Hi, I'm currently doing a program called "Dr Cohen's Lifestyle Program". Is anyone else out there also doing this program and looking to give/receive support. I have lost 30 kg in 4 months and am finding this program just incredible!!

Hi,

I am also on Cohen's. I started at the end of August and have lost 17kgs so far.
I am very happy with the program aswell! It is very easy once you get going!
I feel as if I am on a bit of a plateau at the moment though, as I slipped up on my birthday - I went out a couple of times and had a few drinks and dinner. Since then the weightloss slowed down. First month I lost 10kg, then Oct lost only 5kgs! So it definatley pays to do it 100%!

The last week I have been back on track and have just hit the 80's which has given me more motivation.

Rachel

Hi Rachel,
Nice to hear from you. I am going away on holidays for 2 weeks at the end of November, so have ordered my re-feed to do prior to going away. I plan to then restart the program next year. Thought I would have a break through Christmas etc and then re focus. My consultant said this is fine and shouldn't cause any problems. According to Cohen's I still have about 20kg to lose, but I would be happy if I only lose another 10kg ( which would bring me down to 70kg). I started on 1/7/05 weighing 110kg and am now down to 80kg. I feel so good, how about you?
I have found that if I am having a "slow" week, if I cut back the amount of salt I am eating or change what I am eating ( I usually eat the same things) it seems to get the weight loss moving again.
Anyway, bye for now. Stay motivated.

I haven't heard of Cohen's, can someone explain it to me?

Hi Beagle
Cohen's is similar to sure slim in that they do blood tests which get sent to Dr Cohen and he then determines what you get to eat. They basically cut back on carbs and fat, and he gives you mainly protein and veges in varying proportions with a limited amount of carbs. The food portions are very small, but you don't get hungry after the first week, so if you can stick the first week out , you should be right. Once you have lost the weight you want to lose you get a "re-feeding" program where they re-introduce all the eliminated foods back into your diet over a period of a few weeks so your body gets used to processing them again, and you can pinpoint whether any of these foods were triggering a reaction for you, and eliminate those foods for ever.
Before starting the program I was having major problems with food cravings, and couldn't control what I ate. I was obese ( at 110kg) and thought that this is what I would have to spend the rest of my life as. Since starting the program (on 1/7/05) I have lost 30kg, have not had a single craving, and feel like I am back in control of my life again. They do have a website you can look at if you want all the technical stuff behind why they do what they do, but basically it works, and I feel like it has saved my life!!

Hi rjm. So glad I found you! Thank goodness for search tools! Congratulations on 30kg down. That is fantastic. Have you received your refeed yet? I'm going back into the clinic in a week's time, and then I'm having one final blood test and then my refeed is being ordered and I'll pick it up on the 22nd.

Hi Rachel. 17kg in 2 months is fantastic! I started the diet 4 months ago and I have lost just over 25kg. I started at 92kg and now I'm a couple of hundred grams off 66kg. Cohens set my goal at 51 to 54kg, but I'm going to start my refeed a little earlier (I'll hopefully be between 60 -62kg when I start it) as I want to be off it by Christmas. I'm then going to attempt to drop the last few kilos in the new year, but I'm just going to play it by ear and see how I feel as I may not decide to go as low as 54kg.

Great chatting with you. Speak to you soon.

Hi lmr. Also glad you found me. Hopefully the others will also be able to find us. I sent an email to the people at the other place and they are really wierd!! Said they had constantly had to delete posts and although I tried to be really polite to them, told me I was arguing with them. Strange.
I received my re-feed last Friday, and went in to pick it up, and my consultant explained it all to me. I think I will have to shop every day as you have to try to introduce as many foods as possible during the re-feed so your body can get used to processing them. She said anything you will want to eat again, must be reintroduced during the re-feed.I start with quite small amounts, but by the end of re-feed I am having an extra 200g of meat, and extra 200g of veges ( on top of old program) per day. You also get bread again, and milk, and towards the end even get milk arrowroot (or similar)biscuits. I plan to start next week on Monday which will give me 3 weeks to complete it before we go away. It takes 16 days, but if you have any reaction (weight gain) you have to go back 2 days in the program. I'm really looking forward to it, and can't believe I have almost made it to the end of the program. I know I have to go on it for a little while again next year, but I have never succeeded like this in any diet before. This morning I reached my final mini goal of under 80kg, and so I am going to book an appointment with my hairdresser for next week and tell him to do whatever he thinks will suit me. Hopefully it will look good. Anyway, great to hear from you lmr. Talk to you soon.

