Yes, I'm a second timer on Cohen's as well.

I first did the program in 2005, with spectacular success (total of 35kg lost). The only problem was that just as I finished and got to my goal weight and got my "refeed" programme, our lives got turned on our heads with a new job for hubby and interstate move. Life became very, very hectic, and I didn't complete the refeed, which takes a lot of concentration and discipline.

I've ignored the problem until this year, when I decided I just have to recommit to doing it. My health has been suffering from high blood pressure and lots of the other signs of pre-diabetes, and I don't want to end up with a bag of health problems because of my own lack of discipline.

So, though as it is with a "too busy" job, I've decided to drag out the old plan and get started again. I initially thought of rejoining immediately, but now that I find they are only offering a six month plan in Australia, I've decided to start under my own steam and see how I go. I will need six months to lose the weight, and then get support on refeed, so I don't see the point of joining too soon IF the old plan goes as well as it did last time. If I am going to fork out that kind of money, I'd rather be part way along so I don't feel under so much pressure.

So far so good. I started on 10th January at 95.4kg, and as of today (12th February), I am 8 kilos down. Tomorrow is another "weigh day" so perhaps it will have moved even more. I am under 90kg, which is a huge mental boost.

I am right back into the old plan, with just a couple of minor adjustments which help me to manage in a very busy job with little time to shop or be organised at home.

I didn't start taking the vitamins and minerals this time, which was a bad mistake - I ended up getting pretty tired and run down last week, so have started catching up on those and am feeling a lot better this week.

Husband is overjoyed at the weight dropping off again. I have had an initial "clothes sort out" and got rid of the biggest, fattest things - ugh!!! I've managed to slip into a couple of much more slimming outfits, even though not a lot smaller in size, and it's amazing the compliments which come straight away!

It's a tough challenge to keep to this program in a very busy life, but I just have to bite the bullet and realise that if I want to lose weight and STAY that way, I have to accept that challenge long term. This is not just "go on a diet" and then "finish, go off diet". Eating differently has to become a way of life. I'm experimenting with making the food as interesting as I can so that I don't feel too deprived. I'm not eating many salads this time, as I really don't like salad much and it makes me depressed every lunchtime if that's all I eat, so I have a stash of stuff in the fridge at work and just calmly cook my lunch there in the kitchen in front of everyone. The comments get a little tiresome, but there you go! Last time I remember that soup was my favourite lunchtime meal, but as it's summer and quite hot, soup hasn't been appealing to me just yet.

Well, all the best to everyone else out there who is plugging along with this program! This thread is mainly to help me record my progress and keep myself on track, but feel free to share if you want!

Hi Niyah,
You will love this forum, I have found it such a great source of motivation,support, advice and I have even made some new friends!I started my Cohen's programme on the 5th Jan and am nearly 9kg down. I know what you mean about trying make your meals a little more exciting but fortunately I love salad so I am quite happy eating salad every day!!
Well, good luck and I cant wait to read about your progress!
kc

Niyah- Hi & welcome back to the forum. I think it's reassuring for all of us that you chose to return to Cohen's to get you to your desired weight & it's nice that you also chose to return here. I know Cohen's is the only choice I would ever make. It's a certainty, unlike the others. I learned a valuable lesson over the last few months by letting the maintenance guidelines go out the window. I look forward to getting to know you & following your journey, cheers, Cate.

Thanks for the welcome, Cate and Wanabeesexee (hope your wish is coming true!!!!).

I've had a pretty good week, weight continuing much the same way, with around 2kg gone again. I'm 9.8kg down, which is a good psychological stepping stone (those old 10 kg milestones are really encouraging!)

I'm finding it pretty manageable most of the time. I've had a couple of bad days where I was so busy and so late at work, I was really starved by the time I got home and then had to cook for family AND myself. But most of the time I'm managing to do what I need to in good time.

The best part is - I don't miss chocolate AT ALL!! Chocolate has been my great downfall all my life. I don't know what it is, but once I eat a piece it's like a dam wall cascading in after an explosion - I just want to eat more and more, and everything else that's sweet as well. So I guess I just have to stay off it. But NOT MISSING IT AT ALL is such a liberation!!!! I don't feel enslaved to my tastebuds and comfort cravings anymore.

