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.

I still don't have my unlikely amazing new bra. The company are sending me relentlessly chirpy emails about their progress:

"we've received your order!"
"we've located your your order!"
"we've packed your order!"

Just stop fecking PRANCING AROUND THE SHOP WITH IT and post the buggering thing

In other news, I hope I may finally be a lb down today

Not sure we can call them scones. More lumps I think. But hey. Let's see how they taste!

@poorbuthappy they look good!! Report back

@prettyscarybird I think we are weight buddies - I also have been pondering goals - Levis are one thing, but seeing an 11st something would be good. I have never gone in half stones, but more 12st to 11.9 then 11.5, then 11 dead - I find that more rewarding. Long term I'd love to be 10st, only seen that once for about 6 minutes, the day I was a bridesmaid approx 20 years ago. then stayed solidly at 10.10 - 11stone then turned 40, and was 12.7 - got back to 10.6 for my brothers wedding - but unless I didn't eat and spent all my time at the gym this was never going to be a long term thing. now I'm feeling in the right place, and would love a 10-10.7 weight, if this takes 6 months of maintaining this way of eating then I'm in!!

@itsmeagainagain - could you explain how you do your creamed spinach - that looks ace!

@VeryLittleHowl - the sugar thing, well a £50 bet was the main incentive, and I didn't eat any sweets, cakes, fizzy juice etc for 6 months, replaced with cheese. For me its vanity, my skin looks so much better without it - and after 6 months, I had a jelly baby and was wired it was so sweet and sticky and generally vile that the notion was lost. Last year I also spent an obscene amount of money getting my teeth fixed, and Im buggered if I am going to waste that cash having them need fillings. I'm tight with money and I aint wasting the best part of £10k just to have something that will taste good for 2mins destroy them!!!

For those that are feeling overwhelmed by the scale of their "full" target (ie where they'd ultimately like to be opposed to where they are now), someone of here a years ago (can't remember who) gave a good piece of advice she was given, when hesitating about the commitment required, iirc correctly, for a degree/extra qualification.

Whether you do or don't do it, at the end of the day, time will pass and you will be a year older. You can choose to be part of the way along that route, or you can just stay where you are.

In the case of weight, not committing could mean not just staying the same, but possibly getting even further away from your goal after x period of time

So commit Even if after x period of time, you are only y pounds closer to your goal, that is still y pounds of progress

@plumstone I’m sure there is a better or proper way but for this one I used fresh baby spinach leaves had a massive bag from Lidl. so I put half the bag into a saucepan that had maybe a teaspoon of water in the bottom... very low heat lid on until spinach wilted maybe 5 mins? Drained spinach and squished out water. Then wiped the pan dry (i love using one pan for stuff I’m so lazy🤫) big knob or butter and tiny splash of olive oil to stop it burning and added 2 cloves of garlic and gently cooked it through. You don’t have to cook the garlic if you love raw garlic so sometimes I don’t even bother doing that. Then let the garlic butter cool and added mayo then mixed the whole lot together with the spinach and left in fridge to chill. It’s better the next day so good to make loads 😋. Sometimes I mix cream or yogurt and bot as much mayo but you can use anything really

Interesting, I don't actually like the seriously low carb bread. I find it so pappy and tasteless. If I have toast I want the proper crunchy tasty stuff . That said, I've used it for sardines on toast, croutons for a nicoise salad, and eggy bread with bacon. I doubt I'll be making the investment in another loaf waits patiently for prettybird to perfect her cut price home made version

VeryLittleHowl when I crave something sweet I find that very fatty things help - a little drink of cream, a slice of cheese spread with butter, or alternatively something very spicy - the wasabi flavoured seaweed thins hit the spot for me (in case dairy stalls your weight loss)

Oneborneverydecade re the comparisons... I thin it is easier to notice weight loss in others because we're looking AT them from the front, whereas with our own bodies we're looking down on them seeing saggy boobs or flabby bellies. And when we do look in the mirror instead of being impressed at the overall shape, our eyes are drawn to the roll of fat on our bra-line or the double chins and even if one was a waif-like six stone, your eye would still draw to the aging skin on your neck or the wrinkles on your hands or the size of your nostrils I had a week peek at the spreadsheet (feeling like a stalker) and it look that since the summer you've lost 2.5 stone. That is amazing, and you're still going. Somewhere, someone, (a friend) is looking at a photo of you and thinking "Oh oneborn looks so well" and then they will look down and judge their own body unfavourably. It should not be so, but we get stuck in that trap

I had middle of the day work events so had brunch, and then will have tea. Could never have done this before. Having said that I got a little munchy about half an hour ago, but celery spread with pate has sorted that now I understand why celery has that semi-circular groove in it

Brunch - boiled eggs, salad, coleslaw
D - lamb casserole, mashed turnip (swede to the southerners), kale and broccoli. Butter will feature in there somewhere.

not not bot

L- ham and halloumi salad

What do you do with it, SuperbGorgonzola? Just sliced and eaten, any salad leaves involved, any special dressing, hot or warm...?

