Week 2 - January Low Carb Bootcamp - the first moment of truth!

[BIWI]

Good morning! Already seen that there are some good losses, even for those in the dreaded week 3

Come and confess all on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

I love this point in Bootcamp. It's such a leap of faith for so many people when they first start low carbing, because it seems so strange to eat all the fat we're told to eat. But then when the scales show the result, I love it!

B- bpc, one scrambled egg with asparagus and butter

Concerned that not liking butter is affecting my fat intake so going to try having a bpc every day for a couple of days and see if it helps

Lunch will be a green smoothie, not sure whats going in it yet though

new have a hug! I get overwhelming teary days sometimes, I usually put it down to tiredness. I do find though that after a week i am less tired and generally less emotional. Keep coming and chatting if you need to.

Ehric one coffee with a splash of milk, not such a big deal, but half and half more so. However you say that being veggie you're finding it hard and 'carby things creep in' so it depends on the overall picture really.

Well done Thumb

Romeyroo when i managed to sucessfully get off the coffee I did it gently cutting a cup per week/day from my good day average (bad day =10plus cups, good day =3 ish) when I got to the last cup I mixed decaff and caff such that it was about 50/50 ratio did this for about 2 weeks then made a batch of 1/4caffinated 3/4 decaff which lasted me a week and then just decaff for another week. I found it easy to stop drinking the decaff as it was summer and the need for something hot was less. But the stumbling block was always that first cup of the day hence the mixed cups.

Slept 11 hrs last night. So needless to say feel shocking today. But it is a step in the right direction. Have had 2 cups of coffee and there is half a cup left of the filter coffee I brewed this morning. Miscalculated on the amount as was planning only for 2 cups (it's a long day today as out until 10pm). Decided that I am going to limit myself to the real coffee for now and only brew up once a day. Real coffee is nicer anyway and this will restrict my caffine intake. Until i get to the point where I can work at ditching that last cup.

Alright! Going to drop the coffee with milk and bring cream to work. Yum!

I have more than coffee a day (with milk). Is there a milk substitute (not cream) that is lower carb? My dd is being vegan at the moment so we have some almond milk - is that lower carb?

i fell off the wagon a lot yesterday and ate some chickpea casserole that the family were eating. Back trying hard today. (I suppose it's hardly a big fall of the wagon really in the general scheme of things - chickpeas aren't chocolate!). But put a pound on over night so am blaming it on the chickpeas.

MsHap unsweetened almond milk is ok I believe. Chickpeas aren't on bc though and actually I don't think it matters much whether excess carbs come from pulses or chocolate. As BIWI said at the start, this woe is not forgiving, if you deviate it's like starting again. It's not like WW where if you eat more points one day you can cut down the next.

BIWI don't worry I'm eating plenty of salad as matter of course. Bags of the stuffs fact.

thumbwitch pat on the back from me too. The craving is so hard isn't it, but you did it.

Well done for all of you resisting temptation! The lure of carbs is very, very strong.

MsHap - chickpeas are definitely not Bootcamp or even Bootcamp Light friendly!

Amaxapax

Sorry - can't remember if you've already told me this, but how much do you have to lose? How tall are you/how much do you weigh?

And list out your meals for me see if there's anything I can help with. I'm assuming that you are following the rules and drinking the water/eating the fat?!

Ehric

B 2 boiled eggs with butter mashed in, lots of salt

Perfect!

L salad with avocados, olives and a drizzle of dressing (not really allowed but it's 1.5 g per serving so can I get away with it? Just olive oil and lemon juice depresses me)

I'd really try and avoid the pre-prepared dressing if you can. It may be relatively low carb but it's processed, and it will have sugar in it, so it's giving you a kind of sweet taste that we're trying to move away from. What's wrong with an olive oil and vinegar dressing? As long as you don't use balsamic vinegar, vinegar is perfect.

2nd L some kind of veggie based meal, such as cauliflower and mushroom soup with yoghurt in, or mashed cauliflower and green beans (unmashed) with butter

This sounds lovely, but it also sounds like it could be low in fat. Why not do something with a cheese sauce, for example?

D omelette with cheese, mushrooms etc, or zero noodles with tomato sauce and grated cheddar

Again, sounds good - but how much fat are you, realistically, getting here?

S total ff or whipped cream and a couple of strawberries

Sounds good - as long as it's only a couple of strawberries!

I'm having coffee with cream this morning instead of milk but as I usually have coffee at work that's tricky most days.

Definitely agree that if you can you should take your own cream into work.

But overall, sounds like you're on the right track. Two key questions though - are you getting enough fat and are you drinking enough water?

MrsK - you are my hero! My boys are now 6 and 3 but I remember so well those insane sleepless days and nights, feeling empty from feeding and needing to mainline tea and cake to stay awake! You are doing brilliantly.
Pat pat Thumb's back. And high five for emphasis.
I managed to get through my dreaded smear test without scoffing chocolate before and after. It is weird - I am having to sit with my feelings rather than eat them away! Who was it who said upthread about feeling extra-emotional? Could this be why? Feeling your feelings not quickly treating them with sugary things? Also, wading into the caffeine debate - my massively unscientific two pence worth is that one or two smallish coffees a day with thick cream are so 'treaty' for me that I am less likely to want to cheat with chocolate fingers etc. And also the support on this thread is lovely! You know how people have WWJD wristbands? (What Would Jesus Do?) I have an imaginary one on my wrist saying WWBS? (What Would BIWI Say?!) Have a good day, Bootcampers xxxx

I haven't had time to catch up, but I have been lurking here and there.

I'm not weighing, but I can tell I've lost some bloat and weight - my clothes feel looser, as do my rings (they are my bloat indicators).

