The Cambridge Backpacker

It's been about 8-9 months since I had my last Cambridge shake and just over 7 months since I set off on the journey of a lifetime with my wife around South East Asia and haven't really looked back We have been on planes, trains and automobiles - some boats in there as well to get from London to where we currently are: the Philippines. While on paper it all looks great, we have seen and done some pretty awesome things! The most notable is picking up a new hobby: scuba diving - some good exercise there. There is a downside however...we have slowly started putting back on some of the weight we lost before we set off.

Nic and I managed to lose 6 stone and 5 stone respectively and were chuffed that we had finally found something that worked for us. I mean, the whole point was to get to a healthier weight before we set off on our travels. We went from roughly 17.5/18 stone to hovering around the 12 stone mark. The journey wasn't easy but we managed to stick with it (for the most part) on SS+/Step 2 before moving up the steps as we headed towards our departure date. We also started to go running and managed to follow Couch25K and complete it before we left - hoping that we would find an exercise regime we could stick to on the road to keep the weight off, for those few months of running our weight didn't really change much, more of our body shape as we built muscle and continued to burn the fat.

Now the problem with being on the road ALL of the time is that you have to eat out for every meal. This started out ok, we were sharing meals or eating one main meal a day and just topping up for fruit etc. during the rest of the meals. The best bit on the diet front was actually China where we both continued to lose yet more weight but I think that was mostly due to my getting food poisoning a number of time, combined with not liking a lot of the food served to us - as it never looked like the pictures and almost always contained bones which puts me off my food (I'm funny like that). Once we got to Vietnam things took a turn up on the food front but down on the weight front. The food was AMAZING!!! I mean seriously AMAZING! We went back to having 3 full meals a day. When we weighed in at a random cashew nut factory in the Vietnamese Central Highlands not long after all this eating began we weighed exactly the same as when we had left - great! Well, greatish. By this point we had been on the road for 2 months, another 2 months pass and we weigh in again - same weight! This 'sounds' like a good thing but from the feel of our clothes we knew it was because muscle had turned to fat and actually we had gained some weight. 7 months in was the next weigh in time and this time it shows we had both put on just over a stone, gulp. The worst thing is that our backpacker clothes for me felt really tight, one of my favourite shorts that doesn't have an elastic waistband was now too small to fit comfortably and had to be thrown out - as cheap backpackers we don't want to have to buy new clothes.

Our plan to run while travelling lasted about 2 weeks, overland travel really takes it out of you. There is so much to do and see in the daytime that by the time the evening rolls around you are too tired to go out running. Also for the first month we had a lot of early morning trains/buses to get so no time then either. But thats fine because once we get to China and we are "proper backpackers" not on a tour, picking our own routes, timetable etc. we would MAKE TIME - the best of intentions and all that. It was just TOO hot to walk around let alone run. We did go for a few runs at the gym and along the beach when my sister arrived in December and I am shocked I managed to go for a full 15 minutes on each occasion. She was a good influence and we even got up for an early morning swim on day - 30 lengths before breakfast.

It was time to go back to Cambridge. One option was to get my dad to bring us over some shakes when he came to visit for Christmas but at the time I hadn't fully accepted it was something I was going to have to do, it was when we got to Singapore we started looking into if the diet would be feasible on the road and managed to find a consultant that could hook us up (more on that later) with what we needed so we could make a start (more on that later as well). So now, with shakes to hand we start our dual journey of adventure and weight loss.

Essay over with, I remember how much help people on this forum was the first time around and thought as I am restarting my diet journey I should restart a diary. Plus I thought it might be a change of pace to hear about someone attempting to do this diet on the road.

For anyone interested (it's not as interesting as this one I assure you) my old diary is here: http://www.minimins.com/cd-weight-lo...ld-turkey.html
We have also been trying to document our travels, but we are a bit behind (missing at least half of Vietnam escapades): Two Girls 1 Travelblog | The trials and tribulations of Nic & Fay's Year of Travel

(not sure how to update my signature with this new view but I think I like the reminder of how well I have done in the past so will leave it at that for now)

I guess the first thing to note about my consultant in Singapore vs. my consultant from home is the complete lack of support, I showed up and bought my shakes and made chit chat for a few minutes before she was on her way. There was no one-to-one "consultation", no weighing or measuring, no goals/targets set. It was basically like going to a shop, but luckily I have done it all before...I'm not sure how a new starter in Singapore would be able to have the motivation to stick with this kind of diet with no environment for growth. Pair that with the fact that most Singaporeans eat out for virtually every meal because it's so cheap and I know I would fail after a day, but when 1 shake is MORE EXPENSIVE than a dish at your local hawker stall it even makes no financial sense to even take that first step. The problem with eating out (as I have established after doing that for 7 months) is that you have no control over what goes in your food or the portion size and if any of you are like me then if the food is in front of me I WILL eat it.

