Week 7 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - are you still with us?!

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here's the spreadsheet - sorry to keep you all waiting!

So we have four full weeks before our final weigh-in - still time to lose half a stone if you stick at it.

Here's to a good week ahead

I feel much better for being back on this woe. My bloated stomach shrank immediately! I already feel thinner.

Yesterday I had fried low carb sausages for breakfast, tuna mayo with salad for lunch and hm burgers with salad and a little cheese for dinner. Snacks were a bag of pork scratchings and a babybel. 2 litres of water and 3 black coffees.

I have scurvy.

Or leprosy.

Or heat rash?

I'm home, I feel crap really really crap, I presume because of the cocktail of steroids and antibiotics I'm consuming almost hourly. I am indeed in my garden seat, listening to radio 4 and trying to process the events of the last week. I'm shocked at how weak I am and break down and cry when I think about how far this has set me back in terms of recovering from the surgery I had on 9/3/17.
Thank you again for your support over the whole of bc but especially during the last week, none of you know me but you have put time, love and effort into helping me get through this week. It's all the more meaningful when the people I thought were my friends pissed off and carried on with their nice normal lives seven years ago when mine fell apart. I wish I'd found MN back then.

On strict instructions we've banned all visitors in case I catch something which means missing DIL's baby shower tomorrow.

I have no appetite, I've had to force a scrambled egg and halloumi with courgette down and couldn't finish it. I could so easily eat a digestive biscuit, slice of buttered toast or bowl of ice cream just because it's what I fancy. They have been dishing out ice lollies and tubs of ben & jerry's all week on HDU and every single time I said no thank you. I will have gained weight this week because of all the drugs and will have no gut flora left again.
Don't know what to do - I need to build up some energy but even though I hadn't eaten for over 24hrs I couldn't eat a single scrambled egg. BIWI, anyone - advice please.

BIWI thank you so so much, there I was sobbing in my garden chair and feeling sorry for myself and then I clicked on your link to the hell bears review. It took me ages to read because I couldn't see for tears of laughter. I now know exactly how to give my core muscles a workout, my physio has been trying to devise something for years and you did it in minutes.
Strangely I used to eat two Atkins bars a day when I was working full time and running a large family when I did LC years ago. I never noticed a laxative effect, just glad nobody bought me some hell bears for Christmas.
Once again this thread has lifted my spirits without anyone even answering my post.

Jiminny perfect little no sugar treat for your MIL

Namaste Bitches

C4 so so sorry to hear you're feeling so rough. I'm sure BIWI will be along with diet advice soon. The only thing I can think of is take a good probiotic to build up the good gut flora again. I get one from H&B, think it's quite good. Can you manage some full fat yoghurt?

C4. I'm glad you are home. Now take time to build up that strength.
I do think the lchf means you won't be eating any crap. Just proper food. Which is a Good Thing. Just little and often? Rather than overwhelming yourself with a big plateful. Lots of protein for cell healing. Green shit? Spinach and salad stuff?

Kleptronic that's great!

DDs persuaded me to go to the chippy on the way back from the fete, they had chips, I had chicken kebab meat & salad. It was glorious. I asked for a small one, but it was still massive. I can usually only finish half to 2/3 of one, but I ate it all. Full now though, can't see me wanting any dinner!

Sorry, I missed page 22, haha, was still replying to page 21!

C4 Your health is more important than putting weight on because of drugs. Wouldn't you rather be alive and a little heavier than you want than the alternative? Just rest and be kind to yourself lovely.

Glad you are home C4. Could ypu have some lowcarb pudding type food to fill the void until your appetite returns? I am thinking strawberries and cream, scrambled eggs, yoghurt and cinnamon, that coconut bread stuff with nut butter. Could you try a smoothie to get the good stuff into you?

I still can't believe that your 'friends' were such shits.

C4 a really nice indulgent-tasting drink is alpro unsweetened almond milk with a chai teabag simmered in it for 5 mins and lashings of double cream. Lots of calcium in the almond milk and fat in the cream. It's so fragrant and smooth and tastes like a treat. I haven't tried it iced but I bet it's lovely.

Can you have some Coyo coconut yoghurt or some Total with blueberries? Good nutrients and plenty of cals there.

Glad you're home and the hell bears made you laugh.

I'm glad you're home @C4pinkwheels, but sorry you're feeling so crap.

I second getting hold of some probiotics, that will help your gut deal with all the antibiotics. If you can get your DH or PA to go to a good health food shop, assuming you are near one of course, and get them to get some that are in the fridge - they will be much better quality.

In terms of food, I'd say at the moment that you should just eat what you fancy. Don't be so hard on yourself. I know you don't want to put weight back on, but now isn't the time to be worrying overly about your food - you need to be focusing all your energy on getting well.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that you start your day with some wholemeal toast, with peanut butter. Nice and savoury, and easy enough to digest. Also high protein - and the carbs won't be that high (as long as you can keep it to one slice!)

Why not try browsing the recipe thread to see if anything there takes your fancy?

