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Ok, something happened today.

My clinic is closing! What the...? I'm being transferred to another clinic - neither of which are convienient. How does this happen? I was there on Tuesday, and she didn't say anything. I even made my 8 week appointment. I don't know if I 'm more annoyed that she didn't tell me face to face, or that I will have to take time off work to go to the alternative clinics. Grrr.... Why is this place so damn unprofessional? I get to choose between Mitcham and Melbourne. Both are miles away from work, and both are only open monday-friday until 5.30. Cheltenham was at least open until 6, so I could go after work. Aren't I allowed to do this program and have a career? I wonder if they'll give me my refeed early, so I don't have to bother goingt o either of the other clinics.

I need some.. something here. Short of taking an annual leave day, I'm not going to be able to get to the clinics. So I'm not going to be able to get my refeed, so i may as well stop now.

i don't know what to do.
 
ridiculous, do you need to go to the clinic? I've only been to mine once and that was when I went in for an info day and she told me all about the program. Another clinic has opened up closer to where I live (seeing as mine is about 45 minutes away) but I didnt wan't to transfer so I just keep in contact with my consultant through email. I dunno, maybe a thought to consider?
 
ridiculous: Don't panic! Sorry this is happening for you - I get the inconvenience and the annoyance. Just two things:
1. People who live in rural areas have a consultant who they don't visit, but email and phone. I do that. Not as good as seeing someone face to face, but it works.
2. The refeed depends on the ongoing blood tests - it can be collected earlier, but they say it is best to go as far as you can before getting it - at least a reasonable distance along the weight loss you have to lose.

It is a total nuisance, and sounds like their PR was unhelpful. But don't let anything stop you!! YOU CAN DO THIS. It will work out, and this group will support you through it if you have to do it by phone and/or email.

You just keep going and achieve your goals - don't let anything rob you of that. Keep us posted,
lizzi
 
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Thanks guys.

I don't visit the clinic regularly, I'm just concerned about having the time to get the refeed when I need it. I don't really want anything else to do with the clinic, really.

In terms of the blood tests Lizzi, It's really unlikely that I'll need another one, because the next one is due at 12 weeks, and I should be well and truly at goal by then, so my last blood test will be what the refeed is based on anyway.

The next time I need to go to the clinic will be to get my refeed, and I'm assuming that they won't send that to me. I'm assuming I'll have to go in and sit down and they'll talk me through it, and the life after program.

Sorry. It's just that I'd just checked my emails and was really angry. I may have over-reacted a little. But it still leaves me in a bit of a predicament...

Thanks kim and lizzi though. I'm not reaching for those easter eggs yet...
 
It was a reasonable reaction ridiculous. And I understand about the blood tests. And yes they should post the refeed. I know several people who have ordered them by phone or email and they are posted.
lizzi
 
Hi,
I have always had a battle with my weight, but the last year I have seriously lost the battle!
I have read some good reports on this forum about the Cohen's program and would like to hear from others who have lost weight on this program and kept it off.
Is it really a "personalised" program? or is this just a way to get you in? Please excuse me if I sound sceptical but it sounds like many of the people on this forum are eating the same foods, hence my question.
I would also be interested to hear how your body tones up with such a dramatic weight loss.
 
Hi All!

Well it is Day 19 and I have successfully resisted numerous temptations today. Tim tams and macadamia nuts in my line of vision at the office, a working lunch where I did not eat, and left over cheesecake in the kitchen from a function!

Somehow it is not that hard when you consistently say no!

Feeling a bit tired today but think it is because it is 'that time of the month' and I am usually tired anyway.

Wearing my size 12 pants today, they are practically falling off me! they were tight before I started, really nice feeling how loose they are! I have such a bigger range of clothes I can wear now in m

And just to clarify for I think it was Frog, I have not lost 7kg in 2 weeks, only 4kg! But I aim to lose 7 or 8kg overall. Hope to get it done in the next few weeks.

Frog - re: the exercise my experience has been that I can no longer do the exercise I used to do. I used to run three times a week, but now only run once a week, and just do stretching and walking to and from the station other days. Doing too much made me exhausted and hungry. So if I were you take it easy. Just running once a week will maintain your fitness levels, but if you find you can do more, go for it. My book says you should do exercise 3 times a week. The thing is I am finding it nice having a break from all my intense exercise and besides, despite all of it I still managed to put on 8kg in 2 years!

