Proponents of the Cambridge Diet promise quick weight loss with little effort, as long as you are willing to follow its very low calorie diet plan and purchase the soups, energy bars and shakes. The Cambridge Weight Plan website notes that the founder, Dr. Alan Howard, sought to create a formula for weight loss that provided the same excellent weight reduction properties of starvation without the undesirable side effects. Fad diets such as the Cambridge Weight Plan may work in the short term, but can put your health at risk in the process, according to FamilyDoctor.org.
Nutritional Evolution of the Cambridge Diet
First launched in the United Kingdom in 1984, the Cambridge Diet was initially an all-liquid diet that consisted of three nutritionally fortified shakes a day. The shakes reportedly contained all of the recommended daily allowances of nutrients an individual needed in a mere 400 calories per day.
In 2010, the Cambridge Weight Plan included fortified shakes, soups, porridges and energy bars. Dieters work closely with a trained consultant to choose a menu plan with a calorie count that ranges from 415 to 1,500 calories per day. Participants can pick menus that use only Cambridge products for daily nutrition or mix it up a bit. For instance, you can have a shake for breakfast, an energy bar at lunch and then fix a nutritious, low calorie meal of regular food in the evening.
Other Nutritional Facts
The Cambridge site notes that consuming three servings of any of its flavored shakes, soups or bars provides 100 percent of the daily allowances of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and other nutrients generally recommended for human health. It also offers lactose-free products. You can buy premixed shakes and soups or packets of dry product to mix with water. However, you must consume all soups and shakes within 15 minutes of mixing to obtain the full nutritional benefit and cannot reheat or refrigerate the products for later use.
Benefits
Very low calorie diets can result in a loss of 3 to 5 pounds per week for moderately to extremely obese individuals, according to the Weight-Control Information Network, or WIN. This can lead to significant improvement in medical conditions related to obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. The rapid weight loss may motivate you to stick with your diet and some dieters might find it easier to follow a plan that offers the ease of purchasing premeasured bars or shakes for meals.
Risks
Minor side effects such as fatigue, constipation, nausea and diarrhea are common for individuals on a very low calorie diet, according to WIN. Gallstone formation is a more serious but common side effect associated with the rapid weight loss promised by the Cambridge Diet. WIN also notes that health risks associated with very low calorie diets and individuals taking certain medications, or those over 50, are not entirely clear.
Warning
Always check with your physician before beginning a very low calorie diet. The Cambridge Weight Plan actually requires a signed statement from your doctor detailing your physical health with specific information on medications you may be taking and any conditions that might preclude you following the program.
Member Comments