Week 5 - Pre-summer Low Carb Bootcamp - the end of the first half!

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness once again

A horribly busy week for me, so apologies if I'm not around quite so much

I hope the scales have been kind to you, but don't forget to take your measurements as well.

Hope you all have a good week

Thanks all.

I'm afraid I celebrated with carrot cake! And I've been having Irish brown soda bread for the last few days.

Result of that was feeling dreadful this afternoon. Came home hungry and had a pot of M&S egg mayonnaise. Ended up bloated and feeling yucky. Think it was the eggs on top of the carbs. Won't be doing that again!

Had chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and grated cheese and then wrapped in a slice of bacon for dinner. Had some spinach leaves, avocado and cherry tomatoes with oil and may with it. Strawberries and cream for dessert.

Not enough water so will fix that tomorrow.

Bursar sorry to hear that. You've got a lot of stuff going on so understandable why you're not in the right frame of mind for this. I hope things improve soon. Mental health is the most important thing. Definitely be kind to yourself - weight loss will happen when you're ready.

Bursars

Bulser , stop a minute and look at how well you have done . You most likely went the longest period in ages without being sick .. Along with the emotional roller coaster of IVF and your OH not do well is just absolutely fantastic .

I think being able to eat without guilt and not feeling such an intense hunger to binge is amazing on this way of eating . A little latte etc here and there hopefully does not spark off too much feelings of guilt .
I think you have done brilliantly at a very difficult time . Please try not to slip back even if you don't continue with low carb . I watch out for your posts as I remember how tight the wrath of ED got to me

So pleased for you cider

As in recovery not feeling ill .. Cider !

I've been on the gin and slim tonight , food wise very little appetite but made sure to get some fat , greens and protein in .
I am a very cheap date these days ! Xx

BIWI thanks for your post. I guess I'm still unsure of proportions etc. I think the problem the last couple of days is that I've been out all day and maybe I should think more carefully about food when I'm out and about.

On the BPC's - that article says 1-2 tablespoons of butter and coconut oil! I've been making it with 1 teaspoon of each and I like it that way. I have always drank at least two coffees before leaving the house and have just replaced the milk with the butter and oil so I don't think of it as a meal replacement.

Starting off today with 2 BPC's, scrambled eggs and avocado...

The dog has eaten my new fennel teabags! Maybe she won't have bad breath now.

Bursars

* Moon* Let me know if it works for the dog breath, one of mine could do with some

Mook! Sorry on my phone.

Oh Bursars, I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. It sounds like a good idea to avoid too much focus and control around food for now. Focusing on being kind to yourself is probably better at the moment. I am with your DH - life is too short to beat yourself up over a latte!

Dh spent yesterday baking for a meeting we're going to with colleagues today, I have woken to more smells of baking filling the air. I am completely amazed that this has given rise to no cravings what so ever. I am confident that I will sit through the day without thoughts of eating anything except the low carb (pastryless quiche) baked for us. (I am just a little anxious that when we get there everyone will be LCHF and want to share mine though).

Any recommendations on places that do low carb food or things that are easy to have as low carb - like the carb is a side you just leave.
I'm travelling for a couple of days. I think dinners should be OK - meat and salad/veg. But it's what to have instead of sandwiches. I know pret now do hard boiled eggs. Anything else like that? I'll be in London

For bursars and cider

M&S do lots of low carb snacky bits, like mini cheeses and meat roll-ups. They also do the hard boiled eggs, as do Boots if you're about town and desperate for a snack.

Eat do a ham hock and egg salad which I had a little while ago, and I think that was pretty low carb, although I think it had something like carrot or pea that you had to eat around.

Bursars - sorry I missed your post yesterday. Sorry you are struggling. Try to remember how well you have been doing with controlling your ED and binging. You have been doing really well. If you feel Bootcamp is not helping your mindset then by all means step away. Your health both physical and mental is more important. Wishing you well with the IVF. It's a rollercoaster I know all too well. The result of my first attempt is now over 6ft tall! Unfortunately a second attempt wasn't successful as I was in early menopause. But I know how lucky we were to have DS.

A friend has had an ED in the past and although she has mostly got it under control she lapsed last year to to stress and external stuff going on where she didn't feel in control.

Keeping your carbs low is obviously more healthy but don't let it stress you further. I've know of lots of people who have lost weight just reducing carbs but not worrying about having a latte etc. Bootcamp is restrictive and that works for lots of people but not every approach does. If it triggers old coping mechanisms maybe it's not for you. But don't let it make you feel you've failed. You haven't. You were doing really well.

Mothership I suspect her breath is better than mine

So, I've accepted that I am only going to eat two meals a day most days, so I am going to make sure they are two nutrient-rich meals. Not sure one just eating halloumi and olives is sufficient. So, i am going to switch lunch and breakfast round. Then if I skip the second meal, it won't concern me so much. So, today's food:

B - two creamy coffees, prawns in marie rose sauce with salad and vinaigrette
L - (if needed) olives and halloumi
D - something involving chicken breasts.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can do a creamy sauce without using butter or cream? DH is non dairy, so can't use either of these. Would coconut cream work or would it be too coconutty? Might look on some paleo sites and see if I can get inspiration.

If you're in London, Pret do a couple of salads that are low carb - the Italian chicken salad and the crayfish and avocado salad are both good

And if you can get to a Leon, they do lovely poached egg pots which are low or zero carb. My favourite is ham hock with a truffled Gruyere sauce - and I add an extra egg to that for a pretty tasty and satisfying breakfast. (I don't know if they only do them for breakfast though)

Their main meals usually have some kind of carb component, sadly, but I have discovered that if you look at their sides some of these are perfect - there's a chicken one which is just grilled pieces of chicken thigh with herbs. It's worth checking out their website as they not only list all their foods, but they give carb counts as well

... and M&S do lots of bits and pieces that are low carb. They have a small range of salads that don't have any carb elements as well (although to be honest they are pretty boring - but you can supplement them with some prawns or cheese or cooked meats etc

I am still here, DS has been transferred to a hospital in London, he's feeling much better which is great but feeling great and being stuck on hospital means he's driving me mad, he's in full blown irritant mode and there's no respite here.

The restaurant isn't boric amp friendly so I'm living off chicken legs and veg and the occasional handful of nuts.

Good news Titsa! I can't imagine how hard it must be to try and keep your DS entertained now he's feeling better, but so glad he is!

And give yourself a gold star or 3 and a pat on the back for keeping up the LC, have a halo as well!

Bursar, Cider and Titsa

I haven't lost anymore weight which, considering I have a lot to lose, is a bit frustrating. I'm sure I am thinner. My jacket fits me better and my wedding ring is trying to slide off but I would so like to see some movement on the scales. I might need to ditch the dairy.

B. FF yogurt, berries and walnuts x 4
L. Chicken salad with mayo
D. Beef something with cauliflower steaks (in oil) and courgetti (in butter)

BIWI thanks for those tips. Saves me some time.
I'm on train now with boiled eggs chicken bits and a bit of hot smoked salmon to keep me going. I've just changed going to a friends for dinner to going for a fry up next morning. So there's fewer slip up occasions.
I'm assuming gin and slims best if I cave to alcohol?

last gin and slim is ok but does have sweeteners, gin and soda with a twist of lime is probably my drink of choice. If having tonic be careful of fever tree - even their 'diet' version has heaps of sugar.

Mook Oatly Cream is a reasonable alternative to cream. It's dairy-free but higher in carbs than cream. I buy it in Holland & Barrett for my allergic DSs.