Cohen's Lifestyle Faithie G's Journal to a Skinny Me

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Faithie

New member
I'm 33 going on 34 in a few weeks. I tried Cohen's last year loved it, felt alive and on top of the world, it was the most terrific program I had been on ever.

I had lost 35kg but had 22 to go to get to Goal. The only problem was that I let the XMAS festivities take control and the comments of those around me helped me believe that I didn't need to lose any more weight.

Then I started suffering with low blood pressure, low blood sugar and the doctor was telling me that I needed to stop this drastic diet because it was going to cause big problems.

Well this was a really bad thing to do for me. I got really sick with Glandular fever, got over that then got hit with influenza, then got rid of that and got hit with another bug. This year has been the year of being sick. I'm so over it and I am finally at the stage where I think that I may be able to beat it and get back on the plan and finish this program.

I have probably put back on 20kg but I'm too afraid to check the scales. I will check them when the clothes that were fitting me before the weight gain fit again. I'm so ashamed of myself and I figure that if I write an up to date journal it is only another thing that may make me stick to this and finish it. I figure I have about 45kg to lose in total.

I'd dearly love to have lost it all by Xmas and was told last time not to do any exercise, but found that my boobs were empty, my tummy was hanging and my arms and legs were majorly flabby. Once I regained the weight I got stretch marks and my body went back to the same firmness I was before. I guess I'm being brutally honest here as I want for people who start this program to not, give it up for anyone. Don't listen to other people. Make sure you take photos of yourself too. That way you can be accountable and be overwhelmed when you have pictures to look back on.

Okay tomorrow is my day 1, I've started so many times since but each time I get to day 2 or 3 and I stop. I keep kidding myself and then with constantly being sick on top of it just made it that much easier to not stick to it. But now I am terrified as being seen as a failure by my family and friends. I just hope that I can get back to where I was easily and then start on the proper loss.

I just want to be skinny, I don't want to be anorexic, I just want to be able to buy a size 10 at the shops and know I will look good to my standards and feel comfortable in my own body. I constantly feel like everyone is staring at me and I feel like a big blimp.

So here comes the slimmer version of me and hopefully the nicer version too. As I wont be so stressed about how people see me all the time. I guess being teased all your life by family and friends it does take a toll on our own self perspective. I was never fat in my teens. I wasn't skinny but I had shape, but the girls that I was at school with here awful, nasty girls as most are at that age I suppose, writing about me all over the school. Saying how fat I was but I was 64kg and 166cm even Dr Cohen thinks that is 3kg from ideal. They would carry on like I was a 100kg from ideal. :cry:

I just want to love me. :rotflmao:

So here is to the new improved Faithie.G
 
Hi Faithie:)

Welcome and thanks for opening up to us. Yes I agree Cohen's is a wonderful weight loss Programme but you must see the whole programme through completely.
I am sorry to hear about how you feel about yourself and how you were treated at School - kids can be especially cruel, I am experiencing this with my kids at School (NASTY). The only thing I can say is that you are not alone - all of us here of experienced rejection or some type alienation either from other's or from "OURSELVES"
sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.

Please stick with us here, this forum is the absolute best for support. I've returned here after losing the plot and gaining a few extra kilo's but I am back on track and this forum is wonderful for unloading all of your buggage and just generally getting things off your chest.

Good Luck Faithie and hope you and I can help each other along the way. Remember you are still young and have the time to do this for you, I spent my 30's depressed about my weight and Cohen's has been the only programme which as changed that - YOU CAN DO IT.

Sam:)
 
Thank you Nans68

Hi Nans

Thanks for your support, it does mean alot.

Deep down I know that no matter what people say I am responsible for me and my actions. This is why no matter what I'm following this through to the end.

Well today turned out great so far, woke up this morning, the rotten cough I've had for the last few days has almost gone.

Breakfast was good, had cheese and tomato on premium biscuits and a big big glass of water.

Nothing is going to break me this time. When I did the program last time I did it for 126 days and did no deviate once. I know that this time will be the same only longer. To the end as Nans says. :)

Thank everyone. I'm off to start my new life and am going to the hair dressors to get myself pepped up!

Have a great day.

Faithie.
 
15/09/07

Well today has gone well so far, did the hairdressers, then had lunch with my kids 11 and 6, they had a kebab and macca's respectively and I tried the summo salad, it's new in our shopping centre, had some fresh cooked prawns and salad of my chosing, a small was $7.95 not to bad for a healthy alternative I thought.

I've been out food shopping, we are having steak and salad tonight for dinner, got some fruit for dessert and a sprite zero as a treat.