Differences in style aside I come to my first big issue with doing Cambridge on the road....I have no idea where my next batch will come from. I feel like I'm a drug user looking for my next hit in some ways. I have enough to last maybe a month at a push but that all depends on what steps I follow and how strict we are. We bought 4 boxes to start with as that's all that would fit in our backpack - thats 21 x 4. 2 weeks on SS/SS+ just isn't going to work for us. That's the next big issue...!

One problem at a time: where can we get our next batch from? Well to be honest I have no idea, I'm hoping we can stretch it for a month and then maybe, just maybe we can get some more at our next stop (Borneo, Malaysia) - I know they have Cambridge in some parts of Malaysia but that could just be places like Kuala Lumpur. I know a Facebook group that has all this information so no point worrying about that until closer to the time. I first have to make it the first month on the diet anyway.

Next problem: how can I stretch the shakes to last a month? The solution we have come up with is to have one proper meal a day, nothing crazy like a burger or pizza. We have options like grilled fish or chicken, possibly with rice...we are keen to continue to try local dishes so we won't be as strict as we would be at home, but when you don't have a kitchen there isn't a huge amount you can do about that. Then we would consider occasionally swapping out a shake for a fruit smoothie (as they are fresh and you can request no added sugar etc.) or something to that effect. Now I know this basically isn't Cambridge anymore, our goal isn't to get into ketosis because that's just not an option for us. Our aim is to get back to low calorie living and lose some of this holiday weight.

BIG consideration: we are doing a lot of scuba diving at the moment, what self constructed steps should we follow on those days where I expect we use a lot more energy????

These are all issues that would never have come up at home, it's something quite unique and quite interesting (or at least to me anyway).

YAY - you're back! Your log was one of the first I wrote on this journey and it's great to hear about your travels and what you've been up to.

I do find it funny how it does sort of sound like cambridge is a drug of sorts - where to get the next batch from etc! It's great that it worked for you and that at the start you were able to maintain - I'm not sure i'd be able to maintain for a week travelling around!

My suggestion - and this is entirely from personal experience - is to look at the Dukan diet. This worked quite well for me initially and takes some of the ketosis principles you're looking for. It's basically veg and protein - have a google into it in further detail - there's a forum on minimins I think too. Essentially, you're cutting out carbs to get yourself into ketosis and start loosing, but you can enjoy meals - just sensibly with grilled chicken and fish etc. What didn't work for me was that you can eat as much as you want of things, and portion size has always been my downfall. Try dukan, or, to eek out the shakes for as long as possible - a variant of step 4 - having not moved through the steps fully yet, i'm not sure what will work for you.

Hope you continue posting!

xx

Fay737731 said:

I guess the first thing to note about my consultant in Singapore vs. my consultant from home is the complete lack of support, I showed up and bought my shakes and made chit chat for a few minutes before she was on her way. There was no one-to-one "consultation", no weighing or measuring, no goals/targets set. It was basically like going to a shop, but luckily I have done it all before...I'm not sure how a new starter in Singapore would be able to have the motivation to stick with this kind of diet with no environment for growth. Pair that with the fact that most Singaporeans eat out for virtually every meal because it's so cheap and I know I would fail after a day, but when 1 shake is MORE EXPENSIVE than a dish at your local hawker stall it even makes no financial sense to even take that first step. The problem with eating out (as I have established after doing that for 7 months) is that you have no control over what goes in your food or the portion size and if any of you are like me then if the food is in front of me I WILL eat it. Differences in style aside I come to my first big issue with doing Cambridge on the road....I have no idea where my next batch will come from. I feel like I'm a drug user looking for my next hit in some ways. I have enough to last maybe a month at a push but that all depends on what steps I follow and how strict we are. We bought 4 boxes to start with as that's all that would fit in our backpack - thats 21 x 4. 2 weeks on SS/SS+ just isn't going to work for us. That's the next big issue...! One problem at a time: where can we get our next batch from? Well to be honest I have no idea, I'm hoping we can stretch it for a month and then maybe, just maybe we can get some more at our next stop (Borneo, Malaysia) - I know they have Cambridge in some parts of Malaysia but that could just be places like Kuala Lumpur. I know a Facebook group that has all this information so no point worrying about that until closer to the time. I first have to make it the first month on the diet anyway. Next problem: how can I stretch the shakes to last a month? The solution we have come up with is to have one proper meal a day, nothing crazy like a burger or pizza. We have options like grilled fish or chicken, possibly with rice...we are keen to continue to try local dishes so we won't be as strict as we would be at home, but when you don't have a kitchen there isn't a huge amount you can do about that. Then we would consider occasionally swapping out a shake for a fruit smoothie (as they are fresh and you can request no added sugar etc.) or something to that effect. Now I know this basically isn't Cambridge anymore, our goal isn't to get into ketosis because that's just not an option for us. Our aim is to get back to low calorie living and lose some of this holiday weight. BIG consideration: we are doing a lot of scuba diving at the moment, what self constructed steps should we follow on those days where I expect we use a lot more energy???? These are all issues that would never have come up at home, it's something quite unique and quite interesting (or at least to me anyway).

