When should I start refeed

[Silverbee]

Hi! Merry xmas to everyone!! I just have a few questions..I am close to my goal weight now, I am 53.5 kilos at the moment and have been getting headaches all day , and feeling lethargic too. I'm just wondering how long would this last? It's driving me bananas not being able to do anything because of this and having 4 kids doesn't help as I get grumpy too quick. And also are digital scales really accurate? I am using digital ones but when I use my sister's which is not a digital I am always 2 kilos lighter. Pls. can anyone give me answers? I'm just feeling frustrated with this headaches,it won't go away even with panadeine! Thanks in advance.

[shell]

Hi Silverbee,
A bit more info would be helpful-

Is it just today you have been having the head aches?
How far from goal are you?
Are you drinking enough water?

Do you think you are ready for re feed, or just having a bad day?
You will know your body better than anyone else.

I hope your headache eases up for you very soon.

Shell

[Silverbee]

Hi thanks for that Shell I've had my headaches for 3 days now. I am drinking 2 litres of water still everyday and I am 3.5 kilos away from my goal weight and I am feeling really really hungry too..

[Annabelle Joy]

Silverbee, if you are really, really hungry it's may well be time to start refeed. Not everyone reaches their goal. It can only be an approximation and there are a number of reasons why that weight may not be right for you. Serious hunger is the most common indication that you are ready for refeed. Continuing to diet when you are hungry can set you up to fail. My consultant told me that as soon as hunger cut in I should start refeed, as people who keep dieting when they are hungry sometimes never complete because they give in to the hunger, then never get back to 100% to go into refeed. With 3.5 kgs to go, you are likely to take 3-4 weeks to get to that goal. Do talk with your consultant about whether it might be advisable for you to start refeed now.

AJ

[fair rose_za]

Is this a trend?...these symptoms including some of katiefrank's seem to be a general indicator that it's time to start refeed. Interesting

[katiefrank70]

Hey you bet me FairRose

I also had headaches a few weeks back. Nothing would kick it. They weren't the head throbbing ones, but just a constant niggle at the forehead. Might be time for refeed Silverbee. I never got the "classic" signs of being ready but my body was indicating it was. Might be time to give it some serious thought as skinny body vs health is not a crisis you want to experience.

Katie

[Ms. Jiggles]

My friends think I am ready...my hubby says it is up to me. I haven't asked the consultants yet.

I am 2.2 pounds from the lower target goal that the doc set for me of 130- 136. I hit his 40 pound target goal when I weighed 135.

I have no energy and it takes all I have to make it through the work day.

Bodyfat is 23 % and I look a little gaunt in the neck and face and upper body, lower half thin but not so gaunt as upper body.

I have a little dark circle formation under eyes. I am hungry and have thoughts of eating more fruit and crackers.

I really wanted to get to 18 % bodyfat and weigh around 126, which I weighed about 4 yrs ago.

What do you think...let me know soon.

Ms. Jiggles

[ConnieK..]

Hey Mrs Jingles,

I would suggest discussing with your consultant. There are several signs you are ready for refeed... teh early mornings, the moodiness, the "eat the crotch out of a rag doll through a cane chair" type hunger. If you have these and you are in goal range I say order it.

Beware going too low because you can ... read Maya's diary for her story of going to low.

ConnieK

[Ms. Jiggles]

Thanks Connie.

I figured out what happened to me. I ate some very low calories for 3 days and had no meat in my meals. I accidentally had light tofu instead of regular tofu to change things up from turkey dinners. I thought I was eating regular tofu. Turns out I was eating next to nothing for sustenance and once I figured that out and resumed eating turkey for dinner, I felt so much better.

I really felt like I was going to die. I will update my diary with more info as soon as I get the go ahead from admin.

Ms. Jiggles

[Kohinoor]

Hi MJ,

I will update my diary with more info as soon as I get the go ahead from admin.

Go right ahead, MJ - the change to diaries is happening over this month - feel free to continue using it meantime.

Just be sure to have provided your details before end of March, and NOTHING will change for you. You do already HAVE a diary, don't you?

