Welcome to CambridgeDiet.org!

These are the words that every dieter hates to hear and one reason why people love their Cambridge. No portion control to deal with. However, the time will come for you to begin eating regular food again and you want to start preparing yourself mentally now.

There is an article that I posted a few days ago on the Support/Message board on my www.cambridgediet.org website that showed pictures of the average food intake for a family in countries all over the world. It was an eye-opener for sure. I would say that if they really showed what the typical overweight American family eats in a week it would be stunning, especially if you included all the drive-thrus and restaurant meals.

Most of us are aware that the average human stomach is about the size of your closed fist. So let’s all hold up our fist and take a look. How much food do you think would fit in a space that size? Now consider how much food you would eat BC (before Cambridge). If you wet out to eat in a restaurant and had a high fat appetizer, a salad with dressing, some bread and butter, THEN had your large sized meal with 10 to 14 oz protein, whatever sides that it came with and then…yes…even dessert, what do you suppose would be the volume of that much food? The human stomach can stretch, that’s for sure, but when you eat so much that you actually FEEL it expanding and even feel uncomfortable after the meal, what do you suppose is happening? You stomach, which normally would accommodate about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of food, is now holding and trying to digest about 10 or more cups not counting drinks. All your body is getting involved at this point. The pancreas is pumping out insulin and the digestive juices are trying to do an impossible job. Your heart rate increases as your body tries to supply the energy needed to move this food though. Your stomach is trying to churn this mess down in to something it can find acceptable to release in to the body and your blood sugars and blood fats are increasing at an alarming rate. This is only some of what is happening in your body.

If you were practicing healthy eating this is what would happen..
You might begin your meal with some clear broth soup or a small mixed green salad with a simple vinegaret. You would feed your body about 3 to 4 oz of protein and about 2 cups, (the body breaks this down in to about 1/4 cup once the fluid has been withdrawn) of veg. If you have any whole grains it would be limited to 1/2 cup. As soon as you felt satisfied, not full, you would stop eating. Maybe you would find room for a bite or two of something sweet. This will allow your body to do the work it was designed to do. It can handle this amount of food without having to place demands on it that it just can’t handle. You could leave the meal feeling energized and not bloated and drained. All your body’s systems can then do their jobs in metabolizing and absorbing the nutrients in your meal.

You can see how off base most of us are in our eating. We see food, we eat food, with little to no thought about what happens once we chew and swallow. If you tried to put your size 8 foot in a size 6 shoe, you would feel the pain and probably not try to take a walk in it. Yet we all over stuff our stomachs and figure that as long as it isn’t rupturing we are ok.

Cambridge allows you to take some time to rethink your habits and behaviors. You will find that when you do resume eating you will be shocked at how much you used to eat. You will be in tune with your body’s signals that tell you when you have had enough. Food will no longer be a source of self abuse but of self nurturing, as it should be. You will evaluate foods for their nutritional content and see them as fuel and in some cases medicines for your body. Ultimately you will find peace with food and the part it plays in your life. All the negative emotions that are currently tied to it will be replaced with positive ones as you continue on your journey to good health.

There is no down side to weight loss…or is there? Of course you will be thrilled with your new body. You will finally be free of all the stress and humiliation and shame of obesity. You can shop in the regular sizes and do all those things that you avoided before out of fear of not fitting in or being ridiculed. You will no longer be the invisible fat person in the room, the one people avoided, or the one that everyone stars at from disbelief. You will blend in and feel a kind of freedom you once only dreamed about. What could possibly be negative about any of that? You may be surprised…

When I lost my weight 6 years ago I was completely unprepared for the emotional impact of such a tremendous life changing event. Most people are. You don’t think about there being any kind of emotional component to losing weight. After all, it is what you want more then anything so how could achieving it possibly bring you anything but joy? For the most part, that is true, but depending on how you interpret the way others react to your changes, you may need to take some time to adjust.

Weight loss will attract attention. In some cases, a LOT of attention! I began to feel like I had a spotlight on my head! Coming from the invisible fat woman world I did not know how to deal with it all. On top of that, I wondered where all these people had been before. Was I not worthy of their attention before when I was obese? I started getting a little bothered by it all.

Men started talking to me! Total strangers in the grocery store or in the line at the movies! It took me some time to realize that they were flirting with me. I was the same person I had been 6 months and 120 pounds heavier ago. Why was it that before they would not even make eye contact with me as if I would have turned them in to a pillar of salt? Why was I suddenly worthy of their attention? I started getting a little bitter.

My friends had never worried about their husbands being friendly with me. I was no threat, but after the weight loss that changed for some. I lost a few friends.

Sales people were nicer to me in the clothing stores. People were not looking in my shopping cart making judgments about what food I had there. No one got up and moved when I sat next to them in the theater. Everyone around me seemed to be nicer, more welcoming, more interested in me, more accepting. Sorting out my feelings about all this got confusing.

A friend came over one day and as we were visiting and she was marveling at my transformation I finally came out with it and told her how I was feeling about it all. How people were suddenly paying attention to me and how I saw this as their lack of character and small mindedness. She sat and listened to me before commenting. It was one of those light-bulb moments when everything you have thought to be true suddenly shows it’s self to be false. She told me that it wasn’t them who had changed their attitude about me, it was ME who had changed my attitude about myself! She told me that before I was not giving off the vibe of being approachable, that I was so unhappy and depressed that people just naturally were put off by it. Now I was smiling all the time and giving off such a great energy that others were drawn to me. On top of that, they were so happy FOR me that they all wanted to let me know. Wow…

Times like this can bring out the best and the worst in people. Most will have their family and friends celebrating their success and expressing love and support. Others are not so fortunate and may find that some of their friendships or family members are more conditional in their love. Your weight can play a part in the lives of those around you in ways you may not be aware of. Husbands can feel security in their relationship when the wife is heavy. After all, they may be thinking, no one else will want her that way. They can be threatened by their spouse’s weight loss and it can cause stress in the relationship.

Friends can be shaken by the change, especially if you have always been the fat friend, the one that made them look good or the one that everyone could come dump their problems on. They can’t handle your new found self respect. Maybe you have been eating buddies and they don’t want your changes to force them to examine their own poor choices. It may be up to you to reassure those around you that your commitment and devotions have not changed, but only enhanced what was already there. It may also be necessary to eliminate relationships that are toxic and that can be tough.

Another emotional issue is body image. You may see the number on the scale, but not see it reflected in the mirror. It can take some time for the mind’s eye to catch up to the body. In my head I still felt like a 300+ pound woman for quit a while after I lost my weight. Be prepared for this as it can actually influence your actions and push you back in to old habits. Do everything you can to reinforce your new life style by wearing clothes that fit, not loose and baggy. NO ELASTIC! Start joining in activities that you once avoided. Create a new life that has no room for the old.

Ideally, this should be a total transformation of body, mind, and spirit. If you only lose the weight and neglect the emotions that were attached to it you lessen your chance for long term success. You must reassure the people in your life that your weight loss will enhance their lives as well as yours. You need to put aside your feelings of being judged and rejected by the world and realize that at times it may have been you who was judging. If you are not prepared for the changes of how you relate to the world you may find yourself in the same place I was. Set your mind to becoming receptive to the positive attention that is coming your way. It is part of the reward for all your hard work and can be your invitation to being a full participant in life and no longer just a spectator.