Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp - our 8th week!

[BIWI]

Morning campers! And what a dreary, grey and foggy day it is here.

So we start the last fortnight of this Bootcamp today. Just two more weeks to go. Still time, therefore, to drop a few more pounds!

here's the spreadsheet once more

I hope everyone is staying well and that lockdown isn't too miserable

Good luck for this week

Oh and also I’m feeling quite proud of myself as I’ve got my alcohol consumption down. It had crept up to about 56 units a week (I know and what was worse I didn’t feel like that was a lot as I was never drunk or hungover. But now I keep a tally chart on the fridge and I haven’t gone over 18 units a week. Which, apart from pregnancy, is the least I’ve drunk since I was 16.

Really great pics again @VeryLittleOwl!

Interesting about the set point weight, I’ve never heard of this, but it definitely rings true for me. I managed to get my set point down from 13st to 12st a few (17!) years ago, and always hover around this point. I then lose weight fairly easily down to 11st but find it hard to maintain that. Hence by summer I’m usually back up to 12, after doing well in this bootcamp.

I’m so determined this time to maintain it. I know I can, even with a relatively large carb intake. But not by going completely off the rails as I usually do.

Well done @MrsKoala on the alcohol intake reduction - constant battle here too.

Well done MrsKoala and good idea to keep a record.

Here's my lovely advent calendar. I'm looking forward to every day

Lyrata OMG I've been reading the Buchinger website. How amazing that sounds, I'd love to do that, the epitomy of self care. I think if I was spending all day in yoga class, meditation, massage, walking, coaching, art... I'd not even notice that I wasn't eating

stuntnun how/why does extended fasting affect skin tightening? Do the effects last any length of time? I’m fascinated

20bloodypounds It was so special. I was lucky to get to go (I used to work as a journalist) and I would love to go back. Attached a picture of when I was there. I miss blue skies!

The set point chat is so interesting. I notice that my weight falls off when I’m at my heaviest but becomes increasingly sticky.

I like this WOE though. I do avoid too much dairy so I’ll add that back in at maintenance -and also wine. But I expect I’ll be joining everyone in Jan for BC proper to lose another stone and cement healthy habits.

I’ve found the set point weight stuff interesting too. Throughout my 20s I would always float around the lower end of 10 stone something up to 20 and a half stone unless I massively overate. It felt as though I could eat almost whatever I wanted and exercise moderately and stay at that weight. After I had D.C, my set point was a stone higher and I just accepted that. I find it very difficult to get below the lower end of 11 stone to 11 and a half stone. But with this WOE I have blitzed through that and am currently at my old set point from my 20s. Interestingly, each lb is like glue now - they are coming off but they are not happy about it and putting up a fight. I suspect that just over 10 stone is my body’s happy weight.

Up to 10 AND A HALF STONE 🙄 My range of weight was not up to 20 and a half stone - that would be an impressive overnight gain even for me.

@BIWI - as requested! Please excuse my haphazard collage-making skills.

That's amazing @VeryLittleOwl! It's a bit like that sequenced picture of the evolution of man!

It really shows your progress too - a lot of people might think ghat 10lbs doesn't make a huge amount of difference, but your photos totally disprove that.

Fantastic

Verylittleowl Thanks for that photo and Biwi I loved your analogy 😀 it does show how much difference this way of eating makes.

I’m trying to be mindful of my caffeine, I was creeping up so am trying to cut back again. I’ve lost a few more ounces, so hoping to keep that going and see another pound off on Monday. I am finding that drinking lots of hot herbal teas helps on these cold days.

I’ve also revisited the veg spreadsheet, as was getting a bit bored of having the same every day, I never thought a carrot would feel like a treat and a bit of butternut squash feels positively decadent 😀

Today
B total Greek yogurt
L either soup if in home or a chicken salad if I’m out
D oven roasted salmon with some lovely veg

1 or 2 coffees and tons of water and herbal teas

Wow verylittleowl that’s amazing! 👏 👏 👏

Goes to show what differences can be seen even if the scales don’t necessarily show much. That’s really motivating 👍

My Black Friday Teapigs order just arrived - yay! I'm looking forward to trying the Gluhwein tea when I've finished my fast this evening.

