Week 6 - Low Carb Bootcamp - Drawing a Line Under It

[BIWI]

Time for the new thread ...

Am on iPad and have no time to link to the Spreadsheet, but please talk here! Will do links later (unless some kind soul could do them for me)

Runs around thread alone going 'wooooo hooooo' with pants on head.

I lost twoooo poundsssssss

lowcarbforthewin - great news!

I think there's another hormone called leptin which together with insulin work on how fat storage is used and also on feeling on "fulness".
Maybe someone else knows how they balance each other. I believe you are experiencing fluctuation of leptin at the moment.

Great news lowcarb

The dairy I ate this weekend did not agree with me but it totally made me feel full and my energy levels were amazing! I need to investigate other sources of fat, I'm obviously not eating enough of it.

My late night night dinner was worth waiting for Slow cooked coconut pork. Tip - add the whole tin of coconut milk.

Thank you!

Yes, it really is noticeable when you eat enough fat isn't it? You feel totally different, it becomes so easy. But equally, for me at least, it seems it's too easy to overeat dairy. And I know sometimes I'm eating when I'm utterly exhausted rather than when I'm hungry, which I actually can't stop doing because otherwise I start to crash, but just complicates things further.

Another pound down here too! Things are going to be interesting from here in as I am skint as a skint thing till end of month, so it's all going to be basics.(no sainsbos shop. Boo) which will make my lunchtime salads dull and ditto tea time.

Great news lowcarb a loss and you've broken into a new stone-zone! I'm trying to stay off cheese and also have the odd day without my yoghurt and cream. As you say, it does keep away the pangs.

antimatter as far as I can recall leptin is the hormone that monitors fat stores. If it decides your fat stores are sufficient it will trigger insulin to release some but if you lose a lot of weight or dont eat enough its the one that can stall you by trying to hang onto the fat you have. It is also the one that makes you hungry, again, an attempt to replace fat stores. I believe this is why some people have to keep jiggling things about and add in the odd feast day to confuse it!

As Miffy says leptin is the brain's means of monitoring the size of your fat stores. In people reasonably close to their ideal weight, say within a stone, then a higher carb meal can trigger a burst of leptin which signals your brain that there's an abundance of food and there's no need to hang on to those fat stores. That's part of the theory behind carb refeeds when weight loss has stalled for several weeks. You eat a carbier meal, and I'm talking a baked potato or some white rice rather than sugary rubbish, and it can get weight loss started again. There is also a potential effect on water retention which can promote a whoosh. Carb refeeds are best for people close to goal who have been stalled for a few weeks but know they have been sticking to the plananf are probably due for a drop in weight.

Thanks for the info Stunt, that is interesting. Annoying thing is I think I'm really 2 stones still from my ideal weight, so my body shouldn't really even be struggling. I only have the goal of losing a stone to a stones and a half though, just because I do struggle to lose so much.

Still chuffed! Breaking a stone barrier is huge, psychologically, isn't it?

Congrats lowcarbforthewin, breaking through those stone barriers feels amazing and so much more of an achievement than just losing in general That coconut pork look amazing, I will definitely be trying it out at some point.

Ohwhat - Try making dishes that will do two meals to help save a bit of cash, spag bol or other tomato/mince based meals are good because you can add bulk with cheaper veg to make them go further without costing a fortune, also herbs and spices can really lift a boring meal to something much more fun, cayenne pepper is one of my favourite seasonings at the moment and you don't need much to give things a nice kick. I had a really boring lunch of mini gem leaves topped with a slice of cheddar, a blob of mayonnaise and halved cherry tomatoes but I put some cayenne, salt and pepper on the mayo and it was really yummy and not like just eating basic salad veg chucked in a bowl.

We went to costco yesterday and topped up on meat as it's so much cheaper to buy in bulk so I now have a freezer full of beef, pork and gammon. Got a huge pack of mushrooms and one of cherry tomatoes which should last a while and loads of lettuce too. We also got ourself a treat of some gorgeous strawberries and a huge tub of clotted cream, I had some last night and if it hadn't been for feeling totally stuffed I could have eaten loads. I limited myself to 6 strawberries though and didn't go crazy but looking forward to having some for my pudding again tonight

Brilliant, lowcarbforthewin! And it's definitely a real psychological boost when you see the next number down on the scales

Ohwhatfuckeryisthis - it's worth looking at Sainsbury's Basics meat as you'll get some good bargains (and good meat) there. Breast of lamb is cheap as chips and is a fabulous meat for low carbing. Just braise or slow cook it and it's beautiful. It cooks in its own fat. Simon Hopkinson cooks it with onions and this is a gorgeous recipe. If you use shallots instead of onions, and halve the amount suggested, it's much lower in carbs.

Am really craving a huge bowl of cornflakes and crisp, cold milk right now. Amazing how much satisfaction I get from that simple thing.

But I am going to attempt a crochet granny square instead.

spamm - I thought of your family reading this:
www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/06/09/meghan-o-rourke-the-long-goodbye/

Holger good luck. I found last night when I was craving so badly that just saying 'ok I really want it but I will have it in a few weeks time as much as I want so can I just go today with not eating it' really helped. Of course today I don't crave that thing and no plans really to eat what I was craving in an unlimited amount but it did get me through it. And at goal weight no reason really why you can't have a bowl once.

Thanks for the support guys.

