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New to Cohen's

Hello:)

My name is Janine and this is my first day of my Cohen's Program. I have been "lurking" around your forum for a week or so before signing up for the program and was inspired by your achievements! I hope that I do half as well as you all have.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the pages and pages and pages.... of posts and all the new ones of course!

Janine
 
rjm said:
Hi everyone,
LucyQ, regarding the weight gain. I completed Cohens refeed in November last year weighing 75kg and was pretty happy with myself. I maintained my weight with no problems till February this year eating pretty much what I wanted (within reason). I was on holidays for most of this time and would occasionally have hot chips or McDonalds for lunch and eat out for dinner, but I did try to monitor what I was eating a bit, and no weight went back on at all.
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Hi rjm,
Can I ask what your Cohens' ideal weight range is?

I have a theory based on the success of my friends who have lost weight and kept it off. Of all the friends I have who have dieted and kept the weight off afterwards, they all seem to have gone down to the bottom of their healthy weight range, rather than at the top or above it.
Last time I lost weight, I got down to 70kg, and was fairly happy with how I looked etc. But this time, I'm going to head down to the 60 kilo mark and try to test my theory.
The second part of my theory is that you also have to keep the weight off for at least 12 months, and then your body gets used to it. I got pregnant almost as soon as I lost the weight last time, so my body just rebounded to its natural weight, and even higher.
 
Last Day of Stabilisation (i.e. Refeed)!!!

Hello all of you lovely people! Congratulations to all of you (and there are just too many of you to name!) who are achieving such fantastic results with Cohen's. This program is truely amazing...

Today is my 17th and final day of what I have renamed 'Stabilisation' (I HATE the term refeed :mad:! All up, since starting Cohen's in Mid-March I have lost a total of 55.55 kg :eek: :eek: :eek: ! My goal weight was 63-66 kg and during stabilisation, I have fluctuated from 65.2 kg (starting weight) to 63.4 kg. This morning I was 64.2. I have made it through stabilisation without having to repeat any days - that is assuming I don't gain 2 kg today!

For those of you interested in month by month / average wieght loss, I have broken mine down for you.
  • first 4 weeks - 9.45
  • second 4 weeks - 9.35
  • third 4 weeks - 5.5
  • forth 4 weeks - 8.45
  • fifth 4 weeks - 5.9
  • sixth 4 weeks - 8.65
  • seventh 4 weeks - 6.35

Average monthly loss - 7.68 kg

​
I am living proof that Cohen's works - and works well. I stuck to my program 100% with the exception of 2 accidental deviations (and extra crispbread one day and a squeeze of lemon on another) and 1 intentional and well-considered deviation (a 6-months completed on the diet, well deserved reward). I have no doubt that YOU CAN ALL DO THIS! It doesn't matter if you have 5 kg or 105 kg to loss - stick to your plan and success will be yours!

Have a fantastic day everyone!

P.S. jewls - where are you and how are you? I haven't 'seen' you in a while. I hope all is going well :) .
 
WOW Jody! Congratulations. You are amazing. What a fantastic feeling for you. Life will never be the same I imagine. WOW WOW WOW! Can you tell I am lost for words!

Brieziel - great idea with the weight loss chart. I think I might give it a go. I am still smarting over my 'poor' 5 kilo loss last month! (I know I know - shut up already!) But it would give me great satisfaction to scratch them off the list!

I was wondering if anyone can share some thoughts and knowledge over emotional eating??? My husband and I are currently at each other's throats - ah, maritial bliss I hear you say! And I find that all I want to do is drown my sorrows in food. I decided to get out of the house last night after another argument and found myself driving around the local take-away like a bird of prey! I just wanted to stuff myself full. WHY? Why would I do this to myself? And why do I deep down believe that food is going to make me feel better? It really scares me. I am afraid that when I finish Cohen's I will just end up right back where I started. I know this is not a very positive attitude and it is taking all my strength to keep on track. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the new members. Congratulations and without sounding hypocritical (if you read the above) you are making a very wise decision and even though the road may get bumpy along the way - beleive in yourself and DO IT! Your strength will help us and so on and so on. Good luck.

