Weight Loss Journals - petecohen.tv

Hi everyone! Hope Christmas has been magical and not foiling all youtr plans for caring for yourself! :) I have been reasonably good without making food into an obsessive issue. This week I've mainly been craving green veggies though! Making sure the house's supply of broccoli is kept up! :) Especially proud of my plum pudding and christmas cake, both of which were healthy, no-fat recipes, and both of which were absolutely delicious. My hubs, who is not a great lover of fruity puds or cake had polished off the plum pudding by boxing day. It is so lovely to know that being that bit healthier does not mean compromising on taste! I swear by Harry Eastwood - the woman just gets it.

Now: New Year: I don't make resolutions as such, but every year I write statements about what I want to happen that year in my diary: I pass my exams, I get a car, I go on holiday. The one I always struggle with is the weight one - not surprisingly since looking at my book I always write things that are totally out of reach and rather than allowing myself space to break them down, I just see this huge 2.5 stone looming over my head. It's the one statement I stick in each year that still smacks of 'resolution' rather than possibility. No wonder I give up!

This year I pledge to balance. In 2010, I pledge to take one day at a time, live that day to the full and enjoy every second. All we have is the now! In 2010 I eat well, move plenty and take every opportunity to make the most of my time - whether making the most of my time is going to body combat or reading a good book, or calling my sister and laughing like a banshee for half an hour. I also pledge to be balanced emotionally and mentally - I think food and exercise helps a great deal with this, and often feel better after a long walk. I pledge to combat stress , depression and anxiety with looking after myself, not with comfort eating.

I'll be starting the programme again on the 12th - but will be blogging before that.

Here's to 2010 being the best year ever! :)

KP xxxxx

Hi chickadees! My word, I hit the ground running this week! I can't believe it's wednesday already!

Had a fab weekend with my lovely chum and her little girl. Full of all things Christmassy - carols, baking, decorations and frosty walks. Oh and lots and lots of gossip and a glass of wine or two :)

Nonetheless, I managed not to overdo it on the mince pies (who would have thought you could eat them in ones, not sixes...) and finally get how you can indulge without overindulging of letting it all go to pot. I listened to my body and stopped when I was full, and still cooked us a really healthy dinner - homemade burgers (lean mince, breadcrumb free, full of fresh herbs) with Bok Choi, done on the griddle. I was full before my plate was clean, so stopped eating.
On Sunday night I found I wasn't hungry at all - so didn't eat very much, just had a small dinner. I'm beginning to see how you can do Christmas without feeling deprived and without being a stone and a half heavier on the other side!

This week's been MENTAL but fun - yesterday had a bit of a breakdown with food, as was manically busy and didn't eat until midnight, when I grabbed a baguette from Victoria on my way home. But having said that I was mega mega active yesterday hefting hundreds of chairs for landmark! Still, I was not so pleased with my food. But determined not to let a breakdown become a collapse. Today is another day, and I am free to make it whatever I want!

Much love

Kp xxxx

Hi everyone!

Had another really successful day yesterday! Really watched the kind of things I was eating and checked my portion size and eating speed. Result! Even though I was so busy, andhad to eat really late, I managed to avoid the final pitfall of grabbing a big mac and fries. V. proud of myself and feeling great as a result.

Best matie and her little girl arriving any minute for the weekend - more excited than an excited thing! Plan to spend the whole time doing christmassy things - hurray and hurrah! Hopefully will get in a lovely walk later if this winter sunshine keeps up! :)

Even the fact that some little B***ard took my wing mirror doesn't seem to be getting to me today - don't want yesterday's crap to spoil today's fun so rang and ordered the new part and getting on with the show. and HUbs cleaned the bathroom. what more could a girl ask for in a man!

Lots of love to all and sundry,

Kp xxx

Hi all,

not much time today, but really just wanted to say how fab it is to be back on track! I was healthy healthy healthy yesterday - so much frech lovely food, and proper organic stuff. I felt so alive and awake! Following the same plan today, and feeling so inspired to be back on the blogs, listening to the podcasts etc.

