Week 6 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - we're racing on!

[BIWI]

Morning campers!

Here's the spreadsheet

Some good losses reported already this morning!

Four weeks left, so we could still see a good half stone disappear if we're vigilant.

The hot weather looks like it's disappearing this week, so hopefully anyone still struggling with water retention should find some relief.

But good luck to us all

I thought I had dodged a bullet at DS2's school fete today. I swerved the barbecue, ate half of DS4's leftover sausage inna bun minus bun and came home to roast duck breast and sugar snap peas in butter for dinner. All's well that ends well thought I... until I got a phone call congratulating me on winning the fruit basket in the raffle. Wtf will we do with all this lovely fruit?

Here's the fruit basket. It looks gorgeous!

Wow, I've been out of action on the posting front for a couple of days, there's a lot to catch up on!

Quick update from me: Been sticking to boot camp very well and have avoided a number of temptations:

1. last night: was going to make fathead pizza but my mozzarella was mouldy. DH was making a risotto - I could have succumbed (it is delicious) but I went to the supermarket to buy some more mozzarella and made my pizza.

2. today: had a birthday BBQ to go to. Filled up beforehand on a late tuna mayo lunch and creamy coffee. Had salad and a bunless burger which was surprisingly filling so wasn't really an effort to avoid the dessert table. Also stayed off the booze. Hurrah!

3. staying with family tonight. Got DC to bed and DH wanted to go out for a Chinese. Resisted! I wasn't really that hungry and I didn't particularly want to go and have stuff that I wasn't bothered about (my fav Chinese food is carb tastic).

Will read through thread properly in the morning but looks like people are generally KOKOing

B - Two scrambled eggs made with butter.
L - Protein roll spread with butter and filled with ham slices and mixed salad leaves
D - M & S Beef and black bean chinese type meal.

Instead of rice, I cut up some more salad and used that as a base. I also got rid of most of the sauce.
S - Coffee with cream.

All in all, not toobad, although I I haven't had enough water today. I need to address that.

Omg I have a manic few days away from this thread and you lot, and when I come back all hell has broken loose . Scooby is pregnant, C4 has been in hospital, Sayrra is having a career crisis and Cleareyes is discussing separation.

So...congrats scooby! There is no perfect age gap. You will make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in whether kids close or far in age.

C4 I hope your infection pisses right off and fast .

Sayrra I have no useful advice really except to say stop studying! More qualifications won't get you a better job or more money. Get out there and try several jobs in different fields. See what you like best. The best and most interesting careers seem to evolve without planning and utilise opportunities that arise.

Cleareyes I have been there and I feel for you . I highly recommend a book called Should I stay or should I go by Lundy Bancroft. The relationships threads are a source of great wisdom and support too. Sometimes separation can be the catalyst for change and sometimes it is the solution itself. You will find your way.

my tee shirt was looking a bit lumpy in the boobs. Pulled up my top and flashed him that what he is seeing is bra cups that are no longer full. yep this was me today (without the flashing). I do however have a collection of (what were) too small bras and found one that fit; down a cup and band size and comfortable.

I'm catchy up with the thread. Only two days behind now.

@ClearEyesFullHeart I missed your post when I was trying to catch up with everyone. Just wanted to say how sorry I was to read it - and massive kudos to you for keeping the emotional eating at bay

Youcantscareme I don't know about ketosis, but I do remember BIWI saying that this WOE isn't very forgiving and if you eat carbs you need more water to break them down (I think? ) and so will put on weight and it can take a couple of weeks to get back to where you were. Plus you get carb cravings again, where you then want to eat every carb in sight. This has really stuck with me so am trying to be really strict, I don't want to go to all this effort and lose weight and then put it back on because I ate one roast potato! (Having roast lamb tonight and am telling myself that I do not need roast potatoes, when I'll have lots of fatty lamb to eat!)

Is it the sugar in the fajita mix you are worrying about or are there other carbs you want to eat?

I have started work on the fruit basket by eating half a melon. The DCs will eat the grapes, apples and pears. I'm hoping DH will eat the oranges. There are a few flat peaches and apricots, they aren't too high carb. I'll donate the mango to the nursery school as they have "fruit break" every day. The only fruit I can't think of anything to do with are the grapefruit. The kids won't eat them and DH and I can't have them because of our meds. Would the garden birds eat grapefruit?

Stunt - segment the grapefruit, drizzle with honey and grill it and give it to the kids with ice cream. You get that lovely hot and cold thing going on, my kids used to love it. I may have told them that it was a cross between a grape and an orange

Not sure about birds eating grapefruit, StuntNun. Is it worth cutting a small piece and leaving it out to see if it disappears? Only likely to eat fruit in my garden are the ants!

Bizarre side effect of this way of eating us that suddenly bread smells really, really strong. If there is a loaf of bread nearby, the smell of it is quite overpowering. Don't know if that is a weird way my body is signalling a craving to me - freshly baked bread was always a favourite. It's become very pronounced though.

I upped my carb intake slightly yesterday by eating a couple of spoons of potato and it seems to have settled the nausea and migraine is just a slight throb now.

Hopefully, I can get back on track tomorrow. I've been drinking more coffee recently - especially flavoured ones with cream. I'm wondering if the increase in caffeine intake has triggered the migraine. Will have to go back to decaf I think...

