Low Carb Bootcamp Ordinaire - Week 3

[BIWI]

Morning all!

The start of a brand new week. Hopefully it will be a better week - emotionally/psychologically - for us all.

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for you to record your progress.

Hopefully we've all had a good couple of weeks, food and weight wise.

Be warned that we're now in week 3. Many, many, many low carbers (not just Bootcampers) find that the weight loss can slow or stop in this week (and also week 4)

If this happens to you DON'T PANIC! If you've been losing so far, then you know it works. Just KOKO (keep on keeping on) and things will get going again soon.

Good luck to us all [ flowers]

@blueglassandfreesias I had a similar experience and probably for the same (previous disordered eating) reasons.

I now understand that LCHF is for me but I do have to make sure that I'm drinking all the water and eating meals (rather than just my favourite fats as snacks) to ensure that the FLGV is always included.

(It turns out that if I don't include enough water and veg, I can eat more fat than I can digest, and far more than I need to live on in a day.)

I have enjoyed occasional glasses of (far too expensive) Seedlip and soda with a slice of lime or on its own with an olive and in a cocktail glass.

It looks very good, so it satisfies the desire of others to make me join them, and tastes dry and exciting enough to satisfy my tastebuds.

(It even fools me sometimes. I found myself wondering if it was ok to drive after having a merry cocktail evening with other drinkers... then remembered that I was alchohol-free.)

wildteaparty it's amazing what a nice glass, some ice cubes, and the right 'garnish' can add to a drink. I had a friend who had got into a G&T habit every day when she came home from work and wanted to change it. She poured gin into the glass, ran it around, and tipped it back into the bottle. She said a crystal tumbler, ice, lemon and cold fizzy tonic were more important than the gin. You only have to try gin with flat tonic at room temperature to know she's right.

Had a creamy coffee, the chicken is roasting in the oven and smelling delicious. Pak choi and courgettes to go with it. Dh is making dinner - salmon, boiled egg, green beans, olives in a greek yogurt dressing.

@1WildTeaParty I just googled Seedlip after reading your post and my mind is blown. I'm definitely heading out to Sainsbury's today for some of that. Is the citrus grove one any good?

I had a tough day yesterday and ended up having 1/2 a small glass of wine. My dog developed vestibular syndrome, which means basically her sense of balance is fucked and she was staggering and lurching around like she's very drunk. First thing in the morning I thought she'd had a stroke. The vet told us to keep her in a safe place so I ended up sitting on the floor with her most of the day and getting the boys to look after her while I cooked etc. She will probably recover and seems a lot better already today. I really rely on my walks and exercise so I felt physically rubbish as well as worried yesterday. This morning I took the other dog for a long walk and did some bodyweight exercises in the garden with the sick one leaning on me,and I feel so much more positive.
I'm enjoying all the suggestions for alternative drinks, I need to try some of them for those evenings when mint tea just doesn't cut it!

Saw this recipe on Instagram and thought it looked really tasty. I'm sure you could omit the 2 tbsp of flour and just add less stock and/or accept the soup will be a bit thinner

Hello everyone,
It's so good to read about everyone's food ideas and choices for inspiration.

@venusandmars, your dinner sounds amazing and so does your lunch.
I think I've just not been eating enough vegetables, and like some of you have said also, it makes me feel a bit bleurgh.

So for lunch I have had a big green salad with lettuce, cucumber, radish, paired with half an avocado, tuna mayo, some brie pieces and kalamata olives.

Lots of water, multivitamins and the obligatory teas with soya milk.

We are clearing out the garage today and I'm already looking forward to dinner: steak and asparagus with garlic butter and other veggies.

So, I have a confession. Week1 and 2 were in no way alcohol free. Couldn't do it. Didn't want to do it. But have been wrestling with my relationship with alcohol for a long time now. I like it. Don't want to stop etc etc. First thing in the morning I find it easy to say "right, no wine this evening". But as the day gets on I waiver until about 7 when I give in. Normally getting through half a bottle of wine on a quiet night.

The last time I had a few days off was in about Feb I think and I was very cross throughout the whole processs.

Anyway, on Sunday I signed up to "the alcohol experiment". Going to give it up for 30 days and examine the process and see how I feel at the end. So far, I'm feeling very calm about it! A step change on the past.

BUT. I've put on a pound!! (Only 3-5 before o get to target). Surely that is not fair?!

