Super Strict Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp Week 1

[BIWI]

Good evening!

Trying to get ahead of everything, as I know tomorrow will be a real rush with people signing up, etc.

Here's the spreadsheet with many thanks to the ever lovely @AthelstaneTheUnready for her sterling efforts

Well so far I’ve had an okay week. I’m not entering on MyFitnessPal as it’s caused me weird anxiety in the past if I can’t calculate things exactly and as I’m working full time from home and trying to look after a 3 year old and educate an 8 year old I know I can’t sync hours into stressing over MyFitness Pal.

I have cut down to two meals a day and a few snacks of mainly cooked chicken or a few slices of chorizo and I’m being sensible. Nothing bad yet apart from a few chick peas in a salad as I didn’t realise they weren’t allowed. I’d guess my calories (if I work it out roughly) to be around the 1,000 a day. One big change is normally I have a big dinner between 9-10pm followed by chocolate and wine. I’m having my main meal at lunchtime and not eating after 6pm (or eating chocolate or drinking wine).

I have two potential issues over the weekend!

I have two socially distanced picnics. I’ve said bring our own food and one group said good idea as we don’t want to touch the same containers. The other group said no. One is a big feeder and is making sausage rolls and baguettes. I’ve said I’m low carbing and she is not happy (it is also her birthday and she said I must at least have a slice of cake).

How do you deal with this and what are your best low carb picnic recipes suggestions?

you'll learn to treasure the chicken skin as a treat

And the theory is that chicken's got loads of collagen and therefore you'll have great skin (and joints).

DH saves the crispy skin for me. Mmmmmm.

Wow @RuffleBelly I’d be giving the one with shared dishes a swerve at the moment! Without a second thought.

@RuffleBelly

One is a big feeder and is making sausage rolls and baguettes. I’ve said I’m low carbing and she is not happy (it is also her birthday and she said I must at least have a slice of cake).

How dare she! She may not be happy about your low carbing, but it's nothing to with her. And by insisting you eat cake, she will be sabotaging what you're trying to do. Please don't give in to that kind of silly pressure. You can celebrate her birthday in many other ways

We've just had Nicola Sturgeon telling us we can go for a picnic but absolutely Do Not share food, plates, cutlery.

Which is one way of sneaking out of the "are you seriously telling me what to eat" confrontation

@RuffleBelly I agree with pseudobadger... you shouldn't go to that picnic. It sounds like your friend would pressure you to eat at that particular picnic and that isn't worth giving up all your hard work for . To be honest even if she said 'oh okay you won't have to', I'd still be suspicious that she would try to push it on me again once I'm actually there.

Or my DP just said - take that slice of cake, and...

Put it in a small food bag when she's not looking.

What did you think I was going to say?

@RuffleBelly

PICNIC
Lookingfor the same reason I saw an online recipe for scotch eggs made with minced pork- sage- spices rolled round hard boiled eggs, dipped in beaten egg and then grated parmesan - baked in the oven. It sounds great but haven't tried it yet.

We like
-olives/chorizo/diced cheese eaten with cocktail sticks
-cold spanish omlette made with celeriac rather than potato (or egg muffins made in paper muffin cases)
-Asparagus wrapped in bacon +drizzled with oil then baked till golden (these are also lovely hot from the ovenand don't always get to the picnic basket).
-Lettuce 'wraps' with sandwich type fillings
-eggs stuffed with boursin cheese or smoked paprika
-occasional sweet treat: macadaeia and pecan nuts with tiny pieces of 80% chocolate

CAKE REFUSAL
I know how hard it is just to refuse friends like this! (I assume their motivation is loving... but accept that it might not always be so.)

Direct refusal can be done (social distancing reasons etc.) ...but deep offence/hurt can be taken. (You are refusing love not food?)

Other less confrontational options that have worked:
-Accept the cake and wrap it up in a handy paper-napkin for later... because too full right now?
-Accept it nibble a crumb at once and say how lovely etc. but don't eat the rest, just hold it with enthusiasm - let it disappear when there is a distraction.

Or eat the cake and live to fight another battle?

The friend is a relative and a very confrontational one. By refusing to eat her cake, she will refuse to eat the cake too. We’ve had this argument many times as she sometimes makes cakes I dislike and if I say no thank you the threatens to throw the whole thing. I’ve said we’ll take our own food as I’m not comfortable sharing and touching containers but I know she’ll cause a scene.

Thanks for the picnic ideas. Going shopping early tomorrow so trying to get a plan in place!

That's really difficult @RuffleBelly if you plan to have a 'cheat day' then it should be on your terms not somebody else's. I hope you manage to find a good workaround x

Me and my husband are going to try and switch slices so we’ll put the plates down next to each other and he’ll pick them up alternates and take a bite! I’m hoping that charade works. I’m going to take strawberries and cream to add to it and have a small nibble on a few so it looks like I am eating. I know berries aren’t allowed but a few strawberries are going to be a lot better than a slab of cake!

@RuffleBelly - how awkward! 😬😳 Loving your DH’s plan!
Well I’ve had about 1 calorie today because I have felt flippin rubbish. Have been mainly in bed. I have drink water though. Serious sunshine jealousy - hope it’s as nice tomorrow. On plus side - maybe I will finally lose weight!! Still haven’t budged since last time I moaned about it. Not sure how I’ve managed to lose an inch but no pounds?!? Maybe it’s my lockdown hair growth...

