Week 3 - Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - 'full' or light?

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Here's The Spreadsheet as per

Hopefully you've had a good second week, and have settled down into Bootcamp ways by now, and any trace of carb flu is but a distant memory.

By now, if not already, you should be well into the switch from burning carbs to burning fat. You should be finding it much easier to go between meals without snacking, and should find your energy levels picking up, maybe even feeling like you've got more energy than you had before.

So as we start week 3, you have a choice: you can continue on Bootcamp if it's suiting you, or you can move to Bootcamp Light, which means:

• you don't have to have three meals a day
• you can have some fruit (berries)
• you can have some nuts/seeds
• you can drink some alcohol

Please not the use of the word some! This isn't carte blanche for you to go mad. Just remember, all these things will add a lot of carbs quite quickly - so it's very much in moderation.

You also need to know/remember that week 3 (and 4) is infamous for being the point at which weight loss slows - sometimes even stops - so this is another good reason to go easy when you relax things

A good compromise is to stay strictly Bootcamp during the week but Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Whatever you choose, hope the results this morning are positive, and wishing us all good luck for the week ahead.

Finished eating for today, ended up going with a smaller portion of veg with dinner (just incase).
B. Nothing, was a big rush to take DC to DD's SN nursery centre for the first time since before lockdown. Was brilliant and DC loved it!
L. Creamy coffee, pate and celery
D. Chicken in nando's sauce with mixed veg. (Sneaked a couple tablespoons butter in to up the fat content).

I've drank my 3l of water and managed to do the T25 HIIT DVD while the DC napped so felt quite proud of myself, considering I only got 4 hours sleep last night!

Midlifemission I have the low carb bread on the way too This is my 2nd order, my first was at the start of bootcamp and I felt SO guilty hiding standing in the kitchen devouring fried egg on toast!

B- 3 egg omelette with mushrooms and cheese and salad. Creamy coffee.
D - salad, broccoli cauliflower, with bolognaise. Dressed with olive oil.
Dessert. Greek yogurt with teaspoon of peanut butter.
Herbal tea with mini bar of 85% chocolate.

As other posters have said, they're happy with slow losses once they don't feel too deprived. That's good for me, and I have only 7lbs to lose. But I'll watch for a stall with the chocolate AND peanut butter.

Great idea for the green veg with garlic and lemon. Sounds lush!

Buffy that dish sounds fine, the only recommendation would be swap to buying shallots instead of onions. As BIWI mentioned up thread, the banana/echalion ones are easier to peel than the little round ones.

Toast it can be a meat heavy diet so I tend to stick to eggs for breakfast and cheese or fish with my lunchtime salads. Maybe bacon or sausage on a weekend.

@itsmeagainagain thank you!
Off to our local masala bazaar to get ground almonds today.

Good Halloween name, thanks shagme

Thanks for the soup recipe zigg

Hi everyone,

I made the moussaka last night and it was fabulous! No need to batch cook, we ate it all but I'm going to make it again, it was so good. I used a handful of frozen pre cut shallots and frozen pre cut garlic, so there was no chopping at all, huzzah.

One of the nice things about this woe is I'm remembering how easy it can be to cook from scratch. It honestly only took a few min to put the pie together, after the ingredients were prepped and the meat was bubbling, and my DH has been looking at me like I'm Mary Berry :-) For anyone who hasn't made it yet, I found the top caught a bit cause of the eggs, so maybe cover it halfway through with tin foil, or just take it out of the oven a bit sooner - 30-35mn in the oven should probably be fine

I'm going to try the cheeseburger pie next!

Morning All,

Checking in, Tried an on line trampoline class, lasted 15mins out of a "40min beginners workout" WTAF, i thought i was going to die!!!!! Oh well, it can only get better!!
Today will be:
B - spinach drenched in chilli oil, smoked salmon and boiled egg
L - Pumpkin soup - its lasting forever because I don't like it
D - baked Salmon, steamed Broccoli, and buttered leeks and cabbage - may add lemon and garlic as PP said - got to jazz the veg up!

I have a couple of questions: Can we eat the same meals on a weekly basis - eg, same breakfast and lunch every day. I function well on routine, so if i had the same breakfast as above for a week would that be OK? Same for lunch - I have a green soup that I make, FLGV (no pees - not for carb reasons - I just hate them) chicken stock, and double cream blitzed. then mix it up for dinner? Maybe boring but if it works that would be good!

Also what is the scoop with Bullet coffee - I like it and it feels like a treat, I like once or twice a week as a cheeky something something - when I would have liked a biscuit, or more recently a chunk of cheese!

@Mimosa1 Try the cheeseburger pie - its revolutionary, and has changed my view of mince - I didn't think I had a view on mince but now I think its awesome!

