I’ve been doing more reading up on the effects of low calorie diets and exercise.
It seems that you need to do a mix of resistance and cardio training to maintain muscle tissue. If you do more cardio or distance training then the body is more likely to turn muscle into an energy source.
This is obviously a problem, for two reasons. Well obviously you don’t want to get physically weaker as a result of exercising, do you! Also, as muscle is heavier than body fat then you may see that you are losing weight but not actual body fat. Which is obviously bad.
I also read that if you lose only a couple of pounds of body fat a week you are more likely to maintain the muscle you do have.
I’m also going to spread out meals more evenly rather than have 4 a day (2 shakes and two meals). While the sachet idea of the CD diet would be useful here at the elevated calorie count it would become prohibitively expensive and you can only have a maximum of 4 a day anyway so the other calories have to be supplimented by regular food.
Which brings me to the next subject. After next week I will be coming off the CD diet altogether. That’s not to say I am giving up on dieting- far from it. The CD diet has done two things: It has enabled me to lose the best part of 3 stones in weight, in less than 3 months, quickly and safely. As a science exercise in itself, it has been quite enjoyable. Yes, that is the correct word. It has not been the hardship I expected although it’s not been a jog in the park either.
The second, and most important thing the Cambridge Diet has done for me is make me realise is what a significant impact the food I have been eating has had on my body.
I’ve learned and now understand what the right food types to eat are, how to manage the amount of calories I eat, all without weighing a single item. I haven’t been a saint: I’ve eaten curries, sweets, fruit juice, a bit of kebab the other night, I’ve had alcohol and at the moment I’m sucking on a Smint.
What I can take away from ‘dieting’ is that diet’s do not have to be a bastard. If you eat the right food groups you don’t actually have to diet at all (in terms of calorie control) but for those people who still don’t get the idea about sensible (as opposed to healthy) eating for fat control then it’s just not going to work. Or, if it is, you’re going to be dieting for a long time.
Now, all this might sound a bit blog-finale. Not really. I’m moving on into another phase beyond ‘strict calorie control’. I won’t be eating any pasta, bread, baked potatoes, oranges or peas, because I can get along quite nicely without them. Ok, there’s nothing quite like the taste of marmite on fresh crusty bread but, as my apparent wheat intolerance dictates, that’s one of life’s simple pleasures I can live without.
Do I have a prediction for tomorrows weigh-in? Well, of course. My hardest to get in trousers are actually fitting nicely now as opposed to two weeks ago and I can’t believe how toned my leg muscles look, which kind of indicates I’ve lost some fat somewhere (although I’ve still got a fair amount sloshing around the middle).
2 pounds, possibly 3. In terms of fat loss, it’ll definitely be something!
