Journey to a New Me

[mesmer_eyes]

Hi hilary!

It took me about 5days.. but in my case it reqlly wasnt so difficult. It just took a firm, verbal NO (thank you) to food/junk offers and a resounding "NO. You dont want to go back to Day 1" in my head for self created temptations....

After those 5 or so days, my PMS cravings kicked in, which was twice as tough to resist.. but i sailed through

And it is true, if you are following the program 100%, u wouldnt be hungry nor craving.. i found myself missing the stuff i used to eat, i figured it could be the other flavors im not currently having, or the memory associated to the particular food that is making me "miss" them..

[mesmer_eyes]

Day 16: Oh no...

I gained 200gms! ---> reading that makes me laugh though.. its so insignificant.. that is prior to Cohen's

Im not really so bugged about it. Before Cohen's I never used to weigh myself, I go by clothes size. I only weigh when my gym instructor asks me to step on that body composition analyzer machine.. like every 4months..

But now Im just curious what could have caused it?

1) TOM
2) My breakfast yesterday was kind of salty for my taste, so I must have had more salt for breakfast than usual
3) I changed crispbread brands? Finn Multigrain is allowed (right?), and I weighed them too before taking them
4) Stress? TOM + cooked my 4days worth of meals for 3 hrs, so I was standing for 3 hours (includes washing dishes, and cleaning the kitchen up)

Hmm what could it be? I aim to lose 5 more kilos by end of March or more..

Today's meals were good. I just noticed that by dinner, I felt a bit hungry after 1 hour. So I ate my fruit by then and slept before 12mn..

Breakfast: egg omelette + crispbreads
Snack: greenapple and coffee
Lunch: prawns and zucchini pasta with basil, mushrooms, garlic, corriander and tomato..yumm
Snack: 1 crispbread
Dinner: Garlic tilapia fillet with parsley and corriander + mixed stir fried cabbage, mushrooms, onion and capsicum+sprite light
Evening snack: medium orange

[Soleil]

Hi! Came to read your journey so far You are doing so brilliantly!!!

Hide that scale away for a few days, I'm going to try to weight myself only once a week, if I can remain that strong .

I used to weight myself every morning and every night and honestly no good came of it, it was a motivational booster until I started to stare at the 200g losses and gains. You'll probably notice that you will loose 200g tomorrow and the day after it will be 400g and then gain 200g the day after, then the following you will loose 600g overnight. But there are more losses than gains and that is all that matters

I'm really keen to follow your journey, we will both be finished in the first weeks of May !

[needsunshine]

Hi mesmer, don't sweat it too much. We all know that as long as we follow the programme to a T, there's nothing that will let us down. Let's just stick to it and trust the programme.

I think sleep has a lot to do with weight loss, too. No matter how good we are at keeping to our prescription, if we don't get the sleep our bodies need, we won't optimize the result and boy do i know this so well.


Happy that i know I'm not alone in my struggle and there are strong folks like you who i draw inspiration from. Let's just keep on, girl!

[mesmer_eyes]

Thanks Soleil and NS! I am still in serious disbelief that I have kept up for so long..

As for the scales, Ive notice that there are some days its too slow 200gms, some days yes boom 600gms.. I just wish I know what is ACTUALLY causing the fluctuations.. Im really not sweating it. As long as Im losing.. Im good!!

And Soleil, yes! we will both finish by May, so lets keep each other in check alright?

I do need to work on my sleeping habits.. Yesterday I had a good night's sleep and I hope it keeps up like this..

Day 17: Happy Bunny

Oh yes, 1 happy bunny here..

The scale has moved down again.. so whew

People keep telling me:

"You've lost so much weight!" *smile sweetly*
"You look toned now." -- "I am?" *smile*
"You lost weight?" -- "Yes" *smile proudly*
"What more you want to lose??" I answer -- 13kgs more, and they go "Whatttt???!!!!!" *snicker inside and smile*
"What diet are you doing? Give me the food plan!" --- Ummm noo zzirrreeee.. "let me tell you..."

