Week 8 - Low Carb Bootcamp - Last Three Weeks!

[BIWI]

I'm starting next week's thread a bit early as I have to be up and out of the house at sparrow's crack tomorrow.

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

And don't forget the weight tracker

It may seem like we're nearly at the end, but still the chance to lose up to another half a stone, if you can lose 2lbs a week!

Hope everyone has a good week. Mine is a bit of a minefield - out tomorrow night to celebrate both of my DCs' birthdays, and then out on Thursday with some MNetter friends, and I don't think we will be drinking sparkling water!

Good luck everyone.

On the positive side, Pistey, it would suggest that you don't have a problem with dairy. And a pound a week is perfect. It's what we're after - long-term, sustainable weight loss. Don't forget that this is a pound of fat:

Crabby - glad DD is safely home

Lighthousekeeping (I think it was you who asked!) - when Bootcamp is over, I will start a new thread, for ongoing chat, and we will all continue. I don't know what will happen with the Weight Tracker, but I assume it will still be there. (I'll check with MNHQ). And Willie usually leaves the spreadsheet up for people to carry on entering their weight.

So don't panic! We will all still be here, shouting our shit!

DP has a sore throat and although he's not strictly on bootcamp he is off sugar and following the main ethos. I bought him some sugar free halls throat sweets as he was in so much pain, he ate them all. He spent last night on the loo! Oops

Hello all

Just popping in to sms, I'm still here, just about

The last week has been a bit of a mixed bag, I have no bloody idea what my weight is as a) I've decided not to trust the scales AT ALL and b) TOTM is fast approaching. Sooooooo, I think it's been ok all in all but I do need to confess some stupidnesses:

Thursday was a dear colleague's leaving do, which started off as a tea party at which much prosecco was quaffed and cake eaten. Including a homemade salted caramel brownie with a whole Rolo in the middle although I justified that on the basis that I was unlikely to eat another of those for a very long time! Then it was off to the pub for a bottle of red. Ho well...

There was also pizza on Sunday night.

So I'm pottering along, basically. Neither appalling nor great. I did have a Sprout Triumph the other night though - parboiled then fried in butter with LOTS of garlic and crispy bacon - I had two portions! So now I'm officially a grown up because I can say I Eat Sprouts.

Welcome back keeping on. We were worried where you were. Climb back aboard - hands outstretched for you. This last week to try and work out my stall - I have tracked everything on MFP - NOT to count calories scared of crabby, as its not needed - but just to make me mindful of how many LC snacks I was having.

I think I would have a slice of ham whenever the fridge was open , or a bag of pork scratchings, or a tasty chunk of stilton..... or a hardboiled ... on top of quite delicious substantial meals - as after years of calorie counting/ weight watchers type eating - all this delicious food is a revelation to me - as is eating lunch..... ( I have been hungry and fat for 20 years). What I learnt was that whilst calorie counting is really not needed, mindful snacking and portion control is - for me anyway. I am half a stone off my goal now, so its the way I seem to need to do it. I am not hungry, I am just a habitual snacker after years of learning that behaviour - its going to take a while to re-learn.

Try not to flip out though - the alternative seems awful - I will never go back AND - the health benefits are very positive, I have just had loads of tests done - cholesterol, blood sugar included and all were very good results.

One day at a time, one meal at a time.
x

Hello ladies, just popped by to SMS!

I handed in my notice at work and they were very very nice, so that was a worry about nothing! Scrambled eggs for breakfast which makes a nice change from yogurt.

We have people coming for dinner on Saturday and I wondered if someone wise could approve (or rubbish!) my menu - the idea is that they don't know it's LC! So:

Beef shin cooked in beer with lardons, I'll add chestnut mushrooms, celery etc - Nigella recipe, there is a little bit of flour but I though that spread between 7 it can't be much!)
Celeriac and sage cheesy dolphin pose
Green veg - probably fancy broccoli and green beans or mange tout (I won't have the beans)
The IPD pavlova (BIWI forgive my use of sweetener this once!) with cream and berries

What do you think, oh wise LC-ers?

I keep slipping, I do, because I also have a snack monster and am really undisciplined when it comes to eating 3 regular meals a day. I just can't get in to having breakfast daily (except nibbles of cheese), but often feel hungryish around 11, which is too early for lunch - sometimes I'll do a proper meal then and have it as brunch, but more often I'm looking for a quick nibble from the fridge and it's REALLY hard to find something other than cheese that I can snack on. I can't do nuts - they're definitely a weight-gainer for me - so I find myself dreaming about toast, crackers, crisps. It's not great!

