Kristine's Refeed Diary 2009

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 1
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Program #2 Start Weight: 74 kilos
Days on Program, 104 Days: End Weight 60.00 kilos
Loss: 14.00 kilos (15 from a peak of 75 kilos 10/10/2008 )
Feeling: Good.


Well first day of Refeed got off to a flying start!

I typed up the Refeed Program into easy to read tables and printed out the sheets to go with my usual log sheets

I have decided to Keep It Simple!

So I will increase Meal 2. I will keep Meal 1 and Meal 3 as per the Weight Loss Program.

My Refeed Program stays with Old Protein and Old Vegetables for seven days, increasing the quantity each day.
One Good Fruit is added and Bread can be exchanged for Crispbread from Day 1

Meal 1:
Yogurt and Kiwi
Meal 2:
Veal and vegetables (protein & vegetables at new weight)
Slice of Bread
Serve of canteloupe
Meal 3:
Chicken and vegetables (salad) at usual weights
Crispbread
Snack: Apple
Snack: Orange


Actually, I dislike the word 'snack'. I know it means 'something eaten between meals', but to me 'snack' always meant the eating of low value food, eg bags of crisps.

On Cohen's, snack is when I have eaten 2 of my 3 daily fruits, spaced out between Meals 2 & 3 and after Meal 3.

I shall have to think of a different word, but for the moment 'snack' will have to do.


Anyway, I haven't eaten Veal for a long time. I used to choose Veal & Mushrooms when eating out but haven't cooked it for myself for years.

It was really nice, and looked to be such a lot of food, but I enjoyed it and wiped my plate with the slice of bread. The bread smelt amazing, yeasty and fresh, and the canteloupe was lovely - juicy and refreshing. Don't usually eat that, either.


So off to a good start. Changing one meal will be a lot more manageable than juggling the increases & changes across the day. It also means that I can plan for that meal and perhaps do things a little differently as I go along.


But .... it feels a bit strange to be saying 'That's It!'

But .... IT'S GREAT TO HAVE ACHIEVED GOAL AND TO BE MOVING ON!!

Yay!

[Hopeful]

Hi Kristine

Congratulations on starting stage 2, you must be excited and relieved. I love the way you've planned things out with your re-feed, you make it sound easy, and as you say manageable. I think I'll try the same thing when I start.

Keep up the great work, which I'm sure you will.

[fair rose_za]

Hi
Well done on getting here
ONe thing i have to make u aware of.....you will be surprsied how filling the slight changes in wt makes to how u feel afterward. I, too, thought i'd keep it simple by making changes to one meal but soon found out(by day 3) that i would have to split it up, else i can't get it down!
But i guess we are all different so see how it goes but don't be surprised if u need to make adjustments.

[Kristine..]

Hi Rose

Yes, I know that the increased meals can present a problem. I have not experienced hunger at any time during the program, and during the 2006 refeed I did spread the increases out over two meals, as after the first day I found that otherwise I simply had no appetite for the third meal.

However, my main problem all the way through is that of timing. I work until late at night, so often Meal 1 is not until noon. I will try and have Meal 1 earlier in the day so that my increased Meal 2 is not too late.

I have been trying since November, 2005 to encourage my husband, Mike, to do the program but he has so far resisted all my efforts. His 'beer gut' (he doesn't drink beer!) has grown significantly during that time but I am hoping that my success - and enjoyment - of the program will eventually encourage him to lose what he really doesn't need.

Today, he was quite interested in my first refeed meal - 'Are you going to eat all that?' he asked. I pointed out that my increased meal size is about the basic male meal size and he wandered off, quite thoughtful. Later, I heard him telling No: 1 Son (who lives in London) that 'Your Mother has lost all the weight, is back down to 60 kilos, and started refeed today' so this has made an impact on him.

And my Sister, who has put on quite a bit of weight and is now certainly more than 90 kilos at a little less than my height, showed a bit of interest while we were out walking this afternoon. Usually she is very defensive about her weight and becomes angry if it comes up in conversation.

So although my First Cohen's was a great success, this Second Cohen's may be just as much example to others. The novelty of a really enjoyable and effective weight loss and control program is still something most people are interested in. Most weight loss programs are a waste of time and money, but not this one.

Cohen's is Pure Gold!

[Annabelle Joy]

Welcome to refeed, Kristine, and congratulations on getting to this point. I was interested to read in your signature that five wrong meals cost you five weeks. The thought that I might have my losses slowed down by a week with a deviation was enough to keep me deviation free. I note that many do manage a deviation and still have losses for the week, but I suspect it's more difficult the older we are.

