Cohen's Lifestyle Nicole's London weight-loss Journey

Prefix for Cohen's Lifestyle
Smiles for kg's

Hey all :waving:

Thanks so much for your encouragement- it means a lot to me for you to say such uplifting words!!! I am getting excited each week I weigh myself and see that more kg's have disappeared :) Woo hoo that alone is enough to keep me on track and Cate's Asparagus soup is now my daily stable and is just SO delicious and filling I just cant get enough of it so THANK-YOU Cate!!!

Fortnight you will get there for sure! Cohen's really is a God send and for someone like me who finds it nearly impossible to loose weight it has changed my life :) Just stick it out and your weight will melt off you! If we can be guaranteed of one thing on Cohen's is that it really WILL work, unlike the millions of other temporary solutions that the media is trying to push on us!

I seem to be having more luck on the job side of things over here at the moment and the interest in my CV and scheduling of interviews is really picking up so hopefully a job will be mine soon! I just cant wait till this darn recession is over and people dont have to stress so much about money.

I went to the famous Borough markets today to check out all the beautiful fresh produce and see if I could find some Gem squash to no avail. Jamie Oliver shops there and we even saw a famous chef that is on TV but I dont know his name. It's so amazing not knowing when you could see a famous person walking around like normal. Everyone seems to just go about their business and not be too concerned. I bought some lovely, delicious vegies like I have never tasted before in Aus- the tomatoes were so sweet and delicious with abundant flavour it tastes like you have picked them from your garden. I will update my ticker this Monday after I weigh myself it's actually like a treat to see how much I weigh were before I would dread the scales even pleading with myself not to get on otherwise I would be depressed! The fact that I can be honest with myself and not hide how much I weigh anymore is so releasing! I have SO MANY bad memories as a child and growing up being forced to get on the scales and how everyone made such fun of me so to be able to have a ticker is a big deal for me. I have now decided that hiding isn't the way to be and although I wont openly disclose my weight to people I find that just being on this forum and being honest is really helping me keep account of myself and my feelings! I just love seeing people succeed on the program and meet their goals!

Best of luck to you all on your journeys and remember it's more about changing your mind than your eating habits. Dont think of Cohen's as being restricted but think of it as freedom within some guidelines to create culinary masterpieces! Something I will take way from it is that there is no need to be so hasty to make food really quickly. It should be an enjoyable experience and not rushed to get it over and done with.

Take care of yourselves people and keep up the amazing efforts- it will ALL be worth it in the end. :hurray:

xxnicole
 
Nicole, That post was marvellous! Thank you for sharing your life with us. I could picture you walking around the market & seeing someone famous. I like to just smile & nod when I see someone important or famous & then to continue on. I could see you doing the same.You come away feeling enriched for the experience. I love to read about other people's lives & experiences & am enjoying your diary immensely. I feel sure that your positive, can do attitude will translate into a job very soon. In the mean-time I can see your self-esteem & confidence growing each week. Catch up again soon, xo Cate
 
Another kg down

:waving:

Thanks Cate I love writing how I am thinking and feeling and then read it another time if I am filling a bit low!

I am another 1.2kgs down (98.5kg's) so that is good news. I have to say I was a little disappointed as I lost 1.9kgs the previous week but I am going to take a monthy average so I will see what it adds up to then. It will be wonderful when I finally get there and I think if your journey is a little longer then it helps you to stick on cohen's style foods after you finish as you really appreciate the fact the you have finally arrived at your destination with a lot of effort. As the saying goes "Easy come, easy go" so maybe it is a blessing in disguise that I am not loosing at an AMAZINGLY fast rate?

I had the worst lunch yesterday! It was not nice at all!!! I had a job interview at 2pm and I couldn't eat till 2pm so I had to take my lunch with me and eat it after the interview. I thought I dont like eating chicken of beef cold so I made cauliflower with melted cheese and I think the cauliflower must have been a bit old as it tasted grose (I usually love it). Errrckkk YUCK! I forced it down though as I was not going to deviate just cause my lunch wasn't very yummy :puke: ha ha ha

No more news from my end though. Still going for interviews and applying for jobs. Geese it can get dis-heartening being out of employment for this long and living off savings in a foriegn country. I am sure that God will provide for me and that there is a perfect job just around the corner! I will keep you up-dated.

Best of luck to you all and hope your staying on-track and on-top of the world!

xxxnicole
 
That's still a pretty good loss - I would be ecstatic if I had that much!

Anyway, you're doing really well in tough circumstances, so just chip away at it (not the fried sort - ha ha!).