Tried an on line trampoline class, lasted 15mins out of a "40min beginners workout" WTAF, i thought i was going to die!!!!!

This is so me. Thanks for the morning laugh plumstone and I look forward to your telling us soon how easy you found the full 40 minutes. KOKO!

Morning all. I have had a bit of a whoosh the last couple of days so can report to the new Renpho scales owners that when you get to your target you get a little congratulations pop-up and a trophy next to your weight!

That was my interim target (and the lowest I have weighed in 12 years). Have already shifted it down to my healthy weight according to guidelines. We continue!

Thank you @Rayna37, i started in August and ate a lot of eggs for breakfast but became sick of them. I have had enough of a break to probably start eating them again. Also, it was very much hard boiled nad scambled based. I need to embrace omelettes and fried eggs. I might go for a salad nicoise this evening using eggs and tuna x

@plumstone AFAIK you can eat the same stuff daily, especially for you as you have lots of different veg and fish. If your Groundhog day was a poor food day (little veg, processed meat) it probably wouldn't be best to keep repeating.
I don't know about bullet proof coffee, but it's just butter, and an occasional treat, so I think it's fine.

The thing about eating something that isn't great (I find) is you really eat for need, not taste which is good. Unfortunately I can feel a bit deprived and therin lies ... excuses for treats.

Today is a cooking day for me so thanks again for all the ideas.

@BuffyTheBuffetSlayer

I'm making a low carb alternative to one of my usual dishes, but wondering if it sounds too carby (veg wise)

Chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, chopped green pepper, sliced courgette, sliced leek, sliced celery and chopped cherry tomatoes topped with seasoned chicken thighs, smothered with lemon and herb nando's sauce (1.2 carbs per 100g) then roasted. That's what all in the dish.

I'm worried so many veggies will push the carb count too high or does it go by portion size?

You could lower the carb count by using shallots instead of onion. And take care not to use too many tomatoes - remember tomato is a fruit.

It all sounds delicious though!

But if you really want to know, why not go and use the veg carb counter on the spreadsheet? Just input the weight of the various veg and it will work it out for you.

Also—I’ve no issue with same meals days after day. People do it all the time. Obviously get some variety in there to be seasonal, to ensure nutrients change up, and to not bore yourself out of this WOE. But I can’t see same daily breakfast or even similar style lunch is a bad thing.

How many people do you know who have cereal in the morning every day and then a Pret sandwich at lunch every day? It happens a lot.

@Choux

Boring day today. Not left the house but that does mean there has been little temptation.

B - black coffee
11ses - two hard boiled eggs and Mayo
L - gravadlax and salad
Snack- bit of cheese and chorizo
D - sesame chicken and veggie stir fry with konjac noodles. Then 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

I don't like cream and struggle to eat full fat Greek yoghurt without anything to flavour it. So often need a high fat snack to get me through the afternoon. Anyone got any dietary tips / other snack ideas?

Also is ground almonds the same as almond flour? I bought almond flour fo make cheesy scones from my keto cookbook but saw the recipe above uses ground almonds. Ground is less pricey than flour so am wondering if I could just buy ground almonds in the future?

@Choux by this stage of Bootcamp you shouldn't be needing to snack between meals. Are you genuinely hungry, or is it just a habit?

If you are hungry, then this is a sign that you're not eating enough, and especially not eating enough fat. So are you making sure that you are using an oily dressing on your lunchtime, for instance?

How much fat were you using in your stir-fry?

There's also no rule that says you have to eat cream or Greek yoghurt! If you don't like them, don't eat them!

AFAIK, ground almonds and almond flour are the same - but the flour (or flurry as I think it's called sometimes) is probably ground more finely, so would work better in some baking recipes.

@plumstone

L - Pumpkin soup - its lasting forever because I don't like it

Why are you eating it if you don't like it?! Honestly - this WOE is about pleasurable eating, not torturous deprivation!

D - baked Salmon, steamed Broccoli, and buttered leeks and cabbage - may add lemon and garlic as PP said - got to jazz the veg up!

Be careful - there's very little fat here if you're baking and steaming your food. Why steam the broccoli? Much nicer roasted in olive oil!

I have a couple of questions: Can we eat the same meals on a weekly basis - eg, same breakfast and lunch every day. I function well on routine, so if i had the same breakfast as above for a week would that be OK? Same for lunch - I have a green soup that I make, FLGV (no pees - not for carb reasons - I just hate them) chicken stock, and double cream blitzed. then mix it up for dinner? Maybe boring but if it works that would be good!

It's entirely up to you - if it makes your life easier, and you enjoy the meals, then why not?

