heidimama's Diary

[Donzie]

Well done Heidimama DAY 8!!

Yeah, I remember being really hungry around this time on the plan, I don't think it's real hungry so much, more the body protesting about the lack of food it's receiving. Hang in there, it's just one of the hills you have to climb in the early weeks.

I find it strange those supplements would be ok too. Linda my consultant is a Cohen's nazi, nothing gets past her with regards to adding things to the plan, she won't even let me add onion powder (garlic powder is ok though.) Anyway, time will tell if it makes a difference or not.

Good luck with the work events - no advise there - just do what feels right for you. You have so little to loose comparatively (to me) you'll be done and dusted by 10 weeks I reckon, if it takes 12 weeks instead - no biggie me thinks.

Take Care XX

Just wondering, are you Japanese? Where are you from?

[Heidimama]

Day 8 cont'd

Hi Donzie! Thanks for dropping by with encouragement. It really means a lot to me. It's good that Linda is strict - it shows that she cares and wants you to succeed, I think. I was looking at the weight loss progress I had last year when I lost 15 kg. The first 10kg or so I lost over months by eating 3 proper meals a day and cutting carbs gradually. When I followed a Cohen's-type diet with small portions of protein (including pork and oily fish) and vegetables, and limited fruits, no crackers, I lost 5.4 kg in one month. If I have similar results with this plan this month, I would be very chuffed. I really hope I can get to goal in 12 weeks. So from your lips to God's ear, Donzie! I am from New York by the way, but I've lived here for about 10 years.

So here are today's meals:

B: yogurt with cinnamon
S: crackers, apple
L: beef, cabbage, shimeji, onion, cauliflower, crackers, orange
S crackers, apple
D: chicken, shimeji, onion, cauliflower

Multivitamin, vitamin D, vitamin C

I think my collarbones are getting a little more prominent.

On the other hand I have a few pimples on my forehead - part of the detox?

Ready for my bath and a very early night.

(You know what I love about being on plan? Not feeling regretful or full of self-recrimination at bedtime. When I think about the day as I doze off, I am satisfied about that achievement.)

G'night!

[Jay's Wife]

1.8kg lost in a week, that is fantastic Heidimama. I think take your EP meal with you, ask someone that you are on a medical diet (well Dr. Cohen is after all a medical doctor) and then you will be able to eat and not feel deprived. Can you not find out in advance?

[allie_82]

Hello Heidimama!

Well done on your losses for the first week you are doing a great job!! I agree with Jay's Wife, take your plan with you and maybe try and find out in advance if you can request 'special meals' tell them it is for medical reasons...? I hope you can

I am really enjoying your journey so far and looking forward to following you along the way!

Allie

[Heidimama]

Day 9

When I woke up this morning, my head didn't feel heavy or foggy, as it has for the past few days. I made it to the gym after breakfast and had enough energy to lift heavy weights and do 30 minutes on the elliptical. After that I felt so good I tried jogging on the treadmill, something I haven't done in more than ten years! Stamina-wise, I was OK, but my left knee hurt a bit at first. I did about 10 minutes and could have go on but between the knee and the diet, I decided to stop. I definitely want to do it again as I weigh less.

I felt hungry when I got home, but not ravenous, thank God. On my way home, I stopped by the supermarket and wasn't distracted by my old favorites. I just got my protein, fruit and veg and came home to stretch. (I totally forgot to do that at the gym, I was feeling so good!)

Ooooh, visitors! Yay!

Jay's Wife and Allie, thank you very much for the encouragement and the advice. I feel a little uncomfortable asking too much about the food at the events. I really have no desire to deviate at this point. The Saturday event is only 3 hours long so I will eat beforehand and push the food around the plate if necessary or just explain that I don't have much of an appetite. On Friday I think we will get Japanese bento boxes (and let's hope that is also the case on Saturday) in which case I can just 'save' mine for later and give it away.

B scrambled egg with shimeji and tomato, crackers, apple
S crackers
L beef stirfry with asparagus, cauliflower, onion, spinach, crackers, orange
S apple

And for dinner I will have
D cod, oyster mushrooms, asparagus, tomato, onion

I almost forgot: down 400g this AM. Dunno if it has anything to do with stopping the Amino Sports Complete, but I will continue to stay away from it.

Going to have another early night. I believe in the idea hours before midnight being especially precious for healing sleep.

Happy Cohening!

[Jay's Wife]

You are cranking girl! 2.2kg in 10 days, well done.

[Heidimama]

Hi JAy's Wife,

I really appreciate the cheers. Your post made me realize I made a mistake with my day count - I've edited it.

