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Cambridge 121 from my gp

C

Craigh270779

Active Member
Messages
38
Location
Edinburgh
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi guys

I had my review recently with the diabetic nurse at my gp, it was a new nurse who had moved from another practice and she was very friendly and informative.

The last nurse i saw was trying to encourage me to go to slimming world and i suggested that it wasn't ideal given the fact that having been on SW previously it was carb rich.

When the new nurse took my weight etc and gave me my results (which were a bit higher than the last time) she told me that the practice were looking for some type 2 patients to go onto a trial, the practice are actually paying for a 12 week course of cambridge 121 for 10 patients that have type 2 and are overweight and im pleased to say that i have been accepted for it.

Ive got an appointment this and next Tuesday with the nurse again to get more measurements etc then will be starting it.

I have to say ive been sceptical of these diets as they are very low calorie, ive had people trying to punt herbalife etc to me on the past but ive checked out YouTube and google for success stories on this plan and it looks like a lot of people have had success with Cambridge.

Im looking forward to it as i do intermittent fasting and never really eat until dinner time anyway so i think a low calorie diet will be fine for me and will (hopefully) work wonders.

Have any of you guys done this before and has it worked for you? Im looking forward to seeing the difference when i start it and im determined to boot the type 2 into touch
 
The problem you'll find is likely to be that the weight you lose.. and you probably will.. coming back afterwards..
All short term "starvation" type diets will result in some weight loss the key is how to maintain the loss when you start eating "normally" again.
If they don't have a feasible strategy for maintaining the loss that you think would work for you then think again?
 

I know this is a risk, but only if i go back to eating the way i was before hand.

Pretty mixed diet at the moment and i try to do low carb when i can. Im going to go on low carb once i do thr Cambridge 121 plan and both the practice and Cambridge person are going to help me with once i come off the plan
 
I am currently doing the Exante 'Total Solution Plan'. It is similar to Cambridge. I have only been on it for 3 weeks, but have seen my weight and blood glucose levels drop. Good luck.
 
I was slightly involved with the Cambridge diet way back in the 1970s - I have no way of knowing if it is still the same - and the type I liked most, which were a setting dessert type are no longer in the scheme - but hopefully it is still being packed with the same care as we did in the pilot plant in Market Harborough - the disparate particle size meant that the vitamin and mineral powder percolated down to the bottom of the mixture if it was tamped.
It was carefully designed back them - by a Dr Howard, IIRC.
I used to have hundreds of sachets stored away in the cold room at the labs as I rather liked the flavours. No wonder I stayed so slim back then.
 
Guna108 said:
I am currently doing the Exante 'Total Solution Plan'. It is similar to Cambridge. I have only been on it for 3 weeks, but have seen my weight and blood glucose levels drop. Good luck.
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that's really positive to hear, i know the Exante diet is similar, i'm looking forward to starting it soon. i've got meal replacement shakes that i've never opened so i'm going to break myself in gently and use them so i can get used to it.

all the best with your quest as well
 
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i'm looking forward to it, i can remember the cambridge diet from the 80's, my mum was on it and it was all packet soups etc, i know its going to be a challenge but i need to do it, need to loose about 4 stone
 
Hi. I've been doing Cambridge for about 6 weeks now. Last hba1c before started was 38. I find it very carby, it's about 30g per sachet but because it's 'instant' food that you add water to, I absorb the carbs very quickly. My bg goes up +4 mmol within ~1 hr but I fortunately come down to only +1-2 mmol after 2 hr from first slurp/bite. I already lost 11% weight prior to starting it by low carbing but it took 5 months and wanting to lose it quicker. Frankly am a bit disappointed with my losses, ~ 0.7 kg per week. Others do better, but I think they're diets were more junky than me before it? Am planning to continue a bit more but not sure I could recommend it here unless someone will check their bg and make their own decisions. One good point is the 'step' programme so that once you reach goal weight you go up a graduated calorie prog. So should be better maintenance months later rather than typical yo-yo diets. I'd be happy to hear others experiences and opinions about it.

Forgot to say, get the extra fibre and drink the 2.25 L of water a day for it to work! Surprisingly don't feel too hungry on it with those.
 

Its funny how the nurse was telling me that the 121 plan puts you into ketosis due to the low calorie value but i wasnt aware that it was that carb rich, ive been doing low carb on and off (more off recently unfortunately) im going to give it a go and want to try my best on it.

I drink well over 2litres of fluid a day so i won't t have any problems there in relation to liquids, not sure why i struggle with kow carb recently, i stick to it and in eating pretty much what my macros should be and also getting 10,000 steps in on a day. Ill be going for keto/lchf again once I've done this
 
All the best to everyone doing this type of diet. The Exante shakes are around 17g carbs each, but I do have a bar in the morning which is 21g . I didn't weigh myself the first week, but the second week I lost 4.1 kg and my fasting blood glucose had gone from 9.5 to 5.8. I think the hardest part for me will be maintaining my weight once I have done the 3 months on this plan. I am planning on going on a vegan keto diet (800 cals) for a bit then maybe the 5:2 diet permanently. I have to lose a lot of weight and it is encouraging seeing it come off quickly, but there are times when I feel hungry and a bit weak.
 

sounds as though you are doing a good job with it, the only thing i really fear is being hungry, i drink loads of fluid as it is so i'm hoping that will help with any hunger pangs i might get
 
@Guna108 - Well done and hope your weight loss continues until your satisfied with it. 1:1 uses your BMI and won't accept newbies on their lowest steps (lowest cal restriction) if their BMI is in the 'normal' range. However they could accept you on the higher steps so could show you recipes and ways of maintaining the loss, I believe. So maybe worth a look in the future if you're worried about putting it back in afterwards?

