Yes girls, the most natural abundent source, yes -water is the key for weight loss.

Before Cohens I NEVER drank water. I lived on "COKE" - ABOUT 2-3LITRES a day, and cigarettes- both I can proudly say I have given up.

The thought of having a smok now makes me nearly sick, but I love the smell still - it that normal??

On lighter note (OR HEAVIER)my husband has started the new tablets that are being advertised on the TV, you know the one where they say what they have lost and see your pharamacist to BOOST your diet.

Well Tony got these tablet on sunday costing a $120 ( I nearly died) for 1 month. He started on Monday, but the problem is he hasn't changed anything, still has the same rotten eating habits and wondering why he only lost 0.3kg since Monday.

EXAMPLE of his luch Tuesday: Chip+Chicken and gravy on a white roll.

Although I will give some credit he doesn't seem to be eating as much bread and peanut butter.

Any how I have been going OK, SLIGHTLY SLIPPED OFF THD WAGON last night- I had the worst diarahea last night. That'll teach me won't it.

Anyway the scales haven't changed which is a good thing in a way.

Gotta get my 4yr old ready for pre school...

Bye for Now...

hey girls,

all seems to be going well here.

BBQ at work, there was all this fuss from the team that I get and invite. Anyway I was skillfully able to tell three or four people that I had been down earlier and grabbed something to eat! If I'd have told them I was dieting all hell would have broken lose. So the little white lie came in handy.

Same as tonight went out to the mall, normally I'd have stopped for something, stopped for nothing, bought what I had to came home, made my chilli beef salad and 750mls water.

It's all good, I'm trucking down the water when ever I feel starving, if 750mls doesn't cure it, I eat a cracker!

This weekend will be hard, I have an invite to a fully catered function on one of the Volvo Yacht race boats. But I might try the white lie re 'already eaten'.

Girls I'll talk to you all over the weekend.

Hopefully a few kg's lighter.

Hi Y'all!!!

Hope everyone has been good today

Myshy- It was so great to catch up with you the other day! You're so right- it is like meeting an old friend! And its just so great to chat to someone who understands! I'm so much more motivated to stay on the straight and narrow now too.
I highly recommend if you have a fellow Cohens-er near you, getting together over coffee. It makes everything so much easier and more tolerable. Well it did for me
And Michelle- thanks for the compliment. It means a lot to me. Especially coming from someone as gorgeous as yourself! But me thinks the photo stays

Pink Candy- I cant believe how long it took for your program to come through! What was the hold up? So how did your first day go?

Lizzi- thanks for the advice on the chromium. I think I may invest in a bottle to top me up when the chromium in my multi isnt enough. Like when i am PMS-ing.

Stay good over the weekend everyone
Nat

Cryss- You are just POWERING ahead! Its so great to see!
I've used the white lie option myself. I've also just flat out said "I'm not hungry" (LIES, ALL LIES). Not much they can say to that either. What they dont know wont hurt them and will make your life easier.

Nx

Hi everyone!

Well, I have three more days to go before I can jump back on the scales. They’ve looked so tempting over the past few days but I’ve stayed strong! I keep telling myself that I'd much prefer to see a larger number than small ones along the way.

CRYSS and NAT – I like your ‘no food for me tips ‘ . I might utilise those white lies when needed! As for my work, I’ve told my team mates that I’m on the program and can’t participate in our ‘food nights’. I work in a call centre environment and the teams regularly bring in food for afternoon or night shifts. My team mates keep asking “But what can you eat? What can we bring in that you can eat?” I have to keep telling them “Nothing!” LOL They’ve finally come around though. There are SO many people at my work on Optifast… it’s quite freaky really. I don’t know how they do it… it seems abnormal to me not to EAT something for a meal. Anywho, each to their own I suppose!

HAPPYMUMMY – I know the pills you’re talking about. I took them last year for a period of about 3 months. I lost 10 kilos without trying, which was nice, but costly! And as soon as I stopped taking them… vrrrooom the weight sped back on. But having said that, they have worked for a lot of people.

BLULA – I’m up for the ‘7kg in the first month challenge’. I’ve put my little mini goal in my signature now. Here’s to us both shedding a quick 7 k’s in four weeks!!

MONI – Your weight loss is so inspirational!! I can’t believe how much you’ve lost in such a short space of time. Congratulations and be sure to give yourself pats, no whacks (but don’t hurt yourself!) on the back every day for your effort! Can I ask you… did you find drinking that slimmers tea really helped with increasing your weight loss?