Heir - sounds ok to me, but I'm not very good at this so I'll let other people who know better tell you what's "wrong"!

Had fried haloumi for lunch today, and some parmesan crisps.
Dinner was fried kangaroo steak, with butter-cooked oyster mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower and a couple of carrot batons.
Since then, I've quelled the snack/sweet urge with another ultra lowcarb mint choc crisp bar.

And I'm STILL not drinking enough water, so need to do something about that.

Had a better look at the scars this morning. Tell me they'll fade in time?

Thumb I'm bloody sure xDP is on the spectrum! He just doesn't see it though.

Sayra could you make pate with the chicken liver? No one could turn their nose up at that, surely?

Ewan I'm very much fancying that crustless spanakopita.

for everyone dealing with crying babies and stroppy toddlers. I wouldn't go back to that stage for anything - much easier when they get older!

Thanks BIWI, Bugsy and Pistey. It's so good to have her home - we've had a really lovely morning.

Good to see you back Keepon.

WhooshFF seeing as I've hardly lost anything this bootcamp, I think it's entirely possible that I do need to start thinking about my calorie intake especially wine calories. I think my reaction to the sudden talk of calories was me metaphorically sticking my fingers in my ears and chanting "lalalalalalala".

Heir that menu sounds fab!

Crabby, I can't remember how you said she got them - it wasn't coral at all, was it? just rock?

crabby - they will definately fade. How is she ?

Its such a shame that wine calories may count isn't it..... I have been trying to convince myself the gin calories don't count - but I have to face facts !

Just had a ' makeover' at a new hairdresser - and wow, I feel great, it has really lifted my spirits - I am blonde and bouncy ! not greying and flat and even better its time for lunch !

laters...

Heir when I make casseroles I fast boil the sauce/gravy on the hob to reduce it rather than using flour. If you can't be bothered decanting it then leave it bubbling with the lid off to reduce instead.

Hi all - just a mini-shout to let you all know I'm still alive and LC'ing. Been avidly following up the thread, but no real chance to post.

Trashy, you wouldn't believe how much you've been in my thoughts, so I'm not even going to try to explain .

Up 1.5-2lbs this week with TOTM, not concerned, still enjoying it, keeping to the rules, drowning in water, etc. Onwards and downwards.

I'll try to be a bit more present when RL allows - I miss you all vipers!

There are, I think, three elements to snacking:

1. You snack in between meals because you're hungry

This indicates that you're not eating enough - and probably not eating enough fat. It can, sometimes, also mean that you're dehydrated so try drinking a bit more water. But certainly make sure that you're eating enough at meal times

2. You're snacking in between meals out of habit

I think this is something that most of us are probably guilty of at some point. It's certainly true when alcohol comes into play! Those salted nuts - which are oh so low carb - go so well with a glass of wine or two.

Here it's a case of trying to break the habit - or at least making sure that you're snacking on low/no carb foods. If you've got into the habit of snacking on nuts, why not try replacing them with olives (also nice and savoury), or cut some strong cheddar into small, nut-sized cubes - assuming that you don't have a problem with dairy.

3. You're snacking because of some more emotional need

Emotional eating is a difficult one - and you need to understand what your triggers are and see how you can avoid them/change your behaviour.

It's important to get a handle on the whole snacking thing because even if you're eating low carb snacks, you are upping your calorie intake and whilst we say not to count calories, inevitably there is a point where you are definitely eating too many!

Easier said than done, I think, but an area where I think we all have to be vigilant.

Latecomer waddling in shyly here...I have been sort of low-carbing for about two weeks now, as you may have suspected from my Low-carb 101 questions.

The scales are saying I've only lost 3 lb, but bits of me are definitely feeling thinner. I'm not huge (10st 2 today, 5 foot 5 1/2) but what makes me really feel too big is that my thighs brush when I walk. I used to have a thigh gap! Not because I was very thin but because I have wide hips. Anyway they are nearly not touching now, which is brilliant.

My problems are that I don't have much time to cook (I get home about 7pm on a good day) and I have vegetarian tendencies and really can't bring myself to eat fatty meat. I've also read that nuts are too carby and may stall ketosis, and so might dairy...so what does that leave?

Also I'm not in the UK so some of the foods you all suggest are not available: every single tub of yogurt in my local supermarket is either lowfat or no fat, I checked them all.

