Week 8 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - two months almost done ...

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness once more

So the finish line is almost in sight. I see from the last thread that some of you have been struggling to stay on track - just three more weeks to go, so stay focused.

That 'it's only one piece of bread/one glass of beer' moment really isn't worth it. Been there, got the t-shirt.

If you're bored with the food - there are two things that could help you. Firstly, think back to the last time you were doing a low calorie/low fat diet - how awful was it to have to scavenge the shelves looking for something low calorie enough, and how often were you eating food that didn't actually taste that nice, but delivered only on the basis of being low calorie? Rice cakes that might as well be polystyrene ceiling tiles, for example!

And then go and read the recipe thread for some inspiration, and find something new to cook. There's nothing on there that's difficult to do.

I'd also say that I see a lot of you are trying to recreate things that are high carb - pizza or bread, for example. These things are very unlikely to be the same, or as nice, as the high carb versions. And all the time you're trying to recreate something you're missing, you're just reminding yourself that you're missing something!

So try not to do this, but focus on things that are beautifully low carb and that you can enjoy for their own taste and benefits.

Here's to a successful week for us all.

Edit function needed, hopefully you understand that gibberish.

jim good to hear you are battling on. Your PT sounds very sensible. It is easy to let those anxious feelings overwhelm us and it takes great fortitude and determination to decide not to let them and to fight back. Well done you. You'll recover all the quicker for it.

This isn't directed at any one poster but generally towards those in distress. Sometimes the best therapy is to positively decide to indulge the sorrow or overwhelm for a brief moment, have a good cry or wail or tantrum (but give ourselves a deadline) and then tell ourselves, right, what can I DO to fix or improve this? Very rarely is there nothing that can be done to improve the situation, even just a tiny bit. We all have power over our own actions and to some extent our emotions and how we deal with things. If we let the anxieties take hold and don't do anything to try and overcome them, that's when they win and we lose (mentally and physically). The sense of powerlessness and lack of control is a feature of anxiety and I find it really useful to focus on what I CAN control, and then to do something practical and proactive to exert that control and to remind myself that I can do this one little thing and it makes me feel better about the situation. At times I have been on my knees with exhaustion, despair and utterly overwhelmed with everything. Add to that some PTSD and domestic abuse and it's a recipe for a breakdown. Tbh I'm not sure I haven't been there either, but I saw a way out and it was only me that could do it. So slowly bit by bit I'm taking control of my life, making better decisions, tackling hard issues i have neglected and feeling much stronger for it. That in itself is empowering. And power is the enemy of anxiety and despair!

Sorry I've gone on a lot. You are all amazing and I'm awed by the strength, advice and support on this thread. I only hope a small contribution from my own experiences helps someone else a tiny bit. I think I have helped myself by writing it. Btw none of the above was about food!

BIWI please tell me if I've hijacked the thread and I won't post anymore family stuff. I'm trying really hard to post BC LC stuff as well and be supportive to other people.

Yolo thank you for the pearls of wisdom it is helpful.

C4 we are all on different journeys to achieve essentially the same goal. The reasons for being here and the challenges that we face are things we have shared with each other on this bc. That is how we help each other. It's all about food really if you think about it. Food = problem. Problem = food. It's just another unhealthy relationship!

Plymouthmaid1 I love cheese unfortunately cheese doesn't like me. I will give tofu a go. I have only had it once. I made a curry with it. I was not keen but that could be because I am the worlds worst cook. I will have to find something already pre made as I do not trust myself making anything from scratch that is edible.
I didn't realise that Quorn was considered a processed food. Thought is was a type of fungus. All be it a man made fungi

C4 that is so sad. It sounds like you still have love for all of them x

Well done Style

C4 don't apologise for posting family stuff. This thread would not be as dynamic and engaging as it is if we all just posted our food diaries.
Yes I can see why you love them. What a shame your dh is so spineless scared! There was no way she was going to take the kids away from you when they were younger - she sounds far too lazy and selfish to want them full time. He has created a rod for your backs by his inaction and I can see how they have been fucked up by her. Your dh needs to stand up for you. Maintaining a relationship with his kids is important but not if it's at the expense of honesty and your dignity.

RE the green pancakes - I steamed the spinach and chopped it, then mixed it with the ricotta. That was one bag of spinach and one pack of ricotta mixed then I divided it up into 3 portions and froze it.

