Cate's Diary

Beck- Lovely having you back! I hope you had a lovely time with your family. Happy Birthday Beck's girls! Being "in the zone" is a wonderful feeling & I feel so good again. I must never forget it. Don't say to yourself that you haven't been good Bec. We all do it. It's not about good & bad. You have done so well & you have learned so much. Nice "talking" to you again. This year is going to be good for all of us, xo Cate
GoldenRose- For the moment I'm not weighing my food but am eating about re-feed quantities but without the additional foods such as rice, pasta, bread etc. ie really limiting my carb's, still having crackers. I'm not using a lot of spice as I felt I needed to get back to more simple food. Mainly I'm steering well clear of the sweet stuff. I think it's my biggest problem. Once you start on unrefined carbs it's hard to stop. Maintenance is a huge learning curve but, hey you too will have the skills to know what is best for you. We cannot expect to eat like we used to & not regain fat. Thanks for your visit, cheers, Cate
Wandabees- Thank you! Compliments such as yours really boost my self-esteem which is often sadly lacking.(I put on a good act sometimes). My weight-loss has given me some self-confidence but I have never really had much. I need to re-inforce it constantly, hence my new signature. It's very important to have support in our weight-loss journey & in life in general & the forum is a good place to give & to receive it. Thanks again, Cate
Weight-Lost that .5kg again so am down 1.5 in 2009.
Exercise- Have ridden my bike the last 3 days, including this morning. New rule- must ride the exercise bike for at least 5 minutes before turning on computer. How's that for a good rule? Have been fairly active so far today.
New Year- I'm making small changes like showering & dressing before breakfast. It makes me feel much more positive & gets me going.
I've been gardening, washing, doing dishes, tidying up & it's not even 12.00. Good.
I am going to walk to my letter box & back (very steep) before I eat my lunch. I'm really hungry today which I haven't been all week. I will have a chicken salad for my lunch. I plate it up, put it in the fridge, have a big drink of water & then head off for a walk. When I get back I have the daily paper to read with my lunch.
I know I am meant to eat mindfully & slowly etc but I love to read the paper when I am having a meal.
I only eat sitting down now & eat as slowly as I can. It will be one of my new rules for the rest of my life.
I had better go pick my lettuce leaves for lunch. I am ravenous. Cheers, cate, having a large drink from her water bottle. Aaahh! Tank water..... nice!
 
Hi Cate!

Looks like you are going strong! You are such a great example about how to use the tools we get on Cohen and hoping back on when needed. If we all do this, we will always be skinny!!!!
 
CohenInAz- Hi & welcome back from NY! I think I'll keep learning for the rest of my life!
Never say "never" or "always". Another BDS tip. I am on the Internet without riding my ex.bike first. Another of Cate's unrealistic rules.
I exercised 3 times yesterday. Bike in morning, walk before lunch & then a very brisk walk in our local town before 8-ball. I have this set walk I love around the river & including 2 bridges. This time I went in the opposite direction & it is much steeper. I did it very quickly.
I was then very hungry all evening, resisted the supper brought out at 11.00 & had crackers when I got home at 11.30. Went to bed ravenous.
Up .5kg again- Exercise makes me hungry-shouldn't have eaten so late. I woke up not being very hungry at all. Had yoghurt & fruit. Have Tai Chi at 11.15 this morning. I have things to do first so had better scoot. I had to pay a bill online so then looked in here, cheers, Cate.
 
Phew!
Tai Chi was very enjoyable. I think I'll keep going to it. Only $5 as well. That's a bonus!
I followed the lesson with a very brisk walk around the river again & caught up with a friend who was out with her partner who has Altzeimers & is in care. She was picnicking with him & her daughter & a few of her GK's. I really like her so actually went over to her & sat down with them & chatted. The gist of it is we have made arrangements to meet on a casual basis for walks. I actually told her that I get lonely & would like some company. I let someone know how I feel & got a very positive response. I feel really good at the moment & know that I must ensure I do whatever I can to see if I can stay that way.
I need to exercise.
I need social interaction.
Speaking of which a friend on Facebook has tagged someone's photo of myself, my LH & our 2 sons & it is gorgeous. I love it. It's the best photo of us I have ever seen. I'm so glad I gave it another go. I'm now in touch with my late sister's BF in the US who I thought had wiped our family due to all the hassles she had with my sister's will and a niece who lives in Canada & is the daughter of my OB who I hardly ever see or have contact with. (It's a long story!)
The only problem I see with it is offending people when I click on "ignore" rather than confirming them as friends. The woman who took the photo who I have only met briefly at the 8-ball today asked me & I haven't yet had the heart to do it. I want it to be a genuine friends & family thing. Oh dear. She's a very nice girl. My quandary.
I didn't have any lunch until 2.30 when I got home so will have to start taking my lunch again like I used to when on Cohen's 100%. What happens to me if I have a meal very late then I am thinking about food for the rest of the day. I've been doing it a bit too often lately. I wanted to get used to feeling hungry again so that I knew I could cope with it easily & wouldn't fall apart at the seams but I think I'm fine about hunger now. I have always hated being hungry, especially when I was big.
OMG I have the gasbags. I had better get out of here. I might try to have a "nanna nap"!
 