Also what is the scoop with Bullet coffee - I like it and it feels like a treat, I like once or twice a week as a cheeky something something - when I would have liked a biscuit, or more recently a chunk of cheese!

Have the cheese. It's got much more nutrition in it. We don't recommend bulletproof coffee on Bootcamp as so many people tend to use it instead of breakfast, so you're not getting 'real' food. It's basically a way to get extra fat into your diet. That said, if you like it as an occasional treat, then that's fine. But it's not a good meal replacement.

Why are you worried about the cheese?!

Well done @BurningGubbins!

@ShagMeRiggins don't hold your breath - it may end up like the hula hoop and kettle bells - under the bed!! I need something I can do I home, not hate that doesn't kill me - will persevere!

@Summery1 - Good to know thanks - I meal plan weekly, and this year's goal was to cut out processed food, 90% all meals are now cooked from scratch, and processed is the odd shop bought pate - I could learn to make this, yogurt, cheese and salami - i will not learn how to make these. Have tried to focus on meat and two veg every night, the only condiment I eat is mayonnaise, I could eat it with everything, trying to resist it between now and Christmas Eve.

I also don't have a sweet tooth, Did the whole Give up sugar thing as a bet years ago - F**k me was the hardest thing I ever did, lost a minuscule amount of weight, but my skin, and temper improved enough for me to never go back!! It always amazes me how I can now have one after 8, and then forget about the rest of them, being able to do this is my biggest achievement, I can inhale a cheese board in around 3.5mins so it balances out!

@BIWI - thanks - I hate waste!! I don't hate it, I just won't make it again, I like trying new things, its not going to kill me, and I've been adding turmeric, and chilli to give some zing!!!

The steaming was for a change - I steam, and then finish off by tossing in the frying pan with butter

Super - will keep to the meal plan - can focus on other things

I eat cheese all the time, its like some people always have a bar of chocolate in the house, I have cheese, high end, highly processed, cheesemonger bought, corner shop I eat it all. Can have a couple of bites or a cheese slice, spread with boursin wrapped while preparing dinner, if something looks a bit Meh - add grated cheese- its like a drug - I worry its too much, and marginally out of control!

Well done on making it to 15 minutes on the trampoline plumstone - think I’d have made it to two before needing a pee (thanks kids). We used to have one out in the field and one of the DC earnestly announced to someone I didn’t know that well that I was not able to go on it as it makes me wet my pants. Mortified.

Your trampolining exploits made me 😂 plumstone, I’m impressed you did as much as you did!

Bootcamp Day 4 and doing well. Feeling really energetic and positive, but that might because DH is on annual leave and we're finally cracking on with a few DIY jobs that have needed doing for a while.

Today will be

B- scrambled eggs and smoked salmon
L- ham and halloumi salad
T- pork chops with FLGV. I might have a go at some kind of peppercorn sauce to go with it.

I’ve weighed in this morning for week 2 (I weigh myself every day at home but do an official weigh in at the gym every 9-10 days so am going with that as it weighs me as a few lbs heavier than my home scales). 2lbs off and my BMI is 25, which is sooooo annoying as I only need to lose a very tiny bit to be within the healthy BMI range. Pleased with that though.

All the people wondering about fasting - I’ve been on this WOE for nearly 3 months now, have lost a stone and a half, have consistently lost every week and I eat an insane amount. I would fall over if I ate as little as most people on this thread. So fasting isn’t necessarily what you have to do and for some people it is possible to lose weight on this diet and eat loads. So don’t go hungry unnecessarily.

@Jdhshekr

I’ve weighed in this morning for week 2 (I weigh myself every day at home but do an official weigh in at the gym every 9-10 days so am going with that as it weighs me as a few lbs heavier than my home scales). 2lbs off and my BMI is 25, which is sooooo annoying as I only need to lose a very tiny bit to be within the healthy BMI range. Pleased with that though.

All the people wondering about fasting - I’ve been on this WOE for nearly 3 months now, have lost a stone and a half, have consistently lost every week and I eat an insane amount. I would fall over if I ate as little as most people on this thread. So fasting isn’t necessarily what you have to do and for some people it is possible to lose weight on this diet and eat loads. So don’t go hungry unnecessarily.

I had a massive 3 month stall on an earlier BC, until StuntNun kindly pointed out that I wasn't eating nearly enough.

I increased meal size and sure enough, starting losing again that same week. Consistently under-eating calories can result in your body decreasing energy expenditure to be on the safe side.

• note - consistently under-eating calories is not the same as fasting, which can mean just bunching all your calories up into a smaller time frame in the day, or skipping a day entirely.

It is the consistently eating too little that can slow the body down.