I have started this new thread to record my daily or almost daily thoughts while on the Cohen's plan. Today is day 29 for me, its been a really tough month but i have stuck to the plan with no deviations, going out to dinners and eating nothing (except carrying my diet 7 up) - have been the hardest but being married and having a social life is a nightmare especially on this plan. I have lost 7 kgs this first month - must say i am a little disappointed as started at a weight of 101.2K and now at 94.2 i was ofcourse hoping to be under 93K this month. Guess at the age of 42 i can only expect the body to do so much especially after years of eating and over eating.
My big dilemma is that i weighed myself on the 24th day and was 93.8 and seem to have gained 400 grams which really upset me, as i have gone thru everything i eat on a daily basis and nothing has been out of the ordinary - i never did measure myself so i dont know how many inches are down though some clothes are lose. So i have made 2 decisions, weighing only once a month (a real killer) and then to stay motivated and "do time". Which is my formula of losing weight (discipline x time).
So my food for the day is as follows -

breakfast - cheese and veg and crackers
lunch - chicken and asparagus and crackers
tea - one apple
dinner - beaf with spinach leaves.
water - 3 litres

wonder how many calories we are consuming even tho i know it does not matter!
I am still feeling quite knocked out and think its due to the fact that my body was so used to oodles of carbs that it is still processing the lack of it now. Having my vits daily so i know its not that.
More tomorrow off this eve to my poker game.

Max

You're going to go through stages where you stay the same weight for weeks or gain weight for a short period. We're all different and that is why they only want us to weigh in every 4 weeks. So that is a great decision.

I weigh everyday, because I had a Wii fit, but I also know myself well enough to not let it bother me if I gain back a little with deviating. I even deviated Saturday, gained 2 lbs but lost it plus more a few days later.

Just stay on 100%. Is 7-Up ok? I thought it was only Sprite.

You are doing great so dar, it just takes time.

Hi Max66! Great idea only weighing once a month.
The best way of knowing how you're going on Cohen's is to measure, measure, measure. Do it once a week. Measure the top of each arm, wrists, bust, waist, hips, each thigh, ankles and anything else you want & note the measurements. You will be blown away by how much you will lose. It really doesn't matter how you add what you lose ie if you lose xcm from an arm, whether you say that's xcm lost 0r 2 times xcm. Who cares? It's the best way of following your progress. Look at it as a freedom from the dreaded scales for a while.
7up isn't on our list in Aus, or wasn't last year when I did the program .
Good for you starting your own diary ()
I'll visit again tomorrow, cheers, Cate

I'm from Singapore too and sad to say that is not much choice when it comes to diet drinks. We can also take those with caffeine cos we only have Coke Light and not Diet Coke. Anyway, I had fun stocking up on all kinds of diet sodas only found in selected supermarkets.

max66, u r doing great! I used to weigh every 4 weeks as well. But curiousity got the better of me and I soon start to weigh daily. Dont be discouraged at the occasional slower loss. Just keep going!

I have had an absolutely horrible day yesterday - went to a kids birthday party with my son and had to feed him cake and pizza. I was hit by an uncontrollable urge to binge. Anyway i didnt but came home and all i could do was dream of ten slices of bread with loads of butter - could not shake it and knew i was in for a binge -felt totally helpless and so out of control. Water, diet soda nothing seemed to help. I told my husband i needed help. Felt i would wake up at night and head for the kitchen. IT was horrible - the good news is that i did not act on the craving but feeling pretty odd and not so in control today. Still ready to eat anything in sight. Had my meeting with my consultant today after 4 weeks and all she could say was i needed to stay focused and on course but easier said than done.
I am now 94.2 kgs down from 101.2 - 60k seems such a long way away. I just had this urge in my head to eat you know - the body seems pretty satiated but my head is totally messing me up and i dont know how long i will last.
Shaken but not stirred!!!!! max66

Thanks for everyone's input. Well in singapore we dont get caffeine free coke - the only thing caffeine free is the diet 7-up so i have that. Guess its fine never really checked with the consultant.

