A semblance of normalcy...

Happy New Week! I weighed in yesterday morning as usual and was down 0.4 kg from last week, which is exactly where I was when I started adding in 'normal' food again. When I did my 18 day 'refeed' on Cohen's I maintained the same weight throughout so this was expected. I begin this week both excitedly and nervously as I endeavour to find a balance. I am using the Weight Watchers ProPoints system to make sure I don't overeat, but am sticking to maintenance guidelines mostly.

I am nervous because I am not weighing myself this week so I don't know how it will go and just have to put my trust in the points tracker! I feel like I am eating a lot more (like I did on refeed!) and not sure if the points system will work for me but I am going to stay off the scales and try to use it as a lesson in maintenance nonetheless. What I would love is to stick to this method and throw in the odd week strictly on Cohen's plan with the hope that I get the benefits each time of the huge weightloss week. If I can keep coasting down in the meantime that would be lovely, but I don't expect a big loss this week. I will be happy to maintain for a week but thrilled with a loss if it happens.

I made some super sexy muesli on the weekend, I will post the recipe and the pictures soon. Hope you all have a fabulous week!

M. x

P.S - I am loving the freedom of maintenance - having toast and bacon with my egg was so exciting! I even had a bacon and egg salad for dinner this evening. How outrageous.

An early post for an early refeed.

Woop woop - first big goal of the year down, YAY!!!!! I still don't weigh in until Monday but I thought I'd check in as I've started easing into maintenance early. Original plan was to do 2 weeks on Cohen's but I've started introducing a couple of things (like an unofficial refeed for all you Cohenites that know what I'm talking about). I'm going to add in bread tomorrow and I'll still weigh in Monday. This is because I've decided the focus for me next week is going to be to go a whole week without the scales.

I've always been conflicted about the scales. Lots of evidence suggests that people who lose weight and maintain it often weigh daily, however there is also lots of evidence to suggest that doing so can get you down, especially when you've had an indulgent day the day before. At the start of Cohen's weighing daily is great - you lose a lot! But when things start to slow down the scales can stay the same for a few days which can be frustrating. We are told that these are the periods where our bodies are readjusting their shape and that there is a period of weight loss followed by periods of reconfiguration and that this is normal. They suggest that you only weigh yourself once a month and use a tape measure weekly, but few are able to keep off the scales. In my case, lately I've been on the scales about 5 times a day. In the morning and then before dinner, after dinner and before bed. Just out of curiosity at first but now it's driving me nuts. When you refeed you have to weigh daily to see if there is anything your body overreacts to, which is why I've started adding things in now so I have no excuses to jump on for a peek next week. As of Monday morning weigh in - the scales are going in the cupboard until the following Monday morning.

Eeep! I am telling you to help keep me accountable but I do admit that I am worried. Often when I can't see the scales I start to sabotage by overeating or snacking because I can't see the damage I'm doing, so this is going to be a big challenge. Wish me luck!!!

M. x

Je suis en forme! Or..... Skinny Mel is back!

"First say to yourself what you would be;
and then do what you have to do."
~Epictetus~


I am back 'en forme', woo hoo! I lost 3.5 kg this week, oh how I love Cohen's. I am now only 200 g away from my first goal, which I plan to smash this week. :) My plan was to do 2 weeks on plan (so I have another week left) and then 2 weeks using the maintenance guidelines. After that I'll see what happens depending on how much I am losing just doing maintenance. I've partly called this blog post "Skinny Mel is back", not because of my weightloss but because I've got my skinny mojo back - good focus and attitude and I feel strong mentally.

I've been feeling good and in the zone this week. I've had cake shoved in my face on multiple occasions (with it staying on the table at work ALL DAY), but I've been able to resist because I keep telling myself it's just for 2 weeks. I keep trying to think of it as sustainable long term and I think having a few flexible weeks with the odd week on plan will work well for me when I am at my goal weight, so I will keep trying this method while it works for me. I am trying to fix the mental part of me that forbids me from eating certain things, which is the exact same little demon that comes out to haunt me when my resilience is low. I eat a bit of something I'm 'not allowed' when I'm depressed, then I eat a whole stack of whatever because I figure I've stuffed it up anyway. So I'm trying to make everything ok but only at certain times, which is the key to maintenance.


I remember one day in the last few months when I got home from work and could have murdered a glass of wine. I was so stressed but told myself I couldn't have it. I resisted and resisted and then ended up eating chocolate, yoghurt, fruit, crackers, dinner and muesli. Apart from the chocolate that doesn't sound too bad, but it was about 3 times what I was supposed to eat. I think if I'd just had the wine I would have been ok. So... I need to adjust my thinking. I got home on Friday night last week and wanted wine but resisted, because it was just a 'I'm stressed and it's been a big week and I'd love to relax with a glass of wine' thing, rather than a huge stress that was getting the better of me. So, I have to pick my battles, especially if this is going to last this time!

Hope you all have a fabulous week!

