Hiya! First time poster... long time stalker! Okay, so my reason for being here? Right now I'm a bit of a Chubby Mummy to my 9mth old son. I've had every intention of being a fit healthy yummy mummy by the time he turns one. But right now I'm stalling. There is less than 3 months left and I'm definitely not in the Yummy class yet!

But there is hope. My friend Di (who also recently started her weight-loss journal here) recently started the Cohen's diet. She is doing awesomely on it I on the other hand was doing Lite'n'easy. I lost 7kg in 9weeks, but got bored with it. Same old story really! Now that I'm not really working though, I can't really afford to fork out the $$ for Cohens. So I am embarking on what I call my "Cohen's inspired" diet.

My plan is to follow the types of fruit/veg/protein/carbs etc that Cohen's allows, and to try my best to stick to the no mixing proteins/5hrs between main meals/limits on crispbreads etc. I struggle significantly with the no milk rule, so am going to try to keep it at small amounts in my tea.

So anyway, I thought to keep myself reasonably honest, I would post my progress, ups and downs, achievements, disappointments etc here. I hope nobody objects, but I have been so motivated by all of your efforts that this just felt like the right place for me.

My stats so far are:
Weight pre-labour 25/1/06: 107.7kg
Weight 1mth after having bubs: 97.5kg
Weight when I started trying to lose weight 18/4/06: 94.5kg
Current weight 11/11/06: 82.2kg (that might be a lie as I haven't weighed for days and have been feeling really fat and bloated - don't ya hate being a girl??!! )

My goals are:
1) To stop punishing myself by eating crap when I don't really want or need to. (That's a big one - I've been doing that for the last 4 days).
2) To be able to buy a nice pair of togs to wear on the beach at Christmas and not feel (or look) like a whale in pictures.
3) To get to under 80kg by 16th December (have a pool party to go to
4) To get to under 75kg by my son's 1st birthday
5) To eventually reach my goal of 58kg before next October.

I also want to work on my fitness and muscle tone as there's no point being a sexy Yummy Mummy if I can't keep up with my boy

Anyway, if you're still with me, thanks for reading. I'll try to keep future editions a little shorter! Finally, here are some pics of me just after having my baby, and a few weeks ago.

Cheers,
Linda

Good morning! Well I made it through breakfast. Wouldn't seem like much to most, but I have been craving bran & mueseli and for the past 4 days have been giving in to that craving. So my day has been screwed from the start.

But not today Today I had my egg with spinach, mushroom and a touch of tomato. It always tastes great so I don't know why I avoid it so much!

My big goal today (other than to eat right) is to drink water. I used to drink HEAPS of water. But after having bubs I have been breastfeeding, and water causes engorgement which leads to mastitus (learnt that the hard way!). He's down to 1 feed a day now though, so I think it's safe to jump back on the water wagon.

My goal for this week is 2-3L per day. So far today I've already had 2L - so looking good Might even exceed my goal today!

I'm heading out later to get myself 2 'rewards' for deciding to do this and stick to it. The first is a new little fry pan. I don't think all the teflon I've been scoffing down with my meals is Cohen's approved The 2nd is a set of digital scales. I'm sure they will make life MUCH easier!

Cheers,
Linda

So I survived a whole day of my diet. I managed to drink 4 litres of water! (Pretty proud of that effort). Yesterday morning I got on the scales and they said 84.4 (NOT GOOD!). After about 15 thousand Pbreaks yesterday, this morning they came through for me with 81.8!!! WOOHOO My lowest since my wedding 2 years ago.

I'm very excited. I have a party to go to in 3 weeks, and I would be so happy to be under 80kg for that! Might even shout myself a new frock if I manage to break 80!!!

I'm off to the park for a play/mummies group today, so that should help keep me away from the pantry for a few hours. I'm going to experiment in the kitchen and make some spinach, zuchini & mushroom fritters that I can take & eat cold for my lunch. (Hope they turn out yummy!).

