Cohen's Lifestyle Tuberose's Journey Towards FREEDOM!

Prefix for Cohen's Lifestyle
The 61th day into Cohen's

i can't believe i'm already third month into this programme. for someone who has been down & out for the recent years hidding from everyone, and where the zest for life and aims for new challenges & goals seem a remote distance, this is quite an accomplishment!

don't think i had been so disciplined and determined before since i started to put on weight over the recent years. doing this and being able to stay on track most of the time makes me feel better about myself and my self-esteem has been given a boost :)

People around me are starting to notice the difference, so much so that i have people telling me not to lose anymore weight :rolleyes: where my BMI is concerned, i'm still overweight and i'm just over half way through my journey. my ultimate goal is to be at 54 kg but i set 56kg as the goal to get my refeed. i hope to reduce another 2 kgs while on refeed to reach 54kg.

actually i'm starting to feel a little self-conscious about the "attention" i'm getting from my colleagues about my weight loss. this week i'm putting back on the loose outerwear i was wearing about 2 to 3 weeks ago. i just want to continue my weight loss journey "peacefully" :)

yesterday wasn't so good, i felt so so hungry, weak, dizzy & tired despite choosing the portion combinations with the "biggest" allowance :eek: i'm unsure if TOM has anything got to do with that. i was so weak that i added 2 to 3 grams to my meat allowance for 2 meals... :eek: BUT that was a bad mistake... i ended up putting on a freaking 300 grams this morning, the highest gain till date :eek: i hope i won't see anymore gain of this range anymore!

i feel that my hunger pangs tend to be more under control when i'm working... weekend when i'm doing stuff or staying at home, i'm just always counting down to the time to have my next meal.... after 2 months in the programme, i've not totally overcome the hunger problem :confused:

next i'm going to make a list of food i've been craving for all these weeks in the next 1 to 2 weeks or so... so if you feel that this list could "weaken" you, you have been forewarned :)

and what kept me going while craving those food is i read somewhere that these food would still be there after i reached my goal... yes, thanks to the one who wrote that. i'll keep this in mind before the temptation becomes too hard to handle :rotflmao:
 
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Tuberose- I know how you are feeling re. the wanting to just lose the weight quietly. I wore loose clothing & had a lot of trouble coping with the attention I got. Hibernating & then emerging slim would be a great thing if at all possible. I can't remember who said that about all those foods that will still be there when you finish but it does help. When you get there they have lost a lot of their attraction. All the best. I think you are doing really well & you know now that you can do it. Good for you! Cheers, Cate.
 
Hello Tuberose,

61 days! That is awesome. Those hunger pangs can be so all-consuming can't they? Saturday morning I was so hungry I was just sitting around waiting for lunch. My SO commented "I have NEVER seen you just sitting around waiting for something--youre always doing something!". Some days are harder than others. I have had days to when I felt I needed more food or I couldn't make it. I always chose crackers rather than protein--felt they would be easier for my body to handle. Of course I don't know what the outcome would have been had I not done this but I don't think I had a gain after this. Yesterday I tried drinking alot more water at Kannedew's and Genie's suggestion to deal with my extreme hunger and today I had gained weight even though my day was perfect with food. So I wouldn't get too attached to the number you saw on the scale this morning. Think BIG picture--you're doing a great job and reaching your goal.

Merci
 
Hi Merci & Cate, thanks for your kind words :) My struggle of hunger pangs seem to take a better turn after taking chromium supplements, i can withstand hunger better.

maybe because i'm getting nearer to the weight for refeed, i can still be really hungry at times. recently, in addition to taking chromium supplements, over weekends, i'll try to portion out my crackers and fruits allowance... this has helped me to a certain extent.

thanks to all for all the useful suggestions ;)
 
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Hi Tuberose, what an excellent journey you have had. Hunger pangs and all. :)

Alsmot at goal. Lucky you!

Before you know it you will be there, do you have any specially occassion waiting at the end? A lot of people want to be finished by a certain date, or for a certain event.

People commenting makes me feel uncomfortable too... I had gone to the extreme of washing my clothes in hot water and then clothes drying them to shrink them a little, got an extra few weeks wear out of lots of things. :)

My goal is to be there by Xmas. Lots of hard work ahead for me.

I've just found out today that my original plan wont work for me and that I have to re-sign as my body chemistry would have changed dramatically. Seems all this sickness i've had this year has apparently drastically changed this... well see when I get my new diet. I'll let you know if it actually changes. From what I read, most of our diets are very similar with only slight minor adjustments.

Good luck not that you need it, you will be at goal refeeding in no time.

Faithie
 
hi Faithie, thanks for dropping by!! it's always great to know that fellow cohenites are reading stuff that you wrote :)

you are right! i'm aiming to finish this before my granny's birthday!!! it will be mid nov, that explains the anxiety i'm facing :eek:

let us know how your new programme go & i'm sure you can do it!!! ;)
 
My Wish List after the programme...

WARNING TO ALL...

Right below is a long list of food i wanna eat after the programme. please do not scroll down if you are easily tempted, not as strong-willed, feeling hungry or getting close to your goal. well i'm aware that many of you are from OZ so many of the food items may not appeal to you but hey, i've studied in WA before & i really miss the famous Freo apple strudels very much! :p

I'm less than 3kg away from reaching the refeeding weight and recently, i've been feeling really hungry from time to time and my craving for non-cohen's food seem to get the better of me that i could even feel like chewing my hand off!!! the urge to deviate is becoming stronger especially when people around me are celebrating mooncake festival, eating yummy mooncakes :cry: i even bought a couple of doggie mooncakes for my furkid!!! i tasted a tiny bit of my furkid's mooncake and boy was it yummy!!! :eek: and i can't have my mooncake & eat it too!!! i'm feeling miserable!!!!

for the past few months / weeks i didn't really feel this way when i see others eat, even my favourite food. but recently, the sight of family members & friends eating my favourite food seemed to be eroding my will power and made me frustrated & miserable :cry: i've been thinking & visualising so much about the food i want to eat that i just have to list them out.

meanwhile, i'll find out how to go back to the programme after each heavy indulgence in order to maintain my goal weight.

