Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - last weigh-in!

[BIWI]

Morning all

Very much looking forward to finding out how everyone has done so here's the Spreadsheet for its last outing

I had hoped, when I started this Bootcamp, that we would have left lockdown properly by now, rather than being in this weird kind of limbo that we find ourselves in. But hopefully it has achieved its objective, of getting us all a bit more focused and healthy, rather than just eating and drinking ourselves to death before the virus could do that!

We will, of course, carry on - I'll keep the thread going and when it's finished, we'll start another one. Just because the ten weeks is up doesn't mean that the diet has ended

Here's to a good result on the scales this morning

Urgh yes the "if the rules don't change" caveat to everything is getting so old.

Mimosa I'm sorry you're finding the situ impacting your adjustment so much. We moved to the country 5 years ago and it took me a good 18mo to feel settled and start making worthy connections and form friendships. Can't imagine life any different now. Dds first term was a bit like "floating" trying to find a group she gelled with. You'll get there.

I've been slowly eeking new items into my wardrobe and rediscovering some (very) old items. I never buy clothes so was quite surprised to give away to full bags this morning but I decided to give away summer bits instead of putting them away because I will definitely not be a size 18 next summer! (Shouts to the universe 🤣)

Still holding steady on the scales this morn which takes me to a 2 st 10lb loss. Pressing on and hoping to hit 3 st soon. Its still not hugely noticeable. Like obviously its alot of weight but as i was just shy of 16st there's alot of me, so I'm not feeling hugely different size wise, not drastically, feel different inside though of course.

Husband says he stumbled across a picture from Christmas which made him realise how much I'd lost, he showed me the pic but i felt I still looked the same despite his interpretation of it so it wasn't quite the "omg" moment I'd hoped for when he brought it up 🤣

Onwards and downwards...

Has anyone got anything decent they do with stewing beef? I've got a heap of the stuff and my stews are always so fecking dull!!

I'm rural too @ThinkAboutItTomorrow @Takingontheworld, @Mimosa1 Only company is ILs. Don't get me started! Yeah, grateful for the space etc etc I too could really do with meeting someone new people. Found myself googling Women's Institute last night 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Lockdown Slump is bringing out the wine gremlins in me again

Biscuit-gate saw 4lbs on. Getting quite anxious about holiday first week of November now. I have steel willpower in many areas. But the wheels come off on holiday. Always. I can't moderate. But I've worked so hard this year.

Bloody amazing being able to give away your clothes Taking!!

@BrassicaBabe

Has anyone got anything decent they do with stewing beef? I've got a heap of the stuff and my stews are always so fecking dull!!

Guinness 😳

@BrassicaBabe

Has anyone got anything decent they do with stewing beef? I've got a heap of the stuff and my stews are always so fecking dull!!

Stewing beef makes a great chilli - and it is even better the next day. (Just the usual stew with beef-stock, bacon, shallots +bottom of the fridge veg but with added garlic - cumin seeds - coriandar seeds - oregano - mustard seeds - ginger - chillis and or chilli powder -lime zest - then parsley and coriandar leaves added at the end. We like coconut milk or natural yogurt or creme fraiche stirred in too.)

We also like stewing beef cooked very slowly (or pressure-cooked) with shallots, mushrooms, garlic, med-veg - thyme, basil, bayleaf, rosemary,sage , parsley, and red wine and garlic

@BrassicaBabe there's a great recipe for Rendang Beef in the Fast800 recipe book. Let me see if I can find a link to it.

here you go

A couple of words of warning - don't use dark soy sauce as it's too salty, and you don't need as much water as they suggest.

Keep meaning to say.. I'm "enjoying" this fasting app - fastic. Really easy to use

Yay! October boot camp! Thanks @BIWI

Thanks for the beef recipes. I will try all of them. Kids and DH will be particularly appreciative of many of them. The rendang one is just is for me. 😊Although most of them will still eat it. Bonus. (I can filter them moaning)

Thinking about my November holiday. (Long story, but it's we normally go away October half term. So heading to "normal for us". Just a week later than usual) During this week I would normally be faced with amazing fish and chips, crab burgers, muscles and frites or fresh bread, wood fired roast beef and potatoes, chips in duck fat with crab sandwiches. And that's before we consider holiday cottage family packs of crisps and tubes of Pringles. Oh, wine, gin and repeat. I'd expect to see half a stone on in a week and 2 Months off! Especially when you consider the proximity to Xmas 🤦🏻‍♀️

So, I need to decide my approach and get comfortable with it. Doing it now because by then we'll be deep into Oct BC and it's not fair to being newbies down with this kind of chat.

