Week 4 – Is this the new normal? Because it feels great!

[BerylStreep]

Welcome to the week 4 thread of Bootcamp. I enjoyed the power of wielding BIWI’s big stick last week so much that I am staying on for another week. Normal service will be returning next week.

So week three was great – as well as lots of impressive scale victories, there were loads of NSVs – bras moved to the next hook, colleagues commenting favourably, feeling as if there is more energy, along with err, some less orthodox NSVs such as smaller earlobes and re-emerging pubes.

The thing that has really struck me is the number of posters who have lost significant weight over the last year, and are sticking with it and still seeing progress. That’s a fantastic inspiration to us all, and really shows how this WOE works long-term.

There are a number of posters who have committed to doing dry February (along with a few who are kicking a diet coke habit). This starts on Thursday, but it goes without saying that this is not an excuse to put as much away as possible before that! note to self

Thanks to BIWI who has been working hard on creating the Bootcamp recipe threads. There are loads of great ideas there to avoid menu boredom.

So KOKO, and good luck for the weigh in, but also remember the scales are only one indicator of progress. Here is the link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness.

I'm not playing fast and loose , and I think that's why I'm grumpy - I can't point to something I ate or drank and blame myself. I totally accept the theory-of-stall, but have trouble believing it right now, because until the scale does actually start moving again I have no way of telling if this is a stall, or if I've just stopped full stop. It's the inability to tell which state it is that's bothering me: I think I shall call this uncertainty 'Schroedinger's Blubber'.

Yolo, if you're referring to me saying, 'I've been eating perfectly apart from...', my wine lapse was 2 and a half WEEKS ago, not a couple of days ago. I included it for full disclosure.

I don't expect there to be a whoosh every week, but my concern is that I'm doing something incorrectly because I now seem to be gaining not losing or even stalling (which would be preferable).

I think I shall call this uncertainty 'Schroedinger's Blubber'

Hah! look at us with our injured virtue, Leapin

Jings sorry to hear about your DH. I hope he recovers quickly .

Pretty what awesome menu suggestions you posted. Good ideas!

Oh no that’s a bit of a bind ... to the poster who's broken a tooth (I forgot their name )

Yesterday’s menu:-

B - none as not hungry.

L - Home made mushroom and chicken soup. Parmesan sprinkles.

D - Haddock smoked. Kale & sprouts stirred fried in butter.

1 Coffee with cream. Not enough water.

Today’s possible menu:-

B - none

L - left over haddock smoked & 2 boiled eggs. Salad leaves.

D - steak, pepper sauce, Kale.

My treat is a coffee with cream and will try to chug enough water today.

I had a four week stall once, gaining and losing the same 2 lbs. Eventually things got moving again. I'm really bad at drinking water, only manage 2l a day. When I force myself to drink 3l it does make a difference. I drink wine at the weekend but apart from that don't usually cheat.

Athel’ I feel your pain. I had a couple of weeks staying the same apart from the same lb going on and off. It’s disheartening and dispiriting. Now my scales ARE moving. I rounded my weight down on Monday. Weighed yesterday to find I’ve lost even more and another bit today. Not posting as I only post weight on Monday’s. But mine is definatly moving down. Keep KoKo La Vida. It will happen!

four weeks! Well, I can't sulk for another two weeks, so I'll just have to snap out of it and think about something else.

Twoo, thank you for holding out the hope

Athel lol at injured virtue!

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. I’m just waking up because I forgot to turn my alarms on before I crashed last night.

OH is doing fine, his blood pressure is down, and he’s waiting for them to do the barrage of tests. I have a client call in a bit then I think I'll go out to restock the fridge with Fage yoghurt, avocados and other things (I think) we can both eat. He’ll be on anti-coagulants for the next 3–6 months and they still have to tell us what he’s allowed to eat during that time.

I’m leaving on a business trip on Friday so I'll have to stock up the house with food and do loads of laundry before I leave so he doesn’t have to over exert himself. Before going to the hospital, he was running out of breath from 6 min of walking on an incline around town, etc.

Anyway, sorry. As for food today, is it okay to have some hummus? I’m going to cook some lamb after my call and have that with leftover mezze vegetables and some hummus for my breakfast. ‘Tis good?

Not hummus, jings.

Taramasalata better but tzaziki is best option. MFP has hummus at 14g, taramasalata at 8g and tzaziki at 2g.

Can’t spell that word.

Ah tzatziki. That’s better.

If I were to be totally honest, I could also list out the NSVs I think I see this week, but I'm in too much of a sulk.

Athelstane I’m sorry about your grumpiness but it is most amusing.

Now might be a good time to remind everyone about the notorious Weeks 3 and 4. We’ve been warned about it but experiencing it is certainly frustrating.

Seriously, just keep on eating the right foods and sticking to plan like you normally do, good things will happen.

Glad to hear your oh is feeling better jings

Ouch for the broken tooth scabbersley

I’m going to have a one handed go at a courgette gratin today. My recipe has 1tsp plain flour, would coconut flour or ground almonds be the better replacement?

