Week 5 - Low Carb Bootcamp - The Big Stick is Back!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Many thanks to @prettybird and @BerylStreep for running this Bootcamp so well, so far. It's been a bit weird watching from the sidelines

However, I'm back. Back in the UK, back at work and back on the wagon.

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for this week

I've noticed that there's quite a bit of 'slippage' going on over the last week or so. I know that we're able to move on to Bootcamp Light now, but be very, very careful that this doesn't lead to too many carbs. And remember to keep the water and the fat up.

Good luck this week

I’m feeling a little down. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up a couple of pounds, which means I have now only lost two pounds since I started. Not great! However, I’ve been feeling really bloated and I think I’m a bit - ahem - constipated, so I’m hoping that’s to blame. I’m drinking loads of water and my food is on track. I’ve also cut right back on cheese. Today I made some flaxseed bread in the hope that it will clear me out and get things moving again.

I think we've been sold a big fat lie about fat being bad for you. Our bodies are designed to eat fat, protein, vegetables, nuts, fruit etc. What it's NOT designed for is eating heavily processed, fast acting carbs and sugars. They wreak havoc with our bodies' natural functions and make us ill and fat!

OK my food has taken a turn so I'm just writing it here to keep me on track.
B: sauerkraut and corned beef and cheese! Bear in mind I eat breakfast at 8.30 having been up at 6 and outside doing horses for at least an hour, so hungry!
L: three egg cheese omelette
S: tea with milk. Greek yogurt and cinnamon.
D: probably just a glass of wine tbh

2l of water. Zilch green veg. Meh.

Stunt good tip about GTTs!
Always yes we have. Gary Taubes does a good synopsis of why and how this happened in why we get fat, and what to do about it.

Yes I can't get my head around the fat bussiness I feel well unhealthy atm with the meals I'm eating..I keep thinking I'm doing it wrong.I'm having a mushroom Chorizo cheese omlette tonight fried in oil ...sounds terrible !

Right, first day today, please let me know if I'm doing this wrong!

B: Avocardo and full fat greek yoghurt.
L: 2 egg omelette, green salad with olive oil/vinegar as a dressing plus some full fat lidl mayonnaise.
S: Cucumber and a piece of cheese
D: Will be having pork steak with broccoli and buttery mashed swede.

Have drunk 2.5 ltrs of water so far, will have the rest with dinner.

theway So So So pleased you worked out what it was. I was quite worried for you!!

bumblebeef I genuinely laughed out loud at your "Louisiana chicken recipe".

High levels of saturated fat in the blood (your triglycerides level) are associated with heart disease.

What causes high levels of fat in the blood?

If we assume that "you are what you eat" then the saturated fat in your diet goes into your blood and stays there, causing heart disease.

In scientific studies on humans blood saturated fat levels are inversely related to the proportion of saturated fat in the diet. So the more saturated fat you eat, the lower your triglyceride level. Conversely, the more carbohydrate you eat as a proportion of your total intake, the higher your triglyceride level.

Why? It all comes down to insulin. When carbohydrate intake is high, insulin levels are high, which inhibits the oxidation of saturated fat and promotes saturated fat synthesis in the liver to use up the excess carbohydrate. When insulin levels are low then saturated fat oxidation increases, reducing the amount of saturated fat in the blood.

Note that this is all linked to insulin. There are other ways of lowering insulin than the LCHF diet. Intermittent fasting also lowers insulin levels enabling people to lose weight on the 5:2 diet without necessarily eating low carb.

scabbers Can you indulge in some quick stir fried shredded greens (cavolo nero is my favourite) with butter and cheese on for dinner? Much more delicious and nutritious than wine. Takes 10 mins to make. With such a stressful time you've had lately, your body will be crying out for vitamins to boost your immune system and energy levels. and you can come on here being all smug and like

hayser33. I’m just over a year into this woe and eating fat still seems wrong as low fat is so ingrained as the healthy way to eat. However eating fat and cutting carbs really works!

Sorry I've been away. Real Life has been very very busy. I am not the best bootcamper and there's been many slip twixt fridge and lip. However, have just updated the spreadsheet and have lost a total of 4lb. Only 1lb per week but I am pleased. Was also told today that I was looking fabulous and glowing .

I just wish I could keep up with the thread but I can't - it moves so fast.

B coffee with milk, CoYo natural coconut milk yoghurt
L chicken and aubergine Thai green curry
D 2 x beef burgers and stir fry veg.
W a litre and a half? Will drink more...

@stuntnun - that's interesting what you say about the insulin levels. I know that's in relation to non-diabetics who produce their own, but does it also apply when your insulin is injected?

I've seen quite a dramatic decrease in the amount of insulin I'm injecting now, compared with how much I used pre-LC (but then, I was eating heroic quantities of carbs too, so....), but my cholesterol levels are still higher than ideal. I don't know the ratio, though. I'd really like to get off statins, if I could.

