sweetie's diary

sweetie · #1 16-06-2009, 07:04

A good friend of mine went on Cohens, and lost 30 kg. This prompted me to start checking it out.
I have been on Weighless, and countless other diets. Have lost weight, (never reached goal) just to pick it up again with interest.
I don't consider myself as obsessive about food. I generally don't overeat, eat my 3 meals a day, and have never reverted to food for comfort. I will have the odd sweet / cake but maybe only once a week / month.
I have looked through the forums, and read a couple of diaries.
It is clear that the weight loss is there, but my big concern is - what happens thereafter.
I am so tired of being dissapointed AGAIN!!
I believe that I have strong will power. I gave up smoking 3 years ago. It was the first time I tried, and have never touched another cigarette.
As far as my weight is concerned it has been a life long struggle.
I was an chubby "tween", overweight teen, a bit more than overweight twenty year old, and now I approaching 40, and can't call myself anything else other than OBESE!! (Grossly so)
I have no serious health issues (Yet), but I have 2 young daughters ( 5 & 8yr) and feel that I really need to give them a healthy mommy, that can run around on the beach with them, not just wallow in the shallows.

How hard is it to maintain the weight after the loss?
I don't know if I can put my self through the struggle(Which is evident in the forums) just to be wiped out by that ever increasing weight again!!
Am I setting myself up for disaster? possibly, but I would like to hear from those people that did loose the weight, and have managed to keep it of for a year and longer. How did you do it? What is your recipe for success?

FlaMie · #2 16-06-2009, 12:14

Hello sweetie,

What are some of the "struggles" that you've read really? I think the biggest struggle is really ourselves, our heads. So, the programme teaches you to place the head in the right place.

You should go and read SMS's (sundaymorningstaple) diary. He has successfully finished the programme and kept to his weight till today (1 year after). I salute him because he is very determined to do so and he is my inspiration btw.

hexi2 · #3 16-06-2009, 14:48

Hey Sweetie

The answer really is up to you...

The diet works wonderfully and so does maintenance (if you follow the guidelines)

It is the pyschological 'fat person' thinking that can make us come unstuck.

From my heaviest at 117kg, joining Cohens at 95kg and getting down to 57.5 in 6 months was an amazing acheivement...

The physcial journey is EASY!!! It is your emotional bits than can wreck havoc. I have juggled around 10kg up and down since finishing over 12 months ago...quite good considering. BUT its the head work you have to prepare for, the 'thoughts' that tell us it is ok to eat a whole block of chocolate when we are finished! Some people move into maintenance alot easier than others. They accept the life style change and are happy to live the maintenance way, have sweets a couple of times a week and follow a good lifestyle. Then there are others (especially ppl who have lost large amounts of weight) that struggle with thoughts and bingeing...

Have a read of my diary...

BUT its not rocket science...Cohens is no magic wand on how we think and relate to food post Cohens...it gets our weight off easy peasy and gives us the tools to keep it off...

But no there is no magic wand as such if you are hoping to eat how you have always eaten prior to Cohens...its set...you will regain the weight unless you are prepared to work on yourself...

Hope you join us...

hope_ful · #4 16-06-2009, 15:01

hey sweetie

i think you can compare your quitting of smoking to cohens- if you really want to do it, you will succeed!

physiologically, our bodies can easily keep the weight off in maintenance. this plan will help to balance your sugar and hormonal levels. it really is the most amazing program.

once in maintenance, it is up to us to say yes or no. to enjoying our food without the guilt, to not over indulging. to know when to say yes to chocolate and then no to chocolate.

cohens will give u an incredible insight into how much food your body actually needs to survive, and anything over that amount is for extra energy and vitality, not for reward/punishment/emotional stuff.. it will teach you what foods are best for your body for the rest of your life. so that if you have a big weekend and go up 1-2kg (so easy to do!) you can drop that in a day or so on monday.. it's amazing how well one's body can react to cohen's foods.

i would suggest you do this plan- for yourself, for your children, and when you get to the everyday ups and downs of maintenance then cross that hurdle.

everyday, slim people have the same thoughts that heavier ppl do, but they dont listen to the voices so much "eat that muffin" "have another latte".. they eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full. if they feel like a piece of chocolate, they have 1 not 9. that is what happens to people everyday, its just that some ppl who finish refeed (me included) take a little while longer to learn how to say no or just have 1 piece of chocolate.

if you think you will succumb to bad eating habits after cohens, there are lots of ways to fix it. its worth it in the end though. you will feel like a million dollars when you're on this program, i cant explain the high you get from feeling in control and not second guessing your food consumption and food choices.