Edited later: Ok, I just caught your post in the "Diary Discssion" thread. So I'll leave it with you, upon hearing answers from Asy.



And, hey I HOPE you have already ordered refeed You're THERE !!!



Koh

[Ms. Jiggles]

Ok...I sent my number in, but would still like answers to my questions. I will go update my diary....I thought I had to wait.

Thanks for the tip!

Also, no I have not ordered refeed because I want to lose a little more weight before I do. I was going to order it earlier this week when I felt like crap, but now I feel better so I will hold out just a little longer.

Ms. Jiggles

[cmc]

Was just around reading and a questions sprung to mind.

People who have come to and done re-feed have often spoken about being extremely hungry, getting sore backs, waking up at silly times, being moody etc etc.

I was wondering at what point (kg point) do people start to feel these sensations from their goal weight range and how long after they start feeling these sensations do they actually say.. OK I really should order re-feed now.

I've found for the last 2 odd kgs I've been becoming hungrier. And at the hunger point where I feel an empty type hunger. but I am still 4.2 kgs from the 2 kgs off being at Cohen's goal weight range (60kgs).
So I wonder if I should get re-feed and start it and see if I gain the 1kg in the first week thing?
I'm just a little unsure because I feel like I am so far from my Cohen's goal weight range 55-58kgs still but I feel like I should start.

Any help would be good??

Carla.

[hope_ful]

hey carla
personally, i started to feel hungry when i was just within the top range of my goal and i ended up losing only a few hundred grams all up on refeed..

ive been on maintenance for 2wks and im up 1.5kg which means i am now above goal range. i plan on going back on plan next week until i am in the lower range of goal, so that if i swing between weights, which is inevitable, i wont stress out and have returning feelings of despair, depression, panic and a loss of self esteem. sorry to barge in on your post, but i def think its better to stay on plan until you are really comfortable with your weight!!! if you are at a weight where you want to stay, start refeed!!!

if you still want to go lower, stay on plan!!

its too difficult (or it was for me at least) to lose more weight on maintenance. so now ive made the decision, its not easy to do, to go back on plan for a few wks and lose more weight.

if you're having a hard wk, emotionally, mentally, psychologically.. take a deeeeeep breath and say, a few more wks on plan. a few more wks on plan. a few more wks on plan. i will make this worthwhile. i will make this worthwhile. i am worth this. i am worth this. i am worth this!!!!!!

stick it out. you can do it. properly. 100%. and then you wont have to do it again like me!!!!!

i wish u luck in whatever you decide to do

xxxxx

[cmc]

Thank you for your words Hope_ful

I have been chomping at the bit... Waiting for a reply and some thought's.
I appreciate it, As for being comfortable with my weight.. I have never been this weight in my adult life, so I feel great. I would like to "be" 60kgs. But Ive had a few hard weeks with feeling hungry more often than not and getting a sore neck and shoulders and my poor partner is coping my irritability and I just feel like I'm over it all.

And yes I have thought that I'll just finish up and then exercise off/Tone what is remaining.. but I have been reading that people as yourself recommend you go as long as u can to give ourselves that buffer. But the weight loss also slows up etc etc etc and I'm just not sure I can wait that long. I'm also thinking that if I just start my re-feed and if I gain in that first week then I know I should just grin and bare it the best I can, Cos my body is not ready.

I just haven't read much about people being what I consider "so far" from their goal given to them by Cohen's. So Im just a little worried.

I gather that Dr Cohen gets the weight range fairly right with most people but just confused that it doesn't seem right for me. (you know what I mean?)

Carla.

[SassyK]

Hi Carla,

I'm with hope_ful on this one. I got down to 71kg before I started refeed, but it was still a few kgs above my Cohen's range. I lost 2kg while on refeed, but pretty much gained that back straight away. Towards the end I felt awful - no energy, sore back, sleeplessness. But... I still wished I'd got all the way to the bottom of my goal range (65kg - 68kg) before starting refeed (I kind of didn't have a choice - I had an overseas trip planned, and there was no way I was going to be weighing stuff while backpacking around Europe!). I regret not going all the way to 65kg now - it would have given me more of a buffer, and I probably wouldn't be back on the program trying to get holiday and Christmas weight off.

