Cohen's Lifestyle Tuberose's Journey Towards FREEDOM!

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tuberose

tuberose

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Tuberose's Journey Towards FREEDOM! - On Refeed Now

Parking my cyberspace here to keep myself on check with my Cohen's diet. Gotten my plan last evening and planning to start tomorrow. bought a water filter jar, digital scale & some groceries, etc.

I know it would be a journey with challenges to face when i choose to start at a time pre-bio cycle where my appetitie & mood go hay wire and all cravings start to kick in... where i'm going to attend a wedding dinner where 10 course meals are all served to your plate personally in 1.5 week's time...

what a time to start! BUT, i feel there's no time to waste, life's short.

i pray i will have the persistence, discipline and support to press on in this journey. there are no friends around me doing this so i'm pretty much on my own...

hope to record my feelings share my daily/weekly meal plans and any little victories and challenges...

btw this is temporary post... do not quote this if you wish to post your messages in this thread :) will update this first post within this week :)

Monthly Weight Records on a Fortnightly Basis
Jun 07
27 Jun: 76.5kg :cry:

Jul 07 (Reset)
2 Jul:73.1kg
16 Jul:70.7kg (this is so NOT good :cry:)
Weight at the end of Week 4 (25 Jul):68.4kg (lost 8.1kg)

Aug 07
1 Aug (week 5):67.7kg
8 Aug (week 6):66.5kg
15 Aug (week 7):65.6kg
Weight at the end of Week 8 (22 Aug):64.2kg (lost 12.3kg)
29 Aug (week 9): 63.2kg

Sep 07
5 Sep (week 10): 62.2kg
12 Sep (week 11):61.7kg (this is the slowest weight lost week, hope this is the slowest ever :()
Weight at the end of Week 12 (19 Sep):59.8kg (lost 16.7kg)
26 Sep (week 13):59.2kg (not doing too good either... *disappointed*)

Oct 07
3 Oct (week 14): 58kg
10 Oct (week 15): 57.1kg
Weight at the end of Week 16 (17 Oct):56.2kg (lost 20.3kg)
24 Oct (week 17): 55.6kg (another slow week...)
31 Oct (week 18): 54.5kg

Nov 07
7 Nov (week 19): 53.9kg
Weight at the end of Week 20 (14 Nov):52.9kg (lost 23.6kg)
21 Nov (week 21): 52.4kg (just a mere 0.5kg loss, an exceptionally slow week...)
28 Nov (week 22): 52.1kg (coming to an ultra slow pace...)

Dec 07
5 Dec (week 23): 51.9kg
 
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DAY ONE ON COHEN'S

PART I
Before I amend my first post above, i'm gonna share what i've eaten & planning to eat for today! i find that this is rather therapeutic in a way :p

Breakfast = steamed cauliflower & melted cheese + a cup of tea and a piece of fruit

Thanks to the one (i'm so sorry i could not recall where i read the recipe from) who suggested the cauliflower + cheese, it's quite nice and allows me to have warm food in the morning! :jump:

Lunch = stir fry fish with mushroom

Dinner = simmer lettuce + peach and pour over steamed chix

I'm gonna have my crackers in between as i was told to have all my fruit & cracker allowance for the first 10 days and yes, i've started today! :)

PART II
Just finished lunch at 2.30pm. the wait in between breakfast & lunch is a little tough esp after my crackers, kinda whet my appetite even more but i tried to distract myself with other things....

last night after cooking for today's lunch, i thought the portion was quite ok BUT when i have just finished it, the portion seemed really small... don't really feel full enough... already counting down to dinner time :eek:
 
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DAY TWO ON COHEN'S

last night i was just feeling so weak and hungry even after dinner :( that i slept an hour earlier. i'm thankful that i could sleep even when i was feeling hungry & weak. in my younger days, i simply could not sleep whenever i felt hungry before bedtime.

the one thing i could not follow is the weighing yourself after 4 weeks, it's impossible. i have developed the habit of weighing myself everyday over the years and guess what? when i weighed myself this morning, the scale read 75.9kg, i lost 600g overnight! LOL! :rotflmao: while i'm prepared i won't be able to sustain weight loss at this rate and aware that this is part of water loss, i feel somewhat encouraged! :)

i really hope that the feelings of weakness and hungry pangs will soon go away.... i feel bad for losing my temper yesterday at some points. hmmm...
 