Enjoy your refeed and you will be better prepared than most for the wide world of maintenance.

AJ

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 2
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good Today has only just started but I actually feel different to yesterday. Talking with Mike he was commenting, quite seriously, about the difference between being 'slim' and 'skinny'.

Once I pointed out that, at 9 & half Stone, I could not ever be called 'skinny', he seemed to make a decision, relax a bit, and became quite cheerful. 9 & half Stone is no jockey weight. It is a healthy weight, a strong weight, a good weight.

It's my weight.




Thanks AJ for looking in. The deviations I allude to were full meal deviations, not the occasion bit of something or taste of something. The meals were my choice, and my comments are there as I take the responsibility of a longer program than need have been.

After 2006, I held 60 kilos from 24/06/2006 steadily, with minimal variation, until I went to Sydney for a week for Corporate Induction in March, 2007. After that I sat at 62 kilos until August, rising to 67 kilos in February, 2008. After that, the wheels fell off and I peaked at 75 kilos on 10/10/2008, and now here I am again, back to 60 kilos.

Maintenance is easy, that is, steady and simple, but much depends on why we have lost the weight to start with. I lost the 27 kilos for me, and maintained 60 kilos for me. I intend to do the same this time.

In fact, I am quite happy to have been a bit longer on the program. I think it gave my body plenty of time to stabilise, and after all, there's no rush and it is the endurance ie keeping the weight off, which is the proof of the program.

[Mette]

So glad that you are here too, Kristine! Congratulations on reaching refeed! You are one very inspirational lady, and I have thoroughly enjoyed your pearls of wisdom on this program and taken them to heart.

It's interesting to see the differences in the refeed programs. Yours introduced the bread and new fruit immediately, whereas mine is more gradual. It's good that it doesn't happen all at once though. So many people have commented to me that I should be able to eat anything I want now that the diet part is over, not realising that doing so would send my body into shock and put all the hard work in jeopardy Dr Cohen has been right so far, so I'm going to continue to follow his plan!

Looking forward to taking this journey alongside you!

[fair rose_za]

Hi
I realised than other than the detox period, refeed may actually be as or even more difficult than the actual progem. It's very difficult to keep on track once u have reached your goal wt. I just hope i can persevere to the very end

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 3
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good

Yesterday (Day 2) was the same as Day 1

Increase old protein
Increase old vegetables
Add 1 Good Fruit
Exchange 1 Slice of Bread


Feeling good today, same weight, no hunger. Today, Day 3, nothing else happens, in fact, my first 7 days of refeed are the same but varying amounts of protein and vegetables




Thanks for calling by, Mette and Rose. Yes, Rose, but if we regard our Food as our Medicine to cure our obesity, and if our GP was changing our medication for a serious, long standing condition (which obesity is) they wouldn't just suddenly stop the medication or switch us, cold turkey, to another.

This transition is very important. It replenishes glycogen in the muscles, it adjusts us to 'food shock', and it really does allow a return to 'normal' eating with the capacity - unless we sabotage ourselves - to maintain our weight without fuss.

This is still a Medically Controlled part of the program. You are not Finished until you are Finished.

[Mette]

Wise words. I'll use those when people hassle me about the whole 'but you've lost the weight now, why can't you just eat this'.
Dr Cohen got me this far, and I trust that he knows what he's doing! I hope you're right that we'll be able to maintain without fuss by the end of it!

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 4
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good


Today's program included:

Increase old protein (more)
Increase old vegetables (more)
Add 2 Good Fruit
Exchange 1 Slice of Bread


So Meal 2 was an absolute feast!

I decided to make a real meal of it, and had the chicken & veg, well that was OK, then canteloupe, pineapple and apple as a fruit salad while I had all that protein in the system.

Good grief! It was all I could do to finish it!

This was because I hadn't really looked at today's program yesterday, and was busy today so should have had the apple between Meal 1 and Meal 2.

However, tmorrow is the same as today, and I have eaten all the canteloupe, so may end up with 2 serves of pineapple but will separate the serves.

The pineapple is lovely, but I had forgotten what it does to teeth!

During the program, the lack of plaque was really noticeable. Now, just one slice of bread and the sugary fruit and my teeth are furry. Not nice. Bleah!

I haven't had Meal 3 as yet, but have a nice piece of steak marinating in balsamic & mustard, and will grill that and have with my favourite mushroom & tomato salsa on baby spinach with Salada.

Definitely, increasing Meal 2 ad leaving Meals 1 and 3 as standard is working for me.