Ridiculous - I understand how you must be really disappointed in your clinic. Especially with the lack of warning. I would complain to your consultant and also email the main clinic in South Africa to let you know how you were treated. I looked on the website and you could try this email address: Email fatloss@wellbeing.co.za
And also, there must be a way to do it all remotely, it would be crazy if you had to take annual leave. I am sure you will work it all out. You will get your re-feed, it will be fine.
Want to lose - To answer your questions....yes, the program's are very individual, the lists of food we can choose from are identical but the exact amounts are very different. One person might be allowed 2 pieces of fruit a day, another 4, one person 2 Ryvitas, another 4. Just depends on what your blood tests say, how much you have to lose, your gender and lots of other things. Basically you are given guidelines of what proteins, carbs, fruit, vegies, dairy, and drinks you can have, then you get proportions for each meal. Dry biscuits and fruit are allowed between meals. One person may be allowed 100g of chicken with 100g vegies, someone else 150g, chicken with 200g vegies. You are also given specific health recommendations, depending on your complaints, eg. headaches, depression etc, as well as your cholesterol and glucose levels. Check out the website for more info.
The proportions are designed to generate some kind of hormone balance in your body that has lots of positive effects, they are detailed on the website. I have definitely noticed the toning up myself, and my cellulite is literally disappearing, amazing. And I have had no headaches at all on the program, I used to have them most days. I must sound like a bit of a Cohen's evangelist but it does work. I am a sceptical person too and have a background in science so wanted to know more about it. I don't know exactly how it works but it does, you just have to follow it 100%. This is the hardest bit but it gets easier as you go along. I have found it hard to give up going out for dinner and having to avoid social situations with food but you just have to keep yourself focused on your goal. I would rather miss out on a few dinners than be overweight for life.

Anyway better go, all best guys!

Kathy
 
wish me luck

Hi all, I have been reading through lots of the messages about Cohen's as I am about to start. I have been struggling with my weight for past 12 years and have peaked at 85kg which considering I am only 148cm puts me at obese with 30-40kg to lose. The mountain seems much to big to climb so I felt I needed something with quick results and so I have had my blood test and just waiting on the call from the clinic. Like another that wrote in I have been crying all week worrying about how I will manage with so little and such a tiny choice of food to eat, but have been encouraged after reading alot of the messages here. In the past I have used this type of site to help me get through some problems (PND) and hope that this will help too. I look forward to reading future messages and hope mine don't contain too many whinges!
 
Morning All

RidiculousI very rarely go into the clinic like you I work full time and find it impossible so I do everything by phone. It is rubbish that they have treated you that way though considering they are meant to be there for your support !

Desperadoalthough I have only been on this program a little over two weeks, when I first started I was horrified by the food quantaties that they gave me and thought for sure tht I would die. You will be amazed that you are not hungry at all I think the thing that we struggle with the most is being deprived of all of those evil foods that put as here in the first place. And as every one here points out it is not forever, you will find this forum the best tool for keeping you focused everyone here is very supportive and motivational. It is a great site. Good luck you'll be fine..

Congrats Kim on meeting your next mini goal that is brilliant !:D

Hope everyone has a great day
 
Fantastic Mini Goal reached!

Hi all, I wanted to come on to the forum and crow as I have just joined Lizzi in the ranks of the overweight. Only those of us who have been OBESE for some time know how good that feels! yyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Lizzi, you are an inspiration to lots of us here. what a fabulous weight loss and I heartily congratulate you on your new mini goal.

Kim_j you are doing wonderfully well too. you should be very proud of yourself. Hitting each new decade is a major breakthrough both physically and psychologically isn't it?

Frog, it sounds as though you have heaps of excellent yoghurt advice but I want to add my two cents worth. Tamar Valley classic plain is great, very creamy and smooth and not at all bitter. Quite bearable on its own when you get used to it and yummy with sweetener and cinnamon and sometimes stewed or fresh apple as some others have mentioned. Its my fav meal and I never liked plain yoghurt!
Two others that will do in a pinch are Yoplait and Nestles low fat plain, both creamy but not quite as thick and lush as the TAMAR VALLEY. Its made in the North of Tassie , in the Tamar River valley area... yum yum yum . Enjoy... I can't imagine stopping my breaky routine now. I think I'll eat Cohen's style breakfast for ever. I look forward to it and practically lick the bowl each day! LOL

Ridiculous, I am another person who never goes in to the clinic, all I do is email my weight in or email a question every now and then. It is not essential to go in if you don't want or need to. I only live a few minutes away from mine and have time to get in there any day but find I don't need to. This forum does a lot of the morale boosting and information provision that I need. Good luck with finding a way to stay true to yourself and finish what you have started. You are doing so well and have hardly any time to go. Stick with it.

Desparado I seriously doubt you'll be hungry on this program. I was a BIG meal eater and I am never hungry with very small portions that I have these days. The program has something about itthat means hunger is NOT an issue. The hardest thing for me is the 5 hour rule which means you can't eat your main meals closer than 5 hours apart. They don't have to be exactly 5 hours but shouldn't be closer and... yes I agree that it is difficult socially but believe me its worth every step of the way! I haven't been this slim in about 15 years! I still have more to go and it is looking very achieveable from where I stand. I am sure everyone has similar stories and would agree with me. The program is restrictive and very regimented but it works. There's no doubt about it. I have lost the same amount in 11 weeks as I lost in an entire year of slogging away on weight watchers and excercising EVERY day (and still didn't reach my goal)! Good luck with losing your weight.