Anyway, enough ranting. I was really only dropping in to say 81.8kg! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Cheers,
Linda

Doing well today. Had a splurge last night. MIL rang to say she was bringing chicken and salad over for dinner. Sounds okay right?! Wrong, BBQ chicken, hot chips, honey roasted pumpkin salad and a cous cous salad. Anyway, after 3 hrs of madly rushing around trying to get my house up to MIL inspection standards, I was famished and ate some of it all - including the extra creamy rice pudding.

But I forgive myself - afterall, I did get my house reasonably clean!

My weight was still 81.8kg this morning. Will be interesting to see what I get on Friday morning (that's the one that really counts!).

I don't really find I have been getting overly hungry. But I do miss those 'procrastination feeds'. You know - when you really should be doing something, but you just have to have a little something to eat first... Hmmm I think that possibly could be the primary cause of my excess luggage LOL!

Have had nearly 3L of water so far today. Had to go to work today, so it's trickier to get the water in (can't spend every 5 mins going to the loo either LOL!).

Better go and have a glass of water now.
Cheers,
Linda

My advice on "deviations" is never deviate with carbs (stachy carbs, like rice pudding ), with BBQ roast chicken, remove the skin but make your own portion of salad (tomato and cucumber ) and have some crackers. I believe it is the combined effect of all the starchy food choices we have made over the years that have create our fat selves.

Having a clean house is not a cause for self forgiveness for eating wrong things. Sounds like finding a reason for permision to yourself to eat the wrong things. You have a baby right...forget having a clean house! Even having a clean kid for more than a few minutes is a tough ask!

Nervous eating, procrasination eating, clean house forgive eating. These are very tough habits to break, I am almost 40 and I still pick my nails when nervous and I want to eat and drink constantly when I attend social events.

Hi LessFatty, thanks for your comment. You are correct in all you have said and I appreciate your suggestions. I should have got myself prepared with a nice salad to have with some of the chicken. But I didn't. However I have learned for next time.

I can understand your comments regarding 'forgiving myself' although I think perhaps I didn't articulate my thoughts in the most appropriate way. I've been stacking on my weight for the past 7 years. If I'm honest with myself, these are my biggest triggers:

• Procrastination (apparently this is most prevalent in people with perfection issues - don't get me started about my need for a clean house... or the ironing...!!!)
• Self punishment - usually for eating something I know I shouldn't. I have never seemed to be able to let go of my guilt before.
• My love of chocolate
• My love of KFC
• My love of rice pudding!!! (I seriously have to find a way to make a rice-pudding substitute)

Anyway, my point is that in the past, if I had a night like last night, I would have wallowed in self pity for about 3 or 4 days, insisting on take away, eating crap and feeling crap.

Instead, I was aware of what I was eating. I took some control and had much smaller portions than I normally would. I took ownership of my decision to eat such a meal, understood the consequences it would have on my body, and have decided to accept that I made that choice and continue on with my diet.

To me that's a pretty big leap forward in my mental attitude. What will be an even bigger leap will be when I can finally say NO to those temptations. I'm a big believer in baby steps.

Oh - I forgot to mention. I'm very proud of myself. My sister (whom I work for) offered me freshly baked Cornflake bickies today (with choc chips) and I did say no! Then, she had a huge canister of jelly beans (from the Chemist) that she didn't want, so was going to put them in the kitchen. I told her that she was not going anywhere near the kitchen with them and if she didn't want them to throw them out.

Two weeks ago I would have been smuggling jelly beans like a crazy lady

Anyway, enough rambling for tonight. Happy skinny dreams to all.

Cheers,
Linda

I think what it comes down to is that we are all so hard on ourselves.

I can remember what I used to put away in a day and think nothing of it and know if I sneak a little soysauce with my chicken i feel like i've fully blown my diet completely.

WHY ARE WE SO HARD ON OURSELVES..

You've learnt from your mistake and I think that should be it, each day is a new day and each day we should stick to our eating plans otherwise it won't work but if we do fall off the wagon once in a while i think our negative thinking makes it ten times worse, hence the reason why i probably gained 400 g from last night cause i had some silly soysauce....