C4 I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being so open about your health problems. My two oldest went ice skating with Scouts yesterday and the Scout leader asked me to go on the ice with them. Well I was completely hopeless at ice skating but all I could think about was how lucky I was to be able to join in with my sons. Thinking of you gave me the confidence to make the most of the slightly scary situation although I did land on my arse once or twice. But also I'm now much more proactive in my communication with an old friend who has MS and is in a wheelchair. I didn't realise just how isolated she might feel; I'm sure that like you she has seen her friendships evaporate as her disability has progressed. I had been continuing on the same relationship we had always had without understanding that she might need much more from me than she used to. Thank you C4 and I wish you a speedy recovery.

That is lovely Stunt. It's made me well up.

How about something like a chicken noodle soup C4? Without noodles or with shirataki noodles if you can get them. This is very easy and delicious. You can vary the veg and I sometimes add some chilli and/or some 5 spice. It's very light and comforting.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1869/chicken-noodle-soup

BIWI thank you - the font of all knowledge. I love nut butters more than happy to have it on celery it will make a nice change from Greek yogurt and blueberries for breakfast. I also have some snacketts left which are less carby than bread and nicer.

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions- I lack the energy to read recipe thread for ages so it's great that you are taking the time to help me. I need simple to prepare, quick to cook stuff.
I have a ton of salad in the garden and courgettes, French beans and lots of herbs.

Stunt your post made me cry, I always get the feeling that I am a taker on this thread so to know that you got on your arse the ice because of me is humbling. But the fact that someone isolated by ms has benefited from my openness makes the last seven weeks so worthwhile that I no longer care if I get to week 10 weighing more than I did at the start. I'm normally a very private person but this thread has somehow made me open up, it hasn't been easy and there have been more deleted posts than ones that have made it. Your friend will value more than you will ever realise your time, love, friendship and the fact that you are still a friend. Thank you.

Awwww you guys. There's a lot of love on this bc.

C4 glad to here your well enough for the garden. If you fancying ice cream apart from the obvious blend yoghurt and strawberries and freeze. Ice cube make nice bite size depending shape and size of tray and mouth of cause.

Has anyone tried Wheyhey! -- The Protein Ice Cream.
is it allowed any good?

It's really great that you are home C4. It's not the same as pneumonia at all but I have been there with chronic bronchitis over winter and the breathlessness and enervation and exhaustion really hit me hard - emotionally more than physically. I can only begin to imagine what pneumonia along with everything else feels like.

In other news I have been struggling over weekends with lots of social engagements, but despite feeling like I am saying no to everything (booze, ice cream, pizza, cake etc) I have been slipping and piling on weight. This weekend I am staying the course and I went on my first 🚴🏽‍♀️ road ride in (I think) five years! I used to ride all the time but life (kids) got in the way.

It was glorious!

Lovely to hear you made it home to the garden for the weekend C4.

I second the chicken noodle soup suggestion and the smoothie one. I made a nice one the other day with ff Greek yog, double cream and raspberries. Whizzed it up and it was yum. What about some mood lifting dark chocolate as well?

C4 glad to hear you're home. I probably shouldn't say this, but I'd have some toaast and butter if that's what you fancy, and think you can eat it. Eating something has to be better than eating nothing, and if you eat mindfully and enjoy every mouthful it's surely going to be good for your mental health.

As for me, the last two days have been really weird, food-wise. I've been doing my usual part-time job full-time all week, so was exhausted come yesterday. Couldn't be bothered to go out to the fridge in the shed for salad veg yesterday morning, so had a Lidl protein roll with mayo and sliced chicken for lunch. Walked the 2.5 miles home carrying a 6 pint bottle of milk among other things, which was fun, then couldn't be bothered to cook much, so had two oven eggs cooked in olive oil. And that was it, save a few cups of coffee.

Today, so far, I've had a whole block of halloumi, deep fried. I'm just not hungry.

I really wanted a Magnum today, but resisted 😇
Has anyone tried Oppo ice cream? I've been sent a voucher for a free tub so would like to try it.

I had a lovely dinner tonight, made a Chinese style mushroom curry with tofu and cauliflower coconut rice. Was a little naughty afterwards and ate a mini bar of dark choc. My diet is a lot more varied now as I am having to be quite inventive since I dont eat meat.

Glad you're home C4 but sorry you're feeling so crap, make sure you take it easy on yourself and your body, it's going to take time, but every day is a step closer to the GNR, there may be bumps (or mountains!) to overcome, but you will get there!

Do you like fish? I always find that really quick and easy to cook, either pan fried or in the oven with butter and some herbs and then just add salad on the side.

I've had an ok day, out at a fete and friends bbq so slightly restricted, stuck to low carb, but maybe a bit too much protein I think
B salmon & cream cheese roll ups
L cheese burger without bun
D sausage, burger without bun, chicken skewer, salad, stuffed mushroom, glass of prosseco
Avoided the brownies and banoffee pie!

Someone help me! I have a pudding craving and I can't find the peanut butter mug cake recipe that someone posted. I've searched up and down this thread and I'm sure I didn't imagine it in some dessert fuelled fantasy.

1 egg and three generous spoons of peanut butter. Might make some myself now too.