Cohen's Lifestyle Dee's attempt to get back to normality!!

Prefix for Cohen's Lifestyle
If you are in surroundings where you can't control all the variables, then just do the best you can.

I'm very busy at work - have little time to shop, prepare, often make decisions on the run. I stick absolutely to the rules if I can, but sometimes just have to make the best judgement I can in the circumstances and then get on with the next day. I'm still losing weight.

Either way, you'll be eating heaps better than before, so don't get too stressed when life is difficult. The time will come when you're able to resume a bit more normality and get back to stricter rules.
 
Fully stocked up now!!

Well, im back from shopping adn i must say i am very happy. I went and got sm fruit salad from a sandwhich bar, there was a few kinds of fruit i am not meant to eat but in the whole scheme of things, its not bad. I cld have settled for a salad sanga and have coped with bread, butter, mayo and other things i cldnt eat. I did have a iced mocha fresh made (low fat) but considering i didnt have breakie, or even a filling lunch so i dont feel too bad. I have bought the food i need, and havent bought any food off teh list!! Im happy i didnt walk down the isles. I did a gr8 job here. I think that now i just have to DO IT. i will im sure.. Its 6.15pm and time for tea so i better get cracking or i may not get that either!! Hope alls going well and thanks to all who drop by.
 
Hope this helps

Hi Dee, I hope what I'm gonna suggest will help you get past week 1 pretty much.

If you were to read my diary of Week 1, you'll 'hear' my lack of confidence and certainly fear of a possible failure on Cohen. Hence, in order to keep myself sane and afloat...making sure that I would survive past the detoxification, I did this for myself. I sat down and took about an hour or so planning out the entire week's menu. By having the "big picture" plan, I could then see myself at the end of week 1. In fact, I've got the entire week's menu stuck on the fridge. I consciously followed that for week 2 and then by week 3, I was able to do modifications to the original plan and week 4, I can just cook off the cuff!

So, here are the golden words: When you fail to plan, you plan to fail...Good luck gal :)
 
That's great advice Flamie, I couldn't have said it better. Flamie has gone from strength to strength, just as I'm sure you are capable of doing, and will, once you get organised & set your mind to it. We women are very strong, determined creatures when we decide to be. You can do it De De, xo Cate
 
surgery date set.....

Thanx all. I got sm gd news today but it might not be gd for me with this diet... my knee recon date is the 3rd April and its in sydney so im going from darwin to sydney- on my own as my fiance cant get the paper work in in time since he is on a course. Thats makes it like 10days from now and it isnt giving me much chance to even really get a grip on this!! I missed lunch today due chiro, GP appontment and then xray of knee and by the time i got home, i had had a bottle of pepsi max and that was it. I got breaki ok but lunch never eventuated. I am still sticking to the diet for tea but its like the WORLD is against me!! Im not sure how it goes with the diet and the surgery - last time i was told to come off for six wks by dr cohen. For natural healing and stuff i required higher protein and carbos to allow energy with crutches and stuff. I intend to stay with the diet but maybe increase the amounts i hvae rather then come off it and go crazy with all diff NO FOODS on the list. I want to give this a gd crack but it might mean it takes longer until i can be at the appropriate levels....... GRRRRR, life is never easy. And its getting harder for me. I dont want to windge but i am trying to voice what its like for when things dont go right and maybe ppl can give advice of how to continue..... its like there is a BLACK LITTLE CLOUD over every attempt. I start well and then things turn for the worst and 99% isnt in my control. Hmmmmmm...... better make tea or i will be mighty grumpy by the time my fiance gets home- late night for his army course!!!!
 
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On track...........