Click to expand...

Day I just leaving Singapore after just 3 days and I feel your pain. There's so much food, with so many carbs, and it's all so good!!! I think I have managed to avoid carbs but it's a little hard to tell as every meal was buffet style and I wasn't sure (1) what it was (2) what was in it!!!

Heading to KL for a few days now then home to get back into it.

Good luck. I'll keep track of your diary as you go!

I meant Fay not 'day' !!!! Jetlag!!!

Hey - your travels sound fantastic and the pictures are amazing it would def give anyone the travel bug. Quick question if you dont mind I noted that you said while you did the couch to 5k while doing CD you did'nt lose any weight? The reason I ask is yet again im back on the CD bandwagon and am doing another stage of the camino walk in Spain in June - did Sarria to Santiago last year at 16stone and no preparation, not even a stroll and I suffered the consequence by being plagued with 5-6 new blisters daily. I am going again in the end of May, doing the start of it for 6 days which is much much tougher so have started to do the couch to 5k on alternative days and 6 mile walking on the other days and I am paranoid that I wont lose weight? I am more or less the same weight as last year and I have to lose some before I go it was too hard carrying all that extra bulk plus my rucksack - so dont know whether to stop the exercise and focus on diet but then what about my increasing my fitness? and I said it was a quick question lol

I enjoyed reading that! Can't see the pictures yet - but can imagine all the various foods and smells just from your report!

Good luck with the restart and the travels! I'll be checking in again for the next instalment

Twiggy - are you on SS/SS+? You may not be able to exercise or train unless you move up to level 2 and do the C25K as well? I did the C25K too (few years ago - before I injured my foot) and found I toned up and added muscle but scales stayed the same...

The problem with travelling is finding it hard to make time to reply on here! I will try and update more in the next few days but for now I will try and answer your question Twiggy.

Twiggy29 said:

Hey - your travels sound fantastic and the pictures are amazing it would def give anyone the travel bug. Quick question if you dont mind I noted that you said while you did the couch to 5k while doing CD you did'nt lose any weight? The reason I ask is yet again im back on the CD bandwagon and am doing another stage of the camino walk in Spain in June - did Sarria to Santiago last year at 16stone and no preparation, not even a stroll and I suffered the consequence by being plagued with 5-6 new blisters daily. I am going again in the end of May, doing the start of it for 6 days which is much much tougher so have started to do the couch to 5k on alternative days and 6 mile walking on the other days and I am paranoid that I wont lose weight? I am more or less the same weight as last year and I have to lose some before I go it was too hard carrying all that extra bulk plus my rucksack - so dont know whether to stop the exercise and focus on diet but then what about my increasing my fitness? and I said it was a quick question lol

Click to expand...

By the time I was starting the Couch25K course we were basically in maintenance phase so while I was hoping to maybe lose 1-2 pounds a week I was gaining 1-2 pounds of muscle but still having losses. I think that on a lower step that you will see both fitness levels and weight continue to change. Just don't forget to keep talking it through with your consultant to make sure you aren't doing TOO MUCH for your calorie intake and listen to your body when you are exercising to make sure you don't over do it as well. We only ran for about 1 month before setting off and in that time we must have had a leaving drinks/meal 2-3 times a week (lots of people to say bye to) so we weren't REALLY dieting at that point. We did however continue to see great drops with the tape measure - although I know from experience you don't get the same feeling you do when you see it on the scales instead.

I say go for it and see what happens, if you find you aren't seeing the results you wanted then it's only 7 days and you can then come up with a new plan. That's the great thing about weekly weighing....you can basically go from week to week - live 7 days at a time

Oh and we left our shakers in the last guesthouse we were staying in yesterday - DOH!!!!! Need to find a new one ASAP. Anyone know any good sports shops in the Philippines? No? No one?