HELP - 2 weeks down and 3 pounds gained!

[Ididit4me]

Hi,

I've posted on another forum that some of you are members of as well, but I need help that's why the duplicate.

I started this 2 weeks ago on Feb 5th. I was doing great. Losing a pound a day until this past sunday. As of Sunday, I was down 14 pounds. Since then I've put 3 pounds back on!!!

The only thing different that I am aware of is I bought saltine crackers - they were on the list. How many of them can I have per meal? 2 crackers is about 4 grams. So, I figured I can have 4?

I also didn't drink a lot of water on Sunday and Monday, but I went back to drinking alot yesteray and I still put on a pound! :twisted:
I even went and worked out vigorously last night as I hadn't worked out in a week.

Very frustrated here in the States. Has this happened to anyone?

[asy]

Hiya!!!

Welcome to the forum!

I've no idea what Saltine Crackers are, sorry, we don't have them here, I suggest asking your clinic how many constitute 'one cracker'.

In any case, it doesn't seem that you've gone overboard on the crackers in any case, even IF you should only have been having HALF the crackers you have been, I can't see how that would have made you GAIN that much weight. Stop losing, yes, gain, hmmm...

The two things that I think have stymied you are the not drinking water, and the vigorous work out.

This is NOT a normal 'eat little excercise lots' 'diet' that doesn't work. It's a full programme that will reshape you AND your metabolism.

It is NOT suggested that you do any more excercise than you did prior to going onto the programme, while you are on it. Doing vigorous excercise plays with your sugar and insulin levels. If you were doing a 5k run a day prior to starting, that would have shown up in your blood tests prior, and will have been taken into account, however, if you suddenly start doing an hour of cardio work half way through the programme, you'll throw it all out of whack.

My suggestion is that you stop varying from the programme (Drink the water!) and stop trying to make up for your variations by working yourself silly, the two in combination make your body think "Sh!t I'm going to STARVE" and grab everything it can and pile it onto your thighs.

I promise, if you stick to the programme religeously, you WILL lose weight.

Oh, the other thing is, be careful with the little things. There was one week VERY early in my programme where I didn't lose weight (in fact I gained about half a KG) and it turned out I was eating tinned Salmon accidentally, having not read the fish list properly.

They leave stuff out for a reason.

Hope this helps.

asy

[Kristine..]

Hi Ididit4me

This is the main reason why the Clinics measure monthly.

If you measure daily your expectations may be unrealistic.

Bodies, as I am sure you have noticed, are living things. Living things go through various processes. As our bodies get into the swing of the program the weight loss - and the cm loss - becomes very predictable.

In the early stages this is still erratic, and it seems that you have behaved a bit erratically too!

For starters, and without sufficient information, it seems as if you have changed your brand of crispbread. You also mention 'per meal', which is not necessarily how the crispbread is meant to be eaten, and thirdly, you have pushed your poor body into a 'vigorous workout'. No wonder it's on strike!

OK:

Crispbread is so that our brains get sufficient 'fresh carbohydrate' to function properly. We can eat it with a meal or as a snack, provided that the crispbread is not eaten before protein inthe morning, no more than two pieces are eaten at any one time, and that there is at least 2.5 hours between servings.

The water goes without saying. Without the water our bodies cannot flush the fat cells empty, and we slip quickly into 'dehydration' mode and thus retain fluid in the tissues.

Water should be drunk regularly throughout the day, not a litre at a time, and we should certainly start the day with water first thing.

Regarding exercise: The consultants put emphasis on the fact that apart from usual moving around, and walking to the bus if that is what you usually do, that you DO NOT START AN EXERCISE PROGRAM WHILE ON COHEN'S PROGRAM.

This is very important. The body is undergoing fundamental change. This program is not about 'losing weight' - any mug can do that - it is about losing fat. If we don't lose the fat we cannot stabilise the weight and will continue on the diet yo-yo cycle.

Please, do not do the 'vigorous exercise'. You have been on this program two weeks. You 'should' not have even weighed yourself yet, and if you can't resist then please make sure that you measure yourself, too.

We lose fat, we shrink a bit, we lose a bit more fat, we shrink a bit more, we tighten up, we lose fat, we shrink, tighten, lose, shrink, shrink, lose, shrink etc etc and even after refeed, we continue to shrink.

Give yourself a chance. Read your program regularly - every day at the beginning so that you understand the fundamental principles of what you are doing.