The 5kg loss, where ever it came from (fat, muscle or water) has a signficant effect on my physical appearance for people to comment. Makes me feel proud and more determined to reach my Rebuild phase!! I cant wait for those toned musclees to show....

I was what you can call "proportionately fat!" so people are more forgiving about my size.. but truth of the matter is, I am fat. I am over my target weight, and I dont have good nutrition.

At the start of my journey I have clearly defined that being skinny is NOT my goal, although it looks like the route Im taking. When they ask me "how much more I want to lose?!" Its difficultf for me to quickly explain to them the Reduce. Rebuild. Maintain Plan I have.. Its quite frustrating.. I think, they think that Im jumping on the size 0 bandwagon.. Yikes.. NO WAY..

For me, I firmly believe that -- Strong is the new Skinny! and I will get here. 1 phase at a time

I did shop for some clothes today I just wanted to find a birthday dress. My birthday is on the 19th, and I ended up with more than I intended to buy. I bought all pieces a size smaller than what I am now.. something to look forward to hey?

Today's meals were goooood:

BF: egg+mushrooms,capsicum,onion
S: 1 crispbread and coffee
sipped DC through before lunch
L: Beef stirfry + veggies - cabbage, capsicum, onion, mushroom
S: 2 crispbreads
D: Stir fried Bok Choy (in garlic,onion and ginger) topped of with garlic-ky prawns and tilapia fillets + 2 crispbreads
S: 1 cheek and the bone/middle of a mango (kept the other cheek for tomorrow's breakfast..

DV free but forgot to take my multivitamins today.. :/

Daily Temptations List

Day 16: Birthday cake in the pantry

Day 17: Toblerone minis (white, milk choco, and dark) being given out by a colleague who just came back from training in Zurich.. ugh!

Good day to everyone!!

[needsunshine]

My scale numbers haven't moved in the past days, well it did but just in 100g decreases, then today the full kilo ticked in. yey!!!!

Your bok choy recipe sounds nice! I'll have some of that tomorrow!

Mangoes are such a treat!!! Don't you miss philippine mangoes? Hehe. nanginggit pa. Hehe.


When anyone gives out chocs in the office, our resident choco monsters are at my desk getting my share. Hehe. They already know that it would go to waste. Lol. Nicely done doing away with temptations!

[Soleil]

It's the best thing ever when people start noticing, you are doing so so brilliantly!

How wonderul to celebrate your birthday tomorrow with already noticable results Shopping for new clothes and in smaller numbers is fantastic and those clothes that you now bought in smaller sizes will end up being loose on you as well .

Have a great day!!

[Howling Wind]

Hi Mesmer_eyes

I am so glad your weightloss is showing... it is such a good feeling when people notice the change that you are tracking minute by minute. I want to say i am working on looking strong, but right now I am only going to focus on s.k.i.n.n.y - everything else will come after that.

[mesmer_eyes]

@NS: yes! Nakaka miss talga, lalo na ung sa pangasinan na galing na mangga.. sometimes, we do get PH mangoes here, but when i was there, i was left standing dissappointed, so out of those available, i picked one that was closest to home- australian mangoes.. and they are yummm too.. pwede na .. i did have to wait a few days for it to ripen..

As for the chocos, when someone offers me, i take them if packed indvidually, then keep them in my drawer. Then I give them to my colleagues over a few days.. makes me feel more in control of my cravings.. whooo haaa!

@Soleil: it did feel very nice..and i was just thinking today how it feels to empty out my closet?? Like when nothing will really fit me at all anymore?? I need to save for shopping money now

@HW: i am with you on the track to looking strong.. dropping the unecessary fat and then build from there....

I keepp looking forward to your progress girls.. rahhh!! rahhh! rahhh!

[needsunshine]

Birthday mo na! Happy birthday!!!!! Have a blast of a healthy birthday, dearie!!!!

[mesmer_eyes]

hahaha yes! thank you! Day 19 update later..so far staying strong with all the cake and sweets..