if i preach anything to anyone, it is to do cohens and to do it 100% with your whole heart, it is amazing.

when i was first looking into it, i was like "there's no way this will work.. there are always positive testimonials on these sites, they have to put them up there or no one would buy the program!". i was so unsure it would work but knew it was my last option.. no matter how much weight i had to lose, i was unhappy as i was. it doesnt matter if you have 5 or 50kg to lose on this plan, it works if you work it. (i read that in someone's diary and think it's a fab saying!)

i really hope you make the right decision for yourself and commit to it. there are a lot of ppl on here who are really supportive and insightful, and inspirational.

xxx

nattyg · #5 28-06-2009, 15:51

Hi Hopeful & Hexi!
Just wondering if either of you have some advice with how to tackle the emotional side of things. You both seem to have a great deal of knowledge and have both been successful on the program.
How does one develop the thinking of a 'slim person' after a life time of 'fat thinking'?
any good reading you can recommend? (I've read the 'useful books' thread)
thanks guys
Nat

ConnieK.. · #6 28-06-2009, 18:07

As someone who has just reached a year after cohens end and stayed pretty much the same all I can say is .....

Be realistic - you have to recognise that you MUST change your habits to maintain the loss. Don't try to second guess it - it works because it works ... trying to substitute other programs/methods/theories after reaching goal is very rarely successful. Dr Cohen gives us guidelines that work .... if you follow them.

And make sure you fix the head space - getting into a cycle of guilt and punishment is the worst thing you can do. If you eat badly for a day, eat well the next ... not rocket science is it? but so many people just don't get it .....

I am not special, I am not unusual, what I am is determined ... determined that I will NEVER EVER be that big again ... ever! and so I follow the guidelines! Simple stuff.

Connie

fornight · #7 28-06-2009, 20:09

I can relate to Sweetie's concern. I too wish that this is the last journey I will ever take to lose the excess weight. After reading a few diaries on people who completed the program and suddenly binge or purge, they can get really scarily.

At the moment, I tried not to think or assume I will be going down the same road. I tried to focus on NOW and focus on following the program. I think worrying too much about "after cohen" when you have not even started is like:-

-I don't want to eat solid food because food might get stuck in my throat and I will die of suffocation or
-I don't want to cross any roads because I might get hit by a car.

That however does not mean I cannot try to prepare for it. I am currently reading the book "Deckers Diet Solution" which is about how to think like a slim person and fight back against those negative thoughts that will sabotage your diet success. I cannot be sure it will help but at least I did something.

I hope I am not being harsh to you. Find that will power that you used to quit smoking and channel it to following cohen program.

carrieanne_c · #8 28-06-2009, 20:51

It isn't a struggle is it? I think it would be more of a struggle if we weren't in here talking about our ups and downs. In the book feel the Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, the author compares life to a plane flying or road travel there isn't always a straight path-you have some curves some left turns-one way and do not enter streets, but we always get to where we are going. I've never been super skinny but I have been at nearly healthy weights and I have also been uncomfortably big(for me) but I have learned after doing Atkins that pasta bread and rice make me personally put on weight, as does chinese food and drinking tons of beer

. Now with Cohens I am learning that you don't have to be fruit free for weeks in order to lose weight,that you don't have to mess up yor electrolytes in sucha a way that it gives you appendicitus symptoms.

You can have some healthy crackers some fruit veg etc. I am learning what portions satiate hunger and keep a person healthy. I don't need to eat a 16oz. T-bone and enormous salad to feel full.

I just came back on from a two week vacation(drank more beer daily than Homer Simpson drinks in a week)-I had gained 1.3k(went from 73.6 to 74.9) (and only at the very end-when i ate the chinese food and drank the beer and had TOM) After 6 days following the plan again, now I am at 72.6. so i dropped a total of 2.3 this week(and I have one more day to go), I am so happy about that reality, that once I get into maintnenace land that if i have a big party out on the weekend that during the week I can go back on plan and will be able to get back to my healthy weight. Or like Connie said one good day one bad day. I know it was not the fastest way to do the program (taking two weeks off) but in a way it gave me a glimpse of the future and a sort of reassurance that this plan has been a good investment and will be my future lifestyle.

sweetie · #9 08-07-2009, 04:56

Hi all,
Thanx for all the encouragement. I have finally decided to go on Cohen's. I am just waiting for my plan now.
I am sure to make use of this forum, as I am sure that you can get some support here. I know I have to walk my own path, and nobody but myself make the decisions. It is just nice to know that there are more people walking beside me

See you soon in my weight loss story

julie · #10 15-07-2009, 12:48

Hi Sweetie, Welcome I hope your programe will come soon I'm sure you will enjoy it and lose all your weight in no time. You will receive lots of support from your forum friends I'm sure. Keep focased and you'll get there.

sweetie · #11 16-07-2009, 08:35

Thank you Julie. I am on day 3 today, and so far, so good. I now just need to figure out how to get a diary going.