At least you have time where you can suss out supplies etc. Meals are definitely so valuable on Cohen's that there's no point wasting a mouthful on anything that doesn't taste really good - but yeah, sometimes we don't have the choice!

Hope something will turn up jobwise pretty soon.
 
You just made me laugh. I have eaten some very strange concoctions in the last 2 years! Good luck with the job hunt Nicole. They're mad not to employ you. The fools!!!
Cheers, cate
 
Another 1.3kg's lost so that makes a total of 22.8kgs all together. Still have another 28.2kg's to go but am feeling a bit more motivated as that makes me close to half way there!! Even if it's just small losses every week like that it means that I am still going to get there and the program is still working for me :)

What is your average weekly loss everyone? I am going to post a thead to find out as this really does intrigue me. I want to know if I am the only one loosing 1.3kg's a week and if your all blitzing me with your huge numbers?

I am totally addicted to Asparagas and chicken soup at the moment! Ahhhh it's SO YUMMY!!! Thank you so much Cate for the idea.

Still no job as of yet but I have another interview tomorrow with a Charity- Samaritan's. Over here they look after mental health and depression so it would be a great company to work for a noble cause! (and they dont pay half bad either)

Best fo luck to you all with the numbers. Each kg that I go down I think that I will only be it for a week so that's refreshing. It's like I hold onto a number every week and to then loose it, it inspires me to keep going. A kg lost is a kg lost forever!!!! AMEN

I will be totally chuffed when I get the the 80's as I can be a healthy 85kg's and not be considered over-weight cause of my height. SO that will spur me on even more :) YAY for loosing.

xxxnicole
 
Oh Nicole, You don't know how many people out there would almost kill to lose as much as you are losing per week. No other 'diet' gives you that weight-loss. The longer it takes the more you will learn, both about yourself & how to eat healthily for the long-term. Don't be in too much of a hurry to 'get there'. Once you do reach the half way point though it's a mental milestone & it feels like you are on the home stretch. Almost there!
Good luck with the Samaritans job. It sounds really good! Cheers, Cate.
 
Hey Cate

Ha ha ha I totally agree with you.
It's funny I was just saying to my husband today that I could NEVER loose even 1kg in a week on a "normal" diet and that type of plan doesn't change your mind set forever or even address the problems we have. Thanks for re-edirating that to me cause sometimes I think pfftt... surely I could do that in the real world but the answer is HELL NO!!! Just like the people on Biggest Looser if you loose the weight so fast and exercise for hours a day you just cant maintain it so that's why most of them gain alot of the weight back. I think that's the amazing thing with cohen's is that people like you are living proof that it can be done and you CAN keep the weight off forever!!! I also agree that the longer it takes to loose the weight then, the better eating habbits you learn. I would never have thought I would think this but the thought of eating bottled/ tinned sauces doesn't really appeal to me anymore as you have no idea what goes into it. From using fresh and dried herbs it's so amazing what we can make that takes just delicious!!!

Thanks for wishing me luck Cate your such a lovely person and to still be so dedicated to the forum and helping people is just wonderful! I bet you dont even realise how many people you have encouraged on the program to stick to it and the results will happen. I know that I feel much more inspired after reading your honest comments than just being patted on the back! I think you should be a consultant you would be AMAZING at it- that's something to think about?!? Tasmania could do with another clinic even if it's from your home :)

Hope your doing well and your enjoying maintainence land!!

xxnicole
 
Nicole- I read your post out to my husband as I was so thrilled by it & said that I would reply later as it required more time to answer than I had this morning. I wish I had the faith in myself that others seem to have. I am absolutely flattered by your lovely comments & am at a bit of a loss to know how to say thank you & to convey just how good comments like yours make me feel. I just really enjoy helping others. If I am actually able to motivate people to be positive and to change their lives which I keep being told lately that I can then I am absolutely thrilled to bits. I know I keep saying how I get as much as I give but it is really true. You have all done wonders for my self-esteem. If I am able to give & to help I am a very happy person. Sometimes I think earning money doing so would be nice but maybe I wouldn't enjoy it as much! My LH has said a few times that it's a pity I didn't have a dollar for every view of my diary. Now that would be nice! ha ha. Money isn't everything. I feelreally at home in here. It's like another room in my home. When I visit diaries I think of it as visiting a friend in their home. That's why I make jokes about having a coffee occasionally. BTW Nicole- I don't think I ever said anything to you about your very first heading in your diary(London Darlings?) I love it ! It always makes me smile! Cheers for now,Cate.
 
