Hello again

Had my 3rd weigh-in and it was a bit of a strange one at that. I only lost 0.64kg in the 2 weeks since my last weigh-in but still lost another 15.5 cm.

I did deviate on Chrissie Day and had a small piece of Christmas pudding - so that lost me a week ... the only other thing the Consultant suggested was that it may be the anti-depressant medication I am on (I put on weight with it so maybe it is also responsible for holding onto the weight!).

Anyway, the cm loss continues (total of 67 cm so far since 29/11/06) ...

I'll let you know how my weight goes at my next weigh-in in 2 weeks time ... :0)

Hi,
Unfortunately, my dad has deteriorated, and the doctors are now saying that because of the position of the stroke, and the complications he is suffering, he is extremely unlikely to live, let alone recover. They can't get his blood pressure, heart rate etc under control. So, unfortunately, sometime in the next few days, we will lose our dad/ grandpa. But we have great memories, particularly of the past few years when he has been so happy. Its always been a great blessing to him and to me that my first son was born on his 70th birthday - he was very proud of that. (He actually had 2 grandchildren born on his 70th birthday!!)
So, its been a hard time here, and it will continue to be so. Of course, the diet has suffered, but it can't be helped. Things just don't work like they should in situations like this. There are more important things in life right now and other priorities.
HL

so sorry to hear that - there are some of us in the chatroom now if you want to talk

Sorry to hear the news HL. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Heavenlylamb: my thoughts are with you.....lots of hugs to you at this difficult time. You are doing so well, you will be able to pick up the eating plan when you feel up to it. Life sucks sometimes and you just have to go with the flow. All the best to you and your family.....

Heavenlylamb and family keep well and remember Cohens is always going to be their.
Family always comes first.
Best Wishes
Sam

Hi All

Just received some photo's in the mail from my mother-in-law who visited in April 2006.

I can not believe how FAT I look and that was after I had lost 8kg with weight watchers.

I have seen some pretty bad photo's of me before but this one takes the cake, and to top it off I was wearing a top I always considered slimming so it will be tossed.

But on a positive - thank you Dr Cohen so glad I found you my first weight- in is next Tuesday.

Sam

[COLOR="Red"]Started Cohen's 11 December 2006[/COLOR]

Hi Everyone

Does anyone know if it is ok to eat BBQ chicken breast (without skin of course). For example Red Rooster chicken breast, I can't see that there would be anything wrong with it as long as I know the weight of cooked meat.

But nothing can be that easy on this diet so I am a little uncertain.

I am 8 weeks in at the moment and am finding that food repulses me. Nothing has much flavour and am finding it very hard to swallow mouthfuls of food.

Has anyone else had this problem??? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Maree

Thinking Thin - The problem with BBQ meats ect is that the weight of foods ie meat we have as our allowance is the raw weight of the chicken / meat....also we cant eat things cooked in fat and theres some herbs and spices we cant eat which may upset the whole program...

Heavenlylamb - Praying for you and your family, wow cant even imagine how hard things must be right now. Thoughts are with you!

My thoughts are with you and your family.
Take care and deepest sympathies.
Dianne

[QUOTE=ThinkingThin;164577]Hi Everyone

Does anyone know if it is ok to eat BBQ chicken breast (without skin of course). For example Red Rooster chicken breast, I can't see that there would be anything wrong with it as long as I know the weight of cooked meat.



Maree - they cook these chickens in a serious amount of fat - remember we are only allowed a light spray - you need to weigh your meat before it is cooked as well.

Hi Maree

This is just your body adjusting, it has nothing to do with the food.

Now that you are committed to the program, and the food is without sugar and fat and only minimal salt, at about the eight or ten week mark you start to really feel the brunt of what you are doing.

It's time to put a bit more planning into what you eat, and to look forward to the meals instead of pining for what you used to eat.

I have always loved a glass (or three) of sherry before dinner. For about the past 25 years this was my daily ritual, and if I was out of sherry I would fret. I didn't drink anything else - well, not as a general rule - but that sherry marked the end of the working day when I turned the phone off, although I would always have more work to do after dinner.

During the first few weeks on Cohen's I would sometimes pour out a teaspoon of sherry, and go outside and lick it.

How sad is that?!