I have been invited to a Customer's house to eat Russian Ant Hill cake and drink tea with them. I shall have to tell them that this festivity won't be until I finish refeed, rather than go and decline on the treat. Last time I saw them, they made Prussian Honey Cake for me, and the impact of that cake just about lifted me out of the chair! It was superb!

Mr Customer was born about 1,000 miles north east of Moscow. When he was born the heating in the hospital was not working, and the temperature fell to -56 degrees fahrenheit.

I wonder how he is coping this week - Melbourne is expecting 40 degrees Celsius all week!


At least the heat makes drinking the water easy.


Mette, we must be firm with those 'well meaning' people. My Russian customers just want to treat me, and of course I want to be treated, but I cannot harm myself to be 'polite'. And they want to see my reaction and enjoyment, not just me being polite and nibbling at the Ant Hill.

And it's only another 12 days through refeed. The Ant Hill can wait!

[Mette]

Yeah, the important thing is to finish the program properly! And considering the amount of time spent on the program, the 2-3 weeks that is refeed goes by in a flash!
Just one question: what is an ant hill cake? It doesn't sound appealing, although I'm sure it's lovely.
Good to see you breezing along!

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 5
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good


Today was the same as yesterday. No increase in anything, nothing new, a day of consolidation

Today's program included:

Increased old protein (same as yesterday)
Increased old vegetables (same as yesterday)
Add 2 Good Fruit
Exchange 1 Slice of Bread

Today I had 1 x pineapple between Meal 1 & 2, and the 2nd pineapple with Meal 2.

I am now eating an apple and am still to have Meal 3, crispbread and an orange.

Meal 2 was a full size steak and a large quantity of salad. Amazing how far 1 teaspoon of dressing will go when you have got used to the small quantity.

The bread is now past it's best, but hey, who cares. I have run the electric knife through it and scattered 'croutons' over the salad.

Unfortunately, the Mazzetti balsamic vinegar has run out, and Mike bought some totally beautiful Moro balsamic vinegar, but it is fortified with concentrated grape must. Delicious, but too high in sugar. So my steak was marinated in red wine vinegar instead. Not as robust a flavour but nice none the less.


Keeping an eye on the ingredients in any purchased foods is very important. I shall look forward to having the Moro balsamic after refeed, but for now I cannot risk the integrity of refeed. From my past experience, refeed is what it's all about if we want to keep a stable weight.


Actually, think about the brilliance of this program.

We go Cold Turkey straight into the program and within a week it's like we have always eaten this way.

We lose weight at a steady pace, we shrink, we look good, we feel great, and we achieve our goal weight.

Then, one day, we start refeed.

And the weight loss stops as if we had put the brakes on! We go through this seasoning process where we ease our way back into unrestricted eating - include bread, and alcohol and refined food products, and walk away at the other end as if we had never been obese!

If we have avoided artificial sweeteners, and 'diet' soft drinks, then we will have de-sweetened our taste, too

So going into, and coming out of, this amazing program we are cared for all the way.

During 2006 I made a point of eating as wide a variety of food as I could throughout the program, and I have done that this time, too. I do think that the variety kept my body used to the challenge of different foods and probably contributed to the stability of my weight for the year or eighteen months before I lost the plot.

However, tomorrow I add more Old Protein and more Old Vegetabes plus 1 Bad Fruit, and 2 Bread.

Hmmm. 2 Bread? Two slices of bread is a sandwich! I can smell curried egg a mile off .... curried egg sandwich for lunch? Now, that's a plan - actually, make that Meal 1 so that I can keep all the increases for Meal 2. I have an evening appointment between Meal 2 and Meal 3, quite a distance away and as Melbourne will be 43 degrees tomorrow I shall take Mike's car, complete with bottles of water and an apple in a chiller bag.

And I can wear my tailored size 10 business pants, a crisp shirt and wear my new 'born again' weight with pride!



Mette, I have no idea what Ant Hill cake is. At an Open Garden day in October Mike and I had Canadian Lumberjack Cake at the tea stall .... What a cake! What an experience! We found all sorts of Canadian Lumberjack recipes through google but I went on the program so haven't baked anything for quite a while.

And it was Prague Honey Cake, not Prussian Honey Cake. A rose by any other name ... and that cake was amazing in anybody's language.

All I have to learn, of course, is that one piece is enough.

I don't need to eat the whole cake to prove the point.

One piece is enough.

I must remember that!

[Annabelle Joy]

Take care with the sandwich, Kristine. I tried one sandwich on refeed, and found it extremely filling, although others seem to manage okay.

I looked up ant hill cake in google. Have a look here at the third main item:
One of the traps for many of us (certainly for me) I suspect is not wanting to offend by saying no when offered a second piece of something, so we take it.

