Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - week 6

[BIWI]

Morning all

So here we are in the new, unexpected second half of Bootcamp!

Spreadsheet is here

Hopefully everyone should be in the swing of things now, and also hopefully we've left the doldrums of weeks 3 & 4 behind us, so should be seeing steady losses.

If things aren't going the right way for you, have a good, hard look at what you've been eating and drinking. Make sure you haven't allowed carb creep - and also that you're following the rules!

If you've moved on to Bootcamp Light, make sure that you're keeping an eye on the amount of fruit or nuts/seeds and alcohol that you're allowing. Remember - always in moderation!

Here's to a good week for us all

Never has aubergine in any other form than S-L-I-M-Y

Mmm, aubergine is good when it's slimy! It's when it's hard or dry that it's awful. I might try the moussaka as well, it may be beyond my cooking skills but I'll give it a go!

Enough of the aubergine @BrassicaBabe
Give me that McDonalds hack please

@nowlook I can't copy the text for reason. So here are some screen shots (buy egg rings from amazon for the full "round egg" experience )

@nowlook I can't copy the text for reason. So here are some screen shots (buy egg rings from amazon for the full "round egg" experience )

You will, of course, be serving that without the muffin?!

I occasionally treat myself to a bacon & egg NoMuffin:

2 rashers of smoked back bacon
1 egg
1 plastic cheese slice
American mustard
ketchup

Fry the bacon and then the egg - ideally using a ring so you get a nice round shape.
When cooked, fold the bacon rashers in half, put in the centre of the plate. Egg goes on top, and the cheese slice on top of that.
Add mustard and ketchup to taste - (bearing in mind that the ketchup is more carby than the mustard)

Don't ruin the illusion @BIWI

Your imagined daily routine:

• Spin class

B: Butter and 4 litres of water

• half marathon

L: Two eggs, more butter, all the spinach, 4 more litres of water -vigorous sex with a Parisian waiter-come-art student D: Chicken thighs cooked in butter and cheese, all the grass from the neighbours' gardens, touch more water. -Bingo and beetle drive with the WI

@BIWI (or anyone else) do you mind if I ask you some questions about plant based diets? You seem to have good knowledge and read around the subject of diet and nutrition etc and always have good articles and links, particularly from Michael Mosley, so I wondered what your thought are on his programme about the effect on the planet of eating meat and fish and whether we should all be vegan? He says that if we drastically cut our meat to 100g per day and cut the dairy (anything Produced from ruminants really) we could massively help the planet.

Obviously this diet is just not compatible with this, but I can’t help but feel quite guilty about the amount I’m consuming. Previous to BC I’d been trying to have 2 animal free days, 2 with eggs, 2 with fish and seafood (preferably muscles) and only one meat day per week (which would be pork or chicken). I’d stopped almost all dairy - bar a bit of cheese, and beef or lamb was just for a special occasion.

What I’d like to do is stay as low carb as possible but also incorporate more plant based meals. But I’m not sure how. I’ve kept to mainly chicken and pork, soya milk, and much less butter, cream and cheese than previous BCs (possibly why I’ve lost more easily this time). We’ve had tofu once a week and fish more etc but my egg consumption is crazy!

I feel better and more satisfied on this woe as the weight did creep on with the plant based stuff, and I felt more sluggish and bloated. But id like to be more environmentally ethical too.

@BrassicaBabe just wanted to say really well done on you alcohol free month. Could you look around for half bottles of wine? I have started doing this (although Im not very sophisticated re wine!!) and Waitrose do some half bottles of their middle range own brand which are really decent. I like the PInot Grigio but they also do a tasty Pinot Noir and you might find other options on line. This might curb the ‘I must finish the bottle’ urges - which I relate too!

To not too - you wouldn’t think I was a teacher would ya?!

I have similar worries @MrsKoala but have come to the conclusion that higher-carb diets are not for everyone. Other people I know eat carby foods without putting on weight and feeling bloated; they can move towards HC diets without ill-effect. We can't - so should stick to foods that keep us well.

Anyway, the planet probably does best if we all eat different things. (When everyone suddenly decided that avocado was sustainable and healthy, avocado harvesting went mad and all kinds of difficulties followed.) Think what happens when a boat tilts a little and, in a panic, EVERYONE on board rushes to to the other side...

I think that getting to a healthy weight and staying well is a good way of not using up the world's resources badly. LCHF works for us on this. Perhaps we can add a little more (higher-carb) veggie stuff once maintaining.

Non-the-less, veggie recipes (thank-you bootcamp recipe threads and 'Simply Nigella') that are low carb are on my menu list these days and like you I have reduced dairy a bit.

We do buy organic dairy when possible as cows and calves are allowed to stay together longer and spend more time in the outdoors eating grass. (The expense helps keep consumption down! ) The cows round here are very enterprising and have a milk vending machine in their field.

Oh @MrsKoala you have touched a nerve with me!

My friends will all confirm that my response to stuff about vegans usually prompts the reply 'fucking vegans ...'!!!

I don't have a problem with people wanting to cut down/out animal products, at all. My issue is that it's often a) just the latest trend and b) people don't understand the implications of what they're doing/buying/eating

A lot of the new vegan foods in the shops are highly processed. They have to use so many ingredients and processes to be able to mimic the food they're trying to replace - look at vegan cheese, for example!