The list below is not in order of preference or any particular order, just a random list :D i want to eat all these. and i'm striking a deal with myself. i intend to keep my weight at the range between 54kg & 56kg. if i exceed that, no indulgence for me until i regain that weight range but under 56kg!!! Yes!!! :) I really really can't wait!!! :eek:

(EDIT as of 19 Jan 08: deleting the list from this site)

i think the craving is really getting out of hand, cannot stop thinking about food and have been editing the list almost everyday since i posted it here...
 
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apart from updating my weight & list of food cravings, it's been a long long time since i posted a new message here.... this forum is getting kind of quiet of late...

though on the sticker, i appear to have reached my goal weight, this is just the weight i wish to maintain for the next couple of months after completing the programme, before gaining enough momentum to continue to lose more weight next year...

Dr Cohen has set 55 to 58kg as my goal weight range. but i'm aiming to finish the entire programme at 52kg instead and then maintain at 54kg. i so wanted to eat so many many stuff that i've not been able to eat for the past months :drool5: i want to give myself the allowance and freedom to indulge and make mistakes just so i won't be feeling depressed when i step on the scale after finishing the programme... That is why i've been pushing myself so hard to reach 52kg before starting refeed. i fear that even on refeed, i might not be able to lose more weight.

however, my weight has not changed for the past 3 days or so, this has not happened before and i'm not near my TOM cycle. i've even gained 200g from 53.7kg to now 53.9kg, not sure if i've reached a plateau, i'm rather disturbed :( esp i'm now very near my own set target weight for refeed. why must this happen now??? :confused:

not sure if my body is telling me that this current weight is the lowest i could ever go, or it's just a temporary stall? should i take the chance to adjust my target wt for refeed and bite my teeth & hope that i'll continue to lose weight on refeed?

i'll wait for a few more days before deciding on what to do next... i'm given an 18 day refeed programme, really really hope to complete this by the first Friday of Dec.

PS: feel disturbed to see a "man beating a dead horse" icon here :eek: anyone feel the same?
 
wow, time really flies! Today marks the end of the 20th week for me! a grand five months of hardwork, discipline & self-control!! and i would like to give my mum all the credit!

she has been faithfully supporting me not just in spirit but in action too... she has been helping me to shop for food, prepare, weigh and sometimes even cook my meals! without her, i would be unable to survive this up till this point! i'm too much of a foodie and "live to eat" type of person to be able to stay on this programme without deviating, if not for her. I LOVE YOU LOADS MUM!!! :)

compared to last week, the progress for this week is not too bad, back on track to 1kg loss/week. comparing to many fellow cohenites, i think my progress is considered just moderate... but i'm not complaining because i don't think i could achieve this with other types of weigh loss programmes. it is a wonderful feeling to be able to lose over 20kgs over a few months, i would say that this has become my biggest achievement for this year :eek:

survived my grandma's birthday just the last weekend without eating with them though my consultant said it was ok to eat just moderately and go back to the programme after that. i'm now so near to my personal goal weight (52kg), i do not wish to go on for another 2 weeks just to "balance" my hormones before refeed.

anyway, i'm likely to adjust my set target weight for refeed as i really hope to meet my best friend on 7 dec and able to really enjoy eating out with her. she could only go on leave that day. i'm given an 18-day refeed programme, in order to meet & eat with her that day, i have to start latest by next mon 19 nov...

i know i'm taking a risk... i hope i don't have to do stuff like going back on two days (if i put on weight during refeed), etc. also since i have to start refeed a little above 52kg, i hope i could continue to lose at least 1kg to end the programme at 52kg or less... i'm just a little worried about being able to lose weight during refeed as TOM is nearing. keeping my fingers crossed.

and so for the rest of this week, i'm cutting out my red meat portions and stick to just taking plain yoghurt for breakfast and up my intake of water to 3L or more if it helps to quicken my weight loss... now every 100 gram counts :p
 
Hi Tuberose & well done!!Sounds like you are right on track to reach your goals. You have done very well & should be proud of yourself. My mum was not so encouraging but the support I found in this forum more than made up for it. All the best with re-feed. Sticking to yoghurt for breakfast sounds like a good idea as not having any carb's for breakfast is an excellent idea & recommended for maintenence of goal-weight. Good luck with it all, cheers, Cate.
 
My Refeed Journal

Hi Cate, thank you for dropping by here and the encouragements! you are certainly one of the fellow cohenites who has been so encouraging and inspirational! i still remember following your refeed postings, and that have certainly helped me alot! :grouphug:

to cate and all fellow cohenites in this forum, speaking of refeed, i'm delighted to share with you that i've started a refeed and life after Cohen's journal. feel free to come & join me in this journey :)



hope it could be of some help especially for those who are near to their goal weights!

Stay in touch!:waving:

Cheers,
tuberose
 
Hi Tuberose

Congratulations and thanks for sharing it with us. Will you stick around and share any ideas and tips to keep the weight off post Cohens? Hope you do......not many do but the newbies sure do appreciate it. Cate and I are about it at the moment as it looks like most Cohenites old and new have crossed over to the new forum.

All the best and take care

Sam:)
 
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