What happens if you don't finish Cohens - before refeed?

[jackie]

Hello

I am interested to hear from anyone who has done Cohens before (or others who just know) what happens if you don't finish Cohens? I assume that all the weight you took off you will put back on instantly? Are there any medical issues eg. problems with metabolism etc?

Don't worry, I am not piking out now - I read something today about another rapid weightloss program and the consequences of not finishing it led this person to suffer health problems and the obvious weight gain (all of it plus more!).

Jackie

[cath15]

I tried it twice before and stopped twice before refeed (due to overseas trips). And over time it all went back on (and more)

[Evave]

hi
i did cohen once before without finishing refeed and (for me) it was disasterous, i couldnt control my cravings at all and i gained half the weight that i had lost (lost 17, so gained about 8/9kgs, keep in mind that i', a very small and short person) until i decided to stop the gain there and redid the whole program with new blood tests and all..
as for medical reasons (i am no expert) but i would imagine that it would put on a great strain and stress on the body, i have read in numerous articles that it's extremely damaging to the body if you lose weight quickly and then put it back on even quicker than you lost it, which makes logical sense doesnt it? so i would derive from that that it would have a negative impact on your metabolism and especially on you hormones.

hope that makes sense
Evave

[heavenlylamb]

Originally Posted by jackie

Hello

I am interested to hear from anyone who has done Cohens before (or others who just know) what happens if you don't finish Cohens? I assume that all the weight you took off you will put back on instantly? Are there any medical issues eg. problems with metabolism etc?

Don't worry, I am not piking out now - I read something today about another rapid weightloss program and the consequences of not finishing it led this person to suffer health problems and the obvious weight gain (all of it plus more!).

Jackie

Hi Jackie,
I got to refeed, put on over 2kg during the first week, so went back on the program, then went on holidays, several business trips etc and I am just waiting for a couple of things to settle down over the next 2 weeks before I go back on the program to get down to refeed level again and then finish the program properly.
So, I am now between 3 and 5 kg heavier than when I started refeed the first time. But I fluctuate on an almost weekly basis between these 2 figures!
I think its wrong to think that the weight will go on "instantaneously"!! Weight doesn't go on without us eating in a way that will encourage weight gain! So, if you go off the program (or even finish refeed!) and then eat lots of fat, sugar and carbs, the weight will go back on. I try to live by the "after Cohen's" principles, so I am not weighing food carefully and I fairly regularly eat foods I shouldn't, but mostly avoid bread, rice, pasta etc. But then I will have a few days of low or no carbs and the weight goes back off again.
Cohen's is not a "miracle" cure - we need to continue to eat properly for the rest of lives to maintain the weight loss. If people don't finish COhen's but continue to eat roughly according the guidelines, they are likely to do better than someone who finishes the program and then throws caution to the wind and eats everything they lay their eyes on!
Having said that you are correct in saying that yo-yo dieting places a greater strain on your body than being fat and staying fat. The rapid changes to body of losing weight then gaining it again are very damaging. Generally speaking, you will not just put on the weight that you lost but some extra as well. In the past when I yo-yo'd I put on double of what I lost. This is why I am being so careful this time and monitoring my weight very carefully.
We should all be vigilant not to get sucked back into the weight gain again!
Pen

[kagiesen]

Finishing Cohens is crucial: Finishing the actual program is necessary because that will put all your hormones (which are THE REASON for being overweight in the first place) into balance. Once you are there, re-feed makes sure that by slowly introducing other food, you body learns to cope with those without your hormones going pear shaped again. What your body can cope with on last day of re-feed is basically what you're stuck with for the rest of your life.

If you're really young, your pancreas (which is the one which spilled out the out of control insulin before) might actually recover fully and some of those people find that after 2 years or so they can eat completely normal, if you're older, that is not very likely.

Hope that helps, this is what my consultant explained to me, she's very knowledgeable!

Katrin

[glassangel]

What your body can cope with on last day of re-feed is basically what you're stuck with for the rest of your life.

