real weight loss or a gimmick?

[blondehoney]

I keep reading everywhere that diets low in carbs (like cambridge and many others) are a gimmick.

They say that the initial loss is water weight - so the first week you lose a lot, but it's all water weight. But it inspires you to continue.

Apparently the weight loss then slows to 1-2lb a week, the same as a 'proper' dieting plan.

Also, it is suggested that ketosis burns fat ineffectively, hence the breath and ketones in urine.

So all in all, you lose weight slowly after the first week.

Is this true? On average, how many pounds did you lose the first week, and then each week?

How long before you looked different?

 

[LovelyLauren]

hi hun

i lost 13lbs in my first week, granted 7 were probably watre maybe more, but have since lost 5 stone (1lb away from 5stone) in 14 weeks..

average 3.5-4lb a week sometimes 5...

i think the figures speak for themselves, everyone loves a good drama story though,

CD is medically approved and there are people who have lost a hell of a lot more than me!

xxx

 

[chele80]

Gosh!
In some ways some of the above is true but do some further research and you'll find that Cambridge is recommended by a lot of the medical profession

Yes the first week is a lot of water, but that's the same with any diet you start!

Average weeks weight loss is 3.5lbs - a stone a month
And that's what I've been doing

CD works for me!

 

[chele80]

Oh and I add, I prob felt a lot different after about 2 weeks!

 

[blondehoney]

thanks for the replies and well done on your weight loss!

Is the diet more effective for those with a lot to lose? I am 13st and need to lose 3-4st ideally.

Will it be just as effective for me, as it is for someone who needs to lose say 10st?

 

[chele80]

thanks for the replies and well done on your weight loss!

Is the diet more effective for those with a lot to lose? I am 13st and need to lose 3-4st ideally.

Will it be just as effective for me, as it is for someone who needs to lose say 10st?

A friend of mine was 11 stone 4 and got down to 9 stone 4 in just 7 weeks.
It's only effective if you don't cheat, but everyone can get the same results and it doesn't matter what your start weight is

 

[16to10]

When I was on CD I didn't have much to lose and found that my weekly losses were low compared to those who did have alot to lose. It didn't bother me though.

 

[Mrs Taurus]

on all diets you tend to find the bigger you are the quicker you lose it until you get a healthier BMI.
Something else you hear about this diet is that you put it all back on quickly, well that again is like any diet.....work hard on the maintenance and it stays off, or go crazy once you get to a weight your comfortable with and you pile it back on.
Cambridge is an excellent tool to get to a healthy BMI and remain motivated, but once you get to goal that's when for many the real challenge begins, just as it is on any diet.
Good luck x

 

[Starlight]

I keep reading everywhere that diets low in carbs (like cambridge and many others) are a gimmick.

They say that the initial loss is water weight - so the first week you lose a lot, but it's all water weight. But it inspires you to continue.

Apparently the weight loss then slows to 1-2lb a week, the same as a 'proper' dieting plan.

Also, it is suggested that ketosis burns fat ineffectively, hence the breath and ketones in urine.

So all in all, you lose weight slowly after the first week.

Is this true? On average, how many pounds did you lose the first week, and then each week?

How long before you looked different?

The weight DOES come off quickly the first week in a VLCD but believe me a VLCD isnt an easy option.

Look at it this way do you really think people would actually choose not to eat for months for the same kind of losses you get on things like SW/WW.

The thing that keeps us all going, no matter what VLCD it is, is that your sacrificing food, a 'normal' social life etc but the rewards are great and its without doubt the most effective way of losing weight.

People lose anything up to a stone in the first week then around a stone a month... way above the 1 - 2lbs youve been told

 

[Vanilla]

I agree with you Starlight because the time i was on LL i always lose 5-6lbs per week unless you cheated then you can lose 1-2lbs, people like to discourage others. I can recommend anyone on this diets cos it worth it, while WW and SW it takes you ages to lose a stone but here you can lose a stone in 2weeks some others in a week.

 

[SacredSilence]

Personally, I struggle to get huge losses, But that is because I have an underactive thyroid and PCOS but I still had "decent" losses an a couple of times had big losses so this diet definately works.

For me, I would say that this is the best diet for me personally as I do so well on it compared to others I have tried.

HTH x

 

[AOGG]

I think it all depends on your view, if you start this diet thinking it's a miracle than you will find you will be disappointed, it takes a lot of effort to undereat the amount of calories you need to, to lose weight, as for ketosis, its a mechanism to help you to be able to exist on such little calories as it helps stop hunger which helps you continue. I have tried my best on this diet, and whilst i can't always SS I find I do eat less than I use so i know that instead of my weight increasing it is decreasing be it slowly. The reality is that unless you eat well and take care of yourself, you will put back weight on, if you eat for health, and eat moderately, use the 80/20 rule you will stay healthy forever, noone says you can't have a treat but its when the treats are everyday and then its not really a treat. There are many reasons why people eat to excess, sometimes its emotional, but unless we own the reasons and take personal responsibility for our weight we will always have a problem. You choose what you what you eat and how much, the food doesn't just jump into your mouth, people don't feed you, sometimes it just takes the courage to say 'no thankyou, I'm not hungry at present, I'll grab something later' sometimes you have to say No Thankyou more than once before someone gets the message, and if they carry on i find that saying that I feel a bit sick usually works as a last resort.