Didn't have that nap but got to bed early.
Now, I am not going to keep posting my daily weight as it may put "Newbies" off. I am not on Cohen's weight-loss program at the moment. It goes up & down every day mainly with fluid. It's best to weigh only once a week or once a month on program.
I'm not bothered about it at all as I know I look good. Everyone tells me. I am learning to believe them. The fixation with the scales should fade, hopefully. It's hard to eliminate an obsession and a fear. The fear is still that I will put it all back on again. I won't! I'llmake sure that I won't.
I think I have gone up today because of all the exercise in the last couple of days in particular. It will be my muscles hanging on to fluid. Something to do with lactic acid but I have forgotten exactly what. If I firm up & get rid of the flab on my legs but still stay the same weight the world won't come to an end. My husband thinks I look great as I am.
It's the 8th of January & I have not eaten one solitary thing that I felt bad about eating. I have showered & dressed straight away & not hung around the house in my pj's. I have exercised every day for at least 30 minutes, except one when I did housework but didn't go for a walk or get on my bike. I will change that then to I have exercised for at least 30 minutes every day this year.
I feel very positive & happy.
That makes me feel even better. I typed that word "happy", looked at it, thought "yes, I am happy" and left it there.
Exercise= Happy Cate.
It is just amazing how affirmations & cognitive thinking can change your mood for the better. I have to remind myself to do the things that I have learned help me to be more positive and to combat depression. It will come & go as it always has but I know what will make it go away quicker & I will be better prepared next time.
Time to do the dishes & go for a walk before it gets too warm. At the moment here in Tassie it is only getting to about 22-25oC but the UV is very high & it is easy to get burned. Most people who visit don't realise & don't protect themselves against it.
Breakfast was an omelette with lots of fresh small silverbeet from my vegie garden, plus tomato & mushroom. Lunch will be....maybe just fruit salad & yoghurt or a tuna salad , dinner tonight a ham salad. Last night we had "fiery fish", one of my LH's delicious spicy stir-fries. Having that again tomorrow night. We are trying to empty the freezer & then do a big shop. No fish left, no prawns. Getting there. You can tell we live in the country-1 rabbit, 1 hare. We have the most delicious recipe for peppered hare that a customer from our pub gave us. It's a german recipe. Yum. I might take the hare out next. Trouble is my LH is working every day. I might cook it myself & surprise him. I'll have to thaw it in the bar fridge though as he doesn't miss a trick.
OMG-when I'm feeling good I'm such a gasbag. I had better ring my sister today as she's a bigger chatterbox. Hard to believe I know
Bye for now, Cate.
 
Cate -

You do sound so positive!!! I love it!!! Keep up the work. I did Tai Chi for about a year and it really does help you "connect" I still do it some mornings, as much as I can remember.

Facebook is fun and people will not get offended... all of my NYC pictures are up on facebook so you can check them out if you like.

You can also restrict who can see your facebook depending on friend levels...
 