M.x

P.S - In the mornings at my French school when I came in looking a little hung over, my teacher would ask me, 'Melanie, est-ce que vous êtes en forme?' And depending on how I was feeling I'd either say, 'Oui, je suis en forme' or 'non, je ne suis pas en forme, j'ai mal à la tête!' Which roughly translates to, 'Yes, I'm good to go' or 'No, I have a headache.' :)

P.P.S - Photos are of Crazy Cheesy Goodness - basically cauliflower and spring onion with mozzarella, cumin and salt; and Asian Tofu & Veg, which I put a bit of Tamari, garlic, ginger, chilli and lemon juice with. Yum yum yum.

2 Weeks on Plan

"The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy."
~John Galsworthy~

I just found this quote and found it amusing given the past few weeks. I am beginning 2 weeks on plan today and my progress update is untidy. I am 0.5 kg up from last Monday morning, which is brilliant given my weekend indulgences, but 2.7 kg up from a fortnight ago. That reduces my total progress for the year to a 3.9 kg loss since the beginning of 2012.

I also missed yoga twice last week as I was in Adelaide. I find my whole body starts to tense up when I don't go, which is a great motivation to keep it up. :)

Feeling good about 2 weeks on plan, I don't have any social events planned that could potentially intefere with my progress. Hope you are all well and happy!

M. x

Just call me Sabotagey McSaboteur.

Well hello! Surely you can guess the topic of this blog post from the title! My little sabotage demons have come to haunt me this week. Well, I think they've been haunting me for a couple of weeks but this week they have dug their heels in and refused to budge.

I've decided it's the pressure I put on myself. I basically assumed I'd lose weight at the same rate as last time I did Cohens and therefore had target dates and weights accordingly. As soon as I missed one, my demons came out. I'm also really close to my first goal weight and putting myself under pressure to lose extra so that I can relax for my Dad's birthday weekend and I think the pressure has beaten me.

So - I'm changing tactics. I'm going to maintain for 2 weeks. Yep that's right - I'm not going to try to lose ANY weight for 10 days. I just hope that I don't put on much over Dad's weekend. I've just lost 6.6 kg in 4 weeks, so I'm going to stabilise and then start again when I get back from Adelaide and weigh in on Monday Feb 13th for a new start date. Then I am going to do 2 weeks on plan - no excuses and no deviations whatsoever. After that I will reevaluate my next step.

Wish me luck!

M. x

Week 4 Weigh In; or... A time to refocus‏.

Hi all! Happy Australia Day! What a crazy week with all the protests and what have you, I feel like we are not meant to celebrate Australia Day or something. To me, Australia Day is more about friends, BBQs and the Hottest 100! Which is exactly how I spent my day. That and eating! Ha ha.

I lost 0.5 kg this week, which is fabulous given that despite my good intentions, I pretty much had a 'normal' Australia Day. I went to a BBQ and although I took my own food, I allowed myself to be encouraged to eat some other food too. Bits and pieces and not too much of anything, but I had some non-allowed stuff like some potato and a small piece of cake. I also indulged in some champagne, which was lovely. I'm pretty excited that I've been able to maintain my weightloss while still leading a relatively normal life, as opposed to last time when I shut myself away for 5 months. But - it is going much slower. I'm 1 kg up from the weight I wanted to be at this weigh in, but I think that's a small cost when compared with the fun that I've had.
 

I am going to try to stay on plan for a couple of weeks as I have my Daddy's birthday at home in 2 weeks time and don't expect to be losing weight that week. I'm also going to try not to weigh myself this week until weigh in day. Not sure how I'll go with that (I like to peek at my progress) but we'll see how we go.

Hope you all have a fabulous week!

M. x

P.S - Photos are of my lazy Sunday morning breakfast and my well-intentioned Australia Day kebabs. :) x
 

Week 3 Weigh In; or... Watch out for peaches!!

Hi all - happy happy Sunday! Sundays are my favourite day of the week. :) This week, I lost 0.8 kg - yay! I suspect it might have been more if I had not had a day where I ate 3 times my fruit allowance (oops), hence the, 'watch out for peaches.' Let's just say they were good! I think I have found a good balance this week with my food and 'the rules'. I didn't have any alcohol this week but I have been a bit more relaxed and feeling a lot less anxious about the whole thing than I did last year. I am actually enjoying it, there is something lovely about cooking or preparing 3 wonderful meals for yourself each day. I take care of myself much more when I am following Cohen's and I am very much treating this as a forever thing, rather than a diet thing.

I am 1.5 kg away from my first goal, which is exciting. Would love to do it in one week but we'll see how we go. I am going to a big Australia Day BBQ on Thursday and it's BYO meat. That suits me perfectly because I will just weigh out my meat and veg allowance and make kebabs with it. Then I can just eat them and try not to eat anything else. Might eat a bit of extra salad or something but I will take something nice to drink with me so I can stay away from alcohol. The fact that I will drive makes it much easier!

I love Saturday mornings. It's when I usually buy all my vegies and wash them all ready to put in the fridge. Always feels like such a great start to the weekend - all that freshness just sitting there waiting to be eaten. I made fish and salad for lunch yesterday, and prawn and bok choy soup for dinner. Wonder what I am going to have today? I think I am going to have a hard time going past that fish and salad... yum! Maybe feta and cauliflower soup for dinner...

Hope you all have a fabulous week and that you are all well and happy. :)

M. x

P.S - If any of the people who are reading this blog but not following it have a blog of their own, please send me a message so I can follow your journey too!