Jan '20 - Week 4 Low Carb Bootcamp - One month in!

[StuntNun]

Well done for sticking with us for four weeks! You are fat-adapted now and getting the full health benefits of this way of eating. Add your weight to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness and let's see how everyone has done. Don't forget that it's typical for weight loss to pause at some point in weeks 3-5 but so long as you are following the rules you are still losing fat!

I know a few of you have been missing meals, whether by accident or design, so I'd like to start talking about intermittent fasting this week if anyone is interested? It's completely optional so don't feel that you should fast if you don't want to. I still think it's worth finding out more about intermittent fasting, how it works, when and why you might want to introduce it, and what it feels like to fast... spoiler alert it doesn't involve feeling hungry!

After my weekend awol , I’m back on strict Bootcamp
Lovely scrambled eggs for breakfast , though DH did give me a look , and said .. scrambled eggs , again ?
I like scrambled eggs !

Not sure about lunch as I’ll be out doing errands this morning , and planning on a solo visit to the cinema to see Little Women this afternoon

D will be turkey breast with fajita spices and loads of veg , and an avocado on top ( I ❤️Avocado ) and some sour cream

Cold water is not going well this morning , as it’s cold 🥶, but I’m persevering and on my 2nd glass , and will take my water bottle to the pictures with me
Off to put the kettle on for another coffee to warm me up ..

@Doilooklikeatourist if the cold water isn't going down well, why not have hot water? Lovely with a slice of lemon in it.

though DH did give me a look , and said .. scrambled eggs , again ?

Nothing against your husband, but why do people do this? Nobody ever says “a bowl of cereal, again?” or “a cup of tea, again?”

Is it because we’ve still got that eggs = high cholesterol mindset?

Is it because people are just thrown by others who eat differently?

Sorry, a bit crabby today unfortunately. Two out of three Hormoaners not in school today. Again?

Thanks, @StuntNun. I think I'll start with 16:8 and see how it goes. I eat early with the kids as well, so easily went from 6pm yesterday to 10:00ish today with 2 teas (lactose free milk) and water. I've had a bulletproof coffee and pork scratchings so far, but I couldn't have gone any longer today.
I'm planning on broccoli and stilton soup with smoked salmon (I know, but I really like it) and buttery chicken, mushrooms and spinach for tea.

I'm hoping that maybe fasting a bit around ovulation might help with the 3lbs I tend to out on at that time.

Wow, mrsbert that's fantastic!

Rshard - small fistbump - how is it? I haven't found it a big deal at all, and am only just feeling hungry (it's been a while since I had that feeling!), and have got a nice dish of roasted veg and cheese on the go in the oven for lunch at 12pm.

So I think I'll introduce it 3 times a week where possible, just won't always be on the same days.

I eat a LOT of eggs. They're amazing. My favourite is a medium boiled egg in an egg cup. You can't eat it quickly and it's delicious.

Today:

B - half an avocado and some chilli prawns with mayonnaise (random kitchen selection!)
L - chicken salad
D - fondue! Inspired by all the fondue talk and it's the only mid-week meal the whole family sit down together at so fondue's a nice, sociable thing to do.

I'm finding the tip - "if you're hungry, have a drink and wait 20 minutes" really good at the moment.

IF could work for me but I'd miss dinner rather than breakfast. I find I really need breakfast otherwise I would binge on unhealthy stuff at work mid-morning. But, eating together is important to DH so I'll have to pick my moments. Would IF have benefits if I did it only once a week?

Thanks housetornado, back at you. Glad you’ve got on well with it. I’m actually eating lunch now as I have meetings from 12-3 so didn’t quite do 16 hours as I had a bit of yoghurt around 8 last night. It’s been fine though, aiming to do 3 a week too.

So in the interest of science I'm going to eat the same as yesterday sans the cream and yoghurt. I'll do the hollandaise option instead of the beurre blanc suggestion because the latter involves white wine. Then once a bottle is open that's my resolve gone!

L: lo dough wrap with bacon, egg and mayo. (No cheese today)
D: cod in Parma or bacon with hollandaise sauce, mashed celariac and maybe some savoy as the celariac has nearly gone. (No cream today)
S: probably a pepperami making up for the lack of yoghurt/cream/berries from yesterday

Ok, rather a lot of processed meat in that one. But this is science and science dictates I need to stick to meals similar to yesterday

Awesome, Rshard - be interesting to see what Monday's weighing brings!