Well, although breakfast was late like at 9.50am, i got it and then i actually got to have lunch although it wasnt 5hrs. NOthing i can do there. It was at 2pm. And iv not had anything OFF the list. Iv only had 2 coke zoros and prob should have sm water. Struggling with that bit. NOt sure how to actually increase this but i will. I have been proud of todays efforts. I have steak for tea- and i have just slightly less then matt as he needs more. He kinda got up me last night about chocolate- and i asked him if he wld function on like 750 calories and he just looked at me- and just said PROB NOT. So i think he is getting a better idea of what i actually go thru. I am trying. ANd if he is putting it in the fridge or cupboard, its going to tempt me. Its not that i like sweet foods, its more the fact its not on my menu and its not allowed. Is a rebelious thing too i think. And when ur denyed so many things, and to be on min calories, its kinda a EAT ME NOW feeling. BUT I AM REMAINING STRONG today and havent eated the left over chockies . I havent even finished the ones from xmas. SO for me that is a gr8 day. I havent even gone to the icecream!!!!! Hmm, maybe im on track.........at last. And now that i have a cleaner coming Monday, i can actually not stress and not worry if i dont vaccum. House inspections are stressfull- its way too much for me to do and now its getting sorted, its one less thing to worry about. NOW i can focus on this diet and stop to eat rather then actually try and get thru the day to get it all done and forget about ME. Plus i dont have to bust my butt.

Anyway, im just glad to be back on the road to my thin self again- i want this more then anythign and hopefully nothing stands in my way. Even surgery next wk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
a miracle??

Well, iv lost 2kg since yest. Not sure if its cos iv been gd or if im just feeling more energetic. I am 78.5kg today (was 80.5kg at start yest) and im ok with that. Im normally like 73-4 but iv put on this weight in like a wk. I do have sm stomach issues that i am seeing a surgeon next monday for it so i just hope they can diagnose smthing and treat it. Dr thinks gallstones. But not sur what specialist thinks. The blood tests suggest that. Hmmm. Anyway. Been stone cold on track with the diet today and only had one can of diet drink so far. Dont really feel as though i can drink anymore. Hmmm. unusual for me...... anyways, i am starting to feel gd on this diet and although i miss having icecream as desert or a cpl of tim tams, im not too fussed. As iv said before, im not a sweet tooth person but occ i go thru phases of eating it. Every few mths i wil get a craving- IM NOT PREG either hahahaha. A few ppl have asked. I prob look preg but hey......not for long. Sydney trip next wk seems to be getting more stressful and its getting very lets just say worrysom. I might even be going Wed morn ( like half 1 am) and then get scans and xrays, then see surgeon thur atvo and then maybe i will get it done the next day or the following wk. Just have to wait and see. Hmmmm. Anyway, better go. ONE QUESTION- what happens if u eat too early?? and if u dont get to eat the meat component?? hmmmmm. just i didnt take it out of freezer last night and its kinda too late.....
 
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Dee- the main reason we wait 5hrs is so that we don't mix proteins. Our meals are meant to be a precise combination of protein & vegetables. If you skip the protein it is no longer balanced. If you must eat early is it possible to have the same protein that you had for lunch? Good luck with all of your appointments. The sooner your immediate health problems are solved the sooner you will be able to focus on your long-term health. Cheers for now, Cate
 
Dede, there are also some medical studies you can access on the net which show that Human Growth Hormone is at its maximum efficiency in our bodies around 4 hours after ingesting protein. Obviously one of the points of the diet is to get this to happen, so that we DON'T lose muscle and do burn fat. This is very different from other diets I have been on in the past.

Obviously if we have to eat earlier than that its not a world-wide tragedy, but we do hamper one of the big benefits of the eating regime which has been established.

I have found every time I search for scientific evidence and studies to support the "rules" of the diet, I'm convinced that it is worth doing EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TOLD whenever possible. Once we're over the biggest part of the weight loss and onto long-term maintenance, it is a different story.
 
still on track.........

