Weight Loss Journals - petecohen.tv

Hi guys,

Seems like ages since I've blogged. Great to see everyone doing well and loads of new people too.

I've got into a real routine and it's going well. Concentrating on regular exercise before work and cutting out snacking between meals. This seems to make the other tools much easier as I am always hungry at meal times.

It's been great to not be on a high or a low for ages now, just nice and stable, everything pottering along, all under control. This is really what I wanted from the programme.

Hope you are all well and having a lovely day. Jess xx

I'm watching the videos but struggling to find time to blog this cycle. I find it really hard not to let the blogging take up hours and hours and it's hard to fit in all the other stuff (seeing my husband, cooking tea etc!). I do think I need less supoort now than I used to which is good. Not that it's not always a pleasure to read your blogs and hear what you've all been up to and share your success.

Had a fab time at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Amazing music, fab atmosphere, so great to be somewhere which celebrates real musical talent rather than just looks and celebrity. If you like live music I can't recommend it highly enough!!

Concentrating on eating slowly still and trying to cut down on sugar and alcohol. Gave in to my post lunch sugar craving yesterday but managed to ride it out today and aiming to do the same tomorrow. Exercise is going great guns, walking is good, water is good, relaxation is good.

Not keen on the Day 9 video, it's not my favourite. However it has been good to take a new thing from the videos on this, my fourth cycle! Found the description of cravings like a wave very helpful in my post lunch mental battle.

I think the biggest thing that I am noticing is how quickly I can shake off feelings of failure and being a "bad day" now compared to before. I had a real attack of the "all or nothing" duck when I was away but as soon as I was back on Monday I was back at the gym and back on course. Things are not such a big deal now and I'm not seeing it as such a personal failing.

Anyhow, off again this weekend to see some friends in Sheffield so better pack some bits and bobs. Sorry I haven't been replying to your blogs but I am reading them and sending you good vibes.

Love Jess xx

Bit busy to blog recently (well I did write a big blog for Day 4 but it disappeared) but it's been going well. Still on the 21 day programme but enjoying the daily emails and concetrating on eating slowly so I don't feel left out!!

I'm pausing the programme as we're off to the Cambridge Folk Festival for the weekend. This has the potential to be a weekend of sitting very still, eating fast food and drinking too much real ale so I am aiming to:
- do a 30 minute walk every morning
- take healthy packed lunch both days
- only drink in the evening and alternate alcohol with water
- get dancing and jumping around where possible!!

Well, better go and pack up the car, go to the supermarket and get sorted. Have a great weekend. Love Jess x

Well, yesterday was a day of two halves.

Started well, had a lovely poached egg on granary toast for breakfast the headed off to the gym. I felt really great at the gym and, with KP's breaking barriers blog in mind, set myself the challenge of rowing 2000m in under 10 minutes as well as running, interval training on the bike and stepper. Really enjoyed it and came home raring to go for picnic with my friends in the afternoon.

Had a great time but really ate way too much at the picnic and then again in the evening. I find picnics along the same lines as buffets, so much food in front of you, so easy just to graze mindlessly.

I know why I overate in the evening and really it's a bit pathetic. I knew I'd eaten too much at lunch so I said that I wouldn't eat again until I was hungry. If that meant that I didn't have an evening meal, no problem. So far, so rational.

Last year one of my good friends moved up North from London and since then she's been really rubbish at keeping in touch. I've called and left messages but all I get is texts back saying, sorry, really busy, call you soon. She hasn't called me since February and we're supposed to be going up and staying with them in 2 weeks. I've been trying to get hold of her to arrange it and she promised to call yesterday which she didn't. All my good feelings just evaporated and I went mad on all the leftovers from the picnic - rolls, cheese, crisps, mayonaise, ice cream. Sigh.

Woke up this morning after a night of bad dreams feeling exhausted and fed up. Rubbish rainy Monday morning weather not really helping either. Couldn't face going to the pool so skipped it and went to work in a right grump.

