Before you have a “Cohen meal” delivered to your doorstep or buy the “program” for cheap, stop and consider: it might be a fake.
“We've lately been hearing many reports of clients falling ill—and then we find out that they were doing the other Cohens,” said Cohen Lifestyle Center CEO Barbara Young at a press conference last Wednesday, held specifically to debunk the rise of the "other Cohens."
“It's more than the infringement of the trademark—it's about putting people at risk,” Young stressed, adding that they have often had to turn down potential clients with diabetes or who were at risk for heart attacks. “If you are sick, we usually ask for your physician's clearance first. And we constantly monitor the progress of our clients.”
In particular, Young and colleagues—CLC director Regina Chuavon and CLC medical doctor Angel Bandola—related the story of a former client of theirs who was peddling parts of the program for much cheaper to unwitting individuals. She was found out when one of her customers, who had diabetes, began to feel ill. The case is now with the National Bureau of Investigation.
The trio are also planning to work with big companies such as CashCash and Sulit regarding the program's trademark, as there are many advertising “Cohen meals” on their sites.
A checklist to follow
The Cohen Lifestyle program was developed by specialist Dr. Rami Cohen, and encourages its adherents to lose weight by sticking to a strict menu and adopting a new lifestyle.
The program looks into your body chemistry and tells you how you can lose weight using that information. It has three steps:
the personalized eating program, which is determined after the results of the blood test;
the refeeding plan, which helps clients' bodies re-adjust to the program; and
the management guidelines, which are designed to help each client stick to their individualized eating plans after graduating from the program.
The meals one takes are tailor-fit to an individual's blood chemistry and have very exact proportions and ingredients.
“If it's not on the list the consultant gives you, you cannot eat it,” said Joy Marcelo, Cohen graduate and GMA News and Public Affairs senior program manager in an interview. She also said that the individual's goal weight is determined by his or her age, height, and foot size.
Marcelo underwent the program in 2012, after deciding that she'd had enough of palpitations and a daily change of 10 outfits before finding just the right one. Weighing 154 lbs. and skeptical of her goal weight of 122 lbs., she contracted the center for six months but lost 29 lbs. in just four. She now weighs 113 lbs.
“But I feel great,” said Marcelo, who goes to the gym, dances at a Zumba class at work at least thrice a week, and gets at least nine or ten hours of sleep a day. “Ang gumamot sa akin ay food. And what's safer than eating healthy food to lose weight?”
She added that her kids follow her eating habits and that her husband eats healthy, too—though not when they're eating out. “I was never a carb-lover, so maintenance is easy. Your tongue is trained to get about the bad food.”
“Bad food” for her meant bacon with seasoning and patis. Now, she is able to satisfy her cravings with green mango pieces mixed with Splenda and a little salt. She still eats junk food now and then, but at a maximum of two potato chips if anyone is offering, and less than a slice of cake.
From left: Regina Chuavon, Roger Rosales, Jamee Padilla, Elizabeth Abela, Barbara Young, Erika Avancena, Digzylou Umali, and Angela Bandola. Photo courtesy of Cohen Lifestyle Center
Keeping the pounds off
Twenty-three-year-old IBM employee and freelance hair and makeup artist Jamee Padilla passed around a photo of her wearing a bikini after Cohen. She had lost 73.92 lbs. in six months.
Padilla, who also runs a baking business with her mother, said that maintaining is actually harder than being on the program.
“I had to learn to say 'no' despite being surrounded by cupcakes,” she said. She also added that her team at work always has chips and that her sister owns a restaurant.
“It doesn't stop at looking good, you have to change and maintain your lifestyle,” she added. “I want this lifestyle not just for a beach body. Cohen teaches you a lot about your body.”
Padilla's tip for keeping off the bad food was asking herself these three questions: Am I really hungry? Haven't I tasted this before? Is it really worth it?
Other useful tips came from two other graduates: property manager Elizabeth Abela and Salon Privat Manila owner, Digzylou Umali, who went from a size 12 to a size zero.
Umali, who gained a lot of weight after the birth of her second child, stressed the importance of keeping oneself hydrated, as the hunger pangs might actually be pangs of thirst.
Abela related how she kept a daily planner where she wrote down everything she ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and soon, she was also writing down her feelings. She now refers to this diary every time she feels bad and wants to see if she's felt that way before, saying that “it's like my bible.” She also kept an alarm clock around to train herself to eat at proper, exact times.
Steep investment
Cohen has a hefty price tag: the program alone will cost P60,000. With its additional items—six months' support with trained consultants, a digital food scale, three months' supply of vitamins, initial blood tests, and repeat blood tests—it all adds up to P66,500.
For JG Summit head supply chain manager Gerardo “Gerry” Francia and showbiz producer Roger Rosales, it was worth it.
Francia used to experience shortness of breath and knee pains while Rosales is a survivor of brain cancer. They were both cleared by their physicians for the Cohen program.
Francia attests that Cohen improved his physical, emotional, marital, and spiritual health, saying that “I prayed a lot because I didn't want anyone to see my doubt. My wife was my chef, my cook, and my conscience—I made sure to finish everything in my lunchbox or I'd get a mouthful.”
After shedding 90 lbs., Rosales said that he lost the swollen sinus that always showed up in his MRI scans and his snoring habit. His blood pressure has also normalized.
“It's easier for me to buy clothes and tie my shoelaces,” said Rosales. “I used to get up at midnight, cook rice, then go back to sleep after eating—not very healthy. Now I sleep early, look for veggies at restaurants and food labels when I'm at the grocery.”