AJ

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 6
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good

Well, today was hot.

I mean, hot.

Really, really, HOT.

And luckily, my customer thought so, too, and postponed out appointment.

Unluckily, Mike thought it was too hot to go shopping, so I was sort of out of fresh food. But luckily, the steak I had weighed yesterday into two standard serves and which was quietly marinating in red wine vinegar and mustard powder, weighed exactly what I could increase Old Protein to today.

So today was:


Increase old protein (yes, again, now up to double the weight of the program serves)
Increase old vegetables (yes, again)
Add 1 Good Fruit
Add 1 Bad Fruit
Exchange 2 Slices of Bread


However, the bread has not survived the heat, so I had Salada instead. Much nicer, really, and as I am now eating more than double for Meal 2 than what I was eating this time last week, Salada are plenty.

I've never been much of a fruit eater, and I am now eating five pieces of fruit each day. Must say, though, that the pineapple is very nice and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the banana.

Tomorrow I get 3 Bread. Considering I waived the bread today, I may forgo the bread again tomorrow.




AJ, yes, the can of condensed milk! My Mother made Sunshine powdered milk everyday during the warmer weather, that was our pudding with fresh or stewed fruit. Pink pears that tasted of gas!

I was always envious of friends' Mothers who made Evaporated Milk icecream, and yet more, of the icecream with jelly crystals! What luxury!

Life was simple in the 50s and 60s. Very little bought or processed food. Mum was no baker, but a good cook. She grew a lot of what we ate, and only bought what was in season. We even grew our own chooks, and would take them away on holiday with us! I kid you not! When the chooks were on the lay we were not going to leave them behind. My parents had a Vauxhall with running boards, butterfly doors and a dickie seat, and the chooks were put into the dickie seat. They had their own netted compound when we were camping. Couldn't go and leave the chooks behind!

Obesity was not a problem back then. One Chocolate Frog each was a special treat. Lemonade was for when you were sick, or for a Birthday treat. Our grocer used to weigh out the biscuits, and Mum would buy a counted number. When they were eaten, there were no more until next week.

Mike and I have tried to not have lots of processed foods or confectionery in the house, but we have still put on a considerable amount of weight each over the years. We just, simply, eat too much.

But seriously, if I had to eat each day what I am now eating on refeed, I think I would go mad. Today was a lot of food and I haven't eaten Meal 3 yet!

[Annabelle Joy]

Kristine, I can relate to your stories of life in the 50s and 60s. I lived on a farm, chooks, turkeys, cow, fruit, vegetables. My mother was a great cook, and her specialty was pastry -- Cornish pasties, matches, also lamingtons, always desserts with meals, lots of butter and cream. Our family did have an obesity problem, but I agree, most did not.

I was referring to the link to your diary in the Google list. It's a bit disconcerting to discover that anything we post here is likely to appear in the top two or three items in a Google search. I've already discovered this with my own diary, and gone back and removed bits that I don't want showing up so prominently.

AJ

[Mette]

I does sound like your refeed advances quicker than mine, Kristine. It's interesting to notice the differences. I'm just at the stage now where the amount of food is perfect. I'm still looking forward to rice, though

I hope you and Mike are able to find a happy medium with the quantities that you eat after you finish the program.

I had a look at that Ant Hill cake. Goodness, that's a heart attack waiting to happen! As long as it's only one piece, though, I'm sure it will be ok.

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 7
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good


Today I look different.

I don't weigh any different, but I look plumper.

Refeed is also about refeeding and replenishing the muscles and I can actually see a difference.

Today is a 3 Bread day


Today's Menu:

Increase Old Protein (yes, even more!)
Maintain Old Vegetables (same increased weight as yesterday)
1 Good Fruit
1 Bad Fruit
3 Bread.


Mike went shopping at the crack of dawn and came home with some fresh light rye bread.

I had 2 slices of this with Meal 2. I will have the third slice today as this is also what refeed is about - checking and observing what, if anything on the refeed program, causes an increase in weight.

Mike also bought a bag of Coles frozen whiting fillets, 1 kilo for $10.89.

I wish I had thought of frozen fish earlier. I enjoy the tuna, but there is only so much tuna and only so many ways of eating it. I shall have a standard serve of whiting for Meal 3, with a standard salad - maybe lettuce instead of baby spinach for a change, and the third bread.



Tomorrow, despite the heat, may have to be a cooked Meal 2. I have even more Old Vegetables to eat tomorrow, plus 3 Bread, so I think a chicken curry will be the way to go. At least cooking reduces the bulk a bit. There is a limit to my chewing capacity - my jaw is getting tired - so curry in a hurry will be d'jour.



