January 2019 Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 1

[BIWI]

Well happy new year!

Here's a sparkling, brand new, Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for us all to get this new Bootcamp off to a good start.

Remember, you don't have to be on the spreadsheet if you don't want to - and if you don't want to declare your actual weight, you can index it - which means that your starting 'weight' is 100. Then for every pound you lose, you take off one. So if you lose 4lbs in week 1, then your 'weight' starting for week 2 will be 96.

There are over 170 people signed up, so the thread will move very quickly - but please, please, please read all the posts. Don't just jump on and post your own stuff without reading what other people have posted. That's especially the case if you're posting with a question - read the thread to make sure it hasn't already been asked.

Have a good look at the spreadsheet and all the tabs at the bottom, as there's a huge amount of information there - not just the rules, but also the list of vegetable carb counts, and some really interesting reading/videos too.

I hope everything there is clear, but if not - just shout.

Looking forward to getting going!

Yes, this will be our second alcohol-free weekend.

I've found that staying at home is easier than going out - going out for dinner and not ordering a bottle of wine was hard!

Omg cream cheese pancakes.... drooling

B - usual coffee with Almond milk x 2. Bacon, 1/2 large avo, salad leaves and 5 cherry boccocini
L - terrible as was swimming all day, so grabbed cheese cubes and salami slices between swims
D - sirloin steak with home made cream pepper sauce and large salad of mixed leaves, cucumber, avo and cherry boccocini with olive oil/chives vinegar dressing (DH had side of oven fries)

Need to up water intake before bed....

That dress sounds like a good incentive nowlook.

Really interested to hear about everyone’s meals, loads of good ideas

Was 11stone12 on the first of the month and have gone to 11stone3.5 today. Definitely working.
I work in pharmacy and did my blood pressure and cholesterol for fun a few months back so might do it again in a few weeks and see where I am. Will be interesting to see if it's dropped! Definitely over my carb flew and feeling much better today!

Thanks @Hefzi, those bloody seatbelts are just awful aren't they. I've often fantasised about stabbing the designer in the eye with a sharp stick!

And I feel your pain having a whole person to lose...it seems such a long slog, but we will look bloody fantastic by the end of this year if we keep going. I keep telling myself that a year in the grand scheme of things is nothing and well worth the pay off. Thank god for you lot to keep me on the straight and narrow.

Good day today so far. Breakfast was cold meat/cheese nibbles at the apartment I'm staying in and just had an early lunch, before heading off to a meeting, of chicken Caesar salad with fried pancetta instead of croutons in a little bistro. It was delicious. Thought I'm best eating early than not at all and slowing myself to get hungry. I'll be fine until dinner now.

I had a wee binge last night. Really, really unlike me. In my defence I'd been ill the last few days and hadn't eaten much so I think my body wanted some energy. Of course, it showed on the scales this morning.

Thought tonight was going to be a right off. Have friends of DPs coming up for the night. Original plan was to go to the pub for dinner and drinks, but he asked them and they said they don't mind me cooking (he thought they might want to eat out as they're on holiday, as it were) which means I'm in charge of the menu. So I'll do spag bol, but avoid the carbs myself.

The part afterwards will be interesting. I've drunk with them in the past, and can't keep up even switching to soft drinks. If we stay at home I'll stick mainly to sparkling water with lemon. If we go to the pub I'll confess all tomorrow!

Good plan, @tootstastic

@BIWI
I haven't actually, although will start doing so. I do feel less bloated and jeans feel a bit looser.

@Iamnotacerealkiller the list of cons says it all, plus you could add that once you start it's so difficult to stop

I'm going to drive tomorrow when we go out so I can't drink. Although I would LOVE a g&t.

Still on holiday here, and have eaten out a bit, so I feel I’ve had a LOT of steak and salad (hard done by ;)). I’m still doing RED every day - have run 5 K every second day and 3K on the alternate days since 1 Jan. don’t expect much in the way of weightloss any more having maintained —stalled— for the whole of 2018 but still seeing changes to shape - couldn’t wear my new swim suit, bought in the summer but never worn, as you could see right up the legs.

I can never get strikethrough to work for me.

@GerrysSuccessor As an alternative to gum this is a great breath freshener
www.amazon.co.uk/Wow-Drops-R2WOW-0-338-10/dp/B000S854FA?tag=mumsnetforum-21
and it's so strong it wakes me up a bit too!

@Kitemarked, an item of clothing? I have several! Not designer or expensive but items I really loved when I was at my slimmest....Zara coated skinnies, side zip tailored trs...things like that.
But I also have my size 16 M&S trs that I owre to my first WW class 10 years ago, and I'm now a (uncomfortable for now) size 10.

Just checking in,

yesterday
B: avocado
L: tuna salad with mayo
D: should have been slow cooked chicken with a stack of buttery greens, it spelled delicious during the last hour or so cooking time so was really looking forward to it. Just sat down at the table when the doorbell rang, a neighbor had fallen and needed to go to the hospital. So four hours later when I got back from A&E it didn't looking very appertising! Still not all bad I resisted the vending machines at the hospital, and just had a couple of slices and ham and sliced cheese for supper when I got home. But my neighbor is fine and pleased I could help when needed.

Today
B: two scrambled eggs with butter
L: cheese salad with mayo
D: will be Salmon with stir fry.

