Week 7 - Low Carb Bootcamp - we start our last month

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Hopefully last week's wobble with the spreadsheet has been overcome:

Here it is

And hope there aren't too many wobbles on the LCHF front either!

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here, and seems like all of this week is going to be glorious. (Well, Darn Sarf it is anyway!)

I hope that you all have a good day food-wise too. Somehow it always seems easier when it's salad/barbecue weather, to stay on the low carb track.

Good look and here's to another successful week

I'm going to struggle to keep going I think. Weighed in this morning and I'm 2lbs up again. That now means that after my 9lb initial loss (first 2 weeks) I have only lost 1 further pound in the last 5 weeks.
I'm still on full bootcamp and have honestly done 7 weeks without a single alcoholic drink, piece of fruit, any bread, pasta, rice, potatoes... and so on. I think the nearest I've got to a cheat has been a sausage or a Diet Coke.
This is the same for me, whatever way I try to lose weight. I can lose for a couple of weeks and then, nothing.
Sorry for the moan, but I'm really fed up this morning. Feeling ridiculously tearful and frustrated as I still have 2-3 stone to lose.

That's still 10lb over the Boot Camp so far borowren - that's a good loss.

No diet is healthily going to have you losing more than 1-2lb a week. In your case it is closer to the 1lb/week.

It's easy to get seduced by the big initial whoosh of the first 2 weeks - but after that, your body has to adjust and still actually needs to lose fat (since the initial whoosh was mostly water). So in some respects, the bigger the initial whoosh, the longer it might take for the ongoing downward trajectory to become obvious.

Did you take measurements? Sometimes when I've stalled, I've still been losing off my waist (an inch difference between January, March and May - all technically the same weight ) Have you seen other NSVs? Like more comfortable clothes, better skin?

Think of it another way as well: this is 7 weeks that you haven't put weight on - which is how our old eating habits had got us to the weights we were.

I'm sure BIWI will ask you to detail your food for the last few days so that we can see if there is anything obvious.

With the heat, I've found via the colour of my pee that I've had to up my water intake waaaayy above my recommended amount. I've also increased the number of occasions I make my pint of water an "electrolyte" version.

borowren as prettybird says that's still a very good loss.

Are you enjoying this woe? How does it compare for you to other weight loss plans?
Stalls are frustrating but it sounds like you've got the eating side figured out, maybe more water or a few tweaks to your food would help.

Sorry you're feeling frustrated @borowren. I know it's disheartening. But if all you ever do when you see a setback like this is give up, well that's kind of self- sabotage really, isn't it?

Are you enjoying your food? Do you feel deprived? What would it be like if you were counting your calories or eating low/no fat everything?

And do as I always ask people do to - list out your food and drink for the last few days, and let's see if there's anything we can do to help!

I don't really consider it self sabotage, more just not continuing to do something that isn't working. By any calculations, 1 lb in 5 weeks is not a good result.
If I'm honest, I don't really enjoy the food. I've never been a big meat eater and I find the fat really difficult. I enjoy lots of salad and veg, but really miss fruit (and all the other carbs!) not sugar though...was never a big chocolate/cake eater.

Breakfast is usually Greek yoghurt, sometimes with some double cream
Lunch is almost always salad...with cold meat, hard boiled eggs and either coleslaw or oily dressing (always look for the lowest carb option)
Tea is meat (chicken, pork, minced beef, brisket) and veg (usually between broccoli, cauli, cabbage, mixed greens, leeks) try to incorporate some butter....or eggs, in a vegetable omelette/frittata type thing.
Never been a snacker, so usually just 3 meals.
I am drinking 2-3 litres water everyday plus some tea with very little milk.
Sorry if I sound like a whinger, but I've struggled with my weight for 25 years and am just so desperate to see it come off.

But it's not 1lb in 5 weeks - it's 10lb in 7 weeks. You have to look at the bigger picture.

But if you are not enjoying the food, then I can understand your antipathy. Have you looked at the recipe threads (especially the veggie ones, if you're not much of a meat eater) for inspiration?

Can't remember your weight, but if you've still got 2-3 stones to lose, 2-3l of water is almost definitely not enough - especially in this heat.

Also, are you getting enough sleep? It's amazing how going to bed early a few nights can have a positive impact on your weight.

Oh - and I know you've stayed on "full" Boot Camp, but maybe you should introduce strawberries and raspberries into your diet if you are missing fruit, before giving up on this WoE. They're such good value at the moment too!

Why not switch to bootcamp light and hopefully you'll enjoy the food more with the bit extra leeway?

I know you don't believe it's self sabotage to give up but speaking from experience it really is unless you put another plan in place straight away of course.

I had a whingy thread on this forum back in April/may about low carbing and not been able to stick it because I don't like eating lots of meat. I was ready to throw the towel in. A few pointers from Biwi and other BC'ers helped me switch things up and I now love this plan.
Things that helped me stay on plan was using lots of oil/fat which I'd strongly resisted up until then. I found that difficult at first and can't eat butter/oil off a spoon like others do so I add loads to salads and fry everything I can. Once I added the oil the food didn't matter so much, I can't explain it but when I have enough oil what I eat often doesn't matter.
Making my own low carb version of soda bread. Rarely having cream/yogurt as too often doesn't seem to suit me. Drinking lots and lots of water with lemon, limes and sometimes low salt.