Tomorrow is a 2 Bad Fruit day. Luckily, the pineapple is almost gone, the watermelon is in the fridge, and some nice, but firm, pears are ripening on the bench.




AJ, the internet search engines will find almost anything.

No: 1 Son develops websites and always makes sure that websites have searchable words. This enables the 'free' searches to find the site.

The more times a word is searched, the more times the engine will find the same link.

But, after all, you sell Thermomix. The link in your signature is not necessarily searchable as the word Thermomix is in a run and presents as one word 'joysthermomixexperiences'. If you added Thermomix as a separate word in your signature that would come up in a search engine. Thermomix Australia may be even better.

Actually, I'm being a bit cheeky with this. Thermomix Australia chocolate may be even more potent! Or just simply, Thermomix Experiences.

The more times that search result was clicked through, the more times that result would appear.


Having participated in internet Forums since about 2003 I have learned to share, but not to expose. It's a fine line but an important one.



Mette, I get milk on Monday and carbohydrates on Tuesday. Hmm. Rice, or a glass of wine? Stay tuned, folks, as the exciting refeed program unfolds in all it's glory!

[fair rose_za]

HI Kristine
Great going on refeed
Boy do i hear you..with all the food that is. I tend to eat chunks of cucumber to make up the weight. Can u imagine eating lettuce in those weight? Only thing is now i go thru a cucumber every second day! Unfortunately i don't really like the other veggies

Hope the rest of refeed passes by in a flash

[Kristine..]

Dear Diary


Refeed Day: 8
Refeed Start Weight: 60.00 kilos
Today's Weight: 60 kilos (9&Half Stone)
Feeling: Good


Today's Menu:

Maintain Old Protein (same increased weight as yesterday)
Increase Old Vegetables (gurgle!)
2 Bad Fruit
3 Bread.

And today was MIXED PROTEIN Day, and no minimum 5 hour period between meals.

However, my program says to increase meat, poultry or fish only.

So for Meal 2 I did my usual herbed chicken, and ate that with 1 Bread, while my spicy gumbo and whiting was cooking, and had that with the 2nd Bread.

Bad Fruits were watermelon and banana.

I will have cheese pizza on the 3rd Bread for Meal 3.



Fish, for me, was always how my Mother cooked it: Rolled in flour, and cooked very slowly in butter on a shallow griddle until golden brown, served with buttery mashed potato and lemon.

Cooking a 'fish stew' (using the Coles whiting fillets) was actually very nice. A better result than yesterday when I overcooked the fillet. The whiting certainly makes a nice change to the tuna - I could have been doing this earlier. After all, 1 quarter of a Salada, pulverised, would make sufficient 'crumbs' to coat a standard serve, and grilled under the griller would be better than trying to 'fry' in a dry pan.

As I intend to continue with Cohen's style meals for breakfast and lunch, I shall work my way through these fillets and no doubt will find a really tasty way of cooking them.

So despite feeling really pudgy, my weight has not changed in a week. Bread, while nice to eat, does contribute to the pudgy effect. I'm glad I have rye and not wheat bread.

Tomorrow is milk day. I think a lttle steamed egg custard with nutmeg would be in order. I have no intention of going back to 'white coffee'. I can track the start of the weight gain to 'white coffee' and am used to black coffee so that's what I will continue with.

We very quickly fall in to habits with food. I can remember putting sugar in coffee one day and after that, every cup had milk and sugar in it.

Part of the benefit with Cohen's is that we can de-sweeten our taste. If it is weeks or months since we had milk in drinks there is really no reason to start again.



During the time I maintained 60 kilos, just about on the knocker, week after week, I drank black coffee, avoided wheat and dairy products on a daily basis, continued with yoghurt and kiwi for breakfast, and a protein and vegetable lunch. I ate whatever was going for dinner, and there was always a block of dark chocolate and a jar of almonds on the bench.

When we went out I drank wine, ate desert, put no restriction on myself and was rewarded with a continuing and stable weight.

I even have a record of the weekend I splurged and bought delicious, creamy cakes from the Blue Rabbit and still showed no increase in weight. But that was a 'once off'. My vigilance at using the tools I learnt on the program, that of starting the day with protein and having protein in sufficient quantities to regulate insulin was rewarded.


So tomorrow is another day. I look forward to to the freedom to choose to have milk or not, and to have bread or not, and will have milk tomorrow, just as I will continue to follow refeed and have 3 Breads tomorrow, but 'out in the wild' I will not.