Cherry's Refeed Experience

[cherry59]

Thought I'd start a new thread to keep me on track and enable me to watch my progress in the next phase of the program

Started refeed Monday at 48.9 kilo, only 100g below goal. I was mentally ready to get onto refeed.

By the end of Monday my belly was so full and distended with the extra food. I managed, just, to get all the extra food in over the original plan. Amazing that before starting Cohen's I would eat fruit maybe once a fortnight and now it's 2 pieces a day most days!! And when I don't I miss it!!

So here's the run down of food:
Breakfast: Added 5g to 175 normal of yoghurt and 1/2 apple
Lunch: Added 35g extra Old veg and Nectarine
Dinner: Added 25g to steak and 5g veg then 150g rockmelon
3 crispbreads during the day

Tuesday
weight 49 +100g
Breakfast: Added 15g yoghurt plus 1 nectarine
Lunch: Fetta (60g) and 20g extra Old Veg and 1 slice burgen mixed grain bread
Dinner: Added 15g extra steak and 20g old Veg then 150g rockmelon

[cherry59]

Wednesday

Weight 49.1 + 100g total +200g Yuck!! Why?!
Breakfast: Yoghurt 175g + 75g blueberries (Delicious )
Lunch: 120g meat + 100g old veg
Dinner: Projected +60g protein and 40g veg (will be at Mum's so not too sure here)
Bread : 1 slice if needed leave for Mum's
Plenty of water it's so hot!!

will be away just 1 night, 3 meals so will have to guesstimate portions for this time, think dinner and lunch will be main difficulties.

Questions for those that have graduated

Do I need to have the bread if not really hungry or wanting it?
Can I use crispbreads instead? I can spread them out across the day.
Is the weight gain normal and does it drop of once the body gets used to the more food?

Thanks Cherry

[TheSkinnyMeInside]

Hey Cherry,

Seems like you are doing fine. Bummer the weight went up a bit but I think it is normal to go up and down a bit during re-feed. About the crackers vs bread. I think it was Pandora that said she didn't even have bread at all during her re-feed and just started to add bread now and has been post Cohen's for a while now. I would check on her re-feed posts or maybe PM her.

Keep up the good work. I am about 5.5 kg away from re-feed and it is very interesting to see how it is going for you.

Thanks,
Cindy

[pandora]

Yes Cherry, Cindy is right about me NOT having any bread during refeed, had no desire for it back then! I just stuck to the crackers - premium cos i enjoyed them AND also had not even been having crackers pre refeed etc.

I started having burgen bread as per other thread - just last week as now i am gyming 6 - 9 classes a week, i feel like toast again with my egg for breakfast - first bite should be protein always! Must be all that silly advertising with Michelle and Shannon every night on the Biggest Loser show for burgen bread! They sucked me in with their marketing! Anyway, it is yummy, lotsa seeds and dense!

As for the weight gain - what is "normal" etc - it seems to be an individual thing - just ignore it unless you gain more than 1kg total as per rules. Then go back 2 days etc.

[meagain]

Cherry,

The refeed is about finding how much your body can take, in terms of increase in amount and mixtures. I went up a couple of times, nothing greater than one kilo, so don't sweat on it. I found that reintroducing excercise kept this under control.

I tend to avoid bread now, sticking to crackers, however I did have bread during the refeed, either the entire allowance or I mixed it up. my refeed said no 'health breads' (which I was told included the dense seeded variety such as burgen) so I stuck to high fibre omega enriched white bread.

One thing I did, even though I went away during refeed, I took my scales (both kitchen and bathroom) with me and I stuck to my refeed exactly - it's not really the time to guesstimate - if you can prepare and take with you or arrange to cook at destination.

Originally Posted by cherry59

Questions for those that have graduated

Do I need to have the bread if not really hungry or wanting it?
Try to have at least one day when you have the full bread allowance, to see how your body copes.Can I use crispbreads instead? I can spread them out across the day.
Yes to both
Is the weight gain normal and does it drop of once the body gets used to the more food?
I found it dropped off, so long as I stuck exactly to the refeed.

I hope that helps.

Good luck, thugh it sounds like you're going great guns.

[TheSkinnyMeInside]

Hey Cherry,

Just checking in to see how your re-feed is going so far. Hope you are doing well.

Cindy

[cherry59]

Thanks for the answers to my queries. I love bead so thought I'd introduce it and check whether my theory that my family has an intolerance to yeast in breads, not in wine though!!. So far I've had 1 slice burgen nut a seedy one cos that's what I generally would have. Will reread the guidelines for bread tho.

Yesterday was a difficult day food wise as follows

Couldn't weigh accurately guess 49 something

Breakfast Normal yoghurt and 1 nectarine
Lunch Sandwich with chicken, cucumber lettuce tomato 2 slices bread and not enough filling.
Dinner Takeaway chicken, no skin mainly breast meat and lots of salad.

Drank heaps of water

Was at a country funeral and the luch was typical country food but I had nothing just water there. After the long morning we had lunch at 2pm then drove back to Adelaide. Dinner at 6.30 so that I could take my Mum to her friend's place the other side of the city so I could find it in daylight!! Was exhausted by the time I got back home.

Friday

Weight 49.2 Not happy Jan!!

Breakfast Normal yoghurt and nectarine
Recess 2 small plums
Lunch chicken (normal) +25g veg
Snack 1/2 peach
Dinner steak+60g +55g salad
Dessert 150g rockmelon


The one part of this program I really don't enjoy is the constant constipation. I don't feel yuck just not impressed that I have to resort to laxatives on a regualr basis with all the water and the roughage I eat!! Don't understand. nor enjoy! Maybe now that I'm exercising more it may help the situation.

