With Cambridge you have total nutrition.
I wish this wouldnt get quoted like this, it IS not full nutrition! It is supplemented with vitamins It is nutritionally ballanced, this I feel is different to being total nutrition. It has just enough calories to keep you alive and well, but there can be hairloss at the three month mark, etc.
Losing Body Fat
By WLR Dietitian
Juliette Kellow BSc RD
Q: I weigh less than I have for a long time but my body fat has been lower in the past. Surely if I’m at my lowest weight, I should expect to have the least amount of body fat. Can you explain why this isn’t the case?
A: It sounds as though the proportion of fat and muscle in your body has changed over time. When your body fat was lower but you weighed more, it’s likely you had a higher percentage of lean tissue (muscle).
Muscle weighs more than fat, so the more muscle you have, the heavier you will be. It’s why professional athletes or body builders often appear to be overweight according to the
Body Mass Index classifications, even though they have a very low
percentage of body fat.
In order to achieve your lowest weight, it looks as though you might have lost a lot of muscle as well as fat.
This is usually the result of a very low calorie intake – effectively, your body goes into ‘
starvation mode’ and starts using your muscles to supply it with calories rather than using its fat stores, which it tries to protect at all costs.
This is a worry, especially if you’re trying to lose weight, because the amount of muscle you have in your body helps to determine your metabolic rate. Consequently, when muscle mass is reduced, your metabolic rate lowers with the result that you need fewer calories to maintain your existing weight – and therefore fewer
calories to lose weight.
Without having any details about your percentage of body fat or lean tissue it’s hard to make specific recommendations, but as a guideline, women should aim for 23 to 28 percent body fat.
In the meantime, doing more exercise will help to increase the amount of muscle you have.
For best results, do a combination of aerobic activities to burn fat and resistance training to build muscle. Having more muscle might mean you end up weighing slightly more, but it’ll give your
metabolism a boost so that you can eat slightly more in order to
maintain your weight.
Q I need to lose 7 stone and have finally decided to do something about it. However, I’m concerned that once I’ve lost weight I’ll be left with lots of sagging skin, especially around my stomach. I know exercise will help but at the moment I get tired just carrying my bulk around and anything that exerts me causes soreness and rubbing. What do you suggest?
A Well done on deciding to tackle your weight problem. As I’m sure you already know, half the battle is making the decision to lose weight. Now you’ve done that, you’re already well on the way to achieving your goal.
As you have a lot of weight to lose, I suggest you set yourself mini goals, for example, 1/2 stone at a time – achieving these smaller
goals will help to keep you motivated. In the meantime, there’s plenty you can do to help reduce the chances of being left with excess loose skin.
You’re right when you say exercise will help prevent sagging skin after weight loss. While you might find it difficult right now, as the weight starts to come off, you’ll gradually feel more energetic and find it easier to exercise. For best results you should combine fat-burning
aerobic activity to help shift the pounds with toning exercises to help the muscles shape up.
Once your doctor has given you the all clear to start exercising, I suggest you start by trying to walk as much as you can. As you lose weight and begin to feel fitter, aim to increase the distance and speed at which you walk. Once
walking becomes easy, start to introduce a mixture of other aerobic activities such as
swimming, cycling,
jogging or classes, and toning activities such as light weights.
While fitness experts used to believe that sit ups were the best way to get a flat stomach, they now know you’ll get better results if you work all the muscles in your stomach, sides and back – the core muscles – rather than just the one that helps you bend! Pilates is a fantastic workout for toning these core muscles, as are
stability balls which you can buy from good sports shops or over the internet.
Finally, you might like to use a body-firming cream each day to help keep your skin supple and smooth. Good luck!