Week 3 - Low Carb Bootcamp - where you get to make a decision!

[BIWI]

Afternoon all! Apologies for the later than usual start to this week's chat thread.

Here's the spreadsheet

I was up so early I completely forgot to weigh this morning

Now. It's week 3, so you get to decide. Do you want to move onto Bootcamp Light, or do you want to stay on Bootcamp? Or, do you want to do both - Bootcamp during the week, and then relax at the weekend, with Bootcamp Light?

The rules for Bootcamp Light are at the bottom of the spreadsheet, but in a nutshell it means you can add nuts/seeds (occasionally, and in moderation); you can eat some fruit - mainly berries, and again in moderation, and you can have the occasional alcoholic drink - again, stick to spirits and wine.

If you're happy staying on Bootcamp, that's fine - but if you decide to do this, please make sure you're getting most of your carbs from veg and salad, and not from other processed foods, otherwise you won't be getting optimal nutrition.

And now for the warning! It's very, very common in weeks 3 and 4 (and sometimes even 5) for weight loss to slow/stop altogether. If this happens to you, please don't be disheartened. It's your body catching up with you! KOKO, and things will soon start to move again - albeit that you're more likely to see smaller weekly losses, around 1-2lbs a week.

Ready I remember you from earlier bootcamps when I was a bit of a newbie. You did so well and can do it again. I second seeing if you can postpone your appointment, you'll feel so much better if the pressure is off. But most of all, be nice to yourself!

Eeeeuugghh, full of cold and AF from hell here. Coupled with a non sleeping DS, I found myself having a slight vending machine incident yesterday afternoon. Am really fucking cross with myself. I did stop short of buying pizza in the supermarket but even so...

Finding it so hard to get back on the wagon after Christmas. I think January and February are so full of birthdays and other food related celebrations for us that I'm finding it hard to stay on track. No excuse, I know, but it's all I have. After this weekend and next things will quieten down a little so hopefully I'll find it easier to focus.

Fed up with myself, I am.

Anyway, enough whinging. Back on it today, because what's the alternative?
B:BPC
L: omelette
D: chicken wrapped in bacon, swede chips, fridge veg

Yesterday: (scrabbling in bottom of fridge waiting for shop to come!)

B: can't remember!
L: sausage and avocado
D: salmon en papilotte with green beans and courgette
S: cheese and gherkins

Today I have the other salmon with me for lunch, and chicken soup for dinner. I don't think breakfast is going to happen, as I am running so late for my first class

The good bit is that having really struggled with drinking water for ages, I am finally getting to the place where I want to drink and it's easy. The taste is much more palatable now.

Ive finally weighed and have STS this week. I know it will be slow for me so I guess thats better than putting any on.

Yesterday
B: Avocado and Bacon
L: 3 x babybel
D: Lamb burgers with feta salad

eek, too much processed food!

Thank you Gcalgske I'll freeze it as is then. Nearest Farm Foods is ten miles away so I'll make freezer restocking trips if Asda stop getting it in. I hope it is only 3%, I've already had it twice this week. It does seem very sweet so it wouldn't surprise me if it is closer to 12

Thanks for the tip prettybird I'd probably be okay chopping a half. I managed to stab myself trying to remove the knife when I got it wedged in the swede trying to half it

readyforno2

B: total FF yog, 3 raspberries, flax and a few drops of almond extract.
L: leftover pork belly, leeks, spinach and a spoonful of swede mash (all that was leftover!)
D: meatzza with green pepper, mushrooms, ham and possibly shallot on top.

BIWI I'm not going back to the scales until Monday, just in case !

Monday
B Oily greens
L Stilton and celery
D Brie and cucumber; oily greens

4.5l water

Tuesday
B Brie and celery
L Oily greens
D Stilton, cucumber and celery

5 l water

Wednesday
B Oily greens
L Brie, cucumber and celery
D Stilton, celery and oily greens

4l water

Thursday
B Hard-boiled eggs (2)
L Oily greens
D Egg Mayo (4) and oily greens

6l water (emergency measures!)

In all honesty, though, it was a whole package of President Brie (think that's 170g) and a whole package of Stilton (think that was either 140 or 150gm) so altogether around 350gm of cheese in three days: which I know is a lot. I seem to think, too, that I've read cheddar is the lowest carb - it's just I'd eaten all that last week !

