miss_nat's journal (take 2)

[miss_nat]

Day 1

Ok, here goes.... I have a new plan, a new set of goals, a fresh diary and a huge amount of determination to succeed I'm so excited to be starting this journey again. I know what I have to do to succeed, I know it works and I can't wait to get in to it and start seeing results.

Since my last time on Cohens, my finance and I have relocated to the USA where I ordered my second plan but I just love this forum and couldn't imagine not sharing this process with you all. It's great to see some of the same names/faces on here.

Day 1 is going well so far but its too early yet to be experiencing any withdrawals. My timing is slightly complicated by being in a workshop all day and the lunch break happening within 5 hours of breakfast but I will just have to escape for 10 mins and snaffle my lunch quickly when I can! Almost there thank goodness, I'm SO hungry! Bring on the end of week when the hunger will have disappeared.

Alright, off to make my presence felt in other people's diaries... amongst engaging in this workshop as well of course

-N

[Smileyrj]

Well done N on getting back onto the program! Good luck, and stay strong... you will be at goal before you know it!

[*BAM*]

Go get that goal weight! Woohoo, welcome back

[lil_doll]

Nat Nat Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!

I missed you!!!!!!!!

I even still check your blog too! hehe

I'm on plan at the moment as well... siiighhhh

It must be hard in Texas with all the crazy food?!

[carrieanne_c]

Hi Miss_Nat,
Welcome back! How is Texas? At least there it is easy to find the foods on the list I would think!

[miss_nat]

Wow, what a HUGE week! I have been super busy and not able to get on here at all but despite that I have had a VERY good four days Cohens-wise. Well, almost three days - its day 4 today and so far I've lost 2.6kg, woo hoo! I'm hoping to hit 4kg in week one. It's pretty high but I think its achievable because its TOM this week and I have been bloated up like an angry puffer fish! Vince and I were wedding ring shopping last week and I could barely get my engagement ring on and off but now I can feel it all melting away... lovely!

I'm a serial weigher. I know I shouldn't but I'm just too damn curious plus I like to track what works, what doesn't i.e. are losses bigger after more seafood or more cheese? (Haha, I think we can guess the answer to that one!) Does it make a difference if I have the same protein for lunch and dinner? Did I lose less that week because I went to bed too late? And its all recorded in a spreadsheet so I can discover these answers. Can't help it!

My new plan has an extra cracker and piece of fruit which makes such a big difference! Three pieces of fruit in one day? Even when I'm not dieting I stick to two - what extravagance I generally don't seem so focused on the food this time though. I recall making mini lasagnes and fussing around with lots of ingredients to make interesting things, which of course get fiddly and frustrating and wears you down. I just had a very satisfying lunch of saltines, sliced tomato, a couple of shallots, fresh chilli and cream cheese. My goodness 70g of cream cheese is a LOT!

So, plugging away, all is going well. Ten weeks until my wedding day and I'm going to be teeny!!! When I get around to it, I'll post some before shots. My avatar is me in my wedding dress when I first tried it on last year and I look about the same now. I've bought it a size or two too small, so watch this space for when I post a pic of me in the real one - can anyone say MILESTONE?

Thanks so much for popping in Smileyrj, BAM, Missy and Carrieanne! I really didn't expect anyone to have posted during my absence so its was such a lovely surprise to read your messages when I logged on

MISSY!!!!!!! Now we're back together... together... I'm gonna show you.... my butt is oh so small! Haha, a little Kylie and Jason moment there. I'm so excited that you're here - just like old times. I checked out your photo albums and you're simply gorgeous, my dear! I'd not seen your "re-do" album from last August, my goodness you looked fab and trim! I love that you still check my blog even though I haven't posted in almost a year! I'll visit your diary shortly...

-N

[Smileyrj]

You go girl!

Great loss so far. You will be looking absolutely gorgeous on your wedding day. Such a great motivation for you!

Yes, I too am chained to the scales. It's my morning routine... toilet first then weigh! At first I was pretty obsessed with what they said, but now after being on the program for a bit over 5 weeks I've realised that there are some fluctuations over a few days. I used to get real down if there was no change or an increase, but I know now that it evens itself out over the week.

Keep up the good work!

[lil_doll]

Hey Nat!

Thanks for the lovely comments I'm nearly get back to where I was... I felt so much better before.

