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.

Well, I didn’t quite make my goal of 2.5 stone, but:

May 20th 2017, I went to Fort William for the day weighing 11st 1, size 14, unable to run for more than about 10 seconds. Today I’m 8st 9.7; size 8, running at least 30 mins twice a week (though BIWI, you don’t get all the credit for that, sorry!).

It might not be the biggest loss but I’m thrilled! Will be interesting to see what I am by my BC anniversary!

Thank you, BIWI, and everyone’s else on here. I really wouldn’t have got this far without you all!

Hallo! Still here but totally stalled as drinking too much wine.

Am absolutely up for dry February though I have two dates that I am going to permit myself to break it for

That’s absolutely fabulous progress time

Do birthdays qualify as an exemption in dry February as i fancy doing it but also have a birthday and the restaurant dh has booked has an offer for a free carafe

alma rshard How proud will you be of yourselves if you do the whole month compared to allowing a transgression because of ? Will you not have proved to yourself how strong and determined you are because you also managed to forgoe the alcohol on those occasions? Won't the sense of achievement at the end of the month mean so much more to you? How big is the risk of allowing cheat days in advance going to derail other days/the whole month too?

I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you can totally do this! And we all have your backs.

yolo, that’s why I hadn’t previously mentioned doing it, I’ve never had much willpower but following this woe has actually shown that I have. And I would be disappointed to not complete the full month but would also like to enjoy a glass of wine on my birthday so I will give up alcohol for lent which conveniently starts a few days after my birthday

Morning everyone.
Popping in to report such an exciting NSV - one of my old coats, which I've had since before university and randomly found at my father's last year now does up across the hips! It's roughly 20 years old but if I may say so, still looks rather nice.

I weighed myself today as I'm staying at my DP's and he has the digital scales, and I'm 11stone. Which means I've lost 12lbs since the 3rd of Jan!

Woo hoo!! 😀😀😀

I'm not doing Dryuanary as I'm managing to lose weight with the occasional drink, but good luck to all of you that are.

KOKO everyone, this WOE does work!

I wanted to share this recipe with you as its bloody delicious! My DP, bless him, found it for me and I was a bit dubious as it contains soya flour. Anyway we couldn't find soya flour, so made it with almond flour. It's blueberry scones, but since the 'dough' was too wet to be made into scones, we just baked it as a cake and it's so yummy...😀

I use Splenda as my sugar substitute, it's fine for baking IME. So, if you fancy a sweet treat, try it!

www.atkins.com/recipes/blueberry-scones/1594

Hi all. It's been hard this week and I'm only one lb down from start weight but interestingly I think I've dropped about an inch in a week. Instead of being on the 3rd belt loop (of 5, and sometimes going to the second) I'm now on the last one! So I must be less bloated for not eating carbs so I'm going to keep on going despite being disappointed that the scales aren't really showing any difference.

Well, the food at the course was all carbs! So yet again it's day 1

rshard I too consider myself as having no willpower. After all that is how I've been fat all my life, right? And I've discovered on this WOE that I can in fact say no to things. But and it's a big but (pun intended) I also know that if I allow myself one cheat, then the next cheat is so much closer and more likely. The one glass leads to another etc though in my case it might be chocolate or nuts or anything sweet really. So I can identify myself as an Abstainer rather than a Moderator. Because that's when my willpower is really put to the test and often fails me. You may be different!

As a general point, I find it easier to decide to stick to the rules as the ONLY decision I need to make ( and have made). Otherwise I am making a new decision each time I'm faced with something I want to eat or drink that is carby or will derail me. And a fresh decision every time I have that in front of me is exhausting and open to going the wrong way. I'm much happier feeling good about saying no than I am eating and enjoying the food/drink and hating myself/seeing gains on the scales/bloating etc. It feeds the poor self image I hold and which I'm working hard to leave behind me. I've learned on BC that my relationship with food is nothing to do with the food! I'm saying all this in case it helps someone else identify with similar issues. The first BC I did was a massive personal journey for me and I want everyone here to benefit from changing their lives for the better in the long term, if like me they have had a long history of obesity and have never found a way out of it before.

I'm feeling a bit reflective today, obviously!

Have a great day everyone. First day of February and first day of the rest of your life.

I'll stop now.

Wise words yolo, like you I’m an abstainer.

It is the start of a new month, I’ve sat this morning and written a new habit tracker in my bullet journal - water, log my food on this thread and 10k steps. I’m going to add running once my hand is a bit better - it doesn’t like being moved much at the moment.

Got up at 6 but didn't eat breakfast until 10.45. After a busy morning with kids and horses i had a big plate of bacon, sprouts with butter and cheese. So good. Probably won't eat again until 3ish then something light at 7.

