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

MrsK; I hope, as a result of the new you emerging, you also gain some new friends that are more deserving of you. Go and look your best of fabulous, et amusez-vous bien!

I've lurked my way through this bootcamp and am about 2 weeks behind you all. I've lost just under 1/2 stone in 4 weeks which is fab but have been static scale wise ever since! My clothes are a little bit looser though so something is happening!
Will keep lurking into the next bootcamp, hopefully by the end of that one I'll be at maintenance!

@AWryGiraffe

What's a NSV, from a newbie?

I've been stuck on 80.0kg for days. I want some big whooshes! If I don't start shifting I'm going to have to think about the milk in my coffee 😭

NSV = non-scales victory, e.g. an item of clothes now fitting you, or someone commenting on how much weight you've lost, etc.

Be patient re the weight loss - you can't possibly lose every day. It's not how this works.

And you probably shouldn't be having milk in your coffee anyway! Although that obviously depends how many you're having in a day.

Thanks @BIWI In that case my partner said I look like I'd lost weight in the face. NSV!

No I know I shouldn't really. And I probably have too many. Maybe 3, sometimes 4. Bad. I used to have cream in it last time I did keto and it just doesn't pack the right punch for me, might have to switch though regardless. Or have black coffee after my initial milk one and just make my taste buds change.

I'm vegetarian low carb so I'm probably above the 20g carb limit daily but hoping I can still lose plenty and it will be more sustainable with busy lives and all that.

Lovely to hear everyone's successes.

Cheering you on MrsK 🥳🥳

Thank you. I may ask for advice on a dress to wear closer to the time if that’s okay. I have a sneaking feeling the invitation will be rescinded but we will see...

@AWryGiraffe

I'm vegetarian low carb so I'm probably above the 20g carb limit daily

There is no daily limit on Bootcamp! 20g is something that comes from Atkins.

I just checked my weight against a PI scale. Apparently it’s better for giants than the standard BMI calculator. I got 13 which is normal as it’s meant to be between 11 and 15. So far so good. Then I checked my body fat calculator- no idea how they work that out, it just asked for height, age, sex and weight - and it told me my fat was 34% and I was obese

You’ve got this mrsk and definitely ask for dress advice!

@MrsKoala I've never heard of the PI scale but you're certainly not obese!

I've got a sore throat but not remotely breathless or anything and had a negative Covid test a couple of days ago so I'm fairly certain I'm fine but I am feeling a bit sorry for myself! It's good for the diet though! Down another 400g today. My next goal is to get under 75kg.

Ok, I'm back to 14. 0.8 🥳

DH and I are childfree all weekend and so will end up eating out alot. Even when i don't eat carbs I tend to find this makes me gain weight briefly/stalls my losses for a week so bit disappointed at the timing of this, i reallllly wanna see 13st something!

I'm feeling hungrier at the minute, though I don't think it's real hunger... its like. Mouthy hunger/emotional. Obviously I'm not too shocked given the current situation but I do dislike this feeling of having to actively fight it.

On another related note, I think I'm experiencing heartburn but its in my throat? It keeps coming on randomly. Like a strong burning sensation. Ive had it in my chest too but like now, haven't eaten or drank anything since last night and I'm trying to rest after my nightshift but my throat is burning! Whyy!?

@Mimosa1 I’d never heard of it either till the other day. It’s called the Ponderal Index . Which was fine, but then it had a button to work out your fat% which as there had been some discussion upthread about it I thought I’d do as well and it put me at 34% and said any woman over 32% is obese. Not sure how it calculates it on that site but I tried on a different site which takes measurements too and it says 25% which is in the average range. Which is better

I know I banged on about skin on previous threads so please ignore me if it’s not interesting. But, I’ve been dry body brushing for a few weeks and it’s really improved the texture of my skin - particularly the derrière- my cellulite has reduced very obviously.