Knowing how helpful people here last time I had a meal out, anyone fancy casting an expert eye over this menu? Am out after work tomorrow...all suggestions kindly appreciated!

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Gosh - there's not much there that you can eat! Do you have to go there? Let me have a longer look and see what I can spot

Spinach and paneer curry is the best option. Mixed veg curry or korma a second/third choice - but it all depends on the veg. None of the starters would work for Bootcamp.

Wow. That's a tough gig of a menu. Seeetcorn. No. Dhal. No. Potato. No. Chickpea. No. I'm sure many sauces curries are cooked in have sugar added too.

Hmm I think I’d probably go for the spinach and paneer curry myself, maybe veg curry (but it’s a bit of an unknown)...

Had lunch out and had to eat carbs as it was a tasting thing for our wedding meal. Turned out to be much less carby than anticipated (pork belly / crispy lamb starters and blade of beef / lamb shoulder mains). The only really terrible thing was a mashed potato / horseradish bonbon thing that went with the beef so I didn’t do too badly.

If I have butter and eggs for tea then I should hopefully be ok (I didn’t have breakfast).

Yes, BIWI, it's all booked - work thing so veggie/vegan/gf to suit diverse diets (apart from mine!).

Thank you Brassica and sheepy, I agree...spinach and paneer and swerve the rice.

I've found most people don't pay much attention to what you eat, mostly, and luckily it's cheap, so if I don't eat it, I'll cope.

tornado in something like that I'd make sure I'd had some high fat food beforehand, so I wasn't hungry when I arrived and therefore not tempted to fall into a plate of poppadum's, pakora, or bhaji before the actual food arrives (the kind of thing that's ordered for all to share).

Venus that's what I was thinking too...nothing on earth will make me fall off the LC wagon, so I'm fully prepared to feign getting over a cold and not having much of an appetite...

Does anyone have a LC meringue recipe? If I make hollandaise to go with my cod I'll have 2 egg whites left over. I have sweetener Erythritol available.

I'm not normally a fan of keto baking, almond flour this and that. But surely meringue isn't a bad guy? Or if I'm being scientific with today's menu should I swerve?!

You can make a meringue roulade using erithrytol (recipe, using lots more egg whites, in the "Desserts & other sweet things" thread - you'll need to scroll down to find it - but it will be scaleable).

You can't make a crisp meringue but it's ok for a roulade, with plenty of cream.

Thanks pretty. No cream for me. I'm on an embargo

You could roll it with just fruit or cocoa or a chocolate "mousse" - or lemon curd made with erythritol (which would give you more erg white with which to make the roulade ).

B: ff Greek yoghurt, tsp flax seeds and a few raspberries
L: chicken and cheese mayo salad
D: chicken fillets, red cabbage, broccoli, coleslaw, avacado
No snacks, I would have very much liked one late morning but forgot to take anything helpful to work, had to swerve the fruit bowls lurking round the kitchen, waah

Well hollandaise was a triumph!! Never made that before. Nuked the butter so saved a saucepan too. Feck that's a lot of butter though! I can't be intolerant of cream AND butter surely?! Tempted to lick the bowl. I saved half for tomorrow.

I'm full. So I'm going to save the egg whites for now.

B: 2 scrambled eggs with butter
Small pot of mixed nuts (about 30g)
L: chicken Caesar salad, Greek yogurt with tsp almond butter.
D: Savoy cabbage "carbonara" made with bacon, shallot, garlic, cream, soft cheese and Parmesan. Amazing.
20g 90% dark chocolate.

DH is away for a couple of days so while that means solo toddler wrangling and no early swims, it also means earlier dinners then evenings free to just watch tv and please myself. Hopefully some more movement on the scales before a parental visit and a party throws havoc with it again this weekend!

okay, how did you make the hollandaise, Babe? I remember trying once before and the recipe called for all sorts of pots and gadgets and about 3 hours faffing?

A recipe that involves the microwave would be very welcome

Here's what I did:

Saucepan with gently simmering water.
Glass bowl over pan
Whisk 3-5 mins 2 egg yolks, splash of cold water, salt. 1/2 tea spoon of white wine vinegar until pale and thick in the glass bowl over the heat.
Meanwhile melt 125g butter in microwave
Remove from egg from heat
Whisk in melted butter bit by bit until it's all incorporated
Squeeze of lemon
Done.