Week 2 - October Low Carb Bootcamp - how did you all do?!

[BIWI]

Morning!

Here's what you have all been waiting for!

I love this week, because there are always some fabulous results - and those who really didn't believe it was going to work are always amazed!

Pretty good day today...kids are back to school after the October break so just me, my 18-month-old DD and our newly adopted moggy at home today.

B: bacon, eggs and mushrooms with creamy coffee

L: chicken breast roasted in olive oil with garlic olives, avocado and mayonnaise.

D: homemade spicy lamb meatballs with feta, iceberg lettuce, cucumber and a little spring onion. Olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.

WATER WATER WATER

Have also hit my 10000 steps and been punished by Jillian Michaels for 25 minutes!

B: spinach, mushroom and (small amount) of cheese frittata, half an avocado, 2 Frys vegan frankfurters

L: hotdog made of a Lo Dough wrap (buttered), 2 Frankfurters and 3 baby plum tomatoes

D: Tempeh 'chips' (thinly sliced tempeh roasted in avocado oil with garlic powder, onion salt, paprika, salt and pepper) with roasted 'crispy' kale (avocado oil, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder)

5 litres of water and 3 green teas so far.

Also measured my waist today (40") and top of my thigh (27"). No idea if there has been a reduction here already, but will keep monitoring now.

Tempeh crisps not chips, and they were also served with mayonnaise!!!

@MrsGarethSouthgate - there's a lot of processed food going on in your diet. I know you're a veggie, but do you really need that much? Why not use fresh garlic and onion rather than processed, powdered stuff?

-BIWItch - the powders were for seasoning, but I can leave them out and stick to salt and pepper if they are okay in future?

I will also take more frittata in future and drop the breakfast frankfurters.

@venusandmars that salad looks delicious.

Must plan meals again as I keep getting a bit stuck with what to eat. Luckily DH decided to create last night but I feel almost like I've been snacking. Is it bad to be eating lots of pork crackling. I've just discovered it and loving it.

B: scrambled eggs with raw spinach
L: cucumber, babybel, few slices of ham and pack of pork scratchings.
D: courgette and brussels fried in butter + more pork scratchings as DH is working late.
S: coffee with cream
Drunk 3litres water so far (will have drunk another by the tile I go to bed) + 2 teas.

Hi All, is it possible to join you for bootcamp or am I too late? I had some real success low carbing this year but fell off recently. I could use some support getting back on track if possible!

@Venus I agree that salad looked very appealing!

Omg dinner was amazing. I had Lamb koftas with tzatziki guacamole and salad. but tbe koffss were great. I'll post tbe link to the recipe tomorrow as I can't from any phone. Very quick and easy too.

In order to make things a bit easier (thinking of what to make all the time is my downfall!) I'm making a list of low carb dinners . It's a simple word doc but has links straight to the recipes. I thought if I chose 2 a week (tend to cook once for 2 dinners) then that's most of tbe week sorted. Then one easy dinner like chops or steak or omelette and maybe a cheeky takeaway for the other 2 nights. I'm up to 11 in the list now not including things like chops or roasts. Anyway the list is helping me to plan AND shop. I thought I'd share that in case anyone else might find it helpful as a tip. I hate scratching about for inspiration last minute and this is when I tend to get a case of the fuckits and have something I shouldn't. Breakfast I pre-do for work days, lunch tends to be salad or soup but dinner was proving more difficult!

Right I'm really really shattered so I'm in bed already. Night night

I was feeling uninspired tonight and was searching online for something to make with the bag of cauli rice I had.

I made a mushroom risotto. It was so so good. I'm stuffed now so have saved half for tomorrow. Would have added some chicken if I had some.

Not a great day but made the best of it I reasonably could I think:

Hotel breakfast so a bit of plain yogurt then sausages, bacon, 2fried eggs, tomato and mushrooms.
In meetings from 9 until 2.30pm: ignored the biscuits and cake but ate a prawn sandwich triangle and two wrap "segments"; all more filling than bread and equivalent to just under a whole (2slices of bread) sandwich I'd say. Less than ideal. Grabbed some cooked chicken from M&S on the very long drive home, around 3pm.
DH cooked for me when I got in so just finished eating a meal I have tremendous fondness for: halloumi, kale and ratatouille. He legendarily made this for me in our campervan in the car park of the hospital and brought it in, when I'd had 5 days of hospital food (and all the normal childbirth horror) after having DS. Both tonight and back then using ratatouille I'd made previously. Amazing.
Trying to up my water for the day.