@Craigh270779 - Good luck! The body is amazing at getting used to whatever we throw at it and adjusts. Get through the first week and it all gets easier! Anytime you're metabolising fat, you're in ketosis. So restricted cal diet will do that. But with high carb content there's a give and take happening in the body between laying down the excess carbs as fat due to high insulin levels (T2) and ketosis.
 
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@Resurgam - original 1:1 , they call it TDR now (total diet replacement) is 150 cals per sachet and around 20 g carbs. Standard sachets are 200 cals (apparently an EU thing?) and higher carbs consequently. As a T2 they won't let me do TDR and saying the glucose spikes are normal. (( Anyway hopefully only a few more weeks on 'Step 2' before I 'step up', where I get to eat fewer sachets and more home grown meals and can stop eating so many carbs.
 
Craigh270779 said:
Its funny how the nurse was telling me that the 121 plan puts you into ketosis due to the low calorie value but i wasnt aware that it was that carb rich,
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It due to the energy intake being so low that your body uses up the stored glycogen in the liver faster then the carbs replace it. Hence after the first week (or two) you will be in back into ketones within a few hours of each shake.

(glycogen levels will also be very low in other cells, so they will take up glocose from the blood to make glycogen very quickly)
 

that explains it all thank you
 
The shakes have not changed much over the last 20 years, what has change is the surport people are given with the "food reintroduction phase". Most HCP agree that people should advoid all suger, along with all ready meals and takeaways etc, as they tend to make it harder for people to control how much they eat.

Many people get a great result by keeping to a moderate low carb diet after the shakes so they don't regain with lost weight. The shakes can help with mental health issues leading to "comfort eating" etc, as they give time to "reset someone's relationship with food".

I would like to see a trail done of using the "low carb program" before and/or after the shakes to see it improves the long term results.
 
Craigh270779 said:
Have any of you guys done this before and has it worked for you? Im looking forward to seeing the difference when i start it and im determined to boot the type 2 into touch
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Hi @Craigh270779
My experience of very low calorie diet:
2011, having gained weight and T2 diabetes following NHSrecommended low fat diet, I discovered the research by Prof Taylor, and team, known as Newcastle diet. It was early stage of their research, but my GP agreed to support me in a total food replacement diet regime. I did a 12 week stint, followed by a 4 week break, then a further 9 weeks. I lost 49kg over that time, and blood glucose levels returned to non-diabetes levels, where they remained until recently. For the first two years or so following the very low cal diet, I was again following NHS guidelines, but also had been immobile and needed 2 major surgical operations, ( not connected to weight loss). I regained some 20kg of the original loss and have, despite attempts to lose it, (low carb, intermittent fasting, very low cal diet) always seemed to return to the default of 29kg less than my heaviest pre-very low cal diet.

Some things I wish I had known before, and during that first very low cal diet:

The NHS recommended Eatwell type diet of low fat, carb with every meal, plenty of fruit, etc, was of no use to me. I failed to remember what I had studied at school O level biology, i.e. carbs turn to sugar on digestion.

On a very low cal diet, it is wise to include at least a teaspoon of oil or other fat, to prevent formation of gallstones.

It is important to have a sustainable, lifetime follow on eating regime. Also to keep on testing blood glucose levels, and take action should they, or weight start to increase.

Along with weight loss there can be some muscle wasteage, and resistance / strength exercise can help avoid or reduce this.

I have looked at the nutritional info for the Cambridge products. They do not seem to be high in carbs. One concern I do have, though, is that the ongoing support seems to have been contracted out to ‘consultants’. I could be wrong, but these consultants appear to be previous customers, who, although can give peer support, (which can be invaluable), also are selling the products. This could be a conflict of interest. Also, what knowledge of diabetes management do they have? I really hope that the advice at the end of the calorie restriction phase they won’t be advising the Eatwell method.

I do wish you, and anyone else embarking on this methodology well, @Craigh270779 . Just recommend you read up, and plan ahead for the best follow on plan. Hint, ditch the carbs.

Keep posting and informing of progress. It is how we all learn.
 

I thought I'd do an update on my Cambridge 1:1 diet. I've lost a modest amount with it, about 7 kg over 3 months. Been a bit wary due to bg spikes. So I asked for a hba1c test. Good news is it came back as 39. Was 38 just before I started it. So apparently not a problem. I had lost 10 kg prior to this over 6 months so my insulin resistance probably improved since dx.

So apart from the 'expense', though you're not buying much normal food on it, it's been OK for me. Still working on reducing my weight though.
 
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