Hi Cate,
I also read the other forum but find it a bit too much and most definately prefer to stay here. I also don't like silly games. I had no problem with the original question, but it was the reply to hayley that got my back up although it appears I may have misread the intention in it. I have apologised as often what you write can come across different than you intended it to and I am not a person who enjoys conflict and would prefer to have a have a happy, light forum.
I have the same problem that you have with bread when I eat rice and have done for a long time. This was an issue I had identified long before starting Cohens and I find it is much easier to just stay away from rice or I suffer the consequences.
Not much to say today. Enjoy watching the Tour tonight (if its on tonight) but try to get some sleep in too!!
Take care
Beck

Hi Beck, I am so grateful that I can eat some rice & not suffer the same consequences as I do after eating bread. I love rice, especially Jasmine rice & I never suffer!
I, too really enjoy our light, friendly, chatty forum. I think of giving it up sometimes as I feel I may be obsessing too much about food & spend too much time looking at posts when I should be outside doing some exercise or socialising more but I enjoy the connections I make & like to think that I can provide some encouragement to others, even though I am no expert. I am more than capable of providing positive support as I am a very positive person.
I have had a very lazy day. I did some dishes, some washing & read a book! No exercise at all but I quite enjoyed my day.
I won't be back tonight as it's a good tv night- the Gilbert Mayo show is funny. It really grows on you. I will stay up late again watching the Tour as it's getting very exciting. Well I find it always exciting I must admit. I can sleep in!
Cheers folks, Cate

A fairly busy day today. I went into my local town & did my shopping, went to the library, had lunch in the park & then picked my MIL up, went to the library for her, took her to have her hair cut, took her shopping & then to her home & did some things for her & then home to put all my shopping away & prepare vegies for our dinner.My LH then arrived home & cooked dinner. I can now eat 'normal' meals & enjoy them without piling on weight so long as I restrict the Carb's. Dinner tonight was beef rissoles with gravy, carrot/parsnip mashed, broccoli & green beans, followed by fresh fruit. It was delicious! We also had a bottle of red wine. Yum!
Eating real food is the go I think. Wholesome, healthy food. For me it's skip the junk, skip bread & milk. I love meat, vegies, eggs, fruit, yoghurt & most wholesome foods. Eating junk makes me feel like junk.
I need to do some emailing so will head for now.Cheers to all of my forum buddies, xo Cate

Hi Cate!

Thanks so much for stopping by my diary and for your birthday wishes! I have been soo busy lately. I had guests staying for about a week and work continuews to be pretty full on. I have been working on weekends and working back late most ays just to get stuff done! I really need a new job... Oh well. Sounds like you are finding some new direction with your aged care course! Good to hear! When does it all start? How many hours a week is it? Is it a 6 month course or a year?

Whats happening for you with your program? It sounds like from your last post that you have decided to stop 100% and rest where you are? But your other posts talked about being 100%...(did I miss something? ) I have been struggling with guests and bdays... but all thats done now... so I have 5 weeks of FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!!! 1st Sept LOOMS! I want to be at goal!

Anyway... hope you are not freezing TOO much down there!

Blessya
Kannadew

Hi Kannadew, The course is 3 days a week for 6 months, starting in Sept for 1 term, having the Summer holidays off & then resuming in Feb until about June. It will give me many more choices job-wise. Apparently a very high proportion of participants get job offers during training as most Fridays involve work placement training. It will be interesting to be able to work in different environments to see which I like. I like the idea of helping keep people in their own homes to maintain independence, but after my recent experience, perhaps working in a good Aged Care facility, with strict rules of care, hygiene etc may be a more pleasant experience.
About the program. I can't remember exactly what I did but I went back onto Cohen's 100% until I got to within 3kg of my last year's lowest weight & found that I was really hungry & thinking of food constantly. I ate off plan for a day or 2 but then went back on 100% for another week & lost a furher 2.5kg. I looked in the mirror & decided that I was happy with that weight. I lost it really quickly. I am inclined to put it back on very quickly as well so cannot say that I feel it is stable. I decided to try my own re-feed & to re-introduce things slower. I haven't typed all of this in here as a) I'm starting to bore myself with talking about it & thinking about it all the time and b) it's not really good advice for anyone else as c) the Cohen's way is best!
I'm trying not to beat myself up about anything & everything as I think that is half my problem. I am happy being the size I am, knowing that I am really unhappy being 5kgs higher so it's a bit of a tight-rope act. It should only be a number.
At the moment I am reading "French women don't get fat" by Mireille Guiliano. I read it many years ago & found it had really good advice. Reading it now it makes even more sense to me. This time I have a chance to keep this weight off for the rest of my life by changing my attitude to eating & food. It's great being able to read the book from the perspective of not being over-weight & not feeling negative about myself.
I read most of the maintenence diaries & can see many similarities between the others & myself. It's nice to know that others go through the same adjustments in their attitudes. I think from now on I will stop testing the boundaries like a child does & formulate an eating plan for myself that includes regular enjoyment of really good quality food, with occasional 'treats'. Eating mostly food from the plan will be the go but without weighing it. I have now given up milk for good & probably bread as well.
I am playing with My Space at the moment but don't think I like it much. I have tried finding a Women's forum that is balanced & not appearance obsessed but so far have not found anything that suits me. Any suggestions welcome!
I know that I must find some regular way of exercising. When I do the course it would be fun to go walking in Launceston as I love doing that. It's boring & a bit lonely walking on your own in the country. Doing something every day would be really good for me. I'm finding it a little hard to get motivated to move at the moment.
As I said I'm starting to bore myself at the moment so will head.
Thanks for popping in Kannadew. I hope you can have that job change before too long. Take care, xo Cate

