Cohen's Lifestyle Geo's weightloss journey

Prefix for Cohen's Lifestyle
It's 4.30am here and i can't get to sleep. I'm very stressed out about work...the stress has brought on a terrible neck and shoulder ache...sigh! cammomile tea ain't working either...and i feel that my dinner hasn't digested...for some strange reason i can still feel it at my throat...like a heartburn...but how can i get a heartburn when we consume so little food. I had grilled chicken which i season with salt, rosemary and pepper..veggies were mushrooms and tomatoes stir-fried..i've had this combination before and i was fine...this must be stress....i hate the feeling...
 
Oh Georgina, You poor thing. Stress is awful! Your work situation really has to be dealt with one way or another. It will take it's toll on your body & soul otherwise. I hope this is possible for your sake. Sending you a hug, feeling quite useless to really help, xoxo Cate
 
Thanks cate.
I forced myself to get into bed at about 5am. I must have knocked out at about 6am and I got up at 9am. 3 hours of sleep! I hope to take a nap soon. Yea I'm gonna speak to my boss about my situation next week when I get into work. I hope to go for a javanese massage and perhaps do my nails to relax...basically do things that'll make me happy. Anyways, meals update

Brekky- mushroom omelette
Lunch- Stir fried calamari and prawns and spinach
Dinner- Chicken soup with tomatoes and mushrooms
 
Hey Geo, I have to say, your posts are very entertaining and amusing. You are a fun person to follow. Im so glad youre starting to see the difference in you body size. Clothes are the best way of showing us exactly just how much we are losing. Scales arent always the way to go. Looking forward to seeing some pics of you. Before and after. I hope things are going better for you work wise. Nothing worse then having to go to work everyday where you are unhappy or under stress. Good luck with all of that.

You truly seem to be a tough and determined cookie. I wish you nothing but fast weight loss and loads of happiness.

Keep up the wonderful tales of your life. :)

Cheers, Regina
 
Hi Georgina, I hope you have been able to relax a little & are able to get some quality sleep. Are you able to go for a gentle walk in the evening? Keep thinking that jobs are disposable. I gather that there would be opportunities for you other than where you are. You sound very capable to me. Sending you a virtual shoulder & neck massage. Our GS thinks mine are pretty good :) xoxo Cate
 
Hey Regina & Cate,
thank you so much for the words of encouragement. Really appreciate it. It made my day reading your posts.
Cate: shoulder and neck massage, I love!
Anyways, I did lots of self-talk and told myself that I am going to see the boss about getting a transfer. I love my job but not the environment. I did manage to get my nails done the other day. Just to amuse myself I did a Barbie doll shocking pink...i'm not very adventurous with nail colours. So that indeed cheered me up.
A friend of mine sent me an email about keeping stress under control. I thought i'd share that here. It said to start the first half an hour of every day dedicating it to yourself. For example, the half an hour could be self talk time or meditation. or simply sitting done with some good music. No computer, no newspapers. Just you. I've been doing it the last 2 days. On day one, I went into my study room and just sat in the chair admiring the view outside. Appreciating the cool chill breeze. I did close my eyes for a while and concentrated on the sounds I heard (mostly just my breathing). Today I sat out at my balcony and had some harp music on. Very gentle and soothing and told myself that work just pays the bills and that's all to it. I don't want to get emotionally attached to work. I want to draw that line between work and life.
The same goes to the end of the day. The last half an hour before we decide to get into bed. I bought this book by Paulo Coelho with short stories to warm the soul and just read one each day and reflected on it. No tele, no computer. I'm feeling so much better now.
Alright, and now for a meals update. I've been enjoying my meals with the cumin powder. A little goes a long way. I found a small spice mill near town yesterday. I've decided to go there to ground my spices from now on. In that way, I won't have to buy prepackaged spices with starch in it. I could even get curry powder done there. It's awesome, at least to me. I'm a city girl and the discovery of a spice mill is like mind-blowing. haha.

Brekky- Tomato omelette
Lunch- Pan grilled threadfin with spiced cabbage, mushrooms and tomatoes
Dinner- Fish soup with stir fried cabbage.
Sending everyone reading this lots of love and hugs! Have a fantastic weekend.
 
Hi Geo, It sounds like you are taking steps to protect yourself more, which is great. It all sounds really good. The spice mill sounds excellent. We have a small electric grinder(2 actually-1 for spices, 1 for coffee beans) & a mortar & pestle which gets used the most. There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly ground spices. Mmmm
Hope your talk with the boss goes well. It should do. It's good to speak up.
Sending you lots of love, xoxo Cate
 
Hey Geo,

Just wanted to pop in and say hi :)

You are doing so well on your journey and before you know it you are going to be telling us about maintenence land!!

