New Year, New Start Week 2: This WoE works!

[prettybird]

Welcome to Week 2 - the one where many of us (especially the newbies) will see the biggest drops. For those that don't, the drops will come. We will have seen other benefits too: brighter eyes, smaller waist (with the reduction of dangerous visceral fat from around our organs) - and all without feeling hungry Week 2 is also when I find that my pschological urge to snack reduces.

Remember that you still need to adhere to the Rules. This is not a forgiving Way of Eating and if you cheat, you will set back the process of getting your body to adapt to fat burning. Only one more week of being ultra strict - it is only one more week If you're thinking of cheating, come on here and we will talk you down. It really helps if you are prepared and have low carb snacks with you, or drink some water when you think you are hungry.

Keep drinking the required water ( StuntNun has explained why this is important). Avoid nuts and seeds (unless you are veggie), all fruit (you can look forward to the odd treat of berries from next week) - and no alcohol or artificial sweetender for another week.

The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness is here to remind you to keep to the straight and narrow with the Rules and with resources to advise you. You can weigh-in if you choose to, but it is not compulsory. Over the weeks, your weight loss will start to average 1-2lb a week, sometimes more sometimes less .

The Week 1 Spillover thread is here.

’Riggens Thank you for your response. I posted it to see if anyone had any thoughts on what I was eating. Too much fat, not enough protein or carbs ? I’m puzzled as to why I’m not losing like most other people. I really have not cheated in any capacity. I don’t feel my portions are oversized. Not felt stuffed or anything but I have been satisfied.

I will carry on with the woe. I havnt maintained any other woe long term. I’m just hoping it will work for me if I persevere.

What does an appropriate days eating look like ?

I agree Shag - Twoo , please don't calorie count. The whole point of this WoE is to stop us being obsessed with food and to learn to listen to our bodies.

We are only one week in. Remember what StuntNun said on the last thread - while most of us when we start Boot Camp get big initial whooshes - which is just water - for some people that whoosh doesn't happen in the same way as the body senses the change in the way we are eating and temporarily holds onto the water in its glycogen stores because it's "worried" about what might happen

You've already experienced some NSVs - remember them

0.8lb down for me, which is good, I wasn't expecting a whoosh as I had one over New Year.

I've been feeling a bit down about the WOE over the weekend. It's not so hard during the week when I am doing my own thing apart from the evening meal with family, but have found it hard over the weekend when everyone else has been tucking into toasted sandwiches, chips etc. I am already tired of everything lacking crunch and tasting rich and greasy.

Twoo - your menu looks good. Make sure to keep up the veg (which you are doing) and fat and the results will come.

WhoKn0ws - would some raw veg help with your need for crunch? Keep your fat up with the cuts of meat and cream in your coffee, oil in your tea, mayonnaise dressing.

1lb for me 😫. Stuck to the plan so was hoping for more - fingers crossed it will happen next week. And slow and steady is more likely to stay off? Convincing myself more than anyone else...

Thanks for all of this prettybird x

I've updated spreadsheet for Twoo and GuyMartin.

Raindrops do you want me to input your 1lb loss as well?

Raw veg crunch just isn't the same as toast, crisps, crackers etc. I'm having one creamy coffee a day (I'm not a big coffee drinker), I don't think I could bear oil in my tea. I feel really greased out by all the mayo, fatty cuts of meat, butter that I cook my morning omelette in though.

I do plan to stick with it though, I remember hitting these feelings a couple of weeks into the last BC and still managing to carry on, but I didn't get to the point of truly enjoying it, despite the weigh loss.

5.2 lbs down. Jings!

I think fathead pizza base can also be rolled out to even thinner and cooked to crunchy as an alternative to crackers.

I think there are some other cracker recipes in the Boot Camp recipe thread - maybe for a vehicle for pate and cheese to up your fat.

They tend not to be compatible with the first 2 weeks (as they contain nuts and seeds) - but you are a long term Boot Camper.

Logged weight on the SoF. No change this week which means just 2lb down since I started properly on 1st Jan.

BUT I do feel better and remember from past bootcamps that I seem to hold on to my weight until I have stuck to it for a few weeks.

I did go out for dinner at a friend's on Saturday and did drink wine although managed to stay reasonably lowcarb food-wise (I did have 13 days without booze as I started proper bootcamp on 1st Jan and stuck to the rules religiously until Saturday lunchtime, so 13 days of goodness and one night of slight twattery), so I am putting my stagnant weight this morning down to Saturday night's booze.

Anyway, I am not letting the scales derail me and am still committed to it all:

As I started on the 1st Jan, I am introducing some bootcamp light things (berries and flaxseed with breakfast) from this week, but am holding off for another week before introducing 'proper' nuts as I want to get the whoosh going as soon as I can! No more drinks planned for a while either.

B - greek yog with berries and flax
L - will be salad from work canteen, probably tuna and egg mayo
D - having salmon (a fillet, pan fried with oil and butter) and asparagus salad with poached egg and mayo

@wh0KnowsWhereTheT1meG0es have you tried celeriac crisps? Thinly sliced - coat in oil - bung in oven- get some of them charred at the edges. Not a straight sub for toast etc but pretty darn good. I feel your pain. I’ve eaten inordinate amounts of celery last week to get some crunch - not the same though. Oh well

I do feel better too. I'm very short so look fat easily. I was almost a size 20 and am now happily a 16. I'm also using a hole of my belt I have never used before.
It was DH's 40th last week and managed to make good choices when out, as well as resisting everyone else's Domino's last night!

