losing 1/6th of your body weight anyone tried it on Cambridge diet?

Enclave

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I have lost 1/6 th of my body weight .. Twice .. The first time many years ago on a calorie reduced diet .. It was sheer hell .. Small amounts of food ..hungry all the time ... But I did it ... It was impossible to keep the weight off due to the hunger . Slowly my calories increased .. As did my weight ( I was not diabetic then )
The second time was when I was told I was T2 ... My weight has steadily reduced ..without hunger .. In 18 months I have easily lost 5st .. This is 25% of my body weight .. I am not dieting ! I have just changed my way of eating .. I am Low Carb High Fat way of eating and it brilliant ... I am also vegetarian... On the plus side my diabetes is in remission .. As I can eat the odd higher carbs foods and it has no impact on my blood sugar whatsoever! But I am not to keen on the high carb foods now, as my taste has changed towards carb laden foods ... I eat around 30 to 50g of carbs in a day ... And now my weight loss has slowed down, which is fine for me as it gives me time to get some new clothes .. My old ones just hang off me ..or fall to the floor :nailbiting:
 
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Leanne47

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Hello everyone I am a "newbee". Diagnosed 5 days ago I have of course like everyone else done tons of research! Is anyone familiar with Richard Doughty who used to write for the Guardian, and reversed his diabetes by going on 800 calories a day until 1/6th of his body weight had been lost? This was several years ago and he is still doing well. I have seen many stories like this, one chap had had a heartattack due to diabetes, nearly lost a toe and reversed it all on 600 calories a day. They claim that on this low amount of cals, the fat is stripped from the liver and pancreas, allowing them to work properly again. Anyone? I was wondering whether to give it a go using the cambridge diet which offers vast vitamins etc. Would be interested to hear from anyone that has any knowledge on any of this? Thank you!
I have been reading the Blood Sugar Solution and the 10 Day Detox, both by Dr Mark Hyman. I'm going to give it a go, as the results and videos of people who are now diabetes free are fantastic. I've been diabetic and very overweight for about 6 years. Now I'm determined to change this oncee and for all. Hope this helps. The books are available frm Amazon, and other book shops.
 

SunnyExpat

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I have lost 1/6 th of my body weight .. Twice .. The first time many years ago on a calorie reduced diet .. It was sheer hell .. Small amounts of food ..hungry all the time ... But I did it ... It was impossible to keep the weight off due to the hunger . Slowly my calories increased .. As did my weight ( I was not diabetic then )
The second time was when I was told I was T2 ... My weight has steadily reduced ..without hunger .. In 18 months I have easily lost 5st .. This is 25% of my body weight .. I am not dieting ! I have just changed my way of eating .. I am Low Carb High Fat way of eating and it brilliant ... I am also vegetarian... On the plus side my diabetes is in remission .. As I can eat the odd higher carbs foods and it has no impact on my blood sugar whatsoever! But I am not to keen on the high carb foods now, as my taste has changed towards carb laden foods ... I eat around 30 to 50g of carbs in a day ... And now my weight loss has slowed down, which is fine for me as it gives me time to get some new clothes .. My old ones just hang off me ..or fall to the floor :nailbiting:

Why were you hungry when you came off the low calorie diet?
Or possibly you misunderstand what the Newcastle Diet is, as you only do it for 8 weeks.
Or do you mean you couldn't stick to the reduced calorie diet for that period?
 

katyb42

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Finished 8 weeks of newcastle diet a couple of weeks ago,this was the length of the original study.If you have a lot of weight to loose some people have stayed on it for longer. Some used meal replacement shakes and a set amount of vegetables as in the original trials.others on here have done it with real food but staying within the 600_800cal limit. Is it achievable YES.is it easy you need to be determined as the first week may not be easy,you may feel cold,dizzy hungry and be constipated or have the runs. If loosing weight was easy we would all be thin.It may not put your diabetes in remission but in a lot of cases it does.
 