This is NOT a 'diet'. This is a program which will assist you in reducing your fat deposits considerably, shrink your body back in to shape, and stabilise your eating and metabolism.

My consultant said to me:

'You will start to feel lively, and full of energy. You may even want to start an exercise program. When that happens, just sit quietly, watch some TV, read a book, take a nap, and the feeling will pass.

While you are on the program you must treat your body gently, it is working hard for you, so just let it get on with the job'.

Good advice.

So have a drink, take a nap, put the scales in the cupboard, make sure you have the right type of crispbread, don't eat them or any other carbohydrate before protein in the morning (can be with protein eg grilled cheese on rice cakes or whatever) and don't torment yourself.

Start, continue and finish.

It will happen. It just takes a little time. But it will happen

Best wishes

Kristine

[Ididit4me]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

I have to think back to the cracker in the morning bit. I don't usually eat them first thing, but I'm wondering if I did this past weekend. I can't believe though that could be the cause of 3 pounds (1.5 kg?)

As for the exercise, when I had my first blood test I was exercising 4-5 times per week. I mostly do cardio- a spinning class (stationary bike), elliptical, and maybe 15 minutes of weights. The overall time is usually 45-60 minutes.

Maybe i shouldn't have used the word "vigorous" as I was doing my normal spin class last night. HOWEVER, prior to last night's class, it had been a week since my last exercise. So, I put the weight on when I hadn't even worked out in 4-5 days. Strange.

I wish I could go to a clininc but they don't have them here in the US and sometimes it takes them 2-3 days to answer my email questions.

The crackers that I'm eating are the Premium crackers that Cohen's have listed on their website. I changed when I saw them online this weekend (via someone's post). I think i may go back to my original ones.

As for weighing, well, you know I had to get on the scale to see if it is everything it has promised to be and I wasn't disappointed. I am trying to wean myself off of weighing, but I felt it was a good judgement of keeping me on track in case I changed something - like the crackers.

I know from experience and from reading the boards that a plateau is to be expected - even several, I just didn't think I'd GAIN - when I thought I was following correctly.

I use a lot of dried spices - garlic powder, red pepper, chili powder etc. I like the "combination" spices - like Lemon Pepper or cajun - but I'm wondering if those combo ones contain something they aren't supposed to.
What should I be looking for when reading those labels? What's a no-no.
I don't use any liquid sauces. These are all dried.

[asy]

Good plan to revert back to the original crackers.

Also, be really dilligent about your water intake!

With regard the spices, just make sure they don't contain SUGAR. Some of them do. It's a real problem, the manufacturers just don't seem to understand... Grrr.

asy

[Kristine..]

Hello again

Please really read the shopping list.

Dry herbs and simple spices are OK.

Mixed commerical varieties are not OK. Many have chemical stabilisers, wheat and sugar products, artifical colours and flavours.

There are three main areas which Cohen's program focus on:

The stimulation of the release and regulation of Human Growth Hormone. This is why we can eat chicken breast meat (high livels of tryptophan) and mushrooms but not leg meat - these naturally occuring triggers are assisting us regulate ourselves. We must rest and sleep to allow the HGH to be released and for the body to use it and not waste it.

We are not eating a lot of food, so what we do eat must do something for us. No wasted foods, every gram is important

The moderation of the release of insulin - we become insulin intolerant as we become older and release more and more insulin, which converts more of what we eat to fat. Wheat products, sugars, carbohydrates etc trigger the insulin response. Eat crispbread before protein in the morning, and the whole system is set in motion but it is like running a three legged sack race - lots of effort for very little benefit.

Eating protein moderates the bodies response to everything else.

The release of serotonin, the 'feel good' hormone, which promotes healthy sleep, inhibits the hunger response, and makes us feel happy.

The 'five hour between proteins' rule is so that the body deals with one set of blockers at a time. Mixing foods and eating commercial foods means that you actually do not know what you are eating and the body will keep reacting, and not doing what you want it to do which is for the liver to start pulling out the fat reserves and using the stored fat as daily energy.

I kept a log of every meal, wrote down the times, measured every gram.

I also weighed every day, and kept a running log in Excel. I generally lost 1 kilo per week but not every week and I noticed that it would be at least three days between weight loss. I lost cms every week.

The weeks I didn't sleep enough I did not lose as much weight.

