Week 9 - Low Carb Bootcamp - the last fortnight is here

[BIWI]

Good morning all

I see from the end of last week's thread that some of us have been struggling with various demons.

We only have two weeks left, so time to gird your loins (however you do that!), and plough on.

Hopefully the snow has gone, or is disappearing rapidly, and that there's enough appropriate food in the shops. At least our problem is not being able to find what we want - I saw a very sad piece in the news yesterday about a dairy farmer, who was having to throw all his milk away, because the tanker couldn't get to his farm to collect it. So days' worth of money for him gone

Anyway, here's the lovely new thread, and with the fantastic Spreadsheet of Fabulousness.

Good luck this week. Stick with it and keep the focus.

Thank you people, for taking the time to read my post and respond.

Stunt I hear what you’re saying but I think my calories have been around the 1200 - 1600 hundred mark generally on this woe. Initially when I started it was 1600 and I didn’t lose. Then I cut the creamy coffees. Then I started losing 1 - 2 lbs a week. Then I stalled. Now I’ve started gaining. I think I’m gaining because I’m having more creamy coffees again. A bit mindless really as I knew I wasn’t losing when I had more than a couple a day.

I have been IF for several weeks as I wasn’t ready for breakfast and would have black coffee/water until mid day ish, sometimes later. Then I’d have lunch anytime between 12-2:00, main meal between 5-7:00. I don’t snack. My coffee with cream(sometimes 2 or more especially if eating out to avoid drinking the alcohol) would be after meals. I don’t drink alcohol. I do full bc.

Shag, not particularly faster. I’ve lost about 7 - 8lbs on this bc. But I would like to see a small loss each week iyswim. I know when my calories were higher at the beginning of bc, I didn’t lose. Then when I reduced cals (creamy coffee and spooning) I started losing. Now I’m 8lbs lighter I need less calories to maintain than I did at the beginning, therefore need even less to lose.

I agree in not going too low calorie wise but if I don’t become hungry on about 1000 a day, I won’t eat anymore. If I do become hungry I will go up to about 1200.

I really don’t want to upset anyone, I’m still trying to make sense of it all myself. I know so many aspects affect weight and weight loss. Hormones, insulin, how you metabolise food, appetite, stress, how active or not you are etc.

In essence I’m still engaging with this woe, namely because it is sustainable and does get results but I’m mindful that I can’t eat cream, cheese, butter without being aware of how much I chomping through.

For example I get through about 2 blocks of butter, a pint of double cream, a slab of cheese each week. I’m even guilty of having spoon full of cream whilst waiting for the kettle to boil to make coffee. just writing that down I feel bad.

I agree Tempest not all calories are born equal and weight loss isn’t just about cals in versus cal out etc. I’ve read bits on line about Fungs theories and his vids on DietDoctor previously. I understand the bare bones about insulin resistance etc.

Twoo I honestly don't think things are as dire as they seem. You have lost 8lb this Bootcamp but when you gained 2lb one week and that made you start to worry. Looking at your weights on the spreadsheet you have had a pretty typical pattern of weight loss. If you're eating as much dairy as it sounds from your last post then that could well be inhibiting your weight loss. Although in my experience it's the frequency of dairy consumption that causes issues, rather than the amount. If you're happy to take on the hassle of logging all your food then that's a good start. But my preference wearing my low carb diet coach hat would be to log for three days, assess your calorie intake and macros, then implement smaller changes one at a time depending on what your food log shows. I think abruptly cutting 500 calories per day is unnecessary, and may even be counterproductive according to the reasons I gave in my previous post.

I would like to see a small loss each week iyswim

Twoo this just isn't possible. Even my very best clients, that stick to low carb 100% without fail, have weeks where they don't lose or they gain. My star client at the moment lost two stone in the first six weeks, which is frankly amazing, but even she has had dispiriting weigh-ins where the scales went up.

I hop it’s posted ok - link for a Fung vid. Just watched it again.

Yes I agree Stunt I feel I have clearly been having too much dairy.

Returning to Fungs theory. As well as how he explains the insulin component, he also strongly advocates for IF and alternate day fasting (amongst other types), in which collectively over a week or two, would inadvertently cut calories. He talks about having around 350-500 cals a day on alternate fast days (which is a lot lower than I was considering).

This is one of the aspects that confuses me.

Hello all.

