I have been sharing my weight loss tip, tools and advice with people for over 20 years and much of this has come from the people who are on my weight loss programme - petecohen.tv. I want to share some of these with you to inspire and motivate you.

These tips are from one of our many bloggers called Biscuit.

1. Concentrate on one day at a time - be in the here and now. Worrying about the future is overwhelming and counter-productive. Despairing about the past is even more pointless!

2. Give your old "fat clothes" away to the charity shop. Pack up clothes that are too big for you, never store them "in case I need them one day".
   

3. Clear your house of temptation. Give the chocolates away to your work colleagues / friends; even bin them.
   

4. If you have a partner / kids that make 3a) impossible, then get some boxes and assign everyone an individual treat box with their special food. Fill yours with delicious treats (popcorn kernels, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and EXCELLENT quality chocolate if that's your thing).

5. It's not a waste to throw food away if you don't want to eat it. It's a waste to eat it if you don't want it! Throw it away today, shop and cook smarter tomorrow.

6. If you've never done it before, keep a food diary for two weeks. Be honest. It's a real eye-opener.

7. Greet your hunger with delight. When you feel hunger pangs, it's time to make yourself something delicious to eat, and look after yourself.
   

8. Make sure you're drinking enough water, and don't forget to take it out with you.

9. And don't forget a care pack - take a little snack everywhere with you (I like to have oatcakes and dried apricots tucked in my handbag)

10. JUST DO SOMETHING! Walking for even 5 minutes is better than not walking at all.

11. Live your life TODAY. Whether that's joining a choir, taking pride in your appearance or applying for a new job: Don't put things off until you lose the weight, start living now.  

Our Member of the Month for April is Kat. I met up with her recently at the Vitality Show in London. She has been following my weight loss programme - petecohen.tv for well over a year. She is an inspirational lady who has embraced every aspect of my programme. She is a prolific blogger and has offered some fantastic support to others.

I have recorded a podcast below, where I talk to her about what she has achieved. Please feel free to make any comments and I will pass them on to Kat. 

Our member of the month is Cherry

She has achieved so much and not only lost weight but has come a long way to overcome the eating disorders that plagued her life for over 15 years.

In the pod-cast below I interview Cherry about her experiences and what she has achieved.

Please feel free to make any comments and I will pass them onto to Cherry.

It's snowing like I have never seen before in England.  

I had to get outside because it's so beautiful and make  a film specially for you all. The film is called "You Are Beautiful".

Please take a moment to watch and make any comments you have underneath.

 Hi there 

Please have a look at my latest new video post about how to deal with the pressures at Christmas. 

Well Done Gem!
You are April's Member of the Month!

There are so many great success stories on PCTV  at the moment and there are many worthy winners. This month one of our regular bloggers has caught my eye. Her name is Gem and she is our member of the month...

She has lost 12lbs. 8.5 inches from Hips, Waist & bust.

This is her testimonial in her own words:

I can remember my brothers challenging me to beat them in the "Who can eat more Weetabix" competition when I was a little girl..... I won of course! and my prize?? well now I realise my prize was bitter sweet because I have now pin pointed that as the starting point in my life's struggle with overeating. 
 
I was such a skinny little thing but by the time I was 10 years old I was like a squashy little ball all curly hair and rolls of puppy fat.  By the time I was 16 I was 5ft 3" and 12.5 stone.  My brothers called me their "Circular Sister" and kids in school used to sing "Return to Slender" & shout "Is it a bird? is it a plane? Nooooo it's Germaine" ...... taunts which I laughed off in great spirit outwardly whilst I sobbed inside.
 
Ay 16 I decided enough was enough, I joined a slimming club with my mum & Dad and with strict calorie counting and my eyes firmly on the prize "A Boyfriend" I shed 3.5 stone from May to September. GREAT!
 
I kept at a healthy weight until I was in my mid 20's when due to a crazy social life the weight started to creep back on.  I got married to my husband in 2000 and walked down the isle having panic shed 2 stone in about 8 weeks (not very healthy)  I put on over half a stone in the first week of my honeymoon, I just dived head first into that great trough of mindless eating. 
 
Just after our wedding I was diagnosed with a prolactinoma (an imbalance of the Pituitary Glad) ... I'm still not sure if the condition itself caused my weight to shoot up OR more likely I used it as an excuse to feel sorry for myself and seek comfort in food Hmmm???  Following a short course of treatment I found I was pregnant with our first son Reuben (now 5) having a bit of an obsession with the scales, (you might find it odd that I insisted on getting weighed every day), I weight in at 15st 4lbs, just before he was born weighing a tiny weeny 5lbs 6 oz!! ..  Three years later (May 07) I gave birth to our youngest son Gabriel, again I hauled myself onto the scales, my eyes nearly popped out when I saw that I weighed 16st 3lbs!!! WOW!  Gabe was born weighing 7lbs, 8oz.
 
I spent a lot of last year asking myself questions and thinking about a solution. I looked into every diet under the sun, dismissing them one by one for the simple reason I LOVE FOOD and I didn't want to give up eating what I wanted.
 
I can't remember what I was doing on my computer but On Friday the 13th of Feb 09 (Always been a lucky number for me) I was googling something and up popped a link for Pete Cohen, head cocked to one side I thought hang on a minute this looks like it could be what I've been searching for.  Half an hour later without a seconds hesitation I bypassed the free trial and signed up there and then for six months worth of 21 day cycles.
 