Surprisingly though, after a bad start, today has gone well. Rainy 25 minutes walk from the station to work. Ate my lunch really slowly, rode out the post lunch sugar cravings, sunny 25 minutes walk back to the station. Now home and just off to put Quorn fillets in the oven and broccilli and new potatoes on the hob.

Feel better, more in control now. I just hate confrontation with my friends which is odd considering I work as a trade union officer. I know I won't say anything, I'll just sulk inwardly and be annoyed.

Sorry - this one's an epic. Hope you are all well and having a good Monday.

Love Jess x

Day 1 was top notch, think I've made the right choice.

Breakfast - mini shredded wheats with blueberries from my blueberry bush
Lunch - tomato and mozarella salad
Tea - ravioli with homemade roasted tomato, cougette and garlic sauce

Managed to avoid the temptation of garlic bread and a nice glass of beer to accompany my dinner. Maybe wasn't quite hungry enough for my dinner (3 or 4 on the scale) but I'm working on it!

Exercise wise I was pleased with myself - step class in the morning and then about an hours walking with my husband to go and visit a bathroom supplier (I know, it's a rock and roll celebrity lifestyle!!). Could have driven but decided to get the bus as far as possible then walk the rest.

Love getting on the top deck of the bus, good to see into all those gardens and listen to all the local gossip. Met a man who had got some amazing things at an auction and there was a drama with what might have been a bomb but turned out to be a cake :-) You can't get that kind of entertainment sat in the car!!

Took my measurements - waist, hip, thigh and upper arms so it will be interesting to do them again at the end of the 21 days.

Got some friends coming round today for a picnic in the park later so got to shoot off to prepare a big salad and go to the gym before they get here.

Have a great day. Love Jess x

Hiya all,

I've been having a think about the new challenge and I don't think I' going to do it. I had already planned to start the 21 days again starting today and I don't want to give myself any excuse not to have a great weekend. I know my own mindset as well (weak, so weak!) and I know that having a week concentrating on water or relaxation will just give me permission to eat crap really fast!! I hope that's ok with you all and you can, of course, count on my full support for all you nine-week challengers!!

So, what do I want to achieve in the 21 days?
- I want to continue to practise the tools which are good habits now - drinking 2L water, walking 30 minutes, regular exercise, being as active as possible, relaxation.
- I will conentrate fully on the troublesome tools which have slipped up recently - eating slowly, eating when hungry and cutting down sugar and alcohol
- want to lose just a few pounds, maybe 3 pounds this cycle
- I want to take my measurements today and to lose some inches off my stomach and upper arms
- I want to make time to watch the video every morning and blog / comment on blogs most days

I feel really inspired now - I'm off to the gym!!

Have a great day. Love Jess xxx

Hi y'all,

Can't believe it's been so long since I last blogged, time just flies on. All my good resolutions about watching the tool videos were thwarted by our broadband connection taking a week off. Apparently someone, somewhere put the wrong plug back in the wrong socket in a junction box somewhere (the technical details have escaped me!!). Anyway it's all back up and running now.

Still in the same situation as last time really. Good habits still there - regular exercise, 2L of water, walking 30 min a day. Still struggling with eating when hungry and eating slowly tool is gradually creeping back to my old ways.

Watched the eating when hungry video this morning, excellent. Will be watching the eating slowly video before work tomorrow. I'm hoping to start the 21 days again soon after watching all the tool videos again.

All well otherwise, glad to hear the ladies had a good time in Brum. I was relaxing in a hotel with my husband on our one year wedding anniversary. Happy times, curry and champagne!!

Hope you are all well and have a nice evening. Jess x

Funny isn't it how others can blog exactly what you've been thinking before you even knew you were thinking it! Mandie has hit the nail on the head in her blog "plans for happiness" about apathy and wondering what she can get away with. That's excactly how I've been feeling recently.