Only 10 weeks till your wedding?! Wow!!! Is your family coming to the US? How exciting!!

I've been allowing myself an exyta cracker/fruit... As I'm more than sure my plan would have changed had I gotten a new one. I don't think there is a cream cheese we can have here! *sad face* I love cream cheese!

[CLS]

Hi, I had read on Forum Philadelphia Extra Light was added but I can't recall the date. Am editing my entry now I just did a search and 2009 see a Messaage it was taken off again.
Now Im not sure.
Oops

[*BAM*]

I have Light Philli on my crackers, it doesnt do any harm or slow down losses.

[miss_nat]

Well here we are at day 6, I'm pretty sure I'm in the zone (or very close now) and apart from a rather icky day on Saturday I've been feeling great! I'd not experienced any detoxing side affects at all during the week and then suddenly on Saturday TOM hit as well as what seemed like all the delayed detoxing symptoms at once. Oh my poor head and achy body! I was so tired and ridiculously pale (which if you've ever seen my rosy complexion you'd know is difficult for me) that I had to go to bed! Felt much better after a nap.

I'm very excited about tomorrow's weigh in. Yes, I weigh myself every day so its not exactly a surprise but it'll be exciting to see what my first week's result is. I'm quite confident that I will hit my goal or come so close that it makes no difference. I had a terrible night's sleep last night so there was no movement at all this morning but I'm sure I'll sleep like a baby tonight - a 10 hour day on very little sleep will see to that! I'll do my week 1 measurements tomorrow night, as I took them at night last week - I just can't get up any earlier than I already am! I don't need to see the number to know I have lost lots of cm, I can feel it in my clothes and see it in the mirror - especially on the arms, my batwings are shrinking - yay

I cooked buffalo last night for the first time. Am pretty sure its the first time I've eaten it too. Its sort of the American equivalent of kangaroo and the only red meat apart from beef and veal on the program (well it says "game" is allowed but I'm not going to bother chasing after things that aren't freely available). Anyway, the buffalo was really nice when it was freshly cooked last night but oh my it was so tough when I had it reheated for lunch today. I had to chew so much that I feel like I had ten times as much food! Interestingly, I read somewhere that buffalo is one of the leanest meats with less fat than even skin-free chicken (although not sure if this is the breast or whole bird).

Hey Smiley. Thanks for the words of encouragement! Yes, my morning routine is the same. Had to cut my toenails this morning and had this semi sub-conscious thought float through my mind that I should have done it before I weighed in! Haha, as if that would have made a difference!!! I can assure you my toenails are not that long/gross

Hi Missy. So glad to hear you're almost back at goal again, you look AH-mazing! Yes the wedding is approaching fast and I am super excited now that all the planning is coming together. We're heading home for the wedding rather than bringing everyone here. We have 12 days in Sydney where we'll have the hens and bucks nights and then we're going up to Hayman Island for five days and holding the wedding there. At last count we have 34 guests joining us, so its going to be quite a production!

You're probably about right with your extra piece of fruit and cracker as we're about the same age and weight range. You'll be sad to know that a new program would have increased your cheese allowance! Not by a lot but its CHEESE!!!!

CLS, I'm having the no-fat philly variety that's available here in the USA, which is exactly what the plan specifies. I'm not sure if its the same product as extra light or not (I'm guessing it is and its just a difference in the Australia's labelling restrictions) or whether or not its permitted on plan. I guess the best place to ask is your clinic.

Anyway, that's enough of an essay for today. Back tomorrow with week 1 results and a ticker update - woo hoo!!

-N

[miss_nat]

YAY, YAY, YAY, YAY, YAY, YAY, YAY!!!!!! Week one goal met exactly - 4.3kg GONE

I'm not sure I can express in words how good this feels! Not only to have lost 4.3kg but to hit the exact number I was hoping for. I know 4.3kg is a pretty random amount but I started with a .8 so wanted round that down to a more normal number.