C4 I'm so sorry your stepkids have behaved so dreadfully. They are so lucky to have you in their lives and I'm sure one day they will realise in their own way.

I'm a bit disappointed that my weekend strictness and lack of food yesterday hasn't resulted in a loss. Maybe it is because I did a 16k cycle at the weekend, but it wasn't a major undertaking!

I went to bed at 9 last night so missed quite a few lovely comments, and on my phone I can't remember them all but thank you all. Unfortunately DC1 has woken up with a fever (from a child who almost never has a temp) and DC2 was up at 4.30. I am muddling through with giving a cuddle, explaining it is still sleep time, ignoring him and he at least stayed in bed until 6 with only minimal screaming (every 10 mins to make sure I don't sleep).

I agree totally about indulging in some allocated downtime and then making a plan (I did some resilience training recently which suggested this). We have made as many changes as we can so far but DH is military and therefore not in control of his hours or schedule - we have had well over a decade of being at the whim of the services. He leaves next year. And unless I give up my career which I love, no chance of backing off my hours; I'm a director in a niche area and the work just piles up when I'm not there doing it, and I'm already behind. I'm sure these sound like excuses but we have been agonising over just these decisions for weeks because I have been so stressed and unhappy.

Anyway, thanks so much everyone. I feel better after a mighty 6.5 hours of sleep.

Any suggestions of vegetarian LCHF food for lunch and dinner today? I am thinking fried eggs for lunch and cauli cheese for dinner with lots of green veg at both meals.

Both meals sound good to me, Nameless and I'm not even vegetarian.

Nameless how about those halloumi fries for a veggie meal, they look delicious. The disturbed sleep is a huge problem and one that's often underestimated with a child of that age. My DS3 sleeps through about half of nights now which is making a big difference but I suspect it will take me years to catch up on my sleep.

Waa what on earth is a stuffed meatball and where can I get some?

Oliversmum have you tried the dairy-alternatives that are cropping up now? Some of the vegan cheeses are pretty good - my DS4 got to have pizza for the first time in his life! There are also more coconut and almond milk yogurts. It is worth experimenting with dairy to see where your limits are. Have you tried the milk ladder at all?

@C4pinkwheels it's testament to the level of engagement that you, and others, can share your innermost feelings, knowing that you will be doing so in a safe space, as well as that you will get support and understanding.

We all have the right to do that on these threads

As Adalind says, it would be very dull if all we did was post about our food!

I've been running these Bootcamps now since 2012 - roughly 3 a year, and it never fails to amaze me how quickly people can bond, share and support each other.

And one of the things I've learnt very clearly over the last 5 years is that our relationship with food is probably one of the most complex ones that we have.

If losing weight was simply a matter of 'eat less/move more' then there would be no obesity. It simply doesn't work like that!

So although we all started here, two months ago, with our drive to lose weight, what we're sharing is an altogether deeper journey. (Sorry for using that cliche!)

Sometimes we'll experience highs, sometimes lows - sometimes it's just a journey on a totally different path from the one we imagined. But we're all here, doing it together - supporting, cheering and just being here for each other.

... and hopefully by the end of week 10 one of the by products will be a loss of those pesky pounds

to you all - for the ups and the downs.

A processed food is a difficult term to define precisely - even milk could be classed as a processed food, unless you have a cow that you milk every day!

When I talk about avoiding processed foods, I mean that we're trying to eat food that's as fresh and natural as possible. Quorn is probably one of the most processed foods that you could be eating, as it's a totally man-made protein, created from growing some kind of fungus in a lab. It's never grazed on fresh pasture!

I realise that if you're vegetarian it's more difficult - but there are some very good vegetarian cook books around. And also some good recipes on the recipe thread. Rose Elliott has a vegetarian low carb diet and recipe book that has some lovely recipes in it.

But @Oliversmumsarmy, the other key factor is the increase in fat - it's really important that you increase the level of fat, and a good quality extra virgin olive oil (also a processed food!) is a really effective as well as tasty way to add fat to your diet. And don't forget butter! Butter doesn't count as dairy, so shouldn't exacerbate your exczema.

Re Quorn - they obviously have very Search Engine Optimisation, because if you Google 'what is in Quorn', almost all of the links that come up are Quorn urls. However, this blog also came up, which goes into detail about what's in it/how it's made

@Oliversmumsarmy - if you suffer from allergies, you may want to think again about Quorn just on that basis!