Hi everyone, I'm joining in. I didn't start until today because of (extra long as its half term) bank holiday plans and I'm going straight into regular boot camp as I didn't want to count calories. I am doing IF as I started last year on my first BC and still mostly eat that way. However, during BC there won't be any wine or chocolate after dinner!

During lockdown eating has gone haywire due to both stress and eating like it's one long holiday. My DCs are going back to school and me to work on Monday so this is a good time to make a change. I am still 1st lighter than when I started BC last year but 1st heavier than this time last year so aiming to get back to where I was to start with. I have taken a picture in my favourite shorts as another measure of progress.

We went for a walk and a picnic today and I had a homemade roasted veg and feta frittata and some avocado and ham. Sitting in the garden sipping water and doing quite well with that too.

Planning pork steaks with a creamy sauce and spring greens for dinner (recipe on the thread posted by me last year)

Have skim read through the whole thread and lovely to see some familiar faces and welcome to some new friends too

KOKO everyone and drink water!

Hi all - hope everyone is doing well

Busy day at work here.

Fasted from 7 last night til 1pm today - meant to break it at 12 but was out so 1pm it was.

L : beefburger with cheese melted on top, some leftover leek soup, fried egg, lots of rocket
D: not sure yet but probably roasted chicken thighs and salad
had some full fat greek yoghurt

Drinks: 2 mugs black coffee, 1 cup builders tea with milk, gallons of water

Walking to the beach and back now (15mins each way) and going for a swim

Breakfast for me was roule and spinach pancakes again, had to have milk in my coffee though. Had another coffee mid afternoon to keep me going, then tea was chicken thigh stuffed with cheese, konjac pasta with tomato and chorizo sauce.

Bit cheese heavy, but within the eight hour window :) fast til 10am now

A few people have mentioned Konica rice/pasta/noodles. Can anyone recommend a brand or supplier? Some of them are really expensive! 😮

*konjac

I'm reflecting on the calorie counting thing as well. I'm not very good at actually getting down to 1000, and I only managed one day of mfp logging but I would definitely say it's made me more mindful of what I'm eating. So black coffee instead of coffee and cream (I drink an absolute fuckton of coffee so represents quite a lot of calories), I've stopped nibbling butter when I cook and I'm not eating for the hell of it just because the food is allowed. And I'm watching the scales tick down slowly (daily weigher) and my ankles aren't aching as much. Stiff and achy joints, especially ankles, seem to be a feature when I'm eating too much sugar and they're fading already. Thank you. It's precisely what I needed, when I needed it.

So generally feeling very positive. I'm only on day three, but I'm feeling good!! Also I'm having lamb koftas for dinner which I'm looking forward to greatly!!!!

Good day here, feeling much less like I want to kill each and every member of my immediate family. Food for today comes in at 863 cals but only 8g carbs so not enough FLGV - must try harder tomorrow.

L: last of the celery soup, fried halloumi, a few olives
D: salmon wrapped in Serrano, asparagus and mange tout in a load of melted butter (which I totally licked off the plate with my finger at the end).

I’m going to do a socially distant workout in my friend’s garden in a bit. She’s a personal trainer so will put me through my paces from afar

On another note, does anyone know how to do a strike through on Mumsnet on an iPad. It used to work fine but now it looks like this —which is shit— Anyone help?

A bit better calorie-wise today! Finishing on 1029 calories, 21g of carbs. Will make my target of 4l of water today.

Managed to resist the temptation of the kids' icecream and had creamy coffee instead.

Settings>general>Keyboards>smart punctuation>off :)

You should only have to do it once and it will remember for any future devices, iirc

A good day here but the only thing Im finding is that I don’t seem to have much mental energy for running. I’m not a fan of running anyway but in the absence of gym time have been going for a run and managing to do 5k on the flat. Sometimes I do less - like 3k - but then do a lot of step walking and hills (live next to a big London park). Today I just couldn’t be arsed with running much but did do a lot of hills and steps in compensation. Oh and I did do a few weights and crunches in the garden. Do you think that’s ok? Previously when I have got lean with low carb I have been lifting very heavy weights in the gym.

I absolutely couldn’t do this without a MyFitnessPal app.

@RuffleBelly

The friend is a relative and a very confrontational one. By refusing to eat her cake, she will refuse to eat the cake too. We’ve had this argument many times as she sometimes makes cakes I dislike and if I say no thank you the threatens to throw the whole thing. I’ve said we’ll take our own food as I’m not comfortable sharing and touching containers but I know she’ll cause a scene.

So what if she causes a scene? Honestly! Just tell her that you are on a diet, and that cake isn't allowed. End of. Why are you allowing her to 'win'? It's her birthday, why would she choose to spoil it?!

Stand up to it. Stop finding strategies to accommodate her. Make your own needs more important - which they are!

@Hopeislost

A few people have mentioned Konica rice/pasta/noodles. Can anyone recommend a brand or supplier? Some of them are really expensive! 😮

They are expensive. If you have an Asian supermarket near you, try looking there, for shirtaki noodles. I have no idea how much they will cost there, but I do know that Bare Naked Noodles are expensive!