Thanks Niyah. I remember hearing that when i 1st did the diet. I normally do the 5hr gap but unfort sm things just dont go to plan. I am glad tea was like a 6hr gap. I am not craving the crackers nor am i finding i need the fruit although i do try and have at least half of what i am allowed. Just to stop any kind of hunger creaping in. I almost didnt eat all my tea cos i wasnt hungry but i left it for a while then cld fit it in. Although im not weighing it ( i do the meat) i have prety much have the same amount of lettuce leaves/tomato/capsicum/mushie/cucumber with each meal. While i go down a diff type of vegie path i do....is this a bad thing?? I was on the plan for so long before, i feel iv got to KNOW my weights well. Am i going down the wrong path- it worked in the past so ........ Also, another side effect for me is that....iv had the runs and i put it down to the increased vegies and fruit. Its not like we didnt eat vegies in the past, but it wasnt a every day thing and def wasnt a 2-3 times a day either!! So i guess this is my body getting used to it. I have been taking Coloxyl and Senna in tab form to counteract pain medication side effect of constipation so i just may need to take one not 3. ANyway, im sure im not the only one who is suffering these things but i guess its just time...... hopefuly my body will become a lil less unsettled and actually regulate soon!! Just wish i cld snap fingers and wld be thin over night. BUt as they say : it wont happen over night but it will happen!! Hmm
 
I've been finding it really hard to always stick to the 5 hr rule as well. It's mostly breakfast and lunch I have with a smaller gap, and then I have a longer one till tea.

For some weird reason I have ended up with my yoghurt supply at school, which means I get breakfast late, then have to eat my lunch when I can fit it in - sometimes I'm on yard duty etc. Then I go home pretty late and worry about tea.

Well, not ideal. I'm going to see next week if I can get the yoghurt happening as soon as I wake up again to fix that up. I was really only keeping yoghurt at school for emergencies, but somehow it became that everyday I was waiting for breakfast till I got there.

I've also found it pretty impossible regulate my bowels this time. Both times I've started off the diet with drastic diarrhoea, but then it seems to settle down and I also end up constipated unless I take Senna. It seems a matter of just finding the best halfway house between waiting for the body to organise its own systems and giving it a bit of a hand. I have a Senna about every two days, and even though I tend to still end up on the diarrhoea side more often than not, it's much more comfortable than constipation! I know things will sort out at the end, so I'll just put up with it for now.

I also don't always eat the full fruit & biscuit allowance, but find that during last week of month it really helps to deliberately have all of it so it feels like I'm eating "more" when I'm not! Strange - but during the first half of the month I'm not really that hungry. I often find I'm just forgetting I'm allowed to eat them! I think that's what having a busy job does.

Sounds like you're really over the worst now, and onto the downhill run! Have a good week. It's weigh day for me tomorrow, and I'm kind of dreading it, but guess I have to face the music! It's just that I want to be under 80kg so badly, but know I have to be patient and it won't be yet.
 
life is hard......

Having a stressful day- cant get the surgeons PA to do her job and its obvious she doesnt realise how difficult it is to get flights out of darwin- its not like there are 50 a day. There are like about 2 i can get- i cant do stop overs due to knee and its getting way too close to the date for it to be approved by work. I just think they are not really seeing the importance of getting things done!!!! I just have to accept that it may not happen now for a cpl more wks. Its HER fault cos she isnt doing what needs to be done. What do i do. I havent let it affect my diet and iv remained on track. Iv not touched the chocolate in fridge or tim tams. ALthough i cld go one.... i am not. Trying to stay focused. Im 79.9 so for sm reason put on 1.4kg over night. I dont understand this. No deviation except the time frame. Hmmmm. Anyway.

Niyah- you will get under the 80kg soon. I thought i wld never go OVER 80kg again but i did so im not happy. I do have fluid retention for smreason and no doc really knows y. Prescription meds help a little but not much. Hmm. Hope u can get ur breakie in order. I get up when fiance is getting ready for work- or just as leaving and get the yoghurt consumed. Even if i go back to bed thats ok cos iv had the breakie. Im on work cover and heavy pain meds so i tend to sleep to mid morn which helps me function for the rest of the day. Remain focused. U r doing gr8 and im sure u wont be too far awy from ur 80kg- what are u now- i havent had time to check ur entries. In and out of the net during the day- fleeting moments..........
 