Oh yeah and I found some Strawberry sugar free gum it just hit our shops it is so yummy so I'm about to have one of those a glass of water and get stuck into the house work.

I've got a girls night out tonight with mum and my sister, we are going to see Hairspray. I'm taking an apple, sprite and my gum as my movie treats!

Love to you all hope that your day is going as well as mine.

Faithie.
 
Faithie- Hi & welcome to the forum! I hope you find the support & encouragement you need in here. We are all in the same boat & try our best to help one another. No-one is negative & no-one will tell you to stop before goal. Most of us have battled being over-weight most of our lives. I hope you succeed this time around in getting to your goal.
I have read about the Sumo salad franchise & looked at their web-site. It seems that they are fairly Cohen's friendly. Is it good? I look forward to keeping a look out for you & will read your diary regularly, cheers & happy losing, Cate.
 
Thanks Cate and update

Hi Cate,

Thanks for the positive thoughts.

I had my family over for dinner last night and they were carrying on about how unhealthy the diet is and that it's not good for you etc. I replied by saying that I never felt cleaner or healthier than when I was doing Cohens and that I had not had any attacks at all since being on the diet and losing the weight, but since I had regained I had started feeling like I was going to start getting sick again, and I tell you that there is no way that I want to go down that path again. 11 long years of being sick every single day up to 10 times a day was enough for me. Cohen's was / is my blessing.

For those of you wondering I had been told I had inflammatory bowel and that I had to deal with it many years ago, but when I got pregnant with my second child all my systoms stopped, this made me think that I needed to see a gyno, I did so he told me I was too fat and that was making me sick. He was really rude and unkind. I demanded my GP send me to another gyno for a second opinion. He ran tests and I was diagnosed with polycysistic ovaries (mild) and adenomyosis (which is endometorisis, but inside the womb). I came across Cohen's by chance one day, reading the newspaper, went in and gave it a shot, within weeks the symptoms disappeared and since then I have not been sick, until I regained this weight that is. Since then I have had a lot of the symptoms back but not the severe ones, thank god. I was chosing to ignore them but realised I was kidding myself as I deserve to have a better quality of life.

So back to the negative family, my mum is telling me that I was skinny enough when I lost my weight, even though Cohen's said I still had 12 kg's to go. My sister agrees saying that I just needed to tone.

This time I'm going to Cohen's goal, no matter what, I'm going to exercise everyday, even if its a short walk but I'm going to do something active to help me tone on the way.

When and if the low blood pressure and low blood sugar appears, I am not seeing my GP, I will however, keep going back to Cohen's to get my eating plan, modified and checked.

How good it feels to have finished day one with no deviations, the only thing is that I didn't eat all my food, I got so busy that I forgot. So I didn't have all my crackers and all my fruit. Better luck today.

Summo Salad was great, I got to chose what veg I had, they measure them as they put them on the scale, so I just said to her that I wanted 110g of these veggies and 120g of prawns, the prawns were cooked with a hint of lemon juice so that turned out to be a terrific, happy lunch for me!

At the movies last night I seen Hairspray with my mum and sister. It was a good movie, but I really liked Greese better, maybe because I'm a 70's baby. The movie was good though and I definately would watch it again.

Okay going to go, today is a busy day for me. Cleaning and packing, I'm flying to NSW to pick my Hubby up on Thursday night with our boys, we will see some family down there and then drive back on Saturday afternoon, Sunday day. It's going to be hard seeing people who have not seen me since June to see how much weight I have put on, hopefully this first week will be a big loss for me to get me near where I was when they seen me. I think about 5 or 6kg I have put on. I will know from my pants when I try them on if they fit then I'm on the right track.

As mentioned before I have decided not to weigh myself until I feel comfortable I am back below 90 kgs, right now I dread as to how much I actually weigh. I'm too scared to find out and figure that I will only get depressed and want to eat. So for this chapter of my head game, I am already below 90kg's and the proof will be those pants.

Have a great day girls.

Love ya
Faithie

PS I had a dream last night that was so real, I was deviating and getting all upset with myself and then kept saying just one more. Talk about head tricks! LOL. My dreams are trying to sabotage me. I woke up wondering if it was real or not, relieved to find I was actually in bed still. Confirming it was indeed a dream. :rofl:
 
Day 2 160907

Wow what a day I've had, experimenting with foods I don't normally eat. I tried a zuccihini, tomato and mushroom omelette for breaksfast, just had lunch which was zuccihini sliced, tomato chopped and put over the top then cheese on top, put a few herbs on it and put it in the oven for about 20 min on 200 - YUMMY! I think I definately will try that again.