VeryLittleOwl that is an impressive result in only eight weeks. I'm sure you feel much slinkier now.

Ifeelmuchlessfat fasting for 24 hours or more triggers a process called autophagy which is the body's method of removing old or damaged cells. It has lots of benefits, for example increasing insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation, improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It's also thought to have a protective effect against cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers. Autophagy helps with loose skin by improving skin health and elasticity which enables it to shrink better.

Wow verylittleowl those pics are amazing. You have done brilliantly.

I am in the midst of an epic day at the hairdresser. I’ve decided on a bit of change and now I feel happier with my body I don’t feel I need the long hair to hide behind so am going to go for my yearned for for 20 years long bob. And and and in exciting news Dame Kelly Holmes is sitting in the chair next to me! Wooo

In less good news I went to make my pack lunch this morning and got a roll out of the freezer to see it was covered in mould. So disappointing. So was the other. So that’s 2 out of 4 which have gone mouldy in the freezer as they weren’t when I put them in. Had to quickly boil an egg, grab some cucumber, a peperami, a chunk of cheese and an avocado instead.

hello! just popping in to say wow some fantastic results... and I'm doing a mini bootcamp over 3 weeks before christmas, and would really appreciate suggestions to help combat carb flu and fatigue. Plus also hot drinks that aren't tea or coffee (ie don't need milk) thanks v much!

@VeryLittleOwl, fab PhotoCollage!
@MrsKoala I had a haircut yesterday , no one famous in the salon though 👍 flicks swishy hair
Still got the remnants of hideous cold , I googled how to get rid of catarrh, and it recommended plenty of fluids and keeping hydrated , so I stood , with my glass and had 7 glasses of water by 9-30 this morning , that's just over 2 litres
Then I did the ironing ✅
Going to try a low carb chilli tonight , will get rid of that cold one way or another !
Gets glass ..

My meals - after reading some of yours, wonder if i need to look at portion size?

monday
b - tea with tiny dash of milk
l - 2 fried eggs, 2 rashers streaky bacon, one tomato
d - rump steak with herbed butter, broccoli with butter on
drinks: lots water and 1 coffee with cream

tuesday
b - tea with tiny dash of milk
l - avocado, big handful of prawns, sauce made from large tsp ff mayo and a dash of ketchup
d - ham and courgettes pan fried with herbs, then cream and cheese added
snack: 5 almonds
drinks: water and 1 coffee with cream

today
b - tea as above. ff greek yog
l - couple slices ham and tbsp coleslaw
d - prob a chicken curry with veg and cauli (how to add fat?)

Did someone say there was another bootcamp scheduled in new year?

My main challenge has been no alcohol - tho obv v good for me, am planning a drink on sat night like a vodka/glass dry white wine.

My "set weight" has crept upwards over last 20 years. For ages it was 9st9. Then kids came along..... couple years ago i ended up at 11st which felt awful. Am now 12st after lockdown eating and drinking, followed by severe spinal injury (almost no exercise and more comfort eating and drinking 🙄).

So if i can loose 6lb in 3 weeks that will be a good start. Want to get back down to 11st, have a pause and see what impact that has on whole body, then prob down to 10.5. Don't want to end up looking lots older though. Interesting to read about impact of fasting on excess skin. Not sure if I could manage 24 hrs let alone 36.

Anyhow... best wishes to you all!

p.s are diet drinks not recommended?

@StuntNun I’m sure you’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t find it - how often would you need to do the extended fasts to get the benefit, and is 36 hours the ideal length? Thank you 😊

stuntnun can I just ask why your waiting till after your fast to try the Gluhwein tea, as I was planning to drink it in the day instead of water ??

Gorgeous it's usually 36-72 hours for health benefits such as autophagy and increased growth hormone. You don't need to fast as long if it's just for weight loss. E.g. alternate day fasting is good for weight loss; it's only for 24 hours dinner to dinner three days a week and you can have some things such as bone broth or butter coffee during your fast if you want. I water fast about once a month but I usually only do around 48 hours. I've only started doing extended fasting regularly centred around the jaw surgery I had in August and the follow up braces treatment. I'm determined to do everything I can to make a good recovery. Spooks when I'm doing an extended fast I only have water and electrolytes to get the full health benefits. For my normal daily 16:8 fasting I have tea during my fasting window.