I would advise you to hang in there if you can - get to your goal range before you start refeed. You can order it and have it sitting there if you just don't think you can.

Hope that helps. Good luck - you've done great on the program - so you can definitely do a few more weeks!

[cmc]

Thanks for your reply SassyK.

I have to ask though. Did you have all the symptoms telling you you were ready? Or were they starting but the trip made you hurry it all up?

If you did have all the symptoms and without a pending trip hurrying you up and without hindsight of your gain once you had finished would you have started when you did?

Carla

[ConnieK..]

Hi Carla,

I was one who stopped a few kg's above my goal range, I had all the symptoms and was feeling very ready for refeed. mostly I was famishingly hungry all the time and cranky because of it.

I too lost on refeed and gained it back and have stayed at my refeed start weight for 9 months.

My advice would be go to where you have the unstoppable hunger, then go from there. I would not rely on losing weight in refeed, and I can tell you that it is VERY difficult to go back on plan once on maintenance.

Good luck

Connie

[SassyK]

Hi Carla,

I have to ask though. Did you have all the symptoms telling you you were ready? Or were they starting but the trip made you hurry it all up?

If you did have all the symptoms and without a pending trip hurrying you up and without hindsight of your gain once you had finished would you have started when you did?

By the time I started refeed I felt truly awful. I remember seeing Connie in the supermarket about two weeks beforehand and she told me just how awful I looked! I was exhausted (mentally and physically), was starting to get a sore back, and my skin felt rough. I was starting to get hungry, but I don't think I ever reached the kind of hunger that others have talked about on this forum.

In hindsight, I wouldn't have started refeed when I did. It was only because of the trip that I did it when I did. I was happy with my weight at the time, but it didn't take long to gain a few kilos back, then a few more and I was into overweight BMI range again. If I had my time over I would definitely aim to get towards the lower end of my Cohens range.

Like Connie says, it is VERY difficult to go back on the program, so I wouldn't count going back on it to lose a few more kilos if you think you need to/want to when you've finished refeed. It would be much easier to deal with them now. I've spoken to other people who have done refeed, and nobody wishes they started sooner - almost everyone wishes they'd hung in there a bit longer.

[cmc]

Thanks Connie and SassyK.

It is insightful. And I've been been discussing this with a few people and one thing I keep coming up with is that since I started I hadn't had a set weight for myself. I was dumb founded when my consultant told me my goal weight range. So I went with it.. Ok 60 kgs it is. I was just so worried that my body hadn't got itself there (like so many others) before it was telling me it was ready.. But hey were BODY is different.

Also I think perhaps my body fat percentage has something to do with it? I don't completely understand it all but I have a table which I record my weight and measurements on and it also calculates my estimated lean/fat body weight and by BMI. and from what I gather it's quite good. (if anyone know's anything about that I'd like to hear from them)

So I am really happy within myself now, at the 64 kilos. Ive never known it before. I too will be exercising when finished but not to loose extra kilo's per say but to tone up what is left. I don't have a "magical number" as I have heard some people mention and I want to tone when I'm done.. Not loose more kilo's later when I can eat more. I don't want to be the type who stresses over the "magical number" realistic or not.

And I think that is what makes me sway to finishing and not enduring this almost unbearable discomfort for the sake of a kilo or two when I am definitely feeling all the symptoms that my body wants to stop.

All your input has been taken on board and I appreciate it so thank you.

Carla.

[khyla77]

Hello all,

I know this has been discussed many times but I just wanted some advice...

Ive just reached the lower end of my goal weight guide and know that there is a tiny bit that can still go, but really not a lot (nothing that a bit of exercise wont shift, or could just be toning after 2 babies and rapid weight loss of 16kg). Im hungrier than normal, but nothing I cant deal with but I am constantly very cold lately and feel dizzy when I stand from a seated position and am more tired than normal, plus late night headaches (could be due to tiredness).

Im happy enough to continue going until the hunger becomes unbareable but I was just curious due to the other symptoms.

What do you all think? What would you do?

Thanks
K