Gabriel Method

[anc]

Hi

Has anyone had any experience with the Gabriel Method? I have just got a copy of the book and CD ( i read a lot on planes) and it seems to be all about the mental attitudes of weight loss

On first flick thorugh it seems there are a lot of similiar principles in what he says (dead food, nourishing your body, water etc) but he focuses on changing the mental focus to more positive and belief that you can do this, rather than restricting food intake!!

Also includes a relaxation CD which focuses on visualisation and stress reduction. The jury is still out on all of this, and I have not read all the book yet, but would be interested in what others thought of this.

Looking forward to your responses
Anne

[Lynley]

Hi ANC,
yes I've read the book and found it very interesting. I am now doing Dr Cohens and I listen to the Gabriel CD as I am going to bed. I was just reading a thread where we often put on weight when we feel vunerable. I was very sick a few years ago and my doctor has told me that I was alive because I was fat and that my body had a good survival mechanism. This is because the fat protected me from all the toxins. The problem now is that I'm well but my body hasn't quite accepted that it's OK for me to be slim again. This is the thrust of Jon Gabrial's cd. Well it's nice and relaxing to go to sleep to and hopefully it's adding positive thoughts.
Hope you find it as interesting as I did.

[anc]

Hi Lynley

Thanks for your response, I have noticed that many people viewed my post, but none had replied so very welcome you get yours, Thanks

I think some of the stuff Gabriel talks about in the book is a bit "left field" but some of it makes sense - the eating natural food, listening to your body and so on

There are a few things that I have been pondering over

1 Being really cold all the time. I have not found out is this continues after people finish Cohens and go onto maintenance or not. But surely the body natural response to being cold is to try to insulate itself!

2 For me the real problem with this diet is the constipation. I have had both severe endometrosis (which has left me with heaps of abdominal scar tissue) and past prolapse surgery and these combined with the severe diet constipation almost put me in hospital last week, so surely this is not a good thing.

The clinic advice has been laxatives (which I am not supposed to take), adding bran to yoghurt first thing in the morning (I'm lactose intolerant so that makes me sick!) or to go off the program. As I declared these health problems on my initial form and was accepted onto the program, I would have hoped for more of a solution, or a refund if they cannot help me work through this and find a solution.

3 From what I can work out, the Cohen's plan advice seems to be that we should stay on supplements long term- to me that says the body is lacking something that it is not able to get from food.

Anyone who can/would like to comment on any of the above, please join in

Anne

[shell]

Hi Anc,
You do stop being so cold once you are eating more food, I am still colder than I ever was but I have a lot less padding now!
As for the vitamins, you would have to have a very controlled and planned out diet to get all the vitamins and minerals you require daily, I still take my multi vitamin every morning and if I am feeling a little "low" will take another at lunch time, your body will get rid of what it doesn't need.
Keep on to your clinic about your concerns, & I hope you get a satisfactory answer soon.
Shell

[sundaymorningstaple]

Originally Posted by anc

1 Being really cold all the time. I have not found out is this continues after people finish Cohens and go onto maintenance or not. But surely the body natural response to being cold is to try to insulate itself!

All the normal weighted or thin people in the world have the same problem with cold. They put on warm clothing or move to Phoenix or move to the tropics. Welcome to the world of normal people. We did it differently early on by not buying coats but coating ourselves in fat for insulation when all we needed were a good set of thermals. You don't need John Gabriel to figure that one out.

[Annabelle Joy]

Anc, I'm halfway through refeed and already feeling the cold less. I'm not sure if it's because the weather's getting warmer or because I'm eating more, but I think it's both.

There's a difference between constipation and infrequent bowel movements. Most on the diet don't have constipation as such, just infrequent bowel movements, which is not surprising given the small meals. You clearly are having a problem with constipation.

Dr Cohen does recommend that we continue with a multivitamin tablet. However, I think that he believes that everyone should take one. I cannot imagine a continuing lifestyle that would be more balanced and provide more nutrients than the one we are expected to follow.

AJ

[Lynley]

Hi,
I too have endometriosis with lots of scar tissue - AND I have suffered really bag constipation (an hour on the toilet!) but thankfully now seem to be over that. I eat apples as my fruit and this seems to work for me. Hope you find a solution quickly.
Lynley