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.

@Anotherducker

Does Bootcamp life change now before the end or are the rules the same all the way to the end?

I think Bootcamp life must be a Freudian slip!

No, there is no change till the end of Bootcamp. That said, you're perfectly entitled to switch things around if it suits you - move between Bootcamp and Bootcamp Light, or experiment with intermittent fasting.

Thanks Stuntnun for the electrolytes info. I will carry on a bit.
I can’t believe how thirsty I get now that
I drink 10 x times more than I did in the past !
The first thing I do every morning is down a large glass of water.

I am still enjoying all the herbal teas I bought - the Gluhwein is still my absolute favourite . Oh and Apple Strudel in second place.

Mimosa did I see you had a caramel tea in your haul or was that a figment of my imagination??

I'm a pound up this morning from yesterday... I am hoping this is in part due to the lack of "movement" digestively following my ridiculous portion of cheeseburger pie yesterday. DH and I polished off the lot between us somebody mentioned locusts upthread which pretty much nailed it! On the plus side I resisted super cute Halloween doughnuts and baked some cupcakes with the kids so it could have been much worse!

B - half omelette with spinach and feta
L - curry cauli soup and sandwich on seriously low carb bread
D - industrial portion of Cheeseburger pie with salad leaves and couple of cherry tomatoes

Going for a big autumn walk in forest today with the family and trialling the lc rolls in the picnic

@Midlifemission I did have it and I really like it! I like the Apple cinnamon one which sounds v similar to apple strudel too. The thing about the Caramel tea is that it's a black (caffeinated) tea which I don't mind - it's delicious ( made by twinnings). I don't like liquorice and a lot of the vanilla teas I've found have a liquorice or roiboos bass.

Thanks @StuntNun and @BIWI.

What do most people do after Bootcamp? Stay off carbs or start eating them again and if they lose control join the next Bootcamp? Apologies if this question has been answered somewhere and I’ve missed it. Just trying to work out what my future diet might look like.

Good question Anotherducker - I would also be curious to know how those who have lost weight and kept it off have managed the transition.

My plan is to add back in all vegetables (in home-cooked form - not deep fried) but continue to avoid grains and sugar. I’m considering whether letting myself indulge at dinner parties or restaurants but never at home might work - but I am worried that I’ll go mad the second I have sugar again.

For my food today, I have had a coffee with cream (I measure this by the way - 30ml each day) and I’m going to make a frittata with whatever veg is left in my fridge for lunch and dinner. Potentially fried courgette on the side as not sure I trust that in a frittata.

StuntNun in addition to the courgette with Boursin soup recipe there was another courgette soup with Camembert recipe on one of the first two threads. Don’t know if it made it to recipe threads but it sounded luxurious.

I specifically bought Camembert to make it as I had an overload of courgettes in the fridge, then my eldest helped himself to a Camembert and jam sandwich while my husband used the courgettes in a stir fry.

That’ll teach me to communicate my intentions more clearly re food!

As for post-bootcamp AnotherDucker I still have a good 35lbs to lose so between bootcamps I try to maintain bootcamp lite and continue to lose slowly, or more often lately I unconsciously go into a “maintenance” mode with the very occasional pasta or baguette or potato. And that’s very occasional.

What I absolutely do not do (one massive emotional blip aside a few years ago when husband and I were separating—and we’re not now, by the way, things are very good and being repaired daily—) is go back to my old “normal” eating. It doesn’t work. It makes me gain. It made me fat and I was incredibly unhappy.

For me, it’s a long process, and holistic. Others have different experiences.

What do most people do after Bootcamp? Stay off carbs or start eating them again and if they lose control join the next Bootcamp? Apologies if this question has been answered somewhere and I’ve missed it. Just trying to work out what my future diet might look like.

Most people keep following Bootcamp Light between Bootcamps and the Threads keep going for continued support. It's especially important over Christmas as there's so much temptation around and one thing can easily lead to another. Before you know it you haven't so much fallen off the wagon as dragged it into the woods, set it on fire, and claimed the insurance!

Once you reach your goal weight I recommend setting a weight range you want to stay in. So, for example if your goal weight was 9 stone then you want to make sure your weight doesn't go over 9 stone 6 pounds. If it does then it's back to Bootcamp or Bootcamp Light to get back to goal. That stops the insidious weight gain that can happen so easily, especially when your carb intake creeps back up.

