Thanks Niyah

London is gorgeous right now!!! The sun is shining, the birds are singing and there is a lovely vibe about Shame I am inside applying for jobs but never mind!

Hope you have a wonderful time away and enjoy your weekend!!! How is your weight-loss going? It's hard to do cohen's when your away I know the feeling!

Take care
xxnicole

I'm hoping for something happening on scales tomorrow!!!! Will let you know.

I have read your diary and just thought I'd say hi.
I was living in London until the end of April this year. I was
just there for a year. Got transferred with my job.
You're going so well with your weight loss and you have a great
head on your shoulders... lots of wisdom in your thinking.
Anyway, all the best!
28+1

Hey 28+1

How exciting to think that we were both in London at the same time and never realised it! So where are you living now? In Aus? That's were I came from and plan to live here for a good few years and I can stay up to 5 years with my husband! Did you sign up for the eating plan where you are now or back in London? Thanks for the lovely post it's so nice to get encouragement, I guess I still see the high numbers so I am apped to get them down as low as my body will let me :-) I think once I hit the 80's I will be over joyed!!!

Thanks for popping by and reading my diary- I guess you never really know who is reading it so it's lovely that you wrote me a post!

All the best for your journey ahead and you new life in another country!

xxnicole

Very tired today so I will just give a quick up-date.

I was in hospital last night as yesterday I had a seizure. The doctors think it was caused from cohen's in the form of malnutrition and the low levels of salt in my body as seen from the multiple blood tests they took. It was a horendous experience and I was taken in an ambulance to hospital where I nearly passed out again after vomiting in the emergency ward. The couldn't get a vein so they had try and insert a drip (a tube with a needle) into my arm 6, yes 6 times and I have NEVER EVER had a problem with having blood taken. I am so exausted today and am still recovering but next week I have to go back to hospital to have specalised further tests done to make sure I am okay as I have never had a seizure and no one in my family has epilepsy!!!

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced full blown seizures whilst on cohens?

xxnicole

Never, and never heard of it. It's possible that it's very low blood glucose I guess, but I'm sure they will check all that out, and how your body is metabolising the food etc etc etc. There can be physical causes, metabolic causes and completely unknown causes for seizures.

Seizures are very weird things. My son suffered bad and frequent seizures when young, and took a long, long time to track down the cause. It seems the "threshhold" at which people will have seizures varies enormously - same thing in another person won't cause a seizure. Perhaps your body is very sensitive to low blood glucose in this way. Or... they might track down something totally different. They'll do all the checks. Even then sometimes it can be a mystery. Our son's kept us (and the best doctors) baffled for six years. But there's much better diagnostic procedures available nowadays.

Worst of luck for you! I sure hope they can track down what has caused it and find something that will help! Just take the advice they give, and if it does end up being vary the food intake, go with it and deal with the weight as you can and maybe over a longer time. As I always say, there's more than one way to skin a cat (though that's a pretty horrible expression when you think about it!!!)

Let us know how it works out for you, and will be wishing you best of luck.

Thanks for your response Niyah! I think your right in regards to the whole low sodium issue. I emailed my consultant and she emailed Dr Cohen who said that my seizure could not be caused from the program but he recommends that I stop the program! WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!!!!!!! He hasn't even seen my blood test results or anything and yet he is backing out in case it catches on that cohen's causes low salt levels in your body which can intern could cause seizures! AND the fact that he recommends stopping the diet even though the seizure ISN'T caused from the diet makes no sense at all!!!!!

Anyway I was rather annoyed at his response and lack of care and understanding not even bothering to look at my results before he makes an un-educated decision! The other issue is that until further testing is done through the hospital I cant even be sure that it was the low salt levels that caused the seizure so stopping the diet again wouldn't make sense. I have decided to add more salt to my diet and see how I go as that is all I can do right now and by going off the diet I would cause further strain on my body by shocking it. I will keep you all updated as to what happens with the tests.

On a lighter note I got a job as a Barista in a cafe called Coffee Republic (it's a large chain of stores like Starbucks). I start tomorrow but have already had a trial on wednesday and it wasn't too bad. The pay is just shocking over here at only $11 per hour (AUD) for casual, part-time or full-time hours, this is minimum wage :-O

I dont really want to have to work this job for very long either as I cant survive on such a small amount of money with rent being over $420 (AUD) a week!!! I had an interview on friday for a designer at the University of Westminster and will find out tomorrow if I got it so fingers crossed it is mine as this is the job I REALLY want and NEED so we can survive. If I get the job at the uni there will be no need for me to go to the coffee job as well so I am hoping I get the call before my shift starts!

Everything cohen's wise is going well. It is totally natural for me to be on it now and I am not really thinking about any other food or what I am going to eat when I finish. I guess the finish line for me is still many months away so I will cross that line when I get to it! I am no longer looking at this diet as a race but a lifestyle adjustment so when I finish I will still be following the same guidelines for eating and living healthy in the future. I understand now more than ever that I need a life change to maintain my new weight and to be healthy so that's what I am going to do. I know the occasional treat is fine but not everyday otherwise old habbits will try to creap back in. I think in a way it's a good thing that I have a lot of weight to still loose as this means it is a process and not just a quick fix where my life changes for a little while and then I go back to eating as I previously did.

I weigh-in tomorrow so I will update my ticker then!
xxxnicole

I'm glad you've got at least something, but yes, in these economic times it would be nice to have something with more income. Hope the other one turns out!

You are going to be much better working with the doctors who are treating you and seeing if they can get to the bottom of whatever may have caused the seizure so that you can work out if you need to do anything. Glad you're feeling OK and haven't had another one anyway. Maybe it is nothing whatever to do with the diet.

