The final weigh-in - Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Good morning all, for the final Monday of this Bootcamp.

Here's the spreadsheet for its last outing!

I hope very much that the last ten weeks have been successful for everyone - whether that's on the scales, seeing your clothes fit better, better health and general enjoyment of your food!

I'll keep this chat thread going, and when it's full, will start another one until we start the next Bootcamp, which will start in mid-October.

Witty make sure you're back on track before starting a water fast so as to forestall any cravings or excessive hunger. I would start after your evening meal one day and aim to get to 24 hours. But anything over 16 hours is beneficial so don't sweat it if you don't make the full 24 hours. Fasting is something that gets easier with time so even if you don't manage a long fast the first time it will be that bit easier the next time. If you do manage 24 hours easily then I would aim for a 36-hour fast, i.e. to breakfast the following day. After that the benefits of fasting start to tail off. I personally don't see any issue with having black coffee or, even better, green tea rather than just water as they can make fasting significantly easier. If you're trying any fasting at all then do make sure your diet is extra nutritious so plenty of veg and no empty calories from fat bombs or bulletproof coffee.

stunt or witty

Please can you explain the benefits of a water fast? Is it like a kick start or just a wee rest for the body?

Sorry to be a pest. I can see my first day back being fraught and as I no doubt will have a knot in my stomach anyway, would it be worth it for me?

Fab, thank you @StuntNun. I read somewhere too that beef broth is good when breaking a fast because of the collagen, but plenty of

Posted too soon! Plenty of good nutrition afterwards makes good sense. Haven't got round to trying fat bombs yet
Apparently water fasting (ie consuming nothing but water for a day or so or even longer) rests the body and is good for the soul.

Thank you witty - I'm all for a bit of a cheery soul

Sheldon the short-term benefit of fasting (which can be 16:8 where you have a 16-hour window without food, or 5:2 where you greatly reduce your calories two days a week, or 24-hour or longer water fasts) is weight loss. Some people also do dry fasts where they don't even drink water although I'm not sure why anyone would do that. There are potential long-term benefits of regular, e.g. monthly, 24-hour or longer fasts such as longevity and prevention of diseases such as cancer and dementia. If you want to find out more then Jason Fung is a good place to start - he has a website and several books. Fasting is by no means needed to lose weight although some Bootcampers like to introduce 16:8 when they have established low carb. I personally do a lot better when I don't eat breakfast - my hunger levels are reduced and I don't need to snack. In my case that's due to sky-high cortisol levels so eating while my cortisol is high in the morning triggers an insulin rollercoaster through the day. There are plenty of fasting groups on Mumsnet if you're interested in finding out more. The science behind the health implications of fasting is still in its infancy but it is likely that it will be recommended for some illnesses in the future. For example fasting may make chemotherapy more effective in the treatment of certain cancers. We can see the big picture unfolding but the details aren't yet clear.

Thank you for the explanation stunt I shall look into it.

My binge eating has stopped on this way of eating - trust me, it used to be horrendous - but there are some days when it is a chore to eat. More so when work is bad.

A fast period would probably be good for days when I'm a bit too stressed. It might make me feel more in control/give me a different focus.

Good "first day" but I had forgotten all the weeing, I'd definitely let the water consumption slip!
Food yesterday, will be pretty similar today I think as DH away:
B: 2 eggs scrambled with butter
L: 2 boiled eggs mixed with cheddar, chives and mayo, salad of spinach, tomato, cucumber with olive oil and ACV dressing.
Yogurt- the Onken set yogurt is a real find, only 3.3g carbs per 100g and both cheaper and tastier than Greek yogurt IMO.
D: a fatty pork steak with kale, courgette and a home grown summer squash all sautéed in butter.
1 tea and 1 coffee with milk, water on target, no snacks.

Hi may I join you all. Been lurking for a bit. I need to lose about 2 stones (gestimate as no scales), I generally eat low carb due to gluten intolerance.

I’ve been looking and researching for a way of eating that’s healthy as well as sustainable. Research on YouTube led to one meal a day OMAD. I think this is similar to intermittent fasting.

I’m off on holidays soon so I might be setting myself up for failure embarking on a specific eating regime now. I will keep reading & researching.

Welcome!