Am looking for something different and that appeals.

WATER y’all!!!

shagmeriggings today my salad was rocket leaves, a tiny bit of red onion, hard boiled egg, sliced ham and halloumi fried in butter (not too much as you want it a bit crispy) then Mayo on top.

I put in in myfitnesspal out of interest and it was just over 7g carbs.

I make that salad most days for lunch and just change up the components. I like chunks of cheddar and sweetcorn/peppers (not on bootcamp!), olives and tuna Mayo with it as well for a change.

Oh I meant to add that I like it best with really cheesy coleslaw but I've been shop buying it for a while so it's probably not that bootcamp friendly. I'm going to try making my own soon, maybe sans carrot 🤔

@SuperbGorgonzola I dont like the 'squeak' of halloumi... am I doing something wrong?

Sounds like you're doing it just right - that's what I liked about it, the first time I had it in Greece

itsmeagainagain it is quite squeaky and it takes a bit of getting used to!! I prefer it fried so it has more of a crispy surface, but I can't have a lot of it at once as it is really salty.

Sometimes textures can be so off putting though. I do want to like avocado but I've tried and tried and I just can't get away with it. It makes me think of that algae slime you see on rocks at the beach!

@prettyscarybird

Sounds like you're doing it just right - that's what I liked about it, the first time I had it in Greece

@prettyscarybird

@SuperbGorgonzola maybe I'll give it another shot especially if I can make some halloumi fries

Pleased with myself for not eating any of the choc chip biscuits that DD made today.
Skipped breakfast because I wanted to fast. At 12 had salmon and cauli rice fried in butter, with a few cherry tomatoes and rocket.
Dinner was homemade turkey burgers with salad and cheese and mayo.
Snack was a square of dark chocolate. I was watching a film where the character was constantly munching chocs, which did not help!
Bit of a boring day really - am on lockdown so nowhere to go, although I did get out for a walk.
Everyone's recipes look great. Am determined to get more experimental with cooking because I tend to see it as a chore and so make the food which requires minimal effort.

@prettyscarybird

For those that are feeling overwhelmed by the scale of their "full" target (ie where they'd ultimately like to be opposed to where they are now), someone of here a years ago (can't remember who) gave a good piece of advice she was given, when hesitating about the commitment required, iirc correctly, for a degree/extra qualification.

Whether you do or don't do it, at the end of the day, time will pass and you will be a year older. You can choose to be part of the way along that route, or you can just stay where you are.

In the case of weight, not committing could mean not just staying the same, but possibly getting even further away from your goal after x period of time

So commit Even if after x period of time, you are only y pounds closer to your goal, that is still y pounds of progress

I try to think along similar lines. Back in August when I started I worked out that if I lost about half a stone per month, I would be around a healthy BMI by Halloween. I then thought about how pleased I’d be if I woke up on Halloween morning three months don the line and I was a stone and a half lighter. That kept me focused and although the in between bit is really hard when it feels like the weight is crawling off and you don’t look any different, I’ve tried to tell myself that every day is another day closer to reaching my target weight. It helps.

SuperbGorgonzola I am with you on the avocado. So slimy! I have no idea how people can eat it!

Thanks for the shallots tips @BIWI got some added to my food shop for tomorrow !

Glad I’m not the only one who doesen’t like avocado ...

Just stop fecking PRANCING AROUND THE SHOP WITH IT and post the buggering thing

We really must meet, Athelstane.

I have a mental image of all the staff trying on the bra in a sort of Congo line

Plumstone and 20bloodypumpkins - thank you for the tips :)

I was way behind on my fluids today thanks to being in town all morning - had only had 1.5 pints by 1.30pm. I'm up to 5 now, but boy am I sloshing.

Flowers from the garden this weekend for squid4 - and anyone else who needs their spirits lifting

Oops - wrong thread . But I'll still offer them to anyone who needs their spirits raised