Week 6: Onwards and downwards into the 2nd half

[prettybird]

BIWI has asked me to start this week's Boot Camp thread as she is away in New York and therefore 5 hours behind (and you lot would be champing at the bit by the time she was up and able to post )

The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness is here Remember that it is full of resources, as well as a means of tracking your downward trajectory.

Hopefully, those of you who have been here from the start of this Boot Camp will now be getting used to this Way of Eating (if you weren't already) and are now over any cases of carb flu. If you'd suffered from the notorious Weeks 3, 4 and sometimes even Week 5 stalls, you should now, as long as you KOKOed, be seeing the scales moving downwards again

Remember too that there are lots of lovely recipes available in the pinned threads (and the desserts one, which isn't pinned). No excuses for not eating fabulously on this Way of Eating

Welcome

Two stone might be a bit of a stretch by Christmas - but you know that

But you should be able to lose over half a stone - it depends on how big your initial "whoosh" is. Thereafter, like most (healthy) diets, you will lose on average 1 to 2 pounds a week. Some weeks you will stall, others you will get a whoosh.

No, you don't need to calorie count as long as you read and follow The Rules

This includes the amount of water you need to drink (a function of your weight).

As a veggie, you can have nuts during the first 2 weeks (unlike the rest of us) - but no fruit. After the first 2 weeks, you can have berries in moderation (but be careful - blueberries are surprisingly high in carbs).

You'll be pleased to find out that canned tomatoes are relatively high in carbs, so other veg are better choices!

Brussels are good (see the earlier discussions), as are courgettes, asparagus, baby sweetcorn (but not sweet corn kernels), broccoli, cauliflower. There is a list of carb counts in the spreadsheet.

The other thing that newbies struggle with is the need to eat plenty of fat. Snack on butter - eat the cheese that you like (although some people find that too much dairy stalls them butter doesn't count in that context )

It helps to think of this as a Way of Eating rather than a diet. Also, have a look at the pinned veggie thread for inspiration

Well, my bank balance is getting lighter - bloody sales + discount codes at Nike and Adidas ffs - I'm doing a personal trainer course so I guess I could count it as uniform Did get Ex DP's girls Xmas presents though for half price (ridiculously expensive must have trainers)

Not eaten yet today, just too much black coffee

Welcome Batfink - def try this WOE, it's great and the support here is amazing! I'm not an expert but having read through lots of old bootcamps it's better to aim to lose steadily to allow your skin to catch up, I'd recommend reading earlier threads, it's really useful.

Thanks so much for those tips. I will have a good read through

I usually have good losses initially - 20lbs in 3 weeks is usual for me - purely because I'm such a ridiculous carb fiend that I think my body just goes into massive shock!

Ok so I'm about to eat ..

Rocket leaves
Avocado
Tablespoon of cream cheese
Cucumber
Drizzled in oil

Does that sound ok to you?

Thanks for all your help

Snack on butter?? Erk! I have butter once a day usually, in a coffee and all whizzed up in a nutribullet.

Well, my 'brunch' tasted very err 'green.' The addition of the cream cheese made it palatable I suppose.

Sounds reasonable - although not very much . This WoE is not about starving yourself. You need to enjoy your food - and it doesn't sound like you did very much

How much water have you had?

For snacks, if you like cheese, you could have slices of cheddar spread with butter and Marmite (mmmm, I think I might go and have some now myself ).

Microwave a whole cauliflower (florets) with some butter and then season generously. They're nice hot or cold. Ditto with broccoli. Another variant is to roast the broccoli with some oil and sliced garlic and then heap on grated parmesan and squoosh some lemon juice on and toss it together. That's what I had last night (with some lamb leg steaks - but you wouldn't want them). Yummy

No water but I'm now drinking my first litre of the day!

You're not serious about cheese spread with butter? I would surely have a heart attack?

I can't really get started on cheese as I'm quite capable of eating half a block. I tend to stick to goats cheese and mozzarella as that way it's kind of portion controlled? So I'll have one ball of mozzarella and one round of goats cheese - usually about 130g each one I suppose.

Detest cauliflower but like broccoli so I'm considering halloumi with roasted broccoli and asparagus for dinner?

Read some of the resources in the spreadsheet. This is a High Fat Low Carb Way of Eating. It won't work unless you eat the fat.

I think a simplisitc way of putting it is that once your body is fat adapted, as long as you are eating enough fat, your body thinks there is plenty of fat around and starts burning your own fat as fuel. @stuntnun explains it better than me.

Again, if you read the resources, they will explain why the "High Fat = Heart attack" has been debunked. There are two types of cholesterol and it is the relationship between them that is key. People who have been having their cholesterol levels checked while on this WoE have found that their "good" cholesterol levels have improved.

The fact that most of us have experienced significant - and rapid - reductions in our waist measurements (which is also why we say to take measurements at the start and not just to rely on the scales) is demonstrative of the fact that it is the dangerous visceral fat around our organs that is dissipating the most quickly.

A bit late checking in this week but have sts. I’m a wee bit disappointed as I had hoped to see some movement on the scales however my fleece jacket, that was too tight across the umm chest, is now quite loose so something is happening.

I have treated myself to some macadamia nuts and a bar of dark chocolate so will have to control myself and ration them.

A few good losses this week , koko!

Tiredofit - did you take measurements when you started so that you can compare?

The reduction in figures can be really motivating, as they still move (as long as you are KOKOing with this WoE) even when the scales stick.

