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.

@Takingontheflab with a low carb diet you should be creating much better conditions in your gut such that candida albicans doesn't take a hold. It's primarily the sugar that would cause a problem.

Antibiotics are also a key cause, as they wipe out the good bacteria in your gut as well as any nasties that might be there.

I'd try taking a good pro and prebiotic (not stuff like Yakult or Actimel, but proper stuff from a health food shop), and look into fermented foods as well, to create a healthier gut biome.

In the immediate term, I'd get a Diflucan capsule from the chemist - it's expensive, but you only take one. That's the branded version, the chemical is Fluconazole - Tesco and Sainsbury (and the pharmacy) may have their own brand, which will be cheaper.

Take that but also use the Canestan pessary, and the cream for topical relief.

You have all my sympathy. I suffered from thrush every month without fail for almost two years! For me, being on the pill was a major contributor - but following a lower/low carb diet has also seen it off.

How are you getting on @Takingontheflab ?

Thanks for checking in guys, that info super helpful too Biwi. I've had a pessary last night and using the cream so fingers crossed I stop feeling like my vag is on itchy fire very soon.

I did think this also about sugar etc. No antibiotics here and I've been on the depo injection for years. Aside from Christmas my sugar intake is so low on this WOE, but somethings obviously setting it off!

I tracked yesterday religiously on mfp stuntnun, will do so again today. Got called from my bed to a neighbour last night, our friend, single parent, with chest pain and face pain. Took her to hosp but I was kicked out (obviously) and waited in my car but then it looked like she would be hours so told me to go home as my DH had her dd (and ours) ... looks like she is still in hosp so I need to take mine to school as we are keyworkers but I'm going to have this poor girl with me all day in my meetings until I find out where her mum is/if she's okay!

Oh dear - that doesn't sound good. Do they know what's wrong with her?

They've finally released her, apparently just a virus. Weird thing is my business partner is now in hospital for exact same thing!

Really hoping I don't get it, last thing I can cope with right now!

Bloody viruses, eh?!

Glad she's home, but hope your business partner gets better soon.

If anyone else is interested, here's the website for Seriously Low Carb bread

2 slices of the bread is 2g carbs and one of the rolls is 2.7g carbs.

It's expensive, and it's pretty processed - but it's the nearest thing I've found to real bread. I honestly wouldn't know it wasn't conventional bread. So it can be a bit of a lifesaver!

Yesterday:

Large avo and ceaser salad (bacon hadn't defrosted 🙄) - little gem, red and white cabbage, tiny bit red onion, tomato, cucumber, whole avo and some low carb ceaser dressing.

Dinner was garlic butter roasted beef, sprouts in garlic and butter, cabbage in butter and bacon.

Today: peanut butter grabbed before consults after no sleep 😫

Lunch; large salad, cheese and bacon. Same as yday ingredients wise.

Dinner: meatballs on leeks with a bit of cheese.

Around 5-6 of my 750ltr bottles a day.

Not heard from biz partner yet 😬🤞

Taking food to neighbour later. She looks a wreck poor love.

You need to come and join us on the latest thread, @Takingontheflab!

Sorry BIWI, Attached here so stuntnun wouldn't lose me as she offered to cast an eye for me.

Will try and stay on new thread x

Ah yes - that's fair enough.

Just didn't want you to be missing out on the chat!

Taking which of those days is more typical? The first day was around 1200 calories and 11% carbs, 15% protein, 74% fat. The second (better day) was almost 1700 calories and 8% carbs, 22% protein, 70% fat.

Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) will be around 1450 calories and I don't recommend eating below this amount. If the first day is typical you need to increase your food intake. Your BMR is the minimum amount of calories your body needs to function. Basically if you were in a coma you would still burn around 1450 calories every day. Any activity and exercise adds to this number to make up your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) of around 2000 calories. This is the amount of calories you would need to eat to maintain your current weight. So to lose weight you need to eat between 1450 and 2000 calories each day.

Looking at your macros, your fat macro is around 70%. This is a good level when approaching your goal weight but might actually be a little too high at your current stage of weight loss. Your protein intake was on the low side on the first day. Protein is important for satiety and to prevent muscle loss so your second day's protein at 22% is more where you want to be. Your carb intake is good at 11% and 8% however I f you're not losing weight then it might be worth lowering your carb intake to 20g per day. To get your weight loss going again I suggest a calorie intake of between 1500-1800 per day with carbs below 20g, protein at 20-30% and fat at 65%. I don't recommend calorie counting as this goes against the ethos of Bootcamp (plus it's a pain!) Rather I would look at how you can reduce carbs and fat a little while increasing protein.

