Calling Maintainers - your views on how/if you are keeping the weight off

[hexi2]

Hi All,

I just want to gather some info and clear up some pretty 'normal' (what I think is normal stuff about life post Cohens. Things like

1. Your Cohens Goal
2. How long ago did you reach it?
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens?
4. How far off goal are you now?
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain?
6. Your thoughts on maintaining...

I will start

1. 60 kilos - Cohens goal
2. Reached in May 2008
3. Regained up to 10 kilos
4. I usually sit anywhere between 4 - 7 kilos over my Cohens Goal
5. So far no...
6. Thoughts not as panicked and I have taken this last 6 months to really accept my new body...this has taken a lot of work as it didn't feel like mine. Maybe now I am ready emotionally to get back to my Cohens goal

[shell]

Good idea Hexi.


1. Your Cohens Goal 61kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? May 2008
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 4-5 kg
4. How far off goal are you now? under 200g
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? Yes
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... It was very overwhelming for the first few months, but once I found out what works for me, I am much more relaxed and I enjoy eating now without all the worry of am I doing it "right". I also don't feel deprived of anything which I think is a huge mental hurdle I have overcome.

Shell

[ConnieK..]

1. Your Cohens Goal 64kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? July 2008
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 2 kg
4. How far off goal are you now? 600g
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? Yes - though it seems to take me longer than 2 days and I need to be much stricter with myself than most others ( ie. plan foods only during reset and nothing else).
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... Its a bit tricky getting your head around not counting calories, and watching food types and also figuring how exercise works for you - BUT - life is a learning curve and it's so much better than being 50kg overweight! I enjoy food more, eat slower, savour more and don't crave the fatty, salty, sugary stuff I used to crave.

[sundaymorningstaple]

1. Your Cohens Goal : 69kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? June 2008
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 1/2 kg
4. How far off goal are you now? -1kg (68kg)
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? Didn't gain any weight.
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... Don't blow it out as soon as you finish refeed. You have a long time left to life so it's not essential that you try everything all at once. If we have the patience to make it through to the end of refeed then there is no reason not to tiptoe into real life again. No real need to rush things. I've maintained a 1.5kg range from 67.7 to 69.2 since finishing the program. I go strictly by feel, I haven't weighed anything, counted any calories or used any other type of "program" except basic sensible eating and offsetting those things that may be bad with a reduction in snacks & fruits which I have kept up to a high level (3 or more a day).

Balance. Works for me.

[TwoZeds]

Hi everyone, I have found this thread really interesting, I hope lots more "Maintainers" get on here too!!

[hexi2]

Wow thanks everyone...very honest posts and lots of insight and difference experiences.

Keep them coming! I think it demystifies the 'unknown' world of what happens in maintenance and what is pretty normal

[Lulabelle]

A big thanks from me too!

I've been nervously reading some of the maintenance diaries and trying to get myself ready for the rest of my life once I'm on my own (without a strict plan)... it's really invaluable to be able to learn from you guys who are already living on maintenance It's really helped me to prepare for some of the pitfalls, and learn some ways of either avoiding problems or dealing with them when they arise.

It feels a bit less daunting now! THANK YOU!

[Cheral]

1. Your Cohen’s Goal – 63kgs
2. How long ago did you reach it? August 4 2008 (12 weeks)
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 1kg
4. How far off goal are you now? 300gms (63.3 this morning)
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? – I try to maintain between 62-63kgs, finished refeed at 62.9, haven’t been over 63.9, weight fluctuates within that kilo.
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... Havent had any problems to date, for me moderation is the key – I eat what I want but don’t overload my plate. Breakfast continues to be yoghurt with fruit, lunch mainly salad, with seafood, or meat, twice a week I allow myself a toasted Turkish or something like that. Evening meal protein and vegetables. Have icecream and diet jelly or fruit for desert each night. I keep the non Cohen stuff for special occasions, eat what I want when I go out to breakfast, lunch or dinner, Limit alcohol to weekends only and only have more than one or two if it’s a social occasion. I have found like the rest of us, that my body cant tolerate as much as before and my memory of hanging over the toilet bowl is still too fresh. ( it’s a good way to get rid of the excess, but not pleasant) Only have milk with coffee from the café and limit bread to when I really need it. Still have about 6 crackers a day. I stick to dark chocolate, maybe a couple of squares a week, have crackers and vegemite if I am hungry during the day, small amounts of fruit, give into cake about one time in four, as opposed to always before.


I try to keep a diet mentality, only now I don’t beat myself up about any deviations. I eat like I used to before I got fat. And I have thrown away all my ‘fat’ clothes and if I was to put on more than about 3kgs would have to go naked.
That’s incentive enough to stay at goal.

[flash12]

Hi Hexi - my experience:
1. Your Cohens Goal 54-57kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? April 2008 (55kg)
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 5kg
4. How far off goal are you now? Am at my highest!! fighting to get back in control.
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? I can lose it quite quickly when I go straight back onto original plan for a few days...however getting harder and harder! Am still trying to find 'my balance'. Like to know my boundaries!!
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... Tis all in the mind!

