And off we go! Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 1

[BIWI]

Welcome everyone. We have over 150 people signed up this time, so it's going to be pretty busy, and the initial chat thread is going to be very fast-moving!

Here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for you to post your starting weight.

Remember, you don't have to input your actual weight if you don't want to - you can index it, which means starting at 100 and then for every pound you lose, you take off a point.

If your name isn't on the spreadsheet, don't panic! Just add your name to the bottom, and then the lovely @AthelstaneTheUnready will re-alphabetise the list.

If you're on the spreadsheet and you don't want to be, don't worry - just don't enter any info, and then you'll be deleted after the first couple of weeks.

Hope your op goes well Seafour, I remember you from the last bootcamp, you are a fighter so I'm sure it will go very well.

I've been crap with the water this morning, I drank well over yesterday so need to get back into it. Also had a great HIIT and weights class last night so feel very energised today!

Today:

B: Black coffee (I do 16:8 along side bootcamp now)
L: will be some sort of salad with a salmon roulee and halloumi
D: Cheesey Broccoli stuffed chicken with cauliflower mash and salad.

Interesting with the IF actually, like prettybird I am in the habit of no breakfast but I prefer breakfast foods to dinner to be honest so could swap around, although I'll still do something for DP he can have pizza then I do have the occasional long fast though, say 20 hours rather than 16

Morning all! The graph is really useful Justmuddlingalong I am dreadful for giving up on a diet if I have a stall or the slightest increase on the scales, which is so stupid! I need to take my measurements too as I have forgotten to do this in the past.

Today I've had Greek yoghurt and coffee with cream for breakfast and will have another coffee and cream for my morning snack. Prawn, spring onions and broccoli stirfry with barenaked noodles for lunch and I saw a nice aubergine and feta recipe on the veggie thread that I want to try for tea!

Another one here joining @leapinlizards @athelstonetheunready and @claire8allthepies to ditch the wine and crisps! If you can all do it so can I!! I've decided that after the first 2 weeks are done, I'm going to make Kale crisps once a week so I have something similar to crisps as a 'treat' to look forward to, which I hope will stop me falling off the wagon. I've tried them before and with a sprinkling of sea salt they satisfied the need for a slightly salty crispy snack.

Biblio I had half a curly cabbage and half a white one in the fridge, plus half a bag of kale. I just sliced the cabbage up with a sharp knife into thin ribbons, took the ribs out of the kale, sliced a shallot and bunged the hole lot in a big pan with a slice of butter. Sautéed over a gentle het till everything is beginning to soften off. I then added a couple of chopped chilli because I love them, but not essential. Salt and pepper. Stir in some double cream - maybe about 40 mls. Tip into an open casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese and bake at about 180 for 30 mins. There is some left for lunch which I will reguvinate with some spinach and a few bits of chicken.

Spider, I’ve lost a lot of weight on this - heading towards 6 stone. I had to make a decision that it wasn’t a diet, it was a lifestyle change, and it would be for life. (Although I didn’t make that latter decision till it started to work!). That way, there is no won to fall off, it’s just what I do. Although now and again I feel a slight sadness for knowing I won’t (not can’t) eat something that looks nice, overall I wouldn’t really thank you for carbs nowadays.

Morning all
Thanks for sharing all the food ideas, I'm aiming to be a bit more adventurous this boot camp but don't want to be a slave to the cooker either so loving the more simple ideas. I'm cooking for dh who's been coeliac his whole life and my 3 older kids so I haven't the energy to make lots of different dinners.

I've discovered Green Isle frozen cauliflower rice, couldn't be bothered messing with fresh cauliflower even though I know it's easy done but the frozen stuff is so handy.
Am I the only one who doesn't really notice the difference between real rice and the cauliflower rice when served with a curry/etc.

Hi all 👋🏼 Looking to join and actually stick with it this time. I've added myself onto the spreadsheet, managing to maintain a 15lbs loss from earlier in the year but still want to lose another two stone...

Looking forward to getting started with you all, @lovecherries that cabbage sounds amazing!

I've started buying frozen cauliflower florets. The fresh caulis are the size of apples atm so it's more economical to buy frozen. Makes no difference as it's being cooked anyway.

Ciarabean, I've added your weight - are you using the link at the top of this thread?

Jumping, you're on too

That's a good idea about the kale, Lurk - and if I get a special glass bottle of fancy sparkling mineral water, I could almost pretend it's the same thing...

@AthelstaneTheUnready thank you!

I’m not sure about alpro kermit, but I know what you mean about Greek. I add cinnamon or vanilla powder. After the first two weeks, you can add a few berries

Hello day 2 and all the ladies here
Hope everyone is having a good day today and a good start as well!!