Morning all, I've been giving low carb a go for the last few weeks and mucked up this weekend as we were away and food choices were very limited. I've been lurking on the low carb boot camp threads and would love to properly be part of the team. When does the new bootcamp run by Biwi start and how do i join in? Sorry, complete mumsnet newb here, it took me ages just to figure out how to post this message! Any pointers will be massively apprecited 🤗

Back again after a carby holiday!

Had got down from almost 11 stone to 10.4 over about 5 weeks.

10.7 today but not beating myself up. I had 20 days camping in a v basic site in seriously mediocre weather, so have eaten those pasties!

What I really noticed though, going back to my previous way of eating, was just how much of it is stodge! And how little actually protein and fruit/veg. Not too daunted by going back to low carb with the occasional drink as it feels so much more nutritious.

I was feeling fitter and brighter on the low carb woe, whereas now I feel majorly lethargic (tho post holiday blues probably kicking in!)

Anyhow no kids today so I can easily low carb. Greek yog for breakfast...

Thanks BIWI and co. This is all v helpful.

10 days not 20!!!

Hi monkey have you looked at the spreadsheet linked to at the top of this thread?. V useful. I am on boot camp lite and that's made a big difference.

Welcome @Monkeymama1! The next Bootcamp will start around mid-October. In the meantime, keep posting on this thread - and if you look at the OP to find the spreadsheet, on the tabs there you'll find Bootcamp rules and a whole lot of other useful information. But any questions, just shout.

Brilliant, thank you! I feel so excited to have found a woe that stops my constant food cravings! I lost 6lbs in the first few weeks but seem to have put 3 back on over the weekend away. I think my biggest challenge is going to be wine, my family and social life seems to revolve around drinking copious amounts of prosecco. I will look up the rules and get my head down 😁

Welcome to newcomers! Always lots of support on here

Following rayna lead of logging my food, to keep me on track so here’s yesterday’s
B - bacon eggs mushrooms
L - cold meats cheese
D - huge salad chicken mayo
S - ff Greek yoghurt, few berries

Today so far
B - eggs scrambled
L - chicken with greek salad and hm coleslaw

Hello everyone. I’ve caught myself up on the 8-10 pages missed whilst I have been in carbytwat land☹️ I think I just got very down at the point where the last camp came to an end and most people had had such great losses and again it hadn’t happened for me. I am really happy for, and inspired by the losers, and the koko’ers but I’ve been off in a stroppy sulk which I am putting behind me now. I haven’t weighed myself yet but have been back low carbing today so am going to come back gently. Stressful issues with youngest DD’s autism has just pushed me over the carby edge (mostly wine and pudding). Sighs.
Sympathies qumquat I hope you are still lurking there, and others who are struggling.
It’s really great to come back and see ilovecherries is losing again because your resolve is amazing.

StuntNun thank you for the fasting information. Really useful.

After too much fizz and cake at the weekend I have put on 2lbs. Am so annoyed at myself as had got down to my lowest weight yet on Friday (17st 7lbs) only to see 17st 9lbs this morning! So today I decided I would drink lots of water and fast until I get hungry. Its been 22 hours fasting so far and I've not even thought about food which was unheard of before I started this WOE.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to share recipes so if it's not, sorry, but does anyone have any tips on making gravy? I tried to make some using meat juices and thicken it with psyliium husk mixed into cold water (like you might with corn flour) but it turned to a gluttonous blob which nearly made me hurl 😖

I haven't tried it but arrowroot is supposed to work and is much lower carb than cornflour.

There's a gravy recipe quite early on in the "Meat" recipe thread that is pinned to the topic of the topic. Haven't tried it myself.

I just tend to do a jus and not thicken much. But veg cooked with the meat and then blitzed in the juices can also work (did that with my turkey gravy at Christmas).

Hello to new people and to old returners :). I’ve had a day of fighting off people who want to feed me and are taking it as an affront when I decline. Sometimes I forget now how every social occasion these days seem to be based around carbs and alcohol. Anyway, those very important 4 ounces have stayed off, so I’m still seeing a 10 on the scale, a number I never thought I’d see again. Last year at this time I kept saying to myself ‘even if I take a year to lose 5 or 6 stone, that year will pass anyway’. And it passed, and I did :).

🙂👏👏🙂

I’ve just had my favourite simple dinner. Green salad - lettuce, avocado, spring onion, cucumber - with a sliced chicken breast and streaky bacon, Delouis mayo. Chicken skin fried with the bacon. Yum.

Brilliant @ilovecherries!