If you have actually put weight back on, I would suggest you really look at what you are eating - are you having too much tomato, adding in mixed spices or flavourings, eating fruit or crispbread before protein in the morning, are you asleep between midnight and 2am (when the largest pulse of HGH is released), are you allowing at least 1 hour, preferably 2, after dinner before going to bed (not counting naps on the couch).

Your exercise routine sounds like a Sylvestor Stallone workout to me! Goodness, you do all that exercise and you are still obese? Doesn't that tell you something? Exercise has nothing to do with weight. The body is sick, allow it some some to be healed, give it it's medicine accurately, treat it nicely, put it to bed early.

Being on Cohen's is just wonderful. We really get to be 'in tune' with our bodies. It is a great journey but slow down, linger a while, get to know what's happening so that you are never, ever, having to diet again for the rest of your life.

Well, us Aussies are happy to have you with us while we all sail the seven seas of Happy Cohening!

Ahoy there, me heartie, welcome aboard for the ride of your life!

Cheers

Kristine

[Ididit4me]

Well, I have to say, these posts have helped me to understand more of what's going on with this diet (on both message boards - weight loss forum). Even though I know a lot of what is already said, it's always different with each diet.

The guidelines we get over email - not sure if they're exactly the same as you get at the clinics - don't give too much information on all this food. I mean, yes, I have my food list and I am sticking to that -even less as I don't like half the foods that are on the list! - but not too sure on the "what to look out for" hidden indgredients.

I am sticking to the five hour rule, that's for sure as I find myself having to stay away from the kitchen several times during the day so that I don't slip. I work from home, so that is very tough. I am getting better at it though.

All that working out really wasn't a lot for me. I used to be a fanatic - 10 years ago when I was slim. Then I moved, moved in with my now-husband, stopped working out, started cooking for 2, led the life of laziness and thus the 60-70 pounds were put on my body.

I started working out again in the spring because I needed to feel better and gain some strength for my own mental stability and for health reasons. I toned up a lot and became compact. So, even at 190 pounds (in the spring), I look similar to how I was when I was 165 pounds. I felt that was good.

The problem was not the exercise, but my eating habits. As I'm sure all Cohenites know, sugar/carbs is the addiction. In the fall, I had some sort of eating meltdown that focused around cookie dough, cake frosting, cake batter mix, and all sorts of other fattening foods. Thus, I could work out 24 hours a day, it wouldn't help with the types of food I was eating and the quantity- of good or bad foods. And that's when the additional 10 pounds was put back on, right before the holidays. When I hit the 200 pounds mark (roughly 100 kgs, i guess) I said, "whoa girls, what's going on with you!!"

For the new year I said I would work out regularly and watch my eating and somehow Cohen came into my life at that time and I started in February - it took like 4 weeks to actually get the plan from them!

I wouldn't call myself Obese - not yet. Overweight, absolutely. I may be fussing with words, but my father was/is obese and I'm not like that yet. Don't want to be, that's why I'm doing this now.

ASY, I am planning on running to the store today to get my crackers that I was on. Maybe these new ones have too much salt or something - even though I am running to the loo every 30 minutes now with all the water I've been drinking.

I am listening to all you have to say as I know you've had success and I know this works. I haven't been eating tomatoes - as I don't really like them, I've only had onions 2x's this past 7 days, but I think I will cut them out altogether to see what happens.

Thanks again.

[Ididit4me]

oh and P.S.

The sleep information is new. I've been wondering when we are most apt to lose and I've said while sleeping.

I haven't gotten that much sleep as we've been having problems with our dog. I have been getting up at night to either deal with her or go to the bathroom. But, I notice when I am asleep, I am in a deeper sleep. That's good too!!

[Brieziel]

I also find sleep makes a huge difference, i know when i have had a super sleep which has been really deep (and my body has chosen when to wake up), if i hop on the scales as soon as i get up, i have sometimes lost 1kg from the morning before!
I also find if i've had really full on dreams, quite often i notice a big drop in my weight the next morning.

[lessfatty]

Originally Posted by Ididit4me

The crackers that I'm eating are the Premium crackers that Cohen's have listed on their website. I changed when I saw them online this weekend (via someone's post). I think i may go back to my original ones.