Three hours later and a mountain of ironing lighter (PHEW) I clicked on the activate button.  Every day I wake up and the first thing I do is go to my emails where I know an email will be sitting waiting for me from Pete, I click on the link which takes my to my members area where I will spend about 5 to 10 mins watching the video of the day, followed by the Brilliant Relaxation & Transformation MP3 either straight after or later in the day (depending on time) I spent the 1st Cycle ....... more to follow

Here's Gem's entries on the weightlossjournals at petecohen.tv

To be in with a chance of winning next month - all you need to do is to keep blogging and I'll be looking out for people who are making progress and positive changes in thier lives.

Take Care,
Pete

Well Done Wendy! You have won the first ever PCTV Member of the Month award.

Wendy is one of our first ever members, she has lost 50lbs whilst on the programme. She joined in December 2007 and since then has made over 100 entries in her journal/blog.

IN HER OWN WORDS: "I have formed good habits from using the tools and some of them have become second nature. This is life-changing and a very positive way of living - Thank God I found petecohen.tv"

The reason I'm giving her the Member of the Month award is not only because she has done so well herself and inspired so many others, but after months of me hassling her, she finally sent in her after photo. I'm sure you will all agree she has done amazingly well!

Her prize is one of my new SYLO products - a Five DVD box set from one of my live Sort Your Life Out events (worth £60)

To be in with a chance of winning next month - all you need to do is to keep blogging and I'll be looking out for people who are making progress and positive changes in thier lives.

Take Care,
Pete

"Blogging helped me lose 6st"

After years of fad diets, Annie Garcia's life revolved around food and desperate efforts to lose weight. But all that changed when she found the support she needed online... Check out Annie's amazing story in ZEST magazine (click for the PDF).

Start 2009 with a BANG! Save £30 when you join petecohen.tv using the promo-code 'Zest'

You can read entries from our Member's Weight Loss Journals on the Blog here.

I have recently returned from a trip to the deep South of the United States, visiting Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I know America gets bad press these days but I am a big fan. However, they really love food,  portion sizes are massive and fast food outlets are everywhere.

It’s funny how our lives have changed and how years ago people used to hunt to live and survive. This obviously involved blood, sweat and tears. These days, especially in the states people hunt in their cars and there is drive-in everything, drive-in fast food, drive-in pharmacies, drive-in banks, drive-in supermarkets. In fact people don’t really have to move these days because if you don’t go out hunting in your car someone will bring everything to you.

I couldn’t believe how many overweight people I saw, people of all ages and backgrounds. It’s such a big problem and I am sure we are catching up with our American cousins as us Brits’ waist lines are ever expanding.

In fact, in the plane on the way home I read in a recent survey that almost three-quarters of Britons believe they are overweight and have vowed to start a health campaign in the New Year. This got me wondering as to just how many of these vows will result in success.

Despite almost 70 percent of Britons saying they want to get healthy, experts said other evidence into people's behaviour suggests that repeated warnings about the dangers of obesity is falling on deaf ears.

Perhaps this is highlighted by McDonalds who recently revealed it had recorded growth rates close to their peak of the 1980s -- with 88 million visits to its outlets in the UK last month alone!

It is estimated that obesity causes 9,000 premature deaths each year in England and costs the NHS about one billion pounds annually.

A recent government study predicted that half the population could be obese within 25 years and Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum charity, said the country's obesity crisis was "quite dire".

While it appears people want to tackle obesity, evidence such as the sales figures revealed by McDonalds, paints a markedly different picture.

The government is desperate to do something about this situation and in October, they unveiled a strategy where parents of severely overweight children may be sent letters warning them of the health dangers involved.

Do you think this will make any difference? I am not sure but I know that my weight loss programme is making a difference to many people.

The following is from Sue one of our many success stories:

"I am now 4 stone lighter, and have made the most incredible lifestyle changes since joining back in June"

If you want to see the progress people are making then have a look at our blog and check out our updated video of some of our amazing case studies.

Special Offer:

Take care, and if you want to sign up before Christmas we have a special offer. You can sign up for a 50% discount. Just go to petecohen.tv and use the promo word xmas.

"I enjoy following the plan and it's great to go to the workshops where you can meet other members who you have got to know online.  I have lost over 4 stone following PCTV - it's such a different and refreshing approach to weight loss."
Ruth Alexander
 

"What makes PCTV and specifically being on the blogs extra special is that you soon become part of our family, we're all together pulling in the same direction and we are accepted and feel free to be ourselves with our ups and downs. Once we're helping other people we're also realising our own abilities to help ourselves - what could be better and I have lost 6 stone"
Annie Garcia

"I joined the programme back in June after being bowled over by Pete and his amazing system, it has worked for me where 40 odd years of conventional dieting hasnt, in just over 3 months i am 3 stone plus lighter, i am walking unaided where before i needed a stick, i was virtually housebound and now i go out every day, its completely lifechanging and the best thing is I haven't once felt hungry or deprived."
Sue Hedges
 

"PCTV has changed my entire view on getting slimmer, fitter, healthier and happier. Ten months on, I'm still on the programme and still losing weight. I have never managed this before- usually I'm "good" for a few weeks then fall off the wagon and give up. Then as the next big thing in my life approaches I try to "diet" again. I've now broken this cycle thanks to Pete and all the wonderful people on the Weightloss Journals Blog. Since starting PCTV on Jan 1st 2008 I have lost 2st 10lbs. I attended Pete's weight loss event in London on Oct 11th and it was an elightening and motivational day."
Vikki Crawford

Thanks so much ladies! It was great to see you all again at the event. Keep it up you're all doing so incredibly well!