an '20 - Week 5 Low Carb Bootcamp - Onwards and downwards!

[StuntNun]

Welcome to week 5 of the Low Carb Bootcamp; we're nearly halfway through! If you've had a pause in your weight loss during week 3 or week 4, the scales should hopefully be moving again now and you can expect an average weight loss of half a pound to 2 lb each week. Nobody ever gets consistent weight loss from week to week so try not to get hung up on each week's weigh-in, it's the overall trend that we want to look at. If you're a daily weigher then try an app such as Happy Scales or True Weight that uses a rolling daily average to give you a more accurate record of your weight loss.

Add today's weight to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness. And here's to another great week...
Onwards and downwards!

Hmm @Teapotdespot - the problem with BBQ sauce is that it's usually loaded with sugar, so it's always best avoided. I'd go for the peri peri chicken and ask for it without the flat bread.

For the main, I'd go for a steak - no chips or onion rings. Ask for extra mushrooms. Go easy with the slaw, as that could also have sugar in it. I'd actually ask for the smokehouse salad as your accompaniment though - it's in the starter list. Nectarine isn't too bad and I doubt there'd be that much of it.

Not an easy menu to navigate, even if it is a meat-based place!

I've been super strict since 20th Jan when I got back from Sweden; diet bang on (even if I learned that cream seems to be off the menu!), IF every day including weekends, I've not had this little alcohol since I was pregnant 9 years ago, drunk more water than ever and I'm still the same weight as when BC started.

Well done Brassica you've done brilliantly. You may be the same weight as at the start of Bootcamp but your weight did drop and it has now increased again. So if you haven't been eating too much or drinking alcohol or hitting the carbs then it seems likely that the increase is a temporary fluctuation rather than a true weight regain. Perhaps your expectations of this way of eating are too high. Your weight loss at your current healthy weight is going to look very different from that of someone who is overweight. We know that it is the nature of weight loss to be inconsistent to the point that some of these inconsistencies are consistent iyswim. We know there's often a pause in weight loss about 3-5 weeks after you start losing weight, regardless of which weight loss method you use. We know that in long-term successful weight loss there is often a three-month plateau between 9 and 12 months. We know that as we approach our ideal weight there is usually a prolonged stall at around half a stone from goal. I think you need to accept that you may not be doing anything wrong. In fact you are probably doing everything right and all you need is patience. However we can still suggest tweaks. My preferred approach in your case would be for you to log at least three days of food on MyFitnessPal and we'll take a detailed look at your calorie intake and macros. There are also various stall breaker methods you can try such as a carb reload or an egg fast or the three-day Ubercamp. What do you think you would like to do next?

And there's still the Diet Coke issue

BIWI

@BIWI I’ve eaten there pre- low carb and there’s 2 types of meat you can have for every dish, one is covered in BBQ sauce and the other is just dry smoked, so I’ll have the burnt ends dry smoked :)

I’m sort of afraid but have to ask, StuntNun, what in the name of all that’s holy is the Three Day Uber Camp?

Thanks Stunt That's also really helpful. I'll start to log in MFP.

Now, while carb reload sounds very appealing I bet that doesn't include Dominoes does it. So let's swerve that one. I've done a couple of egg fasts. Managed 5 days earlier in Jan. Can't quite remember when. Before Sweden holiday then a couple of days after to shift holiday bread gain possibly. I think I've had enough of eggs for now. Also I'm only finding it palatable if one of the meals is pancakes which contain sweetener. So I'm guessing we should swerve that one too . Well that leaves us with the mysterious ubercamp. Do tell!

Stuntnun and Riggins and anyone else interested, try discount code MARATHONTALK25 for £25 off first subscription at Thriva if useful- can't promise it's still active but worth a go, they sponsored a few episodes of a podcast I listen to despite having no intention of ever doing a marathon Might have a look myself actually!

The ubercamp is great! It’s in the spreadsheet - it’s not that hard to follow and has shopping lists and everything. If I remember rightly it’s boot camp with minimal dairy?