I'm 25 years struggling with weigh too and I understand your frustration
Maybe look at it this way, trying this for another month or two is nothing out of all those years. Focus on eating food you'll enjoy, you don't need to feel deprived or unsatisfied.
I'll find my bread recipe and post it, sliced thinly layered with butter is a tasty way to get extra fat in.

Soda bread recipe I use.

Beat 3 eggs with 25g milled linseed.
Then add 150g/200g almond flour 1tsp each of baking and bread soda and sweetner (optional) . I/2 table spoon Apple cider vinegar and mix like a bread.
Heat loaf tin in oven. When you take it out of oven melt butter on it drop mix onto it and shape it, cut a few lines across top and pop in oven. I often put Tesco seed mix on top too which adds to it.
Bake for about 35 min at 200. Remove from tin and wrap in a tea towel to keep the outside crunchy.

borowren - You could be me last year. I also had 2 to 3 stone to lose and am currently sitting 2 stone 10 down from where I was. Not the most rapid of losses, I grant you, but it didn't go on in a hurry and I'd rather lose it slowly and keep it off then do something stupid, lose quickly but then regain.

The thing is, I'm always amazed how little I lost during that first BC. Less than half a stone in the ten weeks. Yet I was feeling so much better on this woe than I had been before that I kept going, and the weight did come off.

You are doing so much better than I was. You can't expect to keep losing quickly after the initial whoosh and, if you think about it, you wouldn't want to. Quick weight loss results in loose skin which, from what I understand, is tricky to deal with. Better to take things slowly and let the skin recover as you go along.

If you're not happy with all the meat try the vegetarian recipes as others have said. I'm currently in a pickle as I've gone off salads, which is what I've eaten for lunch during the week for the last 6 months or more. But what else does one eat when it's so blinking hot?

Lone - that sounds lovely! What's bread soda, though? Is it necessary? And do you think I could use flaxseed instead of linseed? This could fill my salad hole for the next few days.

time bread soda is a raising agent also bicarbonate of soda. I'm not sure it or the baking powder do a lot in this recipe as there's no liquid to work with. I add a splash of milk now and that helps. I've also increased the quantities with an extra egg and more flour to get a higher bread.
Linseed is flaxseed so perfect. Play around with how much/little you want to add.
I'd read lots of recipes and improvised with what I'd here at home.
I've grated carrot into it and added walnut and extra sweetner for something different rather than linseed.
It was a life saver when I was ready to throw in the towel but I find I don't need it as regularly now.

Just catching up after a weekend camping. Quite a few off plan things but omelette for breakfast and dinners have been meat and veg bbq so not too bad. Not enough water, hard when a loo isn't handy! Weigh in was a satisfying 123 before I went away (3lbs from goal) but may be up for tomorrow!

My non-medical, not sure on the research theory/opinion on salt is that it's not actually bad for you at all but that it's the heavily processed food which contains the high amounts of salt which causes health problems; very hard to analyse one without the other. Also processed food often contains way more salt than anyone would actually add in cooking or at the table so if you're following this WOE, no issues at all!

Fully back in the swing of things and hoping for a proper loss tomorrow after two weeks going in the wrong direction. Wasn't hungry at all for lunch yesterday so just had an iced coffee and then an earlier dinner (steak).

I've got a serious dilemma coming up in a couple of weeks that I don't know how to handle! Supposed to be going on a short break with my hobby group which may end up being my only holiday this summer, so really don't want to skip out because of a 'restrictive' diet - especially as its a healthy outdoor exercised-based trip.

But it's a carby nightmare. We'll be going on a coach to a remote location with catering but no access to kitchen/supermarkets/local shops. All food included in price of trip. Breakfast will I think be cooked on two of the days and only toast/cereals on two, and lunch will be almost certainly be sandwiches/cereal bars/fruit sort of affair every day. I could take fresh provisions for first days but really don't know how I'd avoid carbs on days 3 and 4. We'll be doing LOTS of exercise but still, carbs likely to be high. To make things worse, on the day I get back, I've got a very posh afternoon tea that I really have to participate in - it's for a friend's baby shower and only three of us will be there, so not joining in or asking for fussy alternatives will be impossible. The menu is sandwiches, cakes, patisserie, and scones (plus I'm paying £60 for it!).

All I can think is to avoid carbs as much as possible on days 1 and 2 (when I can fill up on cooked breakfast, take something for lunch, and hope dinner has a LC option), avoid sugar and try to stick to fibrey/whole food options on days 3 and 4 and avoid sugar, and then just enjoy the afternoon tea with my friend and not go too crazy on the sugar - maybe one scone with mostly cream and strawberries. Then immediately back on the LCHF on the Monday. But if anyone has any bright ideas for navigating this without going off-piste, I'd love to hear them, as I know (from very recent experience) that even a bit of carbs and especially sugar can send me into a carb spiral...