[Heidimama]

Day 10

I was hungry most of the day, and tempted to have extra crackers, but I held fast. Had to force myself to concentrate on tasks. I hope tomorrow is easier.

B: steamed fish, cauliflower, asparagus, tomato shimeji, crackers, Apple
S: cracker
L beef cauliflower, onion, maitake, spinach stir-fry, crackers, orange
D: scrambled egg, tomato, onion, maitake, Apple

I didn't have as much energy as yesterday and I was a little sore from my workout.


Posting this early on Friday morning as I didn't remember to post last night.

[michiemama]

Hi Heidimama!

Looks like you've gotten off to a good start, and managing your intake quite well. Just wondering - my memory may be failing me, but I thought we were supposed to cut down on physical activity and exercise... I believe it was because it burns too much calories, and puts your body into starvation mode, therefore your body starts to store fat, instead of losing...

Maybe double check with your consultant before doing any more exercise?

[Heidimama]

Hi michimama! Thanks for stopping by and for caring - I am loving the love. I was exercising before I started the plan so I was told it is OK to continue unless it causes hunger. I have cut down from going to the gym 3 times a week as I just didn't have the desire or energy. But when I do work out at the gym or just take a walk by the river, I feel physically and mentally really, really good. I won't overdo it and if I find that the scales aren't moving, I will cut down even more.

And they moved this morning - down 600g. Yay! I can feel that the back fat above my bra is all squishy and soft, suddenly, so something is happening.

But the best thing about this eating plan is what I think it is doing for my heart health/nervous system. This afternoon when I had to do some public speaking, I didn't go into panic attack mode, with a racing heart and the sweats. I was just nervous the way I used to be nervous before I really started abusing my body. That was the best feeling, and even when I made a mistake, I was forgiving of myself instead of being overly self-critical.. I have no business going back to my old eating habits when it is clear that they are bad for me in every way.

Today I took my own Cohen lunch to work, and gave my catered lunch box to the one person who knows about my diet. I was able to enjoy my lunch quietly in my office. Lovely.

And I will just eat before tomorrow's event - I don't think it will be a big deal after all. It does mean I will have to get up hella early for breakfast. All the more reason to get to bed soon.

B: beef, cauliflower, maitake, asparagus, stir fry, apple
L: chicken, onion, asparagus, shimeji, cauliflower stir fry, apple, crackers
D: mozzarella melted on mixed mushrooms and cauliflower served with fresh tomato, crackers, orange

Was not hungry between meals. I think that beef breakfast, although daunting, set me up really well for the day.

Thanks for reading and Happy Cohening, everyone.

[michiemama]

Good on yah for getting thru your events! Yay for your scales! Look at your ticker go!

Question: do you happen to originate from California? I don't see "hella" very much, except for the Bay Area!

Also, you probably get bomb produce and proteins, being in Japan! It's been my dream to vacation there...

[Heidimama]

Hi michiemama! I am from NY, but I have spent time in the Bay Area so that is probably where I picked "hella" up. Are you in the Bay Area? And yes, the produce is nice and not very expensive in my area. What I really love is the variety of mushrooms I can buy cheaply. And yes, proteins are good too. I live near a fish market so when I have time and wake up early enough, I can get nice seafood. Pity I have developed an allergy to shrimp. Speaking of food, I was looking at your food pics! Everything looks so delish! You really got creative with your meal plan.

Day 12

So today...

I didn't sleep very well - I was overthinking some of the day's events. Thank you brain. And then I woke at 5:00 to scarf down some yogurt and tried to go back to sleep. Then I had to get up for a 7:00 AM Skype appointment and couldn't get back to sleep. I ate before I left for my meeting and then... bam! They had us socialize at a big table over bento lunch boxes for the first hour of the meeting with all the bosses. So I sat there paralyzed for a bit and then just opened the box and had a few bites of the protein. It was OK, but I had no interest in eating it. The salad had tiny shrimp in it, which I luckily noticed before I put it in my mouth. And I closed my box, explaining I had already eaten and that was that. So I have deviated, and it is annoying and disappointing, but I am not devastated. I came home and had my regular plan dinner.

As I have mentioned, there is one weekend trip for work coming up where I will probably be in a position where I have to deviate once again. I will do my best to avoid it, but if I have to, I am prepared to deal with it, keep it as small as possible without being obtrusive, and just jump right back on plan.