PINKCANDY – Welcome aboard! I’m only a week and a half into the program, and BLULA is just ahead of me. Feel free to join in to our challenges or suggest some for us all. I can use all the motivation I can get. I know what you mean about that skinny hot bod lying under this fat!! Mine is going to go out and PARTAY HARD when it’s released… let me tell you!

LISAB – You seem new to this too, feel free to offer any suggestions for a challenge and hop right on the challenge express!

Honestly, I’m too afraid to ask those who have been on the program for a while to join in the challenge because I know you will all blitz us!! Haha You’re all doing so sensationally well! But feel free to come along for the ride!

NAT and MYSHY – Well done on being so close to your re-feeds. Please let us know how that all goes.. that’s the one part of the program that is the most intriguing to me but the least my consultant will tell me about. Well, I guess I am 30 kilos off doing it

So no wagon fallings-off to report from me. I’ve upped my water intake too which I’m super happy about… I’m sure I drank just over 3 litres yesterday

Cheers to all! And seeing as we can’t drink alcohol… bottom’s away.. be gone.. get lost! I want a skinny bum!

Take care.

P.S. Anyone here from Brisbane???

Pink Virgo Maybe for your work foodie nights you could make a little something to bring along for everyone? I'm not sure about your food likes and dislikes but when I have to eat out in a group I often make the chicken and spinach rissoles for myself with my weighed out allowances but its the kind of thing you could do an extra batch and serve in a bowl like tapas and at least still feel like you're part of the fun. You'll find too, that most people will give your diet food a go, especially if their a bit diet conscious themselves. Just an suggestion?

Hey Everyone

Just reading through the posts ... its nice to read that there are some ppl who've only just recenlty been where i am now ... so hello pink virgo and Blula ... just out of curoisty what are your weight loss goals? And how much do you weigh currently.

DIVINEMISSNAT : Om my gosh ... blunder with my blood tests and some one forgot to post it for some reason ... am just glad to finally have it.

Okay ... i am confused here, with the natural yoghurt which ones do you use as i bought the All Natural by Nestle but after reading its contents decided it wasnt a good choice. I was just wondering what you guys use.

Have a gr8 weekend everyone.

PinkCandy- You're in Perth right? When I was on holiday there in Dec I had the Mundella natural yogurt- very yummy. But here in Melb I eat Jalna natural yoghurt, which you can get there too. I think the Mundella tastes better though Which is a shame coz I cant get it here.

I dont think Nestle, Ski or Yoplait do a proper natural yoghurt. Brownes might? Natural yoghurts are marketed in one area usually by themselves not mixed in with the flavoured yoghurts but nearby, so that might help you keep on the right track too. Check the ingredients too- which it looks like you are already doing. Natural yoghurts are very basic. The ingredients in mine are; skim milk, non-fat milk solids and live cultures (acidophilus etc) Very natural...

Nat

Pink Candy- I was just looking at the Nestle website. I didnt realise they made a natural yogurt as I've only ever noticed the flavoured ones. But I cant find an ingredient listing on the site, so you will have to judge by that. The kj, fat and carb values are similar in the 99% fat free natural yoghurt. Hope it helps...

Hi again,

PINKCANDY - I'll do the same as you did and give you my quick stats. I'm 27, I'm 5"10 tall and currently weigh 100.6 kilos ( after losing 3.2 kilos in my first week on the program ) . My goal weight is 68 to 71 kilos. So I've got around 30 kilos to lose. My mission really is to have most of that gone within 12 weeks. That's the time period I'm telling myself it will take if I stick to it 100%. As for the yoghurt, I'm the same as Nat ( I'm a Nat by the way too! ) and I eat Jalna. I found it hideous the first day or two I tried it ( I was never a huge yoghurt fan before ) but with a little sweetener it's lovely.. I have it basically every morning for my brekky.

NAT - I have thought of alternatives and things to take in, but I've resigned myself to just not participating. I just know if I venture over to the food table ( even if it is for my own food ) I'll be tempted to grab something else... I will not lead myself to temptation!! Hehehe My team mates understand. Besides, there's a girl in my team doing SureSlim so she's in the same boat as me with regard to food. Believe me, where I work we all eat too much anyway. I could use a little time away from the constant snacking and food nights.

Until next post... Stay cool

Hi Everyone,
Havent had a chance to take a good look through the forum, but thought I'd drop in anyway.

Nat - I have been on track since Thursday! You are so right about a coffee and a chat somehow refocussing the mind. I came away thinking I only have a couple of kilos to go and so shouldnt lose focus having come so far. I look at Joysey who has finished her refeed and know I should have been doing the same.