And although vegans claim that they're giving up meat for environmental reasons, I doubt many of them understand the implications of the products that they're switching to. Almond milk, for example:

But what people don’t know is the environmental damage almond plantations are doing in California, and the water cost. It takes a bonkers 1,611 US gallons (6,098 litres) to produce 1 litre of almond milk,” says the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Pete Hemingway.

And this is in a part of the US that's experiencing significant drought!

(This is from this article

If you want to go vegan, I really don't have a problem with it if you know exactly what you're eating and why - but you will need to accept that it's going to be significantly higher in carbs.

Personally, nothing is ever going to make me give up cheese! Or rare fillet steak

Thank you for the advice @BIWI. I will bear that in mind about the tolerance range. I'm glad I can introduce a few carbs, as I think it will help my running. I feel good in day to day life, but have had very heavy legs in regard to exercise. I will carry on following the chat. All the losses are really inspiring!

I am not talking about veganism exactly. Just the suggestion from Micheal Mosley that we reduce our Animal product consumption to 100g per day and that ruminants are very damaging to our planet with their rampaging flatulance. Something like more carbon than all the vehicles in the world come from livestock farts and burps.

When I was eating more plant based stuff I never had any of the vegan fake food either. If I read the ingredients and there’s more than 6 or anything is unpronounceable I tend to think twice. I would never give up steak or cheese but having it much less often is fine for me if it’s better for the planet.

What I’d like to have is better meat less really and then have plant based in between. I have bought vegan low carb recipe books and they tend to be salads.

I do use almond milk tho so maybe I’ll rethink that!

@Tornfelt

Thank you for the advice *@BIWI*. I will bear that in mind about the tolerance range. I'm glad I can introduce a few carbs, as I think it will help my running. I feel good in day to day life, but have had very heavy legs in regard to exercise. I will carry on following the chat. All the losses are really inspiring!

No, no, no!!!

You don't need carbs to help any exercise. Once you're properly fat-adapted, your body has far more fuel to burn that if you were relying on carbs.

There's a really good book called 'The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance' by Drs Phinny & Volek that I really advise you to read.

Even endurance athletes have enough body fat to fuel their exercise!

Congratulations brassica, for clocking up those alcohol free days, you’ve done so well!

We do buy organic dairy when possible as cows and calves are allowed to stay together longer and spend more time in the outdoors eating grass. (The expense helps keep consumption down! ) The cows round here are very enterprising and have a milk vending machine in their field.

Do you know what happens to the older calves? Are they slaughtered for meat? I expect they may become veal. But I’m not sure.

The thing I found really interesting about the programme was he said that actually the lower welfare food products the less of an impact on the environment. So battery chickens etc had about 50% less carbon footprint I think due to living much shorter lives. So annoyingly organic meat and dairy actually has a worse effect on the planet.

It’s such a conundrum. I flip flop between ideas about it all. Which is why I thought some of you may have some helpful insights and thoughts.

MrsK I think that the higher costs of organic meats means consumption is likely less free/wasteful. Hopefully that counters the use of space and resources that Mosley sees as impact on the planet.

Anyway, the welfare of chickens/ animals we eat is important to the planet I want to preserve.

I bet if we were all vegan, the effects on the planet would not all be good!

(Some of us would be very miserable and hard to live with if deprived of steak and bacon!)

If we increase factory farming we might well improve the planet ...but not be around to enjoy the effects.

Intensive farming seems to foster the kind of deadly viruses that could wipe-out the human race. That would certainly lower Carbon emissions 😁

Just to support BIWI's advice re not needing carbs to exercise: I did Level 3 of the Shred, rested for half an hour and then went out and did a 5.3km run this morning - all towards then end of my 16:8 fast I'll admit to having had 2 teas with milk

I only actually broke my fast at 2pm!

Once you're ketogenically adapted, it really does work

My friends will all confirm that my response to stuff about vegans usually prompts the reply 'fucking vegans ...'!!! I think I love you even more BIWI

NMrsK I support your intention for more plant based meals. But I think the cow farting is destroying our planet is vegan bollox if you'll forgive me. Look at the stats and air quality around the world post lockdown. Heaps less trucks etc, the same amount of farting cows. (Have to confess I have "skin in the game". Married to a beef (organic!) farmer )

Oh and that's before "they" suggest jack fruit shipped half way round the world.

Hmm, turned into a bit of a rant. Not aimed at you MrsK I've also read some good stuff from M Mosley

I wish someone could import the knowledge from that book into my head BIWI. I've got it. Dry as a fucking desert. Can't make myself read it

You are knocking the exercise out of the park these days pretty!!

I’m not sure about it being vegan bollocks Brassica, it’s something I’ve read from many different sources. A quick google gives me this . You can see from the footnotes the references are not from a particularly vegan agenda. I don’t think it’s disputable that cows produce a lot of methane and that methane is very potent and that we have a lot of cows on the planet.

Thanks @BIWI and @prettybird. I thought I was fat adapted as been following all the rules for 6 weeks. Whenever I try to run, it feels awful (I am a runner, so not new to it.) Slow, nothing in my legs and heart rate feels high. It's coincided with this woe, so drew that conclusion. Maybe I'm just rubbish at running now!

@prettybird, that is amazingly energetic!