After a while, I noticed that days were passing where I didn't think about the sherry at all. By the end of the program, I had just about forgotten about it, and haven't bought any since. I rather miss the ritual, but when I have had a sherry to my sorrow it really doesn't taste the same.

Maree, have a think about what you are feeding your family, how you prepare the meals. Is it always 'touch and go'? Do you plan ahead or shop each day? Do you work out a weekly menu to ensure that your family is getting the nourishment each member needs, or are there quite a few Red Rooster meals each month?

This is the opportunity to re-educate the family tastes as well as your own. If you are Chief Cook and Bottle Washer then they can only eat what you prepare.


My husband does all the shopping and all the cooking. When I started the program I insisted on shopping for myself and cooking for myself. I wanted to make sure I weighed to the gram and for the first time in years actually got out the recipe books for ideas.

It seems ridiculous to plan a meal for 105gm of chicken, but I found about 15 meals I really enjoyed, and looked forward to each one. A rhythm developed, and after a while I didn't have to think much about it and as each kilo disappeared, I ate each meal with a sense of triumph and victory that I was losing weight with each bite of food. That certainly gave the food plenty of flavour - the flavour of success!

If you like pickles and chutneys, make your own from the daily ingredients.

If you like savoury dishes, make pizzas with cheese, capsicums and mushrooms and eat bubbling hot straight from the griller

If you like curries, cook the day before for real flavour, and eat with a rice cake instead of a pappadum

If you like barbeques, thread your chicken on a skewer and BBQ over the flame grill for lots of flavour

If you like salads, try a tuna and onion salad with a dollop of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

In other words, how can the food have no flavour? There are plenty of dried herbs to choose from and if you prefer fresh herbs, just remember to weigh them and add as a garnish later.

This is your opportunity to become a great cook! If you really must have Red Rooster, make it yourself - crush up a Salada, mix the crumbs with pure dried herbs, roll the chicken in the crumbs, cover with foil and bake in the oven, opening the foil to crisp up the chicken for the last ten minutes or so. If you smell the aroma, you will be able to identify the Red Rooster herbs and spices and get a close result at home - without deviating!

And most of all:

No-one said this would be easy. I had only 25 kilos to lose and I thanked God and Google (not necessarily in that order!) every day for leading me to Cohen's program.

There was not one day when I didn't happily look forward to preparing my own meals. Mike would have done the cooking for me, but this was something I had to do for myself.

I did not do it for him, I did not do it for them, I did it for me.

You have 40 kilos more to go. That's not that far away - probably about 30 weeks should do it. Let's see, it's the first week in January, 30 weeks will be the end of July. The time will go very quickly. Once you can really see what's happening your body will encourage you.

Stay with it, practise being Jamie Oliver, there is plenty on the shopping list to make great meals!

Good luck and do try the peach chutney with your BBQ chicken. To die for!

Chelsea

Heavenlylamb
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family

Hey chelsea!
ive noticed you talk about maintaining your 60 kilo for 6 months now (AWESOME job!!!) but i was wondering what your daily intake of food is like and whether you have treats such as choccies or bickies or even icecream etc etc.

Im trying to get an idea of what life will be like post cohens - but the thought of giving up going out with the girls for drinks or even icecream for desert once in a while sends me reeling!!


btw everyone - ive posted some before and during cohens pics in the 'before and after' thread to give an idea of where im up to still have another 20+ kilo to go but my 8 week weigh in is next friday so hopefully see the ticker progress!!


happy losing! xx

Hi FatCat

Caught your photos - what an impish smile you have! You will be a really HotCat at 66 kilos - Wowee!

What do I eat? Anything I feel like.

What did I eat today (not really a typical day, Mike was late home and he does the cooking ....)

Yoghurt and kiwi fruit for breakfast, toasted cheese & tomato multi-grain sandwich for lunch, a glass of Brown Brother's Colcetto & Syrah with pasta, tinned sauce and parmesan cheese for dinner, followed by 'poor man's scones' (multi-gain bread, strawberry jam and whipped cream), a small Cherry Ripe and about ten half cups of coffee with a splash of milk in each - and more than 2 litres of tap water.

Not a very nutritious day, heavy on the carbohydrate and dairy, usually dinner is a lot more traditional (meat and veg) and most days I have some sort of salad for lunch.