“I'm cancer-free,” he said, and the room burst into applause. — BM, GMA News
“We've lately been hearing many reports of clients falling ill—and then we find out that they were doing the other Cohens,” said Cohen Lifestyle Center CEO Barbara Young at a press conference last Wednesday, held specifically to debunk the rise of the "other Cohens."
“It's more than the infringement of the trademark—it's about putting people at risk,” Young stressed, adding that they have often had to turn down potential clients with diabetes or who were at risk for heart attacks. “If you are sick, we usually ask for your physician's clearance first. And we constantly monitor the progress of our clients.”
In particular, Young and colleagues—CLC director Regina Chuavon and CLC medical doctor Angel Bandola—related the story of a former client of theirs who was peddling parts of the program for much cheaper to unwitting individuals. She was found out when one of her customers, who had diabetes, began to feel ill. The case is now with the National Bureau of Investigation.
The trio are also planning to work with big companies such as CashCash and Sulit regarding the program's trademark, as there are many advertising “Cohen meals” on their sites.
A checklist to follow
The Cohen Lifestyle program was developed by specialist Dr. Rami Cohen, and encourages its adherents to lose weight by sticking to a strict menu and adopting a new lifestyle.
The program looks into your body chemistry and tells you how you can lose weight using that information. It has three steps:
the personalized eating program, which is determined after the results of the blood test;
the refeeding plan, which helps clients' bodies re-adjust to the program; and
the management guidelines, which are designed to help each client stick to their individualized eating plans after graduating from the program.
The meals one takes are tailor-fit to an individual's blood chemistry and have very exact proportions and ingredients.
“If it's not on the list the consultant gives you, you cannot eat it,” said Joy Marcelo, Cohen graduate and GMA News and Public Affairs senior program manager in an interview. She also said that the individual's goal weight is determined by his or her age, height, and foot size.
Marcelo underwent the program in 2012, after deciding that she'd had enough of palpitations and a daily change of 10 outfits before finding just the right one. Weighing 154 lbs. and skeptical of her goal weight of 122 lbs., she contracted the center for six months but lost 29 lbs. in just four. She now weighs 113 lbs.
“But I feel great,” said Marcelo, who goes to the gym, dances at a Zumba class at work at least thrice a week, and gets at least nine or ten hours of sleep a day. “Ang gumamot sa akin ay food. And what's safer than eating healthy food to lose weight?”
She added that her kids follow her eating habits and that her husband eats healthy, too—though not when they're eating out. “I was never a carb-lover, so maintenance is easy. Your tongue is trained to get about the bad food.”
“Bad food” for her meant bacon with seasoning and patis. Now, she is able to satisfy her cravings with green mango pieces mixed with Splenda and a little salt. She still eats junk food now and then, but at a maximum of two potato chips if anyone is offering, and less than a slice of cake.
From left: Regina Chuavon, Roger Rosales, Jamee Padilla, Elizabeth Abela, Barbara Young, Erika Avancena, Digzylou Umali, and Angela Bandola. Photo courtesy of Cohen Lifestyle Center
Keeping the pounds off
Twenty-three-year-old IBM employee and freelance hair and makeup artist Jamee Padilla passed around a photo of her wearing a bikini after Cohen. She had lost 73.92 lbs. in six months.
Padilla, who also runs a baking business with her mother, said that maintaining is actually harder than being on the program.
“I had to learn to say 'no' despite being surrounded by cupcakes,” she said. She also added that her team at work always has chips and that her sister owns a restaurant.
“It doesn't stop at looking good, you have to change and maintain your lifestyle,” she added. “I want this lifestyle not just for a beach body. Cohen teaches you a lot about your body.”
Padilla's tip for keeping off the bad food was asking herself these three questions: Am I really hungry? Haven't I tasted this before? Is it really worth it?
Other useful tips came from two other graduates: property manager Elizabeth Abela and Salon Privat Manila owner, Digzylou Umali, who went from a size 12 to a size zero.
Umali, who gained a lot of weight after the birth of her second child, stressed the importance of keeping oneself hydrated, as the hunger pangs might actually be pangs of thirst.
Abela related how she kept a daily planner where she wrote down everything she ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and soon, she was also writing down her feelings. She now refers to this diary every time she feels bad and wants to see if she's felt that way before, saying that “it's like my bible.” She also kept an alarm clock around to train herself to eat at proper, exact times.
Steep investment
Cohen has a hefty price tag: the program alone will cost P60,000. With its additional items—six months' support with trained consultants, a digital food scale, three months' supply of vitamins, initial blood tests, and repeat blood tests—it all adds up to P66,500.
For JG Summit head supply chain manager Gerardo “Gerry” Francia and showbiz producer Roger Rosales, it was worth it.
Francia used to experience shortness of breath and knee pains while Rosales is a survivor of brain cancer. They were both cleared by their physicians for the Cohen program.
Francia attests that Cohen improved his physical, emotional, marital, and spiritual health, saying that “I prayed a lot because I didn't want anyone to see my doubt. My wife was my chef, my cook, and my conscience—I made sure to finish everything in my lunchbox or I'd get a mouthful.”
After shedding 90 lbs., Rosales said that he lost the swollen sinus that always showed up in his MRI scans and his snoring habit. His blood pressure has also normalized.
“It's easier for me to buy clothes and tie my shoelaces,” said Rosales. “I used to get up at midnight, cook rice, then go back to sleep after eating—not very healthy. Now I sleep early, look for veggies at restaurants and food labels when I'm at the grocery.”
“I'm cancer-free,” he said, and the room burst into applause. — BM, GMA News
