Week 4 - Low Carb Bootcamp - already a month!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

Here's the Spreadsheet

The link should open on the rules rather than just the spreadsheet because I rather think some of you need a reminder!

@Dia12 - you asked about water. Do you not know how much you should be drinking? If you don't know, then that tells me that you haven't read (or remembered) the rules!

Seriously - drinking the water is really important. That's why it's one of the rules.

So we're in week 4 - remember, this one has a reputation (along with its evil twin week 3) for being a week where weight loss is limited or even unlikely. Don't despair if you don't see any loss this week. As long as you're following the rules, you will be fine.

And remember - it's not all about the scales! Take your measurements, or try on something that was too tight a month ago, and you'll get a much more realistic idea about your progress.

I'm away for the next three days, visiting my best friend, so don't really know a) what's going to happen on the food front and b) how often I'll be able to post. I should have wifi on the train, but after that - who knows! I'm travelling first class though, so looking forward to my fried breakfast this morning.

I hope you all have a very good week.

Is anyone else wanting to snack a lot?

BIWI thanks for the soup recipes! I still have left over Xmas cheese to use up too. I browsed through the BBC GF soup selection. 90% were pea, potato, parsnip, lentil, carrot etc etc

@Dia12 - are you hungry, or do you think it's just habit? Or, worse, emotional eating?

If you're hungry then that would suggest you're not eating enough, but especially enough fat or protein. By now, you should be easily able to go between meals without getting hungry.

The other thing, if you feel hungry, is to drink some water - it could be thirst rather than hunger.

I'm beginning to recognise this as emotional eating as I'm definitely not hungry and it seems to coincide with the latest saga with our infertility. I had a particularly disheartening appointment with consultant last week and have not been sleeping well since.

I should have added that it's not hunger. And that in the previous weeks I was totally able to go without snacking.

Another nice soup is Courgette and Boursin, some recipes include potato which you leave out, and just reduce the amount of stock so it's a thicker consistency.

I've discovered that having a pack of the pre cooked crispy bacon strips, has been really handy. I was travelling so had to stop somewhere to grab lunch so picked up a pack, and a pot of egg mayo sandwich filler which I spread on top of the bacon to eat like a cracker. Ive also had them crumbled on broccoli and Stilton soup, with Haloumi and salad, and took them with some olives to dinner at friends to have as snacks instead of crisps. They are satisfying and very salty which means I can't eat too many at once, but they are a good replacement for crisps if like me you miss them.

@Dia12 I have one day a month (just so happened to be yesterday!) where I have uncontrollable hunger. It's always 7 days prior to my period is due. And I just cannot stop thinking about food ( generally meat??) apparently it's dues to a hormone drop ( estrogean I think?) yesterday I snacked on spicy salami and beef jerky. I don't beat myself up about this day now as I know its hormone driven. Aside from this one day eating lchf has reduced any desire to snack.
Weirdly, generally the next day I weigh in at my lowest! (Today was my second lowest weight since starting lc)

I'm still learning but I'm amazed at how my menstral cycle effects me as a whole. Eating low carb has really helped my moods/emotions. I can't go back to holllow carbs now!!

Basically - yes sometimes I want to snack uncontrollably 😳 Sorry about the essay!

Meals for me today

B - normal proscuttio cream cheese parcels. Almond milk coffee
L - beef burger, salad leaves, avo, cheese, asparagus spears, mayo
D - roast chicken thigh, broccoli and something else yet to be decided...

Ah that makes sense @WhatTheFronti - I'm due on in about 5 days!
I agree with the never going back to hollow carbs again! However, I am looking forward to being able to reintroduce fruit a bit more once I get to my goal weight.

Hi everyone

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday so here's what I ate:

B- Boiled Eggs, chunk of cheddar
L- Greek Salad with prawn cocktail and avocado
D- seasoned turkey thigh mince cooked with cream cheese, mountain of steamed broccoli

Struggling to get water in this week, purely because of my stupidly insane job. By the time I get home, I'm up all night on the toilet if I try to squeeze it in before bed. I got so cross with my line manager yesterday for giving me a cover lesson in my only free when he knew I was on duty at break AND lunch. I virtually yelled "WHEN AM I SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE TOILET????" Still persevering though, I'll have to find a way that works for me.

Morning all! I was in London yesterday (train, quick meeting, back on train), so my eating was not the best (thanks, East Midlands Trains, for your stunning selection of limp carby offerings).

B: Cheese (on the way to the station)
L: Nada. But lots of water.
D: Lovely chicken and veg stew with all the butter and cream.

I did find I had to drink about 4ltrs. I think the city air dehydrates this country mouse.

(and I had to take calls on the train and give strong legal advice, thus looking like a complete wanker to all other passengers. If any of you were one of them, I'm sorry)

Food for today:
B - scrambled eggs and crispy pancetta
L - avodaco, cheese, salad
D - Thai green chicken curry with green beans and cauliflower rice (with homemade curry paste, no sugars or rubbish ingredients)

Yesterday
B: water, but not as much as usual
L: camembert, brazil nuts, pepperoni slices, 1 boiled egg, yellow pepper, cucumber (and a snack pot of small pepperamis and cubed cheese while out and about)
D: homemade broccoli soup with butter, cream cheese and soured cream - delicious!

I am definitely losing cms/inches, but not so much the lbs. I can't understand it.

We went for a curry with work and it was so hard resisting the poppadums (I don’t like rice or naan) and the after dinner mints, the Cobras and the shots. But I did it💪🏼
This is a boring way of life for going out for drinks tho. I nearly ordered a cup of tea I was so bored with water!

@KiteMarked, I'm just going to paste @AthelstaneTheUnready 's explanation from a week or so ago. Made sense to me at the time!

... 'weight' isn't exactly what we're trying to lose though...It's fat we want gone, not muscle, bone, brain...

... so it's perfectly possible to lose fat, but put on a bit of muscle or other body infrastructure, so remain the same 'weight' but actually be slimmer. That's because this WOE is so nutrient-dense, with all the additional types of veg and protein swapped in for bread/pasta etc, that a lot of body repair and building goes on, especially in the first few months.

That's why people - like you! - keep reporting that clothes are loser even if the scale hasn't moved. You HAVE lost fat, the scales are only telling you that you've also rebuilt some more vital bits of your body.

Posters aren't reporting better skin, better digestion, less PMT issues because it's wooooo, but because their bodies are beginning to function better. It's why I'm wedded to this WOE (despite some slips) because the difference between proper nutrition and cramming down junk was a real eye-opener for me in terms of health, energy, and happiness, never mind losing the fat!

Well predictably my birthday so far has been pretty shitty. I went back to bed at 10am for a good sob and now i'm up trying to make the best of everything. I'm not going to cook tonight so thinking that an Indian takeaway would be the best low carb option? Something like a tandoori lamb chops and aubergine curry?

Going out to pick up a chocolate cake for the kids to sing happy birthday over and hotdog buns and party rings which has been requested for my special birthday tea. I will also buy a bottle of cava and a big slab of stilton for me!

Going to leave DH with the kids on Sunday and fuck off somewhere on my own. Might go for that make over at some beauty counters I promised myself.

@MrsKoala

You really are having a shit time of it. I've fucked off to the coast for a day over much, much less (but, then, I'm prone to the dramatic).

Happy Birthday mrskoala cava and stilton sound just the ticket!

Happy Birthday @MrsKoala. I'd just go online and buy yourself a lovely present!

Hoping that the 3/4 week stall is over. 3lb lost over the last 2 days which makes up for weight put on and trousers I am wearing today noticeably looser than they were on Tuesday!

L- beef mince curry, green beans, salad leaves
D - (naice) Ham and fried eggs with either more salad, or some broccoli or courgette, depending on what I fancy later

We are having the house decorated at the moment, so everything is topsy-turvy. We will also have no access to kitchen for 3 days next week followed by house guests for the weekend. I keep thinking about trying to plan food and then giving up because it's too hard, although I have got as far as deciding to make a chilli this weekend and putting it in the freezer to take some of the pressure off. I think I need a good peruse of the recipe threads...

Thanks, nowlook, I remember reading that now!

It still feels weird; I am starting to look a bit more toned, like I've been exercising more. I definitely have not.

Oh @MrsKoala - I'm so sorry. What a shit time.

from me

Happy birthday @mrskoala

@MrsKoala. Happy Birthday to you. I agree with 1stMrsF, a nice bit of online retail therapy. I'm thinking gorgeous bag or perfume.

Bad day. Bring and share lunch meant I had a lot of temptation! I didn't have chocolate dessert, crisps or cakes or bread but I did have an m&s pork pie, cheese and fruit.

I didn't make perfect choices but I didn't make the worst but then came home and dd3 shouted at me and I had a toasted bagel! Line drawn. It's my first blip in 3.5 weeks. Dd1 has apologised and all is calm again.