[Annabelle Joy]

Have just read through your refeed diary, Cherry. Thank you for that detail. I've been wondering just what refeed entailed.

AJ

[a healthy life]

I love reading re-feed diaries. Thanks for sharing yours, and good luck with the remander of your re-feed.

[cherry59]

Another scorching day here in Adelaide but hope that the change comes through tomorrow as promised!!

Went to Semaphore again for a walk yesterday and managed to do a shorter walk so could actually have breakfast as we planned last weekend. The kitchens at the Palais aren't willing to change much on their menu but I got the egg, mushroom and tomato that i ordered but had to pay for the bacon, hash browns, chippolatas I didn't have!!

Sunday Weight 48.9

Breakfast Egg, mushroom, tomato and the crispy top of turkish bread (was a thick slice and the bottom went soggy from the mushrooms yuck!!)
Snack 1/2 serve each of rockmelon and pineapple
Dinner T bone steak, gem squash, zucchini, mushroom

Missed one meal but really felt the heat in the afternoon. Also slept through the grand prix so missed the timing for another meal.

Will fill in todays action later tonight off to gym may have a piece of bread before I go am allowed 3 today!!
Cherry

[TheSkinnyMeInside]

Cherry...you are doing so well with re-feed. Your weight seems to be mostly staying the same.

Congrats. Love reading your re-feed diary...thanks,

Cindy

[cherry59]

Well this morning I'm not impressed with the scales I'm up 500g to 49.4kg

This doesn't surprise me after the amount of food I was supposed to eat yesterday. I also did a pump and Step class so maybe that has some effect too.

Monday weight 49.0 + 100g from refeed

Breakfast Yoghurt and 1 kiwi fruit 1 slice bread (eaten in car on way to gym!!)
Lunch Chicken patty and 48g Mozz cheese and salad 120g pineapple
Snack 1 peach
Dinner 120g snapper and 50g prawns in tomato and onion sauce (Indian style no yoghurt, ghee just spices) 1/2 slice roti I counted this as 2 breads

Couldn't fit in the 1 bad fruit was going to have strawberries too!!

Another question for graduates

My portions of protein from now on to add is 120g and up to 200g extra veg. This is a huge volume of food that I'm struggling to get through each day. I'm alrady going to bed feeling bloated and distended without bread in the equation. Any tips of how to get that volume. Also what is best to leave if I can't get it all eaten, either drop volume veg and protein and eat good/bad fruits or leave fruit?

Also for those gymming did step classes (done at low impact) have any effect on your weight during refeed?

Thanks for the advise and encouragement

Cherry

[meagain]

cherry,

i overcame the so much food feeling by splitting it up through the day and having more than 3 meals - I put it in my refeed diary.

[TheSkinnyMeInside]

Hey Cherry...just a thought...but since fruit is optional I would remove that from your diet before removing any of the protein or veg. And if you split if up between meals that might help too.

Keep up the good work...it's shocking to hear that you are too full from the amount of food on the diet...doesn't it seem strange?

Cindy

[shell]

Hi Cherry,
I saw my consultant yesterday and she said if you have trouble eating all the amounts- cut back on the old proteins and old fruits & veg , but to have all the new stuff.
She also said to make a fruit salad with your fruit allowances and split that up during the day.
Hope that helps
Shell

[cherry59]

Thanks for the advise Meagain and Shell

I spoke to the clinic yesterday and came up with some strategies
Can't split it up into more than 3 meals a day so having cheese and salad late afternoon won't work!!

I'll revert to using iceberg lettuce as it's heavier for less volume!! And I'll include more cauliflower and tomato into the veg again more weight for volume
I've also been including onion into my stir frys and patties.

The theory was explained as the bigger volume of lower calorific food enables our bodies to deal with higher calorific lower volume (richer, fatter) foods such as you would have when you go out for a meal with no problems

It's only a couple more days and I introduce new veg and carbs again so then the heavier foods will make it easier to get the weight in!!

I also was told to leave out the old fruit and old veg in place of the new and to have at least 120g extra each day

Bread should be included, at least 1 slice to let the body deal with it
Hope this helps others as well

Wednesday weight 49.4 same

Breakfast Yoghurt and strawberries (feels decadent)
Lunch chicken and salad ( no lettuce)
Dinner Had brain freeze here so just chicken again cauli and tomato and small bake at home roll (= 2 slices)
Had marg on roll so = 50 ml milk I say anyway!!
Snack banana

Managed at leat 21/2 litres water

Did pump class
Bought some new scales that do body fat etc yesterday tells me that I need to work on the body fat % still so maybe after I've finished and had the mental break from weighing everything etc I'll go back to drop another kilo and drop the %. Hope that doing the exercise again will also help

Cherry

[shell]

Well done Cherry,
Sounds like you are working it all out
Have a great day
Shell

[Tuti]

Hi Cherry,

Refeed seems quite complicated. I was wondering if milk was re-introduced. After I finish the diet part I really do want to have my cappacinos again.

cheers

tuti

[meagain]

It must differ from clinic to clinic, consultant to consultant, as I got told I could have extra protein as cheese and biscuits as a snack. I got told I could have up to six small meals if I wanted (I didn't, but split up my allowance over the day with the majority of extra in the morning.)

[Annabelle Joy]

Thanks for reporting, Cherry. I find it really interesting to discover what is involved in refeed.

AJ