Clean eating, happy living! GAME ON!

[Light_Life_Love16]

Hi Guys,

I'm starting tomorrow, my fridge is full of fresh foods and I'm super excited! I'm 31, a mum of 2 gorgeous girls and a wife to a very supportive and encouraging husband. This is actually the third time I am doing this program, but this time I am committing to it until the end. 100%. No deviations. I'll miss Christmas lunch if I need to!

I know my triggers, and what I struggle with. I know what I'm getting myself in for. I know the kinds of food I want my family eating and enjoying. I know this works. I know this is my time.

Looking forward to posting my results up here, and look forward to making contact with some of you, to both give and receive a helping hand and supportive words!

Ciao for now!

[AZ1908]

Hi LLL16,

Good luck! I look forward to watching your progress and seeing your success!!!

Have a great week!

[Francesca]

Hi LLL

Best of luck! I love your attitude!

[neets]

Welcome LLL16, good that you have supportive partner helps alot. When i'm feeling a bit blue mine always reminds me of what i have achieved and that even little wins are success. Keep the positive mindset going, and christmas dinner, is that christmas in July?

[Light_Life_Love16]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your support! I really enjoyed my first day! I felt hungry occasionally but either made a cuppa or ate some fruit and crackers (allowance) and all was well. I had a omelette for breaky, a feta salad fur lunch and steamed fish and veg for dinner. Yumm!
I spent ages weighing and packing my protein portions for the next week, according to the menu plan I write up. It feels nice to know i just need to take out the following days food from freezer and add veggies.

Neets, my comment about Christmas was avout Christmas in December...I have 56 to loss so I imagine I'll still be trucking away at it by then.

And those triggers I was talking about? Here they are....

1. Deviations. If I take a time off from the program (even just one meal!) then I can find it super hard to get back on program, a meal becomes a weekend, a weekend become a week of bingeing etc.

2. Comments from others. I used to worry about what others would think of the program. People's opinions can sway me and my attitudes. Surely my results will speak for themselves.

3. Emotional times. During times of high stress or emotion, I used to have attitude of 'well, it doesn't matter anyway, what I'm doing isn't important in the scheme of things.

I will so my best to be aware and to manage these triggers with planning, preparation and generally positivity.

Ciao for now!

[Light_Life_Love16]

Super excited....I've had a very successful second day in the face of two fairly large temptations!

Number one: I hosted a girls afternoon, my friends brought champaign, chocolate, crackers, cheeses, the works. I stuck to my program.

Number two: Our best friends turned up, and we decided to do dinner together, unplanned. I made up a chicken salad for everyone, and managed to prepare my own off to the side without fuss.

Yay me! I had lovely meals today, and got all my water in without hassle. I'm tired though, an early night for me tonight.

. Ciao for now!

[Francesca]

Wow LLL!! Well done on resisting two major temptations!

We started Cohens (well, we're both repeat Cohenites) one day apart. I'm not sure I have the same level of determination and discipline as you though. Will keep visiting your diary to keep myself in check too.

Btw do you use any dressing in your chicken salad? I know we are allowed some things that would work well in a salad dressing but haven't quite figured it out yet. Most of my meals are cooked.

[Light_Life_Love16]

Just wanted to jot down my thoughts after completing day three....

I'm really happy I've decided to do this program. It's entirely in alignment for how I want to live long term. It makes me happy to test things out for my meals, and I haven't had one bad meal yet. I'm really looking forward to this becoming normal though, as at the moment i am really preoccupied with it all. I look forward to it becoming an everyday thing, so that I can't start to focus on the other things I enjoy. It's taking up a lot of mind space if that makes sense.

I am pondering my attitude towards this as well. I'm a returned customer of cohens, I didn't make it past the third month last time for crap reasons and rubbish excuses. I'm at a different point in my life now though, and enjoying it so much more this time. But I have actually only share my commencing this program with a few people. My sister, my best friend, my husband (obviously) and my mum. I actually want to avoid getting into conversations with others about what I'm doing, because people can often be quite opinionated about diets, money spent, and the methodology behind everything. And to be honest, I don't know all the answers. I've signed up for so many diets and program's in the past, I feel like people will almost be rolling their eyes (here we go again). So if I'm asked, I am actually going to tell people I have made a commitment to eat clean, control my portions and focus on my health. If they want to know more, I will tell them the whole truth, but I'm kind of waiting for my results speak for themselves. I understand that you need to be honest and get support, and I will do so as I need to (in the event we go to a friends house for dinner and I need to take my own etc), but I'm not going to advertise it to all this time. I'm going to be the quiet achiever.

Ciao for now.

[Light_Life_Love16]

Originally Posted by Francesca

Wow LLL!! Well done on resisting two major temptations!

We started Cohens (well, we're both repeat Cohenites) one day apart. I'm not sure I have the same level of determination and discipline as you though. Will keep visiting your diary to keep myself in check too.

Btw do you use any dressing in your chicken salad? I know we are allowed some things that would work well in a salad dressing but haven't quite figured it out yet. Most of my meals are cooked.

Hi Francesca!

Great to hear we are working on a similar journey, I will check out your diary and keep in contact to watch your progress. What made you come back to cohens?

[Light_Life_Love16]

Life is becoming a new kind of normal, and I am about to face a few challenges coming up in the next few weeks.

I talked about not advertising to everyone that I am doing this to avoid opinionated conversations.... My brother sent me txt describing a delicious slice he'd just made that he wanted to share with me. I simply replied 'sounds incredible! But don't share any me just right now. I've just recently committed to losing this weight, I need to be 100%. Hope that makes sense and doesn't sounds ungrateful.' He replied, no worries. Should he want to know more, i will tell him. But I'm happy with my response for the moment.