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Well done Tuberose. Sounds like you're on the right track. Drink water when you get the hunger pangs. They will go away within 5 minutes max. That's what I found in my first few days, You're retraining your tummy and body to accept the prescribed amount of food and it will get used to it. In the meantime trick it with water.

I can relate to the temper outbursts. I don't know where they are coming from but they're there. For me, I sometimes think it's coming from jealously that my family is having "nice" stuff and I'm eating something else (nice too but not the same). But I'm no psychiatrist. :))

You're doing well.

Stef
 
Dear Stef, thank you so much for your encouragement... at this stage, this is really what i need because 3rd day into Cohen's, i'm still feel weak and tortured by hunger pangs from time to time and even as i'm typing this, i feel weak :eek:

i have no friends around me doing that, so any form of support is great :)
 
Today marks the 6th day on Cohen's. I'm pretty happy with the weight loss so far, 3.4kg in 5 days, not too bad! :jump: However, I know I need to be prepared that the loss might not be able to sustain at this rate. I'm already seeing it. after Day 1, i lost 0.6kg, day 2 - 1.1kg, day 3 - 1kg, day 4 - 0.4kg and day 5 - 0.3kg. I know i've been naughty for weighing myself everyday :D

as long as i see some loss on the scale every 2 to 3 days or so, i should be fine :) But what bothers me is that i had constipation for the past two days.... (sorry for the description), i'm not sure what i can do.... perhaps i'll take yoghurt :eek: with fruit for breakfast for the next few days and hopefully things will really get better. i feel really bothered whenever this happens :(

Just to sum up my experience for the past few days. i think i've not deviated (I hope!) The first 2 days were quite bad, felt really weak & hungry most parts of the day, night time was the worst. From 3rd day & onwards, i felt better especially during the day but came night time esp past 11pm & sometimes just before the next meal, i felt weak & hungry again and my temper just tends to be terrible. :( also i feel that i tend to be more forgetful and my reflexes are slower.... i hope all these will go away soon...

i find that this diet is really very very restrictive, boring and anti-social. i try not to go out much after work in order to get home in time to prepare and eat the right food BEFORE 9PM (very tough because i knock off at 6pm & my office is far away from the shopping district). apart from this, in order not to have late dinner beyond 9pm, i find that i could no longer sleep as much over the weekends like in the past, i've to wake up latest by 9am and make sure i eat breakfast by 10am.... something i've have to get used to...

sorry to rant here but after going through this morning's stress of having to prepare for breakfast & lunch in such hurry, i just flared up and almost burst into tears :cry: I'M SO NOT USED TO HAVING TO PREPARE FOR EVERY SINGLE MEAL!!! on the other hand i really thank God for a supportive mum though i do feel disturbed whenever she starts to grumble while helping me to prepare. as i do not want to stress her out, i've been trying to prepare and cook the meals most of the time. also i do not fancy the idea of cooking for a few meals in advance, i prepare & cook frequently... the weighing part while food's raw and void of water is something i need to get used to. the 1 gram plus & minus drives me crazy sometimes, taking tiny bits of food on & off the scale just to get it 'right'. it does not help when my mum starts to nag & say things like, just the 1 or 2 grams is not going to make a difference, no big deal, blah blah blah... i guess it's difficult for non-cohenites to understand the diet...

the rather bland and boring food, mostly steamed, sometimes makes me to crave for 'sinful' food from time to time especially when i walk past food centres and fast food restaurants. i could feel the burgers, steaks, fried rice, chocolates, sundaes, cakes, muffins, icecream are calling out my name :eek:

at the end of the day, one thing i know is 'no pain no gain' or 'no loss'? i do feel comforted when i see some positive changes on the scale in the mornings after going through all the "sufferings".

i pray that i'll find wisdom and strength to press on and find ways to prepare food with less hassle and stress... apart from portioning out the meat in advance and use simple cooking methods, i do not know how to reduce the stress of prepare meals in advance without stressing out in the mornings and the nights before...

thanks for reading :)
 
Keep going Tubey. You are doing great.