I think I'm going to avoid cheese for the rest of the week (there's a packet of halloumi crying out to me) and focus on trying to get non-dairy fat in: I've had scrambled eggs with spinach and watercress this morning, done in coconut oil, and I was thinking I might have a sort of Thai green veg thingie tonight, so I can use some more coconut oil and cream.

I don't mind not losing this week, but please, gods of healthy eating, don't let me have gained 9lb!

Today:
B - slice of cheese
L - 2 HB eggs mashed with mayo, garlic salt, grated cheddar and cucumber. No lettuce - was going to the dentist to have my onlay fitted, but when I got there, turns out they were missing one ingredient from the sodding cement! So got canned until next Tues, to give them time to order in the missing component.
D - mince thing on courgetti followed by cherries and double cream. All the cherries have gone now and the season has finished too, so will have to find something else to eat with my cream, probably blueberries and strawberries (not as good though :( )

I had the WORST celeriac mash yesterday - the celeriac was admittedly quite old but god it was woody! And I didn't cut quite enough of it off before boiling, so I kept finding woodchips in my mash

Wand that's highly likely! I can now have one square of chocolate and stop (as long as it's very high %). I've always thought that people who could do that were weird, because I could NEVER stop until the whole lot had gone. It wasn't greed, I know that now. And you weren't/aren't greedy either.

Ready and everyone feeling stress from things in their lives,
I know how hard it can be. I have an ill DH and DD2. Sometimes I can literally feel the cortisol rushing round my body (or that's how it feels) and just feel SO stressed. The thought that it actually makes you put on weight around the waist which is where I carry it the most, actually makes me feel even more stress! The only advice seemed to be "try and relax" but I find meditation, relaxation incredibly difficult.

I've been googling like mad and have found these more practical tips:
teeccino.com/building_optimal_health/148/Six-Tips-To-Reduce-The-Stress-Hormone,-Cortisol.html
(Just ignore the bit about complex carbs in bullet point 4 - seems a bit of a contradiction in terms)!
I do think I can cut down on the coffee, and I can definitely take extra minerals, plus Vits B and C. Plus upping the exercise, even just walking the dog. If you're immobile, just some lifting of weights from a sitting down position gets the heartrate up and is good for the muscles which means serotonin increases.

hefzi is that all you're eating?!

I assume you must be vegetarian?

But you need more protein than you're eating, I think - and it could well be that you have an issue with dairy (not the fat from the cheese). Can you look at a few days without dairy and see what happens?

I'd also suggest that you check the battery on your scales!!!

Help, I am feeling snacky and there are treats in the house. I know I am not hungry but I am exhausted after having a bad night with dc2 after his op and breastfeeding dc3 through the night.

I can't go out and can't do anything crafty with small dc. How can I get through this afternoon?

Drink lots, Blacktea - I find drinking more helps stave off the snacky need, at least a bit. Although I have also just had 2 microwaved Babybels, so I can't talk all that much!

gacl It is weird how carb counts differ isn't it? makes me wonder how scientific it is to measure. I was the same looking at rhubarb and bramley apples last week, some were almost double a different count even gross carbs so no fibre effect.

thumb eeww I had a woody celeriac once was like eating woodchip wallpaper mashed with water, you have my sympathies

blacktea yy drink lots, have a bif of fat say celery with butter or hot stock with butter etc or a piece of cheese with butter, step away from the snacks! Tiredness is the enemy of any weight loss attempts, more sympathy

busy day for me as had to catch an early train and was back on the train at lunchtime so had planned to have a breakfast muffin/crustless quiche thing from the freezer for breakfast but when I opened the bag this morning I found I had defrosted the DC's Cornish pasties by mistake !! aarrrgh, needless to say I did not have those

B - very quick scr eggs, avocado
L - train picnic of lc seed cracker with butter, sliced jarlsberg with butter, celery, bit of cracklng, almond meal scone with butter and a strawberry
D - will be hm beefburgers, slice of cheese, dab of mustard (although I really want ketchup), in lettuce wrap

just having a rooibos with coconut oil. for some insane reason I weighed myself this morning and no movement, so 2 days to move things along aarggh I do not understand daily weighing, why did I do it? if anything it has de-motivated me but must KOKO

Thanks guys. Drinks it is, hot stock is a good idea as should make me think I have eaten.

I may have to bin the snacks. FIL came to visit and brought all manner of sweet treats with him for the kids. Grr.