Very soon, in the next few days in fact, I'm going to achieve my first goal - under 70kg! I haven't been here since before Vince and I left Sydney just after we got engaged. I can't wait to see that 69 and I promise you I'll be farewelling the 7-somethings for ever

Now that I know how I'm tracking, I've reviewed my goals and have created a realistic plan around the upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Dr Cohen set my goal range as 56 - 59kg which is super teeny for me. I'm not very tall but (don't laugh) I have heavy bones. I can be slimmer than my birdframed bestie, her clothes too big for me and I will still weigh more. The only time I've been 56kg was in my early 20's when I'd lost weight due to heartbreak, a stomach ulcer and practically not eating - I did not look healthy. 59kg might be possible but I think its a stretch and I do not have time to get there before the wedding. So, my three step plan is ....

Step 1: Stay on plan 100% D-free for the next 6 weeks. The goal is to lose another 9.5kg to take me down to 61kg. That's a great weight for me and a weight at which I would be very happy wearing a wedding dress (and bikini!) and having hundreds of photos taken.

Step 2: Order my refeed program so I can start it on April 17 (end of week 6) which means I can refeed for 1.5-2 weeks before we leave for Sydney and have a chance to stabilise my weight. If I stay on plan all the way up to when I get on the plane, I just know I will easily regain half of my loss in the month we're away for wedding and honeymoon. Plus trying to get my head around refeed when I won't have my own kitchen will be a nightmare.

Step 3: After the wedding/honeymoon trip, go back on plan to repair any damage (goal is to not put on more than 2kg) and test whether Dr Cohen's range is achievable/correct. Then refeed again and maintain... for ever!!

I love this plan. I'm feeling so enthused, happy and positive - bring it on!!!

BTW, I realise that this is another essay and perhaps not very interesting to everyone that is not me but it really helps to write it down my goals and shout them out! Now they're real and I'm publicly accountable.

Ok, really must do some work. I have a meeting in 45 minutes that I have about an hours worth of prep to do for.

I hope you all have a super, fabulous day and feel as fantastic as I do - I'm pretty sure I'm high on HGH and success

-N

[Smileyrj]

Well done Nat! it's great to set out your goals. I bet you can achieve them all. So exciting for you knowing you are going to look gorgeous on your big day!

[lil_doll]

Whoa!!! Fantastic loss Nat!!!!!

You are less 10 from your goal! I know how good that must feel!!!

Your plan sounds totally do-able and I love the step by step guide!!

You know you have my FULL support... And I really truly wish you all the best so you can have your dream wedding and honeymoon!! You can SO SO do this!!!!!

Go Nat!!!!

[miss_nat]

Thanks Smiley and Missy for the words of encouragement! I can totally do this and am so excited that its my future. I realise that 9kg in 6 weeks is fairly ambitious but you have to aim big. If I get within 2kg of that I will still be very, very happy.

Since I started Cohen's again its been really interesting to see how my excitement level for the wedding and holiday have increased. I was so concerned that I was going to be a tubby bride and have to get in swimmers in front of all my family and friends (who've never seen me this big before - hello, not great!) but now I'm on plan I know its all going to be taken care of Just stick to the rules, plug away at it and we'll get there. What was it Miss_Nix used to say? Something about being committed everyday, I will have to look it up in her diary.

After my excellent result on Tuesday morning, the scale went up 200g yesterday and stayed there today. Funnily enough my BF% dropped by 0.2%. I'm not fazed at all by this slight increase and mini-plateau (I'm not allowed to be if I'm going to weigh daily) because I can feel myself going through one of those stages where the body is breaking down a chunk of fat that's about to come off and show in the scales in one big hit. I had to get up during the night to pee (one of the signs right?) and was unnaturally excited about my sleep being disturbed because I knew what it meant! Ah, its all about staying positive.

To help my little fat burning body get the job done though, I have shaken things up a little and employed a few of my favourite boosts - I'm expanding the gaps between meals to at least 6 hours (this is one thing my incredibly early starts are good for), I'm eating the same protein for lunch and dinner and am drinking an extra litre of water (3L pure water, 1L herbal tea). Hmm.. maybe that's why I got up to pee last night!!!!

Oh, I almost forgot. I took my measurements last night - a day late but I was so exhausted on Tuesday night I couldn't even find the motivation for that! Now I go a bit crazy with all the various areas that I measure, so I've bolded the Cohens measurements and only added those in to the total.

