Jan '20 - Week 8 Low Carb Bootcamp - Springing into March

[StuntNun]

How has everyone got on this week? It's time to weigh-in and update the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness. We had a few newbies joining us last week so a quick reminder to ask any questions you might have. This Way of Eating really works but sometimes it can be hard to see the wood for the trees when you're in the middle of your weight loss journey so let's keep motivating each other.

Thank you everyone for clarifying NSV, I couldn't for the life of me fathom its meaning! Doilooklikeatourist, I really feel I just can't drink beyond one glass of wine now, as it makes me feel so tired about an hour later!

The wine reduction is good, innit?

Lovely to see lots of new posters on here!

Yesterday I did a 16hr fast then had a post-swim breakfast at my desk at 10am - two boiled eggs and some manchego cheese.
L: beef in wholegrain mustard mayo on spinach with olive oil and tomato; Greek yogurt and a few nuts.
D: pan fried sea bass with kale and leeks. Half a 25g bar of 85% chocolate.
I did a pilates class too and had masses of water, so pretty good day in all!

I have got into having chocolate most days which I ought to knock on the head really. 2.6lbs to target currently!

Happy to remain low carb long term it's absolutely a way of life for my family now, but currently pondering how maintenance will work for me this time. In my head it means the occasional slice of toast and yorkshire pudding or pie for dinner, but I also imagine being able to eat the odd cake and have "normal" meals out from time to time. Realistically I can do one or the other but not both, so may need to stay stricter more of the time to allow for the occasional off plan meal. Otherwise I'll end up back here again with half a stone or 10lbs to lose again, every bootcamp!

I'm appreciating the wine reduction too - I've probably gone from averaging 10 units a week to 5 mostly, and I'm finding, at least if I'm at home on a weekend, I'm happy with just 125ml of red, or 175ml if I'm going for it

The lack of wine is fine now , when I’ve cut it out before , I’ve been daft and done the oh , I’m not having a drink tonight , so I’ll have a bar of fruit n nut
Not this time !
Though , we’re going to London at the weekend , I will be having a glass or 2 then

Lovely to see new campers!

Dh took the last two eggs! Grounds for divorce? In all fairness, he’s low carbing too.

HerRoyalCarbyLess don't forget to keep eating lots of vegetables (nice green leafy ones) - salads, broccoli. leeks, spinach, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, courgettes, green pepper, aubergine, sprouts... Maybe you are having them and just didn't mention them. But they are what keeps this way of eating healthy and sustainable.

Captain are low carb banana waffles really low carb? Both bananas and waffle mix are usually high carb. One of the key things in this way of eating is having as much fresh food as possible, and much less processed food. Check whether your waffles have lots of processed things, added flavourings, artificial sweeteners. For some people their body reacts to those as if they were sweet banana waffles and cause an insulin spike and stall fat loss. You're also having a lot of cream! Again some people find that reducing dairy a bit will help. So you need elevenses? Having higher amounts of fat often makes you less hungry. Try skipping elevenses and see whether it makes a difference, or if you really have a habit of wanting to sit down with a cuppa and something to nibble try a herbal tea and couple of olives.

Rayna I wonder what you mean by 'occasional slice of toast', the 'odd slice of cake' and 'a normal meal out from time to time'? Would it help to be more specific? I find it difficult to regulate what the odd bit of cake might be - once a year on my birthday, every couple of months when it's a special occasion for those close to me, every Friday in the office...

I read somewhere that our ancestors (who manly ate meat and above ground veg) might find a honeycomb once or twice a year and gorge themselves on it. That was how our insulin response was designed to work. I keep that in my mindset. So last year I ate afternoon tea when my SILs took me out to a special place for my birthday - that was my equivalent of gorging on honey.

When I'm in maintenance I have a small amount of carbs from pulses every one or two weeks and I find I can cope with that OK. But it's only a smallish amount, so a few beans in a chilli, a little amount of puy lentils with spinach, a small amount of humous. Having it spaced out like that helps me to make choices at the rest of the time - would I rather have a tasteless biscuit or save myself for something really delicious with a few puy lentils?