Hope everyone is having a good day.
Talk later...
 
Hi I am a real newbie to Cohen's, in fact I just went for my initial blood test this morning and waiting for my Cohen's person to get back in town to sign up. I have been reading so many fantastic things here on this web site and I am just so excited to be able to get some unwanted weight off this way and lead a better life to eating more healthier and living longer with less health problems. I just wanted to say everyone keep up the good work and thank you for being here. Another soon to be a lighter weight gal here.
 
Help needed

Hey everyone sorry I haven't been on lately I have been not very good. I am having one of those days where I don't want to leave the house ever again and I can't stop crying. I have been on this program for four weeks now. I have stuck to it 100% weighing everthing down to the last gram, drinking 2.5-3litres of water even when it bloats me so much and sacrificing so many gigs, social outings etc. to avoid explaining why I can't drink. I sit and watch my partner eat whatever he bloody wants while I tuck into tuna and salad or whatever with minimal flavour and limited salt and pepper. this would all be very well and good if I were happier, more energetic and I could feel my clothes getting looser but I can't and I don't. I have worked so hard and stuck to this more than I've stuck to anything and I don't feel the benefits, why do I bother? I don't want to put myself through anymore if my clothes are still tight and I'm still miserable I have a weigh in tomorrow and I'm just going to cancel. Even if the scales have moved I still don't feel any different I know it won't help. All these people talking about clothes being looser. people noticing them, feeling more confident why can't that be me? I don't want to do this anymore, I have really lost the motivation

sorry to lay this on you guys but I need to vent, I just can't stop crying
 
Don't Despair!

Memaid Sister - There, there girl *this is me giving you a really big hug* Please, please, please don't give up on yourself! Maybe your hormones are going a bit haywire today? *this is me giving you another really big hug* My advice is to go and get out a couple of really teary movies and sit down and watch them...drain yourself of all those tears. Sometimes, they just build up over time and it is good to have a really good cry session. *this is me giving you another really big hug* About cancelling your weigh-in tomorrow. I think you should keep your appointment and definitly go and get yourself weighed...if there is no movement on the scales (which I highly doubt), your consultant should be able to discuss with you why that might be and more importantly what you can do to change it. Use your consultant. You have paid lots of money for this program and they are a part of it, so don't be scared to vent at them. And you never know - you might just get a wonderful surprise and find that you have had more loss than you realise. I am also certain that you will have had cm loss as well. Maybe your clothes don't feel any loser because you have been losing weight from areas that are less noticable (face, neck, ankles).

You have done so well to make it this far...don't give up! *this is me giving you another really big hug* Remember, that excess weight you carry around didn't all jump on you overnight. Likewise, it is not all going to pack up and leave overnight. This program takes time, but it does work and it works faster than any other program I know of.

Let us know how you go tomorrow and don't be afraid to vent all you like here...that's what we are all here for - to listen to each other and share in this incredibly difficult, but extremely rewarding journey!

And I'll leave you with this: *this is me giving you a really massive hug*
Hang in there girl!
 
Mermaid Sister - DON'T GIVE UP PLEASE!!! Please stay with the programme. It is very hard and anti-social at times but the reward is sooooooooo worth it. It is difficult when everyone around you is losing weight but you feel as though you haven't. I for example hear everyone talking about their clothes falling off them - this is not so the case for me and I have lost 13 kilos but I am still in the same clothes. (yes they are looser but they aren't falling off me.) As Jody pointed out we may be losing it in areas that are not so obvious. And my tummy is still terribly floppy and gross! But as hard as it is the motivation to feel comfortable in summer and to hang out with my 5 sister's and look just as good if not better than them is great! And I hope my husband sees the young vibrant girl he married come back into his life. Then, there's my chidren....well I need not say more - they are the sole purpose I exist. Think of these things - the greater reasons you are here. Believe it - there are people around you who need you - you improve their existence. And imagine being able to offer a happier healthier you. Everyone's a winner! Hang in there please - even if it's just for me! I find it hard and have wanted to quit numerous times but everyone here has kept on going so there's no way I'm going to be the first to pull the plug! We are all normal people fighting a battle to regain our lives. stick with us - we can do it!