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Foxy in Cyprus

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Finished 8 weeks of newcastle diet a couple of weeks ago,this was the length of the original study.If you have a lot of weight to loose some people have stayed on it for longer. Some used meal replacement shakes and a set amount of vegetables as in the original trials.others on here have done it with real food but staying within the 600_800cal limit. Is it achievable YES.is it easy you need to be determined as the first week may not be easy,you may feel cold,dizzy hungry and be constipated or have the runs. If loosing weight was easy we would all be thin.It may not put your diabetes in remission but in a lot of cases it does.
That's great that you completed it. From what I understand you have to do however many weeks it takes to take 1/6 th of your body weight off at time of diagnose. Did you go into remission, did you stay in remission?!
 

katyb42

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I lost over 12kgs my fasting levels are between 4.6 and 5.2 I may well be in remission but theA1ac test that shows the average of the last 8-12 weeks is not due until the end of november.this is what is used to decide if you can come of any medication and whether levels are non diabetic. Not sure about loosing 1/6 body weight depends on your starting point.
 
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SunnyExpat

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That's great that you completed it. From what I understand you have to do however many weeks it takes to take 1/6 th of your body weight off at time of diagnose. Did you go into remission, did you stay in remission?!

I think you need to have a specific type of diabetes, 'caused' by a layer of visceral fat on the pancreas and liver.
I don't think the 1/6th of your body is a hard and fast rule.
To some degree it depends how obese you are initially, and where the fat is.
After eight weeks though, enough reduction of the visceral fat should have occurred to instigate a change in your body's response.
Also you have had enough time to re-educate yourself off the excess of food, and accept reduction in the amount you eat overall.

But if you eat the wrong food again, you may start to increase visceral fat again.
 
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AndBreathe

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That's great that you completed it. From what I understand you have to do however many weeks it takes to take 1/6 th of your body weight off at time of diagnose. Did you go into remission, did you stay in remission?!

Foxy - If you read Professor Taylor's work and look for some of his presentations, on YouTube, you will understand that neither the 8 week timeframe, nor the 1/6th of body weigh is important. What is important is the individual downwardly breaching their personal fat threshold. For some people, that could be a few kilos, but for others it could be much more, or indeed, irrelevant, because their diabetes is more complex.

Sadly, nobody knows what an individual's personal fat threshold is. As I understand it, the percentage of body weight often discussed is merely the average for those who were successful. From memory, Richard Doughty's experience was a shorter diet and less weight loss than the standard trial.
 

Enclave

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Why were you hungry when you came off the low calorie diet?
Or possibly you misunderstand what the Newcastle Diet is, as you only do it for 8 weeks.
Or do you mean you couldn't stick to the reduced calorie diet for that period?
This was before the Newcastle diet was found .. I did approx 10 weeks of a 800 cal diet .. I was hungrey .. I grew weak .. I did loose weight but the short sharp weight loss was pointless for me as my quality of life .. And I had a very limited life expectancy at that time ... Was so unhappy .. And as I said the weight solwley increased .. As did my cholesterol.. All the time the experts are telling me to eat lean meat !!!!! I am vegetarian .. And eat more carbs ... Wholemeal bread .. Brown rice ect ..I did keep telling them that was what I was eating to start with .. So eat more fruit .... Plain stupid ...
My point for the comment was that the short sharp fix is not always the easiest .. Yes the Newcastle will work .. But I would not want to do it .. I want to eat real food .. My version of the low carb high fat way of eating allows me do do that .
It's down to the individual as to the path they choose to follow ... I can eat carbs now if I want to without impacting on my blood sugars .. But I choose not to eat them because I like what I eat now without the carbs ..
 