Thank you :-)

I guess what makes it more difficult for me when I am in this mood is that I can't actually have it in a few weeks. This is a long term lifestyle for me due to health reasons, so I will never be adding great amounts of processed carbs back into my diet. It's ok most of the time, and thankfully there are lots of other very low carb treats that I can start adding in soon, but it doesn't really help when the craving is so specific, you know? But I've worked through it and it was ok in the end :-) just ironic that we haven't had cornflakes in the house for probably three years and my daughter picks boot camp time to ask for it, heh.

I'm the same lowcarbforthewin. I still have a good 2st to lose but I've been stuck for literally months. The only thing ttha has kept me going is that I feel so well on a low carb diet and people keep telling me I look well. Given that I have hit the lowest I've been in over 30yrs I can understand that maybe my body has hit the panic button and is trying to stop me fading away!

I've decided to try a carb day once a week. I tried it on Wednesday and it seemed to shake some fat loose so I've decided that the most practical day would be Sundays and then I'll do an uber day on Monday to get rid of any glycogen stores and nip cravings in the bud. Fingers crossed I will be able to join you in the race round the forum with my knickers on my head!

Just tell yourself lies Holger! Thats what I did. Anything that gets you through the day. By the time you get the weight off the carbs will have lost their grip and you may be like me and find you don't actually enjoy them anymore. I'm trying to do the odd carb refeed to break a stall and I've been struggling to find something other than sugar that I would enjoy. Seems crazy! Even sugar soon sickens me now although I think I could quickly revert to sugar binges if I wasn't vigilant.

Holger - if you examne what makes you want to eat that bowl of cereal you may find that it isn't food you are craving but memories of times when it tasted well

Yes Holger, honestly lie to yourself. This is a permanent change for me too. Having said that I like what the blogger sugar free Sheila does, and that is now she's at her target weight she lets herself eat whatever she wants once a month. Saying quite literally 'I am never going to eat cornflakes again' is only going to make you want them more and drown in self pity, so you have a higher chance of slipping. Well, that's how it is for me anyway. Even if you promise yourself you can eat some ins. Few weeks, chances are you will have forgotten that craving by then.

And miffy it helps to know someone else is in the same boat! We can do this. Will be interested to see how the carb refeed goes.

Gah so much for me almost being under 13st...2lb back on this morning.

No idea why, the BBQ was cancelled as it started raining so we decided on a takeaway instead. I had grilled chicken shish with salad and mayo. No pitta, sauces etc.

Only thing I can think of is it could be water retention as It was so warm and humid yesterday, I don't think I drank enough water

Anyway, keeping on,

Today's food
B - BPC
L - 2 sausage, burger and salad and mayo from the BBQ that we had today instead
D - won't be much, feeling still full from lunch, maybe leftovers from lunch.
Probably haven't had enough fat today looking at it...

I've been shit this weekend

Friday night we went to a Mongolian BBQ restaurant and I ate noodles and half a scoop of ice cream (it was too sweet, I couldn't finish it)
Then had a gin cocktail.
Last night, drank about my body weight in gin and slimline, then this morning had a banana and a bowl of blueberry wheats.
I'm beyond pissed off with myself.

I know what you mean and I've used that strategy many times before with good results. Back in the day when I actually could eat some of it later if i still wanted it, it worked very well as a stalling technique.

But for me it doesn't work when low carbing, and particularly not since I found out I'm diabetic, because I know I'm not ever going to be able to have even one big bowl (to use this example), firstly because it really wouldn't be good for me, and secondly because I know I would end up craving carbs for days after and probably keep eating for weeks before I could get a handle on it, as happened recently. I suppose because I know I'm not going to have a big bowl of it ever, saying that to myself just feels wrong. I'm very resistant to lying to myself, unfortunately.

If I weren't strictly low carbing ATM I would just allow myself the option of a small square of dark choc later this evening or something, if I still felt I needed it then (same strategy, I guess, but just a realistic prize, however hypothetical it might be) but I don't really want to do even that. There's nothing for it, really, but to ride the craving and use distraction techniques. It's not as difficult today because it's only a craving due to boredom. If it was due to sadness it would be much harder. So that's something positive, I guess. And I used my boredom to get something ticked off the to do list.

Good luck to everyone on weigh-in tomorrow, and even if there isn't any change, at least we can revel in better bodies, better skin, better health.

Yes, antimatter, i have noticed that with some of the more sickly, horrible, gunky carbs when I had them recently. But unfortunately cornflakes still taste gorgeous to me ( I know because I had some just over a week ago when I was tailing off from my 'relaxed eating' phase). It's just one of those things, I guess :-)

Oh no, you're diabetic sorry!! That makes things much stricter for you then, sorry it won't be a good technique for you. Huge well done for just sticking with it and pushing past it. Cravings are so overwhelmingly strong but at least they do pass. Last night I could have cried I wanted certain foods so much, today I'm not even thinking of them.

Are you Type 1 or Type 2 Holger? I was on the verge of Type 2. My BG was going up so fast it was only by rebooking a docs appt that I managed to get my BG down a bit and save myself from being put on medication. Now with the weight loss and a strict low carb plan I have it pretty much down to normal. I often read on the diabetes.co.uk forum and theres a lot of people on there with Type 2 who have pretty much reversed it and are now able to eat carbs in moderation. How many seems to be a personal thing that you have to assess by trial and error.

Have you just started Bootcamp? I'm new here but have been doing LCHF for ages. The cravings and fancies for certain foods will go if you can stick it out. My life has always revolved around food, I love preparing it as much as eating it but now I can happily prepare things for the family without any mad yearning to eat it and it certainly isn't the first thing on my mind every morning as it used to be.