Chat again

julie · #12 16-07-2009, 11:27

Hi sweetie, I'm sure your children will be very proud of their mum when you get to your goal weight. I have six kids and I am doing it not just for myself but also for my kinds and my beautiful husband. You will be a yummy mummy when you get to your goal weight . It doesnt take long time flys by and your weight will fall off. Best of luck

sweetie · #13 16-07-2009, 11:37

Thanks Julie,
This forum is really an inspiration.

carrieanne_c · #14 17-07-2009, 00:17

Hi Sweetie, thanx for poppin by my diary, this goes by quickly so enjoy the flight.

sweetie · #15 17-07-2009, 04:46

Yeah!!!!!
My Diary
(Thanx Asy and Koh for moving my previous thread)
After all my fears, and questions I have decided to begin my own Dr Cohen's journey.
My BIG motivation came from this forum.
I spent hours on it, and thanks to all on here, I decided to give it a go. I know I am not alone.
Today was actually day 4 for me already.
I find the diet soooooo easy. I don't have to think too hard, as there are not too many choices.
My first chalenge came on day 2 already.
My best friend of the last 25 years came on holiday from Johannesburg (1200 km away), and I went to go and spend the day with her and her family.
The plan was to go and watch movies, but bummer, nothing suitable for my 2 monsters. (5Y & 8Y)
So, we went to the Wimpy (Fast food restaurant)
And I had ............. a black coffee, while verybody else ate hamburgers and chips etc.
My friend kept on saying how bad she felt for me, but you know what. It didn't bother me. When we got back to the holiday flat, I ate my packed Cohen's lunch (It was only the right time then)
For once in my life, my head is in the right place!!!!
3 years ago I said that I am going to stop smoking and I did.
I have the same feeling this time about loosing the weight.
I am going to loose this flab forever!!!!!!!

I am soo lucky in that I have not had any of the detox symptoms I've read about. No headaches - nothing!!
I am not even hungry, but then again I am so used to ignoring hunger pains, that I most probably just don't know.
I must keep on reminding myself to eat. Not eating is the reason why I look the way I look.
Eating nothing the whole day, then eating something quick & easy (and unhealthy) just before bed time. Thanks to all that has already replied and motivated me.
I am sure with all your help, this is going to be my FINAL road to a thin me!!!
Can't wait!!!!!!!

carrieanne_c · #16 17-07-2009, 05:57

I hear ya sister, so many times in the past couple months I have sat with my ice tea while everyone else is downing beers and eating, no bg deal-I would just eat befor or after.

Namaste · #17 17-07-2009, 06:42

Hey Sweetie,

Glad I found your diary...and welcome again to this fabulous forum, with as no doubt you can see, all the wonderful, wise...and some a little whacky people, who keep you strong and motivated.

It's brilliant having so many cheerleaders, who have gone through the same as you.
It sounds like you have your head right, and we'll get there!

Take it easy

sweetie · #18 17-07-2009, 06:44

This forum is going to get me in soooooo much trouble. I am spending too much time on it (Just spent 4 hours)
Better go sleep!!!
But first - Prepare lunch for tomorrow, and get stuff ready for breakfast.
It has defenitely worked for me to pre-measure my proteins. Now I just quickly defrost, and fry it up, Yum!!!

julie · #19 17-07-2009, 08:59

Hi sweetie, Congratulations for not eating at the fast food resturantit does get easier If I want something I will cook it for the family and I am happy with the smell of the food is satisfies me. How stupid ha. My hubby had garlic bread last night I stood there for about a minute and was sniffing the garlic bread, but I didnt eat it the smell was enough. keep up the great weight lose you will be slim in no time. You go girl

sweetie · #20 17-07-2009, 22:41

Day 5 for me. So far, so good. I just had a yummy lunch (Sweet & Sour chicken on garden veg)
I am also doing the water thing (For the first time in my life have I managed to drink 2l of water a day for 5 days running). I am so happy with myself!!
It is soo amazing that once the head is right, nothing else matters. I do find it a bit of a challenge not to lick the spoons after I dished my kids food, but not because I want to eat it, pure habit. Also throwing away the left overs......
I've also found, that with the exception of my family, and my best friend, I don't want to tell anybody that I am on diet.
Why is that? Is it that I don't want to be scrutinized the whole time, or is it that I just want everybody else see the weight "magically" disappear? I will have to ponder that thought. Best I get back to work.