As an aside, I've just made the most gorgeous celeriac dauphinoise for supper - it was meant to do for two meals, but I just went back for a little bit more and, oops, there it was gone. Am I strange in thinking celeriac is food of the gods? Can't say I ever thought about it one way or another before I cleaned up my eating act.

abbey if you like celeriac then make yourself some celeriac chips with paprika and smother with sour cream and cheddar. It’s really good when you want some stodge

alma Swede chips are also food supreme

Not good here, made the mistake of weighing myself today to see how things were going (or not, as it turns out) and I don’t think that pound I thought I’d lost has stayed off.

I’ve been thinking hard about possible causes - I sometimes don’t have enough water through the day but this is rare. My portion sizes are fine I’d say, I’m rarely hungry and generally I don’t have 3 meals a day as I’m rarely hungry first thing. Some days I don’t eat much at all as I don’t have an appetite, dh wonders if I’m eating enough. I walk miles each day, at least 3-5 and that’s incorporating hills whichever way I go.

Some of you may remember things going to shit for me when my dh was diagnosed with cancer, that’s almost 3 years ago now and my weight has been a struggle since. I went to the drs today, I’ve been prescribed sertraline (have been on others before so not exactly new to me however I am worried about any possible weight gain) but overall I’m hoping that once my moods lift I’ll be as active as I was before. I’m tired a lot at the moment (had low iron levels a couple of months ago, am having bloods taken soon to check again and check thyroid). Dr also said if it could be the stress of dh being ill and up to now that is stopping me lose it. I try to relax and make time for myself, I’ve also had some counselling to help with the worrying thoughts. I feel like people are going to think ‘oh well she must be eating loads or she’d lose it’ but I’m really not cheating. I’d usually not eat potato/pasta/bread anyway cos it bloats me, Ive never eaten much fruit and I don’t go for desserts etc. So really low carbing is just how I’ve eaten for years anyway, I just don’t seem to be getting the results. I could understand it might be the stress but I don’t see how I can ‘let go’ of it.

I do have milk in my coffee, I should prob cut this out but it’s a bit difficult for me in this cold weather! I can’t do black/with cream or black/green/fruit tea. I think when the weathers warmer I’ll just drop these completely, plus I’m usually happier in the sunshine.

Dh and I get a rare night in a hotel this sat so I will be having some alcohol, but I’ll still eat properly and I want to start the meds on Monday so no alcohol from then onwards anyway.

Sorry for the huge rant, I’m feeling a bit in a muddle tbh.

B- coffee with milk, water
L- protein roll with butter and cheese (I don’t eat many of these, just fancied one) water
D - saag paneer (had a crack at making it myself! Enjoyed it) cauliflower rice, water

I won’t eat anything else now, no more milk in drinks - just water until bed. Have some time to myself tomorrow so I’ll get yet more walking in.

God sorry that’s mega

Abbey do you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes? It doesn't make any difference whether the insulin is endogenous (made by the pancreas) or exogenous (injected), it will still have the same effect of promoting fat storage and inhibiting the oxidation of free fatty acids in the blood. Your cholesterol levels can take a long time to change, indeed they can get worse at first. It's well worth reading up on statin use as the benefits in women are not proven and there can be severe side effects. I'm not going to tell you to stop taking them but I personally wouldn't take them no matter how high my cholesterol went (and both my parents have high cholesterol and take statins.)

guy you shouldn’t apologise at all. Sometimes what we really need is just to say it all here and it feels a bit better just knowing others are here and, as I would describe it, bearing witness to our struggles. You have coped with such a lot and this time of year with it still being quite dark, damp and gloomy it can be difficult to lift spirits. My DH says to me every year, “no big decisions before Spring and the hour change!” and he is right. Funnily enough I have been less Eeyore-like this winter which I put down to this woe and being outside everyday with my donkeys. They have lifted my spirits and got me doing at least a bit of exercise every day. Chin up and koko. We are here. (())

GuyMartinsSideburns sorry to hear you are feeling a bit down. I love a protein roll every now and again. You don't sound as though you are eating much at all, but don't listen to me, I eat far too much

I am having a glass of wine, but I've taken advice and also had a bowl of stir dried cabbage and spinach

I'll say this gently, @GuyMartinsSideburns, because I know you've had a rough time - but you only weigh 9 stone 7, so that's really pretty slim/light.

I don't know how tall you are, but it's inevitable that your weight loss will be slow if you haven't got so much to lose.

You are under a lot of stress, so I think you should stop worrying about your weight so much.

That said, looking at what you've been eating, I'm with your DH - I don't think you're eating enough - and I don't think you're eating enough fat.

One reason for being tired is that you're not feeding your body enough!

The only other thing I'd suggest is that you take a Vitamin D supplement

But please don't add dieting to your already high stress levels

Don’t be sorry guy, everyone on the thread is here for you

Plus, Guy, are you a vegetarian? I think you could do with eating a bit of red meat if you're not!

stunt in defence of statins!
Many drugs have been tested in a male only cohort. It's a problem, reflects drug company bias, poor study design and concerns re pregnancy in clinical trials.
The majority of statin side effects are mild. They do have reasonable evidence for reducing the incidence of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cerebrovascular accident (stroke). Why wouldn't you take a statin?