Day 18: Stress!!!

What a stressful day!!! Stressful, upsetting day

Work is coming from left, right and center.

My friend decided to pick a fight with me today.. which really upset me..

I guess its that yellow full moon that sent our hormones flying!!

My birthday is tomorrow and Im really not sure if I can keep the CD up during this day.. Getting antsy about it..

I was so busy today that I had lunch at 4pm and dinner by almost 10!!

However, the day ended well as my friends came over my place by 12midnight and brough over some chocolate mousse cake.. It was such a lovely gesture. Plus I did get calls from friends abroad at exactly 12mn (my time) so in some places it was already 3am, 4am, 5am, and yet they still called me

And I didnt touch that cake!! Although, it was so tempting to lick off that mousse from the knife when I was placing it in containers to bring to the office the next day

So Day 18-- still DV free.. lets see on 19th and 20th.. most of my celebrations hehehe will happen on these 2 days.. Oh and Im looking towards a hectic weekend..

My weekdays and weekends seems to have become fuller when I started Cohens.. hmmmmmm?

Good day everyone

[Howling Wind]

Happy birthday... make yourself a "cheese cake" - blend your ricotta with sweetener and some squeeze of orange juice... place on top of a cracker with an apple slice between the cracker and the cheese, decorate with citrus fruit or slivers of apples or kiwi (if they are in season in your part of the world). Pop in the refrigerator and give it some time to firm up a bit et voila!

[Soleil]

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No deviations allowed missy! If you find yourself thinking oh might as well have a bite/sip of that just because it's my birthday then stop right there and make yourself a promise to go to the shops when you get a chance and buy a new shirt, or a perfume or a lovely hair treatment instead It'll give you much more enjoyment than the food option, at least in the long term !!!

I love the cake suggestion from Howling Wind!

Enjoy your day!

[mesmer_eyes]

@HW: Wow that cheesecake seems sooooo nice.. I need to write that down! I couldnt find lowfat ricotta cheese from here, will the philadelphia fat free cheese do as a replacement??

I did give myself a treat (within allowance), I had a full thai mango for dinner... YUMMMMY!!

@soleil: oh yes, I was deviation free yesterday!! whoopppee!!

Day 19: Its My Birthday!!!

My friends came over by midnight to wish me and bought me some choco mousse cake. Ofcourse I didnt eat it, but I just fed them each a spoonful. Took the cake to office and it was gone in a flash


My colleagues gave me a lovely bouquet of flowers, coz they knew I wouldnt eat a thing.


Ate my meals as planned and I am DV free today! whooohoo..


Tomorrow is the scheduled celebration of my birthday at a friend's house. I will make them some garlic-ky tilapia fillets and spicy stir friend bokchoy. I will still eat as planned..


Despite eating my meals, and being DV free, at 4pm, I felt a crash happen. I felt hungry after an hour and a half from my lunch and had to force myself to wait an hour more to have my crispbreads. I was also too sleepy! After having the crispbreads, I was still hungry, BUT I didnt give in to the hunger.


After work, I went straight to the supermarket to buy the tilapia fillets and bokchoy. As a treat for me, I thought I would eat a full mango in the evening (part of allowance). So as I was picking from the bunch of Australian mangoes, a guy dressed in orange robes, bald head, friendly smile said to me: "buy these thai mangoes, they are very good!" I was shocked to see a monk in a supermarket (is this possible?) and all I said was "Yes, ofcourse! thanks!" I actually didnt see the mangoes as they were very few compared to the other mangoes... But boy were they expensive!! half of the cost of my grocery were for those 2pcs of mangoes.. But yes, they were very yummy!!


Good day everyone!!

Daily Temptations List

Day 19: Donuts in the pantry from the other birthday celebrant + Chocolate mousse cake from me


Day 20: Cookies during our meeting +
Orange Cupcakes with cream cheese on top, baked my colleague.. and she bakes awesome!! *whew*

[needsunshine]

Nicely done!!! Such strength and decisiveness!!! Extra happy birthday!!!