Easter has always been a bad time for me in the past, and with eggs and other chocolates hitting the stores earlier and earlier, it's always been a temptation to give in to "one little bit". Not this year!! The eggs and chocolates no longer hold that mystical, compelling appeal that used to see my buy them in spite of my nagging conscience and rapid last minute rationalisations as to why it would OK for me to do it just this once. I don't know what chocolate does, but it was the ultimate comfort food for me. Anyway, I'm learning to put other things in its place, and being liberated from that compulsion to buy and eat in secret, and then hate myself, is just so great!

It's been incredibly busy this year, but somehow I've got through one of my big crisis times when I would normally be eating junk food to get by. And everyone is starting to comment on how much BETTER I look. My hair is shinier, my skin much healthier - amazing! No more indigestion at bedtime either. It's hard to believe how much ill health we are prepared to suffer for the sake of chocolate, cheesecake and pastries!

As I said on Beck's thread, I'll have to start wearing a sign and setting off a tape recording so that I don't have to keep telling people that yes, I am losing weight. Then they ask me piles and piles about it. They've stopped telling me "That one doesn't work" or whatever, which is nice. It IS working before their eyes. This time, however, I intend to prove other people wrong by KEEPING IT OFF. Last time it was nothing to do with Cohen's that I put the weight back on - I just DIDN'T DO what I was told. I really have learned my lesson this time - and I have every reason to keep it up in future with two adorable grandchildren to want to be around and healthy for.

Well, better get back to work! Hope everyone else out there is doing well and sliding down the ticker!

Well, I survived dinner last night OK! Whilst the meal probably wasn't 100% compliant, it was very close. I asked him to remove rice from the dish, and replace with mixed watery greens like bok choy and zucchini, which he did. Yum! Very nice to know that I can go out and eat something nice without it being dripping in fatty or sugary sauces, and go home feeling good about it.
The meat was grilled chicken, so fairly good. It's a really funny little Asian place but their service is brilliant.

Discovered some beautiful mangos in the last week - "Honey Gold". Yum!!! A piece of that is a very satisfying fruit choice.

Next weigh day is Friday so I'll probably check back in then. I'm not too fussed about the weight as I can tell by the clothes that I'm steadily moving in the right direction.

Well, today was weigh day and not a very starry day unfortunately. Only 300g this week. I was expecting NEXT week to be the slow week. Oh well - the funny thing is that I fitted a couple of smaller things to wear this week despite that.

Still, I have to remember that I had to make some compromises on a dinner out this week. Hopefully the next week is plain sailing.

Hi Niyah 01,
Every gram gone is another gram you never have to lose again!!
Over 10kgs already is fantastic and its also great that you are learning to be able to do Cohens without being obsessive. I also tried this time on Cohens to not be as obsessive as I was last time. When I did Cohens the first time I convinced myself that if I ate anything "bad" I would totally break and go back to my obsessive eating. This time I have tried to teach myself that it is ok to eat out every now and again and then just carry on the next day as normal, and the weight came off just as well.
Good to hear that you are doing so well.
Take care
Beck

That's the great thing about having done it once before. Now I know that if a situation arises where I can't be 100% compliant, but do my best to eat reasonably, I don't get upset over it and think I've "broken" the diet. I guess that's the difference between thinking you're "dieting" and realising you are changing your way of life for good. Naturally I hope not to have eat exactly like this forever, but I'll be able to stick close a lot of the time - learning once again what to cook that is not too much trouble, tastes good and keeps me healthy.

I had a chat with hubby today about joining up. He wants me to rejoin, I'm feeling reluctant. Not for any other reason than that I'm going fine the way I am, but know that because of my ridiculous work hours, I occasionally have a day or two where I just have to make some compromise or adjustment. I end up out of shopping, late, tired, exhausted. There's few places to buy food around here after 8.00pm, so if we are getting stuck into something work-wise in the evenings and I don't get out till after that, I have to figure out what I AM going to do. I usually try and have a stock of food in the fridge at work, but sometimes that gets low too.

So, all in all, although I know that once or maybe twice a week I am technically tracking a "deviation", and this might show on the bloodtests if I were to join, I'm continuing to head downwards in clothes sizes, measurements, and the weight is overall tracking well. So I figure this is how I have to be for the rest of my life - take responsibility for what I do no matter what the circumstances, and then stick with it.

Sorry to mention the subject, but have had a constipation week - this happened to me about this time last time as well. I took some coloxyl to help out, but now I'm going the OTHER way. My intestines are taking a while to figure out how to deal with heaps less food. They either go overboard and shunt everything straight through, or seem to shut down altogether! Anyway, hubby suggested cheekily maybe that's why I didn't show less weight on the scales yesterday!!! I will sure be expecting good things NEXT weigh day!

