Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - week 7

[BIWI]

Morning all.

So we're entering the last four weeks. Still time to lose a good few pounds before we reach the end.

here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

I can see already that we've had some great results, and look forward to seeing/hearing about the rest!

Jiminny artificial sweeteners aren't great and I would suggest coming off them but you don't have to do it all at once if it's going to be a problem. Challenge yourself to cut down on them a little at a time. At the very least aim to not be having them every day.

Thanks @StuntNun yes that's what I'm thinking. I love that you say 'coming off them' like they're crack cocaine- ha ha very true!

@Jiminny you can't get me to talk about my Diet Coke addiction. Nope. Not me. Not here.

@BrassicaBabe nod nod wink wink, secret handshake 😄

Hello BIWI & experienced boot-campers - just looking for some food advice here also. I've had a look at the spreadsheet and cannot find, or missed the advice on pulses. I've been missing lentils in particular (etc daals) and can see that red lentils are around 7.2g carbs per 100g so a little high. But puy as another example are lower at 3.7g.

Would these be ok in moderation, or should they be avoided altogether?

Tesco says that Puy lentils are 18.1g per 100g.

Think pulses are out of scope for BC. But maybe ok in moderation when you get to maintenance

That makes sense, thank you Brassica. I can wait. I also re-checked the packet. It was a Waitrose one in their Live Love range; rather ambiguously named Lentils. I then assumed they were Puy because they look and act like Puy!

I'm too looking forwards to the occasional daal - when on maintenance- of couse. (One day this will happen!)

@ealingwestmum and @BrassicaBabe
I think that the carb counts will vary depending on whether the carbs-per-100g is measured on the dried or the hydrated lentil.

@ealingwestmum

Sainsbury's green lentils in water (i.e. already cooked) are 12g carbs per 100g, so they are way too carby, and Merchant Gourmet cooked Puy lentils are 18.1g carbs per 100g - so I"m not quite sure where you're getting the 3.7g from! (I wish they were so low as I love lentils)

So they are not good for Bootcamp although, as @BrassicaBabe (I see you with your Diet Coke addition ... ) says, when you reach maintenance these are the kind of good carbs you can start to introduce

I bought this today as it's lower carb than regular dairy plain yogurt. Is it a good idea?

Oops I thought I'd attached pics, will try again. It was Alpro Almond plain yogurt.

Maybe this will work?

Nope

Having a crazy day but just wanted to share my quick go to; tempura lemon fish, its 13g carbs which sounds high but i really like them with a shit load of green veg. They're my go-to quick dinner.

Got a bag of shredded spring greens..doesn't specify what they are but it looks like cabbage basically so i think its safe. Was a lush change from kale.

Thanks so much BIWI and 1Wild; it really shows the variances, and also method of cooking obviously. I was already a little wary of some supermarket info (reference recent greek yogurt-gate) and this is another mind field for all of us wanting pulses post BC.

I found myself drifting this afternoon when husband was explaining to daughter pre first weekend away with friends on how to cook basmati rice. Through the blah blah blah all I could think was but if you took the starch scum off and drain excess water vs letting rice absorb all the water, what % impact would that have on net carbs left in final cooked rice?

Thankfully I did not say this out loud. They already think some of my current eating habits are nuts but humour me

mine not mind. Though could be mind in my case!

@Jiminny

I bought this today as it's lower carb than regular dairy plain yogurt. Is it a good idea?

From the carb point of view that's fine - but it's very low fat, which is not what this way of eating is about. You need one that's high in fat.

this is the one that I buy . Most of the supermarkets will sell their own version of this in their premium ranges. It's over 10g fat per 100g and tastes absolutely delicious.

@ealingwestmum

I'm at a loss to know what to say about that carb count! I can't believe it's right, but I do trust Waitrose so I'm very conflicted by that

... but this site would also suggest that they're wrong.

cad186 your post from midnightish probably got overlooked by many the next morning but I wanted to say it was very nice and it’s lovely to hear how well you got on with Bootcamp.

Morning. I'm starting day 6 of this (started Monday) and my scales have stayed the same. Is that common? I thought I'd see something by now. I'm posting yesterday's food below to get feedback.

I know about the sweeteners, and will cut out all Diet Coke and tonic water today, and switch exclusively to water. But could those alone have prevented weight loss? Or is it just a bit early in the process. I really would've thought I'd notice something by now.

B plain full fat yogurt+ 3 coffees with almond milk (+sweetener)
L salmon, egg, green beans, salad leaves, spring onions, mayonnaise
D salmon, green beans and asparagus in butter

Snacks: 2 hard boiled eggs, 3 bags of cheesies (0 carbs)

Negatives: I drank a lot of Diet Coke and diet tonic water.

Jiminny it varies a lot between different people. Did you take a waist measurement at the start you can compare to? Or can you tell if your clothes are looser around the middle? The usual pattern for weight loss is to lose inches first then the scales drop a few days later. A lot of people notice their fat feels "squishier" just before the scales drop as well. Water retention often masks the fat loss on the scales. When you first go low carb your water retention can change rapidly while you adapt to this way of eating.

@StuntNun ah no I didn't measure before starting, didn't think if it, but I'll do it today anyway. Clothes don't feel looser around waist although my bra cups feel roomier 😄
You've all done this diet and it's worked for you so I'll just KOKO, while cutting down on artificial sweeteners.

@Jiminny
The only thing that jumps out for me are the green beans. I think they're on the carbier side of good. Could you try to stick the the stuff at the lower end of the green veg list?

@nowlook blimey in my head I'd moved green beans to the Green Light section of the list. Dammit. I even have the list stuck up in my kitchen, no excuse for my dimness. Thanks for flagging that!