Week 3 - decision-making time!

[AthelstaneTheUnready]

Welcome to week 3!

As BIWI's away, she asked if I would start the week 3 thread. I've stolen her words from a previous week 3, as it's such a good explanation of bootcamp v. bootcamp light.

Gammeldragz I'm Type 1, not Type 2, but I can tell you that I've had really good results from low-carb - my HbA1c has halved since this time last year, and I'm hoping to see it come down again when I have my next consultant appointment in July. He's always been a big supporter of low-carb for diabetes control (T1 and T2) and last time I saw him he asked if I'd mind him using my case as an example to his students as to how much difference this WOE can make. I'm very lucky to have such a supportive consultant - many aren't, but I think (hope!) the tide is turning now.

I had a bit of a NSV today - I've found my hip measurement is now in double figures (cm) - I'm now 97, which is 38", down from 42" at the start of last boot camp. I've weighed in at 11st 4 again today, which is all my holiday weight off (phew) and, like cherries, I'm hoping to be in the 10s by the end of this BC. Only four pounds - I feel that's so doable now, and that's a good feeling. At one time 4lbs would have seemed a huge challenge. Onwards and downwards

TheGherkin - iirc, no-alcohol beers are still very quite carby - what do you think happens to the alcohol to make it low/no alcohol and still taste ok well, some of them do

Better to have a small glass of dry white/red wine or a vodka/gin and soda water.

I just had the most delicious dinner: roast duck with round lettuce leaves instead of pancakes, cucumber and spring onion strips man those are a pain to chop up and this Paleo hoisin sauce. The sauce wasn't quite like normal sugary hoisin sauce but it had plenty of umami and was a good complement to the duck. It was supposed to just be a starter and I have a couple of ribeye steaks in the sous vide for later but I'm not sure I'll have room for another course this evening. Poor DH has his heart set on steak though so I might cook just steak and a few mushrooms rather than bother with FLGV and Stilton sauce.

Meant to say earlier that my weight is up 2.5lb today. I'm not despondent though as I was out at Gardening Scotland yesterday and probably didn't have enough water. I'd also been pretty HFLC snacky on Friday night as I'd been pissed off at myself for being an hour too late to buy the reduced price (and quarter of an hour earlier entry) tickets

But I still went along early anyway and someone came up up to me while I was all on my lonesome queuing up at one of the wee ticket offices and asked if I wanted a ticket for £10 as her dd couldn't make it (they're £15 in advance and I could have got another £5 off via a Dobbies discount but £17 on the day). She refused to take the £15 for it

I was half hoping something like this would happen - I did it myself a few years ago when dh decided at the last minute he didn't have time to come through (or had a meeting or something).

My "lunch" yesterday was cheese samples and some broken bits of oatcake which I sampled Mrs Bridges jams on

Had a lovely stir rfu last night of a lamb steak sliced (to make it stretch between dh and me, as ds was out getting drunk at a party), mangetout, carrots, broccoli (including the stalk sliced into batons), shallots and spring onions. A nice green salad alongside it (the remnants of which dh and I had for lunch).

We're having ribeye steak tonight: I'll have it with asparagus, fried shallots and another green salad (dh will also have mushrooms in cream). Ds, who is nursing his first ever bad hangover, is not going to be joining us

Stuntnun - since I started having every 2nd or 3rd pint of water with a generous shake of Lo-Salt and a squoosh of lemon juice, I've stopped having to go to the loo during the night. Thanks for that suggestion!

Thanks for the blood sugar encouragement. DSIL's GP actually recommended Banting (basically low carb) to control her blood sugar, so hopefully she can get away with no meds.

Blood sugar diet recipe book arrived, had a quick flick through and wasn't inspired so it's going back.

Dinner was a salad based buffet (aka last minute hash up from whatever was in the fridge/cupboards), so I had salad, two boiled eggs, tuna mayo, a bit of roast pork and some cheese with mayo and EVOO dressing.

Gammeldragz
I was 49 when the GP gave me my results, and he wanted me to have another test after a month to see if it had come down. I spent a month reading everything available, and then told him that I wanted to try low carb for a couple of months, and see what difference it made. He was happy to support me, and my next reading - 3 months after the first - was 41.

Sadly - typical me - job done, so I've spent the last 18 months working my way back to where I was. Now due another test, which has given me the extra drive to get in to this WOE - down 8 lbs. so far, and hopefully a good HbA1c when I have it re-done.

I'm back from my workshop, soaking in the bath and DH has just gone to collect an Indian takeaway. I'm having tandoori prawns and saag paneer.

I managed to say no to the homemade cakes, delicious cheesecake and chocolate torte along with the quiche, pasta and lentil salads. I did enjoy a Greek salad, green salad and cold meats so stuck to plan 100%.