Since starting the programme three months ago I HAVE made a lot of positive changes:
- I no longer drink caffinated tea or Diet Coke
- I am walking 30 minutes every week day to and from the station
- I am drinking two litres of water every day
- I have really got into a good routine for regular exercise (and I've got absolutely no excuse as I can walk to the leisure centre from my front door in about 1 minute!!).
- I eat a proper breakfast every day including some fruit

I have lost some weight and I am looking a lot more toned up. I feel happier when I look in the mirror and lots of my friends have commented that I am looking fit and healthy. My skin is better with all the water and fruit and my sleep is SO much better. I have been getting up at 6.30 to go for a swim before work 3 days a week which would have been impossible before the programme.

Things are starting to slip up in the "harder" tools though. I have started to eat when I am not hungry again and find myself making any number of excuses for it. I think I am certainly eating slower than I used to but it's creeping back up and the "mindfulness" has been reducing (TV on, reading the paper, surfing the net etc).

Goals are:
- to watch all the tool videos again before restarting the programme for the fourth time
- to set myself a daily written outcome
- to focus on eating slowly and eating when hungry

Hope you are all doing well. Sorry I can't make the Pete-ette trip to Birmingham, it's my first wedding anniversary on the 18th (eeek- where does the time go??!). Hope you all have a fab time and that we can catch up another occasion.

Love Jess xx

Hello all, thanks for all the replies to my angry blog. It's been a funny (strange) few days. Basically I was feeling angry and tired of endlessly thinking about diet and exercise. I felt like I have become really boring recently. I appreciated everyone's advice and different perspectives.

When I look back two years I was three stone heavier but I had a lot more interests and hobbies. I want to be interesting again!!

I have used some tools well over the past few days and some not at all. Even though I know that curry, ice cream and toast does not make me feel better they have still made their way into my mouth! I have kept up my water, walking and regular exercise and this has helped get my mood more positive.

I have stopped the summer challenge and I'm spending some time revisiting the tool videos and the resources. I am also looking into doing an evening class and taking music lessons again. Some of my frustration I know is tied up with my job, I studied flat out for a year to become qualified to get it and it's just not as good as I hoped. I think I'm someone who enjoys the challenge of working towards a goal but is not quite sure what to do when they get there!!

Got to run to work now. Sorry I have not had much time to read other blogs and comment but I'm totally with you in spirit! Have a great day. Jess x

Just wrote a really long blog explaining why I have been feeling really angry about weight loss recently and being rebellious against the programme.

Came to some really interesting conclusions and could see a way forward. And it's all disappeared - aaaarrrgghh!!!

Jess :-(

I'm not a real tennis fan but I have to say how great I think Serena Williams is She looks so strong, athletic and beautiful, not some skinny little thing like Kate Moss or Victoria Beckham. We need more talented powerful women lke her to aspire to in this country!

This is my thought for the evening! Have a great Sunday. Jess x

Had a good day. Wrote my outcome for the day on a little Outlook Sticky Note and put in on my desktop. My outcome was not to snack in the afternoon unless I was 6,7, or 8 on the hunger scale. It seemed to work as mid afternoon has been a difficult time for me, prone to raiding the fridge in the office. Writing it down focussed my mind and when I got the urge to snack I was able to think no, I'm not hungry, just a bit bored.

I'm doing some reading at the moment inspired by the programme. I'm reading "Breaking Free from Emotional Eating" by Geneen Roth. A lot of the ideas are very similar to the programme and I'm finding it a really good book. There's one quote about scales which I think I should share:

"A scale is just a scale, a cold, lifeless piece of metal until we give it it's power. We make it into the instrument that tells us if we should like ourselves that day or not. And we do that be accepting societal beliefs about the goodness and rightness of being a lower weight rather than a higher weight and also by continuing to weight ourselves day after day. As if you weren't a feeling, thinking, capable human being who can decide for yourself what kind of day you're going to have and how you're going to feel about yourself.

Throw your scale out. Or paste your ideal weight on it so that when you ask if you're allowed to feel good about being yourself that day it say "of course""

I like it! I was all fired up to throw the scales away but of course today was the day that Pete asked for my three month report and I had to weigh myself :-)

It's a lovely Friday night, I've thought before I've eaten and the only thing that will do tonight is oven chips. So I'm off to have a nice evening with my husband, my oven chips and the telly!!