Having said that about the snacks, I was feeling far too peckish, given the time of night it is (I know ) so have just made myself a dip of sorts, by blending together cheddar cheese, cornichons, a bit of garlic salt and some mayonnaise. Dipping celery into it - it's working very nicely!

Just need to sort myself out and go to bed... - good luck with the stock, blacktea!

Lex - luckily the inside wasn't too bad, but yes to the woodchip wallpaper feeling! I'd made double, and saved the remainder in the fridge - not sure I'm going to be able to bring myself to eat it though!

Thanks nigella and everyone else. Funnily enough a cancellation letter dm came through this morning about my appointment. No real explanation but saves me doing it I suppose.
That link was quite interesting nigella, maybe I should cut down on my caffeine intake. I don't sleep well so the first thing I do in the morning is have a cup of coffee to wake me up. Is melatonin something you can buy over the counter? My Fitbit tells me that I go through many restless points during the night so anything that makes me sleep better would be a bonus.

Food today
B scrambled eggs, coffee with cream
L chicken thigh and leg (skin on) with salad, cup of tea with cream
D I have taken mince out the freezer but haven't decided what to make. Possibly meatballs with courgetti

In between meals I've had another two cups of tea and a coffee.. Far too much caffeine!

Food today
B- coffee with cream
L- roast pork salad with melted Camembert for dressing
T- steak and haloumi salad
S- cheese and ham

Bit too cheesy today will cut down on the cheese tomorrow

Really not felt up to food today, having the worst ovulation pain (if I hadn't been checked before I'd be sure I have appendicitis) comes and goes but when it comes it's like being stabbed. fek, who'd be a woman?

Plus daughter appears to be travel sick and has spewed everywhere if we have had a car journey and she's eaten in the hour before 3 times this week including this morning. Horrendous pain and sick everywhere is not making me feel like eating.

Food today:

B - BPC, 2 egg yolks w butter (DD only likes the white!)
L - smoked mackerel, celery filled with Boursin
D - sausages, broccoli, salad & dressing

I know it's still a bit processed food heavy, but I need to finish off things I'd bought and then I'll get to shops for some better choices!

for Ready and Chester and anyone else having a hard time.
hefzi It doesnt look like you are eating enough and there's a distinct lack of variety. You'll soon get bored with that I pretty much stick to similar food choices myself

for everyone struggling for whatever reason. Please keep posting as I think it's helpful for everyone. When I have a difficult day, it's good to know I'm not alone.

Had a really lovely beef curry with cauliflower rice last night. Was very filling.
Today, I've not been very hungry. Had two creamy coffees for breakfast and was going to have an avocado as well, but was too full. So, I had the avocado at about 13.30. Of course, I then didn't want lunch...
Did have an exploded baby bel when I got home from work and will be having a prawn stir fry for dinner.

Can't remember who was saying about the realisation that they aren't greedy - I understand completely. It's quite nice to know I wasn't just being crap all these years.

Might treat myself to my first alcoholic drink since 2nd January tonight.

to those who are struggling with whatever. I second Mookbark please keep posting because we all have tough days and times.

NigellasGuest and Wand interesting what you say about cortisol. I too sometimes can almost feel the cortisol coursing through my body through work stress. I'm going to think about weights/gym and what's the best way for me. I'm not making any rash lifestyle changes because I just don't keep it up and then I feel like shit. But I definitely want to get fit this year.

I've taken a good hard look at myself in the mirror, and have decided/realised that drinking alcohol isn't worth not losing weight. I've had a pretty poor week in terms of LC: 4 pints of beer last night, some tasting of students' cooking (bread and hotcakes), only around 2l water per day. I don't want this to continue. Did some grocery shopping tonight and am back on strict keto, although am a bit nervous about stepping on the scales.

Is anyone else having leg cramps? I've been woken several times a night with leg/feet cramps this week. I eat plenty of salt and take magnesium every day. What other supplements should I be taking?

Coffee with cream and a splash of milk
2 rashers bacon, mushrooms & 3 eggs scrambled in butter
Tea w ff milk, small chunk of dark choc
Small chunks of cheese plus 4 tiny kabanos
Salmon fillet fried in chopped tomato/oil/spring onions/garlic, plus buttered fried broccoli

Yesterday was really terrible at work - lots of redundancies coming. DH and I both work there, in different teams. Came home v stressed - but I stuck to it! DH fell face first into the crisps and biscuits and haribo. Luckily today it looks like I'll have a job at the end of it all, and we think DH will too. I hope.