I'm not sure what constitutes a normal meal out anymore. I've got so used to swapping the potatoes for veg, choosing not to have rice with a curry that it feels like a normal way of eating. However I sometimes avoid walking past my local very good pizza place - the smell to too tantalising! But I keep in mind that maybe once or twice a year I COULD go. I also keep in mind the consequences on my gut and the farting that would follow

Venus yeah, sorry, I always add loads of veg to my soup. It's mostly a vegetable soup with added chicken! Broccoli, kale, cauliflower and spinach all go in my soup!
I just chuck a load of veg in, blend it up with chicken stock and chuck some shredded chicken in.

And my crustless quiche will be served with spinach and rocket.

Venus Interesting post. What I mean by "the odd slice of toast" is an easy answer: one slice maybe twice a week max, generally with almond butter and not my beloved marmalade. The cake question is a bit harder to answer and is what I need to keep my eye on in balance with what I see on the scales. Probably once or twice a month? I've certainly abandoned random bars of chocolate, cheap processed cakes etc for good, and we haven't eaten pasta or rice at home for years. However, Kidney beans in a chilli or butter beans in Spanish stew wouldn't be an issue at all for me and maybe sweet potato wedges with a steak once in a while, no problem. By a "normal" meal out, I mean allowing myself favourites like a thin crust pizza or chips with my steak now and again, instead of always swapping them out for veg. Even less often, maybe a dessert. The occasional pint of beer.
I will clarify that I am a moderator not an abstainer, I tolerate carbs fairly well and suffer no side effects when I eat them. I can eat an off plan meal and "get away with it" but obviously need to keep this to a level where I don't put weight back on. My BMI has never really been much above 23 or below 21 and following the bootcamp rules just keeps me closer to my happy place of 8 and half stone (which is a BMI of 21) and stops me creeping up to nearly a stone heavier which is where I often end up after Christmas or post-holiday.
I have stuck more closely and consistently to the rules this bootcamp than ever before, it's been a really good one for me with progress on lots of fronts, new tricks, tips and tools, but there are a number of things I don't want to have to permanently exclude from my diet and I need to be honest with myself about that.
Sorry hope that's not too derailing...

I am feeling the sugar cravings a lot today (probably PMT). And I haven't got enough "good" food with me. It's going to be a long afternoon. Parents evening after work so dinner is a long way away. I'll need to find something acceptable in the local Spar shop.

Thank you for the welcomes 🙂 Venus For my banana waffles I use the DietDoctor recipe - here's the weblink but not surehow to make it clickable: www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-banana-waffles I substitute almond flour with coconut flour (you only use 1/3rd of the amount of coconut flour, as it's much more absorbent). One ripe banana makes eight waffles. I batch make them, freeze some and eat the rest during the week. They're lovely and filling. Guilty as charged on the cream front

lost 1lb yesterday bringing a BC 2020 low!

It can only be the miracle of March. Seriously though, if feels like maybe the sun has reduced stress levels as eating is about the same and Exercise is slightly increased.

Rayna that’s not derailing at all.

I envisage maintenance much like Bootcamp light with occasional, mindful cheats really. Like I kind of do now.

But I mean it about the mindful bit. I love bagels w/cream cheese and streaky bacon for breakfast but I can’t plan to have that twice a week in maintenance. Or even once a week really.

I see it more as a stage where once a week I have a meal that’s carbed up, so maybe the bagel one week, the next week a couple burritos or tacos as a meal (another favourite), the next week maybe a burger, but to be honest I’ve become so accustomed to bunless that it would have to be a pretty special sloppy gourmet burger to tempt me.

As for cake, a friend gave me a slice of her key lime pie the other day, specifically for me to taste because of my American background. Like, literally packed it and brought it over and asked me for my opinion as it was her first attempt and she wasn’t sure. I was happy to have a couple bites (and it was lush, she’s a great cake and pie maker), and I let the kids have the rest. I wasn’t worried even though it was a cheat because I honestly haven’t had a piece of cake/pudding for at least 7 months or so? Can’t remember but I think it was creme brûlée on summer holidays. Maybe I’m wrong. But I knew it wouldn’t trigger any cravings for me.

Point is I don’t see maintenance differently, in the sense I won’t be planning to reincorporate other carbs into my daily diet. I’d rather snack on olives or cheese than crisps. I’d rather have lasagne with courgettes or aubergines, it tastes nicer.

There’s just not that much that I miss.

feels like maybe the sun has reduced stress levels

If that’s true I deserve a massive fucking whoosh.

Ooh except I forgot...