Cheers everyone. Have a good day. Jen
 
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what do i do now

thanks everyone for their replies and support. i finallly got phone call from clinic and was actually starting to look forward to starting but guess what? they wont take me on because of the medication i am on. i am so devestated coz although i was really worried about starting i felt i had finally found something that would shift the weight and in a time frame that is not too daunting. now i am back to square 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i am just going to cry. i definatly feel desperado now.
 
I need to unload so you don't have to read this.

Hi All, you have all done so well this past week esp over Easter. Congratulations to those who are no longer obese and to the skinny clothes and size 10s!!! !! I think I shall keep going until I can at least say that too.

I have been very interested in reading all your yoghurt comments, so much so that I think when I shop tonight, I shall get some Tamar Valley. I have NEVER liked yoghurt and even though I have tried once or twice in the past seven months it has still only got as far as the rubbish bin.

I need to unload, so please forgive me.

Easter was shouse. I could not get over the fact that I couldn't have an EE! This is probably my first time in 53 years. I did not even give any which was not a problem to anyone else in my family except me. It did not even feel like Easter. This has really thrown me as I had no problem with Christmas, birthdays or any other celebrations. I had the family over for my son's birthday on Wednesday night and even though he asked as always if I wanted a piece of cake my comment was 'of course not' but then I had to follow it with "if I couldn't have an Easter egg on Sunday why would I want cake now". Can I ever get over this?

My scales say that I am now 89.6K. Wonderful, terrific and all that!! Why aren't I ecstatic? I don't think I have ever been this thin. I know that this may sound odd but all I can think of is I still have 25k to go. All I can think about is coming off (not that I will) but I don't believe I can ever be 65K. I would like to say I am hungry but I don't think I am. I would like to say I am craving something sweet but I don't think I am. I am compulsively chewing gum which I hate and I shall make a concerted effort this weekend to stop. I think I am have a psychological problem in that I can't see past where I am now and I don't believe that I can ever be 65K and my brain is trying to sabotage me. You see I can convince myself that I feel great and I feel skinny and I am wearing clothes I never thought I could so why expect more.

I have to thank you all because every day this week I have had this discussion with myself and it is the reading of all your comments first thing every morning that has got me through the day.

Reasons why I must keep going:

1. I don't know how to stop.
2. I should find out what size 10 feels like.
3. I don't want to be attached to the words obese and over weight.
4. Go until the end of August then I have given myself 12 months. (and I think that this is the real goal.

OK now here's hoping I can let it go and move on with the weekend.
 
Good evening jude: thanks so much for sharing that with us. You know, it's not easy sometimes to change who we are, and what we've been. We can say things like: 'we are not shaped by the past', or 'it will all be different when I lose weight', but living those kinds of thoughts out can be hard for some people. I feel for you. I don't know you, so all I can do is guess at a few possibilities. See if any of these things ring true (and forgive me if I'm way off the mark):

1. Believing in yourself means trusting that this time will be different. If we have failed to lose weight before, it is like too scary to believe that our dreams can finally come true. We don't want to let ourselves down. We don't want to face failing again or ...

2. Who you may have been in 53 years might be hard to let go of. It is possible to be afraid of being the new person that you don't know! What if that new image is hard to handle? Or you don't like the new person? Or if other people don't like the new person? Or if it doesn't make any difference at all and all your hopes feel dashed? These things are worth pondering.

3. Maybe you could take your time in saying goodbye to each piece of clothing. I have to do that! I try everything on a last time and wear it a last time - even if it is around the house. Then I wash it and hang it in a different wardrobe. I need to do that, and once I do I'm fine and really look forward to the next lot of clothes. So glad I don't have to iron them when I'm finished with them!! Maybe there are other things beside clothes that you need to be saying goodbye to so that you can move forward.

Maybe none of these things fit for you jude. It would be good for you to try and put your finger on it for yourself, 'cos it may help.

Whatever you do, believe in yourself! We are all precious people and trusting yourself and who you are on the inside is the first step in making any change like this.

Hope this raving makes sense and helps just a little to think it through. I feel really strongly about each person knowing who they are on the inside and liking themselves for what they are on the inside. I am sure you are worth the effort you are putting into yourself.

take care,
lizzi
 
I am sending positive and encouraging thoughts your way jude

Oh Jude..... I think I get what you are saying. it sounds like a crisis of identity, body image and Cohen's fatigue. Its like when you are on antibiotics for two weeks but feel better after 4 days. How hard is it to still remember to take those drugs!! You have the results you wanted, you have done well, you feel soooooo much better. Its easy to see why the motivation is waning. But i hope you hang in if its what you want to do. How many weeks and how many kilos have you done so far? I seem to remember that you were doing very well.


