Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Low-carb bootcamp

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

Week 8 - Low Carb Bootcamp - only two more weeks ... **Thread title edited by MNHQ**

320 replies

BIWI · 04/03/2019 08:56

Morning all. Sorry for lateness of the thread.

Here's the spreadsheet

As the title says, only two more weeks left! But that still means there's time to shed a couple more pesky pounds.

Hope you all have a good week

Flowers
OP posts:
Iamnotacerealkiller · 07/03/2019 07:26

I second the caution re low carb bread. Lots of them are not as low carb as they say, they also keep you used to bread like things, Also low carb foods are often higher in various additive to make up for the lost starch sweetener being one of them!. best to just avoid IMO.

nowlook · 07/03/2019 08:24

Hello all!

Just caught up on the last couple of days' posts.  @MrsKoala  I'm so sorry it's not better news for your friend.

@AandL good to see you again. I doubt very much you'll look back on the last couple of weeks with regret in the long term. And you got back on the scales!

I've not tried the lc bread. In truth, I know I use bread to mop up wine, so I'm steering clear for now.

Scales are all over the shop for me this week (variances of 3lbs), but it's TOM so anything goes.

Had braised ox cheek yesterday in a restaurant for lunch. Lovely. But did have to move the chips to the other side of the table Grin as I had the devil on my shoulder telling me I'd done really well over the past 7 weeks. I resisted, but it was very difficult.

Mimosa1 · 07/03/2019 08:26

Well I stood on the scale this morning at 74.5 - 1.3kg on since Monday. The two bad days weren't even that bad in terms of calories, ie i didn't have cake and more cake but clearly I don't react well to even small amounts of bread / pasta. I already knew that - sigh - so back in the saddle and hope it will come off soon and that at least some of it is glycogen.

For those who recommended LC lunch spots thanks! I had the Leon chicken pot the other day and it was great.

Siameasy · 07/03/2019 08:48

I agree about the LC bread..too much like bread. At the start of LC you’re kind of mourning the loss of bread and carbs from the practical side (eg spreads/dipping etc). Now I’m over that. I feel it’s better for me to keep any suggestion of these things out of my life rather than try to make fake versions.
I feel similarly about sweeteners. I would be de-railed by them so I steer clear.

venusandmars · 07/03/2019 09:00

I came across an old recipe, one that my Mum used to use for left over turkey at Christmas - cooked turkey (or chicken) and broccoli in a sauce made from Campbells condensed soup mixed with mayonnaise, topped with cheese and breadcrumbs, and cooked in the oven. I've reinvented it using home-made soup, and topped it with cheese, crumbled crispy chicken skin and nuts.

B - avocado
L - (friend coming for lunch) chicken divan, lemon posset
D - chicken and kale soup

nowlook · 07/03/2019 09:11

@venusandmars

I love the look of chicken divan! Hopefully, it'll work with chicken stock and heavy cream. I'm going to give it a bash, thanks!

BIWI · 07/03/2019 09:14

This is a really interesting conversation, and I think it's interesting that it's happening as we come towards the end of Bootcamp.

I know not everyone is near their target yet, but it does pay to start thinking about what you'll do when you get there. Maintenance is, actually, much harder than losing weight.

So learning about what you can and can't tolerate is important.

But - in some ways more important - is learning how much you're prepared to tolerate in terms of weight gain. A lower carb diet is the one that's going to keep you at your target (or rather, in your target range), that's the reality. It's the carbs that made us put on weight in the first place! But there are always going to be times when you want, or can't avoid, carbs. So the odd sandwich or slice of toast isn't the end of the world.

But you need to work out how that's going to impact you, and what your strategy for dealing with that is going to be.

@Iamnotacerealkiller this really resonated with me:

Been doing lots of intermittent fasting by skipping meals here and there, usually breakfast but still. Is this what thin people feel like all the time? not that fussed about food?

Been doing lots of intermittent fasting by skipping meals here and there, usually breakfast but still. Is this what thin people feel like all the time? not that fussed about food?

My DH is like this. Never eats breakfast (never has), and even if we're away or staying with friends, and offered breakfast, he still, quite naturally, gravitates towards smaller portions - whereas I'm more likely to think 'ooh good - a treat/special occasion, I'm going to indulge myself' and use that as a 'reason' to not only eat carbs, but also eat too much.