AND if anyone is interested in skincare products/routines etc I bought Caroline Hiron’s book a month ago and have tweaked a few things and have seen good results. Particularly the inclusion of more acids strategically in my routine - particularly products with glycolic, hyaluronic, azeliac, niacinamide and salicylic acids. Really worth a look at her blog etc.

Thankfully my skin is really good, but i have been doing the curly girl method for my hair and I'm really pleased with results so far!! Has totally restored my childhood curls!

Just got an email to say my drunk buy running machine is cabcelled due to no stock. Disappointed actually. Not that i had anywhere to put it. Mattress hasn't arrived yet!

@MrsKoala

Well done!

I am soooooo pleased I did this now because out of the blue I have been invited to my late friends ash scattering/tree planting next week (it was supposedly cancelled due to the obvious) and I know it sounds vain (because it is and I am) but I know most of the people there don’t like me (understatement) and feeling confident in my ‘armour’ will make all the difference. I’m attending alone and will have to say I’m now separated etc to my exH and exFriends. I can imagine if I was my lockdown weight I’d feel so self conscious. This will probably be the last time I ever see these people in my life and I just want to be chic, lean and sophisticated. Basically French- I want to be French for the day (without the policeman from allo allo accent of course).

I’m going to do BC guantanamo bay for a week to make sure I’m at my best. (Then I’ll fall into the hole for the tree or something )

Ah Mrs Koala, I hope you get through the day OK, it sounds tough.

I'm sure you will look tres chic!

Also just subscribed to pyjama drama following a thread about subscriptions on here. Im excited but not holding my breath. I can't imagine they are "luxury" as promised for price...

Hi all. Bit late to it this week, but have logged 11st 10.4lb - down from 12st 7.8lb at the start, so that's 11.4lb off in seven weeks for me (this is my week 8). Also, according to my supposedly clever scales, I am now just inside the healthy weight and BMI brackets (BMI = 24.9). Am so chuffed.

Congratulations to all the major losses reported over the 10 weeks; you're all inspiring me to KOKO.

This bootcamp has been brilliant for me - timing-wise and in terms of changing my relationship with food. I used to be someone who couldn't go out without some sort of snack; I'd be anxious about getting hungry and not having anything to eat - a true grazer. Now I know I can go for hours on a creamy coffee.

In fact, after watching a few Dr Jason Fung videos last night, I've decided to try extending my 16:8 fast to a 24-hour fast today for the first time, by skipping lunch (I've not been having breakfast anyway). He said the odd creamy coffee is OK (essentially staying under 500 calories - news to me, but great!), and I know that will sustain me until dinner. It means I can cram more work in too, if I don't need to stop for lunch.

NSV: neighbour said I looked like I'd lost weight, and she's doing keto too, so we're getting the kids together in the garden tomorrow and having a keto lunch. And, at a park picnic yesterday with some other families, we were talking about LCHF/keto (one of the dads does it - we've been exchanging notes on the school run!), and a mum said she thought I look 'perfect' as I am . I actually have at least another stone to go - I can carry it due to height and biggish bones - but I was so touched, after feeling self-consciously 'bulky' for a long time.

Hard not to be evangelical about this WOE. Thanks @BIWI and all.

Eggbound Jason Fung's philosophy is to use anything that gets you through fasting so he's very open to e.g. fasting with bone broth, fat fasting, 5:2 approach etc. It's a much better idea that you don't have to be perfect to get the benefits of fasting. It's also much easier to work your way up to longer fasts than if you're being super strict about everything. Some people do dry fasts where you can't drink water and you aren't even allowed to brush your teeth or shower! How many people would even try fasting if that was the expectation right from the get go?

@StuntNun, thanks for that info.

I had previously thought that consuming anything other than water/black coffee/herbal tea breaks a fast. Great to be learning all the time with this.

