Your experience Re-start ?

[SlimForever]

Hello Everyone,

I see many of you are travelling well. I started cohens earlier on in the year. I was doing well until my first deviation which unfortunately transpired into an on-off-on again cycle. At the time l had depression and it took over my life, l found it hard to stop comfort eating. Looking back l guess l didnt really care about myself enough to do something positive for myself such as Cohens. Well that's now changing.

So here l am again (with a different attitude) and with some questions.

I just joined the gym yesterday. After, the gym l came home and found myself peeking around at this website, l felt guided to come here. I havent been on in a while because l just gave up. I found some inspiration and found myself getting motivated again! I also remembered the results l did get when l stuck to it. One week l was down over 5kgs!

This is the delimma: I need to excercise mostly for the way it makes me feel (my therapist also recommended it). Also, l have just shelled out a bit of money for my membership. Im thinking of doing some boxing classes and cardio. I have my old plan (about 7mths). I have about 45 kilos of excess fat l want to release within 6 months. At this stage l can not afford to pay for a new plan, this may change next year.

So my question is would it be ok to continue with my old plan even though l am now excercising (l wasnt when l was given the plan), l do not want to slow down the weight loss. If l did decide to go onto a new plan next year how long do l need to leave between old and new plan? Or should l do pre-cohens?

I will call the office although l am interested in hearing about your experiences in regards to this. I have seen some similar posts regarding this topic although the difference is that l have added excercise since my old plan.

Look forward to reading your replies.
SF

[louise41]

Hi SF, welcome back, I cant answer your question, but I just wanted to wish you every success with your second start. I think you can exercise as long as you dont overdo it, I guess you just have to find the right amount.
I look forward to hearing your successes

[samnich01]

Hi Slimforever,

I have also started on my old program and I hope to see the same results as the first time which was 6 months ago I joined and stayed deviation free for 7 weeks, then I had a night out and thought that one meal wouldn't make that much difference...but was I so wrong..I havn't been able to get back on track since, but that is about to change...they told me at the clinic that the old program should still be fine even though I was prepared to pay for a new one...so that made me feel more positive

[sundaymorningstaple]

From a personal POV, I would say do the program and start the PT later. Primarily from a health standpoint. If you are carrying around 45 kg of unnecessary weight, exercising will have detrimental impact on your joints. It also will slow down the weight loss as it will cause hunger and of course you may well end up on the old marry go round again. So between the joint damage and the fact that the exercise may sabo your diet you need to really decide which will let you get to your goal the fastest. Exercise definitely will not and while it may build some endurance and strength, with the amount of weight you are carrying it's gonna take YEARS to get rid of it. Something to think about anyway.....

[ash]

For what its worth, my advice would be if you find exercise helps with your depression, prioritise that - i know from my experience exercise has helped me with depression more than anything else (other than medication). Even though you may not lose your weight as quickly as just doing the plan without exercise, if it keeps you feeling better, you'll keep away from the comfort eating, and thus have a better chance of sticking with eating right long term. Of course you'll need to do exercise appropriate to your size and fitness - low impact cardio, some weights training might be good places to start

In terms of old plan / pre cohens, I'd suggest going largely with pre cohens, maybe using your old plan to get a handle on portion sizes. Depending how much exercise you're doing, you'll probably find the plan alone isnt enough, but even if you look to eat 1.5 times the plan size portions, it will probably still be smaller meals than you'd eat off plan. Also I find that the ratio of protein to veg on the plan is much higher than i would eat pre-cohens, I eat more protein now, even though my meals are half the size! So post-cohens i know i'll modify my meals to eat a greater ratio of protein.

If you do decide to take up the exercise, just remember to listen to your body (not the bits when its just whingeing about wanting to eat chocolate!) but if you find you're getting faint or dizzy think about whether your body needs some more fuel. Perhaps timing your fruit so that you have something to eat straight after exercise may help too.

Good luck either way, which ever path you choose you're on a road to better health and feeling a whole lot better both physically and mentally

[peacock]

the plan states you can't START an exercise program while ON the program. It doesn't say you can't start exercising BEFORE you go back on plan. So exercise for a couple of weeks whilst on pre-cohen's and then start back on the old plan. this may not be what a consultant would say, cos maybe your blood chemistry would change as you were exercising.

Just make sure you eat all your fruit and crispbread and drink plenty of water. It may be a good idea to plan your meals and exercise to coincide that a meal comes after exercise if possible. Also, it's excessive exercise, I don't think 30-60 mins a few times a week is excessive. And that is usually sufficient to give you the endorphin rush that you get after exercise.

Personally i find that once detox has finished I get that "feel-good" feeling after being on plan for about a week.

cheez

[SlimForever]

Hi,

Thank you to all of you who responded l appreciate it.

louise41 - Thanks Louise for your encouragement.

samnich01 - I now know through my experiences how important it is too be 100% committed to myself and the program. My first deviation was my downfall. I too had similiar experiences as you did. It has such a negative effect mentally and physically, it really is not worth it. This program works brilliantly like no other that l have tried and believe me l have tried many..lol Im glad to hear that you are committed to doing something great for yourself. I look forward to reading about your journey. As, for the program lm also sticking to the old one for now, the clinic said it would be fine for now too.

sundaymorningstaple - I have thought about this all weekend! I have until tomorrow to cancel my membership (they have a cooling off period l just found out about). I went to the gym the other day and nearly burst into tears when l left. I cant believe how much l struggled and how unfit l have become. It was a huge wake up call. Right now my priority is to get the weight off, fitness and strength can come once l have achieved that. Its way too much for me to carry it around.

ash - Walking a few times a week will have to do as far as excercising goes just for the mental health aspect of it. I will plan it so l have a snack (fruit & crispbread) or meal after my walk. I am going to follow my old cohens plan for now. I was going to do pre-cohens but l am so desperate to get this weight/ baggage off that l can not wait any longer.

peacock - Yes a few walks a week should be fine with a snack/ meal right after it. That was a good point you raised about starting excercise whilst your on the plan is a problem but not before it. I cant wait for that feel good feeling!

Again thank you to all, the advice you all gave me is so helpful and really useful. I hope l can be of help too!

SFxo

[new_ruby]

Hi Slim,
Congratulations for coming back to Cohen's... it's a great thing that you've chosen to invest this time and energy in yourself, and I wish you every success in getting to your personal goal.
I have read what's been said on here, so am now a little confused, however I was always told that if I (1) was off the original program for more than 4 months or (2) gained back more than 4kgs after finishing, then the original program would no longer be relevant to my 'current' body chemistry.
So I am interested to hear if your clinic has said the 'old' program should be ok.
Will also be interested in following your progress... as I am a mere voyeur on here now! (have chosen to not write in a refeed diary)...
good luck
Ruby

[SlimForever]

Hi Ruby,

Congratulations on achieving your goals! And, thank you for your kind words.

In regards to your question my consultant said to see how l go with it. I did say to her l may return for a new program in the new year because l do not have a re-feed program.

I will say l am already feeling better. I will let you know how l go.

My contract ended in October 2008 had l paid a small fee per month and taken my blood test l could have continued and eventually gotten my re-feed. As l said though l just wasnt in the right frame of mind at the time.

For now l am taking it one day at a time.