Bought a low carb slow cooker family cook book this week which has some nice recipes to try, though it looks like their definition of LC is around 20g per portion as a number of the recipes come in at 19-23g per server. Will start with those meals under 10g for now, but there is a great page on making your own spice mix, so bought about ten fresh jars of herbs and spices last night to give it a go. Also have the idiot Proof diet book coming this weekend, so hopefully lots of inspiration as whilst the recipe threads are useful I'm a sucker for a glossy picture to inspire me!

Sorry for multiple posts! Still getting hang of this forum!
Just wanted to share my tip re the cheese crisps - I had some lovely aged gouda that had gone a bit too aged! So I grated it and spread it out on the george forman and let it cook away till browned & crispy then peel off , giving you a big yummy cheese crisp.
Be sure to put kitchen roll, cloth etc under grill to catch all the oil that oozes.

@Lazydaysofsummer - you deserve some good karma for that!

Just be aware that the IPD recipe book is a paperback, with no glossy pictures! Although the recipes are lovely, they don't give carb counts either, so just be aware of that - personally I think some of them may be a bit carby, but see what you think when you get the book

Daily weigher here. Always have been. Feck it's slow progress despite being totally angelic on the no wine, lots of water front

A bit of a day on the run:
B: a few slices of chorizo and a chunk of cheese
L: babybel, snack sizes pepperami, 15g bag of pork scratchings
D: home made lamb curry with spinach

Oh and no fecking wine and so much water folks hear me swooshing towards them

Feeling a tad better now so many carb related after all. Managed some scrambled eggs with cabbage this morning, then for lunch had some Brie, then some Greek yoghurt, then some more cabbage fried with streaky bacon. Still just don’t fancy any of the delicious fatty things we can have, and instead want toast. Am not giving in though, I know today will pass and I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be back in the zone.

Out for dinner tonight with friends and am psyching myself up for asking for changes to the menu as I don’t think there’s really anything suitable. I’m not usually the type to want to make a fuss or be demanding (people pleaser...) but I’m determined not to allow excessive politeness to push me in the wrong direction!

B - avocado, boiled egg
L - celeriac and fennel remoulade with cheese and ham
D - coconut ginger pork, it's cooking now and smells wonderful although it looks a bit anaemic. It'll look more appetising when it's accompanied by buttery broccoli and cabbage.

Loving the recipe for cream cheese pancakes, going to have them for breakfast over the weekend, with some bacon.

Someone earlier posted about the difficulty of cakes / biscuits in the staff room at work. When I was low-carbing last year I used to keep a little bag with 3 macadamia nuts in it so if I felt that temptation was too much I always had something I could eat as an alternative. For me, it was interesting that just having that option and choice meant that I rarely ate them and stopped me from feeling deprived of cake (which I don't actually like). I know that nuts are not allowed at this stage but maybe a tactic for later... Also, I only ever took 3 nuts with me so I didn't mindlessly scoff a load!

@prettybird that's some willpower not to 'test' any of your tablet, the smell of it is so delicious....

@AandL- another uncomfortable size 10 here. Felt a bit slimmer this morning, so popped into TK Maxx to try some clothes.

Looked like a burst mattress.

On a positive note, I have bought celeriac (or is it "a celeriac"?) It looks daunting.

This WOE is amazing. My DM who is Type2 diabetic has also cut back on carbs after I told her about it. She's certainly not being as strict as BC but even that has resulted in a 1lb loss over a week, and perhaps even more importantly for her, she has tightened her belt by 2 notches in that time as well, so she's loosing fat around her middle. When she was diagnosed, the advice from the dietician was to make sure she had a portion of carbs with every meal and she could have a plain biscuit with a cup of tea as long as her blood sugars stayed stable. (Grrr) She's not surprisingly found it very difficult to lose weight on that basis and I can see her slowly changing her way of thinking. I'm going to share our meal ideas with her and see if I can push her a bit further towards BC [grin}

Today
B - avocado mashed with lime juice and a chopped fresh chilli, with crispy bacon bits on top - it was FABULOUS
L - Cheesy Omelette and mixed leaf salad
D - will be Butter Chicken Curry with shredded iceberg lettuce and cucumber.

@GerrysSuccessor have you had a look at the menu online? That might help make your choices/decisions easier. And remember - you are the client in this transaction! They are there to provide you with food. They are not doing you a favour by that.

But also, I've never had any problem, or any awkwardness or any sniffy waiters when I ask for something to be left off or substituted. They're so used to it, especially with all the people who have allergies and intolerances these days.

@1stMrsF that's very outdated advice from her dietician!

@biwi no, they change their menu so often depending on season and what they’ve got avaailable that they only have a ‘typical menu’ online. I’m hoping for steak!

Ah yes, that does make it more awkward! But if they change their menu often, that also sounds like they're the kind of kitchen that can be flexible for you - unlike chain restaurants, where often things are pre-prepared and can't be changed. So it sounds good!

@BIWI I know! To be fair, this was some years ago, but of course it's stuck, and I've been trying to tell her for years that there are better ways. I read Fast 800 just after Christmas and got her to read it too which helped. I do like that he has lots of very recent scientific evidence to back up what he says. It was one of the thing that convinced me to give BC a go (had lurked around the threads last year, but wasn't sure!) I don't want to count calories, but the principles of undoing insulin resistance just seems obvious now. I think it's hard for those of us who are old enough to have grown up with the 'fat is bad' message though.