Week 1 - May Low Carb Bootcamp - Off we go!

[BIWI]

Welcome everyone!

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness that the lovely Sayra creates and cares for. Come and confess all.

If you prefer, you can use the individual Weight Tracker, provided by MNHQ, which will open (I hope) tomorrow morning.

Please make sure that you know the rules, and that you know about the allowed veg - look at the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet - and think about printing them off so that you have them to hand

If you have any questions, obviously you can ask them here, but there's also a specific questions thread because the chat threads can move so quickly that questions can get missed.

Unfortunately I'm working pretty full on for the next three days, so won't be around very much - I'll try and check in as much as I can, but in reality I'm not going to be around very much until Thursday - apologies in advance.

Very good luck to you all

Also meant to say that I am more likely to not drink any coffee at all, and when my body gets over the shock I do generally feel hugely better. just don't drop from huge amounts to nothing straight away as that will give you the shakes and make you feel rough

dumdedum, I wonder if you have the carb flu I have read about, if so it should pass quickly (from what I have read not claiming to be an expert). This extra energy could be really useful as I am back at uni next week so need to acheive a lot more in a day than I am at the moment. I have been off for 4 weeks so trying to use the time to get into a habit with food and excercise so I have to keep going when I am busy again.

cathyandclaire, get them furry fitness machines walked ;), I saw dogs called that on something the other day and I loved it so my dogs are now to be considered furry treadmills.
Shebedee I love working when everyone else is asleep, that is how I did most of my last assignment, so satisfying.

I've had 6 cups of decaff this morning and just turned to the real thing as the decaff is just not doing it for me! I agree, though, I need to cut down on the caffeine and it could well be that which is stopping me sleeping and feeling so tired. Though I only rarely have any coffee after midday!
I don't know what's changed, the first time I did this WoE, last month, I drank strong coffee, slept noticeably better, lost weight, didn't have carb flu very badly and lost 8lbs in 8 days. Oh, well, onwards and downwards, I hope!

Dum - sounds like carb flu. Are you getting enough sodium? Cook with salt and add it to your food.

And try replacing one - at least! - of those cups of coffee with a hot drink made with an Oxo cube, or some Bovril or Marmite.

Yum, thanks, BIWI, hot Marmite here I come! (Not the same without wholemeal toast soldiers, though!)

Finally managed to get here!

I had no internet and no phone yesterday, I didn't know what to do with myself!! Actually I was at a meeting about stats all day which was very exciting

Thanks to all those who updated the spreadsheet Can't remember who asked about the spreadsheet but no, I've not had time to investigate the issue with the sheet and i-things but as I said I don't actually have an i-anything so can't really test it out. Would be good if someone who has a problem with it could try googling and see if they can come up with anything.

I'm away at the moment, Sayra, but will try it out when I get home.

I always wonder how much of it is general IT incompetence (there are still people on MN who say, almost with pride, that they can't do links!), or laziness.

However, this time it does sound like there's some kind of technical problem.

I've lost just over 3lbs!! Is that normal? I'm in shock

Checking in. In hospital with ds2 who has had an asthma attack. bloody hospital canteen is carbs with a side of chips. Have eaten a chicken salad and added Mayo but I'm hungry and ds is too young for me to leave to get anything else (he is 2 and hates it here).

Sayra I managed to input my weight on an iPad with no problems and am no technological genius.

I have an old iPad 2 but have recently updated to the latest software, so maybe that's the answer...

I have got the spreadsheet open on my ipad. Though I don't know which iOS I'm on, I've been ignoring an update to 8.3 for months.
I had to download the google "Sheets" mobile app (and sign in with my gmail address) before I could open it. It's very clunky and had hidden half the useful columns on the weigh-in page for some reason.
I have added mummyto3under4 at the end but don't have a weight to enter.
Is there anything else I can help experiment with whilst I busily avoid writing to one tax office and filling in a tax return for another?

Ok, by popular request (well, one person...) here is the easy hollandaise sauce recipe.

Ingredients
115g butter (I use salted)
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice (some recipes use vinegar or half water half lemon juice)

Melt the butter gently in a small pan until it's foaming. If you can skim off the white stuff, do so, otherwise let the milk solids settle at the bottom as much as possible.

Put the egg yolks and lemon juice in a container just wider than the head of the stick blender (they usually come with a tall narrow jug thing for this). Whizz them with the stick blender until pale and opaque (30 - 60 secs).

If possible, put the container on a grippy surface or wrap a tea towel round it, as you need three hands otherwise - one to hold the blender, one to pour the butter and one to stop the jug whizzing round with the blender! If someone is there to hold the container, that's the easiest thing.

When your butter is completely melted and the white bits (milk solids) are at the bottom, turn of the heat, turn on the blender and pour the melted butter very slowly into the egg yolks, whizzing the whole time. Move the stick blender up and down a bit to incorporate it all. It should be a tiny steady stream of butter like when you make mayonnaise.

