Questions for Support Team

[Katra]

Good Morning!

I am confused as to whether I should submit my questions here or on the FAQ's page? I did it here because I need some help from the support team. I hope this is the correct place to post them!

I have several so here goes:

1. I have not had the RAPID weight loss in the first month that everyone seems to have. It may be 18lbs it may be 14lbs my scale was that much off this morning. I of course moved my ticker down 18lbs, because that was the first reading I got! LOL Anyway, I am concerned that I may inadvertently be doing something wrong.

I have followed the plan as prescribed except for missing a meal 2x, and eating somewhat later than prescribed once. I also on one day had 2 meal 2's by mistake and had canned peaches once.

What is the recommended use of spray oil. I have used it spraying the pan for the alloted number of seconds, well I divide up the seconds between 2 pans when using them to cook different things, ie one for fish and one for vegetables. I use it 3x per day? Could this be affecting my slower than average losses?

Over the last week, (PMS) I have had my meal 2 cheese option every single day, because I love it! I use the low-fat, shredded, organic mozzarella cheese. Could eating cheese everyday slow my progress?

I have been eating mangos on a regular basis and although I asked my consultant for weight guidelines on mangos she said that there are none and that I should use fruits the size of a woman's fist. I have tried this and it seems to be impossible to find a mango THAT small, but when all is said and done and it's peeled and cut up there isn't that much fruit there. I am wondering if anyone from support could provide me with weight guidelines on mangos.

I am also wondering about the use of salt on the program. I use celtic sea salt which I am told is better than regular salt and when I cook I use a small layer in the bottom of the pan when I add my other spices. Could that amount cause me to retain fluid and hasten my losses?

And Finally: I have been walking every other day for 60 minutes, it is not strenous, but I find I have so much energy that I have to do something to move around. I work at home and I lead a very sedentary life style and although the program says not to exercise I think I would go crazy if I didn't at least do that. I am also feeling a lot more active in my daily life and have been cleaning more and overall doing more around the house. Could this be hastening my weight loss?

I am so sorry to the book length of this post, but I really hoped I would lose more than I have. I am now so happy that I haven't weighed weekly because I think it would drive me mad! I have lost inches as well.

2 from my chest, 4 from my waist and 4 from my hips. There is NO way I am complaining about this program because I think of it as a Godsend, truly! I would just like to fine tune it if I can, so that I have the most success possible!

Thank you for taking your time reading this and answering my questions! You support means a lot to me. It's nice to know I can come here and have my questions answered!

:jumping2:

[Shasha]

{hi} there Katra

Here goes the answer to those questions below each question / paragraph so that you know which is the answer to what exactly…

1. I have not had the RAPID weight loss in the first month that everyone seems to have. It may be 18lbs it may be 14lbs my scale was that much off this morning. I of course moved my ticker down 18lbs, because that was the first reading I got! LOL Anyway, I am concerned that I may inadvertently be doing something wrong.

I recommend that your read through your New Customer Guide again, it can’t hurt to double check. Then, please do for your blood test on 4 weeks when it is due so that Dr Cohen can give you feedback concerning your program and your progress. Always remember that you are unique and your return to health and wellness will also be a unique journey for this reason you should never compare your progress with that of anyone else on the program.

I have followed the plan as prescribed except for missing a meal 2x, and eating somewhat later than prescribed once. I also on one day had 2 meal 2's by mistake and had canned peaches once.

All of these will slow your progress down slightly – key is to identify and eliminate mistakes as much as possible. Please do not skip meals, if you do your body will react by storing your food as fat.

What is the recommended use of spray oil. I have used it spraying the pan for the alloted number of seconds, well I divide up the seconds between 2 pans when using them to cook different things, ie one for fish and one for vegetables. I use it 3x per day? Could this be affecting my slower than average losses? You may use PAM, to lightly coat the pan or pans that you may be using. This should not be slowing your progress down. You could try steaming foods instead.

Over the last week, (PMS) I have had my meal 2 cheese option every single day, because I love it! I use the low-fat, shredded, organic mozzarella cheese. Could eating cheese everyday slow my progress?
YES IT COULD! Cheese is higher in salt which can lead to water retention and slower weight loss, I recommend that for now you cut back to 2 or 3 times per week and most certainly you need to stick to the rule that says cheese only once a day.

I have been eating mangos on a regular basis and although I asked my consultant for weight guidelines on mangos she said that there are none and that I should use fruits the size of a woman's fist. I have tried this and it seems to be impossible to find a mango THAT small, but when all is said and done and it's peeled and cut up there isn't that much fruit there. I am wondering if anyone from support could provide me with weight guidelines on mangos. Mango should be small ie: about between 100 – 120 grams.