Flash12

[hexi2]

Thanks Flash

[pandora]

Hi Hexi and everyone, yes this is a very realistic account of different strokes for different folks. I didnt complete refeed properly - i will this time - so let that be an alarm bell for anyone planning such stupidity as me! My answers are :

1. Your Cohens Goal : 52-55kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? 1 Nov 2008 and maintained until a holiday at easter so 49-52kg for 6 months!
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 10.2kg
4. How far off goal are you now? 8.5kg
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? Clearly not but i had emotional issues to deal with, so the program is marvellous and as i didnt do refeed properly, i still have an opportunity to succeed and keep it all off!
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... For me, i researched and tried many other programs as i was sick of cohens food and i just kept gaining approx 1.5kg every month, now i know cohens is the only program that works for me so i am infinitely, exstatically, delighted, i paid my $700+ and i have the program right here when i need it! Dr Cohen rocks my world! Pandora

[shell]

Hi Pandora,
Did you mean November 2007?

[Annabelle Joy]

I'm just starting out, so no long term experience. However, maybe I have something new to contribute.

1. Your Cohens Goal 65 kgs
2. How long ago did you reach it? 1 week
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 1.6 kgs from my refeed end weight, 2 kgs from my low, but that was in four days immediately after finishing.
4. How far off goal are you now? 1.4 kgs
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? Not yet
6. Your thoughts on maintaining...

I ate and drank more than I planned over several days of wedding celebrations. I don't believe that I should have put on more than maybe a couple of hundred grams, plus a couple of kilos of fluid, but I haven't yet returned to goal range, so it may be that I have added new fat. I had no difficulty going straight back to Cohen food after the weekend. I was afraid that I might lose control and keep eating, starting out with all the celebratory food. However, I'm still feeling totally in control. I'm wondering if I will need to watch my weight a lot more closely than most, but still feel confident I can do this if it is necessary.

I'm thinking that for everyone there is some learning to be done as soon as we go onto maintenance. It's a matter of trying out the new foods and new situations and seeing what the effect is. I wish I had taken my scales with me for the weekend so I could have seen the daily effect of each of the celebratory meals. I will now weigh daily and watch carefully what happens when I stick with Cohen food, and what happens when I have a large meal. It is a bit scary, wondering if you will be able to maintain. I'm not scared any more because I'm sure I can, even if it means eating much more moderately then I had expected.

AJ

[shell]

Hi AJ
"2. How long ago did you reach it? 9 months"
I think that should be 1 week!
Shell

[Mette]

Thanks heaps for this thread! It definitely de-mystifies maintenance, and it's put a lot of my fears to rest. I'm still a while off reaching it, but it's good to know what I am working towards and knowing that there is a life after the diet! Thanks again!

[hexi2]

bump

[Annabelle Joy]

Thanks, shell. I'm pleased to have the Edit button back again.

I'm still struggling to find a maintenance weight. For those of you maintaining at a steady weight, how does the weight you maintain at compare with your refeed start, low and end weights?

AJ

[Cheral]

My refeed start weight was 63.0. The lowest I went to on refeed was 62.1 and that was only for one or two days, the rest of the time I seemed to balance between about 62.3 and 62.8. Thats what I set for myself as a happy weight. Between 62-63kgs.

However I now seem to be stabilising at around 63.2-63.5. The highest I have been is 63.9 Physcologicaly its over my 'perfect weight' and I have amended my thinking to say, thats OK, one kg wont matter, but, I am very aware if I allow an extra kg every couple of months, because, 'hey I still look good', then before I know it, I'll be five kgs up and saying, 'ah well, thats where I thought Id be happy at pre cohens', SO - I am now back doing the programme about 90% (had a couple of beers yesterday as I watched my nag come home).
I have found it quite difficult to maintain 100% Cohens type food on the days I am trying to be good, but am determined to get that kg or so off me, before Christmas and the holiday season. This kg is not fluid, its fat and its round my tummy.

hearing how some of you shoot up quite quickly, over a weekend or a few nights out, i am quite pleased that so far my body seems to be handling it easier. As Ive said before,my weight has only been on me for the last 10-12 years, I have been very slim for most of my life so maybe thats why.

BUT - I will NEVER go back to being fat and it really takes hard work and vigilance to maintain.

[lj]

1. Your Cohens Goal - 57
2. How long ago did you reach it? June 08
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 5kgs ( birthday celebrations - oops)
4. How far off goal are you now? 2 kg
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? - My goal weight was too small for me so I have been happy at 59 - 60 kgs for 5 months now
6. Your thoughts on maintaining... Not hard at all I just don't believe that because you are skinny the bad foods have no effect. Everything in moderation. Thin healthy people do not binge and eat badly every day! I eat Cohens programme food for breakfast and lunch everyday and friendly foods for dinner. No bread, potatoes and pasta seems to work for me.

My motto: If I don't eat cheesecake today it will still be there tomorrow...the world will not run out (I hope!)

Hugs to you all..you are all doing so well

[cherry59]

1. Your Cohens Goal 49kg
2. How long ago did you reach it? March 08
3. What is the most you have put on since finishing Cohens? 3kg
4. How far off goal are you now? 1kg
5. Were you successful in getting back to your Cohens goal after weight gain? I stayed at 49.7 for 5 months then after a few weekends of more eating and drinking than usual crept up to 52.8. And it's taking so long to get off again.
6. Your thoughts on maintaining

I find I can be cohen's friendly during the week easily then the wekend comes and out comes the dip etc for lunches and wines with meals. On goes 1 -1.5 kg on the weekend. I then spend the next week getting it off again.

Because of the no exercise rule during the program I am finding it hard to get myself exercising again and think this is one reason the weight is taking longer to come off.
Reminder: read the program guidelines more and carefully. I have to get on the treadmill each day to help balance out the intake.

If I want the body and eat the goodies I need to do the work!!