Cauliflower I'm quite addicted to tzatziki now! Apart from the grains a Greek style Mediterranean diet seems to fit in well- lots of oil, fresh veg, fish meat and some dairy.

Chester could you share the recipe? Did it taste of cauliflower or more of the mushrooms? I don't mind cauliflower if it's disguised but I find the rice bit itself a bit bleugh.

Left over pork curry and salad for lunch and chicken stuffed with cheese and wrapped in prosciutto with baby corn and sautéed kale for dinner- yum!

@Cauliflowerpower your recipe list with links sounds amazing. If you're happy sharing it I'd love to see it. I've been getting inspiration from the boot camp topic threads but I agree I think planning is key.

What's this about cauliflower in disguise...

Lol despite my user name I would agree, plain boiled cauli I find a bit grim. But add cheese and BAM amazing. I also made a puree last week that was legit just like mashed potatoes

You're very welcome to join us @CognitiveDissonance! Just add your name to the bottom of the list on the spreadsheet!

@IWillWearTheGreenWillow Thanks, Im glad it's safe to drink on BC because it's gorgeous!
For tea I had an enormous green salad with 1 egg, low carb Caesar dressing, a small sprinkle of parmesan and a few cherry toms.
Ive had loads of water too to the point where I literally nearly wet myself dropping kids off at dance- it felt like I had weed out a whole litre in one go!
I am a few days from my period where I would normally be eating my body weight in carbs. I'm definitely hungrier despite eating fats. Today I had a snack of 2 celery half a cucumber dipped in almond nut butter and a bit of saint agur. It felt slightly desperate and bingey but at least it's all low carb. I know my body and I completely lose my appetite one my period has come so I;m not too disturbed.
Im really nervous because my Head teacher (Im a teacher) is observing my lesson tomorrow and I'm worried that my nerves will mess it up!
Just need a big breakfast tomorrow to sort me out!

Just back from four days with my parents which has been so tough - I had told my mum about my WOE and she was quite pessimistic - usual thing about it not being good for me. She has been overweight herself and lost loads with weight watchers - I’ve never really found that works for me. Anyway - every mealtime was limited choice for me and quite a struggle, managed to pop to the shops one day and stocked up on green veg. In the end I made it through and didn’t deviate too much from the rules - but I am glad to be home and in control of the menu again!

So today was
B: coffee and two boiled eggs
L: limited choice in the airport but had chicken and bacon burger (without the bun) and salad
D: mozzarella and tomato with some extra salami

Need to up the water intake this evening - I’m off to make myself some fruit tea!

Missed weigh in on Monday as wanted to do it on the same scales so waiting for tomorrow morning to see what the first 10 days results are like!

@dripdrops it didn't taste like cauliflower at all!

Fried some shallots and garlic in olive oil. Added about 10 sliced button mushrooms. Tipped in the bag of fresh cauliflower rice (Sainsburys, 300g) and fried off for about 3 minutes. I then added a stock cube (Aldi - 1g carb) to 300ml of boiling water and added it to the rice. Simmered for about 10 mins. Just before serving stirred in about a 1/4 of a block of parmesan!

Oh and I threw in a few saffron threads. It was soo tasty.

Logging my food for the day.
B Yogurt
L Greek salad
D duck breast. Celariuac, mangetout cabbage.

2 almond milk lattes.

@chesterdraws1 that sounds delicious, than you. I'm full of cold and find the longer nights quite depressing so warming comfort food is exactly what I fancy at the mo.

I was surprised how the cauliflower stayed quite firm and rice like in texture. I was expecting a mushy slop!

@IWillWearTheGreenWillow BIWI always says if you're hungry eat. Make sure it's a low carb snack. This WOE is not about deprivation. It's only three days for you and you're body's still adapting. Make sure you are eating plenty of fat.