Cohen's Diet Weigh In; Week 7.‏

Hello!! Can't believe we are at the end of Week 7 already! I say we because I feel like you have all been on the journey with me. :)

Firstly, check out the lunch I made the other day - OMG yum! It was made with mozzarella, spinach, zucchini, tomato and coriander. I roasted the zucchini first in the oven and then layered it all up (there are 3 layers of mozzarella!!) and then baked it and it was scrumptious. I felt like I shouldn't be allowed to eat it!

I lost 1.0 kg this week. :) Grand total of 12 kg in 7 weeks, I am very pleased. I am still in awe of myself actually sticking to this. As each week ticks past I feel stronger and more resolved not to cheat. I actually have 'nightmares' now, reasonably frequently, where I dream that I accidentally ate something I wasn't allowed to and spoiled my diet - how funny!

I must admit that this week has seemed harder. I'm not sure why but I have been very peckish in the evening and have been craving chocolate all week. I am eating my 5th cracker and my second piece of fruit everyday, which is something I had stopped doing by the end of the first week. Even after that I am still looking for something to eat and having to resort to chewing gum or brushing my teeth to distract myself. I am now very much looking forward to a piece of dark chocolate or a banana or a pear, along with other things I am not allowed to eat at the moment so I am very much looking forward to the end whilst realising that I have a long way to go.

I mentioned to Ange the other day that I was a bit weary as I am not even halfway through my weight loss yet and she made an interesting point - that I am actually about 90% there, in that most of the journey lies inside of the commitment to the program. I think that is actually what makes it difficult at the moment - feeling like I am nearly finished mentally and yet nowhere near it physically.

Oh well, soldier on! I fit back into my old work pants now, they will look great after a couple of weeks. :)

Have a great week!!

M. x

Cohen's Diet Weigh In; Week 6.‏

WOW! Firstly, I can hardly believe I have completed 6 weeks on this diet. I can honestly say that I have never stuck to anything for 6 weeks in my life!! :)

Secondly, I lost 1.7 kg this week - YAY!!! That makes a grand total of 11 kg. What a difference 11 kg can make. I feel so much better about myself, I can't even tell you. I am back to putting on outfits now and saying to myself, 'yup - you look good.' Such a change from the past 4 months or so where I haven't been able to say that. Everything is fitting me well and I am back wearing a jacket that had stopped fitting a while ago. Lucky for me because it was my work winter jacket and Melbourne is COLD!

In other exciting news, I started a yoga class this week. :) As you get older you learn certain things about yourself, for example, things that you will do and things that you won't. For example, I know that if I sign up as a regular gym member, I will never go the 2 times a week required to make it worthwhile. I probably won't even make it there 2 times in the first week when I am excited about it! If I sign up for a "10 sessions in 3 months" pass, there's a good chance I won't use them all. In fact, if I sign up for anything including a diet or any type of exercise, there's a good chance I won't stick to it. Given my predictable behaviour, I was looking for a way that would encourage me to get into yoga and I think I have found it. :) I signed up to a "Beginners Course in Yoga", which I had to pay for upfront. I knew if there was a gym that had yoga on a certain night that I would never go when it was too cold/rainy/warm at home or when I was too tired/broke/didn't want to leave Bella/couldn't be bothered/*insert some other random excuse here* and so I paid upfront for a 10 week course that is on every Tuesday at 6 pm. Not too late that I get home and get comfy, but not too early that I am too rushed and could have an excuse to be late for class. So I went on Tuesday to my first lesson and it was great! During the day at work I was thinking, 'Ugh, what was I thinking? It's freezing today and I'll have to go home and then leave Bella alone again." Not to mention that I don't really like going out in the evenings. But I sucked it up, came home, got changed and off I went. The place was warm, welcoming, had some lovely aromatherapy oils burning and some pleasant background music. I enjoyed the class very much and think it will help immensely by adding a little hour of peaceful serenity to my otherwise stressful work week. So here's to signing up to something I will stick to!

Before I sign off I'd just like to thank those of you who read my blog. Your little messages of encouragement are making this journey all the more fulfilling. :)

M. x

PS - Photo is of a tuna curry I made with tomato, onion and zucchini - delicious. :)

Cohen's Diet Weigh In; Week 5.

I weighed in this morning after a week off the scales to see that I had lost 1.2 kg! So 9.3 kg in 5 weeks - yay!! I am way off target for doing it all in 12 weeks... (ok, so that might have been a tad ambitious)... but I am still very glad to see myself constantly shrinking.

I am constantly amazed by the simple fact that I have stuck to this for 5 weeks. I must admit, even I was unsure that I could do it, particularly with the absence of alcohol.

So there you have it - if I can do it, anyone can!!!! Hope you all have a great week. :)

M. x

Celebrate your wins...