I did a mid-week weigh in today as it's the first of the month and was pleased to see that I have lost the 2lbs of period bloat and a further pound taking me down to 10st5. For most of 2016, I was around 10st4, got very carried away that Christmas, meant to lose that weight last January and, despite being "good" all year, never managed to get below 10st6 and was generally around 10st8 so am delighted that things are finally going downwards. I did switch the scales onto lbs to see if I could claim a 10st4 reading but it was exactly 145lbs. I will stick to lbs now until I get to 140.
Despite being pleased by my loss- and being on the cusp of a healthy BMI - I did just buy a work dress in Phase Eight and a casual jumper in White Stuff and both were a size 14 and had this moment of asking myself why I am this size. Whilst I can blame a little bit of it on PCOS, there are plenty of skinny PCOS people out there so, really, all it comes down to is my poor decision making and laziness. Like a previous poster, I like the rules although hadn't realised until you explained it so well that it's because it takes the decision away from me. Turning up at an event on Saturday & saying I wasn't drinking involved one, short statement. There was none of the to'ing & fro'ing of "just a little top up" etc. Here's to dry and coke free Feb!

Thanks for explanation Athelatane I can sleep better now.

Thanks to all who enquiried about my daughter and sorry to keep anyone hanging (yep, I’m sure you’re all refreshing hourly for an update ) —she’s absolutely fine.

Shaken a bit, with a bruised bottom, but she’s a gutsy thing (many older brothers) and got on for two more jumps and a good old canter before lesson ended.

I love watching her ride, she’s so happy and works so hard, but this is a new experience for me and all I can see is Christopher Reeve!

Vodka was very welcome but had no problem staying on plan last night.

Out tonight (pub quiz) where my past nemesis has been the pub nachos. Hence last night’s taco salad (without tortillas, obviously). I have enough leftover to eat before hand tonight to help stave off Mexican cravings and I deliberately cooked it the day before so I couldn’t self-sabotage by being “too busy” to make it tonight.

#cleverbitch

I have just had the nicest warm lunch of buttery fried courgette and cheesy scrambled egg. Just the ticket after walking a mile at toddler pace in the bitter wind.

I'm sure I read somewhere that cleaning up your diet actually brings some sensitivities to the fore, though I don't know how you'd go about testing that, other than dropping them for a few days.

Athelstane when you're consuming an allergen regularly then you build up a tolerance to it (assuming it's a food intolerance rather than an IgE-mediated allergy that produces an extreme reaction.) Cutting out the allergen then results in you having a bigger reaction to it than before. It's why people don't realise they have an intolerance until they cut that food out. Previously they were coping with some mild effects such as bloating or tummy ache but when they cut out the food and are subsequently re-exposed the reaction is much more obvious. The tolerance effect is how immunotherapy works. You can take a tablet containing a small amount of grass pollen for a long period and it will reduce your hayfever symptoms.

Thank you as always for your clear explanations, StuntNun. Since I have started this woe I find it difficult to digest dairy.

yolo, that was exactly my decision - to follow the rules, no exceptions, no deviations. One decision only. And for me, that's made it so much easier. Otherwise I'd constantly be tweaking, having nights off for special occasions, eating something so I don't offend somebody. Whereas now it's either a green light or a red light.

Time’. You’ve done fantastic ! You’ve reached the goal I’m aiming for. I find that most inspiring. Thank you for sharing.

yolo, that's just what I've decided too. I've always known I was an "all or nothing" person and for me, it's so much easier to just cut something out than try to moderate it. Cigarettes, alcohol, chocolate....all conquered that way. I used to think of myself as having no self-control, but actually, when I think about it, I do. Just no sense of moderation. So understanding - and accepting - that I'm an Abstainer makes life so much simpler.

I'm the same Schrodinger. I spent years suffering with IBS, joint pains, and nasal congestion... all gone since I cut out wheat and cut down on dairy. Now I'm okay with cheese but yogurt and cream are a bit iffy. I usually have almond milk in tea and coffee but I'm fine with the occasional tea with milk if I'm at someone's house.

Not tried this yet but thought it looked interesting

Website has been set up by my wee cousin. Most of it is aimed at low calorie but some of it looks adaptable to the HFLC WoE She is a keen body builder/fitness aficionado so burns up everything she eats!

www.pullupsandpeanutbutter.co.za/2018/01/26/protein-ice-cream-with-a-twist/ It doesn't make it clear but I think I would precook the cauliflower.

Glad she's unfazed, Shag.

Beautiful results, Time - I'm aiming for around the weight you are now, since that was my normal 5 years or so ago. Really heartened to hear your experience.

YoLo and Cherries - I've ended up an abstainer as well. I just can't cope with the endless can I/should I/will I/perhaps I ought not/would it matter if I did... it's exhausting. A simple yes/no makes me feel much less fretful.

Hooray for Head seeing some movement!

Thanks, StuntNun, that makes perfect sense. Also explains why eggs are suddenly giving me grief. (Please tell me there's no known allergens in beef or greens, or I'm going to be left with nothing but butter!)

So, after yesterday's whingefest, I did indeed start dwelling on the positives, and one outcome of that is that I decided I really need to get moving a bit more. Due to personal circumstances and weather I have spent far more time inside than usual this January, just sitting on my arse, and I'm sure that's contributing to my muttering. Have been for a lovely blowy jeffing freezing icy windnumbed face walk up the hill this morning, and started up with some callanetics again last night. If I'm not going to lose any more weight/inches again for a bit, I can at least pull them in a bit tighter

Thanks for the recipe BlackMozart