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 think u might give the yoga a go, thanks rshard.

My target is 9000 steps a day which I can do fairly easily. I also do 2 or 3 mins of 'HIIT' training basically pushing a full wheelbarrow as hard and fast as I can through the mud

Interesting to hear what other people are saying about cholesterol/diet/statins/diabetes.

I found this interesting article last night, which quotes from a few studies which I might look up.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/10717431/Why-Ive-ditched-statins-for-good.html

I will need to make a follow up appointment with my GP due to my high cholesterol result, and I want to have as much information as possible before I go.

Here's a link to the 2011 Norwegian Hunt 2 study.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303886/

Cool, let me know how you get on scabbersley, I’m hoping to resume in a few days

I do the Shred or Ripped DVD 4 days a week (Pilates class on the other day and the weekend off). Once you've got used to it, it's not that bad although I wouldn't go as far as to say I enjoy it It's only 30 minutes (it claims 20 minutes but you need to add on time for the warm up and cool down and I do some extra stretches at the end) and at most you have to do a difficult exercise for a minute, twice (in most cases just 30 seconds). I've just completed the 3 levels of the Shred again and am back on to Level 1 of Ripped.

The Level 1s of both DVDs are ok but in the subsequent levels, there is at least one circuit that I don't look forward to or have to adapt . But I just do them to the best of my ability. When I first started doing the Shred, I had to do a lot of the press up type exercises on my knees and can now do them with straight legs not saying I manage to dip my body that far though There was one exercise - forearm plank to straight arm plank and back down again that in which at first I literally couldn't move my arm to the straight position that I can now do relatively easily.

But be easy on yourself Guy and give yourself a break and some You've had so much on your plate. Celebrate the fact that you have a healthy BMI. Yes, you'd like to be less, but that will come as and when you are ready. Yes, you have lovely clothes that you can't fit into - but there are lovely clothes in the shops too, so why not treat yourself, because you are worth it! And they'll have the added benefit of being totally up-to-date

I'm feeling tearful reading your messages Guy, as they are really putting into words something I struggle with a lot. One of my DC terribly ill for a number of years. We were lucky as they survived but I still feel very traumatised by the experience. Living through it was not the worst of it, as it turned out. During the crisis years I just gritted my teeth and carried on, once it was over everyone expected me to be happy and relieved (and I was), but I just felt like shit as well. Like I'd lost all optimism about life. For a long time everything was frightening, and I still need to keep a tight grip on that or it would easily take life over. thisnis really the first time in a long time when I've put me first.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31357-5/abstract
Short statement from lancet on statins.
Abbey please don't start to 'forget' a potentially beneficial drug. If you are struggling with statins speak to your GP about other cholesterol lowering drugs. Diabetes and high cholesterol are major risk factors for heart attacks and strokes!

I should qualify, I'm not arguing because i believe in statins, so much. I'm not in a speciality which prescribes them, and I'm sure things have moved on since I last looked at the evidence.
However taking medical advice from randoms off the internet is an awful awful idea.

Hello everyone,
Such an interesting discussion about weight and emotional baggage. Thanks for sharing guy and ilove. Also really good to hear about the progress some PPs have made with exercise. I'm not fit and don't enjoy exercise but I'm also struggling to find time for me as I work FT and my children are still so young. They need to be in bed by 7.30 for a 7am wake up or they turn into grotbags. The baby is 7m and my oldest is 3 and just dropped the afternoon nap at nursery and is shattered so 1 - I'm tired due to broken sleep from the baby and 2 - if i went to an exercise class during the week, i wouldn't see them in the evening. I'm loving the YouTube yoga suggestions so will give that a go, particularly since my weight loss has slowed down a lot, so hoping exercise will kick start things.

BadlyParked, I agree it's not a good idea to take medical advice from randoms on the internet, and the first article I linked to was just for interest, but it did quote the study in my second link, which is a genuine scientific study.

The statement from the Lancet which you linked to indicates that the LDL levels seem to be most important in prevention of heart attacks and strokes. When I went for my health check, I was only given my total cholesterol (high), my HDL level (high, which is good) and my total:HDL ratio (which was very good), but I wasn't given my LDL levels, nor my triglyceride levels. I would want to see those levels in order to make a decision whether to take statins, but that's a personal choice.

It's not a simple decision, and it's really difficult to sift through all the information out there and find out what is the best option. You would think that the NHS website would offer clear, accurate guidelines about everything, but seeing as their dietary advice is still for a low fat, higher carbohydrate diet for most people, I'm not sure what I can and can't believe from government advice.

Anyway, in other news, I'm wearing a skirt today that I haven't worn for years, because I haven't been able to fit into it until now!

Somuch ideally, but in reality evidence and therefore guidance isn't so black and white. It takes a long long time for guidelines to change! Unofficially there is more acceptance of LCHF.
It's also an ongoing paradigm shift that doctors make decisions with patient rather than for them!

Hi I am back I have had the toughest start to the year with my back and now flu and due to the consumptions of honey in tea, I need to get back on programme.

Looking forward to a new start from today.

Morning, all!

Nothing to report here one way or the other but I wanted to check in and encourage everyone to koko.

Abbey that's brilliant that you've been able to reduce your insulin again. A possible explanation for your insulin requirements dropping could be that you're recovering from insulin resistance. Now that your cells are more sensitive to insulin, you don't need as much to achieve the same blood glucose levels. I recommend reading up on statins and discussing with your doctor whether you should keep taking them or not. As BadlyParkedRangeRover says, there are proven benefits in some groups of people. The question is whether they're right for you. If your cholesterol has come down then your doctor may well agree to you having a trial period without them to see what happens. If your total cholesterol was 5. something then that isn't amazingly high as it is supposed to be below 5.