There are lots of different ways to do weight maintenance. Some people have a cheat meal or day once a week, fortnight or month. Others reintroduce some of the carbier fruits and vegetables although you have to be careful with quantity. For example I'll sometimes have a roast potato with my Sunday lunch but I wouldn't go back to having carbs as a side dish, it's just a tiny portion. On maintenance I don't worry about things like sauces or gravies or making sure sausages are low carb but I still avoid sugary foods.

Over time your food tastes really change and you'll find that foods you think you're going to want again will lose their appeal. Yesterday I had sirloin steak and courgettes fried in butter for my dinner and I honestly can't see it being improved by chips or onion rings any more. Once you've broken the carb addiction you don't get the same satisfaction from these foods. And when you've lost your sweet tooth then "normal" sweet foods become unpleasantly sweet. I can't imagine eating a doughnut again for example, it would be sickly sweet.

Ooh Shag I bought a Camembert yesterday. Thanks for the tip. My children all hate cheese so it's safe. The bacon on the other hand...

Morning
I’ve had a week 3 gain, as eating the same but have gone up a lb. I’m just going to ignore and KOKO . TMI but am feeling a little bunged up, wondering if all the veg is somehow holding onto the loads of water, whilst being bunged up.

We are having a family Friday takeaway, what is the best options? mine like Giggling squid, Thai , Indian etc, not keen on Chinese

@StuntNun @ShagMeRiggins thank you for your answers. They’re really helpful. At the moment things are going great, but I genuinely think I’ve got an addiction to sugar which is lurking in the background waiting to surface.

It’s good to have a plan moving forward. The last ten years have been consumed with being pregnant/breast feeding and running after small children which has to some extent allowed me to consume a lot of sugar. Now I’m older and those energy demands have gone I need to relearn what and how to eat. I am very grateful for the advice and support on this thread. Thank you!

@NotwatchingSpooks I find Indian takeaway the easiest. My usual order is tandoori chicken or lamb and sag paneer.

While we're talking about takeaways, is the crispy duck from the Chinese ok on LC? Minus the pancakes, obvs.

I'm trying desperately to pretend that my scales aren't going down and are STS which is miserable

I like foo yung from the Chinese. It’s pretty low carb although apparently some places serve a sort of ‘gravy’ with it which isn’t low carb.

This morning I have discovered that the only thing nicer than celeriac dauphinois is celeriac dauphinois leftovers eaten cold out of the dish the next day.

And I would have thought that crispy duck would be fine as long as you avoided the pancakes and hoisin sauce. The duck itself never tastes sweet when I eat it so should be safe.

I've been lurking a bit this week, but following the discussions about stressful food memories - I very clearly remember being about 9-10, and secretly scoffing sherbet straws and fizzy sweeties. My parents had a good attitude to food, and I'd always been active, but I just couldn't deal with sugar! I was a fiend for it, and I think it's the place a lot of my comfort eating comes from. I also remember being weighed at primary school, and the shame that came with it - I was the tallest in my class, and I always felt like such a lumbering giant when that sort of thing happened.

Anyway, was feeling a bit sad about it all, so I made myself one of those charts. Everyone is right, micro-goals are so important. AND! I've just discovered that my loss since the start of bootcamp means:
a) I'm no longer in the obese BMI range
b) I'm now 25% of the way to my goal weight
c) I've lost a stone since my heaviest weight

Which has really cheered me up, and should see me through the next couple of weeks of potentially slower losses

Crispy duck with mini omelette "pancakes" plus the cucumber and spring onion should be a good low carb meal. You could even use a wee splash of Kikkoman soy sauce (which is low carb) as a substitute for the plum sauce.

Thank you, now to look at the menus 😀

The last 24 hours have been awful - I am having to travel abroad for work for two weeks on Sunday , much of yesterday was spent trying to negotiate my way out of this - no dice - I'm going, Then today was up at sparrows fart to get my Covid Test - company paid - damn right they did! and then home in time to get my on line shopping. Threw in a packet of individual boursin and some cold deli chicken for the plane and they sent me "chicken like pieces" WTAF.