[mesmer_eyes]

Thanks NS! Everyday is struggle.. but im just glad i have kept it up..

Day 20: Detox??

Are these detox symptoms:

- hungry within an hour after my last meal
- light headed in the afternoon
- sleepy
- and even after eating the crispbreads/fruit, i am still hungry..

This is what i have been feeling in the afternoon of Day 19 and 20.. hmmm

Had dinner at my friends house.. I ate my dinner and they ate my tilapia and bokchoy stir fry.. My friend made some indian curry dish.. I AM A BIG INDIAN FOOD LOVER.. and I can eat the same spice (most of the time) that they eat.. So for the past 20days I am missing the flavorful spicy food.. I just kep inhaling the smell of th curry.. they had home made chappati's too... hayyyyy... i really wanted to but I didnt...

In a short span of time on Cohen's, my experiences have been nothing but great. Sacrificing a few days in the attempt of being healthy and the rewards had started amost immediately. And today is one of those days wherein you get to internalizations which serve as eye openers.. I wrote about it in my blog, I didnt feel like its exactly relevant to this diary.. So for those who follow my diary, you can read The Power of the Power Suit entry on my blogger account.

I wore the skinny jeans this evening. The one I was talking about last week.. still tight but wearable

[Soleil]

You go girl!!! You are doing so so brilliantly!!!

I read your blog today too and all I could think was god I can't wait to get something from my wardrobe too and fitting it again ! You're about two weeks ahead of me so I just think, ok in two weeks I will try something on too . Well done you!!!!!!!

With these symptoms you're having, I actually had them too on my first Cohens, and I did everything 100 %, in fact I felt hungry during the entire program and I never understood why, it always amazed me reading about people that didn't feel hungry at all. I mean not that I was hungry all day long, not at all, but mostly after my meals if I remember correctly.

[needsunshine]

How very thoughtful and insightful! And more power to power dressing!

Agree with Soleil and you that i had those hunger pangs and would count down the minutes from meal to meal. It took around 3 weeks or so for the hunger to go, or me getting used to it and forgetting it was there in the first place (?). Hehe. I'd like to think it was the former as the forgetting part makes me sound delusional. Haha. This time around (this is my second go) i haven't felt any hunger between meals, and always at the 4 1/2 hour mark.

Sexy skinny jeans, i bet... Look at that grin. Lol. High five!

[mesmer_eyes]

@soleil: thanks girl! Keep those clothes ready.. coz it feels so so so good when they start to fit you again.. makes u wanna do a little dance in front of the mirror

@ NS: hmmm ok.. im.normal could also be due to the seafood day im having? That its not so filling for me as compared to beef or chicken.. for the skinny jeans.. took a lot of sucking it in hehe but it worked!

Day 21: Holi Day

I love this festival of colors!! I celebrated it with friends at a beach party.. Sun, sand, colors flying from everywhere, live band and dj, indian food and booze!!

Ofcourse, i bought my packed lunch, crispbreads, and fruits with me and ate it in time.. i kept saying no to food and beer offers and my friends somehow cannot understand why I have to be too strict for now.. i actually feel bad sometimes that I keep saying no.. coz I really will NOT BUDGE. They say that i've cut so much out already, and how does a can of beer, or a little bite of samosa would hurt..

the concept of Cohen will sound so extreme to them.. it did to me.. it sounded too extreme that it held me from taking it on last year.. but now that im doing it, its ok. It does call for some major self discipline and control, it is definitely not easy.. but its just a matter of how bad you want it..

But today was a lazy cooking day. I came home at 2am yesterday so I woke up at almost 10am.. immediately made my egg breakfast, and my lunch and dinner was a can of tuna with veggies

Dv free today! Oops.. not quite i think.. coz as the colors were being thrown from everywhere, some got into my mouth.. tried my best to gargle-spit it out.. but im sure i have ingested a tiny bit of those powdered colors..

[Gigglesza]

Hey hun,

Happy birthday for last week! Glad to see you're doing so well!