lessfatty, BAM and ebay
When I started Cohen's in April, (losing 18kg in just over 3 months) the information on the science did seem sketchy to me as well. I was cautious about spending such a lot of money on a diet and did some research. What I came up with were similar things to lessfatty. Over all the general concepts are solid but the claims that it is an individualised program do appear less convincing.
However, in the end I decided that if overall the principles were sensible and I could see results (which I did very FAST) then I would go along with it without further proof.
In theory, a straight calorie controlled diet (and Cohens is VERY low calorie) should lead to a reduction in metabolism and thus major drop in weight shed after a few weeks. But I found that this didn't happen. While there's a bit of a drop after the first few weeks the weight consistently kept coming off. Go figure that one all you diet gurus in cyberspace!
Our friend on ebay made comment that
"My personal trainer was horrified at this diet because you loose your weight through massive muscle loss."
I had done weight training for 18months before the diet. I stopped for 3 months while on Cohen's and began again soon after. When I restarted I did notice a reduction in what I could lift . It was down by about 1/4. However, I have managed to regain that lost strength in 4-6 weeks. I suspect is more to do with being inactive for 3 months rather than the diet. It doesn't feel to me that I have shed significant muscle mass.
I am 42 now, 60kg and a size 10.
When I was 24, I was 56kg and a size 12.
To me that suggests fat loss rather than muscle loss.
I have lost inches rather than weight.
I wonder whether ebay's personal trainer is qualified to comment here??
About gaining weight after Cohens. There is no claim on this program that you can eat yourself into a stupor and keep the weight off. It talks about re-balancing, moderation and how to fix things if you go off course. I am just grateful to have such great and fast results which have given me the chance to try again from scratch.
So far it's not been hard to stay stable. After the discipline needed on the diet - maintenance is pretty cruisy
For anyone who's somewhat put off by the ebay lady, don't be! Cohens as a total package is expensive, but definitely worth it- whether the stuff about targeted blood tests/individualized program pans out or not, it DOES work - extremely well.
One of the reasons I found this diet attractive (other than wanting to lose 3 stone!!) was the claims about seretonin balancing. Being someone who's had lots of run ins with depression over the years, I found the diet to have an excellent effect on my mood. (Of course looking great might have helped me feel better anyway - but hey I'll take it!!) There's some information on serotonin, depression, stress and diet etc at
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/serotonin_connection.html
You'll need to make up your own mind about the "science" but it looks like a compelling argument to me!!!