I need to read the rules again as i've made a few divvy choices (peas) that I wouldn't have made last bc. I also need to up my salt intake as I've been having regular headaches. I think I've been a bit blase and 'I know what I'm doing', yet I'm making rooky errors. I think going back to basics may be called for.

Thanks BIWI
Forgot to mention tha water. Yes, I am managing 2.5-3 litres without much problem. I do need to remind myself though.
How much fat - I'm not sure. I don't stint on the butter and cheese but equally I'm trying not to eat mountains of cheese all day every day which is tempting.
I will try to add more fat in things like coffee. What else could I add?

Right, i have worked out that a slow, steady loss of 1lb a week means i can be at, if not under 200lb by download. So that is my official aim now :)

I'm 5'9" and 201 lbs. I would like to lose at least two and a half stones, which would make me 168 lbs. I have been at that weight before. Breakfast and lunch since Monday have been the same.

B: Three hb eggs with salt and mayo
L: Roast chicken breast, skin on, with avocado, mayo and cucumber, two small cheese sticks
Monday D: Lamb rage (minced lamb, pancetta, beef stock, chopped tomatoes) served on courgetti fried in butter
Tuesday D: Leftover gammon joint and cheese omelette, broccoli and courgetti fried in butter
Tonight's D: Pork mince burgers (homemade, so no breadcrumbs), broccoli, celeriac chips

I'm drinking at least three liters of water per day, often more. I have one cup of tea in the mornings with a dash of milk. I also have a cup or two of fruit tea in the evenings. I don't usually snack but I was very hungry yesterday and had olives and a bit of cheese.

I'm going to have to give up cheese, aren't I?

Ehric do you like mayo? You can make your own for very few carbs and it is lush. I hate the shop bought stuff but this is great and a perfect way to up the fat in your diet and perk up a sad salad at the same time. I've just mixed some with a little bit of pesto to make a lovely salad dressing, but there are loads of variations to compliment (is that the right spelling?) whatever you are eating.

If you want I can give you my recipe. It's very easy, takes about 30 seconds if you have a stick blender.

Yeah go on. I prefer Mayo on chips than salad but it's worth a go!

No chips, I'm afraid

You need a tall narrow beaker - I use the one that came with my stick blender. Crack an egg, then add 1 cup of oil (about 230ml acc to Google), juice of half a lemon or line, a little mustard powder and cayenne pepper (not essential, but nice).

Stick your stick blender right to the bottom and turn it on. Hold it there for about 15 secs, then slowly move it up to the top. You should them have lovely mayo.

You can add whatever flavours you like - garlic, chilli, herbs, the list is endless... And it'll keep in the fridge for about a week.

Hope you like it, it has seriously revolutionised my low carb food repertoire.

Yuk, stinking cold so I'm going to have a lay down.
Anyway, just had a catch up with my mum who has joined a NHS weight loss group (she lives quite far away)
She said they are encouraging them to eat pasta/potato/rice/bread. Even she was a bit about that after listening to me waffle on about lchf. She just can't get her head around it (like most people of 60's bought into that whole marg/sweetener/cereal stuff) Honestly, the government are dangerously behind aren't they? All three doctors I know personally are LC.
As she said to me today, all they used to eat as a child (50's) was fat, meat, bit of veg and occasional treat.

I find this woe much harder at work than at the weekend. However, chucked out SME tops I wore at my biggest last night, which felt really good

costa re: MFP, I used it for a few days just to check I was OK on my ratios. Was horrified when an avocado came up as 9g carbs, so I got in touch with them and it turns out that it is a dynamic database that is updated by users so not very scientific and you are relying on others to put in the correct data so perhaps take some of the results with a pinch of salt. They didn't even correct it, told me I could go in and do it so basically could type what I wanted.

newrecruit yes strangely tense and tearful, like PMS which I never get, so something hormonal going on for sure

Blueberry WWBS priceless, I love it! When are the t-shirts being printed?

Same recipe that I use Chester As you say, its worth making. I use a tall Easiyo container for mine as my blender cup died many years ago I also use white wine vinegar instead of the lemon juice. Tried the lemon but prefer the vinegar. I do often make a lemon and blackpepper mayo but I add the lemon afterwards. Master the basic recipe and, as Arthur Daly would say, "the world's your lobster"!

We had discussions about this in the lead up to BC, Lex. When you use these sites you are totally reliant on the ability of total strangers to read a label correctly. Given that the USA also have different laws from Europe about what constitutes a carb and it all get very unreliable. You only have to read some of the posts on these sites to seriously doubt the intelligence of some of the contributors. As you say, they are mostly free sites so the admin are only interested in selling advertising and don't actually care about the info.

lurking. Not not sleeping like a log. Not sleeping like a nocturnal creature, but I only started back this week and I did before, so I'm hoping!!

Chester. Yes, cabbage is a sneaky bastard. You could cook what you have left by cooking it in a pan with butter and black pepper (mixture between frying and wilting) it very, very good and at least your getting a bit more fat in!

Ehric. It's a lot harder to lose weight and stick at it, unless you are a great cook and don't mind doing it. I do to eat eggs either which adds to the ' lack of choice'! Are you on the low carb veggie thread?

BIWI. Think of them as your friends. They're trying to keep you on the straight and narrow!!

MFP is a total waste of time! the info can be put in by any old muppet. Yes you can laboriously add all your own in, or you can just follow the BOOTCAMP rules and dispense with all the nonsense that is MFP :)

miffy Ok must have missed that thanks, not planning on using it anyway as don't want to count daily just wanted to check first few days as needed to adjust fat and protein rations

Newbie. It can affect your hormones, that's for sure, but once your body adapts it's fine. You just have to get properly adapted, so don't 'cheat' or you make it much harder on yourself