Youcantscareme

Fajita seasoning:
2.5 tsp hot chilli powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
salt & pepper

Just mix them all up and add to your chicken/beef. Adjust the chilli powder depending on how hot you want it.
We often double/triple the amounts and then keep the extra in a jar.

the NHS can be a confusing and frustrating place at times but I bloody love my respiratory consultant, he phoned me yesterday morning and we talked through my chest infection and agreed a course of action for me staying at home. Basically stay on the ventilator for 14 hours out of 24, lots of assisted coughing (paralysed diaphragm means I don't cough) followed by suction. He gave me his mobile number and said to phone anytime day or night and to dial 999 if my sats drop to 75.
He phoned yesterday evening to say that it's almost certainly pneumonia from looking at X-rays and blood results, I have to go and have more bloods and X-rays on Monday and be prepared to stay if things aren't improving but at least I will have had the weekend at home.

I went to the musical which was fantastic. I got a bunch of flowers from my friend because I had sewn some fabric envelopes for her to put thank you notes in for the cast which was unexpected and lovely.
Our meal was disappointing - no steak on the menu and the least carby thing on the was pulled beef brisket, I asked for it without the chips and salad instead - it was a measly portion of meat and it was coated in a sickly sweet sauce (not mentioned on the menu) so I just ate the salad and some cabbage.
I was exhausted at the end of the evening so we didn't go to the after party which we were invited to.

Food today is:

B yogurt with berries
L fathead and salad
D roast chicken with veg, stewed rhubarb with ginger and lots of cream.

Oh Stunt. I hope your boys love fruit.

Boldly I'm finding all food smells stronger. I'm detecting so many subtle food odours I never knew existed. Also ate a raspberry and a strawberry from the garden the other day, my first this Bootcamp. I was overwhelmed by the taste and sweetness. I used to think raspberries were sharp.

Wow I can't believe it, I've caught up. I'm a foster carer and last week the size of my family increased dramatically. Since then every minute has been spent trying to keep up (with life as well as the thread) And having some lovely fun. I've read everyone's posts and thoughts have been with you all, successes and hard times even if I haven't had chance to post. (And when I did it was days later). Any way my meal times have been rushed and erratic on occasions but i have kept with it. You all seem to be doing well LCHF holidays and not giving into emotional eating. Right got to go.

I was coming on thread to moan again but as I don't have pneumonia I will shut up! C4 hope it clears and you won't have to go in.

Flummoxed hat off to you, being a foster carer must be a very difficult and yet so rewarding thing. Hope your new arrivals settle well

C4 hope things improve for you soon. I'm quickly learning anything 'pulled' on a restaurant menu is annoyingly covered in sweet sauce.

Wow Flummoxed a Foster carer is such an amazing thing to do. And yes to the amazing taste of raspberries!

Hope your ok OldBooks

Went out last night, ate well starter- sausage with mustard mayo, main-chicken Caesar salad without croutons and an Irish coffee, drank way too much Bacardi and Diet Coke although discovered gin and soda is nicer than I thought.
Cauliflower hash browns and courgette, feta and mint fritters are divine this morning.

Bit of a NSV, i weigh exactly the same as i did 3 weeks ago, and am swanning around in jeans I couldn't do up then

notso cauiflower hash browns sound amazing, is the recipe or link on the recipe thread?

I thought I this was an interesting article. And it reminded me that when I was my leanest and fittest, I weighed 12 stone 4. An entire stone into the overweight BMI category. At my very lightest adult weight ever, I was 8 stone 6 with a BMI just in the healthy range. It was 3 months after my sister died. My periods had stopped, and all my hair had fallen out. I was nothing but nervous energy and grief. Yet on paper, that was a good weight for me, and the other needed remedied - I remember going for an IVF assessment and being told to lose at least a stone. No wonder the scales mess with our minds. www.gritandgratitude.com/blog/2017/6/29/tfyldjtahyrn06v94gmlniyikoqrze

OldBooks it's a diabetes uk recipe although I adapted as it used onion and cornflour.
Half a cauliflower, grated
350g of any kind of grated cheese you fancy, I used cheddar and mozzerella,
I used four chopped spring onions instead of half an onion grated or finely chopped but could use shallots,
Two eggs
Three tablespoons of coconut flour, more if mixture is a bit wet.
Mix together, form into little patty shapes, I put them in the fridge for a couple of hours at this point then fry in butter.
They were lovely with crispy bacon.

I have just made the most delicious lunch. Fashioned on the breakfast burritos you get in the US, but carb friendly. Fry some beef mince with loads of chillis, a chopped green pepper and a shallot. Keep breaking the mince up so it stays granular and becomes brown and slightly caramelised. Make a 1 egg omelette, but don't touch the egg at all once it goes in the pan - just swirl around till it covers a hot pan and fry till crisp and 'frilly' at the edges. Slide the omelette onto a plate, leaving it flat, not folded. Spread some mince down the centre, add grated cheese, sour cream, or mashed avocado. Fold the egg pancake over the tuck the edges in. Serve with green salad. O.M.G. I'm now back in the kitchen making more egg pancakes because everyone wanted one when they saw mine.

Oldbooks don't use my dramas to not post your own woes please it will make me feel guilty and go and hide in the cupboard.

OMG ilove that sounds amazing!

C4 it really did give me some perspective! I was feeling hard done by because DH is poorly and has taken to bed, AF is heavy and both DDs are grumpy and tired. But hell I just needed to shake it off and crack on. We are still in our PJs but have been doing jigsaws, singing nursery rhymes, building train tracks and making playdoh food. I needed to stop trying to do everything and just focus on my girls