I have heard from Joysey - she has finished her refeed. I won't reveal what she weighs though. She deserves that honour!

Someone posted about finding the water hard to drink. You can add some lemon to it to give it a different taste, but remember if you don't sqeeze the lemon it doesnt count towards your fruit quota, but if you do you have to count it as one.

Some else asked if we are eating the same meals............. I pretty much am. I usually have my egg for breakfast , but vary the way I cook it. I can now do 101 ways with eggs! For lunch I think I have had the same thing since day 1 and that's the mini pizzas. They are so yummy, I will continue to eat them after I finish the diet. I sometimes alternate with salad, but find I get hungry doing this.
Dinner is most often than not chicken and asparagus soup, or steak(although this is only in the last few weeks) and the occasional piece fish.

At first I was having veggies, but have mainly stuck to salad since about week 5 after finding out that brocolli wasn't allowed!

I love making soups because you can add that extra bit water to curb hunger without adding to your calorie intake.

Nat - I love the idea of the chicken and spinach balls to take along to a party. You clever girl!

Cryss...sorry I missed you in the chat room. I was off suffering the effects of Joyseys tea (say no more!)

Regarding the excuses for not eating food...I've used a few:-

Have just eaten
Have a slight tummy bug, not game to eat anything right now
Walk around with a plate of food and leave it somewhere (good for corporate functions)
Had a huge lunch, will grab something later
Will be heading off to another function after this one, dont want to eat too much this early in the day/night.
Not drinking alcohol doesnt seem to have made an impact. I think this is because it is socially responsible to say you are the nominated driver/driving yourself these days and sticking to water.

Biggest Loser starts Monday!

Enjoy the rest of weekend everyone,

Myshy

Hi all shrinking friends,

Hope you have all had a great day enjoying your weekend.

Cryss: Just thought I would share my little (/BIG ?)white/multicoloured lie when I was invited to my sister-in-law's for dinner. Being Italian, I was expecting a pasta dish and I let her know that I was being monitored for wheat intolerance and that I couldn't eat pasta. Well, it worked and she cooked a vegetable minestrone with no pasta in it. Everyone else enjoyed it and I went home not feeling bloated and full. It's amazing how we come up with these ideas. I don't know if I would do this at someone else's home though.

Pinkvirgo: Try Yoplait Loplus Lite plain natural yoghurt. I find it is not as tarty as some of the others. Try it with some fruit as well. Yummy with mango. Good luck with your program.

Myshy: Great to hear from you. Hope those exams are over......when do you start your refeed? And yes, there have been lots of stories in the news about the Biggest Loser. Can't wait for it to start.

Everyone have a great Sunday and talk to you soon.

Hi PinkVirgo,
The yoghurt is Yoplait Yoplus Lite Natural Yoghurt. I give up, these fingers don't type what the brain tells them to do.

Cya

Hi everyone,
Just browsing the internet and and thought this would interest most people. There is hope for us all.
Taken from: http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/...php?itemid=531

There are 12 things you should know about loose skin after very large weight losses:

Skin is incredibly elastic. Just look at what women go through during pregnancy. Skin has the ability to expand and contract to a remarkable degree. Elasticity of skin tends to decrease with age. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don't worry about those things you don't have control over.

How much your skin will return to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal.

How long you carry extra weight has a lot to do with how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent.

How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back."

How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1 to 2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you’re certain it's fat you’re losing, not lean tissue).

There are exceptions to all of the above; i.e, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. None work — at least not permanently and measurably — and especially if you have a lot of loose skin. Don't waste your money.

If you’re considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery may be recommended in situations where it's not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the ABSOLUTE FINAL option in extreme cases.

Give your skin time. Your skin will get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I've seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued.

Know your body fat percentage before even THINKING about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best method if you have large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod).

Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don't *** about loose skin, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner.”

Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so) Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean (men shouldn’t expect to look “ripped” with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat, and women low teens).

Except in extreme cases, you are very unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to “cling” to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from “average” to "excellent." Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight.

Guys if anyone would like to look at the Tom Venuto e-book, just ask, I have it.

Rajah this is a great find, thanks for doing the research, if there is one thing I am concerned with it is losing all this weight and looking like a bag of saggy skin.

I'm going to read this tonight, thanks again.

another 200grams down today, chip chip chipping away at it. I liken this weight loss to sculpting my new body from a block of granite, every day a little bit more gets chipped off to reveal the real me underneath. so since last monday I have chipped from 117.9 to 114.1! And only missed my mini mini goal by 100grams, thats gotta hurt!