Cate, you might want to investigate the usage of Senna Tea. I've never been too bothered about constipation when I was on the program and have always been lucky to be rather regular but others claim this works a treat. I also understand that too regular usage of it may give you lazy bowel syndrome as well. Apparently you have to be careful about the strength that you brew it to as it really works WELL!

SMS

Thanks SMS. I used to use Bekunis tea, which is a Senna tea, which I bought from Woollies but they no longer stock it. I might check out a health food store when I'm next in one of the larger regional 'cities' here in Tassie. Thanks for your input. I def. do have a problem with regularity- one I've had for about 27 years (the age of my older son!) I would like to get my system back on an even keel as I do not want to have any dependencies. Appreciate the visit! Cheers, Cate

I have had such a lazy day that I feel guilty!
Got a phone call from a young friend inviting us around to their place to watch the Saints play this afternoon. My LH is not yet home from golf but I will be surprised if he feels like it. It's nice to be invited but a visit with these 2 always includes lots of alcohol. It doesn't necessarily mean that but always ends up being so. They are a fun pair though. I would have to put a metaphysical bomb under myself to go out though!
I'll let you know. They are not on free-to-air tv but are on Austar.
Cheers, sedate (or should that be hibernating),Cate.

Hi Cate,

I have had a few lazy days myself this winter. I don't think it is any colder but I am certainly feeling it.

Today I made the "nachos" out of the cohen cookbook. I have not had cheese on deviation free days since I started, but as I was having fewer deviation free days I decided to try some different recipes. It was beautiful. I find it hard to trust food though, full cream mozzarella used instead of the "unallowed" fat reduced shredded. I know some people have their weight loss slow if they use the cheese option but variety may keep me focused.

I have still been having hungry days but gotta admit the cheese has definately filled me up. Yogurt for breakie and cheese for lunch...this is a diet???

I know what you mean about avoiding situations which may corrupt your healthy eating regime. I have a wonderful friend who I used to share a bottle of wine with in the evenings....I now only see her during the day to reduce the temptation.

Keep up the good work,
Trudy

Hi Trudy, Well we did go out, just to watch the match & did not stay for dinner. My LH did not feel like it as he had a few drinks after golf, but when he asked what excuse I would give I said I would say we couldn't be bothered! I was only joking but he thought I was serious. He said "Well I guess we could go but still come home for dinner" which I agreed would be a good idea so that's what we did.
The Saints lost- against West Coast! They were dreadful. My LH is now sound asleep in his chair. Dinner was all ready for us when we got back- beef rissoles with just a little gravy, carrot/parsnip, broccoli & green beans. We usually cook enough for 2 meals as it's very convenient. My LH cooks anything & everything so well. I didn't know he was such a good cook when I married him! Well he wasn't then. He loves cooking.
I drank 3 Mercury Light Cider stubbies. I have drunk lots of water & green tea today & ate some protein just before we left as per Cohen's maintenance guidelines.
I have been retaining fluid lately so will cut down on salt.
I need to do some internet shopping for vitamins so will head, cheers, cate

It feels so good to have some-one else on maintenance come in to the forum & offer help & support. How nice SMS. A big, heart-felt thank you from me! I'm also happy to see someone who is polite but doesn't pull any punches when it comes to firm advice. I'm always so afraid of sounding too blunt so often opt out.Being firm but fair is the best approach I know. I can happily sign off for today & indeed will have tomorrow off the forum I think. Maybe even Monday as well! Cheers, Cate.

