seem to find the time. Well done on your terrific loss, and all the best with rtm, hope to join you in about 6 weeks.
 
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