I am also wondering about the use of salt on the program. I use celtic sea salt which I am told is better than regular salt and when I cook I use a small layer in the bottom of the pan when I add my other spices. Could that amount cause me to retain fluid and hasten my losses?
A small layer in the bottom of the pan may very well be too much salt. To help you cut back I recommend adding salt after cooking – you will end up using less. If your hands feel puffy, you probably do have water retention.

And Finally: I have been walking every other day for 60 minutes, it is not strenous, but I find I have so much energy that I have to do something to move around. I work at home and I lead a very sedentary life style and although the program says not to exercise I think I would go crazy if I didn't at least do that. I am also feeling a lot more active in my daily life and have been cleaning more and overall doing more around the house. Could this be hastening my weight loss?

Moderate exercises may very well speed up your weight loss, providing you listen to your body and what it is saying. If you are hungry, cut back, if not, it seems fine.

WELL DONE ON HAVING LOST ALL THOSE INCHES!!! {congrats} {goodjob}
Just please keep on going because you can reach your goal! {cheerleader}

[Katra]

:party1:

Thank you Sasha I really appreciate you taking your time to answer all of my questions. I am actually copying your answers so I have them to refer back to! I will stop the cheese, weight the mango and cut back on the salt. I am not quite ready to steam my vegetables, but I can stop salting them.

So far when I have exercised I have been LESS hungry so I think it's okay for me. The only time I have felt hungry at all is during TOM and I have had to fight with myself against urges to eat unmentionables.

I do realize that everyone's losses are different and I also have a thyroid condition and understand that my losses will always be slower, at least that's what my doctor told me. And I am pleased with my inches gone and pounds lost. I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything to the letter!

Have a great day and thank you again, so much!

[Bronwyn]

Hi Katra! Great job and great loss for your first four weeks!! You are doing awesome and I'm so happy that you're staying strong and tackling every last little "might be an issue". That is what this forum is for. Keep up the good work!

[LesKiya]

You have many questions that I might be able to help with as well. The cheese will for sure slow you down. It most definitely did for me and now in my 14-16th week I've finally figured that out. Cut way back on that salt. I don't use any at all anymore and water retention way down.

As far as cooking in Pam goes, I've finally figured this out after messing up our pans for the last three months. If you can find one, go buy a George Foreman little grill to cook the chicken and steak on. You dont even need the spray Pam. I've used it for the last two days and am kicking myself for not doing it three months ago!

[Katra]

Thanks for your reply and the congrats on my loss! It looks like you are doing very well yourself only a little over 3 pounds to go!

I am so happy for you, you must be ecstatic!

:party8:

[Katra]

Thank you for responding to my question. I am going to stop cheese altogether and see what happens. I hadn't eaten any the first 3 weeks and then PMS rolled around and I felt I had to eat the cheese or I might deviate. I stayed within program guidelines, of course but still all that salt. I am also not salting my food at all anymore and I never did until I started this plan, so I am back to not doing it.

I HATE chicken and I found that beef was stuffing me up, intestinally, so pretty much all I eat is fish. Can you grill fish on that little grill? Just wondering!

Thanks again for your help.

Have a Happy Day!

:party1:

[LesKiya]

I am sure that you can grill the fish on the Foreman grill. And I bet it would be delicious. Another thing I do for flavor is use granulated garlic, black pepper and herbs from my garden (basil and rosemary usually) to sprinkle liberally on my meat.

[GailStout]

Hi there Katra! VERY VERY VERY WELL DONE on losing nearly 20 pounds ALREADY! Remember, on most diets, you'd have been working for TWENTY weeks to do that!

For me, the operative word on the 1st Personal Diet is PERSONAL...what happens for ME probably wouldn't happen for YOU in exactly the same way, since we are not exactly the SAME!

For example, I could only eat beef on the diet successfully; I'm allergic to fish and chicken left me VERY hungry -- completely the opposite of your needs and methods on the 1PD!

Shasha and we forum folks can do what my daughter calls a "QE2" and do as HM The Queen does for the British government: Guide, Encourage, and Warn!

I believe our first best source of info are our own consultant team and our "orders" from them...and then the rest of the forum is there to push us upright if we're wobbly!

At 46 years old and on the diet I too had lots of PMS symptoms which then recombined with perimenopausal symptoms (can you say "CONFUSING"????). What worked for me when this happened every month (or every five days OR every 7th week!!!) was adding a couple of cups of chamomile tea, and MORE WATER -- I asked for permission to drink 3 liters a day during my PMS symptoms, and was warned not to do more than that but that up to 3 liters was fine. My hunger pangs/irritability went away within hours of the first case of "the grumps" and it worked all the way through. My understanding of what was going on included a response from my consultants which gently reminded me that we were working on my HORMONE LEVELS with the diet, and fluctuations in symptoms were nothing that wouldn't be expected with fluctuations in hormone levels. So, I stopped panicking about it and just DID THE DIET.