You see, I'm trying to not make this a massive deal. I'm trying to work on just achieving rather than doing a big song and dance about it. People will see it in time, no doubt....I have 56 to lose!

Also, we've been invited to an engagement party on the weekend, which starts at 6pm, so I imagine its going to be a dinner provided thing. It will be my first day when I will need to take my own along, so I am expecting some comments. I'm prepared for them.

And I have a morning tea with some girlfriends next week, but that will be easy enough to avoid catering. I'll just enjoy a cuppa.

Feeling strong and happy with my program at the moment, though I'm conscious most people feel like this at the beginning. Consistency is the key for me.

[amouage]

Hi there LLL
You go girl! Good on you for throwing yourself in 100%. It looks like it really is your time. You will feel amazingly well and in control as the weeks progress, it is the common experience.

All the best

Am

[Light_Life_Love16]

Originally Posted by amouage

Hi there LLL
You go girl! Good on you for throwing yourself in 100%. It looks like it really is your time. You will feel amazingly well and in control as the weeks progress, it is the common experience.

All the best

Am

Thanks for the comment and reading my diary Am, I am really enthusiastic this time. I've tried so many things previously, but this is the answer for me.

[Light_Life_Love16]

Things are going so well for me, I've just complete my first week deviation free. My family are being super supportive with accepting the meals I am dishing up for them, and I am enjoying going through each feeling proud and in control. What an empowering thing to feel, for someone who felt so out of control previously!

I'm not getting hungry until meal times, and occasionally during the night when up with my 10mnth old daughter. But not to the point where I am looking for food, thankfully.

My jeans are already feeling looser and sagging around my legs and bum, my husband noticed as well, which was lovely. Very much looking forward to seeing the measurement results tomorrow morning.

The other bonus I noticed today is that I'm feeling happier than I have been recently. I have a better attitude to playing with my girls and seem happier with my husband. I am also feeling sexier in the bedroom, just knowing I'm doing something right for myself. Confidence. After just a week!

Dream result!

I just can't wait to start notching up more weeks completed, more months completed, all deviation free.

Ciao!

[Light_Life_Love16]

Stoked to measure up this morning and find I have lost 15.5cm in my first week. Winner! Refocused for the next week now, need to do a little organising tomorrow and a little shopping as well, and I'll have it sorted for a second week in a row.

Celebrating 8 days deviation free.

[Cazspaz]

You have a great positive and strong mindset and it's going to get you very far! Keep it up and you will get to goal, it's such an amazing experience.

Thank you for sharing, it's inspirational for me right now as I need to remind myself of why I started all this and why I need to focus in maintenance and stay positive just as much as I did at the start too.

[Light_Life_Love16]

Originally Posted by Cazspaz

You have a great positive and strong mindset and it's going to get you very far! Keep it up and you will get to goal, it's such an amazing experience.

Thank you for sharing, it's inspirational for me right now as I need to remind myself of why I started all this and why I need to focus in maintenance and stay positive just as much as I did at the start too.

Thanks Cazspaz,
Funny you are here in my diary, I just sent you a pm to say hi and let you know we seem to have similar start weights and goals. I can't wait til I am where you are now. just think how close you are to get back I goal!

Keep in touch, good luck with your refocusing.

[Light_Life_Love16]

12th day completed so far, deviation free. I am looking forward to having a little more time notched up to celebrate, 12 days doesn't seem much at all. Still, it's a pat on my back.

Also, looking forward to measuring on Thursday morning. I like to see these results.

I'm not focused on weight loss goals, or time frames. Not at all. I'm focused on top doing the right thing everyday....that's it. The rest will look after itself. And at the end of the day, I won't be able to change the weight loss results if I am already putting in my best. So I can say hand on heart, I'm doing what I need to do, and the program will work how it should with my body.

It's still been something I am quietly achieving away at, not advertising and bragging about. I'm not even going to tell people about my weightloss numbers (other than my husband) because I just want the focus to be on my lifestyle and smart choices, not about the numbers on the scales. I just want people to know I am eating what is right for my body. End of story.

Winning!

Ciao for now!

[mesmer_eyes]

Hi LLL!

Thank you for your last post Most of us can go nuts watching the scales daily so this is a really healthy way to look at your CD journey!

And congrats on being deviation free for 12 days. I remember my 1st few days being CD clean,my mood has significantly changed to happy and light. And In no time, you will feel your clothes loosening up and you will feel more motivated to continue..

keep going and cheers! (DC cheers )

[Light_Life_Love16]

I'm feeling both encouraged and relieved to see some great cms coming off after my second week, all 100% deviation free.

I measured a loss of 19.5cm this week, and 15.5 last week, and it's starting to show in my clothes. I'm still trucking along, finding it easy to maintain momentum at this stage without much fuss.

I cooked up some mini quiches (of sorts) for breakfasts this week. Onion, mushrooms and baby spinach and egg. All measured and cooked individually to ensue correct weight and allowances of course. I get to mini quiches to my allowance, which is great. Looking forward to trying them it in the morning. They will make the perfect rush breakfast.

Anyway, progress is going well and as always, my eyes are further along the line, waiting for the time when I can brag that I have been treating myself well for a long time....and not just two weeks.

Ciao for now!

[Relles]

Hi there LLL,

Well done on your progress so far! Such a great feeling getting those clothes looser and looser.
I was pretty similar to you in terms of what I said.
I told people that I was eating clean, had eliminated all preservatives etc, for health and allergy reasons, and they were only told if they asked. I never mentioned the words "I'm on a diet".

I love that awesome feeling you get when you are over detox, of how good you feel and the realisation that you are doing it!
Well done again!