For breaky, have you tried egg and sliced white, button mushrooms? Or fat free plain yoghurt with mango? Both are great.

You dont have to eat steamed food all the time either. Lightly coat the fish or chicken with curry powder and fry with little oil.

Even if you do go out, just be mindful of what you eat and stick as closely as you can to Cohens and you should be fine. This should be an adventure and not a torture (as someone has rightly put it) so go enjoy enjoy yourself. :)
 
FatBustor, thank you so much for your encouragement, it's always comforting to know there are others who cares :) i've been taking plain yoghurt with mango these few days, pretty yummy! mango is in season now, so i'm blessed! :jump:
 
I Can't Wait!!!

Starting of Week 3 into Cohen's

my progress is not as dramatic anymore, in some days, my scale did not register any change and for about 2 to 3 days, i gained some weight instead.

last week was not good as due to circumstances i had to eat after 9pm for at least 3 days and i noticed that my weight loss slowed down quite significantly whenever i had my dinner after 9pm. when my bowel movement is affected, it will affect my progress too. i kept telling myself not to feel discouraged and press on.... then the weight will start to drop off again. though not as dramatic, i'm glad at this stage, i'm still losing weight every few days...

and i survived the wedding dinner last sun!!!! i just kept drinking plain water while everyone else around me were enjoying rich & sumptous food! i kept controlling myself to stop entertaining thoughts of stretching out my hands with the chopsticks to pick up small morsels of scallops, steamed fish, sharksfin, roast chicken.... it was sheer torture but i told myself i want to reach my goal weight asap, it's better to suffer now than to feel regretful, cave in to temptations & end up taking forever to reach my goal weight. but i accidentally took a sip of sprite thinking that it was ice water :eek: :eek:

my motivation comes from wanting to end the course in the shortest possible time :D

i can't wait to end the routine of weighing and eating bland food. i can't wait to meet my friends and have dinner with them without having to worry about deviating. i can't wait to fit into some of my clothes that i could still fit nicely less than 2 years ago. i can't wait to feel confident enough to look for new jobs. i can't wait to catch up with good friends whom i've been trying to avoid meeting all these years as i do not want them to see me in this shape. i can't wait to receive compliments from my dear grandma. i can't wait to walk into boutiques without having to feel self-conscious. i can't wait to go shopping for pretty clothes and wear sleeveless dress when i reach my goal weight. i can't wait, i can't wait!!!

As of this morning, I weighed 71kg, i can't wait to see myself crossing below 70 into the 60s. it's been many months since i weigh less than 70kgs.

i tried to stay motivated by "rewarding" myself with a can of diet soda with every 3 kg lost. just had my first bottle of diet sprite, it tastes good! :jump:

when i reach just below 70kg, i'm gonna try on my marks & spencer jeans which was very tight before i embark on Cohen's. when i reach 68kg and below, i'll start to wear clothes that i've not been able to fit in since last year, when i reach 66kg & below, i'll wear my brand new ASOS skirt & the list goes on... yes, i'll try my best to stay motivated this way :)
 
The 20th day into Cohen's

last week is a TERRIBLE week!!!! i lost less than 1kg for the ENTIRE WEEK!!! and today is the third day I've been suffering from constipation!!! :cry: my weight loss is really really slow and have even gained one to two hundred grams despite my effort to stick to the plan. not only that i noticed my tummy is exceptionally bloated, made me look really terrible :(

i really hate it when my bowel movement is compromised, i'm ok with one to two days of that but THREE DAYS in a row??? oh man i can't take it!!! :mad: why is this diet if it's supposed to be well-balanced, causing people to suffer from that?