Pour almost all of the butter in but leave the last bit that's got the milk solids in.

It only takes a minute or two, so leave it til everything else is ready. You can keep it warm for a little while (put the jug in a bowl of warm water) but it's best eaten immediately and doesn't reheat. It's rather delicious eaten cold the next day though, straight from the jug.

Sounds yummy! Thanks, Crabby, will give that a go for breakfast tomorrow!

I have added myself to the spreadsheet. You left me out Sayra!

Hey everyone

Thanks for the caulirice tips! Will make some tonight!

My office is full of biscuits today....so hard to resist! I need a water app or something to remind me to drink - anyone use anything like this?

Forced myself to do a shred this morning but found it hard going (well it's always hard but especially today!)

Got a small shoulder of pork yesterday at asda that I'm going to stick in the slow cooker in a minute, yum!

Did I stunt so sorry!! I don't know how that happened, I just copied and pasted the sign up list.

Sorry about DS digger. Asthma is crap

Hope he is on the mend and you are both able to go home very soon.

dumdum thanks for the advice. My ankle is post surgical. I had a full reconstruction in October last year, as I have a genetic condition which affects my connective tissue. I'm under a physio, rheumatologist and bloody genetics people (who are all very lovely I hasten to add)

Been out for brekkie to the paleo cafe and had eggs scrambled in butter and cocnut oil, a bullet proof earl grey, mushrooms, spinach, and their 'grass fed Loren sausage' which was 100% meat, and I couldn't finish it.

Feel fucking buggered with tiredness today. Had mental dreams all night long involving Captain Kirk, and captain Picard doing some very bizarre dancing.

Is anyone else finding it hard to get to sleep but not feeling particularly tired during the day? I feel like I've got more energy than usual but would really like a good long sleep!

Hope Ds is better digger?

Happy birthday lisb and the other poster too (sorry forgotten your username)

For those with tiredness and other ailments, my experience last BC was,

1-2 days of feeling crap-headaches etc
The first couple of weeks, I was irrationally angry...... I think I am really affected by sugar. I have been hypoglycemic for years and I get gestational diabetes every pregnancy.
It took over 6 weeks, I think, before my energy bounced in. I remember posting saying, when is this energy supposed to hit because I feel tired.
My sleep was really affected too. I had insomnia for a few weeks too. Now I sleep deeper than I have in years.

Hth.

I am here, I'm finding mn crashes a lot atm!
I have been keeping on since the last bootcamp, so I'm using this bootcamp to reboot in a way and try to be a bigger loser.

today I've had bpc and will have buttery spinach and chicken with mayo for lunch.
one litre of water down, 2 to go.
Good luck everyone.

Sorry to hear about the little un Digger asthma is the pits and hospitals more so! Both my sons have asthma but were older when it started so had a bit more understanding of it all. DH has been rushed off to hospital 3 times already this year (mostly down to over reaction on the part of NHS Direct) and each time meant me spending about 8hrs plus with no food or water! I've learned to grab a large bottle of water and my bag of emergency Baby Bels as the ambulance arrives!

I totally recommend Crabby's hollandaise. Its the same recipe I use. Its lush hot but equally yummy cold. I like to stir a dollop into my boiled eggs instead of mayo.

Anyone making mayo and struggling for a narrow container, mine split so I got one of those containers you get to use with an Easiyo yoghurt maker. Our local Lloyds chemist sells them. They are just the right size for a stick blender and come with a screw cap so you can leave it in there if you want.

Hope the ankle soon mends Trash. Get the foot up and the crochet out. Tell yourself you are stash busting! Think how many Autumn leaves you could get done. I ordered another set of my square needles on-line last week and they have turned up bent like a pair of bloody bananas! Lord knows how Royal mail managed that one! On the plus side, the lady is replacing them.

BIWI excellent tip about bovril, I'd never thought of that. I love the stuff too. And Crabby I'm trying your hollandaise at the first possible opportunity - it's another one I love but never remember to make.

Today's grub:

B - three eggs fried in ghee on spinach
L - Bresaola, avocado and boiled egg salad
D - slow cooker paprika pulled pork with charred kale and cabbage & toasted fennel seeds

Not tried pulled pork in the slow cooker before, I'll post the recipe on the recipe thread if it's a winner. Smells pretty good!

Ok well at least today the sun is out. Took the hounds for an hour and a half walk at 6.30 am.. Glorious time of day saw lots of deer which my old hound decided he would 'hunt' from the security of his lead.

B - three small eggs scrambled with the cream I'd have put in my coffee and 2 strips of streaky
L - a little Brie, prawns and half an avo with mayo and salad and a coyo yog - omg how dreamy was that!
S - pork scratchings ( must avoid match tea at ds cricket match this pm)
D - salad and probably pate
Water - not drunk enough yet so must take some with me or it's a late night glugging when I get home!

Sticking to this rigidly but seem to be no moves downwards just ever more upwards.
Well done to all seeing losses.....