Probably a bit low on water so aiming for at least 2L before bed.

Cherries we are weight twins today

Ah Ave I’ll try giving the dairy a rest and see if that helps not starting tonight as I’ve just had low carb chocolate mousse

Evening all!

We went out for lunch and I had lamb “and vegetables” which turned out to be mini corn on the cob and peas. I don’t like peas at the best of times, so I just had the lamb and sweet corn. It was outstanding!

Came home and attempted cauli mash but god help me it was atrocious and I threw it away.

I’ve defo got more energy and can see my caffeine intake steadily dropping, and [drum roll] some jeans I bought at Christmas from Next, now fit nicely. I had meant to take them back as when I tried them on, they wouldn’t go past my knees but today they were just right.

Lovely dinner tonight:

Pan fried pork fillet, with a blue cheese sauce (made from Roquefort, full fat creme fraiche, a squeeze of lemon juice, some rosemary fried with the pork at the last minute, and a swoosh - technical term - of white wine to deglaze the frying pan.)

Served with roasted veg - cauliflower, courgette, tenderstem broccoli, asparagus and red onion.

StuntNun I've had a look at that Paleo hoisin sauce recipe and it doesn't look too difficult - I absolutely love duck and hoisin, so I'm definitely going to give that a go, like you did with the lettuce wraps.

itchyknees I bet getting those jeans on felt like a triumph - good job you didn't take them back

Congratulations Random

Sorry to hear that Tracy

Fluctuatating weight, just kokoing.

That paleo hoisin sauce has honey and orange juice in it!! so would be paleo but not low carb I think ..

I dont think im going to record much of a loss this week if any
Ah well ive been absolutely sticking to it and certainly look /feel thinner and my skin is amazing from all the extra fat .. so ill take that as a benefit

Morning! Can someone please remind what FLGV means? I’m blanking here.

Fuck load of green veg, @JingsMahBucket.

Stonking 2 pound drop this morning, for my first time beneath 13.5 stone!

@Justmuddlingalong ah, thank you! It looked familiar but my brain just wasn’t having it this morning.

I’ve been checking and double checking carb counts as my weight continues to fluctuate up, then a little down, then more up. Very puzzling as keeping to plan, don’t drink alcohol etc.

Just discovered an Epic fail ... been using Philadelphia Cream Cheese thinking it was 1carb per 100g. (Positive I read that ages ago). It’s actually 4.3g and it’s all sugar

What cream cheese do people use?

@Twoo - weight fluctuation is entirely normal! And please remember that weeks 3 and 4 are infamous for little or no weight loss (sometimes even a slight gain).

KOKO.

But you're right to scrutinise back of pack labels for the carb count of any manufactured food. It's often much higher in carbs than we might think.

Re Cream Cheese, Sainsbury's So Organic is 2.8g per 100g, so it's a better bet than Philly.

Laska I estimate that the hoisin sauce has about 20g carbs in it but it made loads so I probably had around a tenth of that. It certainly doesn't taste at all sweet which is reassuring. It's much better than ready-made hoisin which is 70% carbs. If you're being very strict then just have the duck, lettuce wraps, cucumber and spring onion and skip the sauce. That's still pretty nice!

I need lots of finger and paw crossed vibes today, please!

As some of your know, I have 4 rabbits, a mother and 4 kits. A 5th kit was ill and died before Christmas last year, Mum and another kit seemed to suffer from the same thing (though we're not sure what, exactly, was wrong with them) and we brought them into the house for close supervision. Despite the vet being convinced that the mother at least was on her way out they've both survived, and have been causing who knows what damage in the room they've been living in.

I've been waiting for the weather to improve for them to be able to go out again, and now the time has come. I was hoping to be able to take them on a car journey together last weekend (a known tactic for bonding rabbits) but it was too hot. So, instead, I now have them in the kitchen together. I say “together” - the two who were outside are still in the box I brought them in in, though one did venture out but has gone back in. The other two are sat by the door. There has been lots of thumping, but so far we're firmly divided into factions. I would really, really love to get them all back outside, together, but need to be sure they won't fight first (which is a possibility, despite them being a familiy group). It looks like I'm going to have to spend the day in the kitchen with them.

So I all the good luck vibes I can get!

Aww, bunny bonding sessions!

I can't count! I have the mother and 3 kits remaining. (She did originally have 5, but one was killed, along with her father, about 18 months ago.)

Mum has sniffed both the outdoor buns and whilst there hasn't been any blood spilt there has been some minor agreesive action. Hopefully that will be as bad as it gets. The fourth one is keeping out of it for now.

Thank you BIWI. I will be passing a Sainsburies tomorrow so will get a few tubs in.

I love cream cheese and half and half with cream to makes sauces