Hope everything goes well in the coming week.

Hi Nicole. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience. I was away for the week-end & worked in the op-shop today so haven't had a chance to try to catch up until now. I have never heard of anyone having a seizure on Cohen's either. I hope the doctors get to the cause of it soon. I used to sometimes add some Celtic salt to my water bottle, as recommended by my consultant when I got cramps (?)I'll catch up again soon. I'm not feeling 100% atm. I hope I'm not coming down with anything. Take care, xo Cate.

Hey all

Just reporting in! I am feeling much better now thank-you just have to go and have a CT scan in a couple of weeks and then see a neuroligist so fingers crossed all is okay with my brain lol!

I have been working SO MANY hours this last week as I have started my full-time job as a Barista working at a busy cafe. It seems that there are just NO design jobs at the moment and any that there are, that I can apply for, there are over 300 other people just as good applying. CRAP!!! Never mind I believe that I will eventually get the right job for me as a designer in the right timing so in the mean time my husband and I will have to survive very measily and not go out at all or buy anything but food and rent. Cry cry....

Anyway so I only lost 800g (93.7kg's) this week and I think it is either down to the fact that I have just started working full-time or that I may have put on some muscle as I have been rather in-active previously to working. ??? Who knows but I am not going to get dis-heartened as cohen's really is working a treat for me and I believe that it comes down to my 100% commitment and fire to keep going as I see the kg's disappear!!! Like Cate say's you will loose what your body wants to loose. I am not going to rush it as I feel like I have really adjusted to cohen's now and even felt too full at lunch to eat my fruit... that reminds me I should eat it now as dinner is only an hour away and I still have another piece of fruit I must eat ha ha ha ha.

Cant wait till I am in the 80's and I know it will only be another 4 weeks or so, so YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really YAY!!!!!! I haven't been in the 80's for SO long like a good few years so just getting there is a big deal for me It's very strange lately I have been thinking that once I get to my goal weight I wont be able to maintain it for some reason and it is really freaking me out! I guess I have never maintianed it in the past so I am just worried that history might repeat itself but I keep having to speak to myself and say "NO Nicole, your going to get there and stay there". It's like I have never been there before so I cant imagine what it's going to be like. The last time I weighed 68kg's was when I was in year 5 or year 6 at primary school so that is kinda crazy! I cant wait to be a hot, sexy wife for my husband and for myself. I just want to be proud of ME and love the skin I'm in (like the dove or nivea advert)! That is my goal more than weighing a certain number. I know that after I get to my goal it will take a while before my body adjusts and I will need to start gyming it up or doing some toning excersises. The commitment for me is not an issue as I was going to the gym 4-5 times a week for 1.5hrs at one point but no weight would shift as Insulin resistance was my nemisis! lol SO GLAD I can loose weight now on cohen's it really is so much more easy than having to worry about counting calories or adding up points. It's all there for you in gram measurments and is clear, simple and direct as that's what I know I need (no room for deviations). Well that was a rant lol.

Hope your all doing well with your weight-loss/ maintainence and are pulling through and staying focused!

xxxknickers

Hey there. I just wanted to say that your doing great and getting sexy buns hehe. But seriously in no time. I know what yah mean about the nightmare of not reaching I have that to. Not to mention all the bad influences that are in my life. But you can do it and keep it up. WE can do it.
I hope all is well. I wish I would have left a comment earlier but I have the attention span of a 2 year old when im on the computer lol. Keep fading in and out.
But have a great day and talk to you soon >.<

Oww thanks Yukio

It's hard to believe that I will get there but I KNOW I will! I am so commited this time and I want more than anything to get the a place af contentment with my body! I was looking at old pics last night with my husband when I was about 10kg's off my goal weight. I cant wait to get past that weight and look EVEN better!

Thanks for your encouragement
xxx

Hi Nicole,Just looking at your ticker makes me feel good so I hope it makes you feel the same. It should. You are doing really well through a very rough patch. Many would not have your determination. I hope things improve for you financially very soon. Good luck with the tests sweetie.
I had the same doubts as you regarding maintenance. We have not exactly given ourselves much credit for anything in the past but if I can do it anyone can so I'm quite sure you can too. You have more strength & determination than you give yourself credit for & you are learning more about yourself & gaining confidence in your ability to get there. It's just another step further. If you go back to eating as before, sure you will put weight back on. If you follow maint. guidelines & eat sensibly & healthily & exercise moderately you will stay slim forever. You will find your equilibrium. Have confidence & look forward. Cheers for now, Cate

Thanks so much Cate!!! I just breathed a sigh of relief after reading your message Ahhhhhhh.... (exhale) That makes me feel so much better to know that it is possible to get there and stay there. I am having to self talk and tell myself that I can and will do it! I am starting to get excited now as I am day by day getting closer to my goal! It is hard to believe all up I will loose over 50kg's!!!!! OW MY GOSH that is more than the weight of my bestfriend in Aus! To think I am loosing a whole human now that is scary. I guess I never really realised what I became and how I could pull it off without really "seeing" it. I am totally back to reality now and my goal is strong and firm!
Thanks again so much Cate I REALLY REALLY appreciate your kind encouraging words, it makes me even stronger to face each coming month! Hope you have had a wonderful week and enjoy the weekend

xxx

Nicole- I am absolutely certain that you can do it. Just remember what you used to do before Cohen's & don't do that. He he. Seriously though just take it easy when you finish & don't go crazy. Sure you can try things that you thought you were really missing but only do so following the guidelines. It is dead easy to put weight back on again if you throw all sense to the wind. If you follow the when you eat this, then you can have that guideline you'll be laughing!
You are strong already my sweet. I am just pointing out that fact! xoxo Cate