1. Will everyone lose weight on Cambridge?
2. Although I keep to the Diet, my weight loss levels off. Why is this?
3. What weight loss can I expect?
4. Why have I stopped losing weight?
5. Is it possible to 'spot' reduce?

Will everybody lose weight on the Cambridge Diet?
Yes, the only difference is how much and how fast. Men burn more calories than women, therefore men will lose weight more quickly.

I find that although I am faithful to my diet my weight-loss levels off from time to time. Why is this?
This is known as ‘plateauing’ and is very natural. Plateaus can have any number of causes. For instance, it is normal for females to plateau before menstruation, but this is fluid retention and is temporary. Often, just a little snack here and there adds enough calories to sustain the body and eliminate further weight-loss. Diet sodas generally contain a high amount of salt, and an excess of diet soda can cause plateauing.

What weight loss can I expect?
There is a good initial weight loss in the first week on any diet. This is due to the loss of fluid which is bound up with stored carbohydrate and which the body uses for energy before tapping into its fat stores. Carbohydrate is stored in the form of glycogen in the liver, muscles, and even the fat cells of the very obese – it is like a sponge and holds four times its weight in water. On the ‘Sole Source’ programme there is a marked loss in the first week and the body completely exhausts its carbohydrate stores, shedding all the water that is stored with it. The Diet has been carefully formulated to contain enough carbohydrate for immediate energy but nothing left over for storage. It is not unusual to lose as much as 7lb (31⁄2 kg) in the first week.

Once the carbohydrate store is exhausted weight loss slows down when the body switches to fat for energy. In subsequent weeks a minimum loss of about 3lb (1.5kg) can be expected. It is not unusual to lose 14lb (6kg) in the first month on the ‘Sole Source’ programme.
When the Cambridge Diet is used alongside food for weight loss purposes the body burns a mixture of carbohydrate and fat for energy. Some fluid is shed initially and there is usually a greater weight loss in the first week than in subsequent weeks – approx 3lb (1.5kg). An average loss of 6-8lb (3-4kg) a month can be expected on this programme.

Why have I suddenly stopped losing weight?
Plateaux are experienced on any diet – even complete starvation! Rest assured it is always due to fluid retention and not because the diet has stopped working. Anyone following a reducing regime of 400 or 800 kcal per day would be defying the laws of nature if they did not lose weight! The body needs 800 kcal a day just to maintain body temperature at rest – that’s without moving so much as a little finger! Fluid retention can be caused by any of the following:

• Hormones – women can be affected before a period or during the menopause
• Medication – particularly hormone replacement and steroids
• Constipation – water is reabsorbed the longer waste products remain in the bowel
• Strenuous exercise – muscles tone and firm up with water
• Carbohydrate – water is reabsorbed with stored carbohydrate

Water is heavier and denser than fat; if fluid retention is not due to deviation from the ‘Sole Source’ recommendations the body will continue to burn fat for energy and though the loss is not showing on the scales it will be shown on the tape measure, and there will be a positive ketone test.

Is it possible to ‘spot’ reduce?
Everyone is genetically predisposed to be a certain shape. Losing weight does not necessarily therefore result in a shape change. However, exercise may help. When combined with a weight loss programme, exercise is very beneficial for general health. Exercise does not necessarily aid weight loss – jogging a mile only burns off 100kcal – but it can give a firmer, fitter shape. Alternating between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is ideal. A fitness trainer will be able to advise regarding the latter and will recommend specific resistance exercises for each group of muscles. For aerobic exercise, simple brisk walking is ideal – or indeed any activity that increases the pulse rate, causes breathlessness and produces a little perspiration! Those who are unaccustomed to exercise should check with their doctor before starting a programme. They should start gently and gradually increase their activity level until they are doing a minimum of four thirty-minute sessions per week. The end result is a more streamlined shape with well toned muscles.