When we go out to eat, his natural preference is generally for dishes that are lower in calories (if not carbs). He doesn't see desserts as a treat, so can take them or leave them.

In other words, although he loves it, his relationship with food is a much less emotional one.

OP posts:
MrsTeaspoon · 07/03/2019 09:18

Thanks for the welcome everybody. I was told to eat every two hours during day by the GD midwife at my hospital, to stabilise my sugars apparently. We’ll see. Luckily I’ve only 3 weeks max before giving birth then I can continue with low-carving the way I know. Yesterday I went to have a nap as didn’t have the energy to prepare any food...so didn’t really manage every two hours! Today I’ll boil up eggs and get nuts/yoghurt for when peckish but tired. I have such extreme fatigue sadly.

MrsKoala · 07/03/2019 09:49

I'm similar to your DH BIWI in that I rarely have a pudding and usually naturally prefer 'healthier' lower calorie dishes (I love veg and salad). When we go out eating fish is a real treat and I like it plainish so I can really enjoy the flavour. Usually with a load of green stuff on the side. If I ever do go for pudding it'll be fruit based, preferably sharp tarte tasting ones and never anything with custard . I don't like chocolate much (unless it's really good stuff). And even booze I tend to like dry white wine and never spirits with sweet mixers or sweet cocktails. So i'm lucky in that I just naturally prefer food that way (and I do love food!).

I’ve never been massively overweight because of this. I’ve been chubby and a size 18 which at 5ft 10 isn’t too bad but still not what I want. When I last did BC I think I worked out I could tolerate between 60-100g of carbs a day to maintain. I also put on 4lb to be a comfortable 11st 7lb and then just hovered around there happily. Going to the gym and staying mainly paleo for a year. I felt so good. Really energetic, strong, healthy and fit.

Thank STuntnun. I am quite hungry this morning and had a faint spell at DD nursery. I think that’s because my meal last night was very light and not quite enough to sustain me. I’ve had a cup of tea with lactofree milk and I feel better now. It’ll be 16 hours at 11am. Something I am not sure about is when you break your fast do you then have 3 meals still? So at 11am would I have breakfast as normal then lunch at 2.30 then dinner at 7? Or is 11am my lunch and then nothing till 7?

BIWI · 07/03/2019 09:54

As I understand it, @MrsKoala, TRE (time restricted eating - which is what Dr Michael Moseley calls it) means you can eat what you want in that window. But I'd say, be careful with that. I'd view it more as dropping a meal, and therefore having your normal meals without the one you've dropped. For me, that means dropping breakfast, but having a normal (low carb) lunch and dinner.

OP posts:
MrsKoala · 07/03/2019 10:00

Yes, that's what I thought too. So maybe I should push on to noon and have a normal lunch then.

StuntNun · 07/03/2019 10:19

MrsKoala the research shows that eating three meals within an 8-hour window results in more weight loss than over a 12-hour window even when the amount of calories is identical. So you can still have three meals during intermittent fasting if you like. If you're trying to lose weight then you might get better results having a big brunch and dinner (plus a snack in between if needed) since your calorie intake will be slightly lower. Try to get a feel for your own hunger and satiety signals to guide you.

It's important to avoid subconsciously restricting your food intake and leaving yourself hungry. If I skip breakfast I might have two quarter pounder burgers and three eggs scrambled for brunch which is about 800 calories. It seems like a huge amount of food but add in an afternoon snack plus dinner and that still only brings me to around 1500 calories for the day. If you skip breakfast and only have a couple of boiled eggs for your first meal of the day then you'll need lunch and dinner to get an adequate food intake. Remember that too few calories can scupper weight loss. Also if you're eating too little food then your intake of vitamins and minerals is likely to be inadequate which isn't any good for you.

And just a reminder that there's absolutely no need to try intermittent fasting. Plenty of people achieve their weight loss goals without any fasting at all. It's probably worth trying at some point as I think it can be useful in understanding your relationship with food. I was completely astonished when I started skipping breakfast and I didn't die! before going low carb I would have already eaten three times before lunch so being able to miss meals without getting hangry was a real revelation.

BIWI · 07/03/2019 10:41

I agree, @StuntNun. I was amazed when I actually forgot to eat sometimes! Something I never, ever thought would happen to me.