Anyway I think you should be damm pround of your efforts, and I should learn to practice what I preach.. lol

lucky you know me hay.... aBout DfO I think I'm still to fat for most of those shops maybe we should go to chermside or something like that. anyway who know I might be thinking skinny by then.
Di

Good morning everyone! Well it's Friday, which for me is the day that I weigh myself and the results actually count. I have been doing this every Friday since Easter this year. Anyway, today's weigh-in was 81.3kg! I'm happy with that!

Last Friday I was 84.4kg, so I could say that I lost 3.1kg in a week. Deep down though I know last week I was rediculously bloated... But still, 81.3kg is the lightest I've been since my wedding 2 yrs ago. At my wedding I was 81.1kg so I've nearly passed that.

I did a measure up also. I use a site called fittogether.net to record my measurements - plus they do up nice little reports for you etc. Over the past fortnight I have lost another 10cm which is great! Even better - my boobs are down to 1m. I haven't had them under 1m for as long as I can remember! Dept store bras - here I come

I've been very proud of my efforts this week. Less Fatty would probably still have me doing penance for my carb-loaded meal with my MIL, but I'm looking at this diet as a lifestyle change - not a 3mth starve myself then go back to eating like a normal person diet. I want to keep up eating this way for the rest of my life. So I need to be as realistic of how life will be long-term as I can.

I have made the decision that where there are parties etc, I am not going to deprive myself. Yes it may mean that I'm not at my skinniest as quick as I could be. But quite frankly, who knows what's around the corner for me. I'd hate to go to a party, be miserable because I'm spending my whole time worried about the temptations in front of me, then get hit by a bus the next day. What would all that misery have achieved me?

Having said that though, I don't plan to go stupid and gorge myself at parties either. This is the first time I have ever REALLY put effort into losing weight and changing my eating habits. I have learnt a lot about self-control, portion control etc over the past few months. I am now confident I can go to a party and not spend the whole night with one hand in the lolly or chip bowls!

I can see in myself big changes in my thought processes and mindset when it comes to food. I no longer feel like I've been 'ripped off' when I see someone eating something that I was brought up to believe was a luxury food (takeaway/icecream/chocolate etc). In the past I would have felt I should be entitled to my fair share. I mean, as kids my siblings and I used to each take our pick of a glass of juice (a luxury we only got on holidays etc) and then get rulers to measure which had the most and who 'won'. I don't think this behaviour set me up well for the day when I started earning money and could buy these luxuries myself!

Okay - enough psychotherapy for one morning. I'm off to a party tonight and am REALLY looking forward to a small helping of satay chicken and some yummy chocolate dessert. The thought of this meal has helped me stay strong this morning even though I am desparately craving a bowl of muesli

Skinny thoughts to all

Linda.

Another day gone, another day closer to Christmas Went to my dinner party last night and REALLY enjoyed my serve of satay chicken and chocolate pudding. Felt no guilt at all because I had thought through my decision and possible consequences well beforehand.

I'm very proud of myself as there were plain potato chips on the table and they are one of my biggest weaknesses. I didn't touch one. I also managed to avoid the CCs and salsa which are another personal favourite

Weighed myself this morning to see what effect dinner had and I came in at 81.1 (the scales did say 81.0, but jumped up to 81.1 at the last minute ) But it's all good. I am now at my wedding weight

1.2kg till I reach my next 10% goal! YAY!!

Your pink post: I admire your honesty. I feel very much the same with regards to the social outings and deviating in moderation. I did that on Friday night and I'm not going to tear myself up for enjoying one night that had been planned for weeks. I enjoyed it, I realise it will add a week...but I have no deadline set. Obviously the sooner the better!

Your green post (if you could please avoid this colour as it's a bit hard on the eyes!) Glad you enjoyed yourself. Are you in a position to be selective with your deviations? Like me for example, I said no to a few previous things because of the event I had on Friday night. I'd rather be bad with things I've never had before than for 'drinks and chips' with friends who I always see, or a family bbq that I've had 100 times already! I hope this makes sense and you get something useful out of it!

You are going great... can I ask how much you've lost since starting Cohens?