I honestly believe you would feel worse for quitting than for being overweight.
Why cheat yourself of the great reward? Let yourself feel the triumph of sticking to and completing the challange. Wont victory taste that much better? It is hard but you've hit a bump in the road - cry and cry some more. But please stay with us. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I send you out all my vibes of love and support - I need yours too so let's dust ourselves off and beat this thing once and for all!
BIG HUGS and KISSES!
 
G'Day

Heavenlylamb, I think you are right about going down to the bottom of the healthy weight range before really completing a weight loss which will stabilise.

I have mentioned before that, if I had known how stable the weight would have been, I would have not started refeed until I was at 58 kilos. I started at 60 kilos, and for the past four months have been bumping around 60 kilos but 'politically' I would have liked to be under 60 kilos rather than hovering at 60 kilos. Only a mark on the dial, but a mark that is important to me.

Jody, words fail me! 55 kilos since mid-March and here you are today, trim and terrific! I'll bet you are still in a state of dis-belief when you look in the mirror. I had a sales meeting last Friday and wore very stylish, tailored cuffed black pants and a mid french blue crinkle top, and boy! did I look good!

However, at the sales meeting there were some lovely cakes at morning tea but the lunch was pizza and various little pies. No problem, but this set up a carbohydrate hunger, and on the way home I had to call in to my property manager's which are opposite 'the' cake shop, and I arrived home with $75 worth of absolutely wonderful pastries and cakes.

Yes, the rest of the family were here to help me eat them, but after a really indulgent carbohydrate and cream weekend, I am 500 grams up today. Really, nothing tastes as good as being slim feels, and while I don't regret the cakes and really enjoyed them, quite frankly my memory of looking good is a much happier memory than the taste of the cakes.

Mermaid Sister, it's natural that you feel despondent but we all lose the weight differently - after all, we all put it on differently. I never developed a big bum, but I looked seven months pregnant for years.

You will have 'stacked it on' in different places, and depending on how long you have been obese will also have a lot to do with how quickly you will lose the fat. Jody is right: you have paid for the program but also for the services of your consultant. Make sure you use their expertise and support, no matter whether you have a local clinic or are doing the program over the internet. There won't be a situation they haven't come across before. When you have your second blood test this may show up some differences, too, so do not throw in the towel just yet. Imagine your weigh in tomorrow - how will you feel if you see one kilo loss or ten kilos loss: Either way it is weight gone forever and progress along the way.

We all have to keep our chins up! Whether we are sad emotional eaters or happy emotional eaters, somehow food has a place in our lives other than what we need to be healthy and alive. My eating took place at night, when the rest of the family was in bed. Whether it was reading the paper or the internet or writing reports, when the house got quiet I was raiding the cupboards, eating Nutella by the spoonful or simply yet another cup of coffee (milk, two sugars) when I could have been asleep metabolising and keeping the system running smoothly.

No matter whether we have been on the program one day or one year - Lizzie managed 65 weeks and achieved her goal. Every day is a challenge for all of us, but once we have committed ourselves to this, it is a commitment to our own, private self, not to anyone else. We really are worth it, we deserve to be healthy, happy, slim and gorgeous! And we will be, it's not too hard and it's only for a short time. A university degree would take us four years to prepare for our future: This program will take us, on average, about six months and will pay a much richer dividend for the rest of our lives.

Don't give up. Keep on keeping on. This is something to be truly proud of so cry your tears then put on your best smile when you go to the clinic tomorrow, and let us all know how you go. We all care and we are all here to help each other be brave as we achieve this wonderful transformation.

Lotsa love

Chelsea
 
I am back again.....