It was nearly all over by the time tea arrived but..... i was able to convince my fiance to go to subway for tea so i cld have a salad. I left out the cheese and just had the chicken teriyaki. I realise its not the IDEAL meat but it was the best i was going to get so i got 2 serves to make up the 110g required. I think i fell short but nothing i can do but i was gd to keep out most of the NON vegies- i did get olives but didnt eat them. I also got pickles but not sure they are on the list so i did eat them. Except this, i did well. I got one little squirt of SouthWest dressing so it was about a tea spoon. Unfort it can get a bit hard to swallow for me esp with a sore throat at the mo. I didnt get any cookies or anything- had a diet zero coke. I did well. I think im learning to accept the way i need to eat and actually tell my fiance i can only eat here or there. I have to be strong too. He just pulled the TIM TAMS and the LIndt Easter egg. I DIDNT HAVE ANY!!!
I wldnt have done that last wk!!! Oh well, best be off, a day of tidying and cleaning house- outside windows, lawns, BBQ, weeds, and also inside stuff- house inspection tuesday- so lots of physical work to do!!!!!!!!!!!! As long as i remember to drink water- i still havent done this!!!!!!!!!!! I need a IV i think- i cant swallow it!! GRRRR i will try tho!! Night all and hope ur keeping on track!!
 
You sound like you're doing well with the choices, DeDe - I've had to make a few difficult ones at times and there's always some way you can eat very close to a Cohen's meal. The Subway salad is my standby, but if one's not around, there's sometimes another alternative that you can go for.

Some of the food halls have options with salady choices as well - ones that sell pita rolls etc will usually do a salad in a container if you ask and leave out all the bread product.

I've actually found it kind of fun because it's teaching me that when there's a huge choice, like in a food hall or an all-you-can-eat like Sizzler's (think have only been once near the beginning, or when I was just working up to re-starting the diet), you can make sensible choices and you don't have to eat chips, food covered with batter or oil etc. Generally there's a plain grilled meat option, and a simple salad or "stir fry" option of green leafy vegetables you can put together.

Of course, better if you don't have to do this, but life isn't always totally easy.
 
Niyah- diet got blown out today- i missed breakie- slept thru. Then got yoghurt- that was fine. Then when it come to tea- it was like 8.30pm by the time me and fiance finished lawns, weeds, cleaning driveway and windows. He decided pizza. Im so annoyed. I have been so faithful. I know not every day will be easy but then we had everything there and he didnt want to cook and didnt want steak. So i am kinda bit GRRRR. I know i just have to pick up again tomorrow and deal with it again. I have to just get back on wagon and realse times will come that u wont be able to be 100%. This shouldnt have been one. I just hope that he can help me remain on track. I dont know how i can get it thru to him that i need to be supported. Normally he does- maybe he was very tired from lawns- its 35 degrees with like 75% humidity. He was doing it for 4hrs. So i can maybe forgive him. But only this one time. I worked too. Maybe i worked enuf to burn off what i ate and what we have to do tomorrow i cld burn it off also.

Niyah- we didnt have access to a food hall so the only place open was Subway Frinight. I think it was the best choice, and as u said, if we do go somewhere that does a wrap and stuff, maybe they will just put a salad together for me in a container. Then i can feel as though i am remaining strong and on par with the diet. I understand life isnt gunna always be easy, but i just hpe it doesnt throw too many curve balls!!!!!

Another day tomorrow!!!!! At least i got the water in todays- 3ltr!!!!
 
