Week 4 - Pre-summer Low Carb Bootcamp: are you KOKO?!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Here's the Spreadsheet of Doom Fabulousness

Week 3 might not have been kind to you - and here's the warning that week 4 might be the same

But hopefully by now you're starting to adjust to low carbing, and should be feeling some of the other benefits, even if the scales are resolutely ignoring you!

If you're struggling, come here and tell us about it. Don't self-sabotage by thinking 'oh fuck it' and diving into the carbs!

titsa - Not very imaginative but my quick meals are courgetti with cabonara sauce and chicken salad with mayo.

titsa, eggs are the quickest thing, perhaps an omelette or scrambled with something else on he side like mushrooms, spinach, asparagus, smoked salmon etc. Or do you have a slow cooker? you could sling a whole chicken in there, leave it all day then have that with some salad or veg and have leftovers too.

strawberry, difficult with no fridge but a cool bag with an ice pack would be fine until lunch no? If not there's lc crackers on the recipe thread and butter but wouldn't have them every day.

BBQ last night was lovely, we had blackberries and cream afterwards. DD asked me if we can have a break from cream, oops must have been overdoing it

Tits, my dinner tonight will be lamb chops & green beans, all roasted in the oven in plenty of coconut oil (the flavourless one) - would that sort of thing be quick enough?

I was starving yesterday and ate lots of cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. It's weird how some days I almost forget about food between meals and other times I am really hungry. I think its something to do with lack of sleep?
I'm another PCOS sufferer but my cycles are always pretty regular. It's all the other hormone-related joy that is a nightmare. Anyway, hoping this WOE will help.

B - piece of cheese before school run. Mozzarella, tomato and avocado with lots of olive oil
L - leftover faux cottage pie. It was DELICIOUS. Made the topping with blitzed cauliflower, cream, cheese, nutmeg and 2 eggs then baked to make a moussaka-style topping. Yum.
D - have pork belly strips so will do something with those. Loving the recipes on the thread

Changed my mind, having the lamb chops for lunch and making this for dinner www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/recipe-detail/3904/ with mashed neep.

wan love lidl
laser I tend to get a really hungry day or two before a whoosh!

I know neko it's such a pain. Tesco here used to do an unsweetened 5 spice but have stopped so I go to the health food shop who have huge jars like in an old fashioned sweatshop so you can buy a little bit (which keeps it fresh)

Anyone here know whether we should be counting net carbs or gross carbs? When I put an Atkins chocolate bar (naughty, I know) into MFP it shows it at a monstrous 20g carbs, but the 'net' carbs are apparently about 3g. Wondering what BIWI and other experts would say….

I had an ugly cluster of purple spider veins on the side of my inner thigh just above one knee, a leftover from pregnancy which I've had for a couple of years now. Over the past couple of days they have faded and narrowed to a light pinky red. Is this due to weight loss? A magic side effect of low carbing? I'm really pleased!

Notdead, strictly speaking on Bootcamp you don't count carbs at all and Atkins bars are forbidden . I think there is a difference between the way American products record carbs and the way UK ones do, is something to do with fibre. On products over here, I think it's the net count that matters but I'm really not sure about the details.

I've fallen off the wagon today - I've had a scone. Met a friend who made them especially and I felt I couldn't say no. How best to limit the damage?

Notdead - I guessing they contain sugar alcohols? They are sometimes not counted as real carbs as they are processed differently by the body (I think!). In the UK, all are carb labels are in net carbs, it is only in the US where you deduct fibre. I was a bit confused myself, as I started LCing without Biwi & the bootcamp and got myself in knots sometimes.

boldly - be super strict and drink loads of water? Not sure what else would help. certainly don't beat yourself up, you can't change it so deal with it and decide how you will deal with situations like that in the future (be honest and refuse the scone? Have a treat and then carry on? make up an excuse? etc)

Thanks, Wanheda. I'm just annoyed with myself as I'd been doing really well!

Humphrey - well done. Now don't you keep that whoosh fairy. Send her my way please!

I had a busy morning which involved two trips to the same hospital - first for my radiotherapy then I had to pick DS up from school and take him to see a paediatrician an hour later. He was starving after so wanted something to eat as soon as he was done. Took him to the M&S cafe and he had a toastie. Nothing I could have. I nipped into the M&S shop next to th cafe for a salad. Salad fridges were out of order so selection was very limited. Again nothing I could really have. So I had a coffee and a few almonds. Was tempted to have something as I was hungry but the almonds just kept me going. Very proud of myself. There was a little gremlin on my shoulder sayin that hummus wouldn't hurt. But I ignored him! Came home and had chicken and salad and found th almonds had filled me up enough that I couldn't finish it.

Boldly - be really strict on carbs today and tomorrow and drink lots of water. And don't give in to any cravings the scone might kick off.

well done Cider

titsa, also a quick tasty meal is bacon, shallot and cabbage fried in lots of lovely butter and a good grind of black pepper. super quick, filling, comforting and tasty. hope your DS is going to be OK

tonights dinner will be cauli fried rice including green beans, leftover chicken, red chilli, soy sauce (need to measure out first as so easy to slosh loads on), shallot, ginger and eggs of course, will use lots of lovely coconut oil

We have a new Lidl opening here very soon. Am getting very excited about all the wonderful low carb food I am going to get there.