I'm assisting at Landmark at the moment, and last night we were stating our intentions for ourselves - I shared with everyone my re-commitment to my health and fertility. V powerful. Between them, the Pettettes and my lovely hubs, I should be kept on the straight and narrow! :)

Really fired up for life, the universe and everything!

Have inspiring days one and all! :)

C xxxx

Off to a good start today. Into work on time, and got the office to myself! I packed my lunch this morning - healthy veggies and some cheese - and stopped off at M&S to pick up some yummy strawberries and blueberries (OK, they're air freighted, but I need something juicy and fresh!)

Feeling fresher and more optimistic already. The brilliance of fruit and veg is just how quickly it gets to work on your system. It's also shown me how far away I've been getting from my healthful eating, that the way it's making me feel is such a nice surprise! Time to get back to feeling like this every day.

Short term goal: To get to the other side of Christmas feeling healthy, energetic and enlivened

Mid-term goal: To fit back into all my 'skinny' (i.e. size 14) clothes in the 4 months and maintain feeling healthy and energetic

Long term goal: to live a healthy fulfilled, slim and active life.

Catcha later, dudes! :)

xxxxxx

It's far too long between blogs, and reading through a few this morning has made me realise how much I've been missing - and missing out on!

I feel like lately I've been really getting to grips with my emotional life and sorting out my relationships, but my health has been going down the swannie and my weight has been going up as I grab whatever comes to hand, have 'no time' for exercise, and go straight past the gym as I rush to the office. As Ash so rightly says, it's all in the planning, and I have not been doing much of that when it comes to food! Then I got a short sharp shock yesterday when one of Pete's colleagues asked me if I'd like to do a weightloss story and I realised how much I DIDN'T want to! That's not confident, slim me! That's tired me, who eats too much junk food, relies on her car too much and has lost her work-life balance! (seriously - I'm sitting here yawning my head off. Not a good way to start the day!)

Feeling very much back at the beginning, but that's no bad thing. After all, it's a good place to (re)-start. I'm going to listen to step 1 again today, and really give it my full attention. Meanwhile, I shall really have a think about how to fit in proper exercise and meal planning to my life now my job structure has changed and life is twice as hectic. I did it once, I can do it again. I know how to do this, I just have to get back on the horse. And I want that feeling back I had in my early blogs, when the sky wasn't even the limit and I could fit into my skinny jeans!

Ciao xxxxx

Hi guys,,,

Sorry it's been so long! I feel like I've been on another planet! I'm not going to start saying how busy I've been - I have been busy and there's been a lot of change going on in my life. but the truth is, I've been hiding from the site, because I was embarrassed that I'd had a collapse. stupid I know, but I've always been fond of doing it the hard way!

While hiding, I have been learning a lot about myself though. I've been doing this amazing course - called the Landmark Forum, some of you may have heard of it? I started on it thinking I might do a bit of progressing in my career, but the truth is I've ended up taking a long, hard look at myself and have been setting about transforming my life, getting rid of all my stories, my 'rackets', my excuses, and working on being honest and authentic. It's an ongoing process, but I do feel completely amazing, having fixed some really fundamental issues that have been holding me back for years.

So, back to that blog avoidance...here's the thing: I've been the fat, funny girl all my life. It's not great, it doesn't make me happy, but hell, it's been working for me. I've MADE it work for me. Two and a half weeks ago I started a brand new job- nobody knew me, I could have done anything, been completely free to invent myself. Instead, within 2 days, I'd slapped all my old labels back on, and there I was, back in the fat funny girl role again.

Today I came clean to my colleagues. I'm sure they thought I was a bit crazy, although they were awesome in their reactions! I told them all about my act, the character I play because it's confortable to me. I told them how I sabotage myself constantly, because deep down I'm committed to being cynical and resigned. Then I told them what I really want out of my life - to be free, to be healthy, to be a mum. They were so supportive I couldn't believe it. In 5 minutes, I threw off the shackles of being that character, and it left...just me. and endless possibilities to be exactly what I want! Ifinally get it - how I've been acting is not who I am - it's not in my blood. It's just my act - I can get off it whenever I want.