Howdy Nickychick - have a great weekend. Hope London is starting to sprinkle some sun around these days! We're wet and dreary, but that's to be expected around now.

We're off for a few days - hang in there and keep up the great work!
 
Hi ya!

Thanks Niyah

London is gorgeous right now!!! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is a lovely vibe about :) Shame I am inside applying for jobs but never mind!

Hope you have a wonderful time away and enjoy your weekend!!! How is your weight-loss going? It's hard to do cohen's when your away I know the feeling!

Take care
xxnicole
 
Hi Nickychick!

I have read your diary and just thought I'd say hi.
I was living in London until the end of April this year. I was
just there for a year. Got transferred with my job.
You're going so well with your weight loss and you have a great
head on your shoulders... lots of wisdom in your thinking.
Anyway, all the best!
28+1
 
Hey 28+1

How exciting to think that we were both in London at the same time and never realised it! So where are you living now? In Aus? That's were I came from and plan to live here for a good few years and I can stay up to 5 years with my husband! Did you sign up for the eating plan where you are now or back in London? Thanks for the lovely post it's so nice to get encouragement, I guess I still see the high numbers so I am apped to get them down as low as my body will let me :) I think once I hit the 80's I will be over joyed!!!

Thanks for popping by and reading my diary- I guess you never really know who is reading it so it's lovely that you wrote me a post!

All the best for your journey ahead and you new life in another country!

xxnicole
 
Very tired today so I will just give a quick up-date.

I was in hospital last night as yesterday I had a seizure. The doctors think it was caused from cohen's in the form of malnutrition and the low levels of salt in my body as seen from the multiple blood tests they took. It was a horendous experience and I was taken in an ambulance to hospital where I nearly passed out again after vomiting in the emergency ward. The couldn't get a vein so they had try and insert a drip (a tube with a needle) into my arm 6, yes 6 times and I have NEVER EVER had a problem with having blood taken. I am so exausted today and am still recovering but next week I have to go back to hospital to have specalised further tests done to make sure I am okay as I have never had a seizure and no one in my family has epilepsy!!!

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced full blown seizures whilst on cohens?

xxnicole
 
Never, and never heard of it. It's possible that it's very low blood glucose I guess, but I'm sure they will check all that out, and how your body is metabolising the food etc etc etc. There can be physical causes, metabolic causes and completely unknown causes for seizures.

Seizures are very weird things. My son suffered bad and frequent seizures when young, and took a long, long time to track down the cause. It seems the "threshhold" at which people will have seizures varies enormously - same thing in another person won't cause a seizure. Perhaps your body is very sensitive to low blood glucose in this way. Or... they might track down something totally different. They'll do all the checks. Even then sometimes it can be a mystery. Our son's kept us (and the best doctors) baffled for six years. But there's much better diagnostic procedures available nowadays.

Worst of luck for you! I sure hope they can track down what has caused it and find something that will help! Just take the advice they give, and if it does end up being vary the food intake, go with it and deal with the weight as you can and maybe over a longer time. As I always say, there's more than one way to skin a cat (though that's a pretty horrible expression when you think about it!!!)

Let us know how it works out for you, and will be wishing you best of luck.
 
Thanks for your response Niyah! I think your right in regards to the whole low sodium issue. I emailed my consultant and she emailed Dr Cohen who said that my seizure could not be caused from the program but he recommends that I stop the program! WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!!!!!!! He hasn't even seen my blood test results or anything and yet he is backing out in case it catches on that cohen's causes low salt levels in your body which can intern could cause seizures! AND the fact that he recommends stopping the diet even though the seizure ISN'T caused from the diet makes no sense at all!!!!!

Anyway I was rather annoyed at his response and lack of care and understanding not even bothering to look at my results before he makes an un-educated decision! The other issue is that until further testing is done through the hospital I cant even be sure that it was the low salt levels that caused the seizure so stopping the diet again wouldn't make sense. I have decided to add more salt to my diet and see how I go as that is all I can do right now and by going off the diet I would cause further strain on my body by shocking it. I will keep you all updated as to what happens with the tests.

On a lighter note I got a job as a Barista in a cafe called Coffee Republic (it's a large chain of stores like Starbucks). I start tomorrow but have already had a trial on wednesday and it wasn't too bad. The pay is just shocking over here at only $11 per hour (AUD) for casual, part-time or full-time hours, this is minimum wage :-O

I dont really want to have to work this job for very long either as I cant survive on such a small amount of money with rent being over $420 (AUD) a week!!! I had an interview on friday for a designer at the University of Westminster and will find out tomorrow if I got it so fingers crossed it is mine as this is the job I REALLY want and NEED so we can survive. If I get the job at the uni there will be no need for me to go to the coffee job as well so I am hoping I get the call before my shift starts!