One of the first processed foods that amazed me when I came to the UK some years ago was Quorn. Quorn is sold in 16 countries around the world and it’s famous for being a high-protein and low-fat meat substitute. I was curious, if it’s not made from meat and it’s not made from vegetables, what is it then? I read the label and its main ingredient was ‘mycoprotein’. It definitely didn’t sound like something that grows on trees!

So what is ‘mycoprotein’?

I began researching and found out that initially Quorn referred to their main ingredients as a ‘mushroom protein’ which was eventually changed to ‘mycoprotein’ as it is a more accurate description. Mushroom protein sounds like protein that was extracted from mushrooms but this isn’t quite right. The truth is that mycoprotein is just a fungus. Yep, a fermented fungus that grows incredibly quickly and it’s fed with glucose and other waste products of other foods manufacturing, such as cereal. Here is the official definition for it from the mycoprotein.org website:

“Mycoprotein is made in fermenters similar to those found in a brewery. It’s made by adding oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and minerals to a fungus called Fusarium venenatum”.

Even they can’t make it sound nice! Fusarium venenatum is edible, but is seriously questioned due to the numerous reports for allergy reactions and digestive discomfort. If you don’t believe me, have a look at the CSPI site where you can read about people who suffered serious reactions to Quorn products. The CSPI says: “CSPI urges consumers to avoid Quorn and urges natural-foods retailers like Whole Foods not to sell this product that is dangerous to sensitive individuals.”

What else is on the ingredients list?

Quorn products don’t just contain fungus. The mycoprotein can’t be sold as food on its own so it needs a lot of extra ingredients to make it look like a finished product that imitates meat. Added colourings, artificial flavours, gluten, yeast, starch, acids, gums and many other! Surely all of these ingredients can’t be classified as healthy!?

The other thing I am very curious about is how on earth are these products made to taste like chicken and beef with “natural flavours from non-meat sources”? What kind of natural ingredient tastes like chicken besides chicken? I don’t want to sounds too judgmental because I know that the main reason people like Quorn is because it’s a convenient product. I know it will take more time for you to prepare a veggie burger than it will to buy and cook the Quorn sausages, but is it really something that should be considered healthy?

Is Quorn really a healthy meat substitute? Is Quorn healthy? What is Quorn?

The selling point

Not only it’s vegetarian, which people automatically assume is healthy, but it is also high in protein, low in fat and on top of that it can help you lower cholesterol! This fungus sounds like magic food! Many modern researches show that high-fat and low-carb diets, excluding trans fats, are much more successful in terms of weight loss than low-fat and low calorie diets. I talk a lot about the low-fat illusion and the processed food industry in general here:

What does healthy eating really mean?
Processed food and why is it the main cause of obesity?

Bottom line…

Red beans healthy high in protein meat substitute as oppose to QuornTruth is that mycoprotein is not something you would eat unless it undergoes serious processing and is combined with many other ingredients to create its texture and flavour. I don’t believe this is a healthy food, no matter what it says on the package. It’s a highly-processed, artificial product that is far from natural.

Yikes! No wonder quorn gives me terrible wind .

Sorry not been on for a bit I'm having a difficult/busy time at work. I cannot wait until this post-doc is over!

Having a couple of days off this week ahead of another difficult period coming up. I'm just going to forget about it for now.

adalind I like the look of the green pancakes

c4 I am so sorry that people have treated you so badly throughout your life. No one should have to live like that. Please keep posting here if you want there will always be someone around to listen/support. The same applies to everyone else, don't think "oh, I won't post because my problems aren't as bad as x's" if it's concerning you then we care about it.

My allergies revolve around dairy and wheat (all natural ingredients) and are skin related. The only way I can describe it as being covered in a combination of cradle cap and eczema. The only thing I can't digest is meat of any kind. I was doubled over in pain after every meal. As a meat eater I weighed 5.5stone and was really really ill.
I have not had any issues with Quorn. I am unsure why it is banned in certain countries. Why not ban peanuts or strawberries or other stuff that is harmful to certain individuals.

