May '19 Low Carb Bootcamp - week 1

[BIWI]

So here we are!

Lots of us signed up this time, so inevitably the thread will move very quickly. Please, though, take the time to read the whole thread!. Although this is a place where you can post your daily menus, or your thoughts and questions, please don't just do this, but read what other people have posted too.

A bit thank you to the very lovely @AthelstaneTheUnready who has set up the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness.

The Spreadsheet

If your name isn't on there, don't panic! Just add yourself to the bottom of the list. Don't worry about trying to alphabetise it - that will be sorted out for you. (And if you're on the spreadsheet but don't want to be, don't worry - if you don't post on it your name will be taken off)

Here's a brief recap of the rules:

1. Eat three proper meals a day
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat plenty of fat
4. Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables and salad
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter which is unlimited)
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water a day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds

10.No sugar or artificial sweeteners

The full rules are here . They're supposed to be stickied at the top of the Low Carb Bootcamp topic (along with the recipe threads), but for some reason they're stickied at the top of page 2!

Remember that after the first two weeks we can relax some of this, and move on to Bootcamp Light, which means that you can add some fruit (berries mainly), alcohol (in moderation) and nuts and seeds (again, in moderation), but the point of the strict initial phase is to help push your body into burning fat for fuel rather than carbohydrate.

And remember - if you cheat, you will only be delaying this process from happening!

Good luck to everyone. Any questions or problems, just shout!

Nothing shifted since I put a pound back on on Saturday morning after my night of wine and nuts. Lesson learned

Still 3 ibs down, an inch off my hips and three off my waist

Forgive me, BIWI, for I have sinned. At a Eurovision party last night and while I was mostly really good - ate only the low carb food I'd brought with me, resisted the amazing looking Vietnamese canapés someone had made (did have a bite of something I was assured was "just" a chicken skewer, realised immediately it was far too sweet to be low carb - soy sauce and honey, apparently - and gave it to my friend), and drank mostly water - on top of the three litres I'd had already.

However. I did cave to peer pressure (the amount of people who spent the whole evening telling me I didn't need to lose weight - I know they think they're being kind, but it's actually not helpful!) and have two gin and slimline tonics. They were normal size measures. Anyway, I've woken up this morning with a splitting headache feeling like I've been properly on the lash! DH said the booze fumes were coming off me in waves when I got into bed and he assumed I'd been "on a right bender." What's going on??

Anyway, I think it working - the dress code last night was "sparkles and sequins" and I'd had to borrow a sparkly top as I own neither. The friend I borrowed it from is a fair bit shorter than me, and the top stopped about half an inch above the top of my trousers, exposing my midriff - and it looked ok! Reasonably flat! Not several months pregnant as usual! In fact if I do say so myself I looked pretty foxy.

@prettybird I had to read that three times before I realised it was an overnight bus and not an overweight bus. Have fun. Just don't get confused and spit out the water and drink the wine

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal Eurovision has a lot to answer for

If I don’t show a gain on the scales tmw, I will be amazed and so happy!
I have had to succumb to painkillers this weekend and can feel the sluggishness in my system already. I feel extra puffy and inflated around my tum and as though my insides have ground to a halt. But my head is pounding just being upright, glands up, ears sore, throat like sandpaper. Trying hard to drink the effect out of my system but not holding out much hope.

Helpfully woke up to one dog with a cut paw and another with d&v so god knows what they were up to last night. Did anyone see them at a Eurovision party?...

I need to go to shops in a bit so am going to grab some lemon for hot water/vit C and also use it to do (sorry can’t find post to name check) the lo-salt/lemon juice electrolyte drink idea for when I need it. I use lo-salt already in cooking, but like the sound of that drink esp on active days Can anybody recommend a lemon juice in a bottle brand the only one I can think of is jif but am guessing there’s possibly more/better options available now? Would buy fresh but want something for cupboard/fridge too.

Beginning to face the fact that I have no excuse to not be in control this time. Pretty much everyone else on here has more stuff going on eg children, injury etc and are being well organised. This might be my few months opportunity whilst things are fairly straightforward. 6.5 pounds off so far - no inch loss, but feel better. Swerved a foam banana last night. DH back tonight from week’s work trip. Thinking he should largely hop onboard....

Good point about the parsnips.. Will avoid!
I might look at physio, I'm seeing an osteopath in 2 weeks, so if it's still painful then. Feeling very down in the dumps today, tired after DS up in the night meant I slept in a toddler bed from about 2am...
Kids are driving me mad, they aren't listening and all I get is stopping from my 9yr old about doing homework, tidying her room, etc.
I do not know how single mums do it. I feel like reaching for all the crap food on top of my fridge but I've got to stay strong. I'm not even hungry, it's just comfort.

@mrwalkensir that was a good crossed post! You sound like you have a similar situation to me really! This thread helps. I know that reaching for beige food will make me unhappy in the long run, so I'm staying strong! Won't lie that I am looking forward to having a drink next weekend though... That's bad isn't it

Lidl does bottles of lemon juice (also lime juice) They're beside the baking stuff.

Blimey prettybird - me too. Mine have now largely left home, but I never knew how single parents cope with being the single point of child focus. But that doesn’t make your life “easy”. No sleep and knee pain... Maybe headphones on for when DD is grumbling away? Just thinking as well about water retention. Didn’t realise last time that started boot camp that when you lift weights, your muscles hold onto some water as they restructure too....

@devoncreamtea

Excellent point! i think the thrush started about the same time too. Well can put the theory to the test as i'm on the mend so the next few days will tell :)

Even if that isn't the case i will tell myself it is and that will act as a placebo and lead to inevitable weight loss...