OP posts:
Siameasy · 07/03/2019 11:45

So interesting reading all this stuff about fasting.
I used to think people who weren’t bothered about food were abnormal. Now I realise that I was abnormally obsessed. Now I’m a little more like them. I’m keen yes but no longer fixated.
My problem was always starchy carbs. Yes I like chocolate but I’m actually not missing sugar.

Mimosa1 · 07/03/2019 11:46

@MrsTeaspoon I remember how shattered I felt towards the end of pregnancy. Coping with a newborn confusing day and night was not a doddle in comparison but still a lot better! hope you feel better soon. Not long now!

I'm coming on to say that Pret now has an amazing hot ham and spinach omelette with 5carbs. Really yummy and filling.

1stMrsF · 07/03/2019 11:58

Finding this week a bit hard. I'm just tired and a bit fed up (house still pulled apart for decorating and have a very busy weekend coming up too) and I didn't plan very well for food. This has all led to more glasses of wine than is ideal. On the plus despite finding it hard I have managed to stay on track with food and, most days, water.

Yesterday
L - chicken pie filling with cabbage, salad and coleslaw
D - sausages, fried eggs and spinach with Boursin

Today
L - chicken, boiled egg, avocado, salad, mayo
D - prawn pad Thai (with barenaked noodles) and pak Choi

ShagMeRiggins · 07/03/2019 12:33

Remember that too few calories can scupper weight loss

How so, @StuntNun? I thought the whole “body goes into starvation mode and holds onto fat” thing had been debunked.

In other news, another alcohol-free day completed yesterday. Having a low day today—apathetic, lethargic—and trying to push through it.

Also wouldn’t mind if someone could point me toward the method for achieving strikethrough on this site. Where’s @prettybird when you need her? I consider her the Queen of the Strikethrough.

MiniCooperLover · 07/03/2019 13:26

Interestingly I had the gym first thing this morning, followed by a meeting so I didn't get home to eat some breakfast until after 11 and I felt fine 👍 Two boiled eggs with some mayo and salt later and all was good. I'd never last until after 11 normally.

m0therofdragons · 07/03/2019 13:33

@Siameasy yes that's exactly it. My life revolves around food and even at the start of this I was logging everything to help me plan and stick to it rather than dive into the bread and Nutella. I've stopped logging the last 2 weeks as I'm shattered and crazy busy so really expected gain or plateau, however I'm clearly making the right choices without the obsessive logging. I think I needed it at first to educate myself but now I get this woe it's less important.

I generally have late lunch, dinner and evening snack so I guess I'm naturally fasting. I've increased lunch so I don't binge on the first thing that comes to hand when I walk through the door.

m0therofdragons · 07/03/2019 13:38

Ooh and nsv, colleague commented today that she was standing behind me at a presentation yesterday and noticed I've slimmed down.

Bum and tummy still seem big but my face is showing it I think. I've lost 1st now so nearly in a healthy bmi zone (2lbs to go) so need to set next target!

1stMrsF · 07/03/2019 13:42

@ShagMeRiggins strikethrough is two dashes before and after a word like this without the spaces like this

BIWI · 07/03/2019 13:53

Hmm. Yes. I wonder where @prettybird has got to. Hope she's not face down in a bucket of tablet Grin

NSV for me. Sitting down, and realised that my trousers have empty folds at the top of my legs. Last time I wore these they were decidedly tight!

OP posts:
BrassicaBabe · 07/03/2019 14:11

Interesting thoughts about maintenance BIWI. When I got there last year I found it surprisingly easy. But my approach was to stick to BC rules but I allowed myself more calories. It's surprising the difference between losing and maintenance calorie needs Hmm

I allowed myself a couple of small glasses of wine last night. Breaking my "no wine Sunday to Thursday " rule. I woke up with a headache. WTF is that about?! I don't want to turn into a light weight over the course of just 4 weeks!! Shock

BrassicaBabe · 07/03/2019 14:20

Low carb bread chat. I've only tried things once; mug bread, a wrap thing, chocolate mug cake. I've not noticed an adverse reaction. But generally YUCK! And the chocolate mug cake was as heavy as a brick! I'm getting on well with the lo-dough though. It's not cheap. But nice for a change. I've had a couple of bacon and egg wraps with them.

ShagMeRiggins · 07/03/2019 14:35

BrassicaBabe of course you want to be a lightweight! Confused