And you know what, for the rest of today, it's been easy to eat healthily, and to move more. Because I cleared that space, because nobody had precomceptions of me, and because I enrolled everyone else in the possibility of me being healthy and free!

So I'm not saying transformation is a done deal - i know it's a work in progress. BUt for the first time in my life I'm not thinking 'shit!! how am I ever going to fix myself?!' I'm just thinking, I have choices, I have possibilities, and anything I want is possible. So I want to share this with you guys too, that I am creating the possibility of being healthy and free, and if you see me losing sight of my integrity, then please, feel free to hold me to account!

So, I'm back, I'm on board, and I'm looking forward to a life of health and freedom. I will be updating, but please don't panic if it's not every day - the next 2 weeks I've got something on every evening, and then as of Friday I'm on holiday! But the tools I am using are eating natural foods and drinking plenty of water. I'm also going for being as active as possible - I got off the tube a stop early today and walked the last 15 minutes. It's not much, but my god, it was good to get moving!! :)

Love you guys - missed you!

KP xxxxx

Hi lovelies! Here I am - though so insanely busy again this week that I really don't know how much blog time I'll have! But just to say - the wedding was absolutely gorgeous - lil sis looked a vision and her grin for the whole day was like a split melon! And on a personal note the cake turned out brilliantly and everyone enthused about the look and taste of it.

The week preceeding the wedding was utterly fraught, stressful, emotional and barmy - so although I tried to eat slowly, there are mealtimes, that I can't even remember WHAT I ate, never mind HOW I ate it.

Nevertheless, I am undeterred. I'm moving on to week 2 rather than restarting, but I plan to do an extra week at the end of the challenge and retackle slow eating - determined to wup it once and for all. As well as the wedding, the trip to the egg doctor was not the happiest experience of my life, it has to be said. I haven't responded to the operation, so it looks like it'll be assisted conception or a miracle for us. but there is some moving forward, we are on some lists, I am on some drugs, and the doc was at least kind, straightforward and willing to answer questions (for a change!!) I got quite a lot of dietary advice, so am changing direction a bit on that (in good directions obviously!)

So far today I've had a litre and a half of water, and apart from going to the loo 8 times before eleven o'clock, I feel good - alert and cheery.

So long chicas! Have a great day. xxxx

Hi lovelies,

May not be blogging too regularly this week as off to the egg-doctor this morning and then straight up to Mom's to prepare for The Wedding. Just to say, working on the clenched fist principle, I made my breakfast in a teacup this morning. That was a chopped banana, two spoonfuls of yoghurt and a spoon of meusli. Apparently it's more than enough to fill a girl up, and plenty sweet enough if chewed slowly! Who Knew! Feeling brilliant about my portions so far and looking forward to the challenge of this week. If I don't get to blog, will make notes in my notebook and let you all know when I get back how it went.

Love to all - very best of luck this week!

Evening each!

Well, it has been an interesting day with many things to talk about. First off: primary objective achieved: 3 meals and snacks eaten slowly and thoughtfully - with the result that I left food on my plate this evening. On the other hand, one of said 'snacks' was a piece of cake, which is not so good (other food choices were healthy though, and portions were small).

HOWEVER...I have noticed some things and resolve to move onwards and upwards tomorrow, bearing the following:

1) I find it much more difficult to eat slowly if I'm not using a knife and fork. I ate the cake with a fork, so ate it slowly and stopped when I'd had enough (which, yes, is kinda shutting the door after the horse has bolted, but bear with me!) but at lunch time I had a lovely tuna and salad sandwich (wholemeal, no mayo) which was a much healthier choice, but which I had more difficulty eating slowly, because I was holding it the whole time. I think cutlery are a more obvious break in proceedings.
2) As I was discussing with Kat earlier: when you chew properly you can taste all the different components more as the food breaks down. And judging from the cake, this is not always a pleasant experience and is thus a valuable tool. The sugar in the cake got a bit overpowering after I had chewed each mouthful 21 times - it became really sickly. I also noticed myself drinking after each mouthful, as if to wash the taste away...so...yeah...next time, maybe just skip the cake and save myself the hassle! but it's interesting to become so much more aware of your food. Everything I ate, I could taste the different salt, fat and sugar levels...left me with a hankering for green veg and citrus fruit this pm - which can only be a good thing!
All in all it's been a good day. Finished and sent off 3 applications, and have been gathering my bits and bobs together to go to Mom's for The Wedding tomorrow! VERY exciting! Will add today's knowledge to tomorrow's success. All manner of things will be well.

Big love, all!

KP xxxx

Hi all,

Just finished re-listening to the pod cast and making a few notes of things to remember. Have also taken my measurements, but will do the scales tomorrow morning, before banishing them for 9 weeks!

SO, what are my goals for the next 9 weeks?
- to make all of the tools second nature
- to love my life, to love the doing, to love being me
- to up my bouncebackability
- to grin more and mope less
- to move more and eat less
- to love more and bitch less!
- to grab every opportunity to improve, however small, whether it's entering for a run, or choosing to walk, not drive, to the shops, or even just to have a glass of water instead of a coffee.
- to get more inventive and creative with diet and exercise.

OK, that's the general aims. This week is obviously about eating slowly as well, so my goal for this week is to eat 21 meals slowly and with feeling. It's a great goal for this week, because this week is my sister's wedding, so I'm going to my mum's and won't have too much control over WHAT I have to eat. I CAN however control how much I eat and how fast I eat it!

Good luck, everyone who's starting the challenge tomorrow.
WE CAN DO THIS!!!

xxxxx

Hi guys,

I went and swam a mile at the pool today. Don't think I did it very quickly, and defitnitely wasn't very graceful or stylish, but I don't care - I set out to swim a mile and that is what I did. I kept a steady pace, and I pushed my own limits.

As I was swimming up and down and being lapped and half drowned by the aggressive, testosterone-fuelled crawlers, I got to thinking about Pete's exceptional weightloss athlete. Here is what I thought. I really am fine with being an Also-ran, as long as I can look back and think that, I also ran (swam, walked, danced etc) as hard as I could, for as long as I could. As long as I have no regrets about the effort I put in, why should I regret the outcome, whatever that outcome may be? If I finish in 1999th place out of 2000, if I can put my hand on my heart and say I really could not have done more, then yay for me. I still finished my race, I still beat my expectations.

I was watching X-weighted yesterday (MAN, I love that show! I with Paul Plakas would move to Bromley!) and there was this guy, Mike, who was 25 years old and weighed something like 370lbs. I don't think I've ever seen an episode where somebody had just put so many walls up for themselves - this guy had more hang-ups than you could count and the lowest self esteem I've ever seen! But he just threw himself heart and soul into the 6 month programme, and in the end he lost a whopping 113lbs - the most anyone's ever lost! But it wasn't the end results that were impressive, you could just see that over the 6 months, he was busting through self-limitation after self-limitation, and it was so inspiring. This guy had played university level basketball, and he was so scared top get back on the court, because he was terrified of 'being the guy who weighs the team down'. But despite all his fears, he just went for it, and even though the first couple of times he got massacred, he came up grinning and more determined. He was SO inspiring! He really was exceptional because he'd realised that he was having so much fun just moving, and getting more active. he was pushing his boundaries every day, and enjoying the testing. I was just in awe of him - and at the end found myself thinking what an attractive man he was - not particularly because he was a classically good looking bloke, but more because there was so much lust for life and enthusiasm shining out of his face, you couldn't help but warm to him.

SO What that long ramble is really about is this - I get it. I get how you can enjoy the doing. This week I've broken my swim and run barriers, and the sense of enjoyment and fulfilment I've got on both occasions has been awesome. It's what Mandie would call an 'epiphany' moment - I can see how it all fits together now. Exceptional doesn't necessarily mean beating Paula Radcliffe - but it does mean recognising the barriers I've put up for myself and hammering through them. Preferably with a smile on my face.