in the hope to prevent such problem, i've even been taking yoghurt with fruit almost everyday and i still suffer from constipation!!! i'm depressed :cry:

having lost about 6kg so far, no one around me except my mum seem to have noticed some difference... even my closer colleagues & friends who are aware that i'm on this programme made absolutely no encouraging comments or remarks.... tonight when i was chatting with one colleague who is also trying to lose weight, told me that recently he tends to buy clothes which are one size smaller to motivate himself and i exclaimed that i have been doing the same lately... guess what he replied? - "then why is it that it's (my effort to lose weight) still not working?" oh gosh, i just felt as if someone has given me this cruel tight slap on my face.

i felt so discouraged that i felt i had to share with him that i've lost about 6kg on this strict diet programme in the hope to feel better about myself... he looked kinda surprised when i told him i've lost this amt of weight in recent weeks..... :(

sorry for ranting away... i really feel dejected, depressed and discouraged :cry:
 
Hang in there

HI tuberose, hang in there. your doing great. The compliments will come and if you like me they take some getting used too. I also had trouble with constipation and have started taking some metamucil capsules and things have eased now thank goodness. I hate the feeling of being bulked up.
So hang in there
Genie
 
Hi Tuberose!
I just wanted to write and encourage you. I am into my 9th week. I found that I too was pretty blocked up for MANY days early on. I started taking Metamucil tablets (same as Genie) and I did find that they helped. I also took a Senna tablet in the 2nd week cos it was soo bad... but I found that I had to stay close to the loo not long after taking it. :eek: I recently went on Holidays and forgot to take my metamucil tablets and I have found that I have not had any problems. So I will probably only take them when things get bad. I think that since I increased my water to 4L a day it has helped alot. Other people also use Psylium Husks in their Yoghurt which I might consider later on after I have used all my tablets ups.

I have been a Slow loser... compared to others, who have lost 14 kgs in less than 3 weeks! I only lost about 7 in the first 3...which was a little depressing I admit... but it really was because I was comparing myself to others instead of rejoicing in a LOSS. A LOSS IS A LOSS now! :) AND I am losing it sooo much quicker than I ever did on WW or with lots and lots of exercise. If you are going to weigh every day can I suggest that you actually keep a spreadsheet and document all your meals and water etc so that you can actually see a pattern. You will probably find that your body goes through cycles where you dont lose hardly anything at all, but then suddenly it loses a lot. If you weigh every day you have to get used to seeing the scales go up and staying the same (which it has for me on many an occasion!). I found that when I started documenting things I could see the impact of things like Cheese and water on my weight loss. I lose more easily when I drink 4 litres a day but when I only get 2 I dont lose as much and if I eat cheese too often I hardly lose that week. So I only eat it once a week now.

You can get through this... I really believe it is a matter of our minds. We have to change the way we think and take control of our emotions. It is really hard... and when we dont see the results we expect (Compared to everyone else) we can be disappointed and decide to give up....and eat comforting foods. If we get on top of the thoughts that (for many) got us into this position in the first place... we can DO ANYTHING! :jump: Just remember that all the lovely foods will be there when you have finished....and as someone else said "Nothing tastes as good as SLIM feels!" You only have 14kgs to go! You can do this! And dont worry about others comments... who are you doing this for? Other people or yourself? (Plus their comments will come in time.) It took more than 6 weeks for the comments to start coming for me!

Anyway.. this was a LOT longer than I planned! I wish you well and hope that you can keep your focus! Bless ya :)
Kath
 
Thank you BrunetteGenie! :) i can't wait to hear from the friends and colleagues around me say some positive things about my weight loss... perhaps i'm been "hiding" inside a loose jacket type of outerwear during work, that it's not so noticeable.... i'll be patient and yes, will hang in there! *hugs*
 
Hi Kath... i'm so touched by your encouragement and for taking the time to address all my concerns in details... don't think i could have asked for more... you are so right in saying that i'm doing this diet for myself and loved ones, so i will try my very best not to be too bothered by what others say or them not even noticing the changes in me :)

at this point, i'm still not intending to use any form of medical aid to help ease my bowel movements.... i noticed if i'm thrown off my normal routine or eat mangoes continuously for a few days, i'm more prone to having this problem... this wed marks the end of week 4 for me, i'm gonna see my consultant next week after the blood test. i'll highlight this to her and see what she says. meanwhile, i'll follow your advice to up my water intake and see how it goes :)

and yes, i'll try to focus on the little victories, or should i say "losses" and see them as "A Loss IS a Loss"! it might be rather frustrating if i compare to others who lost at least 10kgs or more within the first month on this programme. but i think of all the diets, apart from taking apettite supressant, this diet has indeed helped me to lose a decent amount of weight within weeks as against other methods. though a worry wort by nature, i'll try to stay more positive :)