So far so good - no particular hunger pangs. Well, I get hungry before a meal, but I'm not feeling ripped off portion-wise, nor hankering after off-limits food at all, so that's good.

The over-interest in what I eat continues... it's SO funny (and annoying!!!). Whenever I cook at work, I usually end up with one or two onlookers asking what I'm doing, telling me it smells good and THEY could diet if that's what I eat (so GO ON!!), grilling me on WHAT WILL I DO AFTER THE DIET. Wow, I have given so many lectures on maintaining weight loss that I will have only myself to blame if I don't stick to it at the end! I can parrot off quite a lecture now - you have to take responsibility life-long for what you eat, and be prepared to modify your eating choices LONG TERM.

I think I'll head back to the doctor in the coming week to get my blood pressure checked - curious to see if there's any change yet. I know last time it took quite a while before my blood pressure responded, but I need renewed scripts so it's a good chance to satisfy my curiosity.

Well, I'm actually here at school on the weekend - yet again - to work, so better get stuck into those accounts and other yukky jobs waiting for me. Hope everyone is having a great week. Keep up the last week, Beck and Cate... so close, so close, SO CLOSE!!! Keep waving the grams goodbye!

Niyah, I'm enjoying your diary and I think we are all learning from one another & our own journeys, past mistakes etc. I agree that we are probably learning more 2nd time around. One thing we know after our experiences is that Cohen's works & works well for us. I know that I will have to be very careful about what I eat for the rest of my life &, you know what, I'm now thinking "So what?" I have a problem. I'm just glad I now have the know-how to do something about it. C'mon next Saturday though. I should never have to re-do Cohen's again. Take care & don't work too hard! Cheers, Cate

Well, just had to pop back in here to say that my curiosity got the better of me this morning, and I did another weigh. I was 84.2 - that's 1.1kg lighter than Friday!!!!!

So, I'm feeling pretty chirpy today. Obviously Friday was just an aberration and for some reason I was bloating, but here's to a great week!!!! Being in the lower half of the 80's is great! I know I'll sit here for a while, but every half decade is a big achievement!

One of my slightly smaller skirts was slipping today!

By the way, Cate, had a look at your before and after photos - you are looking fantastic!!! I'll have to dig some of mine out soon. I'm already looking at my very large floaty Size 22 tops and laughing about them now! Most of my weight was stacked around my abdomen, so had to have clothes with very shapeless and expandable middles... Ugghhh!!! As a soon-to-be 50 year old, I'm really enjoying reading about your family, your lovely hubby etc. Yes, I've had mine for 30 years this year and it's getting better than ever. With the grandkids, I just feel so blessed in that department.

Well, didn't get to the doctor this week - ended up busy - but checked my blood pressure at home tonight with my son's blood pressure device (he's a nurse). Whilst the systolic is still as high as it was before I started, the diastolic is WAY DOWN, so I'm really pleased about that.

I hope as I continue to get the systolic down too so I can drop back the BP medications.

Hi Niyah, I'm not sure if you are about my age but I guess you are a little younger (40's maybe). I had low blood pressure all of my life until my mid 40's when it went up through the roof & stayed there. The same happened to my mother. I went onto medication & it had to be increased & it eventually stabilised. I thought I would be able to come down onto a lower one again after losing my weight so asked my doctor if I could try it & my blood pressure soared back up again. My cholesterol used to be ok & now it, too has gone through the roof, just as my mother's did, post-menopause.
I have done a lot of homework/research in the last couple of weeks and think I can put it down to Menopause. I have never wanted to blame anything on Menopause but ........ It's only hearsay but even the Heart Foundation can see a link after talking to them.
I guess what I am trying to say is don't be dis-heartened if your blood pressure does not come down, even with your stirling weight-loss efforts as sometimes we have no control & that is hard to accept.
I accept that now & while I am not happy that I have to be on medication, probably for the rest of my life, I know that I am taking every step I can to be as healthy & as fit as I possibly can & so are you. What more can you do!
Whoops! I've gone on a bit-sorry. I used to think that I would never be like "the olds" on all of those pills so found it very hard to start. I want to live to a ripe old age so if that means taking pills, so be it! xo Cate

Well, I'll be forewarned! My blood pressure went right back down last time, but yes, I'm a few years older now so will have to wait and see.