Everything cohen's wise is going well. It is totally natural for me to be on it now and I am not really thinking about any other food or what I am going to eat when I finish. I guess the finish line for me is still many months away so I will cross that line when I get to it! I am no longer looking at this diet as a race but a lifestyle adjustment so when I finish I will still be following the same guidelines for eating and living healthy in the future. I understand now more than ever that I need a life change to maintain my new weight and to be healthy so that's what I am going to do. I know the occasional treat is fine but not everyday otherwise old habbits will try to creap back in. I think in a way it's a good thing that I have a lot of weight to still loose as this means it is a process and not just a quick fix where my life changes for a little while and then I go back to eating as I previously did.

I weigh-in tomorrow so I will update my ticker then!
xxxnicole
 
I'm glad you've got at least something, but yes, in these economic times it would be nice to have something with more income. Hope the other one turns out!

You are going to be much better working with the doctors who are treating you and seeing if they can get to the bottom of whatever may have caused the seizure so that you can work out if you need to do anything. Glad you're feeling OK and haven't had another one anyway. Maybe it is nothing whatever to do with the diet.

Hope everything goes well in the coming week.
 
Hi Nicole. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. I was away for the week-end & worked in the op-shop today so haven't had a chance to try to catch up until now. I have never heard of anyone having a seizure on Cohen's either. I hope the doctors get to the cause of it soon. I used to sometimes add some Celtic salt to my water bottle, as recommended by my consultant when I got cramps (?)I'll catch up again soon. I'm not feeling 100% atm. I hope I'm not coming down with anything. Take care, xo Cate.
 
Hey all

Just reporting in! I am feeling much better now thank-you just have to go and have a CT scan in a couple of weeks and then see a neuroligist so fingers crossed all is okay with my brain lol!

I have been working SO MANY hours this last week as I have started my full-time job as a Barista working at a busy cafe. It seems that there are just NO design jobs at the moment and any that there are, that I can apply for, there are over 300 other people just as good applying. CRAP!!! Never mind I believe that I will eventually get the right job for me as a designer in the right timing so in the mean time my husband and I will have to survive very measily and not go out at all or buy anything but food and rent. Cry cry....

Anyway so I only lost 800g (93.7kg's) this week and I think it is either down to the fact that I have just started working full-time or that I may have put on some muscle as I have been rather in-active previously to working. ??? Who knows but I am not going to get dis-heartened as cohen's really is working a treat for me and I believe that it comes down to my 100% commitment and fire to keep going as I see the kg's disappear!!! Like Cate say's you will loose what your body wants to loose. I am not going to rush it as I feel like I have really adjusted to cohen's now and even felt too full at lunch to eat my fruit... that reminds me I should eat it now as dinner is only an hour away and I still have another piece of fruit I must eat ha ha ha ha.

Cant wait till I am in the 80's and I know it will only be another 4 weeks or so, so YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really YAY!!!!!! I haven't been in the 80's for SO long like a good few years so just getting there is a big deal for me :) It's very strange lately I have been thinking that once I get to my goal weight I wont be able to maintain it for some reason and it is really freaking me out! I guess I have never maintianed it in the past so I am just worried that history might repeat itself but I keep having to speak to myself and say "NO Nicole, your going to get there and stay there". It's like I have never been there before so I cant imagine what it's going to be like. The last time I weighed 68kg's was when I was in year 5 or year 6 at primary school so that is kinda crazy! I cant wait to be a hot, sexy wife for my husband and for myself. I just want to be proud of ME and love the skin I'm in (like the dove or nivea advert)! That is my goal more than weighing a certain number. I know that after I get to my goal it will take a while before my body adjusts and I will need to start gyming it up or doing some toning excersises. The commitment for me is not an issue as I was going to the gym 4-5 times a week for 1.5hrs at one point but no weight would shift as Insulin resistance was my nemisis! lol SO GLAD I can loose weight now on cohen's it really is so much more easy than having to worry about counting calories or adding up points. It's all there for you in gram measurments and is clear, simple and direct as that's what I know I need (no room for deviations). Well that was a rant lol.

Hope your all doing well with your weight-loss/ maintainence and are pulling through and staying focused!

xxxknickers
 
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