Test tonight as DH family coming to eat fish and chips in the garden. So many challenges there in that one sentence!! But feeling strong on the fish and chip front as well as the wine front. (Making doner kebab for me)

@NumbsMet I like the spice one because it is different to my usual citrus-with-water drinks. It is not gin but is unlike other 'soft' drinks because it is not sweet.

@prettybird I love cauli soups and usually add a bit of celeriac with the other veg - it thickens the soup beautifully (just as potato or flour would).

I have sometimes (when allowed) added a spoonful of ground almonds and blended them in for the same reason.

Food yesterday:

Dauphinoise potatoes, really spicy gingerbread, washed down with two large white wines.

Luckily that was in my dream last night so I'm still on plan. Carb dreams. All the carbs, none of the bloating.

@BrassicaBabe you've put on a pound because wine makes you dehydrated and now you can hydrate! I'm always about 1-2 lbs down the morning after I drink. It's not actual weight loss. Good luck with it.

@1WildTeaParty oh dear, I've just finished at Sainsbury's now and I bought the citrus one! With some soda water and some lime . I hope it hits the spot, I saw the spice one but I'm not the biggest fan of spiced cold drinks so I imagined it would taste like cinnamon .

Why am I this excited about a non alcoholic drink?!

BrassicaBabe well done for saying it out loud. I think it is great to see it as an experiment - try things out and see what works for you and what has you climbing the walls. Try out different non-alcoholic drinks. Seedlip as mentioned above is great - expensive but no more so than a bottle of gin. Freshly squeezed lime in soda is one of my favourites. Always, always, always have a glass of water to hand (good bootcamp advice too). Find things to do with your hands and your body (sorry that sounds a bit more rude than I intended ) - on-line jigsaws, getting out and doing some gardening, knitting, a long cycle. And find something to do with your mind - write a book, blog about your experience, do difficult killer sudoko's, get a colouring book or a painting by numbers set. Work out when your trigger times are or the trigger events. Is it sitting down to eat? prepping food in the kitchen? getting the children to bed? all of the above? Can you find something different to do at those times? e.g. put your dinner in the slow cooker in the morning when your resolve is strongest. Arrange a zoom call with a friend for as soon as dc are in bed - with the obligatory glass of water in your hand.

If you do feel an overwhelming longing, set a timer for 20 minutes and find something distracting to do. After 20 minutes drink some water, join an on line yoga class or listen to a guided meditation, have a bath, paint your toenails. Distract, distract, distract. You might be surprised to find that the craving for a drink is not like feeling hungry. It doesn't get stronger the longer you go on. Sometimes after 20 or 30 minutes the intensity has completely gone. It's all one big experiment to take time to notice how things go.

Can you tell I've got some experience of the same thing? I'm sure I'm not saying anything that your 30 day experiment won't also be covering. I hope they also give you lots of support, just like bootcamp does for us.
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I had a friend who had got into a G&T habit every day when she came home from work and wanted to change it. She poured gin into the glass, ran it around, and tipped it back into the bottle. She said a crystal tumbler, ice, lemon and cold fizzy tonic were more important than the gin.

Clever woman. It’s the change, the treat, the something you look forward to, isn’t it?

@BrassicaBabe. I hear you.

I think you'll find it's something that a lot of us struggle with. (And I include myself).

A lot of drinking is about associations and learned behaviours. There's something about sitting outside, in the sunshine, that means you have to have a glass of crisp, clean, dry white wine in your hand, isn't there?

Or that Friday night means opening the bar that bit early.

The habit thing is interesting too - we always have Monday off. So I genuinely never think about having a drink on Monday. Why, therefore, does my brain not have the same ability to forget about it on other days of the week?! Mostly we make it alcohol-free Monday to Wednesday, but during lockdown this has been much, much harder to stick to.

I had 3 weeks off in January last year and I was gutted to find that I didn't lose any weight, nor did I sleep any better. However, I have to believe that it was good for my liver at the very least!

So don't think about it in terms of weight loss. Just make it part of an overall 'healthier me' lifestyle.

And bloody good luck with it!

Thanks BIWI, Venus. I'm finding this experiment is working to unpick my beliefs:
I drink to relax
I drink because I like it
I drink to sleep
I drink because I deserve a treat

She hasn't addressed "I drink because if not I'll over eat Hasn't addressed "I drink because DH family are boring" yet either!