Have good days, all you exceptional people!

xxxx

well, I didn't get the job, and for reasons known only to himself, my boss decided to tell me this at 9.05 this morning, with the result that I had to endure the rest of the day in the office, feeling tearful and crappy. It is such a shame - I know something else will come up, but I love my office and I really didn't want to leave. Everyone was totally lovely about it, all quite shocked and sad that I'm going which was so sweet - albeit it made me even more teary!

But I am NOT giving up. I've already found two things to apply for, and I'm going to carry on heading for the up-and-up. I don't believe doors shut without windows opening. and hey - this is the girl who ran 10k yesterday, AND got into a size 14 dress! So it's their loss, and someone else will want me, somewhere...

There is a KP sized niche in the market and I'm out to get it. Meanwhile, focusing on being fabulous (and flab-u-less) at the wedding next saturday.

Is right.

cheers one and all for your ace comments yesterday! BikerB the thing about the wellies was that ages ago I was blogging about some awesome blue wellies with white polka dots I was lusting after! Wish I'd got them now! :)

later, lovelies
xxxxx

Hey all!

Am absolutely knackered from combined cake lunacy and Gym bunnying! I got up this morning and went to the gym...and ran 10K!!!! Was nearly dead after but have not felt that ehxilarated or pleased with myself for a long long time :)

Food wise, it's not been bad - breakfast was granola, which is not my best choice of brekkie, because it's quite sweet, and makes me crave other sweet things, but managed to behave and had a chicken salad for lunch. Just found out that hubs passed his exams so did his favourite for dinner - thai chilli prawns and rice. It's not the worst, because it's all fresh and what not, but it does have coconut milk. Anyway, decided not to stress the little things, but just had a small portion and am still pretty full to bursting.

Meanwhile, my oven is also full to bursting with the most gigantic fruit cake you've ever seen. It's taking six and a half hours to cook! Heavens to betsy. Ayesha - your comment gave me a real chuckle! No - it's definitely not tortoise shaped...elephant foot maybe! :) Plus it had a cup and a half of rum in it, so we're all getting fuzzy heads off the fumes! Smells lush though! worth saving up for a bit at the wedding methinks! :)

Oh, I got the cutest little sundress today, from tesco! It's blue with white polka dots! Think I'll have to track down those blue wellies I was on about that time now - they'd go perfectly! Anyway, the added happiness was that it is a size 14, and fits like a glove. Oh, and my rack looks pretty spectacular in it, but I'm way too classy to mention that...

Long and short of it: Mandie, you were absolutely right about the energy collection point! Feeling great!
Ciao bellas!

xxxx

Hi all,

Had my interview this morning, and I think it went well. Thanks for all the lovely support - really grateful for it. I had got myself very worked up about the whole thing. but in the end I went in and the adrenaline kicked in, it was all OK. Now I guess I just wait, but I'm pretty calm now. I'm consciously putting God in charge and I know if not this, then another job is out there for me.

Meanwhile, I tried some wheat free pasta tonight and it's really not that bad! I really want to cut my wheat intake as it always bloats me. So I did a quick mix with some black olives, chilli, sundried tomatoes and a bit of low fat mozzarella and it was yum! Definitely an option! I had some bad snacks this afternoon - a mini muffin and some chocolate in the office, so that wasn't great, but as Ayesha wisely says, it's the next thing, not the last thing that counts. Hubs is primed to kick me out of bed tomorrow to get to the gym, and I'm all up and ready to go about my week. Whatever the outcome of the interview, I have stuff to do!

So...goals for tomorrow:
- go to the gym
- be as active as possible - walk don't drive!
- make the bottom level of the wedding cake (sounds contradictory, but it's not a food thing for me - it's something I need to tick off my to-do list!)
- revisit all 9 tools and listen to them again properly
- do a little relaxation and transformation.

Have great days tomorrow one and all!

xxxx