Hi rjm. Congratulations on reaching the 70s! Bet you're looking fabulous! Great idea to have a new hairstyle. I'm booked into the Jurlique Day Spa next Sunday for a couple of hours of pampering as my treat for reaching the 60s. They were heavily booked so I've had to wait a few weeks from when I actually reached my mini goal.


The refeed sounds a little complicated and the quantities of food sound very large compared to what we've been eating for the past few months. How exciting to think we'll be able enjoy Christmas.


Thanks for finding this site and starting the thread. I felt very lost without being able to post. It was all very strange with the other one. Hopefully the others will find us soon.


Have a good night.

Hi,

Congratulations on getting to the refeed stage!! I can't wait to be at the stage you both are getting to. I need to get to 67 - 70kg (am 89kg at the moment) and it seems miles away, I don't remember the last time I was 70kgs! Hopefully it will be more in sight by Christmas...
It is good to hear some things about the refeed. The amount of food does seem like heaps!
Thanks for the tips on getting the weight moving again. I am going to try changing what I eat. I have been studying and am about to finish my final essay so I will have more time to focus on my diet and try to get a little more creative which will be good!
Have either of you introduced any exercise while on the diet? If so, how did it affect things? I have just started to go swimming and it seems to be going alright in terms of not being hungry. I hope it speeds things up a little!

R

Hi again. lmr a couple of hours at the day spa sounds just lovely. Enjoy it!! I'm looking forward to being able to eat more variety more than anything else. I'm really starting to get a bit sick of eating the same thing over and over again. It's a real shame we don't have emails for all the others, but I have emailed nh to let her know where we are, and I am thinking of contacting my clinic to see if they can contact missys mum and let her know where we are. I also felt lost when they stopped us posting.
RachelB the re-feed might seem like heaps away now, but the time goes so quickly, and the weight just melts off you. You'll be there in no time at all.
I joined "curves" gym after about 2 months on the program as I really needed to tone up a bit. I haven't found myself getting any hungrier, and am noticing that it is making a big difference with helping my skin fall back into place. I still have a bit of floppy skin, but my consultant has promised me that with a little time, this will improve. It is not really that bad, considering how big I was. The exercise hasn't really made the weight loss any faster, if anything, it slowed it down for a week or 2 as I am gaining muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. After the first few weeks it settled back into its usual routine.
Anyway, have a great day. Talk to you soon.

Hi there. I lost 1kg this week bringing me down to 66kg. I just can't wait for the three weeks to pass before I get my refeed. Like you rjm, I'm getting really sick of the lack of variety of food and am looking forward to having "normal" food again.

Rachel, I've done very little exercise whilst on the diet. Only a little bit of walking, but I find I get very hungry with even the smallest walk. I was going to join Curves after rjm told me about it, but my consultant advised against it as I'm only losing on average about 1.2kg a week and didn't want to slow it down any further. But once I've ordered my refeed, I'm going to join and then hopefully I'll be able to drop the last few kilos through exercise.

Have a good night.

Hello Everybody

Am so pleased to of fund this site .... many thanks to RJM. I set out to start Cohen's today ... and did well till i got home today. I awoke this morning to the lovely surprise of "womens business" and my frist day usually finds me very tired and headachey. So i have decided to start tomorrow as i feel i will have a better chance at sticking to it. I was wondering if anyone might have some recipie ideas for me? And how long did it take u to adjust to cohen's and how did u stop urself from falling of the wagon?