Neck: 32cm (-1.5cm)
Bust: 96cm (-4cm)
Under bust: 84cm (-4cm)
Waist: 81cm (-6cm)
Belly button: 91cm (-4cm)
Hips: 100cm (-2cm)
Widest part: 102cm (no change)
Left thigh: 52cm (-2cm)
Right thigh: 51.5cm (-1.5cm)
Left upper arm: 31cm (-3cm)
Left forearm: 21cm (-1.5cm)
Right upper arm: 32cm (-1.5cm)
Right forearm: 21cm (no change)
Total loss = 20cm

Have a good day peeps!

-N

[NicoleS]

Awesome CM loss MissNat

[Smileyrj]

What a great, positive attitude you have Miss Nat! And, well done on the cms lost.

[lil_doll]

Hey Nat,

Loving the positivity... And Nixxy had a diary full of inpsiring quotes, didn't she?!

Yay for cms lost!

I'm so happy you're feeling happy... You can see how great you will feel in the weeks to come (and especially for your wedding and honeymoon) just by how you're feeling now.

Oh I had buffalo when I was on plan in canada... I wasn't a fan. Too tough for me. haha. Plus I had it like a steak and didn't really put anything on it... I dunno if I'd be gamee (hehe) to try it again.

Originally Posted by miss_nat

CLS, I'm having the no-fat philly variety that's available here in the USA, which is exactly what the plan specifies. I'm not sure if its the same product as extra light or not (I'm guessing it is and its just a difference in the Australia's labelling restrictions) or whether or not its permitted on plan. I guess the best place to ask is your clinic.

Yeh the clinics thought it was going to be available here as well... the no fat one, that is... but instead it's only extra light here and that's not quite light enough for plan.

I was excited too... I love Philly!!

Catch up soon!

[yummymummywannabe]

Miss_Nat, you are doing fabulously. With your can do attitude you are going to blitz your plan. Keep up the great work. Have lots of fun with the wedding plans, how exciting!!!

[miss_nat]

Hi everyone, thanks for visiting and the kind words of encouragement

YMWB, yes the wedding plans are super exciting but I am falling in to the trap where I am so consumed with my new job and wedding plans I have nothing else to talk about! Hope my friends aren't getting too bored of it.

Hey Missy, I scanned back through my old diary and Nix's old diary and could quite find whatever it was I thought I remembered but she does mention consistency a lot. I think that's what it was about. I must send her a fb message and let her know we're back here together and missing her..

It sounds like the buffalo you had was overcooked. We had it really rare and it was fine. I didn't mind it, might do it again. We'll see.

What a shame about the extra light philly. Although I would choose mozarella any day over all other allowed cheeses. I had some difficulty finding a suitable one here in Texas and in the end settled for a part-skim milk mozarella sold at Wholefoods. The fat content is reasonable and didn't seem to affect my first week's loss, but will watch it carefully in future weeks.

Ok, so on to my update...

I realised shortly after posting yesterday that I was completely in error with what I stated below about the static scales/fat melting stage! I looked up the wording in my plan so I could post it in Smiley's diary and realised that NOT peeing so much is a sign that you're body's busy breaking down fat. It makes sense really as the fat is being disolved in water, so your body is retaining some water weight in order to do so. Oh well, I am still choosing to believe that I'm in this stage but I am peeing as much, if not more, because I am drinking so much damn fluid! My engagement ring is tight again which indicated I might be right. Look at that, give me a couple of minutes and I'll dig up some evidence to back up my own opinion! Should have been a barrister.

I've had a couple of big wins in the kitchen over the past week. First I made pico de gallo in bulk which served with pre-cooked, de-tailed prawns on crackers makes a super easy and quick Cohen's bruscetta. The PdG can also be added to some lettuce to make a quick salad or served on top of meat for flavour.

I'd also been really keen to create a Cohen's version coleslaw and finally got round to it last night. Made me very happy to use my food processor that barely gets to come out of the cupboard! I had it with poached chicken for dinner last night and mixed a boiled egg through it this morning for breakfast and it was DELISH! Plus because everything's sliced so thin and plumped up, it seems like a huge serving. I'll post the recipes in the recipes section shortly.

It's Friday morning here and the end of a rather long week. I'm so tired and my neck's so sore (chiro appointment tonight) that I just can't find any motivation to do any work! I've already checked my email, done some online shopping and now I am here! Thank goodness we tend to leave early on a Friday - come on 4pm!

-N