I enjoy reading your diary so much, puts a smile on my face. Hope things are well and you are having a great day.

Take care
xx
 
hey angel! was thinking of you as I watched the first half of the SA match against France. We were at a pub and there were 3 tables of french men (about 15) there. Just before kickoff, when they played the french national anthem some of those french men sang along and I was thinking "wow! how patriotic." and then when the SA anthem came on, 3 South Africans in their national jerseys, stood up and sang it. now that is patriotism..anyway, your country must be thrilled that it won against the french. I haven't been updating my diary as frequently as I used to as I have been busy cleaning my house, catching up with friends and shopping. I think i'm burnt out...doesn't feel like i had a break. sigh
Today I get into work at 2pm....that's a half-day meeting. Tmr, there are having a barbeque at some holiday chalet around 7pm and staff are required to attend it for staff bonding purposes...don't you all like how they force us to bond...haha! anyway, my boss is a health freak...I called him that before I went on cohens. Now, I respect him for his discipline. So i'm hoping I can get excused from that barbeque session when I tell him about my "medical dietary requirements".
I went shopping yesterday. There's a good sale in town. My favourite local designer brand offered the best discounts. I had to stay off my favourite brand for the last 2 years because their clothes didn't fit me. Yesterday I tried on a size 14 and it fit me well. So I bought a size 12 to motivate me. The usual price of the dress was $139 and it was going for $49. How could I not get that? haha..Then I saw this rather cheerful shade of yolk yellow t-shirt. That was a steal at $13. I bought that in medium size and I target to fit into that in a month's time. I find that as I loose weight, I'm beginning to get bolder in my choice of colors for my clothes. I'm attracted to loud colours now. I liked a limegreen linen pants that I saw yesterday. When I wanted to try it on, the shade shocked my hubby so I returned it to the rack. But i couldn't stop thinking of it till now. So I wanna go back and get it. I could always pair that off with a white or black top. Then it won't look so much like clown pants...and then I went to Marks and Spencers. Their denim pants were going at $49...usual was around $89 i think. I didn't get that and now I'm regretting it. My jeans keep falling off my waist. I so need a pair of jeans or of course I could get a belt...Decisions decisions....Oh and I haven't weighed myself coz it's TOM and I feel bloated. Because I feel bloated, I'm very tempted to skip my meals, I tell myself that's water retention and so i'm waiting for it to go away soon. Here's the meals update
brekky- cheese salad (mozarella with cucumber and tomatoes) I recommend this on days when you feel bloated. It's light and fresh
Lunch- grilled beef and cucumber salad
Dinner- chicken soup with stir fried cabbage
 
Hi Georgina,
Just quickly- On days when you feel bloated cheese may not be the best option as it's inclined to make you retain even more fluid. Never skip meals sweets. Ever! Food is your medicine :) You are doing exceptionally well & meeting challenges front on. Good for you! xoxo Cate
 
okay here I am finally! I went to the market this morning instead of my usual Saturday morning...I'm starting work on Monday so I want to do things I enjoy over the weekend instead of weighing, cooking, packing and washing up..ha! anyways, I have seven Meal 2 ready in the freezer now. So that's great. My dear hubby bought a giant cabbage which I think I'll probably take 2 weeks to finish! sheesh...so next week's gonna be cabbage week. That's okay coz i like cabbage now. I couldn't get excused from the BBQ last night. Thank God there were fruits. So I had a small mandarin, papayas and half an apple. Many other colleagues commented that I had lost weight...of course they wanted to find out about my "secret"...haha! I didn't tell them because I know how nasty people can get with their "oh one of THOSE fad diets" comments. But if I do meet someone who desperately and sincerely wants to loose weight, I will share my secret...only then it wouldn't be a secret anymore.haha...okay, I'm gonna engage in more self talk and to be motivated to get into work on Monday, I'm gonna check out this huge sale at a warehouse..i'm intending to get a pretty lunchbox..mine's very boring. Read : BORING. haha..okay I'll run along now. tata! I might be back later to watch the Brazil match online...in my country, we have to pay through the nose to get the World Cup channel despite our sports channel subscription...shessh...
 
