Happy Christmas Bootcampers!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

We've completed our ten weeks - and I can see from the Spreadsheet just how well it's gone!

But just because the ten weeks are up, doesn't mean we have to stop. So here's a bright, shiny new chat thread for us to keep chatting and supporting each other.

takingon the flab you SHARED it? mine is fo rme only .. ( though DH is nosing around.. but he can eat carbs and struggles to put ON weight - I hate him.

I've just downloaded the Whisk app to store recipes and add them to my shopping list (for DH to buy and cook ). That Ottolenghi kebab recipe was my first entry. Thank you

Notwatchingspooks thanks! It’s great to be back. For the records, I’ve caught up on every single damn thread since mid-November, and that wasn’t easy.

So many responses to give, but I won’t because it will drag us all to the past and what we need is present (and goals for future). Mwah!

I’ve had another snackish day but it’s all been low carb, so that’s a victory at least.

Breakfast - creamy coffee
Snack - cottage cheese
Lunch - slow cooked spicy sausage and tomato soup (with a cauliflower base)
Snack - creamy coffee
Snack - cottage cheese
Dinner - lamb, olive and courgette ragu with aubergine, more courgette, tomatoes, garlic and bell pepper.
Snack - a chicken thigh from a chicken I roasted for tomorrow

Ugh! I did go for a run though and cleaned the flat so I’ve been relatively active. I just want the urge to graze to go away.

Laska2Meryls didnt have any peppers but it was still absolutely delicious. Also my processor died over xmas so I had to use a hand blender! Still worked brilliantly!

Evening all!

I'm currently at the end of day 5 and starting to feel more at ease with the butter consumption 😁

Today has been
B Greek yoghurt (is there a certain amount I should be having - I just put some in a cereal bowl but not sure if I'm having too much/too little!?)
L tuna steak with big salad of lettuce, celery, courgette, cauliflower, olive oil and butter.
D salmon with lots of buttered cabbage and sprouts.

I was so full from lunch that I only ate half my dinner. This is unheard of. I shall have the remainder for breakfast tomorrow.

I'm still, somehow.. unbelievably, keeping up with the 4 ltrs of water a day. Loosing weight just to get to the bracket of 3.5 ltrs has become a very attractive prospect.

Oddly I still feel dehydrated. I've had a head cold over Xmas which won't shift so think it maybe that, but on 4ltrs I should defo not feel hydrated!

Oh and I have a question about creamy coffee please ..

Is it a meal in itself eg breakfast or can I have one or two along side 3 meals.. and how much cream are people using.. a dash.. or a bloody good pour?

I find it bitter but a good alternative to lemon water/plain water. I'm also having 1 tea a day with milk and lemon. This all ok plus the dreaded 4litres?

@ChristMyArse - you’re meant to have a proper breakfast because Bootcamp is about healthy eating habits. That being said there are some people who intermittently fast so don’t eat breakfast or lazy people like me who just have coffee.

I have either one or two tablespoons of cream depending on how many coffees I sense I will need that day. Sometimes my hand... slips. But I try to be careful because dairy can stall people and there really aren’t all that many nutrients in coffee and cream so I don’t want to fill up on it overly much.

@Laska2Meryls

takingon the flab you SHARED it? mine is fo rme only .. ( though DH is nosing around.. but he can eat carbs and struggles to put ON weight - I hate him.

I actually (before migraine hit) struggled to stop eating it but knowing that the kids liked it last time & DH is still on 5k kcals a day 🙄 so would need it too.

I unfortunately swigged the rest of the cream so can't recreate tomorrow 🤣

I need to go dairy free for a few days I think as my dairy intake is probably creeping too high. I've been letting it slide with a "if its on plan its better to have too much than end up off plan" mentality but i do really need to actually keep losing weight so need to get ship shape.

**Stuntnun thanks for your comment re too many carbs. It doesn’t need too much analysis unfortunately. Tuesday included various chocolates and a piece of Christmas Cake. Monday had been back on track but the preceding week looked much like Tuesday. Yes definitely too much carb. Wednesday much better with a cheese salad for lunch and an aubergine curry and flgv for dinner . I don’t eat meat and I do 16:8 so no breakfast. Like many others I am struggling to get back to my normal LCHF WOE and stop eating the Christmas treats, which I am not actually even enjoying.
I noticed yesterday that the unhealthy eating on Tuesday had made me feel quite sluggish and bloated. I focussed on thinking about how good I feel on LCHF and that helped me eat healthy food and turn down the offered chocolates that DH was munching beside me! He doesn’t get it and has no understanding of even what a carb is. He can make a bar of chocolate last all week sat under his nose on his desk. He’s not deliberately sabotaging my efforts he just genuinely can’t understand why I might eat something when rationally I don’t want it. Wish I was like that but I am not.

I’m really enjoying reading this thread. It’s helping me refocus and remotivate.

Lyrata all that dairy might not help your urge to snack. Could you try non-dairy snacks instead? I find a couple of boiled eggs with mayo hits the spot. I usually stir a little curry powder or hot chilli sauce into the mayo for a cheat version of devilled eggs.

ChristMyArse not sure I want to know how THAT username came about! 150-170g is a portion of Greek yogurt. Try adding some electrolytes to your water as 4 litres will flush out electrolytes. A sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice (bottled lemon juice from the fridge is fine) will help replace sodium and potassium. If it's still a problem then try an electrolyte powderr* or the Zero electrolyte tables if you don't mind artificial sweeteners. Watch out for creamy coffees as in general we shouldn't be drinking our calories. The constant insulin disruption from dairy can stall weight loss or cause cravings in some people so it's worth experimenting. If you're affected then keep dairy to no more than twice a day. Most people don't need to cut it out entirely unless they're very sensitive.