So

B: yogurt
S: crackers
L: beef and veg stir-fry, apple, crackers
Deviation: 4 bites from bento box
D: grilled chicken, veg stir-fry, crackers, orange

I was too bleary-eyed to check the scales this morning. Now that I am accepting this more as a lifestyle change, I am not in a hurry to finish. 12 days ago, I came into the program wanting fast big losses, which is unrealistic for the amount of weight I have to lose. And honestly, really rapid loss wouldn't give me the time I need to develop and practice the restraint and eating habits of a slim person.

I will do what I can to not get bored - I bought some small green bell peppers to stuff, and I will make "Singapore noodles" with enoki mushrooms and an egg for breakfast, and I will try baking my fish with vegetables this coming week.

I will be back at work full time too, which should be good for my routine.

OK, long post! Happy losing, everyone.

[shibulizer]

hey Heidimama just caught up with your diary and ooh boy you are doing well especially because you are not under the watchful eye of your consultant. you are very courageous and determined with this attitude you will definately get to 59kgs.

its so funny how we question what cohen reccomends to be our weight when i 1st started i just wanted to be atleast 100kgs but my consultant told me i have to be 70kgs i thought she was crazy since i weighed 145kgs then i thought its impossible but once i started loosing weight i knew it was possible.

i prefer to weigh only once a month because if i step on the scale and there is no loss i easily get discouraged but i dont wanna lie i do get tempted and the scale is right there in my bathroom lol well i heard others ask their friends to hide it and only give it back at the end of the month that helps them not to weigh all the time try it maybe it will assist.

One thing that made successful with my 1st round on Cohen is Consistency and preparation believe you me i work in a very difficult environment we are always in Hotels where there is food everywhere or in rural areas where we struggle with decent food restaurants the only place you find here is KFC. what im trying to say to you is you don't have to cheat, plan now not to cheat be prepared carry your own meals even if its too hot get a cooler bag with freezable ice packs i assure you of success, the problem with cohens is you cheat you set yourself backwards with your losses and it will take you longer to reach your goal sorry for mummbling, all the best to you.

[blondetastic]

Heidimama, those deviations that cant be avoided suck on the one hand because control has been taken away from us but on the other they remind us we cant control everything and to let it go.

If it helps, I had a deviation and it took me 6 days to mentally get back where I was (mine was deliberate) and 7 days to lose what I put on and then some. So not too bad in the scheme of things. So not devastating, but the danger lies in when it derails us mentally and we cant get it together. That seems to be more an issue when its a deliberate deviation. So dont worry too much and let it get to you, just move on, and control what you can. In the big scheme of things it wont throw you out too much.

[michiemama]

I figured you had spent some time in the Bay! And yes, I am in SF. I am able to also get some cheap produce. You're so lucky to be near a fish market, but how unfortunate to hear about the shrimp allergy! I love shrimp...

And don't worry about the few bites. As long as you get right back on track, you should be good to go.

I am only on day one, and already tempted by so many things... We all have the same issues surrounding food, which is why we have all turned to this diet. We just need to be in the right headspace!

Let's all keep chugging along..

[Fuzzy]

Heidimama, hope all is well. You're doing so well.

Thanks for visiting my diary and I the nice things you said.

Let's keep going down.

[Jem_HA]

Hi HM - how are you going with your program?

I really like how you've noted your deviations in your daily meals breakdown - lets you acknowledge it but not dwell on it and may even serve as a way of identifying eating patterns (like around TTOM). I might do the same, thanks for the idea.

Hope all is well for you.

[Jay's Wife]

Hey Heidimama - everything ok?

[Tes]

How are things Heidimama?

[Heidimama]

Hi shibu, blondetastic, michiemama, fuzzy, Jem_Ha, Jay's Wife, and Tes!

Thank you all for stopping by with encouragement. My new job with its responsibilities and events really have kicked my butt. The learning curve and expectations are even more than I had expected. My sincere apologies for being MIA without an update or visiting your diaries.

The positives:

My new office is on the 4th floor and there is no elevator. Going up and down the stairs doesn't faze me anymore, even in heels. I walk up 5 flights in buildings with elevators now just because I CAN!!! (I was totally incapable of doing this two years ago, so forgive my giddiness.) I feel good. Have continues eating lots of smaller portions and veg-heavy meals. Have continued doing yoga every morning at home. My clothes still fit well.

The less positives:

Been having a lot of chocolate to cope with stress. Have procrastinated on a couple of things I need to get done, and using that stress as an excuse to not stay come back on plan.

So no more excuses, I am coming back on plan Tuesday.

Off to read your diaries - can't wait to see your good news!