Week 7 - Low Carb Bootcamp - our last month!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

We have four weeks left; time, still, to lose at least another 4lbs or so

Here's the Spreadsheet

Hopefully some good results to report!

A stone is brilliant destinysdaughter! Enjoy your tacos, they’re a favourite here too. While doing this woe, I’ve had the mince and toppings in romaine lettuce leaves, but I might try those Waitrose ones next time, let us know if they’re good please.

Can anyone recommend a low carb chipotle paste please? I’m planning Tom kerridge’s pulled pork from his show

Wow Brassica, well done!

I'm still on track, still doing dry February. I feel amazing, I have almost manic levels of energy.

Whilst I've thought I'd quite fancy a drink a couple of times, I want to keep feeling so good. It's 4 weeks to go to skiing, and I really want to try to lose another 2kgs before we go.

Wheredoes show us your ski trouser pics!

Aw thanks for the kind words, much appreciated! I did do this diet before, over 15 years ago when it was called the Atkins diet, and much derided. I lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks, so I know it works, and eventually lost 2 stone, but gave it up cos I got scared about all the anti fat propaganda, and of course eventually pilled all the weight back on.

I've done it again half heartedly since, but not had such good results since this Bootcamp, thanks to all the great ideas and support on here, it's really made a difference! 😀❤️💐🍷

Meant to add my food for today:

B. Halloumi and 1/2 an avocado. Coffee with AM&C

Late L. Cauliflower soup. Coffee with AM&C

D. Shepherds pie with celeriac topping and fried Savoy cabbage

beryl I have mental images of you charging around like the Road Runner cartoon with your manic levels of energy! But i know what you mean, that almost constant feeling of general fatigue which I took to just be normal life for my age has gone. I feel 10 if not more years younger after cutting out the carbs.

destiny i find loads of things to eat when out. absolutely loads more than steak. what sort of places are you talking about? restaurants, pubs, cafes, takeaways or coffee shops?

I bet the BC hivemind can help you out here with suggestions for every type of eatery. A basic swap of veg or salad instead of chips is possible even in the most basic of non cheffy places (Beefeater, pubs, harvester, etc) . I find chain coffee shops are worst for of food. It's all cakes and paninis. I tend to smuggle in my own food and just buy an Americano with cream ready to cite all sorts of allergies if challenged.

rshard would harissa work? Or make your own?

And great NSV about the underwear! we all deserve a treat like that sometimes.

abbey Yes! Mojo is what it is!

@VenusStarr

No oil or dressing or mayo on the salad

Why not?! You do realise this is supposed to be a high fat way of eating, don't you?

Ooh new undies. I might get some as popping to shops later for a wander.

Anyway, my disgusting good news today is my c section over hang is definetly shrinking,

Just thought I'd share

Great going @BerylStreep and @Destinysdaughter!

I agree with Yolo about eating out - it's so much easier to eat out when you're low carbing, compared to when you're trying to follow a low calorie or low fat diet.

Don't be afraid to ask a restaurant to substitute something if it's too carby - so a salad instead of the potatoes, or just other veg. Sauces on the side, if you're wary they might be floury - no-one has ever refused a request for me.

bluntness mine too! and my trousers keep falling down.

Urgh, the drafted C-section overhang. Despair of ever fully get rid of it, but I can normally tuck it into my underwear

See here are the lovely ski trouser pictures - can I just say that I would NEVER actually wear the white ones as they currently "fit" but it was satisfying to get that zip down up.

So last time the white Ines wouldn't do up, the grey ones just did but squashed everything and the coral ones felt fine.

Bloody typos! "done up" and "ones".

Catching up with thread now.

yolo, it's good isn't it,

Agree it's easy to sub in most places for non carby options. When I go out with my husband I usually just order and say can I have a salad instead of chips/potatoes with it, or ask for extra portion of veg and leave the potatoes etc uneaten, or even ask for the croutons to be left out the salad. I've never had an issue with it, the answer is always yes.

The way, gosh those pics are interesting, you look so slim in the coral ones.

My issue is with bikinis.sigh.

I've noticed mine is like a smile. I was cut from hip bone to hip bone for medical reasons, and as soon as I put on weight I develop this bloody smile across my tummy. Part of me says it's fine because I had my daughter, so badge of honour, the other part says, well that's not very nice.🤣

Speaking of toilet habits etc, I found at the beginning that I didn't go much but after the first couple of weeks I pretty much go every day (in the morning, before I weigh myself ). I do eat lots of broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus etc which may help (along with the 3+ litres water every day).

Great news about being so near to goal Brassica, KOKO! I am 2.2lb from my interim goal to get under 140lbs and I've got 3 weeks to get there. That will also mean that I would have lost a stone on boot camp.