Taking cream is really high calorie so it's definitely worth being cautious about it. We've had people on previous Bootcamps swigging it straight from the pot which really isn't a good idea.

Jolly I suggest adding in some low carb snacks between meals to keep you full while you re-adapt to low carb. Hard boiled eggs are good (with mayo as previously mentioned) or a little cheese, or keep some leftovers aside for snacking. I also like celery sticks with cream cheese, especially for late-night-in-front-of-the-TV-munchies.

@StuntNun

There is quite a horrific story behind my user name - it's not one to tell at this time in the morning 😁

I have lost 3 lb so far and it's day 7 tomorrow.. I was down 4 so I think I will cut the cream and maybe lower portion size. DP is making my meals (his choice!) and I get a big bowl each time.

I will go with the lemon and salt as I'm presuming the electrolytes maybe why I'm so dehydrated on top of a cold.

I just want this to work!

Morning, I’m someone who has to be careful with dairy (and nuts) I’m not sure if it’s just that it is easy to have a lot of or if it affects my insulin. I’ve found I’m fine if I just have 2 coffees with a large teaspoon of double cream each time. Any times where I have been more heavy handed I have either not lost or even gained on the scales.

Yesterday I did loads of housework and did not go outside, I also had a decaf coffee in the afternoon and also a Hot Rotisserie ready cooked chicken from Waitrose for dinner, (That a friend dropped off for me) both were lovely but I had weird dreams and very disrupted sleep after sleeping really well since going back to this WOE. I suspect we underestimate how good it is for our bodies to cut out processed foods and to get daily fresh air and outside exercise, lesson learnt.

I’ve found that by posting on here and articulating what I have been doing I have started to see cause and effect, so sorry if I ramble on, but it has been really helpful to me and hopefully it can help others to learn from my mistakes as well.

Today
B Greek yogurt (I have about 170g) with Tsp double cream as I can only get Total 5% fat
L homemade soup bowl with vegetables, butter, chicken
D beef casserole and a FLGV

Today’s thoughts on the rest of it;
2 coffees, a decaf coffee in afternoon if I need it, NO Bored GRAZING ON NUTS at 5pm before dinner 😀, Teapigs ginger tea which I top up with hot water through the day), lots of water, some pre prepared veg sticks in the fridge for if I want a graze.

Also an hours walk outside this morning.

Hmm StuntNun that’s actually a good point - I would normally snack on chicken because I have it in the fridge for the dog but I was so determined to be prepared for this BC (and cleared my fridge before and after Christmas so it was looking upsettingly bare) that I bought a load of ‘bits’ like cottage cheese and feta and eggs and yogurt that I knew I could snack on if I wanted.

Maybe I should keep it simple and go back to nibbling bits of chicken - it’s so plain that I think it stops me wanting to go back for more.

Ohh ginger tea sounds good. Is there any others I could get?

I am a swigger of cream, straight from the pot

B - coffee with cream and a swig boiled egg
L - broccoli soup, celery sticks with blue cheese
D - Jamie Oliver's salmon nicoise

Lots of water
Lots of walking

Morning all! Day seven for me and I am down 8.6lbs. I lose weight super fast on low carb, along with the not feeling hungry or bloated, it works beautifully for me!

Today looks like this...

B sugar free jelly and 60ml of sour cream (yeah, I know this isn't bootcamp friendly, but in the spirit of easing in!)

L chicken breast, broccoli and chorizo all binged in the oven together.

D ham I cooked the other day, cauli, broccoli and halloumi.

Venus with dairy it's usually frequency of consumption that's the problem rather than the amount. Although obviously most dairy products are calorific which can cause an issue with weight loss. It's very much a personal thing so the only way to find out is trial and error. I just want people to be aware that creamy coffees are a common cause of weight loss stalls. Also, along with butter/Bulletproof coffees they are nutrient poor. If you're eating smaller quantities of food because you're losing weight then you need to make sure you're getting enough vitamins and minerals. Hence the obsession with a FLGV.

Teethypegs thats a brilliant loss. I did lose fast at the syart but its now more like 1-2 lbs a week ( but thats good).
Taking yes swigging cream probably not too good. ( But I find too much cream makes me feel sick).. I used cream cheese in my cheeseburger pie topping instead, worked fine.. I have just had some cold for breakfast .. Was yum..
Thai green chicken curry I think tonight .. Fancy a curry.. Probably with cauliflower if I can be assed to go to the shop

And as per what Stuntnun says FLGV really important.. .. I add greens to my Thai curry always

We’re doing a Thai curry tonight too! But ours will be red, with pork. I’ll do a head of broccoli on the side, with soy sauce, ginger, chilli & garlic.

Quick question, would a home cooked gammon joint be classed as "processed food" ? I have been buying a joint, soaking it and then pressure cooking it over christmas, we prefer it to shop bought ham, but I wondered if it was counted as processed.

I prefer to decant my cream onto a spoon, I've learnt it feels much more sophisticated. Unbelievably to me, I've quit my milky tea addiction in 2021 and am having decaf Earl Grey instead

Homemade cauli cheese soup for lunch today. Something with sprouts for tea

Spotted this Nigel Slater cabbage recipe earlier - looks delicious www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/05/nigel-slaters-recipe-for-cabbage-taleggio-and-pancetta

3/4lb down today woohoo

Kind of fancy Thai curry now though!

Btw if I get chocolate cravings I find that chopping a small piece off the coconut cream block and eating that satisfies the urge.. its sort of naturally sweet.. ( only a small amount though its 9.5g carbs per 100g .. thats half a block !)