What would a friend say to me? Instead of my cross and grouchy internal voices?

And half a stone if I'm luck. More likely 9lb. I'm not alone in that am I?!

I could egg fast for 3-5 days on my return that might be one approach

Hello, did I see something about this continuing in October? I could be first earnest newcomer , hoping to excel.

Brassica i think I'd want to look bigger, how much have i lost so far, do i have 'leway', how important is this week to me, a little bit of normality and indulge after a year of crap, or can I genuinely go and restrain myself and nor feel its spoiling the week for me. Is it worth weeks of hard work thereafter. Can i trust myself to do that work? If i decide to restrain is it really possible? Because the guilt and shame if I don't, will ruin the experience anyways.

For me, I'm an all or nothing person, and food is emotional. Id prefer to accept i want all the yum, accept it guilt free and enjoy without being mean to myself about it, and then accept what is when back, albeit i may moan, cos well. Human! But for me one week would feel a drop in the ocean to this journey. But that's me.

When we go away this week I'll be annoyed about potential impact on control over my food but thats because i don't really wanna go 🤣 if we were heading to our once a year beach house and all the goodness that comes with that, I'd be invested in the experience and go all in.
Does that make sense ?

@BrassicaBabe my mouth is watering ha No advice beyond 'don't do it' but yes I could easily gain 9lb in a week on holiday

@Solongsugar Hello 👋🏻

@BrassicaBabe

During this week I would normally be faced with amazing fish and chips, crab burgers, muscles and frites or fresh bread, wood fired roast beef and potatoes, chips in duck fat with crab sandwiches. And that's before we consider holiday cottage family packs of crisps and tubes of Pringles. Oh, wine, gin and repeat. I'd expect to see half a stone on in a week and 2 Months off! Especially when you consider the proximity to Xmas

While undoubtedly holidays aren't (generally!) a time to deprive yourself, you also need to consider the impact not only on your weight but also your mental health if you are to indulge yourself so fully for just a week.

Just remember all the posts you've made bemoaning the fact that you can't lose the last 4lbs, or that your weight has gone up because you fell into the biscuits after the wine.

And, as you rightly point out, why would you do this to yourself just before Christmas, when you're implicitly (explicitly?) acknowledging that all bets will be off when it comes to low carbing?

Surely there's a middle ground here? Does it have to be high carb every day? Can you not have, for example, crab burgers without the bread, moules and frites without the frites, roast beef with vegetables and not the potatoes? Don't buy the crisps and Pringles - if they're not there then you won't eat them. Don't plan to cheat, in other words!

If you want evening snacks, then why not a good cheeseboard? You could have roasted/salted nuts - still carby, but much less so than crisps, and with a bit more nutrition.

In other words - you need to plan your week so that you minimise the damage. Don't fall into the sort of acceptance that you have to eat these things. And try and change your mindset about what being on holiday means.

It won't be much of a holiday for you when you get back to find that you've gained half a stone, with Christmas also looming on the horizon!

Sorry if this sounds harsh - I realise that the Big Stick should be in the cupboard right now! - but your post just reads that you're going to do all these things, and then complain about weight gain when you get back. And I know how hard you've worked to get where you are right now.

Why would you throw all that hard work away?

Brassica a woman I coach decided that her Italian holiday wasn't complete without wine and ice cream. Everything else could be low carb but these were the two things she really wanted to be able to have on her week away. She eventually decided she would have one glass of wine a day and an ice cream on the last day of her holiday. She was determined not to sabotage her weight loss so this was her compromise and I had advised her to plan what she was going to do so it was already decided. That way when temptation arose she could fall back on her plan. She managed to stick to, and savour, her one glass of wine a day but when she got to the last day of the holiday she actually decided not to have her promised ice cream. She was so proud of herself for sticking to healthy eating that she was happy to forgo her treat. I think it just goes to show how much of holiday eating is all in your head. Unless you're going on some kind of gastro experience then your holiday is much more than just the food you eat. So my advice to you is to plan what you're going to do. As BIWI says have moules without the frites and definitely don't buy those Pringles! If your companions must have Pringles then try to get flavours you don't like sour cream and onion yuck so you won't be as tempted. And take the healthy snacks such as posh Waitrose nuts or M&S crackling or chorizo crisps or rollitos. You can still enjoy your foods while you're away without it having to be cheap carby crap. And also think how good you'll feel when you come back from your holiday having maintained your weight.