Found UberBC. Looks good and achievable. Is the idea just to do that for 3 days as per the meal plans? Or to mix and match and keep going? Either way, I'll give Uber a go from Monday. Plan to remain strict food wise over the weekend. But less strict alcohol wise Friday and Saturday only

So I have just found out about popped cheese from my keto friend and now I’m OBSESSED with the idea of making it at home.

I actually have a dehydrator and the method to make it appears to be to dry it, then blast it in the oven and it pops like popcorn

Has anyone tried it??

@Almahart I hope you've managed to have a talk with your son and are felling better. I can completely sympathise with you, my son got very fat towards the end of juniors when he started walking to school with all his friends and they were all detouring by the shops everyday. When I realised this I cut his pocket money (with a random non related excuse) but it didn't matter as some of his friends had unlimited money and juts bought him stuff. There was a whole group of them that just got fatter and fatter and then they went to senior school and his friends all got involved in sport and the weight fell off and my son didn't. When he was about 13 and pretending he didn't like swimming because he didn't want to take his clothes off I intervened. I sat him down calmly and said I could see he was not happy and his asthma was worse and I thought he was eating unhealthily and we should work together because I'd been unhealthy lately etc etc. It didn't really work and eventually I just told him he had to work out and eat healthily. He resented it but he lost half a stone in three weeks... And then his great nan decided I was horrible and started sneaking him food and money (she lived with us during this time). Eventually I had to concede defeat between starting to hate my own nan and the constant resentment from my son

Anyway he's now nearly 16 and still overweight, although he is getting taller which is helping... But my long ramble was really just to say what he said to me the other day was "I didn't know I was fat til you told me I was fat!" This is how he remembers it, not the well thought out and planned chat, not how he felt about himself, just that he thinks I said he was fat. In short, damned if we do, damned if we don't. Whatever happens we're all doing are best and we're all human so please don't beat yourself up!

Rayna thanks for Thriva info. Will have a look.

Alma doh, of course Ubercamp is on spreadsheet. Should’ve thought of that as the spreadsheet is the font of all knowledge. I did always wonder but never clicked (in the last 2 1/2 years...)

Teapot never heard of popped cheese but there was quite a Bootcamp fuss over exploding babybel a year or two ago.

Optimistic you’ve reminded me that I wanted to tell Alma it’s possible her son being overweight is an indication of upcoming growth spurt. They often pack it on before they push it up.

Ps—why am I so fucking bloated again??!!

This happened last weekend but by Monday it was all nice and flat-ish.

Now it’s pregnancy reboot 4.0. Bloody hell.

@BIWI thanks so much.

That graph is over a month. I've had a few days where I've gone totally off piste, which accounts for the big spikes I think.

Typically I've been having a cheesy omelette with red peppers or buttery scrambled eggs with veggie sausages or more recently swapped the sausage for avocado as I realised they are high carb. I'll have homemade veggie soup, celeriac in some form, roasted broccoli with halloumi for lunch and supper. I usually pick through the day rather than have lunch so I was really trying to have my three meals a day. More recently I'll have breakfast around 11 then loads of water and some creamy coffees until supper. It's been keeping my very satisfied but I've just not seen anything below 185 for weeks now.

I have 2.5-3L everyday and about 3 coffees.

For context I'm veggie and breastfeeding. My periods haven't come back since DD was born.

Thanks again.

B: 2 eggs scrambled with butter
L: Greek salad, yogurt
D: hake, cauliflower & broccoli cheese, cavalo nero. The cauli cheese was one I'd previously frozen, didn't microwave very easily. If I make in bulk again I'll try a steady warmup in a pan.
10g square of 90% Lindt.
Planning 16hr fast overnight. Definitely in the swing with the no snacking.

Hi all, I've not been in the thread much, but I'm still mostly boot camping...