Hi all

I have been reading through quickly and you are all doing wonderfully. I started Cohens in May. Did well... lost some weight... and then my clinic closed down and then my motivation closed down with it. I have no one to blame but myself, as I was offered support from W.A. But I didn't take it. I needed someone to be accountable to.
the good news is, that I have maintained my weight since coming off. I have been quite careful with what i have been eating. Sticking with mainly cohens foods, but eating alot more more than I was supposed to on my plan.
And the better news.... I have five kilos to go, and I will get there.
I am back on the wagon. I have tried a few times to get on, but have fallen straight back on again.
Now..... I have told you all that I am back on, so I will have this website to be accountable to.
I started this morning at 67 kgs. I want to be down to 61kgs by Xmas.

To you all... you are doing fantastic, and I will be back on this forum and back on this program til the end. No more sidetracking for me.
You know what.... I kick myself, that if Mitcham iddn't close down, i would of stayed on the program and I would be skinny and all finished by now!
Ridiculous hey!

Anyway Cohenettes.... cheers (lots of water) to you all... and I have had my yohurt and fruit for breaky, apple for morning tea, beef and salad for lunch, and have chicken and salad organized for dinner. Also... am going for a small walk tonight to get me moving!

Cheers to you all, and best of luck.
 
Hello Tania

Good on you for giving it one more try.

However, if you started the program in May you are probably still within your contract period. Why not email the Booragoon clinic and arrange to go back on the program and finish properly, complete with blood tests and refeeding!

My file was also sent from Mitcham to Booragoon, and Rosemary was really helpful and supportive, which must have been a difficult workload suddenly dealing with lots of customers in varying stages of the program and many probably feeling quite agrieved that their local clinic had closed.

So rather than bumbling along and perhaps not doing yourself any favours, at least enquire whether they can support you for these last few kilos.

Cheers

Chelsea
 
I have survived a weekend away with minimal deviations - two meals weighed etc and one guesstimated. I am at four weeks on Friday and have just started to have people commenting - I was starting to get worried I was imagining how things were going...

I am loving having mangos available - yummy. And because I'm not buying breakfast or lunch I buy two to eat a day.
 
Hi all, very interesting point Heavenlylamb. I remember my consultant saying that it is much easier to maintain your weight if you go down to the suggested weight range. My weight range is 57-60 kgs and I don't like my chances of getting there. I was really happy with how I looked and felt at 75kgs, so that is where I'm aiming, but if I can keep going when I get there I will try to go lower. I don't know (being 40) if I will look haggard being so thin though.
Brieziel, thanks for the welcome back and that was some excellent ideas for staying motivated. I also found (last time on Cohens) that the smell of food was absolutely incredible. I didn't actually feel like eating things because smelling them was better than eating them had previously been. Weird!
Welcome Janine (herm). You won't regret starting this journey and you'll find plenty of support on here.
less of mecongratulations on finishing refeed. You have done amazingly well.
8-2much!, I feel your pain. I also a husband who can, at times, be very "difficult" and I tend to go straight for the chocolate jar. My kids have now banned the chocolate jar from the house!! I can't really help you with ways to overcome emotional eating as I have trouble dealing with it myself. A few things I do is go to sleep (if it is an appropriate time), get on here and read through all the old and new posts or go out to visit someone. One thing that has helped recently is that we have recently started a small business and are so broke that we can't afford any take away, and my weekly shopping money is strictly budgeted. My 13year old has insisted on coming shopping with me to monitor that only things on the list get bought, and that Mum doesn't sneak any junk in.
Mermaid_sister, so sorry to hear that you are feeling down. The program does get easier as time goes on, and you should really go for you weigh in tomorrow. I'm sure you will have lost weight and cm's as well. The clothes hanging off you thing does take a few months and seems to drag at the time, but when you look back on it afterwards, it seems like it wasn't really as bad as you thought, and it does seem that your clothes go from being tight to suddenly fitting well to be loose within a short space of time ( once it starts), but don't give up it will happen.
Tania, good advice from Chelsea. I would try ringing the WA clinic. I found that all the clinics were most helpful. Even after I had finished the program previously (and voided my contract by doing refeed early) my consultant said that if I wanted to go back on, they would be quite happy to help with any questions or anything I needed.
Anyway, I'd better go and feed my children. Talk to you all soon.
 