Cd is medically proven if used in the right way.

 

[great things]

i'm on a higher plan now but i still get decent losses. i can't stand ww or sw cause the slow losses are discouraging. you can see what i loose each week below in my signature.

 

[blondehoney]

thanks for the replies. I am eager to see an improvement in my figure, how long did it take for you to see an improvement?

Also, I am drinking sugar free orange squash - I've heard this is bad because of the citric acid, is this true? I can't stand plain water or herbal teas so I don't have much choice

Also, do you ever hit a plateau? Or is the weight loss fairly consistent (ie. you lose some every week).

Thanks for all your support

 

[Starlight]

Sugar free orange squash has citric acid in it so no, dont drink it.

You can get water flavourings from your CDC - the orange one is gorgeous.

 

[great things]

thanks for the replies. I am eager to see an improvement in my figure, how long did it take for you to see an improvement?

Also, I am drinking sugar free orange squash - I've heard this is bad because of the citric acid, is this true? I can't stand plain water or herbal teas so I don't have much choice

Also, do you ever hit a plateau? Or is the weight loss fairly consistent (ie. you lose some every week).

Thanks for all your support

i saw an improvement within a month. my first month on ss i always loose loads. each time i've done it for a long period of time due to putting on loads with pregnancies i seem to loose a stone in my first 2 weeks then another 9lbs the other 2 weeks so all in all 23lbs in a month which is over 1 dress size and heading for 2. first time i did ss after my daughter i was still wearing maternity wear and she was 14 months old. within a month i was out of it.

you can't have citric acid as it does affect ketosis but you can get water flavourings, usually from week 3 but if you struggle to get the water down you i suppose you could ask for it early.

for 90% of the time i lost consistantly as in i always lost something however, 10% of the time i had a few stay the sames which were linked to either time of the month where you bloat or the need to go up a plan to give my metabolism a kick in the rear. in 4 months on cd i lost 5st 7lbs then i got pg with my 2nd so no time to concentrate on being thin and mainteining. 2nd time round on ss after my son (who was 10 months old when i started back) i lost loads again then went up the plans a little quicker as i wasn't as big as i had been. i had to be on 1200 plan for a root canal and i was going away to eurodisney with the kids. i then was training for a half marathon and had trouble with my iron levels so i couldn't continue cd. my weight stayed the same until i'd done the half marathon and i then continued to eat like i had been whilst training and i had a very stressful time with my mum being in and out of hospital (she's still in there now and having her leg amputated this weekend due to being diabetic). i put on weight and decided as my iron levels were now back to normal that i'd return and loose the bit i put on and more.

it's a very successful diet if you give it your all and are very focused with your mind being in the right place. you can fail on any diet after the diet is finished just by eating more than your body needs to fuel itself.

 

[minirog]

I think you can keep the weight off. You just need to understand what a proper balanced diet is all about and not go back to eating what we did before. It's also important to go back up the steps and re-introduce carbs slowly. You may not gain any glycogen weight back this way. but even if you do it will only be for a week and you will lose that weight again once your body catches up with what you are doing.

I think people see it as a quick fix, which it isn't, and it's definitely not a gimmick.

 

[Starlit_Cazza]

I lost 17lb in the first 6 days - that can't all be water weight?? Last time I lost 5stone in 12 weeks - thats just short of 6lb a week, which I certainly could not achieve on a "normal" diet. I fell off the wagon at 12 weeks due to reasons beyond my control, but I maintained my loss for 8 months before it started to creep back on. Took me another year to put it all back on - so took me a lot longer to put it on than it took me to lose it in the first place!

 

[Setas]

I'd give it a go - a real go - follow it to the letter and go through the steps to build back up to "proper" eating and try. I'd love to ask the people that say it is a gimmick if they have tired it, if they followed the maintenance steps and if they continued to eat healthily or slipped back to their old ways. Its very easy to rubbish something when you don't really give it a chance - or worse still have never tried it.

My CDC was very up front about initial weight loss - she explained that it is due to glycogen stores being used up which consist of a large amount of water and that is why the first week weight loss can be so ig (and also a great motivator - even if you know it was mainly water). As to will it work - IF you stick to it then yes it does work - it can't not work, however I suspect mostof the it doesn't work stories come from people who haven't followed the plan. As to will it stay off - I've been a serial dieter for the last 20 years and each loss has been followed by an even bigger gain - and that includes all the WW, SW, Rosemary , Aktins, Diet Chef, xenical, weight loss tablets (prescribed) and all the gimmicky ones - grapefruit, egg, cabbage soup. You name it I have probably tried it and failed - but it wasn't the diet that failed it was ME after the diet not changing my eating habits. Will I keep it off this time - well I'm over 1/2 way to goal so I guess by the end of the year we will see. However I do think if you follow the build up the plans to maintenance you go a long way to helping yourself!

