Gosh I feel dispirited!

[tweetybird]

Hi - I first did Cohens back in 2011 and since then I have been pretty happy with my weight, and have changed my diet and my eating habits for the better. But since about March this year (2014), stress at work has resulted in an alarming increase in weight. I know that this is because of alcohol, scones and sugar!
So just over 4 weeks ago I told myself that it was not good enough not fitting into my clothes any more and went back to my basic Cohen's prescription aiming to lose 14 or 15 kilos.
The first 2 weeks were great and I quickly dropped between 4 and 5 kilos. And there is no doubt that I feel better for the diet. However in the last two weeks I have absolutely plateaued. Sometimes up a kilo, sometimes down half a kilo - but overall just no movement at all. At first I thought that maybe I was not drinking enough water so I concentrated on making sure of that. But no difference.
I have followed my prescription to the letter, and I must admit that some evenings I am so hungry, something I do not remember from last time. I have not succumbed to temptation however - my mantra being "nothing tastes as good as slim feels" which is certainly true for me. Slim definitely feels great.
When I weigh myself in the morning first thing and things have not budged I feel so dispirited. Each day I think "it must start moving tomorrow". After 2 weeks of telling myself that, I felt so bad this morning that I thought I would go back to this forum for ideas........
Any ideas?

[MissNat]

Hi Tweetybird!

First up, dont panic! Dropping between 4 and 5kg is a THIRD of what you aiming to lose and pretty good going for that first few weeks.

I have a couple of ideas for you to think about.

On your last time around, did you weigh yourself as often in the first month? If you did, and you recorded it somewhere, it might be good to go back and take a look at those results for comparison. I remember on my first time around, I dropped then stabilized, dropped then stabilized-- like a bit of a pattern. I can't recall for sure (my first time was 2005/2006) but I think I dropped for the first two weeks, then slowed for the next two OR I dropped on weeks 1 and 3, not 2 and 4..... something like that.....

If you have it recorded somewhere, be mindful when comparing to look at your losses as percentage of total weight. For example, if last time, you started at (I'm just going to go easy whole numbers here-- I have no idea what you weigh!) 100kg, and lost 7kg in the first month, then you lost 7% of your total body weight. If this time you start at 80kg, a loss of 5.6kg is that same 7%.

I suspect that your body is just taking a moment to stabilize and is getting ready for another drop. In the meantime, maybe you could focus on body measurements instead of the scales? In addition to my drop then stabilize pattern, I often found that I would have a day where it actually LOOKED like I had lost weight, which would make me excited to get on the scales the next day, only to be disappointed when they hadn't moved. What I am saying is, maybe the scales and the measuring tape dont move in unison, and you can find encouragement there instead.

The hunger that you are experiencing at night-- that would be one to monitor. Some people on their second time around have reported being much more hungry and not losing and have found going back for a new plan has helped them. But as you have dropped in the first two weeks, I dont think you should have to go to this expense. Are you eating ALL of your crackers and fruit allowance each day? Are you eating them earlier in the day, or as part of your evening meal? It would make sense to save a cracker and fruit allowance to have when you are most hungry, if you are not doing that already. Are you possibly bored? The mind is pretty powerful when it wants to convince you that you're hungry... When I find myself feeling like this, gum can help- I get the feeling of chewing without straying.

I hope maybe this helps a bit.

[tweetybird]

Thank you Miss Nat - your wise words were a great help. And when i read back what I had written I realised that it was not such a long time I had waited with little result really.
I did do the % of body weight thing as you suggested and back in 2011 it was close to a 10% loss in the first month but then it did slow down considerably. This time the loss has been less - 6% - but after another week of complaining to myself it did start finally moving again. The pace of loss has been glacial but at least a loss.
Reading the notes again is always useful and lots of the posts on here are inspiring too.

More questions that someone may be able to help me with??
The rules say I must leave 5 hours at least between meals "to avoid mixing proteins" - can anyone tell me what happens when proteins are mixed?
In the re-feeding programme things like bananas, cherries, pears and strawberries are classed as "bad fruits" relating to "their effect on your body". Can anyone tell me what effect is referred to here?

Thanks for your help - everyone in this forum is very supportive and inspirational.

[MissNat]

Hello again tweetybird!

My program- in the Golden Rules section- says that the problem with mixing proteins is that it blocks production of HGH.

As for the philosophy behind the fruits? That one I have no idea! I looked into whether any of them were higher in fructose etc, but that got me nowhere! Anyone else got any ideas?