Week 2 - Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - the first weigh-in!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

Sorry if you're chomping at the bit to announce your loss this morning!

Here's the spreadsheet

Some great losses already posted, so well done.

But don't despair if you haven't lost as much as others. Remember, this isn't a competition. We're all here with different startpoints, and everyone loses at a different rate anyway.

Ok last yogurt ramble- those of you who aren't keen on it plain, I say keep trying different brands as they are all a bit different and you maybe just haven't met the right one yet! I buy Fage Total as a preference but I shop all over and also like most own brand Greek yogurt (Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, etc) plus Kri Kri as an alternative to Fage. The only one I avoid is the Aldi own brand; it's low carb just not keen on the taste!

What kind of portion sizes should we be aiming for with the yoghurt?

I love Greek yoghurt but have been avoiding it as I usually bung a few spoons on top of berries and chuck some seeds on top for good measure.

@EarlGreyHot I think BIWI said the single pots of Fage were 170g so to assume that was around a portion.

I usually use 2 dessert spoonfuls of yoghurt. During the first 2 weeks, I'll add a pinch of cinnamon to it - and often continue that way as I don't feel the need to add the berries (would rather keep them for a dessert at the weekend )

But there again, I love cinnamon

You can add vanilla powder too, I believe must get some to try

Oh gosh, making peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with Dd and I should be given medals for my self-restraint. This is basically self-torture

One of the blissful benefits of living in the middle of nowhere and having the local surgery at the end of my lane is that I can ring them up at 9.30am saying 'I feel rubbish' and be walking home at 10.15 with a week's-worth of antibiotics. Yes, I've caved after getting to day 5 and the self help measures not working - I've been on three teaspoons of bicarb of soda a day for three days and I was mildly concerned about what that amount of salt was doing to me, so time to call in the big guns.

Curling up on the sofa today. Not sure what I feel like eating yet, if anything, but I have leftover meatballs from last night and plenty of eggs and cheese in the fridge, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

Thanks @Lyrata @prettybird

Love cinnamon too. Have just checked and our vanilla extract has sugar added so will seek out the powder.

I'm attempting some of the alternative scotch eggs here. Actually quite excited to try them!

Fair play to you @TeddyIsaHe that is super willpower right there!

@Turnedouttoes and @VeryLittleOwl

Sorry to hear you're both poorly

and hope you're feeling better soon.

Re the fat in arteries. My dad has heart problems and his doctor told him that it isn't the fat which causes clogged arteries, since fat should slide through. The problem is the sugar,vwhich makes the inside of arteries rough, which then causes the fat to get stuck. For years doctors have been blaming fat because post mortems showed fat stick in the arteries, but it was the sugar which led to that.

Sorry, for not posting this sooner and the lack of name check, but someone asked about whether Brie would fully melt into a courgette soup, I can't answer that as I haven't tried it, but a really delicious alternative when making courgette soup is to drop a whole Boursin into it- that definitely dissolves. 😋

On the subject of yogurt, I have found that the alpro plain range (Greek style, plain, almond and coconut) are all under 2.6g per 100g, so might be worth looking into if dairy is a concern but you want something similar. I've not tried any yet but have the Greek-style arriving in my next food delivery and will report back. I've put photos below. Obviously the fat is lower being plant based so do take that into consideration !

@fizzfridays what are the ingredients in that, please?

Advice, please? I woke up feeling rubbish - very nauseous and ick at the idea of any sort of rich food. Frustratingly, I need to eat with some of the meds I take. Normally today would be a tea and dry toast/porridge day, but I really don't want to backtrack just because I'm unprepared. Can anyone suggest anything low carb, but still very bland? Currently considering some yogurt, but not sure what to have for the rest of the day.

@IncurablyCurious if you're poorly and you need to take meds I'd say look after your health as a priority. If that means half a piece of toast to be able to take your meds then do that and get back to low carb when you're better. Otherwise chicken soup is the traditional food to have. Tinned cream of chicken soup isn't perfect on the carb front but would be better than toast. I put butter in it to increase the fat content.