Look forward to hearing how you get on - whichever route you choose

 

[Soon to be yummy mummy]

Hi Blonde Honey,

I too had my doubts before I started CD last year. But I gave it a go anyway.

I started at the beginning of May and by the middle of July I was 4 stone (bar a 1lb) down. I was admitted to hospital in the July with gallstones and had the gall bladder out in September so I had to come off the diet for a while whilst my body recovered, or I truly believe I would be at - or close to - goal by now.

Since coming off it for over 4 months to recover, I have put just under a stone back on, but I put 5lbs on overnight after coming off it - I put this down to the water weight. And the rest was down to mindless eating! Literally I have stuffed myself silly every day since coming off! I expected a MUCH bigger gain!

In my preparation week I lost 8.5lbs (I was loosely following step 3 of the plan to prepare, eg low carb, no fat, no caffeine/fizzy drinks, lots of water). Then in my 2nd week (my first "real CD week") I lost a further 7lbs. So my first stone gone in two weeks. I then averaged 4-5lbs a week, granted some weeks I lost "only" 3lbs - but these were the weeks I cheated by picking/snacking/grazing!

I found it amazing. As I am a slow loser on other diet plans like WW or SW - loosing 1/2lb - 1lb a week and then getting upset and comfort eating!

And yes, people who lose 3lb a week on CD may think "whats the point in this, people can lose 3lbs/week on WW and SW and be actually EATING."

But can people consistantly lose 3lbs+ per week on WW or SW?? I know I couldn't! My losses were averaging 1lb per week! Definately not quick enough or motivating enough for me!

Also, if I had "only" a 3lb loss one week on CD, my loss the following week would be alot more.

Also, my CDC encouraged me to take inch recordings of all my body parts, eg waist, chest, arms, thighs etc... at the beginning, and then when I had a slow weight loss week to check my inch loss and it was always shockingly good!

I didnt notice any changes myself - but I'm my own worst critic! I actually FELT like I was getting fatter! But the scales said no, as did my clothes! I was at a mahoosive size 24 trousers in May, by middle of July I was down to an 18! So it definately works! With ME not noticing the changes - I think this was more down to the fact that when I was at my biggest I had stopped looking at my body in a full length mirror, I would just look at my face to do my hair and makeup, but when I made a decision to lose the weight I looked at myself in the mirror ALL THE TIME, to see if there was any difference, so each day I noticed a new lump and bump that wasn't there before! I should've just thrown the mirrors out and gone by the scales and my clothing!

For me it's not ONLY the quick losses that do it for, (although it IS debateable about whether I would totally give up eating just to lose 1-2lb a week!) its also about taking a break from having to make food choices so I can re-learn what is healthy and what is not.

I may start a massive debate out there, but to me WW is not healthy. My sister lost 2stone on WW by eating macdonalds happy meals and using all her points in coke! This may mean less calories but it certainly isn't healthy! Where's the vitamins? The fresh fruit and veg?

CD the first time around gave me a break from having to make good/bad/ugly food choices and allowed me time to take a step back and assess the way I would like to eat once I'd reached goal and I've decided that I'm going to follow the 80/20 rule by eating "clean" all week and then eating whatever I fancy on the weekend. This hopefully will keep the weight off once I get to goal.

If, once I get to goal, I go back to eating the way I did in the first place - the way that got me to reach 18st 9lbs (eek!!) then of course I am going to reach 18 stone 9lbs again! And probably more!

But the same would definately happen on WW or SW. I can assure you - I have been there and done that!

Ketosis definately helps with weight loss as it stops you from feeling hungry...it is definately true and effective as after around day 3-4 you genuinely feel amazing! You don't realise how **** you're feeling on day 1,2,3 until you get to day 4-5 and feel fab!

I too hated drinking water only, so I got some green tea in (meant to be good for speeding up the metabolism itself) and in about week 3 my CDC let me buy some water flavourings from her - you add them to sparkling or still water and they make flavoured water! You can't just get flavoured water from the shops as theres too much sugar in them and it will knock you out of ketosis so you will feel starving again!

There is some threads on here of a cheaper version of the flavoured water / water flavourings you can buy from the supermarkets that arent CD produced but are the same amount of carbs....cant find the link at the moment..... but I could never find them in the shops so i just bought the flavourings off my consultant. It was expensive, about £6 for a pot I think, but it did last a long time.

Sorry for rambling but I really DO believe in this diet and wanted to share my love of it - I've tried every other weight loss plan / pill / shake under the sun - even hypnotism ! and nothing has ever worked for me, apart from this.

I'm not going to lie and say its easy - its bloody not! It takes a lot of willpower, sacrificing a social life etc.... but for me its worth it to see the lbs/stones melt away!

Now I'm recovered from my gallstones, I'm hoping to see the remainder of my weight go with CD - and I'm never ever going back there again!

Good luck with whatever you decide hun. If you're a quick loser on WW/SW then maybe there are other plans for you. But for me, this is the only plan that works.

xxxx