Keep it up -- you're doing great! Asking questions, finding answers, and STAYING ON TRACK! GO GO GO!!

Love, Gail

[Katra]

Thanks Gail for taking the time to comment on my post. Your story is an inspiration to me and reading it was one of the reasons I decided to start the diet to begin with. The way you looked when you started the diet reminds me a lot of the way I look now! LOL and I thought she did it and I can do it too!

I have taken out all salt, eat all of my vegetables raw, except spinach and use cooking spray for only one meal. I have also changed up my meals ie, lunch for breakfast, dinner for lunch and breakfast for dinner. The hormonal thing is such a mystery to me and I have a thyroid condition to contend with and I went into this knowing my loses might be slower than some, but I AM sticking to the plan and the few deviations I had were mistakes understanding the plan, but I have not laid my hands on anything that was not on my plan since April 21st! I think this is the longest time I have ever not strayed on any plan!

I will take your words of wisdom and incorporate them into my thinking and keep plugging away with my final goal in mind!

Thank you again for you kind words of support and for being such an inspiration to all of us here!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

[GailStout]

Good morning! You're most welcome.

I would also like to tell you that you're doing SO WELL!!! That's great that you've got something that works and you're willing to "not stray" on the plan.

The thyroid thing can be difficult; as you probably read on my post I had difficulty with my medication. One thing I did NOT do very well was actually realize that as I lost weight I would need LESS thyroid medication -- even though needing less medication was the reason I began to look for diets in the first place. Part of that problem was not getting on the scale every day -- I knew my pants were too big, but I wasn't really sure how much I actually WEIGHED, and so did not think to tell my doctor!

When you take your four week blood test, make sure that the results are sent to your endocrinologist! If you need adjustments in your medication, he or she can do that so that your thyroid is ONLY getting the support it needs, not MORE than it needs.

It's the "more than" part that slowed me down.

Keep on! You're doing great!
Much love,
Gail

[bitten]

sorry to hijack....
but i am curious about what gail said.
i hear so much conflict about water intake.
i drink at least 4 liters a day.
sometimes more.
could this slow my loss?
i always felt the more you drank the more you lost...
hmmm
bitten

[Katra]

Thank you again for your kind response. It has caused me to ask a question though, specifically about the blood test that was ordered for me to begin with. No thyroid panel was done, at least not one like my Dr. Does, it was simply a metabolic panel, I am not a Dr, but I saw nothing in my results pertaining to the thyroid. Do you know which reading on the results indicated thyroid function?

Either way I will keep this in mind as I lose since I don't want to slow down anymore. I just hate messing with my dosage though because I feel weird when they change it.

Thank you again and have a nice day!

[Katra]

Thank you for recommendations on how to prepare the fish. I will definitely try it! I may have to wait to get the grill, but the seasoning I can do now. My son-in-law showed me how to cook fish on a cedar plank and that was quite good too!

I hope you have a nice day! And Thanks again!

[Shasha]

{hi} there Bitten

For the purposes of the diet, Dr Cohen says it is enough to drink 2 liters of water a day.

Some Diet Buddies do find that they feel thirsty over and above this and may drink more water - it will all depend on different factors such as temperature / body size / exercise level / how much other fluids you take in etc. For example if you do not drink tea and coffee or cool drink you could easily drink quiet a bit more water than someone who has all of these in addition to water.
:party7:
If you are drinking more water, for whichever reason, I would recommend taking a second vitamin each day at lunchtime...

Hope this helps :bighug:

[Shasha]

{hi} there Katra

Dr Cohen only requests the information that he needs in order to compile your Personal Eating Plan. This information is limited and does not include your thyroid function. Regarding your thyroid it is recommended that you please consult with your personal doctor / endocrinologist who should continue to monitor your progress regularly...


HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL SLIMMING!!! {cheerleader}

[Katra]

I didn't think there was a thyroid test on the panel, but what do I know!

Thanks for your support and assistance as always!

[bitten]

you know katra-

i thought the same thing when i read gail's post. being hypothyroid, i KNOW that there is NO way that dr. cohen can tell anything with a T3/T4 test for thyroid stimulating hormone, etc.
perhaps gail will let us know if she indeed have further blood work...
i would love to know how dr. cohen can tell what we are eating or not eating in our blood tests!!!
bitten

[Shasha]

{hi} there Bitten

I think we'd all love to know the in depth secrets but that this file is marked TOP SECRET... {rofl}

I have been told that there is a whole lot that even an ordinary lab technician can tell from a blood test... some result indicates too little water, another indicates too much fatty foods, another too much alcohol... :thinking:

If an ordinary Lab technician can tell this, how much more would a specialized Doctor with years of research be able to tell! I'm only too glad that Dr Cohen has made slimming simple for all of us...
{wave}