I'll just be happy if I know I'm not contributing to it unnecessarily with layers and layers of extra fat around everything! I always feel quite sick when I imagine how much fat is packed around my vital organs and so on. We worry about the fat we can see on the outside, but I think what's inside is probably fairly gross and debilitating in its own right.

Last time I did manage to drop off one of my BP medications.

Mine went up in my late 30's, but that's when I was really starting to stack the weight on. Before that, I too had always had low blood pressure - in fact it was a problem in my late teens/20's because I often felt faint.

I also used to laugh at my parents rattling with pills when I was younger, but can see I'm heading the same way! I'll be happy if any health issues are improved when a much better diet. I can list a few things that are already better, but will hold off talking about it until later in the diet so I can be sure. Dad was a health fanatic all his life, and it has all caught up with him in his 70's and 80's. He still walks a lot, but used to jog all his life and keep very trim.

I did a weigh today and have not lost any further weight since Monday, but I'm still really chuffed with the drop I had back then, so not bothered. I know it's fluid retention week, and the measurements were all down. It'll be another "wait till next week" one I think.

I can remember last time when I was attending the clinic fortnightly getting my head in a knot because I'd hardly lost any weight one week when I WASN'T retaining fluid, and had a huge panic. In the end, I realised that I was wearing a very heavy long denim skirt. I took it off and weighed it by itself and it was almost 1kg!!! After that experience I know not to get my head in a tizz about it all, and that as they say, it's better to look at the trend over a whole month or so. I'm tracking the weight in an Excel spreadsheet with a trend line which is very comforting! At home I always weigh first thing in morning after toilet and starkers, it's the only way of not kidding myself what the weight truly is.

Well, we're off for the long weekend (WA alone has one this weekend I think!). Going somewhere VERY QUIET in the country where there is NO-ONE and NOTHING and mobiles are OUT OF RANGE!!

Have a good week everybody. Hope anyone living in Vic is safe today from the horrible fire conditions.

Hmmm, from reading all your posts, I'm beginning to wonder whatever happens when I do eventually lose all the weight I desire and return to normal eating? Will there ever be any normal eating again or do I just have to stuck with the 115 g of chicken + 100 g of vegetables? Bah! I truly enjoy food and think that I WILL NOT WASTE ANY EXTRA CALORIE ON JUNK FOOD does it mean no more quality food for me for the rest of my life? HELP!

Depends a bit on your age and activity level. But at this point in my life, I have to look at a few facts - I'm 49, I have a very busy job which has me sitting at my desk for a good part of the day, and I don't get out to physically exercise much. I'm often here evenings, and weekends at various times. The nasty fact for me is that I'm not going to need to eat all that much just to maintain my body weight, and anything over and above that will probably go straight to fat.

But you will DEFINITELY be able to eat more than 115g or 120g of protein etc. The diet is just that - a diet to LOSE FAT QUICKLY. Then you'll learn to keep it off long term, and if you do what they say, you'll be fine.

I'm imagining that I will try, as I finish the diet and do the refeed, to add more proteins and veges, and more flavourings - just all without going overboard. I don't think I ever want to see a cheesecake or KFC again at this stage. I imagine treats for me will be occasional cappucinos etc. I'll have to do some sitting down later on this year and nut out what is a reasonable amount of "spoiling" and what's going to blow the scales for me. I'm a big sweet tooth, which is why I'm going to have to watch what I do in that area.

Cohen's says about two lots of chocolate per week for long term weight maintenance - my big thing about it is that I'm just so weak willed and find it so addictive that all my good intentions to stick to one or two bits go out the window as soon as it hits my mouth - so that's why I think it's just a no-no for me.

Everyone will be different, but if you are younger and more active than me, you probably will be able to enjoy more food that I will once your through.

My biggest mistake first time around was thinking that once I had completed the diet and done the refeed, I would be "cured". I'm just staring myself in the mirror now knowing that in my case, "cure" isn't really possible, just "control". I've kicked and screamed about it in the past, but misery results - not only because fat returns, but because my mood goes down as my hormones change, serotonin level decreases etc. Once right into this diet, mood adjusts to a really great level, you feel good and want to stay that way. It's not worth giving up whatever the food on offer is.

But keep it up FlaMie - it's early days, you'll soon not only look great but feel great, and you'll want to STAY THAT WAY TOO!!!!