On the other hand, if you're happy with the way you're eating now then you could consider introducing some additional fasting. In your case I think alternate day fasting might work for you. This is where you follow your usual 16:8 eating schedule with two meals per day on e.g. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday you only eat dinner, creating three 24-hour fasts per week. So you would eat lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday. Then on Monday only have dinner. Then on Tuesday have lunch and dinner. Wednesday dinner only. Thursday lunch and dinner. Friday dinner only. This is a very effective method for weight loss and fits in well with a low carb way of eating since you will already be in ketosis and able to run off your fat reserves without feeling too hungry, irritable or faint. The disadvantage with alternate day fasting is that you only have eleven meals per week instead of your usual fourteen on 16:8 so you have to be really sure that you're getting plenty of vitamins and minerals from your meals. Also if you decide to give ADF a go then you will definitely need to increase your protein intake as that's needed to maintain your lean body mass. The advantage of ADF is that it will reduce your calorie intake by about 20% per week, even if you eat a little more protein at each meal which is what makes it so effective for weight loss.

Thank you stuntnun! I'd say they're both fairly typical. If i had to guess, I'd say if i tracked everything for a week, I'd have say 4 days like day 2 and 3 days like day 1, just simply how it works out rather than purposefully, i haven't counted calories. However I think perhaps more recently I've been more lax.

Interesting i thought if aiming for keto level carb intake (20/25g) that fat needed to be 70% min. Perhaps I've misread or mis- stored that info in my head though.

I could try and take a shot at a couple of 24 hr fasts, though I find myself more hungry recently but its possible this is still kickback from Christmas. I've only pushed to 22 hrs so far, and only when its time passed unnoticeable rather than trying. My only concern with this is that as i work full time nights, and consult in the day with the extra mix of kids at home now that my levels of burn out are much higher now and I do worry that a stress response combined with fasting may hinder me. Previously i found if i dropped to one meal my weight losses stopped too (wouldn't do it every day, maybe 2-3times)

I think getting back on mfp has flagged that I reckon my carbs have been creeping too high (I've been relying on a spoonful of peanut butter here and there which I suspect actually is more than my brain remembers when considering impact...) and I'm aware my dairy has been high so I wonder actually if my kcal intake was simply too high. Double cream was becoming a every other day thing!

My carb intake is very much veg based so i may struggle to get it down again at this point but I'll try 💖

Really appreciate your thoughts. I'm keen to push this final couple of stone over the line now. I'd like to start weight training but I've also got several months of an exhausting work contract coming up and I'm anxious for that.

Taking the fat calculation is more complicated than that because your fat macro also includes any body fat burned. So if you were aiming to lose 300 calories of fat per day that would add another 33g to your fat "intake" for the day. So when someone is losing weight then their dietary fat macro might only be 60-65% but effectively their fat consumption is at 70-75%. When your muscles are burning free fatty acids then there's no distinction between those coming from your digestive tract and those coming from your own fat stores. When you get near to your ideal weight, around 7-10lb above it, then weight loss often stalls until you increase your dietary fat macro to 70-75%. I've had great success with people near their goal weight breaking stalls simply by adding a tablespoon of olive oil to their food each day. Dr Aseem Malhotra even advocates taking a swig of the stuff but I don't think that's a good idea - one of my rules is "never drink your calories." This is why you get people turning to bulletproof or butter coffees when they get near goals; it's an easy way to boost your fat macro. Unfortunately it also means replacing a nutrient-rich breakfast with a nutrient-poor drink which is why we don't promote this on Bootcamp. I'm sure you've noticed that we focus much more on healthy eating - getting plenty of vegetables, avoiding processed foods and artificial sweeteners, reducing vegetable oils etc. There's a weight loss approach called If It Fits Your Macros where it doesn't matter what you eat - your macros are everything. So you can eat a doughnut so long as you have nothing but broccoli and kale for the rest of the day. It might work for weight loss but it isn't a healthy approach. If you look at American keto sites then they're obsessed with making keto versions of typical high carb foods and using all kinds of weird ingredients to do so. The Bootcamp ethos revolves around healthy, nourishing food instead.

With regard to fasting then you need to be able to make it work around your lifestyle. It does get easier to fast very quickly though; experienced fasters describe fasting as a muscle that gets bigger every time you fast. From your description it sounds like you have a very busy day - do you get enough sleep? Stress and lack of sleep both raise cortisol which has a knock on effect on insulin and sabotages weight loss.

I suggest stopping the peanut butter and limiting dairy to no more than once or twice a day to get your carb intake down a little and help keep your insulin levels controlled. That should help with your hunger levels.

Thanks Stunt nun!

Unfortunately no, i don't get enough sleep and never do- i work full time nights. I can sleep a little on my job which means I still keep my night and day in check. I consult during the day so only nap if I'm utterly desperate.

Limiting dairy and no more peanut butter! I'm going to try and cut my carbs down again.

I'm not sure why I'm so hungry, though i wonder if my constant belly full of fluids might be confusing things. I feel like the ocean 🤣