Week 6 - Low Carb Bootcamp - we start the second half

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here's the spreadsheet of fabulousness for you all

Many thanks to wombattoo and SayrraT for keeping the threads going while I was away.

Lots of people talking about how to deal with future events, especially Christmas, and this is something that's really important to think about. This is a tough time of year for low carbing. But it's also a tough time of year if you can't squeeze into your partywear - so you need to decide which is more important. Those roast potatoes or looking good

Good luck everyone

Time that's brilliant! Well done.

Hello to everyone aiming for the 9st 7 club, you'll be there in no time!

So my 24hr fast went well, had a coffee mid-morning and didn't feel hungry at all. Lunch not such a success, picked something up from Eat, a turkey hot pot with mash & red cabbage, asked for just a spoonful of mash thinking I would try introducing a small amount of carbs, well I felt very full & bloated after eating it, followed by diarrhoea. It did have a small amount of carrots & parsnips and could have been thickened with flour, so may be a lot carbier than I thought. Not quite so keen to introduce carbs now!

Hypothetically... if one was going out for cocktails somewhere posh this weekend and didn’t want to be rude or drink sparklile water -but wanted to get shitfaced and have a lovely time- what would be the best low carb cocktails to drink?

data fabulous weight loss. Well done.
There have been so many victories on the threads. It's great to read.

Mimosa well done on resisting. It really is worth it.

DrDiva I read your post and could hear a pirate voice in my head.
Ye Aaarg

sing - hypothetically, I would do for something gin/vodka based and topped up with soda. Just a little something to add colour

*go

SoMuch Spanish chicken thigh bake: I just kind of make it up as I go along out of things we have already.

For 4 of us:
4 chicken thighs (2 for DH, 1 for me and 1 for the DDs to share the meat)
shallots, chopped lengthways, however many you like
4 whole garlic cloves
2 beef tomatoes - halved or quartered (you can leave this out if you're strict BC or use chopped tomatoes instead)
chorizo, chopped - I'm using whatever's left, I don't measure
peppers, in strips (again you can leave this out if you're strict BC)

bung on oven tray, douse in oil, sprinkle with mixed herbs and paprika
bake in oven until the chicken is done

I know, it's very wishy washy, but I make up recipes as I go along and often don't measure etc.

Sing g&ts or clear spirits - vodka & soda etc . Prosecco & champagne are also lowish carb.

Thanks, hippa, that looks like my sort of recipe! I also do a lot of recipes where you just bung stuff in. I do use tomatoes and peppers (especially green, which are lower in carbs), but in moderation.

Oh, meant to post about the spa day. There was actually plenty of LC food to have, I was pleasantly surprised! I had sumac chicken wings, which came with celery and carrot sticks and chunky spicy salsa. I dipped the veg into mayo (full fat, excellent.) Me and my DM shared a side of roasted squash, chorizo and parmesan, which was absolutely bloody amazing. Thennnnnnnn they only had meringues with berries and clotted cream for afters. I offloaded the meringues onto my DM and just ate the berries and cream. I was so chuffed!

Ello just popping in to log my food

B: leftover fat head pizza (yum)
No lunch. I tend to skip it these days
D: Chicken ceasar salad. Was gorgeous! (Oven baked chicken w/ baby lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onion, green pepper, grated cheese, topped w/ ceasar salad dressing and sea salt + pepper) I have an avocado which i forgot about so tomorrow I'll do it again w/ that and maybe ham too.

Veg may not have been very low carb but I've been testing the carby-veg waters, and so far I've not gained weight from them. I'm not looking to lose a lot more weight so I think it's okay

Well blood doning was a success on the carb front but a fail on the actual donation. I filled myself up on cheese, chicken and water, turned up and checked in and there were at least 20 people ahead of me. I had to give up after waiting an hour or I would have been late for something else, went to rebook and couldn't get an appt till Feb, annoying.

Did a 24 hour fast before eating yesterday evening. Then had chicken and veg stir fry

Today
Lunch egg mayo in a lettuce wrap. H m soup.

Mid afternoon. An almond milk (unsweetened this time) gingerbread tea with a splash of cream. It was good.

Dinner. Baked salmon, courgettes in a tomato sauce. Sprouts.

Still keeping up the water.

Today’s food
B - scrambled eggs and salmon
L - Brussels and cauliflower microwaved with butter
D - deli meat, cheese, chicken breast

Just finishing my water.

Realised something today that has no doubt contributed to my weight gain over the years and I no longer do with this woe. Making dd a tuna sweet corn wrap and it occurred to me that when I’ve made it in the past I’d eat a few spoonfuls of the corn. Or the end of the baguette. Or the last bit of mashed potato in the pan. The list is endless. How much extra food must that amount to?? I was completely kidding myself about what and how much I was eating.

Does/did anyone else do this?

Definitely @Rshard, and the worst I do now on this woe is lick the spoon after I’ve put yogurt in the pot for School lunch, and that’s ff total so allowed

Well done Starsky. It’s all gone a bit wrong here. I’m full of cold and someone sent me a bar of milk chocolate in the post. Tomorrow I’m going to do my best to get back on it and there’s no more chocolate in the house. My dark chocolate habit was already getting out of hand.

B Creamy coffee and almonds (prob a few too many)
L Aubergine masala
D Beef and broccoli masala
S three pigs in blankets (at a friend's house - rejected by her children, but v delicious)

Reasonable day so far. I have managed to avoid The Wednesday work drinks so not too bad.

B- fasting
L- pumpkin and paneer curry with cauliflower rice.
S- leftover fried chicken
D-fathead pizza.

Not enough fat in the curry I think which I why o cracked into the chicken but oh well.

Also did a really solid yoga class at lunch time. I have never been so sweaty without really moving before!

Oh and Sing hypothetical you could have a mojito with no sugar (quite tart though!) a Long Island ice tea with Diet Coke or an aperol spritz.

Or just stick with prosecco or gin and slim.

Glad it’s not just me veryflummoxed!

Evening all! Had a gym induction today - went well and me being me hopped on the scales once I'd finished my workout and was 13st exactly. Of course it went back up after I had some water but it was very encouraging. What was surprising is that I did the workout at the end of my fast, (I only had a small pack of pork scratchings) and I was expecting to feel all shaky and lacking in energy to do anything, but it was the opposite. Hopefully some of my fat was burnt today!

B. Fast
S. Pork Scratchings (pre gym)
S. Creamy Coffee (post gym)
D. Pork steak. mushrooms, pancetta and leeks with blue cheese and cream sauce.

Omg, I was introduced to aperol spritz a few weeks back are they ok for low-carbing?

(pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes)

@Rshard yes I definitely used to do that! I wasn't as aware of what I was eating back then, it was all mindless

Evening everyone. I have been so busy the last couple of days I just had to catch up with 6 pages! So thank you to all of you who offered support and advice. I haven’t had any chocolate yet and have stopped the cheese for dessert. Last night at book club I did drink sparkling water only and ignored the huge bowl of popcorn the landlord gave us - we’ll,sort from making silly sculptures out of it 😊

Whoops posted too early. Huge congrats to starsky and I was moved to tears by ilove’s post thank you.

I am feeling much better eating this way. No bloating, better sleep, better self-regulation.

I also started a regular mindfulness practice a week before I joined on here and so I have ‘sat’ every day for the last 5 weeks too. Between 5 and 15 minutes but mostly 10-15. I am convinced it is also helping be be calmer and more measured in facing day to day stresses and is helping to keep me sticking to this woe. I keep a diary of what I experience - just a few lines - and experiment with different practices to keep it interesting.

Must now go and do it. Have left it v late today!