Have a great weekend. Love Jess xx

Encountered one of my (many) triggers for overeating today - free food. I don't know what it is but if food is free I just cannot walk away. My old friend the "all or nothing" duck then popped up and I spent the whole afternoon sneaking bits of white chocolate with macadamia nuts that my colleague had bought back from NZ. Followed by a big dinner that I did not need plus two glasses of wine.

Now I've got the overfull, stuffed, lethargic feeling, it's quite late and I'm annoyed. I can reason it all out logically but I'm still annoyed. It's not free food if it turns to fat!!

I'm not going to get into a deep and meaningful blog about it all though. I know what you guys will say and you're right. What's eaten is eaten, some things went well today (30 minute swim, 2 liters of water, 30 minute walk) and tomorrow is another day.

Off for an early night and a happy healthy day tomorrow.

Love Jess x

Hello all,

Got my mother in law staying at the moment so it's busy busy. Everyone's having a nap at the moment (bless!) so I've got an hour to myself to blog and catch up.

Pleased with myself for making some good choices for food and exercise despite the changes to our normal routine. Went swimming before work on Friday and it really set me up for the day, I felt great. Given that I managed to get up at the same time and catch the train to work at the same time and yet still fit in an extra 25 minutes swimming it does make you wonder what I am wasting my time doing normally?!!

Eating more slowly and eating more natural foods is becoming more of a habit along with 30 minutes walking and 2 litres of water. Stopping eating when full is still my biggest hurdle especially if I am not the last to finish. I can put down my knife and fork but if others are still eating I find it very difficult to leave food on my plate. No deep psychological reason I'm sure, just Homer Simpson style - mmmm, food!

I've had a fun couple of days this weekend. Met KP for a coffee after work on Friday, so great to meet someone on the programme for real! Went to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert last night with Jason Donovan in. He is absolutely fantastic, I think it's the best show i've ever seen. Very funny, quite rude (not one for the kids!!). Had a swim this morning then went over to see the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races followed by a lovely lunch in the garden, bread, hummus and cheese from Greenwich market followed by strawberries - yum!

Anyway, I'm just rambling now. Everyone has woken up so off to be sparkling company... :-) Might try and get MIL on the Wii Fit. He he.

Have a great evening and a happy, healthy week. Jess xx

Well, I am feeling back in the game again after a couple of days of feeling out of sorts. Not sick, just fed up for no reason.

Had a good day yesterday. I was first in the pool yesterday morning at 7am and felt really fantastic after my swim. I'm really glad that I have started swimming after my holiday, it's really different from the endless step classes and easy to fit in.

I then had to visit a man who makes traditional trade union banners so I walked to his workshop which took 45 minutes, part of which was through the park on such a lovely day. He was a smashing bloke as well, such an interesting life so I really enjoyed talking to him (he has made all the banners for the big Manchester Procession on the 5th July if you see it on the telly).

Headed up to Harrow in the evening to take a friend out for dinner who is on a placement at the hospital there. Although we did have three courses at Pizza Express it felt great. We chose nice, light courses, we ate really slowly and really enjoyed every mouthful. I can recommend their new pizza with salad in the middle and their frozen yogurt and strawberry desert - yum! And I didn't feel stuffed to bursting afterwards either.

I am definitely considering walking as my first option for getting around these days and I really don't think it's much slower than getting the bus / tube. It's certainly saving me some money as well.

Half way through, I would score myself:
drinking 2 liters water: 9/10
walking for 30 minutes: 10/10
eating slowly: 8/10
eating only when hungry: 7/10 (this one needs a careful eye on it)
giving yourself some credit: 7/10 (same)
shutting the duck up: 8/10
cutting down on sugar and stimulants: 6/10 (slipped up a bit on the sugar front recently)
regular exercise : 9/10
being as active as possible; 7/10
eating natural foods: 5/10 (I haven't even tried to tackle this one yet)

Well, better go, off to an employment tribunal. Have a great happy healthy day. Jess x