Stood on the scales this morning and was 12 on the nose, so please and yet so stressed about being in a hotel for a fortnight and eating hotel food. Breakfast is fine - smoked salmon, eggs and mushrooms (i've stayed before) lunches and dinners will be harder.

on the plus, food wise i',m killing it:

Dinner last night - Roast Salmon, with leeks and cabbage in a sauce made of cream mayo and the last of my hard cheese
B - greek yogurt
L - the end of the pumpkin soup YAY!! with oily rocket salad, smoked mackerel and mayonnaise
D - Lamb Chops, roasted broccoli, shoogled sprouts and a creamy mustard sauce (literally cream and mustard)

I feel so low about this - I love travelling, went to Heathrow in August to go home to Scotand, and its eerie, few people, few flights, and everyone looks scared. However this flight is 4 hours, and I always like a G&T on the plane, and now I really want wine this evening and the whole thing is going wrong - I want to be 5 years old so I can cry into my pillow and be all feeble and woe is me, my life is so unfair!!

ITs not I'll be fine - however on here everyone gets how important this way of eating is - "outside" not so much!!!

koko, i'll just be here, rocking in a corner, being pathetic

I get you!

I used to travel a lot for work, and it's hard to stay on top of things. Not just because the food choices in hotels are so often carb-laden, but also because you go into the whole mindset of 'I deserve it', 'woe is me', 'I'm here all on my own', etc!

If it's a place where you feel safe to walk around, can you see if you can find a local supermarket or restaurant where your choices will be easier?

But just do the best you can. If it means the odd glass of wine here or there, don't stress about it.

HerdyGerdy if you have a round or iceberg lettuce handy, the bigger leaves make nice wraps for crispy duck. I've tried with romaine and little gems but they don't fold/roll well enough.

Thanks BIWI - its a city I know well (Moscow) and weirdly i have no problem walking around there, subway trams etc. Its just well the effort!! I know I'm being pathetic, it will be fine, this too shall pass!!

@HerdyGerdy - I concur on the crispy duck iceberg lettuce wraps, - very good!

We're planning an Indian takeaway tonight, unusual for us. Likely to be some type of creamy chicken thing for me and sides to share along the lines of saag paneer and mushroom bhaji, and I'll cook some frozen cauli rice at home.

Remembered some celery salt which took my packed breakfast of boiled eggs to the next level!

On maintenance...I've been eating low carb for quite a few years after first getting into the idea via the Dukan Diet in 2012, then learning about LCHF after that. I maintain by generally not eating potatoes/rice/pasta etc at home (DH eats the same), but will occasionally have a pie, Yorkshire pudding or maybe sweet potatoes every now and again. I've never eaten much fruit and stick generally to 85-90% dark chocolate. I will have bread or more likely toast maybe a couple of times a week and unless conscious my weight is creeping up, I would generally eat chips with my steak or a pizza when out for dinner without worrying too much. However I am both VERY carb tolerant and not a sugar "addict"; I don't think my weight has ever fluctuated beyond a BMI range of 21-24. I do like cake understatement and eat that from time to time, though I'm generally a starter and main girl. I generally end up back on bootcamp when my weight's crept back up to maybe half a stone over goal or I have a beach holiday looming remember those. How I eat on bootcamp is basically how I eat 95% of the time (e.g. eggs for breakfast, salad for lunch, meat/fish and veg for dinner) only without as much wine, and without any beer. The other 5% is an occasional fish and chips, a favourite pudding when out or a homemade crumble and custard, or cake in a coffee shop etc.

Unfortunately I cannot relate to all those who say your tastebuds change and sweet food become sickly. The only issue I have is I'm very conscious of artificial sweetener aftertaste in processed crap so do try to avoid that.

stops talking about all the things we can't have

Just been out for an impromptu lunch and had to pass. Was just a small cafe with tables outside and everything they had was carbs with a side of carbs. So I ordered the largest coffee they had while DH and DS had lunch.

Came home and had leftover cheeseburger pie with buttery brussels, and I'm doing pan fried cod with cheesy leeks later.

Just had the news that we're in tier 2 from tomorrow as well so at least that takes the pressure off any socialising

plumstone I used to travel a lot for work too and would always take some food with me, because you didn't know what you'd find, and I didn't always want a full meal.

Perhaps a few small tins of tuna might be an idea as a backup. And some Babybel. That kind of thing.