So far I had 2 egg whites,1 full large egg made into a omelette baked in butter with cheese YUM. But the black coffee (since I can't use the creamer anymore) YUCK how did I finish that cup is a mystery to me. I need to get some double cream for sure
@starsky22 Yes I had a high carb dinner and regretted it so much, I was feeling hungry the whole evening, I'm hoping the lchf will work better for me
@RosalieAlys hahaha I've got exactly the same and I'm always on the scales as well to see change
@ilovecherries can I just say I'm drooling at your cabbage and kale mixture?! As soon as I've done shopping I'm trying this out!!
@BIWI thank you for the cream answer all I can say is lets try it out!!

Almost 1 litre gone and 2,5 more to go, Lets do this day 2

That's an inspiring weight loss ilovecherries! Keeping this way of eating for life is definitely the plan, I lost about 4 stone at uni and maintained it for several years by being low carb.

I managed to put it all back on (and more...) when I was pregnant (I could only stomach eat bread and cheese for most of it, not good for my weight at all!). I need to break the carby cycle once and for all, the more I eat, the more I want. But in the past I've found after a few weeks of not eating them I can happily live without them.

Hello all!

Rosalie Yep, I'm exactly the same! I just have to remind myself that I didn't put on the damn weight after one day of unhealthy eating so I'm not going to lose it in one day - but imagine how marvellous it would be if we could!

It's really inspiring to hear about not only other people's losses from previous bootcamps, but the other side-effects of a low-carb lifestyle.

Today's food - B Tuna mayo and celery to scoop it up with.
L Blue cheese, mushroom fritatta type thing with spinach in butter - guess who cooked this in the office microwave and is now Not Very Popular....

Dinner will be Shepherd's pie, the low carb version - I'm planning a cauliflower topping for my portion, although dh will have potato on his. Served with some green veggies.

Hello all! I'm a newbie to the thread, I think I've added my details to the spreadsheet. I have low carbed successfully before a few years ago (but then got pregnant again and all I wanted was white bread and chips). Since then have tried unsuccessfully and then had another baby a year ago and you know, its time! So, I started two weeks ago and its going well, lost 10lb (mostly water I imagine) and haven't had huge cravings so that's all good. I am a vegetarian so I was worried about the nuts (as I do eat peanuts) but I was happy to see there are separate veggy low carb rules where I just have to beware of them!
So, challenges are drinking enough water (I was great for the first 2 weeks and now have slacked off), and being a bit time poor so resorting to eggs and a (1g of carb) veggy sausage for every meal! I need to go and look at the veggy recipe thread for inspiration. Also I need some breakfast ideas! so bored of fried eggs

Hello Seafour, I was thinking about you the other day. I hope all your troubles are working out and that the op is ok. I think it was you with the family (son's?) wedding coming up? Hope that went well and all is good with you

Morning. Afternoon, or whatever. Good day yesterday, so glad to be back in control again.

Anyway, food yesterday...
B Bacon & scrambled eggs
L Black coffee with double cream
D Chicken thighs & braised veg - sliced little gem lettuce, broccoli and some green beans that needed finishing, stir fried in butter and then braised in chicken stock and some double cream. Bloody lovely.

And today, after a couple of months of having dogs recuperating from operations, we all went out with our dog-walking group for a two-hour walk in the woods. Felt so good to be back out properly again, and they're so knackered now... So we'll be back to going out for proper walks again, which will help keep me focused. This time last year I was nearly four stones heavier than I am now, so even though I've put on some poundage over the summer, It puts the bit I have left to lose into proportion a bit.

Water, though, that's the bit I'm having to remember...

I love reading about people's successes. One of the things that strikes me about Bootcamp is even though people might gain a bit in between, or when they're pregnant, or suffering from an illness, in the main people have lost and kept off loads of weight. I don't think you read the same success stories in the other weight loss topics on here

Thanks cherries, that sounds like my kind of dish! Will give it a shot. I already make cabbage/kale carbonara, sometimes with mushrooms rather than bacon, and this sounds along similar lines.

Hello folks! Nice to be back. I'm a long term LC'er although I lapsed last year, put on two stone but got back on the case in July. I've lost one of those stone and want to get shot of the other one.

@kermitrulesok - Alpro do an unsweetened yogurt which has no carbs in. There's a coconut milk yogurt called Coyo which is lovely (but blisteringly expensive)

Swede is a good cottage pie topper clashcityrocker, my dh prefers it to potato now.

Good to hear from you seafour

BIWI that's the great thing about LC. After I gained I tried a few other methods of losing again and none worked because they're not sustainable for me. Three months back low-carbing has flown by without feeling like some awful restrictive penance.

boldlygoing that is v interesting about mixing up the skipped meals

Hi all, feeling really great again today. Remembering why I love low carbing and really feel so much better eating this way! Loving all the recipe ideas. I usually stick to boiled eggs, tuna salad and pork belly. Works for me but my God the boredom! Will try to be more creative this time. Have tried unsweetened almond milk instead of my beloved oat milk Barista and it’s fine. Not great, but fine! Someone mentioned Alpro yoghurt, I had it this morning with coconut cream stirred in and it was really nice.

@Lonesurvivor I agree, I don't miss rice at all now, in fact a prefer to have either cauliflower rice, grated courgette or celeriac, which are much tastier and have more nutrition.