Thanks again Kath *hugs*
 
The 27th day into Cohen's

Today is the second last day of my first 4-week cycle into the programme and I'm happy to share that i'm finally under the 70kg mark!!! i weighed myself this morning and i'm at 68.5 means i have lost 8kg altogether!! compared to many here, this is considered just a moderate loss but i'm quite glad! and i want to learn to rejoice in every loss earned :jump: also i've reached another 3kg loss from 71.5kg to get myself a can of diet soda as a form of reward :)

for lunch, i've been taking chicken soup with mushroom and veg during week day for almost 3 weeks now.... i'm still not sick of it yet. i still find it nice and most importantly, relatively easy to prepare for work.

for deviations, i don't think i've done that delibrately... apart from the one sip of regular sprite by mistake and that sometimes i just could not have my dinner before 9pm... i hope the bloodtest i'm going for this sat would not show all these up as deviations... sometimes i also wonder if my portion of fruit is too big, like apples. sometimes i wonder what's medium apple. like the NZ apples i'm having are smaller compared to japanese fuji apples but bigger then the gala apples. perhaps in Cohens guide they should specifiy the max weight of apples we can take when measured as a whole.

also, i find myself struggling to fight againt the temptations to just pop in additional crackers....with the limited variations & portion of food i'm taking, even plain crackers become almost as yummy as oreos cookies and marks and spencer biscuits during pre cohen period. sometimes i also find eating crackers increased my cravings and even hunger for "sinful" food.... and yet, i refused to give up this little treat i could get daily and most of the time, i would normally finish my entire daily allowance. i could take meji plain crackers up to 8 pieces per day and not more than 3 pieces each time. i sometimes find myself counting down to the next hour when i can enjoy the crackers again LOL so far i've been able to resist this temptation but i have to make a concious effort to fight it every time without fail. anyone struggling with this too?

i've also told myself to try on my new pair of jeans from marks and spencer when i go under 70kg and i wore it just last sun to go to a dog run park area when shopping for my precious furkid :) as compared to the first time i tried it on which was very tight that i could hardly zip, this pair of size 16 jeans now is very loose at the waist/tummy areas and can fit my ultra thunderous thighs comfortably. really hope i can fit into size 12 to 14 jeans & pants when i reached my goal weight. i know i can never have model slim thighs as most of my weight seems to come from just my legs, particularly thighs :eek: i can never dream of wearing cute short skirts :)

i really admire people who can exercise quite strenuously & regularly while on this diet. sometimes i even struggle to find enough energy to take my dog out on long walks but thanks to her, i do get to exercise by walking her several times a week. i do want to have toned body by the time i reach my goal weight, especially my ultra flabby upper arms.... i'm planning that when i reached between 64 and 62 kg, i would want to do some toning exercise... i wouldn't dare to start doing it now as i'm afraid that the muscles would be built on the fats i'm carry now.

i'm also hoping that i could reduce my bra cup size too :eek: ... i'm wearing DD to E, it is so disgusting for my height and among asian women, not to mention, over here, it's really hard to find bra of such sizes and when you can find it, it tends to be "auntish". really hope that i can be reduced to a C. so far my weight loss has not caused any reduction on my cup size unfortunately. more like the "band" size is getting smaller... hmmmm...

so far i've not recorded my body measurements but just judging from the clothes i'm wearing. i observed that the inches are coming off more from my lower body as some of my tighter skirts are getting quite loose but i don't feel much for the waist and upper body... i wonder if this is normal? my tummy is also rather bloated recently, hope that this is just due to the upcoming TOM....