I wonder if I could have a bit of advice. I lost 5kg in the first four weeks of low carb bootcamp. For the last two weeks, I seem to be stuck - My weight is fluctuating by about half a kilo, but not going down anymore.

Is it normal to have periods where you don't lose on this woe? I haven't changed my diet since I started - I'm still mainly sticking to the bootcamp rules apart from the odd handful of nuts (macadamias or almonds). I'm also naturally fasting for 16 hours most days as I don't often have breakfast.

Yesterday
B - none
L - salad with prawns, crispy bacon, a little smoked chees and Sainsbury's full fat Caesar dressing (0.9g carbs per tablespoon)
D - Asda peppered steak with More salad, feta cheese and more Caesar dressing
S - a snack pot of coconut (3g carbs).

The total amount of carbs according to MFP is 11g. I probably had about 3 cups of tea (lemon and ginger or peppermint and liquorice - I can't manage normal tea without milk and sugar!)

I run three times a week - it still feels a little like I'm running through treacle, but it gets better the further I run - I usually drink a no sugar electrolyte drink when I run)

I'm not panicking or anything, but any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks

Well done to everyone else

Twoo - step away from the scales and go and try on an item of clothing that was too tight a wee while ago. Is it fitting any better?

For me, and others on here, the body seems to lose either pounds or inches, but not, generally, both at the same time. The first time I did BC properly, beginning last May, I only lost 5.5 pounds in total. Yet my body shaped changed drastically. A friend of mine didn't see me for a month, and didn't believe that I'd only lost 2 lbs in that time as she said the visual difference was noticeable. And that was before I'd taken up running and wasn't doing any other exercise, so it's not as though I was toning up.

StuntNun - do you know much about exercise? I have a couple of questions if so:

1. The useful poster by the treadmill which highlights which muscles are used does not include the stomach muscles for a run, yet they are quite often sore after a decent run. I'm assuming that they're meant to be being used and I'm not doing anything too abnormal...?

2. Rather mathematical, but any idea how much more energy is used if, for example, I run 5k in 40 mins at 1.5% rather than at 1% incline? I couldn't actually do the whole thing at 1.5% the one time I tried and I was surprised how much harder it was. Surely it shouldn't make that much difference?

Time I know what you mean about NSV. I have had some of those over the past couple of months. Namely waistbands becoming looser and buttons on shirts no longer under considerable strain in the bust area.

Perhaps Ive panicked a little bit. Im totally on point with full bc. No carbs other than through the lower carb veg and dairy. No alcohol, no snacking and IF.

I saw my weight start to creep up about 11/12 days ago and I’m pleased to say I’ve had a small reduction, but nothing significant. Perhaps it’s just too much dairy.

Twoo - a couple of questions:

1. Did something happen 12 days ago which caused the increase? Could it be the time of the month?
2. How has your weight been since then? When you say you've since had a small reduction, do you mean to the level it was before it increased, more than that or less than that?

Weight loss is rarely linear. The only times when mine has gone continually downwards for more than a couple of days has been when I've been ill. What generally tends to happen for me is that I jump about between two points (largely) for a while, then, eventually, the low point becomes the new high and it starts again. Something like:

9, 7, 9, 6, 9, 10, 7, 9, 6, 5, 7, 5, 7, 8, 7, 5..... but it can stay 'between' the 9 and 7 for blinking weeks, with the odd jump outside just to keep me on my toes. It's annoying, but I try not to let it upset me too much. (Oh, and whilst it's usually jumps between pounds, occassionally it decides to play the game around fractions of a pound instead!).

If anyone is an Audible member they are selling The Obesity Code for £1:99 today only.

Time I’ve attached my graph of progress for the past 2 weeks. The only change I can identify is coffee with double cream. I’ve eaten out a couple of times and had more creamy coffee as alcohol and dessert replacements. Prior to this last 2 weeks I was only allowing my self 1 or 2 a day. If I’m being honest this has doubled (or more) as I really enjoy them but I realise they weren’t hunger driven.

I see what you mean with your numbers.

Appal’ As Im not on Audible, it’s offerring it for free as part of a free trial. I havnt succumbed. However, I have ordered the book on fasting by James Fung .

Twoo another way to cut your calorie intake would be to introduce a 24-hour fast once a week or once a fortnight. There are loads of different ways of fasting so there's bound to be one that suits you well. Coffee with cream is pretty calorific, as well as the possible effect on your insulin levels. It would definitely be worth cutting down to see whether it makes a difference.