Kale crisps too! just don't over cook them

5lbs off for me :)

Twoo if anything, maybe more veg? So spinach and mushroom omelette in the morning, or an avocado tongonwith your eggs and cheese?

Not sure what is in the feta salad--is that a traditional Greek salad?

Maybe some buttered leeks and courgettes to go with the cauliflower cheese evening meal?

It sounds like you're frustrated and I'm sorry to hear it. You're really enthusiastic about this WoE and I get the impression you're enjoying the food.

Please don't compare yourself to others in the group. First of all, it's not everyone having these so-called fabulous losses, and second--

Comparison is the thief of joy!

Play with your menus if you like, it's not unusual for us to tweak things to see what works best. We all want to get to goal weight yesterday so of course you're trying to figure out how to maximise your loss.

I guess all I'm really saying is chin up. You're doing great. You stuck to plannot everyone has done thatand that's a real victory. It's only the first week!

Congratulations Appaloosa

Would you critique my cholesterol please @StuntNun?
The nurse said it's too high but I though it was the ratio that matters?

Serum cholesterol 6.8 mmol/L
Serum HDL 2.1
Serum cholesterol/HDL ratio 3
Serum non HDL cholesterol 4.7

may be a bit late now (can't keep up with thread), but Twoo, that looks like a lot of cheese, which can really muck things up if you're sensitive [bitter]. Could be worth cutting it out just for 5 or 6 days and seeing if anything changes?

I'm 2lb down this week, but started a week early so 7lb in total. Suspect it would have been more if not for the unexpected cheese-swelling-inflammatory-bloat&spots, which is calming down today. Also, did a lot of hard manual work yesterday, which google tells me also prompts an inflammatory healing response including holding onto water - am definitely feeling squishy and wobbly.

NSV/skin: the red, creased triangle at the base of my throat is now the same creamy colour as the rest of my skin, and barely creased at all when I wake in the morning. Dark circles under my eyes dramatically reduced. Grubby smudges on my face turn out to be shadows from emerging cheekbones! Jawline looking much better.

NSV/measurements: not shifted much, but 1/2 inch off both waist and bust.

Challenge: standing on scales and wondering WHY I'M NOT SLIM YET, despite losing half a stone in a fortnight. Need a slap round the head.

Some fab loses this week, every little bit counts!

Only a small loss for me this week but the trend is downwards.

I’m going dairy free again in a hope to stop my cream habit! I’m hoping for a bigger loss next week but my period is due just before then so who knows what will actually happen- just need to KOKO

Good morning, very chuffed, 6lbs off for me

I didn't cheat once but did have a lot of cream and butter.

Twoo as I mentioned, I am tracking* and my macros consistently look like yours but we are all different. I've done lots of different diets before and I can say that where I have done SW etc and calorie counted, the calories have been similar to my daily intake in the last week and (a) I have not lost much and (b) I've been hungry and miserable and cheated. All this cals in vs cals out is nonsense, IMO, for me at least it really depends on the type of cals.

*not calorie counting - I put it all in at the end of the day and do not adjust what I'm eating on the basis of the calories

Wh0Knows I feel a bit frustrated with having everything cooked as well vs. fresh. I think I might try to do sautéed ground pork or chicken in lettuce cups this week to integrate crunch back into my eating. I hear you.

Jings - don't be disappointed if your weight loss only ends up averaging 1lb/week. That is still 10lb over Boot Camp. Keep going and that's 52lb in a year! grin I've given myself a target of 5lb/month over the next 4 months to get to a particular weight by my 20th wedding anniversary on 16 May. If I can achieve more, I'll be delighted but I'm not going to get hung up about it.

I will be very happy with 1 or 2 pounds a week. My goal is to be back in the 150s range by the end of bootcamp. That'll be nice.

@prettybird, is it possible to start a new recipe thread? That one is almost full up with posts and I'd like to contribute a few recipes so they don't get lost in fast moving weekly threads. There are also a lot others' recipes that I see getting lost as well that would be great if broken out separately. Would that be okay?

Thanks for the new thread Prettybird. Well done everyone on the losses this week. I'm down 2.4lb but I don't think that all "counts" as I had a 36-hour fast courtesy of a tummy bug.

Twoo calorie counting is often counter-productive and I wouldn't recommend it at this point. Also that doesn't look like a whole lot of food in your meal plan for today, I don't think you need to limit it further. There is a fair bit of dairy in there, I suggest limiting yourself to two portions a day if you're worried about dairy being an issue.

Kleptronic did you get a triglycerides result as well? You want that to be 1.7 mmol/l or lower and if it's low then that's the best sign. Your LDL level is higher than ideal, how long have you been eating low carb? Your total cholesterol is also higher than ideal but that's in part because your HDL (the "good" cholesterol" is really high). I'm not a medical expert (I just used to work for a company that manufactures cholesterol tests) but my recommendation would be to have your lipid profile tested again in 3 or 6 months. If you're worried about the LDL then emphasis monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado oil, nut oils) over saturated fats. Eating oily fish twice a week has proven health benefits too.

Challenge: standing on scales and wondering WHY I'M NOT SLIM YET, despite losing half a stone in a fortnight. Need a slap round the head.

I've been tracking cals etc recently just to see what I eat the last few days are very similar each day with ~2000 cals per day 60% fat, 30% protein and 10% carbs.