Been keeping myself busy, house work, tonnes of it to do. Because I work full time and reluctant to do it when I get home I have been busy today, washing, folding, cleaning out my youngest sons bedroom etc etc. Keeping me occupied and out of the danger zone.

I'm pleased to report that my belt has gone down 2 notches in 2 days. Pretty good I think. One more notch and I'm at my waist size that I was at in December. I've got another belt to try after this one, it's no so generous and when I get down to the point that there is not enough holes for it to fit me anymore I know that I'm back to my January weight. Not to mention those pants that I keep on talking about. I spent $90 on a pair of Liz Jordan - pretty lady pants, they are so comfy but I can barely do them up. The problem is that they are tight on the bum and legs. So until I drop a few KG I wont be wearing thse. I have a work top that I need to get back into as well. It is a little tight everywhere, once Its not so tight then I know that its safe to step on those scales for a recount!

Well I hope that you girls and guys are having a great day. Keeping busy and sticking to your plans. Its such a beautiful day here today in QLD, 31 degrees just now on the Gold Coast, getting very close to swimming weather. Summer is definately going to be a hot one!

Speak to you later

Faithie
 
Wow day three knocked down no problems. We had 2 delicious cakes in the fridge at work, jelly beans and biscuits, none of which passed my lips and none of which I wanted to let passed. I had the will power of will power today. I hope that every day will be like this!

I had a busy day at work but managed to organise my lunch last night before bed so I was prepared today. I lazed out in the sun under a tree for 45 minutes, it was nice, peaceful and so refreshing.

My jeans feel loose today, maybe it's in my head... but still I"m not going to tell it otherwise.

I feel so proud that I've mangaed this time to stick to cohens again for 3 whole days with no deviations. What I have been doing for the last nine months is starting my day out like cohens, maybe lunch too probably 50% of the time then afternoon, evening, nights and weekends blowing it out of the water! No wonder the weight came rushing back.

I'm finding the fact that I am posting on this wonderful website, reading the inspirational stories and enjoying myself here that I feel that maybe just maybe its making me want to stick to the plan, I think it is truly helping me stick to it.

I do know that I've tried countless weight loss programs previously all of which none really worked for me. I ended up always fatter than what I had started by the time I had gone off it and not got back on it.

I'm excited about the thought of my metabalism resetting and me being normal. Nothing feels so fanatastic as being able to go into ANY store and buy anything, knowing it is going to fit, unlike the past that I've lived, where I couldn't find anything in the plus sections that fitted me properly, it would fit in one place and not anywhere else. Because I tend to have big arms this meant I needed bigger shirts, then they were baggy everywhere else but tight on my arms. I can't wait for this part to be over....

I'm on my way... to happiness.... :)


NIght all

Faithie
 
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Way to go Faithie!!!

I'm sure your jeans feeling loose isn't in your head. It's amazing how quickly it starts to come off and feeling them being loose - even just the slightest bit - can be great motivation to keep focused on the outcome!

I have found this forum to be an absolute life saver at times. Sometimes you just have flat days, or sad days but it's great to know that you have somewhere to go where everyone understands without judgement! It's like 'Cheers' - minus the beer and bar snacks! ha ha

Here's to happy slimming!

Lauren
 
:eek:Thanks Lauren, it's amazing how quickly you start feeling like a new person. Today I got up and found that I have gone down one more belt buckle. When this is loose I will know that I am near to where I was at XMAS. It think it will be a while yet though as I can see where I have put on the excess weight, it's more obvious to me now then was I was fat before. Funny how we change our thought patterns.

Anyway thanks for the support. I hope you've been having a great day.

Faithie

PS the cheers analogy is great! I will have to remember that when I speak to my hubby next. :rotflmao:
 
Hi Faithie

So glad everything is going well for you. What a great idea with the belt I needed this bit of advice 6 months ago, I was never good at measuring myself so this would have been a quick indicator.

And Lauren is so right about this forum being a life line. This forum is a such "HUGE "motivator for me and just reading through everyone's different challenge's and coping mechanisms makes it less lonely when your dealing with your own weighty problems.

Take care
Sam:)
 
Hi Faithie

I have just joined this site and find myself stalking all the relevant threads, reading everyones stories, and sucking up all the positive support that is going on. Its wonderful

I will have been on this program for 4 weeks tomorrow, and I do feel alot of ups and downs. There are days that I feel that I just can't do this, and other days i think it is a cinch.

THis morning I was particularly disheartened as I had only lost 400g this week, making a total of 4.8kg in 4 weeks. I was expecting to lose close to 7kgs by now, but for some reason this is just not happening. Reading all the stories on this website i have discovered some pointers, and now feel all re-enthusatic about it all again.