SunnyExpat

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This was before the Newcastle diet was found .. I did approx 10 weeks of a 800 cal diet .. I was hungrey .. I grew weak .. I did loose weight but the short sharp weight loss was pointless for me as my quality of life .. And I had a very limited life expectancy at that time ... Was so unhappy .. And as I said the weight solwley increased .. As did my cholesterol.. All the time the experts are telling me to eat lean meat !!!!! I am vegetarian .. And eat more carbs ... Wholemeal bread .. Brown rice ect ..I did keep telling them that was what I was eating to start with .. So eat more fruit .... Plain stupid ...
My point for the comment was that the short sharp fix is not always the easiest .. Yes the Newcastle will work .. But I would not want to do it .. I want to eat real food .. My version of the low carb high fat way of eating allows me do do that .
It's down to the individual as to the path they choose to follow ... I can eat carbs now if I want to without impacting on my blood sugars .. But I choose not to eat them because I like what I eat now without the carbs ..

'It's down to the individual as to the path they choose to follow'

I entirely agree, I did say in one of my first posts that it has to be a diet that can be maintained for the period.
It's up to the individual to decide if they can sustain the diet for that period when they begin.
Then find a diet they can sustain low term, depending on the outcome of the low calorie diet.
 
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ally1

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i wanted to do the cambridge diet but my gp refuses to give his permission
 
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andcol

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Hi @Foxy in Cyprus, I did low calorie using real food as @AndBreathe stated. You can read my first 3 month journey where I went from an HbA1c of 91 to 40 and I have only improved since. Not on meds and eat whatever I want now - including those things that got me in trouble originally but in a controlled way.

The thread is linked in my signature if you are interested

@ally1 - it is your body you do not need permission from your GP. He can only advise; it is ultimately your choice!
 

zand

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I also did very low calorie with real food. 600 calories a day for 7 weeks. I lost only about a stone and a quarter and was disappointed that I was still diabetic afterwards. My worst problem was the feeling that my bones were drying out because I ate no fat, so my tip would be to make sure you have enough full fat products to stay healthy. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through the kind of pain I went through.
 
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SunnyExpat

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Difficult to add a lot of fat to a low calorie diet though, it really pushes the calories up.
 
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wilkie56

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hi Foxy, I started the Harcombe diet in June this year as a result of my doctor telling me it was insulin next (I am type 2). I have lost 2.5 stones in 2.5 months. My trip to the doctor last week was great - he took me off Gliclazide and wants to see me in 3 months again to see whether we can reduce my meds some more. As long as you eat well, losing weight will help you - good luck. Incidentally, I started at 17st 11 and am now 15st 5 and aiming for 14st
 

ButtterflyLady

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Maybe that's the fundamental difference in low calorie diets, which this thread is asking about, and low carb diets.

It does appear that low carb diets do as you say show diabetic symptoms if high carb food is eaten again, for some.
But low calorie diets with weight loss, that seem to send diabetes into remission do not show symptoms unless weight is regained.

Not to say that reverting to a diet of junk food after wouldn't cause problems, just that more carbs seem to be tolerated post newcastle diet than others.

I tried a low calorie diet myself, and now can manage a very good Mediterranean diet.
My previous life was classic junk food.
I don't go mad on carbs, but eat fresh food, not junk, but don't need to worry about the times I do eat carbs.
But I do watch my weight now as well.

I would suggest those that can manage it, should give it a go as the first line of defence as it were.
After that, choose a diet you find keeps your numbers were you want them.

I don't know whether I am staying in remission because of low carbing or keeping my weight down. It could be one or the other or both. I just find it easier to manage my weight with low carbing. When I have tried to reduce calories on their own I was too hungry and it didn't work.
 
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Foxy in Cyprus

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Hi @Foxy in Cyprus, I did low calorie using real food as @AndBreathe stated. You can read my first 3 month journey where I went from an HbA1c of 91 to 40 and I have only improved since. Not on meds and eat whatever I want now - including those things that got me in trouble originally but in a controlled way.

The thread is linked in my signature if you are interested

@ally1 - it is your body you do not need permission from your GP. He can only advise; it is ultimately your choice!
Hi Andrew, Thank you so much for your reply. I will study this evening after work, I am going this morning for my results of the test that shows the history of three months, but will defiantly be trying this, and yes, I will probably to healthy food under 600/800 cals a day also, maybe made up with one shake for vitamins. I look forward to reading your story later, thanks again ever so much.