When you start the
Cambridge diet sole source it can be so daunting at the beginning. The thought
of not eating anything, not anything at all for twelve weeks is mind blowing.
My advice to you is to take it one week at a time and that is the advice my
Consultant gave me. It is much more manageable to think in terms of a week at a
time and before you know it you have done two weeks then three etc and the
first stone has gone. You can stop at any point or you can step up a level if
it is too much for you so you do have control.
With not eating anything it
is vital to drink plenty of water. I drink 2 litres at least a day and prefer sparkling
mineral water because it has some taste to it and goodness knows you need that
when you reach Ketosis. I drink Herbal tea also and especially peppermint or liquorice
flavours because they have quite a strong taste. Never have fruit tea because
they will kick you out of Ketosis. Cambridge Diet sells water flavourings which
you can buy but I have not tried these and can’t say what they are like. I know
I am not really supposed to do this but I do actually have the tiniest amount of
semi-skimmed milk in my Earl Grey tea each morning because I so much enjoy the
first cup of tea of the day. All it means is that it might slow down my weight
loss but I accept that and I also appreciate that this is a journey with no
time limits and no pressure on me. If I don’t drink enough I have a raging
thirst and feel ill until I can replenish my fluid level so always carry water
with you.
Not the best of subjects
but I have to talk about bowels here. I am a Nurse so I can talk about this
very comfortably. If we don’t have any bulk or fibre going through our
digestive tract then not much is going to come out the other end. The bowel
needs fibre or bulk to stimulate it to work so on the CD sole source
constipation is a bit of a problem at times. I have read on some forums that
some people became faecally impacted on CD sole source and being a Nurse I know
what that means. Don’t wait for constipation to become a problem, be proactive
in preventing it in the first place. Cambridge diet sells a fibre powder that
you can mix with water but I haven’t tried that myself. I opted to have natural
remedies and drink liquorice teas and take a herbal Laxative daily from the
local health food shop. My Consultant recommended buying suppositories which I
have got but not needed to use but if you feel very uncomfortable I would
recommend you try one to prevent straining and haemorrhoids. Prevention of
constipation is another big reason to make sure you drink enough so don’t skimp
on the hydration ever.
For the first couple of
weeks your Consultant will recommend you have CD sole source shakes/soups only.
After that you can incorporate other products like chewy/crunchy bars and a
thickener to make up mousse from the shakes but on sole source you don’t start
eating food at all until you step up a level. I chose not to have the bars
because I actually think I would eat them all at once. I know it sounds
terrible but if I had seven bars ie one for each day I think I would eat them
all in one go if I got too hungry so I remove the temptation for now. However
the choice is yours. I haven’t tried the mousse powder because I am quite happy
having the shakes/soups but it does give another texture and the feeling that
you are eating something if you need it.
Headaches are a problem at
times especially when you first start the sole source. This is because of a
combination of reasons ie sudden withdrawal of sugars etc and drop in blood
sugars or dehydration. You can help that by planning ahead and reducing your
sugar and carb intake before you start CD sole source and ensure you drink
enough right from the start. Headaches that occur after Ketosis are usually
because I haven’t drunk enough water so if I rehydrate myself I feel a lot
better. It is OK to take Paracetamol to alleviate headaches according to the
directions on the packet so don’t suffer in silence.
Hunger and a rumbling (or in
my case a rather roaring, ravenous) tummy is a big problem for me at times. My Consultant
told me I shouldn’t feel hungry when in Ketosis but when I checked on the urine
Ketone dip-stick I was most definitely in Ketosis in week two. When I stuck to
the CD sole source rigidly this hunger did wear off but it took probably 4
weeks before it did completely. I had a chaotic and stressful week around the
fifth or sixth week and started to eat rubbish again so I am just getting back
on track to achieve Ketosis and so repeating the process again. There are no
remedies for hunger apart from strategies to stay focussed on what you are
aiming for and to drink water to fill you up. I say to myself when I find it
really tough “when you feel like quitting, remember why you started in the
first place” so writing down why you are wanting to lose weight is a good idea
maybe. I also keep busy and started to write a lot more. I guess I am breaking
the routines in my life-style whereby I may have eaten junk eg when watching mundane
TV in the evenings, feeling bored and I reaching for the crisps etc. Now I
hardly have the TV on but occupy myself in other ways. I haven’t done this yet
but starting to incorporate exercise into your life will help change old
patterns and reprogram you ready for when you start to eat again. If you go
back to your old life style and habits after losing weight you will just put
all the weight back on unless you change it. So use this time to re-think how
you want your life to be.
I hope those tips help you.
I will write more as I think of them and as I develop strategies along the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment