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Low-carb bootcamp

Join discussions about low-carb bootcamp plans, meals and progress. Consider speaking to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Week 7 - Low Carb Bootcamp - Girding our loins and getting a grip

388 replies

BIWI · 25/02/2019 08:51

Morning all

Having a bit of a snigger to myself, because autocorrect wanted me to tile the thread 'Girding our doings ...' Grin

Here's the spreadsheet

We only have four weeks left. I know! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?!

There's been a bit of slippage going on, I notice - and whilst it's not all been of our own doing, sometimes it's about situations where we've reverted to 'learnt' behaviour or type.

So. Let's all pull our socks up! We have only four weeks left, but those weeks could make all the difference.

If you're worried about how the next few weeks are going to go, perhaps a return to Bootcamp rather than Bootcamp Light might help?

Whatever strategy you adopt, here's wishing us all very good luck

Flowers
OP posts:
BrassicaBabe · 02/03/2019 17:46

That sounds like a lovely few days BIWI

Holidays! Now there's a topic I've been thinking about recently. I'm slowing heading back to my November '18 goal weight....just in time for .....Easter holiday away! If I were to look into the possible future...I go totally off piste during the holiday. Stick on 7lb. (Would you be surprised with how easily that happens?!) Then spend 2 months trying to lose it again. Just in time for the next holiday or major break away. And so it continues, summer holiday, October half term, Christmas!

This, for me, has got to stop. I need to find some way through to turn this into a proper way or eating for life.

Anyway, this is a topic I'm still thinking about ConfusedSmile

nowlook · 02/03/2019 17:57

@BrassicaBabe

You've just described my whole adult life. Personally, I'm happy putting on the odd half stone on holiday ...I give myself permission to overindulge.

The trick is to spend so much cash on celeriac that I can only afford one holiday a year Wink

Rshard · 02/03/2019 18:18

Totally relate to all that @brassica.

tootstastic · 02/03/2019 18:24

@BrassicaBabe I'm with you on finding a for-life way of eating. I'm hoping that I can stick to the basic bootcamp/bootcamp lite rules and have the odd treat once I'm at maintenance. But I have absolutely no idea if my BED will allow me to do that or whether my only option is total abstinence; I bloody hope that won't be the case!

StuntNun · 02/03/2019 18:31

DH is making dinner and the ingredients include figs and balsamic glaze. Hmm When is he going to get the hang of this low carb thing?

twinkledag · 02/03/2019 19:09

I need help not judgement please.

I just can't seem to do it this time round . I know it works I just can't seem to get going!

Last time I did this I discovered lovely food like Halloumi and chorizo and salad but I am now sick to the back teeth of salad!

Please help. 

MrsKoala · 02/03/2019 19:19

My DH can't understand this woe at all. He said he would eat what I eat to save me work. The first night I served chilli. He stared at it and said where's the rice? Where's the pitta and the beans? I ended up doing him micro rice and bunging a frozen pitta in the toaster. That was his first and only attempt to understand.

I think i'm going to stay on this woe till our hol in May and then start relaxing a bit. Last time I did it I stayed Paleo after and the weight stayed off till I got pregnant again. But this time I have missed the carbs way more so I think I may want to have some pasta and pulses. But will try to make it once a weekand a smaller portion.

What I like about this woe is it really focusses your mind on what you love and what you eat out of habit. The things I have missed are dry crackers, fruit, biscuits, good bread, oats and pasta. Things I haven't missed are potatoes, rice, cake, chocolate and crappy bread (which I lived on). Same with alcohol. I have realised I can happily live with a lot less booze. And making lots of little 'better choices' make a big difference over a period of time ie having 2 vodka and soda rather than 4 pints of Guinness.

venusandmars · 02/03/2019 19:22

Well, after being so good for so long, yesterday evening I met my nemesis and fell face first into a large bowl of crisps Angry I was at an evening event and 'nibbles' were plentiful. I ignored, ignored, ignored. Then the noise of others crunching and licking their salty lips became too much and my hand stretched out mindlessly.... then again, and again. No excuse and pissed off with myself. Even more so when I know that I'd rather have had a piece of cheese, some crispy chicken skin or an exploding babybel.

B - nil
L - avocado
D - chicken legs, broccoli, courgette, creamy spinach

I've also made some chicken liver pate for tomorrow,.

BrassicaBabe · 02/03/2019 19:43

@nowlook what you spend on celeriac you save on laxatives WinkGrin

BrassicaBabe · 02/03/2019 19:46

Totally understand @twinkledag This BC has been beyond hard for me. Totally understand. Also get stuck in eating/cooking ruts. For me I'm convinced that stress is the problem. Bastard stress does something with cortisone (or something else!). Then it's a vicious sodding circle. Since stress has eased I've lost 2-3lb. Like I say, bastard! Hang in there xx

twinkledag · 02/03/2019 19:51

Thank you @BrassicaBabe.

Think I'm going to try and take it one meal at a time and eat my favourite foods at each meal time. Might help.

Overall I do make better choices but they're not good enough to lose this weight.

I 'only' need to lose a stone, why is it so hard 

Bungalowbeth · 02/03/2019 19:58

Discovered celeriac chips this week. I was convinced I’d hate them as I hate celery and am sensitive to the smell.

They are fucking amazing. 😍😍😍

Bought some no calorie/carbs ketchup yum.

Back on track with a 2lb loss.

MiniCooperLover · 02/03/2019 20:48

Did a 6 hour learn to ski in a day lesson today (I did not learn to ski despite the best intentions of my very sweet instructor). I did however learn how to fall A LOT and HARD on the dry slopes ... I took my own salad and snuck in a Diet Coke. Steak and green veg for dinner 👍

BIWI · 02/03/2019 20:48

@twinkledag if you've only been eating salad, no wonder you're bored! Go and read the Bootcamp recipe threads for some inspiration. There's really no need to get bored on this WOE!

OP posts:
twinkledag · 02/03/2019 20:51

@BIWI - I haven't only been eating salad but I will go and look at the recipe threads, too!

MrsTerryPratcett · 03/03/2019 05:39

I'm with @ShagMeRiggins on the no booze this weekend. Partly because I want to lose and partly because of the stinking cold. 😷

Cooked breakfast this morning and steak and bok choi with blue cheese sauce this evening.

Off on a work trip next week so I'd normally eat out (dangerous) but I've booked an apartment instead so I can cook.

DH showed me a photo today from a while ago. Suffice to say I'm happy I'm losing weight.

sheepdreams · 03/03/2019 06:41

Hi I agree BrassicaBabe
The stress is what hinders my weight loss. Thought I was on track but fell off widely due to v stressful 2 days at work. Extra cortisol definitely does not help. I am not getting on scales until next week but going to try and focus on getting back on track today. Getting organised food wise and trying to focus on NSV. I also need to think of this as long term WOE.

Have a great Sunday all. I love reading the posts so interesting. Now off to make ☕️ then walk the 🐕

Mimosa1 · 03/03/2019 07:32

Interesting discussion about holidays and overindulging - I'm exactly the same, but for me it's not the 7lbs I put on, it's the fact that in the past I've simply stopped tracking or dieting all together, and 6m later, I've put on 7 kilos! I have a holiday in August. I hadn't actually thought 'til now whether I'd still be on this woe by then. I suppose I will. It's ridiculous to feel upset about it, even though I am a bit I'm unlikely to be at goal by then and even if I am, I need to figure out maintenance and there are LOTS of things to like about this WOE.

DH and I were both craving food yesterday in that "I could eat a small horse" way I remember from before this woe so the Russian dinner the night before must def have knocked me out of ketosis. We were craving junk food so we made fathead pizza for the first time (v nice) and keto ice cream (coconut milk churned with sugar free vanilla in the Ice cream maker - not so nice! I think we didn't churn it enough and it had bobs of hard coconut fat). On the whole though, a nice steak, salad and some raspberries and cream would have left us feeling better after the meal. That keto Ice cream was REALLY grim 

BIWI · 03/03/2019 08:14

It's not surprising though, @Mimosa1, because holidays are always associated with the concept of indulgence and treat. It's a break from the 'humdrum' of normal life, and the stresses that can bring. That this extends into what we eat and drink is a massive part of that.

We deny ourselves certain foods when we're low carbing because we know they have a harmful impact on our blood sugars and our weight (as well as affecting our health in other ways). While they can remain a 'treat' it's hard to accept (I think) that they are foods that we might never eat again.

That choice is - and has to be - a personal one. For me, I eat a lower carb diet most of the time. Pasta, rice, bread, pastry, potatoes and sugar make very rare appearances in my eating, simply because of the broader health issues of a high carb diet.

Every now and then, I'll eat them - occasionally it's unavoidable (being invited for dinner, for example, or in some kind of a work environment where there's no control over food). More often it's a choice that I've made - as this weekend.

The difficult thing, though, is keeping this under control - sugar (aka carbohydrate) is said to be a hugely addictive substance. It triggers a release of dopamine in the brain, which is linked with reward/pleasure, and we're driven to repeat the behaviour to get the same sense of reward - hence the link with addiction.

This is from www.psychologytoday.com:

Dopamine is one of the brain’s neurotransmitters—a chemical that ferries information between neurons. Dopamine helps regulate movement, attention, learning, and emotional responses. It also enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them. Since dopamine contributes to feelings of pleasures and satisfaction as part of the reward system, the neurotransmitter also plays a part in addiction.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, broccoli doesn't have the same effect!

So when you're going on holiday, I think you have to think carefully about what you're going to do. There's absolutely nothing wrong with eating higher carb foods every now and then - especially if you're doing this in the full knowledge of what you're doing. There's no point in making yourself anxious when you're on holiday and supposed to be relaxing!

The difficult, of course, is not just falling into the trap of troughing all the pasta, pizza, ice-cream and chocolates all day, every day!

OP posts:
Doilooklikeatourist · 03/03/2019 08:36

@twinkle , I’m really struggling this time as well , did really well in October , doing apallinglly this time round
@67 having said that^ I haven’t lost much weight , but I’ve lost about 5 inches off my waist , with only about 12. Lb gone ( that’s since the October Bootcamp , not just this one )

Busy day at work yesterday , DH helped by making dinner ... a M & S curry with rice , onion Bajhis and naan bread , another DH who doesn’t understand the WOE !

Moving on
Today will be better
Eggs and bacon for breakfast
Huge bowl of salad for lunch
Pork and loads of veg for dinner

The Weather is forecast to be awful , so no long walk ( foots still bad anyway ) lots of housework to catch up on anyway
Happy Sunday everyone

nowlook · 03/03/2019 08:41

Morning all!

I had a very indulgent supper last night. Whole baked Camembert with cauliflower florets and celeriac chips. Super-calorific of course, but genuinely felt like a blow-out.

For all that, the number on the scales is moving downwards and the number of wearable clothes in my wardrobe is my moving upwards.

Unless there's a big change overnight (wouldn't be the first time!), I'll be posting 130lbs tomorrow. My happy weight is a mere six pounds away and I have until 16th April to get there.

This all sounds smug af, but the point is, I'd have reverted to type weeks ago without you lot. Cheers! Brew

BIWI · 03/03/2019 08:56

I've said this before @StuntNun, but I'll say it again. And for all those of you who have partners who 'don't understand' low carbing.

Do they really not get it? Or are they doing it deliberately?

And, more to the point I suppose, are you/why are you eating the food they prepare?

OP posts:
nowlook · 03/03/2019 09:10

@BIWI

I've a good friend (not a MNetter) who started this woe at the same time as this bootcamp. Within the first week, her DH had bought rose wine and chocs for no other reason that I could see than to sabotage her efforts. Some weird control thing badged as "you can take these things too far, you know, and you're perfect as you are".

Some partners are genuinely ignorant in the "can she have wafer thin ham, Barbara?" mould, but I worry that many of them are not so hard-of-thinking in other aspects of their lives Angry

chocolateavocado99 · 03/03/2019 10:30

Had a few NSVs this past week.
I got my hair cut and had several people comment on the fact that I have lost weight (despite going off plan for a few days and looking and feeling bloated).
Bought 2 new (second hand) dresses this week in size M. One is a little snug, but is fine and the other should be fine by the end of the week.
Took dc2 swimming this morning and had to keep pulling up my bottoms. I guess I need new swimwear.
Dh did a big shop today so we are both back in track for strict BC tomorrow. Still frustrated that I have only lost 5 kg since Jan 2 but feeling positive that the other 11 kg will come off by early June.

Siameasy · 03/03/2019 10:34

Re: not getting it

I think some people want you to also enjoy the “bad” things that they themselves cannot give up. It makes them feel better. My DH is fully on board luckily.
I get offered all sorts by others but I have zero obligation to place any object in my mouth if I dont wish to (!). I think you’ve got to be ruthless. No one ever died of being offended but if I eat cake I will experience an insulin response that I don’t want. If you have to be sneaky then pretend to eat said item and chuck it.