How about a clinic "pick me up" discussion with your consultant ? Is she or he good at motivational talks, otherwise perhaps a chat with a sensible supportive friend , a hypnotherapist , life coach or counsellor might help. or... and don't shoot me for saying it but maybe even stop if you really feel the need and then resume in a week or 3! I guess the worry is whether you'll ever start it again.
I'll be interested to hear how you get on. Keep thinking about why you are doing the program. iF those goals still hold true then revisit them. If they don't , set some new ones and reassess the situation. Perhaps promise yourself some rewards along the way and remember to think of it as a treatment with a specific goal in mind. It will be soooooo worth it.

Good luck and take care.
J
 
Hey the old me - I so get it!! Such an excitement about not being obese anymore!! Good for you. You will be there in no time. This is a massive milestong and I'm having a diet coke on your behalf!!

Miss Kath: I'm interested in the website you are refering to - is it Cohens? Some of the things are so the same, but other parts of it seem different to all the others. Do you know any details about their plans and the extra options that are there? Have been curious about that one for a while!

desperado: That is the hugest let down! I would have been devestated!! And I would have had the cry as well. There is someone where I work who had the same experience - they returned her results with the same no answer and then returned her money.

She is moving forward though with a plan that is suitable for her. Progress is slow but she is getting there.

But she got me thinking. If it were me, the one I would go to is the CSIRO diet. I have looked through it and although it is quite different to Cohen's, the medication wouldn't interfere. There are some definite similarities in the food principles, and it would be possible to fine-tune it even more if you know someone who understands things like the 5 hour rule and the single protein idea, etc.. there are people who are losing very effectively on this plan.

Sure this won't change the cry and the hurt, but at least it is a thought when you are ready to face it.

Don't let this be a total give up point for you - there is a way forward when you are up to facing it ... so hang in there!! What is happening for you matters.

lizzi
 
Jude,
I can't say anything that hasn't been better said by all the wonderful members of this forum. But one thing I do know, is that no matter how frustrated, and lost you feel - tomorrow will always be better. And tomorrow you will look back and think that you don't know why you thought/felt/did those things. But you can't change the past, you can only influence the future. So think about what you want for your future, and influence you decisions on that. You can do it. Believe in yourself.

This sounds so ridiculous after reading Jude's post, but in regards to my clinic closure... i replied to the email stating my dilemma and they were very political in their reply BUT I am picking up my refeed & life after plan on Wednesday, and I just need to email them when I actuallystart it and when i finish. So it is all good. The main problem i had was that I couldn't get to the 2 alternative clinics to have these things explained to me (not that I ever wanted to visit them regularly, but I like having details explained to me face to face, so wanted to go through my refeed program at the clinic), but now it's sorted. Sorry if I went on a bit. i was just really angry. I still find it amazing that for such a great program, that is so scientific etc, that the clinics can be so poorly run, and themselves be so poorly informed. Without the information I have got from this forum - I don't even want to think about where I'd be!
i love you guys!

Bella
 
Oooh - one other thing! I will be able to share the refeed details with you all next week.

Hopefully that will give you a "light at the end of the tunnel"!!
 
Jude XXX

Jude, I am SO proud of you for being so brave & for putting your feelings out there. If only everyone was as honest as you.

I think we all have covered up so many inner demons with food & the eventual weight gain. Once we start to peel that "protective" covering off, we fear what is really underneath. It is totally understandable to question yourself & wonder what lies ahead (some times it's nothing but a blur) But what we have the privilege of doing is taking that 'blur' & bringing it into focus.

You have done such a great job to get to this point, now you have the strength & ability to adapt your body & life to anyway you want. You have power & contol that no one else has...your own. That is scary, especially when you look back & see that before you committed to this new lifestyle your body & life was out of control.

It's so hard to be proud of yourself & love yourself - most of us for years have been the worst offenders of putting ourselves down. Now we have positives to focus on & it's hard to retrain the mind to think positive thoughts. How many times have we heard a negative remark but dismissed the other 5 positive ones?

I have to say again, thank you for sharing your true inner feelings with us, Please keep going.

XXXX
 
1st weigh in

Hi there,

I had my firts official weigh in this morning: -9,1 kg after 4 weeks. So I'm very happy with that. I hope the results will be next month as good as the first month, but because it's the second month I hope I will loose about 7 kg's. What did you loose in the 2nd month?

After one month I'm used to the small portions. I don't feel hungry and I think the food is good and tasty, and variable. But I still dream about chocolates and other sweets.:D

Thanks for this inspiring forum, together we will make it!

Bye bye
Niracca
 
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