Hi Dreamer,

Thanks for your post! It's always motivating to get friendly responses! Sorry about the green - I'll edit it to another colour (if I can) when I finish this reply

I've now been eating Cohen's style for 10 days. In my first week I lost 3.1kg. I think some of that was water retention though Since Friday I have lost a further 1kg. But the truth of the week's efforts will be told on Friday as that is my official weigh-in day

I am not actually contracted to a Cohen's clinic at all. I am still breastfeeding my son, so I don't think they'd allow me even if I coudl afford it! I have a friend who is doing this diet though, and after doing a little searching on the net, was able to find examples of people's daily allowances etc and devised my own diet based on Cohen's principles/rules etc. It seems to be working for me. My milk hasn't decreased at all and I haven't suffered any major hunger or illness/faintness etc.

I'm keen to lose weight as quickly as I can, but I also accept that this is a life-long change in eating for me - so I need to be somewhat realistic about it! I have such a limited social life anyway, so (excepting a few Christmas events over the next few weekends) there aren't too many times where I have to worry about deviations

I've also noticed that when I do have non-Cohen's food, I have SO MUCH LESS than I used to !!!! Portion control has been one of my biggest struggles - that and mindless 'snack' eating. For the first time in about 7 years I think I'm finally starting to conquer those evils

Keep up the good work everyone!

Cheers,
Linda

Hi Linda,
Since you haven't had a program specifically designed for you, you may find its not as effective or you may get tired etc. All the programs are different and Cohen's do caution against using someone elses program.
In terms of breastfeeding, are you fully breastfeeding. How many feeds are you doing per day?
When I did Jenny Craig, I was still breastfeeding, although my son had started solids. But I had significantly higher protein, vege and fruit allowances than when I stopped breastfeeding.
I would be a bit concerned about not having a program specifically designed if I were breastfeeding. Not just for baby, but for you as well, cause the baby will get all the vitamins etc that you are consuming, and your body takes less for yourself. Which means you have a higher risk of osteoporosis and other vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
So, be careful and keep an eye on how you are feeling etc.

I also join the concern to hear your are breast feeding. Cohen diet is a "big stick" diet for "big fat" problems. I just mean it Cohen is an agressive diet plan, it is a low calorie protein sparing modified fast and thus is unsuitable for breast feeding women.

I dont think there is any problem eating Cohen foods types; lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, but I would strongly recommend having bigger portions, more fruits (more apples) and even some high quality carbs such as 100grams of brown rice, pita bread twice a day. That is not to say "give up" and hit pizza hut and KFC, I think still keep control of portion size and types of food you are eating but if you are breast feeding you and your baby need more that Cohen diet plan

Thanks for your concern guys. I have been monitoring my boy's growth etc and am happy with how things are working. He's down to 1 feed a day now, and gets the majority of his nutrients from his solids now. He's a big boy (11kg at 9mths).

So far after 10 days I have not experienced any hunger or tiredness (other than after a 1am late night ) so I'm happy with the servings I'm giving myself. I have had days where I've felt the need to have bigger portions, or extra fruit, and I don't worry too hard if I do. I've found following this plan that my body tells me what it is I'm needing. Before when I was eating crap all the time I don't think I could hear what my body was trying to tell me

I have found that by having such a strict structure to my diet that if I do still feel hungry, I'm more likely to eat a piece of fruit or have some more vegies etc. In the past I would have reached for toast & vegemite.

Sure by not signing up and getting a tailored program I might not lose my weight as quickly as is physically possible, but it is coming off and I believe it's coming off in a healthy sustainable way.

I also make sure if I don't choose the yoghurt/cheese options during the day that I have some milk through the day, as dairy is one part of the program that I don't think I can restrict myself so severely on!

Whatever I'm doing, it seems to be working. I'm not hungry, I feel healthy, I look healthier, and believe me - if bubs wasn't getting his quota he'd tell me about it!

Cheers,
Linda

Hello all

I think we need to give yummymummy2b a break, she did say she was having cohens type food and using there rules , she didn't say she was following someone exact plan, I know been a mum myself that you would never sacrafice my childs health and know that she wouldn't either, It is very easy to tell if your child is still hungry or not getting enough milk.

Anyway congrats on your honesty yummymummy, your doing well.