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!

veryflummoxed: BATS????

We get those. It's quite surreal when they dart over your head

I went down one night a couple of years ago and there was one flying around the kitchen. Now that was something else. Took ages to get it out. But flitting past the window I think is lovely.

I got one caught in my hair when I was asleep once when I was a little girl. Really freaked me out. Have been super phobic about the things ever since…..

I am planning crab mayo and salad for lunch tomorrow. Dreaming about it already if truth be told….

Ugh to bats. They terrify me.

Reasonable day today.

B - Greek yoghurt, blueberries, flaked almonds and linseed
S - 2 Brazil nuts
L - salad, prosciutto, mozzarella, avocado, tomato, stuffed cherry peppers, oil and balsamic (I know it's not recommended but had nothing else!)
S - M&S crispy bacon
D - pork belly slices, fried leetk, broccoli and red pepper

7 out of 9 glasses of water
2 teas with dash of milk
1 sip of red wine - and it stayed just the one sip!

Very tired now.

Eek! Bats?? I don't mind hearing them flit about outside but the idea of them in the house or in my hair gives me the heebie jeebies

Play, Portugal should be good for LC lots of fresh meat and fish. As for birthdays celebrations, I think tracking for a few days is a good idea - then you can see what you have 'spent' on carbs when out and adjust the rest of the day to very low carb. Good luck and happy birthday when it comes!

Food today:
B - 2 hb eggs, babybel
L - celery, cucumber, radish, red pepper with Boursin and butter to dip. A few slices chorizo
D - brie, olives, 2 hb eggs with butter (rushed dinner before going out)
S - several glasses of white wine and soda
3L water - easy in this heat!

Glad so many people had a good day! Mine was good too, except I was at a training day that was partly about networking, and as the lunch was just sarnies (and I knew it would be and didn't really I could request low carb as its not an allergy or anything) I went and ate in my office, which felt anti-social and not in the spirit of networking! So felt the WOE was restricting me a bit. Otherwise it went well on a night at the theatre/drinks! (Bit too much wine).

B: scrambled eggs and avocado
L: Tuna mayo, feta salad with gherkin and radish
D: Leon lamb koftas salad (no other choice discovered you can't get quinoa left out - ate round it again!)
S: coffee and tea with milk at course, pork scratchings (saw people with them at theatre bar when my friends were eating malteasers and thought - oooh, I can have those!), small lump of cheese, two white wine, one white wine spritzer with soda water (surprisingly nice, will try ordering instead of wine next time!)

Just marking place - off to catch up!

Eight hour coach journey today. Wish me luck water and food. I've made an avocado and bacon salad so I don't have to think about motorway service station food. Am trying to think how to time the water so I don't become a laughing stock running to the loo every five minutes!

bettyblue congrats for not having any of those sandwiches, that shows willpower! I know it felt antisocial but I think at this early stage of BC, when we're still losing weight & not maintaining, it's important as much as possible to keep clear of carbs, and if that means being a bit antisocial at times, so be it. In the future, when you're maintaining your weight, you can plan ahead for such events & have a sandwich or two. Well done for this time.

margarita hard with the 8 hour coach journey! On this occasion try not to drink too much water on the coach as you'll be in a difficult position

Wanted to ask everyone: why are my stupid scales showing a difference of up to 1 kilo each morning when I weigh myself?! I have to weigh myself each time 2-3 times and the weight fluctuates wildly. WTF? Anyway, I always record the lowest weight which corresponds with how I'm feeling too (i.e. that I'm slowly but surely losing weight) but it feels very unreliable. Does anyone have any really good quality scales to recommend?

The other thing is, I'm quite tired of not losing weight & just being steady. Last week (week 3 of BC) I weighed in at exactly the same weight as the week before. This week so far it's up 200 grams down 200 grams more or less all week. Any tipes to speed things up a bit as I'm getting a bit fed up.

Still We have some tanita scales which are very good. They do all the fancy body fat monitoring which DH uses. I just use them for weight but they seem really reliable accurate and consistent.

Feeling really disheartened this morning. I KNOW weeks 3 & 4 are notorious for no loss but I didn't really think it would happen to me. But it has. In fact I had gained 1.5 pounds this week. I would have been happy to have lost that but now but it's still flipping there. I was 15st 5.5 on Monday, 15st 4.5 yesterday and was back to 15 5.5 this morning. Also feeling bloated.

I've only got just over four weeks till we go on holiday and won't be anywhere near where I wanted to be.

It's really hard to stay at it when you don't see the weight coming off. I don't find it hard food wise really. Am not really missing carbs per se. Just wishing for a loss.

Sorry for moaning!

Sorry to hear of despondencies.

However, you all know what I'm going to say! Weeks 3 and 4, blah blah blah

Take a step back from the scales. Literally as well as metaphorically. And ask yourselves:

Have you enjoyed/are you enjoying the food?

Are you hungry all the time?

Do you feel deprived?