Also my stats : am a 23 year old female (live in Perth) and weight 74 kilos ... my goal weight is 52 - 55 kilos .... am hoping to reach this by New Years the latest.

hi everyone thankyou for finding me I was so lost you all had disappeared on me. My stupid dog chewed through the phone lines and by the time it was connected we were closed down.
Its good to hear who is ordering their refeed and WOW it sounds so good to be able to eat so much more but will we be able to after eating so much less. Does that make sense maybe I am just excited in finding you again. Kelly came through and sent me your email rjm.

Last week was so pleased with my loss this week wasnt too good but it isnt over yet so we will see how I go, still having so much trouble with the water maybe just getting down 1 litre.

Hi slimbod I think I cried for the first week before I started the program it looked so bad but took a deep breath and just dived in now nearly 12 weeks into the diet and having lost nearly 23 kilos its so easy I get up every morning and just do it. Yes I do pop things into my mouth at times that I shouldn't but not often I have lots to lose and the quicker I can and the more results I see as the weeks go by keeps me motivated and having these girls to chat to is really great they are the biggest help you only have to ask.

The Cohens Lifestyle Clinic site has lots of receipes that you can browse through. I really love my prawn salad I just pop into the local fish market grab my prawn allowance no more than that (because I know I will eat it) and have a tossed salad, thats my favourite.

Anyway thanks for finding me Di

Hi everyone. It's great to have a few of us back together again, and welcome to the newcomers.
lmr, my re-feed didn't take 3 weeks to receive . Once I ordered it, it only took 1 week to get. I don't know why my nieces took so long for her to receive. Have you ordered it yet. I am having trouble waiting till next Monday to start. I think because I know it is so close, I have been getting hungry ( that's a strange feeling. Haven't felt hungry for ages). I really want to get off another kilo or so, so I know I have to wait, but it's almost killing me!!
Slimbod, good idea to wait a little before starting. Try to start on a day that you know you can just veg out all day, and better get used to your period. During my first few months on this, I was getting mine every 2 weeks , but that has now settled down.
Missys mum, good to have you back. I carry a 750ml pump bottle of water everywhere I go, and just try to sip out of it all the time. I am probably lucky in that I get a bad burning in my throat quite often ( probably from my years of bulimia) and sipping the water helps to sooth it a bit. I'm probably not really lucky as it is not pleasant but at least have to drink more. Keep telling yourself that the more water you drink, the faster you will lose the weight, every time you have a sip of water, tell yourself it is going to knock out a little more fat.
Anyway, talk to you soon. Have a great night.

Hi all.

Missysmum, so glad to hear from you. Hopefully the others will find us soon. My weight loss varies from week to week, but averages out at 1.2kg a week, so you might find that if you didn't have a great loss this week, you might have an above average one next week. I thought the same as you about the refeed - I can't imagine being able to actually consume that amount of food now. But maybe the amounts on my refeed will be different to rjm's. I don't get mine for another few weeks, but I'll let you know when I do.

Welcome slimbod. You definitely have to be in the right frame of mind for this diet, so it was probably a good idea to put it off until tomorrow. About 2 weeks before I started, I cut out all the "forbidden" foods from my diet so that it wouldn't be such a shock to the system. I think from doing that, it helped me adjust to it a lot quicker. I think it took under a week to feel comfortable with it. I've been on the diet for 4 months and I haven't fallen off the wagon once. I'm not really sure why, because every other diet I've been on, I usually hit the 6 - 8 week mark and fall heavily! It might be because the consistent weight loss has kept me really motivated, and I think also because the diet is so strict, it has played on my mind that I don't want to be on it for any longer than I have to be! I don't really have any special receipes. I'm quite boring and tend to eat the same thing every day. One thing that I found helped me when I first started, and which I've continued to do, is weigh and prepackage all my meat and yoghurt for the week. Then it doesn't seem like such a chore to prepare each meal. Good luck for tomorrow. Just think, if you survive the first day of the diet, you'll be able to make it to your goal.

Have a good night.