Nowadays, i enjoy and look forward to taking my meals over the weekends when i have more time to experiment with different recipes. i find adding crackers to soup up some of the dishes really helped :) last sun i had prawns and i coated the prawns with a mixture of pounded crackers and garlic power and slowly pan fried. with that and i added fruit allowance of mango and stir fry with mushrooms and lettuce lightly. this combi is pretty yummy and i felt so satisfied to say the least :) also i had stewed beef cubes (wonderful winter warmer) last Sat based on one of the recipes posted here in another thread, many thanks to less of me! and boy did i feel really happy having prepared that dish!! it is one of the yummiest cohens dishes i've tasted after spending 3 weeks in the programme. i'm gonna make this dish a weekly indulgence, YAY! :jump:
 
Hi Tuberose!
I'm glad you found my post informative and not long winded and annoying!! :) I love the fact that we can help each other along our journey's...

CONGRATULATIONS on getting Under 70! What an achievement! I know for me, hitting Double Figures will bring that same sense of WOW!!! Can I encourage you to start measuring though!? I started measuring... and although I guess I have alot more to lose... I noticed huge losses in centimetres even in the first week... it was so very encouraging and it is those losses that sometimes gets me through the slower weight loss weeks.

The really cool thing about this program is that WE LEARN!!! Thats why I chose it in the first place! The added bonus for me is the rapid fat loss... compared to say Jenny Craig or WW... or shakes etc.. I learn lifeskills forever... and if I go overboard in the future I will always have the keys to getting back on track...

I know what you mean about Crackers!!! I have been limiting myself to 3 a day so that if I am absolutely CRAVING something in the evening at least I have a couple of crackers left... However I think this has actually only happened once in 2 months!!! So thats pretty good.

You are doing so well Tuberose! Keep it up... I will enjoy watching you get to your goal and rejoice with you when you do!!

Bless ya
Kath
 
Hi kath, thanks for your encouragment and the lovely note once again! :hug2: yes! we should be so proud of ourselves for having the will power to resist taking more crackers than the given allowance! once you overcome the temptation, you do feel great isn't it?! YAY! :jump:

you are just 1kg plus away from reaching under 100kg, keep it up and i'm sure you will be under that mark in no time! :)
 
35th Day Into Cohen's

On the whole, the progress for week 5 is really slow... losing just about 100g per day and on one or two days, i lost nothing or even gained another 100g at first i told myself is due to TOM... it has ended about 2 days ago and the progress is still ultra slow... :confused:

i lost about 8 kg for the first 4-week cycle and i'm hoping to lose about 6 kg for each of the next two 4-week cycles. i'm really hoping to complete this programme in 3 months to reach my target wt for refeed at 56kg. looks like it would be really difficult to achieve the aim of losing another 6kg this month...

the past week has not been too good where the timing of my third meal of the day & water intake are concerned. this is now my work peak period and we are running a number of events late into the evenings, i could hardly eat before 9pm. also there are a couple of days i could not drink more than 2L of water as I have to run around doing stuffs, organising events and giving briefings & attending meetings. besides not having the time to drink enough water, it is inconvenient for me to keep going to the toilets due to all these work commitments. i should be able to go back to my "normal" routine about 2 weeks from now.

i'll just have to make do with my restraints and stick to the diet as best as i could for the time being.

on the other hand, i'm very happy that at least 3 of my colleagues started to notice the difference in me!!! i was wearing a cardigan yesterday to work so i did not cover myself in that loose outwear, perhaps that's why they noticed the difference! while i was rather disappointed with the very slow wt lost, these colleagues really made my day yesterday! one of them even said that if i keep losing weight at this rate, i would be really slim in a month's time and she said that she's jealous!! :eek: :) i just smiled and told her that i'm just about "half way there"! :) at least there was something that could bring a smile to my face yesterday despite the stressful work schedules :)
 
awesome

Hi Tuberose
that is truly awesome keep up the great work...I am of the opinion a loss is a loss is a loss and i cant complain about that...so keep it up you are doing great
Genie
 
Hi Genie, thanks for your ever warm & encouraging posts. it really does make a difference to have people like you around here... it's a rather lonely journey to be on this diet as no one else around me is doing it. and coz it's restrictive, i could not go out for meals with friends as freely as like in the poast.

thank you so much :)
 
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