Thank you prettybird. Some food (ha) for thought there

Ok so today has panned out like this ...

Avocado, cucumber, rocket leaves, cream cheese, olive oil

Pecans, pistachios, a cheese string, two tablespoons of double cream as I was starving! Bizarre

Dinner will be a vegetarian roast thing (the carbs are zero, I've checked) with Brussels sprouts and broccoli in butter and cream

Does that look ok?

That looks ok. Check that the vegetarian roast doesn't include flour or other grains - but you say you checked. I presume it is nut based? I'm not so good at assessing veggie menus.

Make sure to have your water allocation. It really does make a difference.

If you are hungry, you should eat - just make sure that whatever you eat is low carb. This WoE is not about starving yourself. As you adapt, you will feel hungry less often as your body learns to "dine in" as someone on here once so vividly described. But a lot of our "hunger" is habit or boredom induced - I know I am guilty of that

You mentioned you like Greek yoghurt. The Lidl Full Fat Greek yoghurt is 10% fat and very nice (as well as being very reasonably priced). I like it for breakfast with a wee bit of cinnamon.

Welcome BatF1nk

Trust the rules. Don't portion control so that you end up feeling hungry. I ate loads in the first week (because I didn't really think it was going to work) and was amazed by my losses.

Loads of veg (with butter and cream and cheese) - loads of water
and then good recipes like those on the threads.

The first two weeks are tough - so make sure that hunger isn't one of your troubles.

I made a broccoli and halloumi dish at the weekend for a vegetarian friend and it just so happened to be low carb:
www-olivemagazine-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/sage-and-halloumi-roasted-broccoli-with-caramelised-leeks/amp/?amp_js_v=a2&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQECAFYAQ%3D%3D#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.olivemagazine.com%2Frecipes%2Fvegetarian%2Fsage-and-halloumi-roasted-broccoli-with-caramelised-leeks%2F

Just need to omit the malt syrup/sugar

Evening all! (Or afternoon, as it is for me). I wondered where you all were, and completely forgot that I didn't start the thread, so it wouldn't be in Threads I'm On

I'm at the airport now (in LA, at the end of my trip) and really looking forward to getting home. It's been a successful trip, but two time zone changes and two 5am starts has meant a very short amount of sleep, and I'm knackered. I'm hoping that I sleep on the plane; it's a 10 hour flight home, and I'm in business, so I'm hoping a good portion of that will find me asleep!

I'm at the lounge at the airport insanely early (still 3 hours before I fly) because I was so worried about the traffic, given that it's Thanksgiving tomorrow. The TV this morning was like listening to reports of Armageddon, about traffic queues and queues at the airport. In reality of course, it took the same amount of time to get here as it would usually do, so I have plenty of time to kill.

Looking forward to being home.

Starsky22 that looks lovely! I will try it .

Welcome back to civilization BIWI :)

I did wonder where you had got to BIWI

Still, we managed just without you

The skies in LA looked lovely and blue - hope you had a productive trip.

Ooh...how I wish I was in LA right now!

Welcome back @BIWI. We were in great hands with @prettybird.

Well done to all the losers and the KOKOers! Where has everyone disappeared to on the spreadsheet? There are hardly any weigh-ins compared with previous weeks.

Week going well so far for me, just scoffing leftover cauli cheese and roast chicken with strawberries for pud. Random fridge leftovers quickly before heading back to work.

Clothes are feeling looser and I'm feeling loads better than I have for ages. Particularly my energy levels are so much higher.

I've also been taking earlier advice about setting some smaller goals. My first one is a daytime do on 1st December.

Well I for one never got to sign in on the data base but just wanted to give a little encouragement and say that so far I have lost 10 pounds. That’s with one weekend off near the start of the six weeks when I felt that I couldn’t be rude to the hosts I was staying with and start fussing about what I could and couldn’t eat.

I find that each pound loss fluctuates for a couple of days before I can actually call it a loss.

My dh is also doing this woe but is not as strict as me as he meets up with mates and has an occasional pint, but we always stick to the rules at home and are finding we are enjoying a variety of veg. Even so, he has gradually lost a few pounds.

I am lucky in that I am not a great sweet eater and don’t drink alcohol very often, but I know I have always had a problem with portion control and am inclined to overeat. However, I now find I am never really hungry and feel satisfied before I have actually finished eating. I also never feel hungry late at night or first thing in the morning.

Good luck. It really is easy once you get into it and follow the rules.

LA was really interesting (and it was nice to have a quick blast of some sunshine!) but I was literally only in the city for 24 hours.

Glad that @prettybird has been keeping you all under control

Blue skies in LA

I did miss your Big Stick at a couple of points BIWI - had to make do with a Stern Face

....with reminds me, BrassicaBabe - have you been having your water? Ditto BatF1nk - and because you're new, I'll also check that you are eating enough as I suspect that you are still struggling with the idea that eating when genuinely hungry and that fat is ok.

LOL @ sternface

Good article on the benefits of butter

https://theheartysoul.com/butter-nutrition-101-is-butter-bad-for-you-or-is-butter-good-for-you/?utm_source=HHL

NB: it's American, hence all the references to the need for grass fed butter. Most of the butter in the UK is grass fed.

I'm checking in - I've been following your posts and keeping up (for the most part) but just not actually posting. My weigh-in this week was rubbish - I'd put on some poundage BUT it was period-time and I knew I'd hit the double cream pretty hard last week (I bought a huge pot with a short use-by date and guzzled it fast). I'm hoping to rectify the damage for Monday.

KOKO!