CohenInAZ said:
Cate -
You can also restrict who can see your facebook depending on friend levels...
Click to expand...
Hi CohenInAz- I do feel really positive and can now say that I am starting to feel really fit which I love. On Facebook I had restricted who could view anything to just my "friends" not friends of friends etc. I'm glad I reactivated it as I wouldn't have seen that lovely photo & I am re-building a couple of old friendships. I'll keep it very restricted I think. The girl who tagged the photo has passed on a msg to the girl who took the photo explaining for me why I am restricting FB for the moment.
Weight- not budging but my LH says it's probably muscle. He may be right as I am toning already & can actually feel myself getting firmer. I do not have a stomach!
Exercise- This morning after doing some chores I headed off for a walk to the letterbox & decided to keep on going. Where I live is very hilly. I walked down to the highway, called in at an old friend's home but he was not there. His car was. He may be back in hospital & I will ring his wife tonight to see. Unfortunately I did not have a water bottle as I hadn't planned on walking quite so far. I then turned around & walked home, mostly uphill. When I got back to my LB I then proceeded, singing, up the hill, without stopping once. I have only done this about 4 times. I drank a whole water bottle the minute I got in the door.
Food today- Sardines on crackers for breakfast; tuna salad for lunch, 1 apple. Dinner tonight "fiery fish". It was absolutely unintentional to have 3 meals of fish. It was just what I felt like. Have drunk about 2 litres of water so far today.
Next time I walk anywhere I take a water bottle. I wish when I bought my water bottle holder at the bush-walking shop that I had bought a bigger one with a bumbag thingy as well & I would use it all the time. I often don't have pockets- bloody womens' clothes. They're just not practical.
Something I have been doing the last couple of months is wearing more pink. I think it's the first time in my life that I feel feminine. Sorry if it's too much information but I even wear pink knickers & socks. My knickers nearly always match my shirt. Crazy I know!
NY resolutions- So far this year (& I can't believe it's the 9th already!) I have not eaten one thing that I regret eating. I have showered & dressed as soon as I got up and I have exercised every day & I am slowly building my exercise up to a point where I can already feel the difference. I can feel muscles. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.
My NY resolution did not exclude having any alcohol or dark chocolate. It is to try to lose about 7kgs by the end of the year but the main thing is to get really fit. So far I have not had any but tonight I may have a drink with my LH with dinner. A champagne I think. It's ok if I do. If I do I will follow the maintenance guidelines first. This is a "rest of my life" thing.
Hope all are happy & healthy, cheers, Cate.
PS Or OS has gone for x-rays & may have broken his foot. I have no idea how yet but will find out tonight. Hopefully it happened at work.
 
I had better be quick today as I have spent so much time looking at other posts & in FB.
I shared that bottle of bubbly with my LH last night & had 4 squares of dark choc after dinner. Weight down .5kg this morning.
My walk yesterday was quite long & an excellent aerobic workout. I'm feeling really good about myself. It is so worthwhile eating healthily & exercising.
Exercise+ healthy eating= happy Cate.
An equation I will keep reminding myself about.
So far today exercise has been zilch so I had better get off the computer & go for a walk. I woke up this morning & my first thought was "where will I walk today?"
Breakfast eggs, 1/2 tomato, mushroom on crackers. Lunch will be tuna salad, dinner tonight Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef soup).
Catch you later, Cate
 
Hey Cate can I ask you how you make the Pho Bo soup? Would love to learn your recipe!

BTW, I find your exercising so impressive. I can't wait to reach your stage where I can eat healthy and also exercise. At the moment I dont think I could handle any physical activity. Climbing up the stairs is enough to wind me! ;)
 
CohenInAz-We do be the walking Cohens! :)
Wandabees-Hi. :seeya: I'm really not doing as much as I would like but I'm gradually trying to build it up. Haven't done much today I must admit. Oh well. The pho recipe I will post when I can find where I have saved it!
I thought I would have a quick look after paying my credit card bill (OMG!) but I have some work I really want to get done so won't do my usual ramble. I really must get an iPod so I can actually hear music while I vacuum. I do my house in instalments & it's the living room's turn today. I move the furniture when I vacuum so it takes me forever. I'll just have to play a CD extra loud. Talking Heads I think!!
Cheers, Cate.
 
It's the 12th day of 2009 & -
I have not eaten one thing that I have regretted eating.
I have showered & dressed before breakfast every day.
I have exercised every day, albeit not much yesterday.
and I have only budged .5 of a kilo.
Somethings telling me something. Now I just have to figure out what it is.
Today- I'm about to head up the coast to visit a friend. She lives right on the beach in a caravan park. She was with the elderly guy who was burned to death in his home Christmas before last. We talk often on the phone ut I don't get to see her much. She's 15 years older than me so it's right that I make the effort to visit her.
I have picked a salad from our garden & am taking it with me as we are having lunch at her place & going for a walk.
I thought I would type in here while I have my morning coffee. I don't have any more for the rest of the day.
Re my weight. I think my body seems to agree with my family & friends that I am good at this weight but my brain & I have not caught up with the message.
It looks like I would have to go back on program 100% to actually lose a few kilos. It also may be the exercise that's doing it. I'm not sure.
Either way it seems that if I do lose a few they quickly go back on & then I settle at this weight. I guess I could live with it but I'm not convinced about that.
It's a beautiful day in Tassie today. It's going to be about 25oC. Perfect. Not too hot.
I don't suppose anyone watched the 20/20 cricket last night? I prefer Test cricket but I must say I enjoyed it last night. Mike Hussey's catch & Dave Warner's batting were something else!
Cheers for now, Cate
 