Good day everyone! I am at work today. After a 2 week break, I am feeling very tired and hungry at the moment. I've got to so for extra classes soon. Oh boy! Anyways, here's the meal update
Brekky- Yogurt
Lunch- stir fried cabbage and grilled beef
Dinner- Morocan chicken stew (tomatoes and cabbage)
I can't wait to knock off. Oh by the way, I passed the exam I sat for last month. Scored a B. Not too bad there. I'm happy. Okay I got to run along now. Hope everyone's having a good Monday so far.
 
I've got an hour left before I knock off from work. Yay! I'm enjoying a nice cup of peppermint tea before I head upstairs for the last lesson today. Anyways, I'm less tired today as I went to bed by 10pm last night. Didn't stay up to watch the world cup matches although it was so tempting. More people at work are commenting that I've lost weight and that always brightens my day :) I've got a few things that I want to do after work today; manicure,massage and shop for a good book to read. Unfortunately, I won't be able to squeeze in all three..i'll see where my feet lead me to after work..hehe
Here's a meal update:

Brekky- Yogurt
Lunch- Pan fried chicken with mushrooms and tomatoes
Dinner- Chicken soup with cabbage

Hope everyone's having a great day...muacks!
 
Hey geo!

Wow, fellow teacher, you are rocking this!!!!, ain't you???!! :D
Hehe..your results look absolutely stunning! Be proud!
And you deserve every single compliment that you receive from the people at your work ;)

How do you make the soup....? I have tried making soup once while on Cohen's.. and it didn't really turn out so good.. LOL!


Luvbug xxx
 
Hey thanks Luvbug! here's how I make the soup...

Get about 500ml of water boiling on the stove with 2 cloves of garlic (if you want to eat it then count it in with your veg portion, otherwise don't count it)
When the water is boiling, add the chicken (i like to dice it into bite size pieces)
Simmer that for about 10 minutes, add in salt.
Add in cabbage (veg amount)
and let that simmer for about 5 minutes. Add some pepper. And that's done
Add a little cumin powder with the salt if you are in the mood for some adventure. My mum says the key to making good soups is low heat and long cooking time...
 
so i made another discovery today...I did a cabbage stir-fry with a dash of cumin powder and vinegar this morning for lunch. It's awesome! I like it very much. And it goes very well with grilled chicken...just thought I'd share that. Anyway, here's a meal update

brekky- yogurt
Lunch - stir fried cabbage with chicken
Dinner- Steamed fish with spinach

today's a packed day at work. and this is my only break before school ends at 4.30pm...got to go now...will post more later...
 
Hey thanks Luvbug! here's how I make the soup...

Get about 500ml of water boiling on the stove with 2 cloves of garlic (if you want to eat it then count it in with your veg portion, otherwise don't count it)
When the water is boiling, add the chicken (i like to dice it into bite size pieces)
Simmer that for about 10 minutes, add in salt.
Add in cabbage (veg amount)
and let that simmer for about 5 minutes. Add some pepper. And that's done
Add a little cumin powder with the salt if you are in the mood for some adventure. My mum says the key to making good soups is low heat and long cooking time...

Thanks huni!! I will most def try it!! MMmmmmm! :drool5:
The stir fry really is good -- I love it!

Good luck for the work.. we have school holidays until the 13th of July.. but the amount of work I have is really enough to keep me busy! lol ;)


Luvies,
Luvbug xx
 
I'm finally resting after a long day at work...work was mostly inproductive today as there were lots of disruptions...the usual office casual talks which took up most my time...i didn't mind though..haha...we're all overworked here..anyways, i'm happy it's friday tomorrow! whoohoo! i just hope to knock off work when school officially ends at 1pm...i'm so gonna pack my bags and go in for that last lesson and then i'll leave with my students..haha...okay meals update

brekky- yogurt
lunch- grilled chicken with cucumber and tomato salad (i was late for work this morning so the salad was quick! ha!)
dinner- stir fried calamari with cabbage and mushrooms

On my way home from work, I bought some golden kiwis. See, i'm no fan of the usual green kiwi fruit but i just had the urge to try golden kiwis today..i don't regret that decision..the golden kiwis were sweet and delicious...I would certainly recommend it to my friends...alright got to go dry my hair now...sat infront of the pc as soon as i showered...haha...good night folks!
 
Hi Geo, I'm so glad for your sake that it's Friday. Sweets my old program specifically says "Kiwi Fruit (160g = 1 fruit, not Yellow Kiwi Fruit." This would be because they are sweeter I would think. Sorry. I really miss mangoes. Mmm mangoes. C'mon mango season.
Have a lovely relaxing w/e Georgina. Enjoy yourself, xoxo Cate
 
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