Sounds good RShard, I think either flour would give a good texture but I would pick Almond for the more savoury flavour.
I like to use coconut flour in more 'dessert' type dishes or asian style dishes where the coconut flavour fits in a bit better

I'm back into the groove today!
I love running, and my speed always takes a big hit when I start low-carbing. Since the New year I have been really sluggish and feeling like I've hit the wall much quicker than normal when out running.
Well last night I totally smashed my 5k lifetime PB while out with a group of friends! 29:34 which I'm super happy with!
I felt noticeably lighter on my feet, it was less effort to drag myself round the course!

20lbs lost in total since September :) So happy!

Thanks gail, I’ll go with the almonds

And well done on your pb! Going under 30 is awesome isn’t it! When I did it at parkrun I was so happy.

Have been hopeless at catching up with the thread but have been koko and weighing in. So sorry to hear about your DH Jings, wishing him a speedy recovery.
Last week was a disappointing half pound down and have been wobbling up and down since then. Off on a weekend cruise today to celebrate a friend's big birthday, will stay on BCL with plenty of booze and hope for the best. I've packed my trainers, so hoping to burn off a bit .
Also the forecast is horrendous so I may throw up everything anyway!

STALLS ARE A NORMAL PART OF WEIGHT LOSS. Sorry for 'shouting' but it's important to understand that even if you rigidly follow the Bootcamp rules you will still experience stalls from time to time. A true stall is when your weight doesn't drop for three or more weeks and they can last even longer. We measure weight as a way of keeping score but weight loss is a poor proxy for fat loss. If you genuinely believe you are in a stall then make first sure you're following the Bootcamp (or Bootcamp Light) rules. Make sure you haven't let the carbs creep up. Then evaluate your food:

1. If your body is physically smaller then it needs fewer calories. Review your portion size. I recommend serving a smaller amount of food than you're used to then waiting 15 minutes after eating. If you're still hungry then eat more, if not then your portion sizes weren't quite right. Another thing you could try is intermittent fasting, to benefit from a shorter eating window.

1. Are you eating enough food? Less isn't always more and we have had people increase food intake and start losing weight again. My DH is a perfect example of this: he has a small breakfast, no lunch, and a normal dinner but he isn't losing any weight.

1. Are you snacking a lot or eating dairy several times a day? This can get your insulin levels yo-yo-ing up and down leading to increased hungry. If you need to snack between meals then maybe you need to eat more at each meal.

1. Are you engaging in non-hunger eating, i.e. boredom or comfort eating? If so, try and find an alternative, non-food way to occupy/comfort yourself. I have a box of Pukka chocolate mint teabags for those moments. They're expensive so it feels like a treat, and the flavour is satisfying so I don't need to reach for the chocolate.

1. The absolute best thing you can do is post your meals here. Some of us have been doing this for years and we can easily spot potential issues. There are also various stall-breakers that people can try, such as carb refeeds, egg fast, fat fast, etc. We don't tend to recommend these on Bootcamp but they are an option if you think you're at the point of quitting the way of eating.

Lots of Mumsnetters are devoting time to these threads because we want to help you. So, anyone who's feeling down because their weight isn't dropping, please post here to ask for help.

B: half a protein roll, two poached eggs, delouis mayo
L: shredded cabbage with pork mince stir fry
D: tuna/avocado/lettuce with mayo and olive oil

Coffee with almond milk and making a concerted effort to drink 3l of water.

Well done on your PB, Gail I'm sure you're delighted with yourself.

Rshard if it's only a teaspoon of flour for several portions I would just stick with the plain flour. Otherwise I would go for coconut flour because it is better than ground almonds for sucking up liquid.

Sorry to hear about your OH Jings. Hummus isn't ideal for Bootcamp but it's probably okay in small quantities in a pinch.

I always enjoy a good sulk Athelstane. If you have been perfect with your food then you will have lost fat, it's just those bastarding scales that are messing you about. I would punish them by taking their batteries out.

LeapinLizards I reckon dairy might be a problem for you, and possibly too little fat. Do you eat eggs? If so I would try limiting yourself to dairy twice a day and adding in either eggs mashed in a cup with butter or scrambled eggs.

Feekery Greggs do salads but you'll have to leave the cous cous or potato salad.

Your poor tooth Scabbers! This has happened several times before, maybe we should be warning people of the dangers of pork scratchings BIWI?

I think they even have a warning on the packet tbf. It's too late now looks mournful

Glad your DH is doing better Jings* - what a worry, but good that he's being sorted out. Hope his recovery continues well.

After a few weeks of bouncing round the same 2lbs, I'm cautiously optimistic that the scales have - finally! - started moving in the right direction, with another pound down today. Now in territory I haven't seen for, oh, at least five years, and just one tantalising pound off the three stones mark. Just to warn you, I am going to make A Big Deal of this when it happens.

Thanks StuntNun. I'll do as you suggest and cut back on dairy some more - basically reducing the cream.

Cream is very fatty - 50% of it is fat, I see from the pot - so i'd have thought I'd be having plenty fat. But maybe that is being offset by the fact it's dairy. Sigh.

I do eat eggs so I'll up my intake of them and also up the water by another 500mls. Someone up thread said that this helped them and it can't do any harm to try it.

Jings, your poor husband, that much have been very frightening.

Gail, well done! Have slogged my way through red January, but I'm still so slowwwww.

Re stalling, I think it's really important to remember that weight didn't go on in a linear fashion, and won't come off that way either. Even when I was very fat, I'd have days when I was randomly lighter or heavier than my usual weight, with no apparent reason, and it's the same now.