Week 5 - Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - the end of the first half

[BIWI]

Morning all

This week sees the end of the first half of Bootcamp. The last two weeks may have been tough going, as you might have seen weight loss slow or even stop.

But this has been an important transition period, as your body has been switching from burning carbs for fuel, to burning fat. So from now on, the weight loss you will see will be entirely fat. And hopefully from week 5, you should see the scales showing a weekly loss too!

By now, hopefully, you have also have become a bit more accustomed to low carb eating, so that it's becoming a bit more of a habit. Once things are habitual, it's a lot easier to stick with things, as they're more routine.

Anyway, here's the spreadsheet for this week's 'confession'!

can you explain more about 20/4 being better than omad please
@Oneborneverydecade in the fasting community the general opinion is that OMAD (one meal a day) is best for weight maintenance and TMAD (two meals a day) is better for weight loss. It's counter-intuitive, I know, but it seems that less isn't more when it comes to food. Fasting can be used effectively for weight loss but it needs to be balanced with a healthy intake of nutrient-rich foods - feast and famine if you will.

Thank you. I won't bother again for a while then. I was wondering how one plate of food could contain all of your daily nutrients. I'm amazed I could do it but happy not to do it again

@prettybird

I'm making cauliflower and Stilton soup for supper tonight. I was supposed to use a scraggy old cauliflower that I'd spotted in the fridge last week and some ancient Stilton that I'd also noticed - but when I went to get the cauliflower out, it was beyond scraggy Fortunately, I also had a fresh cauliflower that I could use instead

Used some ancient pheasant stock that I found in the freezer (spot a theme here )

It tastes nice though. Just waiting for dh to have a bath, so that we can eat. I still have some of my home made low carb bread that I can toast, to accompany it. (Dh has a loaf of freshly baked sourdough).

Ancient stilton and pheasant stock? Take that Nigel Slater!

The soup was very nice Very rich and filling.

I have plenty left for tomorrow My dad is coming over for lunch as he's getting cabin fever and he wants to see our redecorated living room (he's in our bubble) and is going to bring over a big Lidl pizza. I've told him I won't be having any, so he can get one with peppers and mushrooms - things dh never gets to eat as I hate them

That soup sounds fab@prettybird

Just coming on to say thanks to the PP who mentioned Yeo valley kerned yoghurt - it's scrumptious and I don't normally like plain yoghurt.

Glad you enjoyed it poorbuthappy.

@StuntNun

can you explain more about 20/4 being better than omad please *@Oneborneverydecade* in the fasting community the general opinion is that OMAD (one meal a day) is best for weight maintenance and TMAD (two meals a day) is better for weight loss. It's counter-intuitive, I know, but it seems that less isn't more when it comes to food. Fasting can be used effectively for weight loss but it needs to be balanced with a healthy intake of nutrient-rich foods - feast and famine if you will.

This is definitely my experience- I seem to lose v little or v slowly if I only get around to one big meal perday, it always picks up again when I make an effort for two.

Excellent news Mimosa. I'm firmly of the belief no-one should assume they dislike all plain yogurt and that they've just not met the right one yet!

My sister has even been converted (I think Lidl is her preference) after eating a low fat fruit yogurt probably every day for 30+ years! She had salmonella very badly as a child and was fed a lot of plain yogurt then, and so took some coming around to it.

Good day of food yesterday including a fast- I realised just because I'm not swimming before work doesn't mean I can't still bring a late breakfast to work!

B: two boiled eggs with celery salt
L: Turkey Caesar salad (spinach tomato cucumber) with olive oil and the dressing and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Yogurt with a few blueberries.
D: previously cooked and frozen cheeseburger pie with the last of the curly kale from the garden. The pie was just as good as I'd remembered!

My Week 5 progress picture of my black trousers, with the Week 1 picture for contrast. Nearly a stone on difference.

