Week 3 - Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - the fork in the road ...

[BIWI]

Good morning! (not that there's much good about it, from what I can see out of the window ...)

So we're at the end of the first two weeks. Felt like forever, didn't it?

Come and tell us how you got on on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

... or keep it to yourself on on the Weight Tracker

I hope that you have seen a good loss over these two weeks, because you do need to prepare yourself for the infamous weeks 3 and 4, where it is very, very, very, very common to see weight loss slow, stop or even reverse slightly

IF YOU FIND THIS IS HAPPENING, DON'T PANIC!

Keep calm and Bootcamp on ...

as we might say if we had our own posters Just keep on keeping on, and things will start to move again very soon. However, the rate of loss will now - from here on - be at a more sustainable rate of 1-2lbs per week. (If you have a lot to lose it might be a bit more than this, but please don't expect to see massive losses every week - that way madness lies!)

And now you have a choice.

You can stay on Bootcamp if it suits you (but please promise me that you're getting your carbs from vegetables and salad), or you can move to Bootcamp Light, which means you can introduce a few berries and nuts/seeds, as well as re-introduce alcohol in moderation. Rules for Bootcamp Light are on the spreadsheet (look at the tabs at the bottom)

Or, you can do Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Whatever you decide, I hope it goes well for you.

for all those still with us!

Chester you have my sympathy - but also, I agree with Sayra, and I'd counsel you to step away from the scales for a bit.

I think if you're chopping and changing, you probably need to give your body a chance to come to terms with the fact that you are definitely low carbing and you're not going to switch to another diet tomorrow!

Focus on this:

• Are you enjoying your food?
• Do you feel deprived?
• Can you see yourself eating like this in the longer term?
• Do you feel like a diet?

If your answers are yes, no, yes, no, then why switch?

One other thing that occurs to me though - if you see no loss by Monday, why not try a few days dairy free? It's surprising how many people are affected by dairy.

Pistey - have a nice time in Nice!

Oh, and I'm because I'm back on track and another 2lbs down. So I've lost just over half a stone so far this Bootcamp.

I do love the idea of not weighing, but I don't know if I can actually do it. Not going to weigh til Monday now anyway, it's getting me down and is distracting.

Pistey Nice sounds, er, nice . We've got two nights in the Lakes in the middle of Nov and I'm really looking forward to that. Like you, DH works away a lot so will be good to spend a bit of time as a family.

I'm feeling a bit disheartened this morning, I weighed and am 2lb up on my weight the other day. This is only my second week so I was hoping the weight would be coming off fairly easily still (I have 4 stone to lose as well!).

My rational mind knows that weight fluctuates daily, water retention etc, but that hasn't stopped me feeling very grumpy about it! Actually grumpiness, weight gain despite sticking to it, I'm a bit spotty as well, maybe its PMT - never thought the prospect of a period would cheer me up.

Anyway, I'm going to try and drink lots today, going to keep a tally chart in the kitchen so I can keep track.

I'm also going to do some cooking today for the next couple of days so I have stuff ready to eat and am not tempted by any carbs.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on my meal plan
Today
B - yoghurt with a little cream and ground cardamom
L - omelette with cheese and salami and griddled broccoli
D - chicken breast wrapped in parma ham with courgette gratin and roast cauliflower

Saturday (working nightshift so will try and have a lie in)
L - scrambled egg made with cream, bacon and mushrooms
D - sort of aubergine cannelloni
Night - cottage pie topped with swede and cauliflower mash, and probably some microwave veg

Sunday (night shift again so sleeping most of the day)
D - something easy, maybe ham and cheese and some yoghurt (no veg there though) actually I've just realised , I'll have a chicken breast left and I've got some peppers that need using so I'll make a fajita style chicken and have it with some cheese grated over
Night - same as Saturday

Hmm I should plan for Monday too, maybe omelette again as I never feel up to cooking much after nights.

Right better go and drink some water and have breakfast.

Chester it's almost certainly the SW that has caused the stall. I know it's disheartening when other people are seeing weight loss but please try and keep going. This WOE does work and it will work for you. Your metabolism has been affected by the SW diet and it is likely to take longer to adapt to the low carb high fat WOE. One problem with SW is that is is likely to cause a loss of lean body mass. What could be happening to you now is that your body is responding to sufficient calories by rebuilding that lean body mass. As you are following the rules it is extremely likely that your body composition is changing: your lean body mass is increasing, your fat stores are shrinking and your water retention is increasing. The overall effect is no weight gain or loss BUT that doesn't mean you aren't losing fat already. At the same time your body is adapting to the low carb diet, which may take a little longer in your case. That adaption goes in two stages and it's the second one that gets your body fat-adapted so that your muscles run primarily on free fatty acids from your diet and fat cells, sparing any available glucose and ketones for the brain to use. I really hope you will keep going for the rest of Bootcamp and I'm confident you will start to see weight loss within the next few weeks. One other thing, do you feel any better? I know once I got past the carb flu I feel so much better when I eat this way and a lot of niggly health complaints that I had have completely cleared up.

Morning all.
I am weighing most days and was disappointed to see no loss in the last few days until I put on my jeans and realised that my belt notch is gone in one more! My watch is also a bit loose.
I need to up my water intake, I have had a lot of meetings and travel etc and forgot to buy a big bottle to bring with me so was kind of caught short. May buy a 6 pack (of water!) and keep in car I think.

Had some v good news in work yesterday (difference between being laid off and not being laid off) so had 3 glasses of wine with soda water and ice last night to celebrate. Was dying for crisps but managed to stay away and had an antipasti type dinner instead i.e. salami, cheese, olives, rocket leaves, avocado, was most lovely and felt like a treat.