Ok, so last Thursday I had an absolute meltdown which I thought I might share with you all given one of my intentions of this blog was to be open and honest about my journey. I'd arranged to arrive at work late due to my blood test and so my day started well with a bit of a sleep in. Thursday was my first official Cohen's weigh in and so I was excited. I mentioned in last Friday's blog, Cohen's Diet Weigh In; Week 4, that I was a bit disheartened when the consultant told me that weight loss generally slowed to about 4 kg a month. I didn't, however, mention that this unhappy news was followed by a series of unfortunate events that sent me into a bit of an emotional tailspin. Many of the events were things that under normal circumstances might not have bothered me too much, but on that particular day all built up on top of each other and made me feel like I was about to crack. Literally.

What I noticed was just how much I used to use food and alcohol to numb emotional pain and stress. My desire to eat all afternoon was ferocious. I was aware that I was physically satisfied by what I had eaten, but the cravings to eat more were HUGE. As were the cravings for wine. Included in the series of unfortunate events were 3 things which I can only say I have no idea how I said no to. Firstly, there was a large plate of delicious sandwiches on the table at work. Including my favourite ones with chicken and mayonnaise. Secondly, somebody literally walked past me with a chocolate cake and offered me a slice. Thirdly, my boss, seeing my emotional state, offered me a glass of wine at 3 pm. I still don't know how I managed to say no, but I did.

I guess I just wanted to share that what I took out of this was to celebrate the wins, and forgive yourself your losses. It was a monumental win for me to triumph over my emotional cravings for food and alcohol. I think people who do not suffer from this type of food issue really don't comprehend how hard it is to break free from. All I can say is that I can see how I became overweight. The desire to eat and drink to quell my emotional upset was phenomenal and not to be underestimated as I go forward on this journey. It obviously is something I will have to work on, possibly for the rest of my life. But for now I am just content to observe it as it happens and celebrate that it didn't beat me, because as I've already said, I'm still not quite sure how I made it through that day without succumbing to a glass of wine!

M. x

Cohen's Diet Weigh In; Week 4.

Wow - who would have thought I could stick to this for 4 weeks and drink NO alcohol!!!!!???? Even I was doubtful but I have done it! I lost 1 kg this week, bringing the grand total to 8.1kg. I can notice that I have lost weight, which feels nice, and I am excited about the end result.

I had my official 'Cohen's weigh in' yesterday also, because they only record weight every 4th week. I spoke to the consultant and she said that most people who stuck to the program lost 7-9kg in the first 4 weeks. I asked what I could expect in the future and she said that 4 kg every 4 weeks is average. Whilst I realise that is a lot compared to other diets that I have tried, I had hoped that this program would be different given how much I have lost already so I do admit to being a little disheartened. It also blew my 12 week goal out of the water, but I am still optimistic that I will lose more than average!!!!

It has reaffirmed my need to stick to this 100% given how my progress will naturally slow down. I'd hate to have 1 glass of wine or eat something I am not supposed to and see a small loss and not know how much of it was normal and how much of it was due to my 'deviation', as they call it.

I also had a blood test yesterday to check everything is functioning properly (and so they can make sure I am not cheating!). I will post more about yesterday on the weekend when I have more time, just wanted to give you a quick weigh-in update.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

M. x

Cohen's Diet; Day 27.

I'm coming up to 4 weeks on the Cohen's Lifestyle Program on Thursday. I feel like I have hit a bit of a plateau and that I haven't lost any weight this week, but then again, this has happened before and then I've dropped a kilo over night so it's hard to tell. The Cohen's Clinic send me an email once a week telling me what to expect at each stage. The one for this week said I should really start to burn fat now after 21 days on the program, but that it might not translate on the scales so I should only weigh myself monthly as to not get discouraged. I certainly see their point, but I don't seem able to ween myself off the scales for more than a few days at a time.

I've notived this week that a little bit of frustration has crept in over not being finished already. It's funny, it's like there has been such a shift in my mind and eating that it feels wrong to still be overweight, like my mind no longer matches my body. Almost as if before I commenced this journey I had the mind of an overweight person, and so it fit with my body. I also ate like an overweight person. Now that I eat like a slim person, and my mind is that of a slim person, it is uncomfortable waiting around in an overweight body until my body catches up. It is just that realisation that I have to keep up this dedication and determination for a long time yet. I can see how so many people give up after a while.

I've started watching MasterChef again, which I haven't watched since I watched the first season with my brother in 2009. I haven't watched the TV for a long time and I've been amazed to see how many advertisements there are for fastfood! I am not sure that watching a show about all the kinds of foods I can't have at the moment is helpful, but I do enjoy watching it. I am starting to really look forward to the day when I can have a glass of wine again though, or a piece of chocolate!!!

Wish me luck for weigh in!

M. x