My general snack is raw almonds (high in tryptophan) and dark chocolate (high in serotonin) but during the past week I have also been eating Christmas gifts which are mainly chocolate but also include home made fruit cake, shortbreads etc

I used to eat peppermints every day, now I take a cut up apple in a small container with me in the car, and have a zip lock bag of vita wheats and a bottle of water. If I'm out for the day (I renovate houses plus write home loans) I take a container of salad and a tin of tuna in an insulated bag rather than go the whole day without eating which is what I used to do

My weight problems really stemmed from not eating properly, eating irregularly, and eating late at night when working on reports. I now try and have protein three times each day and use the vita wheat as a snack but if I've had a heavy day and don't want to do the almond and chocolate thing, then I'll have about 50 grams of hard cheese with a couple of vita wheats rather than eat Nutella with a spoon.

When we go out, I am usually the only white wine drinker, so the whole Brown Brother's Spatlese Lexia is mine!

FatCat, I don't say 'no' to anything but do keep an eye on the carbohydrates and the water.

If I am going to eat carbohydrate I want it to be special ie I don't just fall back on toast as a default meal, and I make sure I have at least two litres of water each day. I have never been much of a fizzy drink person - when I was a child lemonade was a very special treat, for me it's not an everyday drink. However, I love fresh cream, and always add some to any desert. I have noticed that some fat - cream, butter, the occasional fish'n'chips doesn't matter, but biscuits and bread certainly do.

So I would have to say that I have changed what I eat but also how I eat. If we are going out for drinks I will have some protein before we go, to inhibit the insulin response to the alcohol. If I want to eat jelly babies, I will include carbohydrate in with the protein meal to 'prime' the body up before I hit it with the sugar.

During the lead up to Christmas, I chose Veal Scaloppini at restaurant meals - I figured that the veal and mushrooms outweighed the cream sauce and mashed potatoes - and the alcohol! I also don't want to fuss about - I would rather walk in, sit down, say 'I'll have the veal, thanks' and know I am going to get a nice meal that is a bit of a treat.

I will have a cappuccino or two but now switch to a long black if it's a three coffee event!

In my experience, the secret with this is with the diversity of food you eat while on the program, and with the refeeding. Refeeding is a bit fiddly but it is the complexity which is important. I have a friend who lived on chicken and lettuce and although he lost 48 kilos he has put back on about 4 kilos in only 4 weeks.

Eat right across the shopping list as much as you can. Keep the variety up, don't just eat chicken or tuna for lunch every day. When you start refeed, pay attention to it, and for the first few weeks off the program, eat sparingly but keep sampling. You will continue to shrink for a while, it all takes time to stabilise.

It is only recently that I have started to enjoy deserts again without feeling overwhelmed about an hour later.

However, I was on three fruits and ate all three each day. Since finishing the program I haven't eaten another orange, and only eat the apples in the car. But breakfast is always yoghurt and kiwi fruit, and whereas I used to do the frittata thing when I had time, I haven't wanted to do it now at all. In my previous life it was Weet Bix , milk and sugar or occasionally wholemeal toast, slices of butter and huge quantities of bitter orange or ginger marmalade.

I still don't get enough sleep, but I think the key is firstly, the water, secondly, eating protein regularly throughout the day, and thirdly weighing regularly. We spent a few days at Sanctuary Cove in November and I came back weighing 62 kilos, so I made sure to monitor myself for a few days afterwards and I actually dropped to 59.5kilos!

FatCat, I just love being slim. I make sure that what I eat is what I want, and not just because I can’t think of anything else to do. I like to eat chocolate while watching The Bill on Saturday night. I have the richest dark chocolate I can get my hands on and smell it and eat it and lick it off my fingers and feel the indulgence of it - but I no longer eat a family sized block of Snack and then go looking for what else is there?

So don't worry, be happy! Your life as a HotCat will be full of yummy things to eat and glorious things to drink but not necessarily by the carton or the bucketful.

I was sent a magnificent Christmas Hamper, and when I rang and thanked the giver (who had first met me in July) he said 'Well, you could do with a few kilos'! How cool is that?!?

Keep on keeping on. I have every intention of being 60 kilos for ever and ever. I also have every intention of drinking all the Spatlese Lexia myself - but not everyday.

Does that (in 10,000 words or less) answer your question?

Cheers

Chelsea