How do you think you'd be feeling now on a calorie or fat-restricted diet?

Can you see yourself eating like this in the longer term?

Also, be brutal. Have a look at what you've been eating and drinking this week. Compare it with what you were eating in week 1 - go back and read the week 1 thread to remind yourselves.

It's very easy for carbs to creep in here and there without realising (or admitting!).

CiderwithBuda your measuring yourself too much, your probably still on the lower weight but as you say your just a bit bloated today. Try weighing on monday and nothing else have a bit of faith in the LC - it will happen

i'm up again this morning and haven't had any loss yet but I'm getting flabbier and more wobbly and doing the mirror dance again to see what jiggles and how I'm changing ... I see ribs again

butter and cheese slices with a dollop of marmite

I know that it is hard when you are not losing or if you see a gain but try to think about the other good things about LCHF eating.

1. are you enjoying your food?
2. Do you feel better in other ways (more energy, better skin etc.)?
3. Would you be any better off (lighter/happier/whatever) on another WOE?

I know for me that even if I don't lose weight (because I'm having too many little extras) that in general I am better on a LC WOE than any other. My weight stays the same (or thereabouts) and I feel better.

I'm off to London this weekend to visit a friend, can't wait. She moved down there in March and I miss her so much!

Also, trying to keep on track with eating as I am an emotional eater (like many of us I think) and yesterday OH and I had a bit of a shock/stressful time.

He has epilepsy (seizure free for over 10 years) and yesterday she crashed the car into a wall/tree (he is fine, no injury to him or anyone else). He doesn't remember what happened but he is sure he didn't have a seizure (he knows when he is going to have one and he feels odd/sick afterwards and he didn't have that). Regardless though he must have blacked out or something so will likely have to surrender his license. He may lose it for 12 months.

We don't know what will happen with his job as he is a travelling sales rep (farm animal feeds etc) He could potentially work in the shop for a bit but because we work so far apart (~80 miles) we live somewhere in the middle (in a rural village). We don't know how he would get to work, it would take between 2 & 3 hours by public transport. My work is pretty flexible so I am going to see if I could drive him to and from work but that would mean me doing 4 -5 hrs driving on top of an already stressful job plus I'd have to work at the weekend to to keep my hours up. Though at least at the start I could use us my 5 weeks TOIL that I am owed!!

Sorry for the epic post I just don't feel like talking out loud to anyone about this as I'll probably cry so much easier to get it all out here.

Oh SayrraT so sorry to hear that. Life can be a
** ---- sometimes.

SayrraT, that sounds incredibly stressful and it must be hard to see how to deal with it long term.

Cider, I understand the despondency when things don't seem to move in the right direction. I've often sabotaged myself in previous diets by the thought of 'it's not working so why am I depriving myself'. The difference is that eating this way I don't feel deprived. The fact I can have a little bit of dark chocolate is a bonus. KOKO.

Sayrra that sounds really difficult. I hope you are able to sort something out that is manageable. Sometimes, things like that put the angst that we have about a pound on or off in to perspective. I'm also trying to ignore the fact that I'm a pound up from Monday despite following BC to the letter. Scales wise, I also have tanita scales that seem very reliable.
Food today will be:
B - two creamy coffees, olives, Brie and prosciutto
L - leftover frittata with green salad, mayo and vinaigrette
D - no idea. Need to nip to the shops on the way home.
S - may treat myself to a square of 90% choc with a spicy chai latte tonight

Sayrra

I wanted to ask about exercise. What, if anything, do people do in terms of exercise?

I am completely against the whole 'burning off calories' nonsense and am fully on board with the theory that your weight is about what you eat, not how many miles you run. Having said that...I can't deny that I have noticed my weight loss being steadier when I am getting my 10k steps in a day! I guess it is to do with the metabolic advantage that low-carbing gives?

So I've gone fm a previous exercise refusenik and total couch potato to being mildly obsessed with walking around 4-5 miles a day - I use a Fitbit to track.

I am even beginning to find that I get a bit antsy if I don't get walking every day - I just find I have so much more energy on LCHF. That is unheard of for me.

Was wondering what others do re exercise and what you think about the necessity of it on a LCHF diet?

Sayrra I'm sorry that sounds really tough.

Woke up today with agonising leg cramps, the worst I've ever had (I've had mild ones since Weds). So in addition to the low energy and dizziness, I think there's something awry with my hydration and electrolytes. I'm going to try upping the sodium as suggested and adding a potassium supplement to my magnetism and multivitamin. Now got to go to Pilates and hope it helps the cramp!

My magnesium! Although I do have a certain magnetism of course...

Bettyblueyes

SayrraT so sorry to here that hope you get a better idea of what happened soon.

Hear ....

Sorry to hear that Sayrra. Wish I could think of something to say as uplifting as your own encouragements to fellow low carbers. Hope you don't have to resort to that much commuting though. I've done 4 hours a day, and never again