8-2Much, I too love to eat when things aren't going so well and its always junk food. I have no idea why I go for junk food as it always makes me feel worse in the end. I hope all is OK with hubby. Stay strong.

Brieziel, you should be proud of yourself with all that temptation. I am always so proud of myself when I go out and do not deviate.
I also have a weight loss chart, but mine is done on excel and charts my weight loss by kg's and cm's. I love it and update it everyweek. If anyone would like a copy let me know and I'll send it to you.

Mermaid Sister, don't give up. stick to your weigh in and see what the scales and the tape measure say. Stay strong. Your weight loss may be slower but it will be worth it in the end.

Well, I got on the scales today and had lost 1.2kg's. I am now down to what I was when I got married (I was also 5 months pregnant). My husband is also starting to really appreciate the diet and how good I am starting to look.
I bought my first size 12's on the weekend from just Jeans and can't wait to wear them!!!!

Welcome to all the new people.

Take Care everyone and have a great week.
 
Recipes

Is anyone getting sick of the same old, same old? My parents and I have been getting creative in the kitchen, if anyone's interested, I can post some examples up, but I'd rather email the actual word document unless I can work out how to post it up here???

What does everyone think?

Len
 
some recipes

will do some brekkie ones, that's what i'm typing up at the moment!!

Mango/Yoghurt Smoothie

Yoghurt allowance
Mango allowance
Splash of diet lemonade
3 ice cubes

Blend all together until thick and smooth


Coffee Yoghurt

Yoghurt allowance
Half teaspoon coffee or to taste
1 sachet of artificial sugar

Add a very small amount of hot water to dissolve coffee, then add sachet of artificial sugar and stir. Stir the coffee mix into yoghurt really well and enjoy
 
herm said:
Hello:)

My name is Janine and this is my first day of my Cohen's Program.

Hullo Janine, this is my first day too (nothing like starting a new diet on a Monday....how many times have I done that....) I too was inspired by this forum & by the fact that many people have found it EASY to lose heaps of weight so quickly! Lets ho.pe it works like that for us too. Day 1 hasnt been as bad as I thought (but it's not much dinner is it?) Fiona (Sydney)
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Fifi said:
herm said:
Hello:)

My name is Janine and this is my first day of my Cohen's Program.

Hullo Janine, this is my first day too (nothing like starting a new diet on a Monday....how many times have I done that....) I too was inspired by this forum & by the fact that many people have found it EASY to lose heaps of weight so quickly! Lets ho.pe it works like that for us too. Day 1 hasnt been as bad as I thought (but it's not much dinner is it?) Fiona (Sydney)
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Time to decide this will be the last diet you will EVER do! It is not a new diet, this is your LAST DIET. I am looking forward to the day I see 99.9KG on my scales, I will say "Yesterday was the last day in my life that I weighed three figures".

Also now is a time to make a plan for what you will do when you have a family event? what you will do when you are out of the house for 1 meal, 2 meals or overnight? Being on Cohens is as much a test of your planning and coordination skills as it is of your resolve commitment and determination.

Today I went to a Onsen (Japanese hot spring bath), I knew it would be a Cohen disaster to try to try to eat there, so i prepared a steak salad and a iced doggy bag to take with me. My wife reminded me of the rule only food purchased at the Onsen can be consumed on premises. Well time to ignore some rules, I sat outside in the smokers outdoor area and ate my lunch with the addicts taking their "hit". It would not have been long ago when I would have been inside taking care of own addiction, a carb addition, maybe a "hit" of ramen ( wheat noodles with topped with vegetables and pork and oil in a rich broth), or my favorite sushi (raw fish on rice balls).


For me being on Cohens is not that quick nor easy, yet niether is it 6 months in a internment camp. Being commited and being consistent are important, so is not feeling like a failure if you need to deviate due to the demands of modern life.

The first week will be tough, people around you are probably saying things "another diet?" , why can you not eat this or that?, why can you eat steak but not broccolli?, all the whilst you are feeling pretty hungry and tired during the initial detox or going "cold turkey" on the starches/carbs.

Take it a day at a time, as I did today and I was happy to day I was 100% Cohen dispite the potential for big diviations.
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