Understanding the science is empowering, and as you say, knowing that you can have a bit of coffee with cream or a bone broth makes it feel so much more doable. (Could I have a small wedge of Brie, do you think?! ) Also eating LCHF helps - I don't know how I'd fast if I were still eating normal levels of carbs; surely you'd get unbearably hungry?

Am curious to know what having no water, no teeth clean and no shower are supposed to achieve, metabolically ...

Eggbound yes in an ideal fast you would only have water but most fasters drink other calorie-free drinks and count them as water - it's particularly important to keep drinking caffeine if you're habituated to it or you'll have to cope with withdrawal along with fasting.

If you're doing a short fast of 24 hours or less then as a rule of thumb you can have up to 50 calories in total during your fast so theoretically you could have a small piece of Brie if you weighed it carefully. Or you might choose to have a couple of cups of tea with milk during your fast. It isn't as good a fast as water only but you still gain benefits. Think of the analogy with exercise. If someone decides to take up running and they start by alternating walking with running, like the Couch to 5K, then you wouldn't tell them they weren't exercising properly or that there was no benefit. Fasting is the same - the more practice you have then the longer you can fast and you can aim to reduce your aids to fasting over time. For a lot of us it's a revelation to find that we can skip one or more meals without feeling really hungry.

In my opinion it's easier to fast if you're LCHF, keto or zero carb however there are plenty of people who combine fasting with a "normal" diet. They won't get into ketosis until they've used up their glycogen stores so it might take longer to get the benefits of fasting. They don't get unbearably hungry though as fasting is a learned process so they would get used to it pretty quickly.

In terms of absolute dry fasting I believe the theory behind not letting any water touch you is that water could be absorbed through the skin and that stopping this forces the body to burn more fat in order to produce water to prevent dehydration. It's very extreme and potentially fatal. Note that this is different from the dry fasting that Muslims do during Ramadan because they're only avoiding food and drink during the day whereas some absolute dry fasting adherents claim to do 72 hour or longer fasts which has a significant risk of dehydration. To be honest, dry fasting for any reason other than religious seems very unwise to me for so little gain - potentially slightly more fat burned. It's also something that bodybuilders/models do before a competition/photo shoot to get rid of subcutaneous water in order to look more ripped/thin.

Am curious to know what having no water, no teeth clean and no shower are supposed to achieve, metabolically ...

Ooh just looked at pyjama drama. It looks nice but I don’t think I need new pjs every other month. My drawers are already bursting with ones I’ve accumulated over the years. Let me know if they are any good tho...(and I’ll try not to subscribe)

Lots of interesting chat as always. Love catching up. Still maintaining here, haven't been weighing, but feeling good in my clothes and energy for exercise, so still happy to be koko. Does anyone have a recipe for something interesting to do with chicken wings? Bought a pack on the reduced shelf and never cooked before! All the things I found online are sticky, implying adding honey etc. Thanks!

Interesting to hear the info about fasting, @StuntNun and @Eggbound - I've got a week of work and have done 3 16:8 fasts so far. Surprisingly easy! And swum on two of the mornings; I've had plenty of stable energy. To be fair I may be negating the benefits with a couple of glasses of cava in the sunshine today, but it's a holiday!

Plan for today:
Lunch -mozzarella and avocado dressed with olive oil, salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
Dinner - roast broccoli with olive oil, butter and chilli flakes, celeriac chips and chimichurri bavette steak pieces.

New pyjamas and fresh bedding are my favourite things everrrr

We eat a lot of chicken wings Tornfelt, I make a spice mix of paprika, chilli flakes, black pepper (Or whatever's in your spice store) - rub the wings with olive oil and coat generously with spice mix, cook at least an hour; (can finish off on the BBQ) - delicious with a blue cheese dip & celery sticks.

@Tornfelt I'm fascinated to hear more about your experience of maintaining if you're happy to share? And any other long term BCers? I'm a long way away from my goal weight but I'm so good at losing and so bad at keeping it off. I'm hoping to change that!