Had a lovely visit, nice long walk, & a good healthy lunch.
Visited my DIL on the way home & my GD didn't want me to leave so I ended up staying for quite a while. I got home only 2 minutes before my LH.
Tonight I have blown it. I have over-eaten & feel yucky. It was all healthy food but just too much. My stomach is bloated & I feel like I'm about to burst!
So I can now say it's day 12 of 2009 & tonight I overate for the first time this year but tomorrow I will not do so. Tomorrow I will drink lots of water & flush it out of my system.
I did have a lovely long walk & it was glorious day. Tomorrow is another day. I will not over-eat!
Cheers, Cate.
 
Hi Cate!

I feel a little silly... but I've spent the last three and a half hours reading your diary... and I'm so glad I did! Reading about someone's journey really makes my own seem like a real possibility. I remember when you first hit your goal weight of 69kg and you said that when you started you would never have even dreamt of being that weight... well... I just hope that one day I'll be able to say that!!! (hmm that was confusing...)

You mentioned a lot about eating beef 'chop suey' - can you let me know what that is? Being a teacher, I've got a lot of time at the moment to make really nice lunches, but I'd really love to get a few tips from a tried and tested success story :) Especially so that I can ensure I stay on track when I get back to work.

Thanks for being such an incredible inspiration and congratulations for all of your success! I wish I could say more to really let you know how much I appreciate you writing all your trials, struggles and successes... thank you.

x Johanna
 
Johanna- For once I don't quite know what to say. Thank you! I always hope that I can inspire someone to realise that they too can do this. That's mainly why I stay here. When I first started Cohen's there was no-one in here who had reached goal & hung around so I swore that I would. My "chop suey"varied a little every time I made it as it's basically just a quick stir-fry of garlic salt (or nicer fresh), onion, beef mince, curry powder(careful it doesn't have "filler" in it), a little extra ginger powder & coriander & then a little balsamic added at the end just for extra flavour and shredded cabbage of course (whoops-nearly forgot!). I used to use the lighter part of the cabbage so that it looked like more and most of my Cohen's meals were the meat portion that gave me 120g of vegies. If I think of anything I have missed I'll let you know. A simple dish but one of my favourites & can be taken to work to zap in the micro. Thank you for letting me know how you felt about my diary. It has been a new experience for me opening up & I think it has done me the world of good. Still learning...... Cheers, Cate.
Today- I have been pottering about doing housework & not much else. Having a very light eating day. Yoghurt/fruit for breakfast; cold meat & hot vegies for lunch(mostly silverbeet), 1 apple. Dinner tonight will be steak & salad, followed by fresh fruit only.
It's an almost perfect day today but too hot to go walking now. I might get on the bike instead soon.
Weight has not budged. Mmm. I'm feeling really good- very positive & up-beat & it's the 13th of 2009. Have not had one day where I felt negative about life or myself this year. (even though only .5kg down. So far, so good. )
Cheers, Cate
 
Hi all,
Cate you are doing amazingly well and must be very proud of yourself. I am yet to get myself back on track. I go to bed every night with good intentions and wake up in the morning and eat toast for breakfast :ack2::ack2:.
I am determined that tomorrow morning I will get up and cook my delicious mushroom omelette (that always keeps me satisfied) for breakfast.
You keep me inspired that I am able to get back on track and even after all our trials and tribulations we can maintain and stay at a stable weight. Thanks.
Have a great day (night), Cate. Take care
Beck
 
:p

I think we may have to change your name cate...
Maybe we should refer to you as the "Oracle"...
As always you are a mine of information and so willing and happy to help...

You sound like you have been going great guns back on cohens.. You are doing brilliantly...

My shorts are nearly off the hips... ha ha ha

well just thought i would pop in quickly, off to my mums.. my mother has managed to forget her password to log into the forum so i shall rectify that while i am on her Pc...

Hope you have a good day..
Thanks Cate...

TTFN
Chelle
:hurray:
​
 
Hi Oracle! :waving:

I just made your mmmmm mmmm mmm chop suey. mmmmmmm. SO GOOD! :hurray:

I've been making something similar, but with green capsicum and instead of curry powder, cumin and paprika. Makes it almost like taco mince. But... I've been getting a little sick of that.

THANKS!!!
 
Wow! I thought I would have a quick look but am amazed at how much activity is in the forum & I only missed one day! I had such a full on day yesterday & was only home for 2 hours. I'll come back this afternoon & reply properly as I am off to take my OGS to "Learn to swim". Cheers, Cate.
 
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