I have managed to lose 10lbs which I'm delighted with, but to be fair it's partly boot amp and partly the depression diet 🤷‍♀️ which means I've got no appetite...always an upside to every shitty situation I guess... However, I've just started on Mirtazapine which apparently are notorious for weight gain due to hunger and particularly carb and sugar cravings...apparently they can be insatiable! Also dry mouth, I've drunk nearly 3 litres of water already today..

I've only just started on them and might not get them.. But need advice to prepare for this side effect, really worried about it. I've got a week off with the kids for half term, which tends to send the snacking off the scale.

Any helpful tips...?

Dtega First advice is forget everything you’ve heard about the meds with regards to sugar and carb cravings and weight gain—that might be a side effect for some but isn’t guaranteed to happen with you. Ignore it for now.

Stick to bootcamp. No crappy snacking. You can do it, half term or not.

Sorry about the depression. It absolutely sucks. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Still rears its black cloud now and again but only for days, not months or years. I wish you well.

Also—bloody congratulate yourself on a 10lb loss in just a few weeks. That’s fairly amazing. Imagine what you could achieve sticking with BC properly.

I’m not one to fat shame—there are plenty of overweight but fit and active people out there—but I do know the less I weigh ties into better agility and movement for me. More energy. More whatever hormone is generated that makes us feel good #notscientific

So stick to this way of eating and give it time with your new meds and see how it goes.

Anyone got any ideas for a nice meal for tomorrow night? My usual go to would be one of those meal deals from m&s. Thats not on the cards now.
Steak and something?

Thanks shag 😁 I'm new to all this really, although looking back I definitely should have got help with this when I had my children, as I was v low then, but put it down to lack of sleep.
I'm not that heavy I guess, around 9st, but only 5ft 3, which makes it harder to lose much, the loss really has been no appetite in the evenings, when it's typically worse for feeling down. I'm hoping the meds are a short term thing to get me through a tricky patch at home.
Definitely feel better after exercise, I'm booked to fo a half marathon in 6 weeks, that'll help. Also doing yoga and hula hooping, all helps the feel good chemicals.
Fingers crossed no dude effects, but I think it's a fairly well known one.

Lion I'm cooking chateabriand though I need to google a recipe/method) with celeriac chips and buttery kale. There will be Malbec. Tempted to pop to M&S for some "love sausage" though, looks a bootcampers dream!

I just had an absolutely infuriating conversation with a colleague. We’re the only 2 left in the office, I don’t know her well but she struck up a conversation so I engaged.

She commented on my weight and said I looked well and what had I been doing to lose weight etc. She’s overweight herself so I know this was meant well.

I said I’d been following a low carb, high fat diet and she said and I quote: ‘ oh that’s a shame, I was hoping you were doing something sensible that I could have tried. Fad diets never work for me!’

WTF.

I bit my tongue, but tried to explain that LCHF is in no way a fad diet and very well researched and regarded, but she was insistent that cutting out an entire food group made diets unbalanced... I explained it’s not ‘no’ carb it’s ‘low’ carb but she absolutely could not fathom how you can live healthily without brown bread

Apparently, the Mediterranean diet is the best one, which to her means pasta and low fat cheese/ tomato sauces on top Fairly sure the med diet is salads, meat and a shit ton of olive oil?

Anyway I don’t know why but it’s really made me feel sorry for her in a way. Once you’ve read around the subject of LCHF a bit there really is no going back.

@Lionsleepstonight what about a lovely piece of fish with LC veg and a sauce? There’s a monk fish recipe somewhere which is monkfish wrapped in pesto and Parma ham, it’s divine and thinking about it, LC compatible.

Steak is a good option, or chicken wrapped in bacon or ham?

Strawberries dipped on very dark chocolate with cream for after?

@Lionsleepstonight I'd go for a fillet steak, simply pan fried. I'd make a celeriac daupinoise to go with that, and also a green salad with a garlicky vinaigrette dressing.

Lovely cheeseboard for afters - or if you need a dessert, how about strawberries with a pot of melted (high cocoa content) dark chocolate, that you dip in?

Thanks for the suggestions. Steak, strawberries and choc it is!