I got on the scales yesterday and am another 2lbs down 13 in total. That means I am 1lb away from by bootcamp goal - so I am hoping to smash that now ! ( still a long way to go for overall happy weight and am not even thinking about Mrs Koala being lowest adult weight !)
My fish pie was a success so I am going to add that to next weeks meal plan too. DH and I think we prefer a cauliflower topping to potato as it's lightness seems better with fish somehow.
Rshard and Poorbuthappy thanks for the scallops recipe I am going to try that one too at some point.

verylittleowl
prettybird
Oneborneverydecade
your progress photos are amazing keep them coming .

ShagMeRiggins et al I 100% agree that low carb ready meals would be life changing . Also it drives me mad how pub menus are so limited - I moved to our village 4 years ago and round here the food is always pizza / fish and chips / everything with chips. I have wondered if it's been a small factor in how I have ended up 3 stone heavier than when I lived in London !

Having a low-carb food outlet has been one of my lockdown daydreams In my imagination it would be so good that people wouldn't even know it was low carb...

When I was out yesterday I did manage to get some suitable lunch (pate with salad, and then chicken stuffed with chorizo and topped with melted cheese, with green beans) but it took a good hour of googling menus to find one that wasn't 100% macaroni, pizza, baked potato, sandwich...

Today:
coffee with cream at 11am
L - left over stuffed mushroom, broccoli, fried egg
D - shakshuka made with kale, leeks, peppers, a a little bit of tomato

@20bloodypumpkins

In my imagination it would be so good that people wouldn't even know it was low carb...

This is so true about low carb eating though! I reckon if you gave the majority of people any of the meals/menus that are posted here, it would be very unlikely any of them would think there was something 'wrong' or missing!

Nobody has to have potatoes/pasta/rice/chips (etc) with their meals - we can eat perfectly well (very well, actually) without them.

Looking good everyone! I love the progress pictures.

I think I am now either 9 or 10lbs down since bootcamp started, and I think it’s 1 stone 10lbs since I started LCHF in August. I have never been so successful on a diet before and I feel confident that I will stick to it (although can’t wait to get to goal so I can reintroduce more fruit and the odd bit of sweet potato and some carbier veg).

What annoys me when eating out is that you end up paying full price for what feels like half a portion of food because everything is served with carbs. Ask for no carbs and suddenly it looks a tiny amount, even if they add extra veg or salad. I resent it.

prettybird those pics are fantastic. Very inspiring although I have a mental block about doing any progress pics for myself.

Another voice crying out for more low carb options to choose from. There is one place relatively local to me which used to offer burgers served on field mushrooms or lettuce leaves etc but I haven’t been in years... not sure it's still open!

Brunch was scrambled eggs with leftover ham, scallions, green peppers and spinach. I bunged in a teaspoon of chipotle paste for extra flavour. I'm making the moussaka for dinner. Can't wait to eat it again

@Jdhshekr Yes sometimes it feels like you're only getting half a meal when they take the carbs out! My trick to avoid this is ordering only starters. They rarely come with carbs, usually just some salad on the side. Our local Turkish restaurant does lots of grilled meat/fish/seafood starters that are on plan (plus the obligatory halloumi!).

[quote BIWI]@20bloodypumpkins

In my imagination it would be so good that people wouldn't even know it was low carb...

This is so true about low carb eating though! I reckon if you gave the majority of people any of the meals/menus that are posted here, it would be very unlikely any of them would think there was something 'wrong' or missing!

Nobody has to have potatoes/pasta/rice/chips (etc) with their meals - we can eat perfectly well (very well, actually) without them.[/quote]
Unfortunately that’s not been my experience. People I know feel as if it isn’t a meal without a carb component. I remember eating out with my family here and abroad and if a meal didn’t come with a carb as standard there was outrage. If my Mum ordered a meat main (which was described with veg) she would always assume potatoes would come and would complain if it didn’t and loudly say ‘who has just meat and veg for dinner WITHOUT any potatoes or anything else). Recently she has done LC diets to lose weight but she really does feel deprived. Likewise my H and dad simply won’t eat these meals without me doing a side of spuds. H often will only eat meals with double carbs. So pasta and rice dishes usually have a bread side and sometimes spuds too (in the case of curries, h wants rice, naan, popadoms and Bombay aloo).