I tried on an old sundress from the Legendary Summer When I Was Thin this morning. I haven’t been able to get the zip even half way up for 7 years. It zipped right up! It’s still a little bit tight to wear (which is fine as it is currently the end of October and I won’t be able to wear such a dress for the next 6-7 months, but I could honestly cry with how happy it made me feel. Which is a bit crap of me but I don’t care.

This isn’t a 2 week bootcamp miracle BTW - I’ve been low carbing for about 3 months now so it’s well earned.

@IncurablyCurious or you could steam some fish in parchment paper with some Mediterranean vegetables. That’s bland-ish and not too rich.

Could try making a pumpkin soup if that’s allowed.

Or cottage cheese with peppers dipped into it?

@IncurablyCurious an egg white omelette with chopped pepper and onion and perhaps a bit of feta can be nice too. I find the feta makes up for the lack of yolk but somehow doesn’t make it taste as rich because of the sharpness.

Sorry - know normally we wouldn’t be avoiding egg yolks, just trying to think of things that aren’t rich and that I could manage if I was feeling queasy. Equally if it’s your health then as StuntNun says, don’t feel bad about having a bit of toast.

Plain chicken or salmon is quite light and bland. I know that doesn’t involve fat or veg but it would at least keep you low carb.

@IncurablyCurious what about some cold cuts like ham or roast beef slices? Or plain sliced chicken?

Inadvertent fast this morning, because I slept in and had to rush to a meeting. But I wasn't at all hungry.

L - left over tuna in a nicoise salad
D - chicken stuffed with brie and wrapped in pancetta with crispy kale and buttered cabbage.

Thanks all for the speedy advice and kind words. Had some yogurt, feeling a bit less odd. @StuntNun I unearthed a can of chicken soup (not too bad on carbs all things considered) from the depths of the cupboard, and as per @Jdhshekr and @EarlGreyHot posts, I'm going to add some nice plain chicken to it for a bit more substance.

Feeling a bit cross with myself; it's not like this is a rare occurrence, and I really should have seen it coming. Going to make sure I have some cottage cheese, feta, and ham in for the future too, they were really good suggestions @Lyrata and @EarlGreyHot.

Hi, checking in as I need some motivation. I started my own kind of bootcamp on 6 August (now adhering to this one with the exception of using My Fitness Pal to track food intake). I quickly lost 8lb in the first two weeks (okay, some water) but then took many weeks to get the next 8 down. I have now stalled at 150lb and am even going up.

I did have a long planned dinner out last Friday with friends (before the London tier 2 kicked in) and wine was drunk in large quantities. However, I am paying for it as I am currently 2lb heavier than I was last Friday! This is depressing as I am doing weights (with a trainer) three times a week, plus a yoga class and a spinning class and at the weekend walking at least six miles a week on each day.

Please help, what can I do? I am also doing 16:8, usually starting about 9am and eating my last meal by 5pm.

My average weight loss can be counted in ounces each week, if that. I only have a stone to go and am peri-menopausal, all of which I know is not helping...

Lyrata re you dill puffs recipe, I particularly enjoyed the Method instruction to listen to power ballads from the 80s while carrying out a particular step of the recipe.

@Jdhshekr

I tried on an old sundress from the Legendary Summer When I Was Thin this morning. I haven’t been able to get the zip even half way up for 7 years. It zipped right up! It’s still a little bit tight to wear (which is fine as it is currently the end of October and I won’t be able to wear such a dress for the next 6-7 months, but I could honestly cry with how happy it made me feel. Which is a bit crap of me but I don’t care.

This isn’t a 2 week bootcamp miracle BTW - I’ve been low carbing for about 3 months now so it’s well earned.

@Jdhshekr yay well done 👏 how much weight have you lost in 3 months?

@IncurablyCurious

Roasted radishes sound lush, *@fizzfridays*, did you add anything to make them particularly good? I made celeriac mash last night, but it was a sad substitute for potato in terms of texture.

However! I just had mustard and dill marinated trout on loads of green veg, and I think it's going to become a bit of a low carb staple, because it was perfection. I always forget dill exists for some reason, then get excited when I rediscover it again

@IncurablyCurious that made me laugh about getting excited when you rediscover it 😂 a great years ago when I was doing sort of low carb I used to make this awesome crust less salmon quiche with a dill mayo dip but I must have eaten too much as I can’t really face dill any more!