Was on the recipe thread earlier and came across a discussion re haggis and neeps. Now you've just mentioned neeps as well Wanheda and I have a real craving for haggis and neeps.

Very, I love Lidl Greek yoghurt. It's so creamy and delicious and comes in giant buckets. Also really nice dark chocolate.

it's so annoying how work gets in the way of this thread

I have a question maybe some of you experienced low carbers can answer.

I've lost a pound a week in bootcamp - and seem to go up a bit certain days, then down again, then down to a new low, then up etc. Overall a pound down. All normal I know and when I lost weight 3 years ago I averaged half a pound a week to lose 3.5 stone over 18 months or so, so this is looking better. I've been doing it 8 weeks in total and have lost 10 pounds. Which is okay - I'm impatient for more but it's okay - and in my own hands as I'm not 100% on track

Anyway I digress. Here's my question. I know my loss is slow because I cheat a bit. Wine and chocolate.

If you low carb properly you don't care about calories. The whole calories in, calories out thing no longer applies because you're in ketosis and fat adapted. I'm not entirely sure what these are but I've read stuff I believe at the time of reading and trust that it is true. Calories dont matter.

BUT if I cheat at some point presumably I'm no longer in ketosis or fat adapted and i've just had a very bad day with loads of calories. That's the risk of the high fat approach - if you cheat you're really stuffed. So to speak. Because you've had loads of calories before you cheated.

So here's the question. At last. Do we know at what point that typically happens? or is it trial and error on an individual basis - like what dairy you can get away with. Do I just have to see if I can keep to a pound a week loss in weeks with 3 wine occasions instead of 2, or nights of 2 squares instead of 4 etc. Or is this where counting carbs would be useful and if I want to 'spend' 20 carbs on wine I need to do it within an overall limit of x carbs.

Any thoughts or am I just really approaching this all wrong in my head? I do know obviously that no wine, no chocolate is the ideal but I seriously doubt that can happen - limiting them is the realistic option. And I live with the slow loss as a result.

sorry for the long post.

Flyright - firstly your body will use alcohol for fuel before it uses your fat stores - which is what it is doing in ketosis. So your wine doesn't just add to your carb count but actively sabotages your fat burning and all the work you are doing by low carbing.

With regard to amounts of carbs - original Atkins used the induction phase as weight loss which was the stricter phase so like Bootcamp. Then he recommended that once yu have reached your goal you gradually re-introduce carbs. If you stay the same - fine but if you gain you drop back to the level at which you maintain. Which is your set point.

However he started by reintroducing higher carb veg, fruit, pulses etc. Not traditional carbs like bread, pasta etc. Or wine and chocolate I would guess!

I think you are making it harder by cheating with wine and chocolate and are likely to confuse your system.

And yes in th days you have wine and chocolate plus high fat low carbs you are having a shed load of calories. Which wouldn't matter with out the carbs in the wine and chocolate.

Thanks Cider, I knew you were going to say something like that

Maybe, just maybe, I can forgo the chocolate.

Wine - or some kind of alcohol is still going to happen though. Like tonight, dinner with a client. I'm naturally shy, she's quite full on, I cant do it without a few drinks.

But perhaps I can stop the chocolate. I'll try it.

Flyright it's a suck it and see approach. Everyone has a different carb tolerance. If you're losing about a pound a week then my advice would be to keep things exactly the same. One pound a week is a perfect rate of weight loss. It's healthy, sustainable, and it allows all your other tissues to shrink in line with the fat loss so you aren't left with saggy arms, legs, tum and bum. When you get near your ideal weight then you may need to tighten up on your carbs and/or calories.

Such sense. Thank you. I sort of know you're right but just forget. So thanks for the reminder. I have to just be patient and accept there's no speedy cure that's sustainable.

Just wish I'd started a bit sooner. Fatness and heat not being a great combination and I'm off to Rome mid July. Still it's over 5 weeks away. Maybe half a stone can go.

You can do it like that - it's how I lost weight by low carbing. But you will have to be prepared for it to be a slower loss.

It took me 10 months to lose 2 stones. But that was because I drank alcohol at the weekends and, if I was out during the week (not very often, but when I was going out I wasn't going to not drink!), and I had the occasional weekend and/or holiday away where I went off piste.

So the choice is yours really - faster weight loss but no wine or chocolate, or a way of living and eating that's going to work for you, but where the weight loss is slower.

There's no magic bullet I'm afraid.

(Oh, and please stop worrying about calories!)

really pleased you asked that question, Flyright. I'd be wondering about exactly the same thing - where the line in the sand was in terms of carb intake beyond which the calories DO start to count. Where is my ketosis/fat adaption line? Do I have to smell my own breath to tell??!!

I am still shoving all my food into My Fitness Pal anyway so it gives me the calorie total and nutrient breakdown. I didn't know we weren't supposed to check our carb levels, but I"ve been looking and found it fascinating.

Over the last 2 weeks (since I've started this) my average daily carb count has been 41g. But then I checked back over the previous year…. My normal average is between 250g - 300g. Blimey. Wonder what the 'average' person's is?

Anyway - I am telling myself that I have already achieved a stonking reduction so I am not going to beat myself up about the odd raspberry or Atkins chocolate bar