Hi Katrin - can you explain what you mean by this? Are you saying that what you eat on the last day of refeed is all that you can eat for the rest of you life?

[meagain]

Glassangel,

wouldn't you say that the amount of food on your last day of refeed is huge - compared to what you've been eating. I have 4 days to go on my refeed and I am already thinking about what I can drop off the menu - like the bread, the plain biscuits (which I haven't yet started having) and one piece of fruit.

In fact, if I drop it back a bit each day, I can probably have an 'indulgence day' a week without too much harm - but we'll see what the maintenance guidelines are for me.

[glassangel]

so we're talking amounts? Not type of food?

[kagiesen]

Originally Posted by glassangel

Hi Katrin - can you explain what you mean by this? Are you saying that what you eat on the last day of refeed is all that you can eat for the rest of you life?

It means that eg if on the last day of reffed you can have amount of your old protein (say two times 115 chicken (meal 2 and 3) ) plus amount slowly introduced through the re-feed period (say add 200 gr new protein and minus 80 old which is my instruction for last day of re-feed) that means you can have 115 +115 + 200 - 80 = 350 all together per day. Same with veg, around (for me): 470 grams per day plus about 4 pieces of fruit plus whatever you have for meal 1 plus (ifyou tolerate it) 3 slices of bread or 9 crackers plus about 50gr cooked carbs and 2 plain biscuits.

This is just read from my last day of re-feed, so if I go though re-feed without putting on weight, that's roughly where I stand. If you have a slice of pizza or more than 50 gr pasta, you may have to leave other stuff out, or do 2 days of Cohens or so to make up for it.

Hope that makes more sense, feel free to ask more questions if it doesn't.

Cheers

Katrin

[glassangel]

Okay - yeah that makes sense - so essentially the last day of refeed is all I should eat (in future) to avoid putting on the KGs?

Cool

[Kimmoi]

Hi - I'm on the program second time round....first time not only did I not do the refeed properly but I didn't get to the weight they wanted me to. I pulled up 5 kgs short. Thus, I am back. I've put on 9 kilos in 7 months but I also went to the gym and built up quite a bit of muscle.

I've been back on the program for 8 weeks now and I started with the thought I can deviate a lttle....NO, It really does take a week for the weight to start coming off again when you've deviated. I have now come to the realisation that you can't deviate and you have to follow all rules of the program.....I wish I had worked this all out the first time round.

Keep up the good work. It is so worth it in the end.

[shell]

*bump*

[FlaMie]

This is a WONDERFUL thread for people like me! That's it, after reading this thread, it makes me even more determined to get to goal weight now. Gee... I wonder what I'll balloon till if I don't. Thanks everyone for your intelligence

[thenewvee]

It's very important to remember that if you revert to how you ate before you started the programme, you will regain all your weight, espeically if you have not done refeed, but also if you have!

It is really important to work on the emotional issues that made you eat in the first place so that you became overweight, in order to maintain your goal weight! For some this is much easier than for others.

The working on the emotional issues is what will aid you in following the maintenance guidelines. I know I all too quickly fell back into my old habits which were emotionally driven and rapidly gained a fair bit which I'm now working to get off again!

Vee

[scarlet_]

Do you think it's possible to keep the weight of if you eat sensibly once you reach your goal weight and not do refeed? I'm working on an old program, I allowed myself to totally fall of the wagon last time round after had some health issues. I therefore never made it to goal weight, or got my refeed program. Financially I just can't afford to purchase a new program now, and I do know that this is most definately not the ideal set of circumstances, nor recomended. I was planning on kind of tailoring a refeed program for myself, slowly introducing larger quantities, and diff fods, and seeing what effect this has on me. I am determined to be successful in this, but was wondering what all of you thought?

Elle

[ConnieK..]

Elle,

In short I would have to say it's unlikely. That's based on what I have seen here and also what I have experienced since being on maintenance.

Sorry but it seems the refeed is definately the key to keeping the weight off permanently.

Perhaps talk to your old clinic, explain the circumstance, see if they can help you at all.

ConnieK