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday!

BIWI No prob, I know how much those little tops and suggestions and snippets of information can help someone in that ‘moment of truth.’ Also thank you! I initially started my lowcarb journey on my own but it was quite lonely and being part of a group helps. I have learnt a lot through bootcamp some years ago (different name) and also tend to lurk on the bootcamp here and there even when I’m not participating.

prettybird your lamb kebab dinner sounds superb. We had a similar one not long ago, it’s so delicious.

Name Bloody hell, I would need a drink after that news too! Although tbf my MIL is in her sixties so it’d be a huge shock 😆

My OH had to work yesterday on an upgrade and his company got them all dinner so he kindly brought me back a whole pizza. Said as he walked through the door, I brought you something but I just realised it’s completely pointless...

Bless him, he always thinks of me and he knows leftover pizza is one of my favourite things! But I’m still in that honeymoon phase where pizza is dead to me, so I happily passed it on to my daughters to have for lunch today instead!

Not the best photo, but lunch today is 3 curried eggs (mayo and Garam masala with parsley on top as it’s the only herb I had to hand) with a selection of raw veg.

🌷to all, KOKO!

Oops forgot the photo!

Bacon, fried eggs and lettuce for lunch. Halloumi salad for tonight and lunch made for tomorrow. I'm on it!

Started the day with "lower carb porridge" which should be reserved for BC Light as made from nuts and seeds with almond butter and coconut oil with milk but needed suitable fuel for my half marathon.
It went pretty well, loved the first half but really faded and came in just over target 2:01:11. Not bad for my "debut" half but still evaluating the performance. Possibly I should have eaten some carbs like sweet potatoes or something last night or maybe I just needed a bit more practice at doing the target pace over longer distances, so maybe a couple of 10 mile races. Maybe I just set off a bit too fast! Not too sure really. Still, feeling pretty pleased with myself.
I had some Lucozade sport at 10.5 miles and the finish and a glass of whole milk, but then nothing else bad. DH made me an excellent mushroom, courgette and cheese omelette for lunch.

Sorry, forgot kitten photo... Hopefully distraction from the Carbs!

... and @Rayna, well done! Thats a great time! I've only managed a half in 2.5 hrs before, very hilly ones though.. I did last year without Carbs, was fine.
I really want to get back to running soon. I
Thanks for the suggestions for dealing with moody kids... I'm just letting them sit in the room with the kittens to play whilst I listen to Kings of Leon and ignore the fact the bedroom has gone untidied and the homework isn't done yet... Will make dinner soon then tackle it.. What do I do about gravy and mint sauce?!? Haven't even checked if they're OK...

A good day for me, we got an allotment yesterday so have been surveying our domain, clearing the paths, spraying the weeds, running round getting equipment and praying for rain, because at the moment the ground is as hard as concrete. So I've had no time to be thinking about food. I had bacon, Heck sausages and an egg for breakfast and a Subway meat feast salad for lunch. I had no clue which dressing was lowest in carbs so went for aioli and avoided most of it. Totally pooped now!

Re: yeast infections, there is a candida diet which might be worth people googling. It's not something I have tried myself but I know of people who had 'candida die off' when low carbing because the lack of sugar starves the candida and kills it, which leads to it releasing toxins. I believe the candida diet meshes quite well with what we're doing here.

Bleurgh I don't feel well today! I'm blaming a high fat lunch - mushrooms in garlic and oil plus the halloumi/bacon bites.

Usually when I have a dodgy stomach, I have pretty plain pasta or toast with a glass of milk. WTF do I have now?

Wow fast moving thread. I've done the anti Candida diet about fifteen years ago and the main difference between that and low carb was no yeast and vinegar and the only dairy was yoghurt. Also no caffeine. About three w weeks in I had a few days of feeling really jittery and loose bowels and then felt much better. The book I had described this as deaththrows of intestinal Candida.

Thanks Prettybird will have a look the next time I’m in. Was it you with the drink? I actually went back and skimmed the whole thread earlier trying to find the post but couldn’t. Now wondering if I dreamt it...

Have bought twinnings ginger green tea and going to squeeze lemon juice into it and see if that helps congestion. Tastebuds have now abandoned me completely, so honestly, what is the point in anything anymore?

Going to cram an omelette I’m nonetheless Feta and spinach. And as we have acquired a surplus of extra thick cream am going to have a bowl of that for pud.

Managed to drive into town earlier only to find I’d left my debit card at home! So have had a nice afternoon driving around...

To whomever posted about the alpro unsweetened almond milk, thank you. I bought some to try making my much missed nespresso lattes with. I add the amount of cream I would normally have instead of milk to it as well. I’m not sure what I think of it, but I don’t dislike it. Now there’s an endorsement It’s growing on me.

Yes it was: I squirt a wee bit of lemon juice into a pint of cold water (the Lidl bottle is 2.2g carbs per 100ml, and a bottle is 200ml) and then a couple of shakes of Lo-Salt. I have that every 2nd pint - it also helps me keep count. I've never tried it hot though - maybe I should in winter

Regarding all this chat about Candida. Possibly a stupid question, but... Candida = fungus? Athletes foot = fungus. So is it possible/likely that a similar effect may occur for somebody suffering with AF?

I’ve had it for years and nothing gets rid of it. Not helped by being a bit sweaty and having stumpy curly little toes. It drives me nuts not being able to conquer it once and for all.

I did wonder a few weeks back if the lack of sugar I’m eating might help kill it off. But then it flared up with a vengeance. Now I’m wondering if that was due to the death throes mentioned a few times relating to thrush?

Tell me it is so...?

Oh that sounds good, thanks.

Prettybird*