I think I'm in the zone at the moment. Was going to have a glass of red last night but we had dinner late and I wanted to finish an email first. Then it was 10pm and I thought there wasn't much point. I probably will have it tonight though

Bluntness I think those pictures are a good demonstration of how important it is to wear things which fit properly - although the coral ones are quite roomy in the waist now. I carry most of my weight on my lower stomach, hips and thighs.

Bikinis are also a pain. I can find underwear with a good cut but bikini bottoms are all very high cut and sit low on the hip so don't come up high enough on the stomach.

Thanks yolo, I’ll check out harissa

Glad to hear the section overhang is reducing bmuntbess, I’ve got one of those bloody things too, so your update gives me hope!

Great pics wayof, and good luck with those last couple of pounds to your interim goal, I’m the same nearly into the 9’s. I’d like to do it this bootcamp

Morning, great pics WayOf! You can really see a difference, it must be very motivating.
Sorry I can't remember who was struggling with regularity but I was the same in the first couple of weeks and someone on here suggested a magnesium supplement which has worked well for me. I'm now back to once a day and the headaches I got have gone too. These may have gone anyway as my body adjusted to the lack of sugar but really notice the difference in my bowel movements if I forget the magnesium.

Food yesterday:
B: eggs, smoked salmon, spinach
L: at a friends so picky type lunch but there was lots of low carb options so I had some smoked salmon, cheese, olives, chicken and pastrami. Had 1 dark choc truffle for pudding, was tempted by more but stopped myself.
D: bit of a disaster as the individually wrapped sea bass that I was planning to get out from the freezer wasn't sea bass at all but was a giant lump of about 8 haddock fillets which wouldn't separate (thanks DH!). So we ended up with a Chinese takeaway. I had duck which I was planning to have without pancakes but ended up eating 2 and then pork with mushrooms.
S: pork scratchings, ff yogurt with cream

Out for lunch today and, like others, i have found this aspect of this woe a pleasant surprise. I've ordered things I'd usually shy away from due to fat content (like pork belly in prezzo - they swapped the potatoes for spinach and I had extra veg on the side) and it's been lush

Wayof, agree, wear something too small and we look so much bigger wear something that fits and we look slimmer. Lesson learned!

Rshard, yup, the bloody thing does reduce. I guess our muscles must get screwed with the op, but as the weight goes down so does the over hang...

I've started doing Pilates to try and sort out my core. Bloody hell, it is evil! I've done 3 sessions so far and have spent a couple of days after each with sore abs. So hopefully it is working.

WayOf great progress- I love your coral pair, such a lovely colour.

Off for spa hen weekend now- the dreaded bikini is packed. Going to buy some cheese and chicken bits to have on the train as I don't think we'll be eating until dinner, which we've pre ordered. I'm having a bun less cheeseburger with salad, and no doubt prosecco aplenty!

Thanks blunt! I’ve noticed my stomach had changed higher and in the sides, not definition by any means but not the blubbery mass it was so there’s hope! Do you know of any exercises to help with the overhang?

I am seriously contemplating getting a weekend job as the only way of dealing with the weekend fuck it's. It would mean that I'd never see the children or DH or have any sort of social life and I can't imagine the state the house would be in but at least I would be thin!
Not so much card creep last night as full on attack as I had one mini egg forgetting how addictive the damn things were and had another 11. So that was 15g of carbs or something like that. I also had some dark chocolate to get myself away from the mini eggs. I have realised Easter is going to be a challenge.
I am going to buy magnesium & those husk things today and drink an awful lot of water. I feel and look so bloated.

I think basically all exercises help to be fair, it's the loss of fat that shrinks it. I do a range of treadmill, bike, elliptical and weights.

For stomach I do v sit ups with a weight, Russian side twists, kettle bell swings, weighted side bends etc but even when I wasn't exercising and just dieting, if I lost weight, the dreaded over hang shrunk.

Even things like running tighten your glutes, if you think about it, your body kind of twists from side to side as you run, which tightens your tummy muscles.

Anything helps basically. 😄

I find that I can't have 2 squares of chocolate or chocolate truffles at all. If I do I spiral downwards and can't stop. I've learnt over the years that I just have to completely forgo them, whether it is squares of chocolate, biscuits (no such thing as one, had to be the whole packet), oatcakes or rice cakes, or glasses of wine. I can manage fine without, so long as my brain knows it doesn't have to attempt to moderate.

Yolo roadrunner energy is a good description. My team are a bit as I'm steaming through projects that have been sitting on the too difficult pile for ages. DH came home yesterday to find me proudly showing off my newly organised tea-towel and apron drawer.

TheWayofTheWorld you can really notice a difference in those photos. I don't think I'll get into my smaller pair in time for skiing, but hopefully my 'fat' pair will be a bit looser.