Yesterday:
B: Ham slices with grated cheese mixed with mayo and leek
L: Courgette lasagne, spinach salad
D: as above (antipasti)
About 2 L water, not enough.

Happy Friday everyone!

No weighing for me as the scales have broken. Will replace eventually.
I want to make a smoked salmon and leek crustless quiche.
Would I just sautée leeks, chuck on sliced salmon, season pour over eggs/cream and bake?

Can't help with the crust less quiche I'm afraid.. But have wondered too.

I put on 0.8lb. I'm gutted. Back into my 6st loss
Anyway, hopefully I'll have a woosh pretty soon and still get as close to 10st as possible!

pseudo I made a crustless quiche the other day but I didn't follow a recipe or anything and had no idea what I was doing. I've never made quiche before.

I cooked my smoked sausage and put in bottom of dish then whisked up 8 eggs (should have just done 6) and some cream and seasoning and then poured over the top and baked. Oh, I also had some cheese on the top too, it was delicious.

I've actually managed to update the spreadsheet for week 2 now (my elderly iPad and I talked about it and after much thinking it over, she finally agreed).
Haven't touched the blue columns though for percentages, as seem to remember we're not supposed to...? Sorry, I am officially crap at this kinda thing.

If you have a craving for crisps, I can highly recommend the cheese crisps on the recipe thread.

Really easy - just grate a load of Parmesan (it also works with mature cheddar, but not quite so well), and put piles of the grated cheese on to a baking sheet. Leave a good amount of space between them, probably no more than 4 or 5 on a baking sheet. You want each pile to be not too tall, about 2 cm, and about 3 cm across. Sprinkle a little chilli powder on each one, and some black pepper if you want a more piquant flavour, and then bake them in a very hot oven for 10 minutes.

Take them out of the oven, let them cool a little (they will have spread out and flattened) and when they're cooler, they will also be crisper, so you can lift them off the tray with a knife.

Crispy and really tasty/satisfying!

...and zero carbs!

Diet, what diet?!

My yummy lunch of crustless quiche and salad, with added mayo and cheese mmm.

I've just had tuna melt for my lunch and really enjoyed it - it's one of my favourites when I don't fancy something cold/salady for lunch. It's also pretty low carb too, which is fab:

tin tuna in oil (drained a little)
2 spring onions, chopped
sloosh of double cream
handful of grated mature cheddar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, season with black pepper, and microwave on high for 2 minutes

Easy and lovely!

Yum! I had avocado, mozzarella, salami, olives and cucumber.

Thanks BIWI, I may do those tonight and some kale crisps too!

SayraT, like the socks! And the lunch.

Mine was smoked salmon with mixed leaves, spring onion, baby tomatoes and cucumber. Had some greek yogurt with a sprinkling of blueberries for breakfast. Dh is out tonight so I may do an antipasti style dinner for myself again. Kids have playdates in our house so it will be oven chips and chicken goujons all round. I WILL NOT EAT THE LEFTOVERS!

Thanks everyone, you are all so ace and great in a crisis dramatic

Stunt and BIWI all the stuff about SW messing up my metabolism makes sense so thank you for explaining it so well.

I am loving this WOE, I don't feel deprived and I feel so much better in myself so I am not throwing the towel in. I'm in this for the long haul this time.

I'm not going to weigh now til Monday and if no loss I will have a few dairy free days.

And there ends the whingeing. As you were people

Chester I live with two SW devotees and I can heartily second what Stunt says about it reducing your lean body mass. Its very noticeable on Hubs who has lost loads but looks like a waif and stray around his arms and shoulders. I have FMS and yet I have been able to actually build muscle on LC. Don't get in too much of a panic about the actual weight not shifting much. It was getting me down until I got my new scales and now I can see that even on the days when I get an upswing in weight my fat really is going down and my muscles are going up so it confirms that it really is just water weight. Theres more to losing weight than just eating right. Stress will make you hold onto fat cells too so stressing about the scales is counter productive. You will get there if you stick with it.

Biwi thanks for the tuna melt idea. I tried it last time you mentioned it and its really tasty. I have it with a bowl of salad now in preference to tuna mayo.

Good to hear you're sticking with it chester
On the last boot camp I was being really strict but the scales refused to budge. It took a few weeks but my trousers became looser despite the scales. I got really fed up when I stood on the scales and sometimes it would go up. This would threaten to completely derail me but I listened to the wise words on the thread and I know my shape has now changed. In the last week the scales have started to move downwards slowly but it has taken some time. I know how hard it is to be patient but it's working. Good luck and sorry for the long post

chester you're an inspiration. Remind of that when I hit the inevitable stall!

Had some chicken and a dollop of Mayo for lunch

Tonight I shall be having belly pork with veg.

I was wondering if anyone had a recipe for some class of low carb chutney or sweet relish type things? It's one thing I miss with the cheese! I'm guessing not as they all tend to be quite high in sugar, but if anyone's got one, I'm all ears!

Remind me of that...

Also, I've just treated myself to a new work suit in a size down.

Well the chia seeds worked their magic and it turns out I hadn't actually gained - so being bunged up definitely has an impact on the scales too!

B - Chia seed and coconut milk pudding
L - Pate and cream cheese with a little gem and cucumber
D - pork steak with sage and proscuttio (saltimbocca), purple sprouting dressed with garlic olive oil, cauliflower mash.

just popping on to say Tanukisan I hope you're home and in a hot bath with a cup of ginger tea.