Hi Cate,
I never mind you being blunt and actually really appreciate honesty when it comes to advice. Where on the internet do you get your vitamins from and are they "Cohens friendly" vitamins?
Sorry I have been off-line for a few days. I usually work on Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays (also have a second job on Saturdays) but during the school holidays I work only 2 days but longer hours, so between running the kids to all their activities and still fitting in a long day at work, I don't usually get to the internet for very long.
Hope you are well
Take Care
Beck

Hi Beck, I just typed in your diary but hadn't read your question. I buy my vitamins from Pharmacy Direct but do my homework on the ingredients beforehand as they do not list enough info. I use the Blackmore's slow release multi vitamin but take many others. I think I must rattle. Whenever I try cutting any of them down I find out what happens & start taking them again. Calcium magnesium for osteoporosis/cramps(preventive), Vitamin C(100mg) in Winter, Equisetum for calcium spurs under my feet(I limp if I do not take this one!) Glucosamine & Omega 3 (Arthritis)..That's all I can think of. I am hoping that these will help in my old age(soon...)
My OS I think I told you said when I do the Aged Care Course I will be able to look after myself. Both our sons are very cheeky. They must take after their father.
Sunday-
After another sleep in due to very late night tv watching(Le Tour) we had a very relaxing, pleasant day. It was freezing but we did get a load of wood. Lately it's been me pushing us out into the cold as it's such good exercise. I had a very different day eating-wise & really enjoyed it. I have decided I need to relax more about food & just keep an eye on my weight.
I have been so constipated that I feel I need to change what I eat.
My weight has been steady(ish) but still within the 3kg weight-range of my GW.
Today- I am going to miss the Tour but my body will be pleased to get back into it's usual sleep pattern.
We went to Devonport today & I gave plasma for the first time. I am AB+ which is quite rare but my blood cannot be used by other groups so have decided it would be best to give plasma. My LH's is more common & is usable by any blood type so his is more useful as blood.
We completed everything on our list & picked up some fish & green prawns at wholesale price. We bumped into many friends on our rounds including a girl I used to work with. I picked up some Colon cleanser form the health food shop & got a very big 'WOW" from the woman there who called out to the boss to come check me out. It was actually really nice!
The woman who took my plasma said something about how healthy I am & I said she wouldn't have thought that early last year. When I told her how much weight I had lost she said she couldn't imagine me being over-weight! Funny!
I feel energised today, probably from the outing with my LH & the very positive comments I got. Plus I felt I looked quite good in the clothes I wore. It was only jeans, black boots, black/fawn/cream striped skivvy & black jacket but I felt really smart.
ok- I enjoyed the day off the forum but it's good to be back. Cheers, Cate.
PS I won't tell you about the food I ate at the week-end but it was delicious & so far, so good. I followed the maintenance principles.

Hi Cate,
Good to chill out a bit with the food. I think we become so obsessive that this is half our poroblem.
How funny that you are AB+, so am I and most of my brothers and sisters. As it is quite a rare blood group we always joke that we'll be fine if any of us ever need a blood tranfusion as we'll just get all the brothers and sisters (I come from a big family) to queue up and we'llk syphon it out of them and into the one who needs it. Now you can join the group too!!
Good to hear you had a lovely day.
take care
Beck

Hi Beck, I just visited your diary. Thank you sweetie. Your comments made my day. I hope I do make a good aged care worker. Sometimes I worry that I care too much- ie can I cope with death & illness? Learning a little detachment would help but I'm not sure if I'm capable of that.
The AB+ club hey.Very exclusive! At least we can accept blood from anyone!
My day-
I dreamt I was fighting my way through crocodile infested swamps so woke up a little tired. It will take me a while to get back into a decent sleeping pattern again after the tour.
I went bush-walking. I drove this time as it wasn't a rough track. 200km return trip & a long beach walk. It was a glorious day. I am absolutely stuffed though & have soaked in a bath & rubbed Metsal into my aching muscles(?)
I am soon going out again to 8-ball. I'm looking forward to hitting the hay tonight. I have a busy day tomorrow as well. Lots of driving again. I'm taking my client to the doctors then back home, then off to Launceston.
It was a lovely walk today & the company was good & friendly.Frosty morning, lovely sunny day.
I'm booked to Melb week after next & have succeeded in talking my mum into staying 2 nights. I got there in the end. I pointed out to her that it would cost me the same staying on my own as it would staying with her.
I had better go have an early dinner as we must head at 6.45. Cheers all, Cate