So as we'll be doing this together, I feel so much better, not so isolated. I live in regional WA and so don't actually have a clinic to go to.

Anyway, best of luck-not that you will need luck, just a positive attitude! I know you'll do it this time as you've been through hell already and have felt the benefits of the program.

Very excited and looking forward to reading your next entry.

Leila
 
Hey there Sam and Leila,

Thanks for posting to me. It does mean alot. I know that this site is keeping me motivated. I'm feeling pretty good about it all so far.

I had a busy / hectic day at work today. But I managed to get many things done. So hooray, less to do tomorrow, until I get there I'm sure.

This time round I'm trying all different types of recipes, making stuff up as I go even, something I would never have done on Cohen's before.

I can't wait until it's Mango season again, I so miss my mango's they were my big treat every day.

I had a deviation today, nothing too serious and I'm curious as to what exactly it is going to do me. Who would have thought I'd feel guilty about eating strawberries. These ones were not sweet, quite a bit tart... I wonder do they then count as sweets. Can you here me trying to justify it? I was hungry this afternoon and it was strawberries or a banana. I think I made a good choice out of a bad situation though. If anyone knows what happens when we deviate ie is it always bad on the scales? Do we see it straight away... any information as to what happens would be good and also... why can't we have strawberries.

I came across a really nice top today at autograph, it's black and has split sleeves, my hubby is going to love it. Only two more sleeps until I'm back in his arms, it has been a very long 2 weeks!

I've decided to make it compulsary for all the people in our house to be healthy, this means that they are allowed only one treat each day. So today they had a mini homemade muffin, smelling them cook was devine but honestly I can say that I didn't want any... but those strawberries were not even nice but I still ate them all! Luckily I didn't add any sugar or anything. LOL, well we do what we need to at the time. Quite a healthy deviation I believe and I can't believe I'm cranky at myself for eating fruit!

Well I'm going to go and have a read of the other posts, see you all tomorrow...

have a nice evening and day

Faithie
 
Wow what a day I had, too busy to eat, too busy to notice I was hungy... not to mention that my consultant told me that I have to re-sign to get my diet redone because I have been off it since January, didn't finish or even get close to the refeed and that because I have been so sick this year it is highly recommended. Made me feel down, a looser and not a weight loss looser but a plain old looser. Another $600 my hubby isn't going to be too happy about that..

But hey you get that. I love the feeling of being in control on Cohen's, I love the feeling of feeling like my body is clean. I miss the odd thing but right now I'm steering clear of anything not on my list already, except for that bite of the mini muffin I had which I decided i didn't want and began to spit out.. sorry about the graphic details but at times I think that I'm a bit anal.

I'm off to NSW tomorrow not back until Sunday, working late Mon - Wed next week so hopefully I can get in on Thursday, get my blood test done and have the diet back just in time to start for my birthday. I was hoping to be a few kg lighter and I suppose if I follow what my program is for now maybe I wll be. I'm embarassed to see my consultant, feel like a failure for not finishing it the first time but in my defence I got so sick with glandular fever - 3 months, then tonsilitis, then influenza 7 weeks, then secondary infections, now a chest infection. I just need to stick to this plan, maybe it will make me heal, I just know that my immune system is really low and I need to build it up and hopefully this will help me get there.

I have not had a normal nights sleep in 3 weeks this chest infection makes it almost impossible to sleep for any real length of time... and I tell you I'm damn tired. I've had at the most a stint of 3 hours straight without any coughing, then I'm awake for hours then I get another hour or so and then it's up with the kids and work.

I just so want to be skinny (well what is skinny for me which right now is anything less than I am now :), I don't want to be anorexic, I want curves, I want to be womanly but I just don't want to be a blimp.

Well enough of my whinning, hope that your all having a good day and that together we can get lost in our new selves...

Hey just a quick idea, has anyone ever considered doing a post on how much weight we have lost, maybe starting with how much we have lots to date, then the next person adds there loss to that and keep on going, don't you think it would be interesting to see how many tonnes of fat are gone from our lives forever?

I think I might try it... if you think it's a good idea add your weight to mine and before you know it we will have 1000kg's gone.. maybe we could break a guiness book record for the most combined weight loss and charted on the internet... worth a shot I think.

Night for now...

Faithie
 
Hey Faithie

I hope your health improves nothing worse when you are trying lose. You are sounding so motivated......what a shame you have to fork out for a new plan, but it's for your long term health. If I ever got back to my original weight I would be whipping out my credit card quick smart. Will you able to post while your away? I have also started serving my family healthier meals and cutting down on treats, the kids just expect it now so it's time I started looking after their well being as well.

