Everything and anything. Post your feelings, tips questions, help and support.


This thread is just the contination of the orginal Cohen Lifestyle Support Thread that was locked after an 4867 posts!

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What is the Cohen Diet


Dr Cohen lives in South Africa and according to the information in the website was a doctor specializing in reproductive medicine. Reading between the lines it appears that in his medical practice he noted that many women needed to lose weight to regain their fertility and he devised this diet after much refinement and testing over a few years. But it not just for women, the author of this post is a man, a man who was obese and is now just overweight and who will be in normal range in another 6 weeks . For the author Cohen is not a false hope.


1st PersonalDiet and in Australia it is Cohen's Lifestyle Clinic

Attributes of Cohen diet.

• Low Carb, most carbs are in the fruits that are eating during the day, 2 or 3 servings and each serving is around 170grams. eg 170 grams of kiwi (2 medium kiwi) or 1 medium apple. Starches (wheat, potatos, beans, bread, donuts, rice, pasta ) are very strickly limited, zero except for 5 or 6 small crackers per day
• Based on your profile, height, weight, and blood test profile (Urea, Total Protein, Electrolytes etc) Dr Cohen will prepare a personal weight loss plan (basically how much of what can you eat when) for your needs. Marketing material of the Cohen diet website suggests by following the eating plan you will "trigger" the Human Growth Hormone and Seratonin production which will create a rapid loss in weight.
• All meals, and all foods are weighed to within 1gram and prepared. There is no room for a little more or a little less, 120grams of chicken means we must eat 120grams exactly of chicken (or Turkey) breast.
• Vegetables Around a dozen or so types of vegetables all of which are non-starchy vegetables. Spinach, Asparagus, Onions, Tomato etc. These are eaten with each meal and weighed as mention above to 1gram.
• Meals must be eating 5 or more hours apart, this apprently gives your lots of time at low blood sugar level.
• No Alcohol.
• No mandatory exercise. I keep active and the more a lose the more active I am becoming. Dr Cohen recommends that if you dont exercise now, dont start, start after you have lost weight. Reading between the lines he doenst want 300lbs people dropping dead of heart atacks trying to run up mountains. However if you currently exercise you dont need to stop.
• There is zero room for any alternative foods or even extra portions. You must eat the amounts that are specified and only from the list of acceptable foods. These are known as *Deviations*, you deviated from the Cohen plan. Naturally if you eat out you cannot make sure the proportions and food types are correct ie this is a deviation. For those who need to eat out frequently or socialise with friends or business partners, this is the biggest issue with following the diet.
• Because of the higher % protein intake for many you dont feel (very) hungry for long periods of the day. Note that the actual amount of protein consumed is very much in the normal range for American and Australian diets.

What I would eat in a typical day

• Breakfast: 175 grams low fat yogurt mixed with 2 diced kiwi fruit, sweatener. 2 Nabisco crackers, Black coffee
• Lunch: 125 grams Chicken and 115grams of vegetables, on a work day I would have it as a soup (so I can bring it to work and warm in a microwave) and on non work day I would have it grilled with the 115grams of vegatables as fresh salad. Another 2 crackers
• Dinner: 140grams of tuna that I grill and have with 100grams of stir fry vegetables (fried without oil in a non-stick pan). Other days maybe 130grams of lean steak or 120 grams tofu. Another 2 crackers.
• Lots and lots of water 3~4 liters per day drunk at room temp, around 2 liters before lunch, 1 in afternoon, 1 at night.

Actually Cohen eating is dead boring, and as night follows day, I have lost and am losing weight around 1.5KG/week (3lbs), for the last 12 weeks.

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Status: On Refeed (Started Sat 17 Mar 2007)
My Diary