Given where meat comes from I can't really get too worked up about Quorn

Do you like tofu Oliver? I find it a bit bland by itself but if you squeeze the water out and fry it in quite a lot of olive oil with soya sauce and Tabasco it's nice enough

Having said that if I can't eat Quorn, soya, dairy wheat and don't like eggs and beans of any variety what apart from nuts can you eat as protein

Good morning campers,

I slept - I feel as if I could sleep all day as well. I'm trying very hard to be positive but it's hard, very very hard. I've eaten virtually nothing since some yogurt and berries on Friday morning, I was hoping to wake up hungry but no the thought of food just makes me feel yuk. I'm going to go for small snacks throughout the day in the hope that it stimulates my appetite. I've had a lovely start to the day by reading a bedtime story to DGD's in New Zealand, I always buy story books in two's so that I can send one to NZ and keep one here.

DH did speak to skid last night about how much I'm struggling with coming to terms with needing ventilation, recovering from surgery and depression. But didn't mention his behaviour last week, but says he will. This is the normal pattern, he says he will do it for weeks and never does and I give up asking.
Adalind you are absolutely right, he is totally spineless. He can put his hand on his heart and say with complete honesty that he's never had to tell his kids off - that doesn't mean they haven't been little shits at times and even big things like stealing, underage drinking and their behaviour to me go unaddressed because he's always "going to talk to them". It's no wonder they think he's wonderful. He is Mr Nice Guy, at home, at work and in our relationship unless I complain about skids. I will use my relapse into depression and suicidal thoughts as a lever to get him back into couples counselling.

Food plan:

B. Raspberries and blueberries with yogurt (tiny bowl)
S. Coffee, seeds and olives
L. Celery & cream cheese
S. Half an avocado
D. Omelette with mushrooms, cheese, shallots, courgette and Swiss chard fried in butter

Positives thoughts for today:

• I have the best support ever - thank you
• mental health crisis team will visit again twice
• present for DD will be arriving by recorded delivery
• I'm going to order a photo book full of garden pictures again for DD, both for her graduation
• think about clothes for graduation
• plenty of rest as I need two 2.5 hr sessions on the ventilator
• start putting together the July parcel for DGD's in New Zealand

They get a parcel once a month, mostly little things, hair bobbles, knickers, colouring books, craft items. They live in a very remote area, two hour drive to nearest supermarket, very little choice for clothes, trainers & toys. It absolutely blew their minds two years ago when we took them to Toys R us, Build a bear and most of all Claire's Accessories. There is so little choice for clothes/shoes that last year the whole school all 44 pupils from 5 - 14 had matching trainers in one of three colours.

Oliversmummy the secret with tofu is to marinade it before you cook it, my favourite is fresh ginger, five spice and either olive oil, tamari or lemon juice. Try smoked Tofu as well, it's yummy with bare naked noodles and stir fried veg. Avocado wedges, dipped in egg, rolled in sesame seeds or veggy cheese and fried in butter.

Timeihadanamechange your bunnies are so cute, I love guinea pigs too we haven't had any for years but I've always had bunnies. I can't remember if I've posted pics of my little bunnies who are wild rabbits that I rescued from their burrow in France after their mum was eaten by a farm cat. They were about two weeks old (raised on goats milk and manuka honey) cost a fortune to bring them home and will be 10 in a few weeks. DGC are planning a huge party for them.

I have only had tofu once and it was so successful I have not had it again for 35 years. As I said above I am the world s worse cook.
Lady once asked my dd how she kept her super slim figure. DD replied "my mothers cooking"

Mmmm. Continuing my reset with loadsa fat. Had a power bowl breakfast of courgette, broccoli, mushrooms, kale, asparagus sautéed in lemon and garlic butter, with fried crispy bacon mixed through and all topped with an egg. Def feeling much better. Really need to keep my eye on low-fat creep. I'm fine when I deliberately eat it, but if left to its own devices my unconscious mind def reverts to drizzles rather than douses of olive oil, and small knobs of butter rather than slices.

Ok so you need to try tofu again!
Buy firm tofu not silken because silken tofu is utterly gross. I think you can make a type of vegan scrambled egg from it but honestly I wouldn't bother.
You can buy cauldron tofu in big supermarkets. The marinaded tofu is already cooked and has a nice flavour, you can just chuck a handful in a stir fry or something. It's more expensive than the block though.
If you buy the block then take it out of the packet and drain. Place on a plate with another plate on top. Place 2 cans of food on top and leave for an hour. Pour away water.
Slice the tofu widthways and marinate in strong flavours like soya sauce, chilli, ginger. Then fry in olive oil and eat with buttered veg