Velocity it is quite normal to have periods of no weight loss, whichever approach you use to lose weight. That's why we recommend measuring as well, sometimes you lose inches instead of weight. There is typically a stall around weeks 3-5 so that could be what is happening in your case.

Time I'm no expert on running but I asked my DH and he said you are using your stomach muscles because you are breathing heavily. No clue on the difference with the incline though, sorry. One of the best things you can do with aerobic exercise is HIIT (high intensity interval training) so it could be a good strategy to add intervals at a higher incline to get that HIIT benefit as well as burning more calories.

I'm fortunate in that I haven't had the stress of extended stalls. This bootcamp has been worst for slow loss, but given I'm near goal, and I AM still losing .5 lbs a week, I suppose I can't complain. But have just gone through my food diary with a tooth comb, and as on the previous two occasions when I've slowed right down, the issue hasn't been carb creep, but low fat creep. When it's going well for me, I plan my meals around masses of vegetables, using them as fat transportation devices, and have a smallish portion of protein almost as a side. But in the last two weeks for various pragmatic reasons, meals have been heavy on lean protein, with the veggies as a side. Fat has ended up having to be added at the table. So I've been a bit hungry, IF has felt hard, and I reckon I've slipped into low fat/high protein/low fat. So have just eaten a FTGV with masses of butter and got a decent shop in.

Yes Stunt’ . I’ve ordered James Fungs’ book on fasting so will wait for that to arrive. That way I can study what he advocates and ensure I do it correctly.

Thank you everyone for sharing your points of view and opinions.

Been away working for two days so didn’t have time to check in. The discussion is fascinating. Very slowly I changing my mindset on all this stuff. So after two days fasting Mon/Tues I’ve had two days in a hotel and have managed to stick to bootcamp lite which dis include dine with clients last night. I even managed Wednesday without any dark chocolate which is the first day in a while which proves I can do it - this is an example of mindset shift. However I had some tonight so the next goal is to not buy any when I shop on Saturday because if it’s not in the house....

ilove great NSV and shag too.

I have a gorgeous (imho) Fuschia pink mock leather jacket that was/is my go to item of clothing to aim at when I get the weight off. Looking forward to wearing that again.

Am consoling myself by buying perfume for now instead!

I need to stop myself buying more dark chocolate too. I have a 12.5g a day habit and it needs to stop.

Thanks stunt That's reassuring. I have been measuring my waist and I've lost 4 inches since I started, but no more since I haven't lost any weight. However, I'm still reassured by the fact that it can be common to stall around weeks 3-5. I'm fine with this woe and not hungry most of the time, so I'll just koko.

I've enjoyed the calorie/IF and other science discussions. X

me too brassica. very interesting.

I'm just carrying on as normal. You won't catch me obsessing over calories and macros. For me, that way madness lies. Plus I cba. Good luck to those that do though.

Well, well, well. Turns out spending your days sitting on your arse gaping at paper does affect how many calories you need

I took @StuntNun 's advice, and upped my calories and fat (adding avocado, a shedload more butter), reduced my protein (I think I was eating far too much meat), AS WELL AS getting some hard exercise in (1 hour's snow shovelling on Weds, and 1 hour's digging in the garden yesterday), and today I am nearly 1lb down.

I did weigh and track everything for 2 days, but then totally and utterly lost the will to live...

The lesson learned for me is that I can't have it all ways - if I'm not going to move around much, I need to eat less, even if what I'm eating is otherwise fabulous for me.

If today's weight is to be believed then I've only got 2lb to go to get to goal. From now until the end of BC next week I'm going to try IF/16:8 alongside 2 meals a day with no snacking in between. Up until now I often don't start eating until late but when I do I think I regularly pick and graze.

Athel you cant shovel snow every week. Are you ready to give into the C25K evangelists yet?

I’ve totally cut out snacking and generally reduced what I eat and this morning had dropped from 147 to 144.5

Couldn’t believe it (I hit 145 last week but it went straight back on do am hoping it will stick this time

I finally get it, meals with a balance that includes lots of fat and veg = good nutrition and no snacking and therefore reduced calorie intake (when little to lose)

I had been eating as of in early stages of boot camp- tons of random fat and low carb snacks

I think I’m eating too much meat too though