Ideally I'd like to weigh 9st but have also read that it's easier to lose more and gets harder when you have relatively little weight to get rid of. Is that likely to apply to me? (Am also ancient and get no exercise atm.)

Should I do ubercamp (frightened to check exactly what that involves) or will I still make progress with regular bootcamp?

Good points BIWI. I certainly snack as a treat or when I'm bored.

tea well done on the sprouts! You're now officially old and sensible.

whoosh that resonated with me- I've also been hungry and fat for years! Not feeling hungry is better than anything tastes- I've got a lot if friends who haven't tried lc who don't understand that. One friend said she couldn't to without bags of carrots sticks to snack on. Anyway, With half a stone to go, it's going to go very slowly anyway, isn't it? Are the hardest lessons learnt last

heir woohoo re: notice! Your menu looks lovely.

Crabby those scars will fade.

I was going to SMS but work is calling!

Hi everyone, a mini-shout from me as I have read everything but short of time.
Off to have a wisdom tooth out in hospital this afternoon... not looking forward to being sore and cranky but be glad to be shot of this tooth. When I had the one on the other side out the advice was soft diet for several days... I might be eating a lot of soya yogurt and scrambled eggs and mashed veg... Pain for long term gain though, it's almost easier having a tooth out when you've got toothache, at least it gets better...!!

Trash that sounds so positive from your son. Fingers crossed you get him moved out. Well done you.

Crabby I think you completely deserved those Maid of Honour tarts!

Good luck KeepinOn, Whooshfairy puts it all beautifully.

Heir menu sounds amazing

lesser welcome... and if you're not into meat, how about fish? Salmon, tuna, mackerel etc. Also white fish but that's not fatty so you'd have to have plenty of butter or sauce. Also, lots of egg-based dishes - eg the simple omelette. Or frittata.

To borrow shamelessly from Crabby's blog: fish stew: feastwithoutregret.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/fish-stew-with-alioli/

harlots sauce with squid (or a different fish/seafood if you don't fancy squid?) feastwithoutregret.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/harlots-sauce-with-squid/?relatedposts_exclude=251

Thumb the day after the flight out to NZ she had these red marks on her legs which became increasingly sore and white in the middle. This is the point I would have taken her to a GP/walk in clinic as after sitting on three aircraft through three airports it could have been bloody anything. xDP put iodine on them which caused them to blister badly within an hour. He then burst the blisters and covered them with plasters which DD had an allergic reaction to. By the time he got her to the doc some days later, there was no way of knowing what the fuck had caused the original lesions because he'd stained them sulphur yellow and obscured them with weeping blisters and an allergic rash.

Welcome, Lesser!

To answer your questions:

My problems are that I don't have much time to cook (I get home about 7pm on a good day) and I have vegetarian tendencies and really can't bring myself to eat fatty meat. I've also read that nuts are too carby and may stall ketosis, and so might dairy...so what does that leave?

Planning ahead is really important with low carbing, to make sure that you have the right foods to hand. Meal plan, and then make sure when you're doing your shopping you get everything you need for good low carb meals. It's harder to low carb if you're a veggie, but not impossible. Have a look at the Bootcamp recipe thread for some inspiration - lots of lovely veggie stuff there.

It's REALLY important that you eat plenty of fat; you may find that as you get used to low carbing, your tastes change, and you enjoy it more. Try and avoid really lean cuts of meat if you can - or if you can't, then have them with a creamy sauce.

Also I'm not in the UK so some of the foods you all suggest are not available: every single tub of yogurt in my local supermarket is either lowfat or no fat, I checked them all.

Can you buy cream? Double cream (or heavy cream if you're in the US) added to yoghurt would be a good solution

Ideally I'd like to weigh 9st but have also read that it's easier to lose more and gets harder when you have relatively little weight to get rid of. Is that likely to apply to me? (Am also ancient and get no exercise atm.)

It's true, weight loss will slow as you reach your target. Don't worry about either your age or the lack of exercise - it's diet that's the most important thing (And I"m probably more ancient than you at 54!)^

Should I do ubercamp (frightened to check exactly what that involves) or will I still make progress with regular bootcamp?

Ubercamp is a really low carb, no-dairy plan, that lasts for three days. There's no need to do this, unless - after having Bootcamped for a while - you believe that you have a dairy problem

Hope that helps!

Perfect low carb pancakes, help yourselves :)

Oh wonderful, thanks all and especially Biwi, the idea of being able to eat yogurt mixed with cream and still lose weight is blissful! Creamy sauces are a delicious and really helpful idea too.