@colouringindoors

hello! just popping in to say wow some fantastic results... and I'm doing a mini bootcamp over 3 weeks before christmas, and would really appreciate suggestions to help combat carb flu and fatigue. Plus also hot drinks that aren't tea or coffee (ie don't need milk) thanks v much!

Welcome @colouringindoors!

Have you read Bootcamp rules? Make sure that you have, so that you know what you should really be doing.

You can drink milk in tea and coffee, but this needs to be very much in moderation. Either try drinking them black or with double cream instead. If you don't like it black and are looking for other hot drinks, then herbal/fruit teas are good (just double check the packs to make sure they don't contain carbs/sugar). Also you could try drinking hot water with a slice of lemon in it.

Re carb flu, you need to keep your electrolytes up - particularly sodium, magnesium and potassium. For sodium, make sure you cook with salt and add it to your food. If you do find yourself getting headachey or feeling a bit 'off' you could also try drinking a hot drink made with Oxo or Bovril or Marmite.

For the other electrolytes, good food sources are salmon, spinach, avocado and full fat natural yoghurt.

You could also buy an electrolyte supplement, like Zero by High5 (from the High5 website or places like Holland & Barrett or Evans Cycles)

@colouringindoors

monday
b - tea with tiny dash of milk
l - 2 fried eggs, 2 rashers streaky bacon, one tomato
d - rump steak with herbed butter, broccoli with butter on
drinks: lots water and 1 coffee with cream

Why are you not eating breakfast? If you're new to Bootcamp, the first two weeks are supposed to be three meals a day. Please read Bootcamp rules, which are on the spreadsheet, stickied at the top of this thread.

Your food looks fine, but how much water are you drinking? At your weight you should be drinking at least 3 litres a day.

tuesday
b - tea with tiny dash of milk
l - avocado, big handful of prawns, sauce made from large tsp ff mayo and a dash of ketchup
d - ham and courgettes pan fried with herbs, then cream and cheese added
snack: 5 almonds
drinks: water and 1 coffee with cream

Again, please read the rules! In the first two weeks of Bootcamp you aren't allowed to eat nuts

today
b - tea as above. ff greek yog
l - couple slices ham and tbsp coleslaw

This doesn't sound like very much food, so be careful with that. Also beware that coleslaw can be very high in carbs.

d - prob a chicken curry with veg and cauli (how to add fat?)

How to add fat? Well first, make sure you're using a fattier cut of chicken - so the thigh rather than the breast. Fry in butter/ghee/coconut oil, and consider frying or roasting your veg in oil and/or adding butter when you serve. With a curry you could also make a raita with full fat yoghurt

Did someone say there was another bootcamp scheduled in new year?

Yes, probably some time around the middle of the month - I haven't fixed on a date yet! I'll post about a specific date, with a sign up thread, in early January

My main challenge has been no alcohol - tho obv v good for me, am planning a drink on sat night like a vodka/glass dry white wine.

No! Again, first two weeks of Bootcamp alcohol isn't allowed

So if i can loose 6lb in 3 weeks that will be a good start. Want to get back down to 11st, have a pause and see what impact that has on whole body, then prob down to 10.5. Don't want to end up looking lots older though. Interesting to read about impact of fasting on excess skin. Not sure if I could manage 24 hrs let alone 36.

You should easily be able to manage 6lbs in 3 weeks

p.s are diet drinks not recommended?

No! Again, please go and read the rules. The reasons we don't allow them is threefold - first, they're artificial and we're trying to avoid artificial/processed foods. Second, we're trying to train ourselves out of a sweet tooth. And third, there's some suggestion that the body responds to artificial sweeteners as if they were sugar.

Thanks StuntNun, 48 hours would certainly be a challenge. It’s the night that I’d really struggle with, as I don’t sleep at all if I’m hungry. I’ll give it a try though! Thanks again 😊

thanks biwi I will revise my knowledge of the rules

No no Gorgeous you're not supposed to be hungry. You work your way up gradually, exercising your "fasting muscle" and it gets easier every time. There's a whole fasting section on Mumsnet if you want to find out more.