GuyMartin I have been on Sertraline for a few years and I haven't noticed any effect on my weight. I think it's one of the better anti-depressants in that sense. If they've started you off on 50mg per day then be aware that most people need to go up to at least 100mg before they start getting the best results from it. It's also likely to cause some side effects in the first couple of weeks such as nausea and tiredness so be gentle with yourself while it starts to work. If you've been under a lot of stress then your cortisol levels will have been high for some time which will play merry hell with weight loss. Your DH is quite right that you could be undereating, which may also prevent weight loss. You're also in the normal BMI range so you can expect any further weight loss to be slow. I stalled for about six months after I hit a normal BMI and then lost another 5lb very slowly to reach my ideal weight. My advice would be to keep eating as you are for the next 3-4 weeks while the Sertraline helps with your low mood. Then post a few days food on here for some advice on possible changes. At your BMI many people find tweaking their macros in favour of more fat helps them get those last few stubborn pounds off. I'm with BIWI on the red meat recommendation, especially if you've had low iron levels. I'm sure someone told me French doctors "prescribe" steak and a glass of red wine when people are feeling run down! I don't know whether that's true or not but it does sound like a good cure to me.

YoLo I'll have a peek at your other thread. You should have tagged me sooner, I love nosying looking at other people's lab test results.

And English ones, Stunt! When I was in my late teens and the GP said I was anaemic, he recommended plenty of steak and Guinness.

I should have taken him seriously. It turns out my younger years being full of mouth ulcers, bowel problems, lack of energy, and pasty skin, were all down to an intolerance for grains, causing direct damage as well as malabsorption of the good stuff in other food. Regardless of weight or fitness, I am NEVER going back to having bread, pasta etc as part of a regular diet.

Lovely and sunny here this morning, with the snow sparkling on everything in the garden.

I was so shaky this morning i ended up having a piece of toast. I really seem to struggle with keto flu. I'm jittery, too warm and can't keep still, but conversely mentally slow and exhausted. Also very very thirsty (blood sugar is normal!)
Back to LCHF. I think I'm having enough fat and salt but finding out difficult to get through.

Thanks for the further comments and kind words. I'll def look into yoga and the shred etc again when I feel I've got the energy to do so! I'm liking walking cos my mind just completely wanders off and I don't need to think about what I'm doing or need to coordinate myself haha

Prettybird- I prob should buy a few bits to tide me over. Ive no idea where to shop tbh, I like random history/art teacher type clothes when I feel like making an effort (!) (always pictured myself swishing about in my imaginary converted barn in front of my imaginary aga but hey ho) but at the moment I'm living in girlfriend jeans and various tops. Fine enough but nothing exciting. Plus walking everywhere means I need to be dressed suitably for the weather etc boring sorry! I'm in Birmingham this weekend, wouldn't have minded looking a bit nice but I imagine it'll be as cold and miserable there as it is here...

Ilovecherries- it's very hard to learn to put yourself first for a change but I'm glad you're managing too. I'm sorry I kicked up those feelings for you, it really is tough isn't it. I agree that it's sometimes worse nowadays, and is a constant struggle to not go down 'that' road. I find it hard to keep optimistic now too, very much so.

StuntNun- thanks for that. Yes they've started me on 50 so I appreciate the heads up. Dh has a couple of days off next week so he'll take the kids out or do whatever if I'm having a bit of a time on them. It's interesting what you say about cortisol, I mean I gathered it could have an effect but hadn't considered quite how much.

I was going to go out walking today but il be honest - as soon as I felt the chill I decided to drop ds at nursery and come home again! I've done a couple of hours OU study though and some housework so not too unproductive.

That's my diet for the weekend then - steak, red wine and Guinness! Haha

Steak makes everything better.

I’m going to start this next week. I’m in need of some breakfast ideas. Does anyone have inspiration for breakfast on the move?

Mimosa I hear you in the exercise front. I only work part time but it's so hard to fit in and motivate yourself, especially if you don't get a full nights sleep.. I go to a dance class once a week as I love it (not to lose weight). Other then that I do no regular exercise. BUT I have dropped from 152 to 135 lbs on two bootcamps.

I don't know where you are weightwise but I wanted to share that to see if it helps.

Leaps in with enthusiasm

This bootcamp is EXACTLY what I was looking for! I've been generally HFLC for a couple of years but more in a maintenance/moderator kind of way, which was not shifting my new found baby weight; I started the year exactly the same weight I was when I came home from hospital in October, 1 week after giving birth to my gorgeous DS. I had a good stone to lose to get into all my clothes and maybe another half to my ideal weight. Just trying to be strict wasn't enough, I need the rules! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, have caught up with all the threads and I'm on day 11 of bootcamp proper.

I know you are my people because there is never a bad word said about Brussels Sprouts here, there are a least two Friday Night Lights fans, and obvs, HFLC.

Came to the LC of HFLC via the Dukan Diet in 2012 which was effective but a bit grim. My now DH introduced the complementary concept of HF which I think he'd discovered via people like Prof Tim Noakes on the Marathontalk podcast, and we've explored it and got better at it together. Have got so many tips and recipe ideas from here already.

Lost 5 lbs between 1st and 29th Jan, started bootcamp properly on 30th and so far (daily weigher) about another 4lbs.

Hey, Rayna37, welcome!

The whole discussion about temp adaptations & insulin resistance maybe explain why 1 glass of wine makes be feel really, really drunk, when I have happily consumed large quantities of wine for years without much ill effect (apart from getting too fat).