It's American but not too American if you follow.

Oh and the smug "planted based diet" HRT doc will he pleased enough too

Not sleeping better yet. But that really needs to get on with it. Although the crazy anxiety that was hitting me in the early hours has gone.

But let's face it; health schmelth, I want to shift that last 3-5lb!

@ 1WildTeaParty thank you.
It’s crazy how I can turn any WOE into an eating disorder if I’m not careful and all this CV stuff has really not helped!
Today I’ve had
3litres water
3 coffees
Green salad with mozzarella, tomato, avocado and salami.

1 meatster.

Some salted almonds dipped in Saint agur spread.

Tonight tea will be roast chicken,
Roasted cauliflower cheese, broccoli and sprouts.

Sorry @bluegrassandfresias - I forgot to say 'welcome'. So, welcome!

Re non alcoholic drinks.. DONT buy the Aecorn ( from the same people as seedlip) . I jist went to have some as mySaturday treat. And read the label properly ( didnt have my glasses when I bought it) and its got sugar in !

Bah.. v expensive mistake ... stupidly I thought it would be zero
cals carbs like Seedlip is..

Lesson learned and I am having a Seedlip and zero cal tonic instead

You are all so relatable. And the photos of food are just lush and will try the soup. I'm allergic to shellfish but the lobster looked amazing. I think in another life I would be a huge fan of scallops, I salivate every time I watch them being cooked on MasterChef.

I've drunk very little since January, but other vices have not fared so well. Last night, as a result of my 16 year old hitting a bit of a low - combination of reality hitting in on what would have been end of GCSEs, big music festival weekend (obv cancelled) and my saying no to with hanging out in a major London common (ahem, what 6 max rule?) which was her final straw, my husband took pity on her and made some spectacular cocktails with dinner. They smelt divine, and did the trick in cheering her up, and I managed a no thanks again, but my brain hurt.

So again, to all those who are fighting the I drink to...

Definitely think I'm over eating on the snacks now I'm not using MFP...

Still resisting everyone elses crap... have eaten more 90% lindt and diet lemonade with rose to try not to drink too much.

Still..no carbs.. i have no doubt this won't help me lose anything on the scales still but I definitely still am trying very hard here!!!

V difficult not being home!

Hello everyone, sorry been missing for a few days but I’ve been doing a mammoth clear out of stuff. I’ve purged 8 bin bags of children’s clothes I was hanging onto (the originally planned 4th child which we never had maybe?) and lots of old towels and bedding which were physically and mentally dragging me down.

I haven’t caught up on the thread but have just read the last page. Brassica I can very much relate to what you are saying about alcohol. My confession, if it makes you feel less alone (although it’s not really a confession because it’s a conscious choice) is I also have had a drink on this BC . There is no way I could do it without drinking and I’m happy with that. I have had a very problematic relationship with alcohol all my life since 15 and after 20 odd years of trying to give up for a period or abstain all week I realised the denial made me binge drink and the hangovers made me get depressed and anxious.

So I did an experiment. If I allowed myself to drink every day then I didn’t crave it anymore. I bought myself a jigger and was very strict with my measurements. Once I did that then I introduced nights off and Went from 3 units a night to 2 etc.I found other stress relievers like the gym and hobbies.

But, now it’s lockdown I have needed to drink more. It was a conscious choice of sanity or liver. It’s easy to say find alternatives to stress when it’s not lockdown like, do some exercise, go for a walk, have a break from the children, leave your husband, but suddenly all those options are gone and I need to survive. So I’ve made a battlefield judgement and triaged drinking a small amount when I feel I need it. And like Scarlett O’hara I will think about the rest tomorrow.

Asparagus with Parmesan
Sea Bass
Greek Salad , (lots of olive oil and fresh dill )
HM Tzatziki

1 Seedlip and low cal tonic, then water with ice and lemon

....All is well with the world

Kill. Me. Now.

BBQ with in-laws is staggeringly dull sober. No really. I'm currently hiding in my bedroom on a protracted pretend trip to the loo!!

MrsK interesting input on the alcohol debate. I'd say that approach puts you firmly in then"moderator" category. A little of what you fancy keeps you from going over board. I fall into the abstainer category. Once I open the wine (crisps. Also crisps!) I don't stop til it's finished!