Also this looks handy, I haven't tried it yet but nice to have a quick one to hand if food options aren't good.
I think it would be nice fried in egg like French toast too.

jenniferbanz.com/90-second-microwave-bread

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I'm definitely going to check out the vegetarian recipe section to see if I can find a way to enjoy the food more.
Just keep trekking on I guess!

To be honest @bettyblueeyes83, in those circumstances there's probably not much you can do. Just go with the flow! If you're doing lots of exercise, that will help.

Why don't you meal plan for when you get back, with some super strict (and lovely) meals, so that you can get straight back on it?

@borowren - according to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness you've lost 12lbs, not 10! So that's almost a stone - not bad going!

Breakfast is usually Greek yoghurt, sometimes with some double cream

This is perfect low carb food. Hopefully you're enjoying it? (And I hope it's full fat yoghurt!)

Lunch is almost always salad...with cold meat, hard boiled eggs and either coleslaw or oily dressing (always look for the lowest carb option)

Well, this doesn't sound like much fat - and you could be consuming a fair amount of carbs in the coleslaw and salad dressing. Why are you using shop-bought dressing, if it has carbs in it? Far better (and just as easy) to make your own vinaigrette/French dressing - olive oil, wine vinegar and salt and pepper = carb-free! (As long as you aren't using balsamic vinegar)

Tea is meat (chicken, pork, minced beef, brisket) and veg (usually between broccoli, cauli, cabbage, mixed greens, leeks) try to incorporate some butter....or eggs, in a vegetable omelette/frittata type thing.

Again, sounds like it could be lacking in fat. I know you say you don't like it, but it's really important for weight loss. Are you frying? Are you buying fattier cuts of meat? How about cream-based sauces?

Never been a snacker, so usually just 3 meals.

Perfect!

I am drinking 2-3 litres water everyday plus some tea with very little milk. You should be looking to get up to 3 litres - and how many cups of tea?!

I echo @prettybird's advice - go and have a look at the recipe threads for some inspiration - and there's no problem with you introducing some berries if you want to.

Almost time for weigh in and my scales went up today but sometimes they go down for weigh in (weird). I’ve noticed I hover around the same weight pretty much. Yes I’ve had losses. I think I have to give up dairy. I have been having sour cream and some heavy cream. I don’t have yoghurt or anything else. Just dairy that’s heavy on fat not carbs. I do have cheese daily too. I think I need to drop this to lose more. I always wondered if dairy is a problem for me. The other strange thing is I’m in early menopause and my periods have gone from super heavy and I took medication to help this but thought it didn’t help my weight and now I have had no period. So I wonder what is going on? I am drinking loads of water. Eating meat salad and veges. I find myself feeling full but have he long lived habit of eating anyway. I have no idea why. I have truly given up grains and sugar. I don’t even have nuts. I recently had some blueberries and a couple of stawverries but no other fruits and that’s no regular. I don’t have veges grown in the ground mainly lettuce, spinach, celery, cucumber and mushrooms. I eat eggs daily but don’t over do it. I have olive oil and butter where I can. I don’t know what I am doing wrong but feel like I stall at this current weight and am wanting to desperately push through and drop some more. I suppose I could do a full fast day per week. That might help as well as dropping sour cream, cheese and the cream. Worth a try. Koko. That’s my new motto :)

borowren sounds like your going to look at veggie recipes which is what I would have said too as there's some really delicious stuff on there.

Full disclosure I went on a hen do last night, I very very rarely go out and never drink. I ended up having 3 vodka sodas and a cupcake I feel a bit guilty

I'll probably be off the thread for a while as going on holiday again in the morning and I struggle to keep up. Hopefully I won't be a carby twat.

Haven’t read the last page but up to date otherwise. My kids are being dicks so just a quick post.
I’m a non weigher so really focus on non scale victories, my blood pressure before this woe was in the ‘pre high blood pressure’ category. It’s now ‘ideal’. V happy with that!

Thanks @BIWI. Yes, a good meal plan and an online delivery for as soon as I get back sounds like the best plan!

Really hoping the scales remain kind to me tomorrow. I've just been for an Italian with dc and I chose chicken Caesar salad without croutons. No idea about the dressing but it was lovely and not pasta or pizza so I'm calling it a win.

bettyblue I'd just eat the food, not go crazy with unnecessary sugar and get straight back on it. Life will always pit up obsessed this WOE is for life, some weeks we will gain weight either for no reason or because of having to eat off plan food. Enjoy your trip and all the exercise.

I was up 2lbs this morning! Possible delayed reaction to the wine. Or due to gynae pain inflammation or the painkillers taken to relieve it. Spent the afternoon doing very hard slog in the garden, sweated buckets and ache now so will either be back down or the muscle inflammation will have kept me up. Either way I know I've eaten well so not too bothered.

Brunch - Greek yogurt, cream and raspberries.
Dinner - gammon with cauliflower and Courgette in cheese sauce.
Lots of water and black coffee.

That should say life will always put up obstacles