Y the hell am i on this thing for- life seems so grrrrr. No breakie, got up late but had a coffee with sweetner. On track. Then lunch comes and goes, fiance hands me a cpl of Pizza Shapes. Hmmm. Not the smarted idea. I do eat the 3 he gave me. I drink water. The tea time comes around and amped up for the steak and salad. Hmm. Something smells funny- OH GREAT THE STEAK IS OFF- y we arent sure of. Only been in fridge like 2days. NOT HAPPY. So i have a cpl of small chivachachi things- and a rissole. And lots of salad. I think i did the best in the circum stances. I had the best intentions but it didnt pay off in the end. I guess i just get up and start again in the morning. Maybe ONE day will be a blessing and go to plan. I must say- considering i had the 3 tiny buscuit things and tea, i havent been seriously BADDDDD. I just did what i wld in those circumstances. We didnt plan ahead just incase they were off. The were ok last night!!!! Hmmm. After all the work i did today - weeding, cleaned the BBQ like twice, cleaned windows, and then inside tidying and dusting, i think my OUTPUT to INPUT ratio is WAYYYYY out. Iv put a little in but put massive amounts OUT. So i guess that is one gd thing. ANyways, i hope everyone elses day has been better then mine and we can all have a positive day tomorrow. Night all. Im of to rest this VERY PAINFUL AND SWOLLEN BODY>.......
 
Hi De, you may want to avoid jump starting the programme so many stretch in a row, the brains may get very mixed signals and end up with a heavier weight than you first began. Also, by repeating that on a daily basis you are reinforcing the idea into your head...quit telling yourself that you'll start tomorrow...tell yourself IT IS NOW OR NEVER!

Besides, with only 14kg to lose, you'll be done in less than 2 months. Just grit your teeth and bite the bullet and simply just get it through.

Look at it meal by meal first, then day by day. Heck, who am I to teach you, you've got the experience before, so you just need reminder and someone to kick your little butt into action..hehehe :)
 
Well, doesn't work for me every time, DeDe, but am finding that if I CAN make a "normal" size dinner (which I'm not eating), then put a couple of spares in the freezer for husband, I can always pull out something to keep him happy whilst I eat something else altogether.

I've also put a packet of feta cheese, plus low-fat mozzarella, in the fridge so if all else fails I can pull together a cheese & salad meal for myself. That's been a great stand by. I don't have it very often, but you don't have to worry about it like you do meat, which goes off so quickly.

Otherwise just do the best you can with whatever life throws at you, and try hard to convince him that you just can't eat what he eats - for the moment. I'm lucky my husband doesn't care at all if I don't join him in whatever food he wants, but not all men are like that.

But seriously, try not to do the undereat/work harder just to catch up too often, because I've found you end up feeling awful after a few days. Keep up vitamins, I'm finding magnesium supplements help too. Keeps a lid on the sweet tooth. Drink lots of water - the more you drink, the more you shrink!

If you can get the yoghurt done with early each day, you'll find it really does help to stop the cravings later on. This is the single biggest change for me which has made a huge difference - that protein for breakfast is the way to go. Fights off the mid-morning tummy rumbles etc.
 
Hi all. Iv not been on the diet for many reasons and just hoping i get back on track monday morning. Iv actually losed weight. Im now 76.9kg. Im very happy iv not gained weight but iv not been eating either- lost my appetite and actually feel not 100%. I think not eating contributes to llack of energy but i also just get easily tied thru this knee injury. I wish i cld push this recon to be ASAP but unfor ti can only push ppl so far to do their job!! Out of my hands!! BUt i have to just go and restock for my 20 milionth attempt!! I will try and start again tomorrow! I think its just life in general that is against me at the mo. So many things going on that just dont allow me to DO it. I shouldnt use excuses but unfort when u live army life, have a few major medical issues it is a REALITY.... here goes for tomorrows attempt. I did have a salad and chicken for tea last night so its not like im going out and just eating crap, i am eating what i am meant to its just im eating slightly more then i am supposed to (like 200gm rather then the 110-120) but the salad is generally the right amount. I just have to learn to eat when not hungry also. I have tendency to NOT eat if not hungry and i cld do this for a few days- i dont tend to feel full either so i can eat more then i need to also. Its a weird thing but always been the way. Never emotionally eat- i can eat normally then not eat for a few days- hmmmm. ANyway, here to me next attempt. hope all are going beter then me and are benefitng from their new life style!! im sure i will- one day.........
 
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