Today I had an unplanned, unmindful cheat by the way. Very rare for me but I hadn’t had dinner last night other than a couple forkfuls of tuna—first mistake but too tired—nothing this morning as usual, two meetings in a row and had to eat at second meeting at a farm shop cafe. Had a ham and cheese croissants hat was hugely disappointing. All dry croissant, and the cheese wasn’t even melted. I found myself gnawing at the insides, it was such an unpleasant dining experience.

With that and my key lime pie maybe a whoosh isn’t on the horizon. Also going to the pub tonight for two more back-to-back meetings and I’m sure I’ll have a vodka tonic or two.

Ah well onwards and downward.

Rayna isn't it interesting how we are all different. I tolerate some carbs such as a small occasional piece beetroot, but 2 slices of bread would see my weight creeping up, and going up much faster if I also had many other off-boot-camp items.

Most probably age related, and post-menopausal but if I want to carry on healthily into old(er) age then pizza is pretty much off limits. The only time I ever use lo-dough is when the desire for a pizza is strong. In reality the combination of age and a life-long aversion to exercise means I continue to be careful, or like you I bounce up a stone over an extend Christmas and festive and generally-miserable- winter period.

The park outside my home is popular for boot-camp type training classes. I would rather eat strict bootcamp for ever than join them grunting and groaning and being barked at by a loud-voiced macho leader

I've have a strange metric that I use which is that I aim never (again) to weigh more in kg than my years in age (where 1 kg = 1 year). So I'm 18months younger than I was in January this year, and 20 years younger than I was 4 years ago. If my weight creeps up over that then I feel like I'm getting old before my time (which might be true) and gives me a strong motivation to get back on it.

I realise that this only works around a certain age, lets just say I'm not in my 40's

Big thumbs up, @BrassicaBabe!

Another cheerful picture of evidence of spring: my broken hanging planter (hence why it is propped up on the ground) with its tête-à-tête daffodils (the ones in its actually ganging replacement probably won't flower as they were old bulbs that I put in, very late). Just to lift spirits since that does help fight the fuck-its

Forgive me bootcampers for I have sinned.
I had my first slip. I ate some white chocolate and had a slice of bread with my soup
I will do better tomorrow.

Any particular reason Carbyless ?

If you can identify the trigger, then you can avoid it happening again.

Ex came to visit the kids. He sits and moans at me constantly. Even if I go upstairs, he follows me around and tells me how awful I am.
He lives with his mum and it is not safe for the kids to be around her so he can't take them to his (she's an alcoholic, who sells drugs) and I can't trust him to see them in the community as he invites his mum, even though the court decided that she was to have no contact.

Oh that sounds tough @HerRoyalCarbyLess

But you're letting yourself hurt yourself by doing that, I'm afraid. Eating for emotional comfort is a really difficult habit to break, as many a Bootcamper will agree.

But tomorrow is another day - hope you're feeling better by then. Get back on the wagon and be super strict and I"m sure all will be fine. Try and find some lovely low carb foods to eat, so that you can treat yourself that way

I'm trying to tell myself that eating carbs means he wins.
I will check the damage in the morning and then get straight back on it.
I refuse to let him win. He kept me down for 12 years. So now I'm rising up and I'm going to be strong.
I can and I will do this.

Brilliant stuff!

I'm just quickly checking in as I'm hoping if I check in each day it will keep me accountable!

Weight 13s 3 so 1lb down from yesterday but probably not just from one day of low carb!
B: 4 x baby bel (bought 2 x pepparami to go with, but DD had them - when I asked if she wanted me to get her some in for future she said no she doesn't like them )
L: same as yesterday as I enjoyed it so much - 3x eggs scrambled in butter with corned beef and mushrooms, put a bit of grated cheese on this time too
D: 2 x cheeseburgers with broccoli with butter melted on top
Had 1 x black tea (because someone had already made it for me so felt bad for being ungrateful!), 3 x green tea and 2 litres water

Still feel like I need to up the water intake, but going from none to 2 litres is not bad going. Going to a thing tomorrow where lunch is provided so I think I'm going to have to try and eat something before I go as not sure what will be available and really don't want to derail on day 3. Missing the red wine.

Sympathies HerRoyal, a lot of my weight gain was comfort eating because of an ex - really annoys me now that he made me put on so much weight!