With your weight loss idea do mean our finished weight after refeed? For example mine was a 15kg loss- so I add that to the last entry.

So long for now faithie.
Sam:)
 
Hi Faithie

I'm sorry to hear that your not feeling too good. Hopefully when you come back and get back into cohens it will all clear up. I really hope so.

Hope your trip away is good. Look forward to catching up with you when you get back

regards

Leila
 
Wow Girls!

Thanks for the motivational posts. Well my little holiday was good, I got to see some old friends, spent quality time with hubby and got to see my inlaws too. The drive home was long, with this persistant cough though it felt longer. No sooner would I fall asleep than wake up choking. Hubby has been really supportive and friends and family couldn't believe how bad I sounded, try living it was all I could think. LOL.

Well anyway on the way home last night I realised I had left my cough medicine in NSW, and didn't have any at home and with the cough getting worse we desperately started scouring the shops in QLD when we got over the boarder. Pity nearly everything in QLD shuts at 5pm on Saturday, if not before, talk about the not wanting to work state, there are little conveniences available - Coles, Woolworths you name it SHUT... So after much driving we ended up in Surfers Paradise. I went into the chemist which was thankfully open until 12am and proceeded to attempt to buy my cough medicine. Well anyway he heard my cough and refused to sell it to me. Asked me a heap of questions and when he found that I had been like this for 10 days, demanded that I go next door and see the doctor, say that he sent me and so I do, they say $65 aleast an hours wait we are very busy, seeing how we had driven so far and I had the two kids in the car, I went back to the chemist. He said she said "WHAT?" he rang her yelled a few obscenities and sent me back 5 minutes later I was seeing a doctor, he was such a lovely thorough doctor, took my history for the last few months and told me that I had either Whooping Cough, Leginaire's or some other bug in my throat. He felt that it was either 1 or 2, so he has given me more antibiotics and other drugs. Some $120 worth, told me that I wont feel well. Positive note is that if it clears it up it's worth every cent! Went back to chemist he was terrific, explained what was happening, said within 24 hours I'd be fine, the cough should be gone, he wasn't lieing. It is nearly gone, all but a little bark here and there. But they were right the tablets make me feel really really sick, I've slept more today than I have in weeks, I think it's because my body is so exhausted!

My eating plan didn't go to well, but it could have been substancially worse. I chose to eat good hearty foods, no take aways and for that I'm proud. I didn't even have a Krispy Kreme donut that I so wanted to eat!

Back to the grind tomorrow. I'm not going to go at it 110% while my plan is not right, but look out girls cause here I come. Get ready cause here I come... I'm hoping that this time I can do a little exercise with the diet and tone as well as look fab, I'm not going to change my resolve just because of Christmas, New Years etc. I'm just going to treat it one day at a time until the refeed, this program is going to potentially save me from my self and make sure I'm around for the long term for the sake of my family I think it's the best thing I can offer them. I'd hate to see how much bigger I would have been by now had I not have done Cohen's last year. I'm hoping that by Valentines day I would have lost approx 27kg, It think if the plan worked this well for me last time that its not impossible and if I go past this well hey I went passed it.

Truth is these days I prefer to eat much healthier alternative, fruit, veg and the like. I also stay well away from takeaway especially Macca's, hungry jacks, KFC etc. But my downfall is sushi.. can anyone tell me will I be able to eat sushi again???

Okay love to all hope you had a wonderful week.

As for the weight loss numbers, just how many you lost to get to to where you are today. So if you have already finished your refeed and you have lost say 100kg but you have gained a few, making you total loss 98kg then that's what you would put, but also if you have lost a few extra since finishing you would put 105kg. I hope this makes things clear. Good to see that you guys filled it is and see how well we have done already.

Night

Faithie
 
Hi Faithie

My 21 month old daughter contracted whooping cough about 3 weeks after my son was born. We were very surprised when the doctor told us as we thought that was one of the illnesses that had been wiped out. I think it is back! Poor thing coughed and coughed all day and night. At night it was worse and she would cough so much that she would throw up. The amount of sheets I washed in the last 3 months. The thing is that being under 2 they wont give her any medicine to stop her coughing. THe doc said it would stop after 90 days, and lo and behold, on the dot it stopped. Thank goodness. So i definately have some sympathy for you.

Don't worry about doing the diet 100% yet, wait until your body has recovered before you put it through this. It is hard enough when your well to start off with, I can imagine it would be really awful when your sick.

Hope you feel better soon

regards

leila
 
Hi Faithie

Just checking in to see how you are. I've been away for bit but I am back and still losing those unwanted kilos. Let us know how you are keeping?

Sam:)
 
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