Why am I so hungry? Everyone else seems to lose their appetite. I’ve had 2 scrambled eggs (in butter), half an avocado, a handful of olives and loads of smoked salmon for breakfast (just over an hour ago) and am ravenous already. I’m 2 months in and the hunger isn’t dissipating. I tried doing 16:8 but I was nearly passing out by the time I could eat.

More fat and more water!

How's your weight going? Are you losing weight? If you are, then I'd eat more. Don't even think about fasting if you haven't got your hunger under control.

The next Bootcamp will start on 12 October here's the sign-up thread

@BIWI

More fat and more water!

How's your weight going? Are you losing weight? If you are, then I'd eat more. Don't even think about fasting if you haven't got your hunger under control.

I’ve lost a stone over 2 months so I’m losing but slowly compared to most in this diet. I feel like I eat way more than everyone else already so was reluctant to up my food any more (everyone seems to eat such tiny amounts and I really don’t). I’ve had a little and a half of water already this morning in an attempt to up my fluids and it’s given me a cracking headache. That always happens when I try to drink more for some reason.

Any ideas for fats I can eat that won’t up carbs or protein too much?

Jdhshekr a stone in two months is not slow. After the first week or two the most you can expect to lose is 1-2lb per week.

@StuntNun

Jdhshekr a stone in two months is not slow. After the first week or two the most you can expect to lose is 1-2lb per week.

Ah, thank you. I just felt like everyone else was losing so much faster than me. I didn’t even lose lots to start with - it’s never been more than 1-2lbs per week and I’ve lost nothing at all this week.

@Jdhshekr

I’ve lost a stone over 2 months so I’m losing but slowly compared to most in this diet. I feel like I eat way more than everyone else already so was reluctant to up my food any more (everyone seems to eat such tiny amounts and I really don’t)

Assuming 2 months = 8 weeks, that's an average of 3.5lbs a week1. That isn't slow loss at all!. I don't know quite what you were expecting, but as @StuntNun has pointed out, it's much more the norm to see losses of 1-2lbs a week, so I'd say you're doing really well!

I’ve had a little and a half of water already this morning in an attempt to up my fluids and it’s given me a cracking headache. That always happens when I try to drink more for some reason

This would suggest that you're not getting enough sodium. Are you using salt in your cooking and on your food?

Try an electrolyte supplement - this will help ensure that your sodium, magnesium and potassium levels are kept up. You can buy one called Zero made by High5 - from their website or from places like Evans Cycles and Holland & Barrett.

Plus, @Jdhshekr, you really don't know how much other people are eating unless they post photos!

You need to remember that this isn't a competition. We all lose at different rates. This is just about you and what you need/want to eat. Don't worry about other people.

[quote BIWI]@Jdhshekr

I’ve lost a stone over 2 months so I’m losing but slowly compared to most in this diet. I feel like I eat way more than everyone else already so was reluctant to up my food any more (everyone seems to eat such tiny amounts and I really don’t)

Assuming 2 months = 8 weeks, that's an average of 3.5lbs a week1. That isn't slow loss at all!. I don't know quite what you were expecting, but as @StuntNun has pointed out, it's much more the norm to see losses of 1-2lbs a week, so I'd say you're doing really well!

I’ve had a little and a half of water already this morning in an attempt to up my fluids and it’s given me a cracking headache. That always happens when I try to drink more for some reason

This would suggest that you're not getting enough sodium. Are you using salt in your cooking and on your food?

Try an electrolyte supplement - this will help ensure that your sodium, magnesium and potassium levels are kept up. You can buy one called Zero made by High5 - from their website or from places like Evans Cycles and Holland & Barrett.[/quote]
Thank you! It’s just 1 stone though so about 1.5-2lbs per week over 8 weeks.

I’m using salt on food but will buy that supplement to see if it helps. Fingers crossed!