I read though your posts, as a scientific fact, simply you havent eaten anything like the energy needed 3lbs (1.5KG) of fat/butter/oils, 10lbs 5.0KG of starches/sugar products or 12lbs 6KG of additional meat that would account for 1.5KG of true lipid/fat based fat gain (real fat that sits on your bottom). The only conculsion is that your body is holding additional 3lbs of fluids similar to the 3lbs you probably lost very quickly when you started the diet.

Spices etc whilst good to review I believe will not cause such a rapid gain.



You say you eat 4*4gram saltine crackers this is 16grams, I think you should just eat 3*4gram saltine crackers this is 12grams equal to 2 "standard crackers". Saltine crackers give me the impression that they are salty? => Hence need for extra water.

I have Nabisco Premium crackers, 4 small squares per meal, 3 servings per day thus I have 12 Nabisco premium per day which is equal to 6 standard crackers.

Do not dispare what is easy to put on is easy to get off. I am thinking you had additional salty foods and could be a little bit to much starch (crackers) that got your body starting storing water (fuild retention), strange is that if you dont drink enough you body stores even more water. So my advise is simple to continue with the diet, drink lots of water, and in 3 days I bet your weight will drop back to pre-mini gain level.

[Ididit4me]

Less fatty Quote:

I have Nabisco Premium crackers, 4 small squares per meal, 3 servings per day thus I have 12 Nabisco premium per day which is equal to 6 standard crackers.


Hi Less Fatty - your quote from above - that's what I meant in terms of what I have - 2 crackers = 4 grams, so if I have 4 crackers that would only be 8 grams (2 grams per cracker).

But, I think you are right about the saltiness - which is pretty incredible that it would make me retain that much water - however, since I didn't drink anything near my quotient on Sunday/Monday, that could explain it.

Thank you for the encouraging words as I was hoping that whatever deviation I did unkowingly wouldn't amount to that much of a gain.

I drank much more water today and will finish off with green tea tonight before bed cause it's cold here in NY. Let's keep our fingers crossed that tomorrow morning will equate to some sort of loss and then I'm done with the scale for awhile!. Wll, at least till the weekend.

Talk to you all soon!

[Ididit4me]

Just a quick update - I have lost those 3 lbs I put on!!

I think I was definitely retaining water and have now learned the important lesson of water consumption. This lifestyle is a journey and I will perserve even if I have to take a few detours.

Thank you all for your help and advice. I am learning lots from it.

I am going to start journaling on here to help me and help you maybe if you're helping me when I have a setback!

Thanks again!

[asy]

Good onya!!!

Hang around here, we'll all get there together!

asy

[Shanara]

Wow, found this one on almost the last page of this section of the forum. This is a real gem and a reminder to us all that there is so much wisdom on this forum.

So folks - take some time to browse and go back to some of the older posts.

Remember to do a search before you post a question as it is very likely that the answer is already in here. Browsing the posts is also a wonderful of getting other info that you may not have realised you are missing.

For those of you who have lots of questions circling around in your head about the programme some time in here browsing can be very motivating, informing and educational. Have fun. Enjoy the journey and it definitely helps to get your head in the right place for success.

Shanara

[mcpsych]

i love this
'You will start to feel lively, and full of energy. You may even want to start an exercise program. When that happens, just sit quietly, watch some TV, read a book, take a nap, and the feeling will pass."
i think this has been my lifes mantra hehe

[firefox]

Thanks for bumping this up. It really is very enlightening. I've been on the programme for more than 4 months and starting every day with a cracker! I've still been losing weight, of course, but from tomorrow will start with the protein and see if it goes any faster.

[Moonbeams]

Really great reading some of these older posts. I am just loving Cohen's (can't believe I could ever say that). Yesterday I baked (lol) some salada's with a sprinkle of splenda and cinnamon .... and yummo, it is so good to have one with a coffee.

And, if anyone can help... I don't know how to change my ticker

[lil_doll]

Originally Posted by Moonbeams

Really great reading some of these older posts. I am just loving Cohen's (can't believe I could ever say that). Yesterday I baked (lol) some salada's with a sprinkle of splenda and cinnamon .... and yummo, it is so good to have one with a coffee.

And, if anyone can help... I don't know how to change my ticker

That sounds like a bit of a yummy "bickie" there, moonbeams! I might just try that... I also want to try the "salt and vinegar" chips from the receipe book.

And re: your ticker... you should just click on it (like in on of your posts) and then the ticker website will open, and you enter your password, changer your weight and VOILA!