I do also wish there was more LC options out there for ready meals.

Woke feeling really hungry again so had sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and buttery scrambled eggs. About to have some Tuna Mayo lettuce wraps for lunch and I’m toying with the idea of a fish Thai style curry for dinner with courgetti.

I suspect that's something that will die out with the older generation though @MrsKoala - the 'meat and 2 veg + potatoes' crew!

What annoys me when eating out is that you end up paying full price for what feels like half a portion of food because everything is served with carbs. Ask for no carbs and suddenly it looks a tiny amount, even if they add extra veg or salad. I resent it.

I totally agree with this too. I’ve ordered steak which comes with chips and asked for no chips but ordered a side salad or greens and they always charge me for the extra veg. I think they should just swap it out. Especially in really expensive places.

But we’re pretty used to it as our kids are fussy. The worst was a gastropub in Windsor did sausage, chips and peas on the kids menu for £6.95 we ordered it and said but with no chips or peas and asked if we could have bread instead (they did a bread basket with slices of baguette in). They said fine. When our dinners came out ds1 (who was 7 and a big eater/hungry after a day sight seeing) got a large plate with 1 normal sausage on and a slice of cheap white sliced bread. It looked ridiculous. I asked for the baguette they served in the bread basket as he wouldn’t eat that bread and they said for that bread we’d have to order a bread basket for £4. poor ds1 was starving and we had to stop for more food after we left.

There are low carb ready meals, you just need to read the labels and sometimes improvise. Look for fresh soups under 5g carbs per 100g - Sainsburys do a French Onion soup with Gruyere that's lush. Their Beef Borguignon is under 5g as well and I'm sure they have other ready meals that are low in carbs. Also look for meals that come with a separate sachet of sauce which is usually where all the carbs are and can easily be left out. Or Indian or Chinese ready meals where the carby sides come separately and you can just skip them completely.

I hope so @BIWI it’s a pain in the ass! I think it’s a money thing too, carbs fill you up and make the protein component stretch. My friend serves 1 fish cake (made with mash) for each adult and a load of new potatoes. If I do fish cakes (even pre LC) I serve 2 each topped with poached eggs and hollandaise and a load of green veg.

And when did mac 'n cheese become a side dish? When I was a child a long, long time ago macaroni cheese was a meal, maybe with a bit of tomato or a slice of beetroot. Yesterday I saw it as an optional topping for a burger so burger, huge carby bun, fries, and macaroni!!

Fab photos prettybird!

I’ve tried these meals from M&S...I think the courgette might one is around 2.5/100g carbs and the tikka is 3.3. The courgetti is a bit bland but I really like the tikka.

Good shouts on the ready meals. We don't tend to eat them but might be good to have in the freezer for emergencies.

Macaroni cheese on a burger is just boke. I have seen it as a topping on a pizza!

I think how well you get on with this WoE depends on how much you like veg. I love it, always "tolerated" most fruit but really liked veg and I'm happy with lots of nice veg on my plate and no potatoes. However I know plenty who tolerate a spoonful of carrots/broccoli/peas/whatever alongside their carbs and would be very disappointed to find no carbs and an appropriately increased portion of veg. Mostly in the older camp especially men but also some kids to be fair. I generally serve my parents what we eat for main meals when they visit but provide bread and cereals for breakfast/lunch. I'm a good enough cook to get away with this as it's generally delicious pats own back- but I know really my DM isn't keen on lots of veg and DF grew up with bread on the side of everything and ideally would like both that and plenty of gravy/sauce for every meal if DM allowed it. It also makes me really sad that he's almost terrified of fat but sees no issue with cake/biscuits (or piles of bread)!

I've also heard there are people who just aren't that into meat ?!?! I'm sure I ate plenty of veggie pasta and risotto in my 20's but mainly because it's cheap and convenient, not from any aversion to meat and fish.