Max66- Congratulations on resisting the self-sabotage demons! They're the little monsters saying you don't deserve to be slim. You do! Take each day at a time. Try not to think about how many kilos you have to lose. Just take each challenge, each hour, each day. each step one by one & work through it. If you feel you need help working out why you are thinking about bingeing and self-sabotaging, seek help from a professional. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Remember that every day you get through is another day closer to your goal weight. Every thing that you are craving will still be there at the end & you can choose to have it or not. It will still be there. Take care of yourself, Cate.

wuzu - what diet drinks have you been having and where have you gotten them from. Have not yet had diet coke as it has caffeine and so have diet 7-up which is calorie free and caffeine free from the market place in tanglin mall. Which other diet sodas have you had - do let me know it would be a great help. thanks max66

cate - thank you so much for your message - its made me feel so much better. you are really the angel for everyone on cohens! thanks again

I've checked regarding the most common Coke Light and etc and it is OK for us to go with caffeine diet sodas since non-caffeine ones are not available locally. I've been living on Coke Light and Coke Zero all my life! actually even before-Cohens!

But I remember reading from another forum that the consultant added that if it's Coke Light we're having, we can have up to a litre. But if it's Diet A&W and Cream Soda it's gonna be just one can per day. I didn't clarify on that one but I've been following this guideline all throughout these months.

I get Diet A&W (caffeine-free), Diet Cream Soda, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Sarsi & Diet 7-up from Cold Storage. I realise not all stores carry them but so far I picked them in Centrepoint, Kovan & Woodlands. Also some of them from Jasons (Paragon). I tried Kickapoo Zero from Sheng Shiong once just for novelty, but not too sure if this is allowed!

I used to wonder if i can ever finish the program too. I guess perseverance is the key! U've done so well getting out from those cravings and that is a great start!

Went out to an italian restaurant for dinner last night -basically had friends in town and there was no way to get out of it. Ate my dinner at 7.30 pm and headed out for dinner at 9.30 - sat sipped my water and watched everyone eat a carb fest! Found it really really tough not to eat. Kept leaving the table and sitting in the lounge area for a break. Feel alot stronger now.
Yesterday i ate

Breakfast - cheese, zuchhini, crackers

12 noon - mango 150 gms


lunch - chicken with cauliflower plus one chapati (thats a wheat puffed type bread which i am allowed instead of cracker allowance of 4 meiji crackers)

tea - 1 apple

dinner - beef and bakchoy.
3.2 litres of water (.2 at the restaurant!!!)

Max66 you have done so well... I am a bit back logged and am just catching up on the posts... You are doing so well. I have a 21st birthday tonight at a pub... Thankfully, my mum and i will be eating our cohens together... Keep up the good work.. I think wuzu is on the right track regarding the fizzy drink.. we have a small selection, here that we are only allowed 375ml per day.. I think wuzu has a great safety measure... Yum your wheat bread sounds nice.. I have recently changed to premium original rather then 98% fat free.. oh they are most enjoyable compared to the concrete ones i have been eating... sorry blah blah blah... I do carry on...

Any way you have done great 94.2kg.. that is wonderful...Keep up the good work.. stay strong.. Cohens told me the longer the weight plateau the greater the shrinkage and eventual loss...

Take Care

TTFN

Chelle

Well done max66!
Every function/dinner that you get through without deviating is bringing you that much closer to your goal weight. Feel proud of yourself that you got through it! I save something for those occasions like a cracker or some cut up fruit & have a nibble while I'm out. You can learn to do this without anyone noticing after a while. It doesn't make you feel so left out. Give yourself a pat on the back, cheers, Cate

I've never heard about chapati replacing the Meiji CB... Wow that sounds really good! Just curious if there is any specific type and brand and size of the chapati? I live on Meiji CB (which is like Saladas but its a Japanese brand) for the past months and fortunately I'm still not sick of it! LOL

Yeah you are doing so well! I've never had my own meal in a proper restaurant so far!

tough few days - dreaming of chocolates but have been holding out on deviating! still not weighed myself this month - unlike when i first started and weighed myself constantly. Today i ate
Breakfast - cheese, veg, cracker
lunch - grilled chicken veg crackers
dinner - beef veg crackers.
no fruit today.
feeling really tired, forgot to take my vits.
wuzu -
i too have meiji crackers everyday but innira said i could have one chapati instead of 4 meiji. no particular brand except whole wheat 100% not white flour.

Max how is everything going for you?
Bet you are melting away…Give us an update… Be good to yourself and hope to read of your progress soon..

TTFN
Chelle

Down 10 kgs - felt very hungry last week and figured it was my period - got them today a week early and that was the reason that i was rabid last week. 42 days deviation free and its finally showing!!! clothes are a tad looser - gone down a bit so putting my "very fat" clothes away and taken out the next level down (have clothes that go from a size 20 to 12!!) Went out last night and finally felt i was looking decent in my clothes.
also created a chicken loaf (like meat loaf) and loving it!!!!
Thanks for your message fifty2drop - its going good!!!!