Real Life Diet Questions Answered

Changed over from Cambridge Plan, weight not coming off!

I have been on diets my whole life, my latest venture was the Cambridge Plan. I lost over a stone which brings me to my current weight. Before stopping the Cambridge Plan completely I would have 2 shakes and a meal before signing up for the Calorie route again. I have pretty much stuck to my guidelines give or take a few calories on maybe 3 days but have done more than the required exercise. Which in my way of thinking would balance it all out again? I did not lose "ANYTHING" during my first week. Could this be due to the changing of diet plans and my body needing to settle? I look forward to some answers.

Our expert says...

Hi, and thanks for your query. I guess what I’m wondering most is how the calorie counts of the two systems compare. Could it be that you were having fewer calories in total when you were consuming two Cambridge shakes and one meal a day? If so, with the calorie intake / exercise we’ve set you, you will still find the weight comes off, but  there will definitely be a period of readjustment.

It’s also possible that your diet is lower in protein now, which can make a difference. It takes more energy to digest protein than it does carbohydrate or fat, so you may lose weight slightly faster on a higher protein diet than on a more balanced one.

Changing from meal replacements to meals,  is also a big change for your body, digestive system etc, and frankly , we don’t really know how this might affect the metabolism for a while. In summary, there are many factors at play here, which could account for why you lost no weight in the first week.

It is very early days on your new plan, and I’d predict that as long as you stick to your food and exercise plan carefully, you should start to see results on the scale soon! In the meantime, you might also want to take waist and hip measurements weekly, to see if you can notice any changes that may motivate you there!

Good luck, and I really hope you choose to stick with us and enjoy real food! I feel sure you’ll be rewarded for your efforts soon.