Week 4 - Low Carb Bootcamp - how much chatting?!

[BIWI]

So much chatting, I've had to start a new thread.

here's the Spreadsheet of Absolute Fabulousness

Remember, this week (like week 3) is notorious for seeing little or no weight gain, so please don't panic if the scales aren't moving for you - always assuming, of course, that you have been following the rules 100%!

Also, the Very Amazing @StuntNun has started a thread about fasting. Fasting isn't a regular part of Bootcamp, but it's a tool that you can use in your weight loss 'journey' (sorry for the cliché!)

have a look here, and think about if it's something you might want to incorporate into Bootcamp

I hope very much that things are going well for you, and that you're into the swing of things low carb by now; but as ever, post any questions/issue here and let's see if we can help.

Quick question on Awfully Posh scratchings...

Have they always been carby?? My DH got me a lovely, and much appreciated, early Valentines Day present of a box of the traditional ones and after I’d eaten a whole bag full I realised they are 3.4g/100g! They’ve used rice flour in the seasoning mix... Granted it’s not too bad (a full bag is about 1.5g), but still! Ah well, I’ll keep them for the occasional special snack and also to use as ‘croutons’ in salads, but if I didn’t know better I would have assumed I could eat them without paying attention to carb count.

Afternoon campers! Sorry to hear a few of us are down in the dumps, but well done to all those who are koko

I tried the Chicken and Mushroom Saag yesterday from the ready meal selection. Absolutely tasteless; not a jot of seasoning. It would not have been identifiable as a Saag if you were blindfolded. I appreciate I could have tipped it in the pan and started seasoning it myself, but that misses the point of a ready meal, non? .

So, for those keeping score, only the Chicken and Leek Crumble has been a winner so far. Looking like a colossal waste of money, but I'll always have the crumble.

For water strategies @Iamnotacerealkiller, my never fail system is to fill five 500ml bottles at the start of the day. I know I've had the right amount when all the bottles are empty (move over Carol Vorderman- there's a new maths genius in town )

[quote Dailyhandtowelwash]@BIWI you got most of my food last week!

I'm probably not eating enough of anything. I have very little appetite and I feel a bit nauseous at the fattiness of things at the moment.

Yesterday:

Lunch: roast ham, celeriac roasted in beef dripping, stir-fried cabbage and a tiny amount of mashed swede with carrot (with butter)
Dinner: two sausages (butcher says at least 85% meat but not sure of exact percentage), celery with boursin - had to force myself to eat something
Miniscule glass of white wine - I was feeling very fed up[/quote]
You'll have to forgive me for not remembering! So much chatting and so many posters!

@BIWI ha, no, not at all. Just to explain why I wasn't listing it all. You thought it looked good but to try reducing dairy.

@Dailyhandtowelwash

The cheese apology was because I've been having very little luck losing weight all along and had reduced it. My other cheese crime was meatzza on Saturday with mozzarella on it (along with chorizo, spinach and mushroom). Wasn't hungry for anything at lunch time.

But according to the spreadsheet you've lost nearly half a stone!

This week you had a gain of 0.6lbs.

I'm really not seeing the problem here, and I think you need to get a bit of perspective.

Your weight will fluctuate quite naturally on a day-to-day basis. And remember that we're in weeks 3 & 4 where little/no weight loss, or small gains, are all very likely to happen.

Your food looks good to me. I'd be delighted if I'd lost almost half a stone in three weeks!

@Iamnotacerealkiller

Only half a pound off for me, annoyingly it was one and a half yesterday so hopefully that will go again this week. Need to focus more on water. Any strategies for keeping count? I've been trying to have half a pint per hour between 8am and 8pm but it feels very ad hock at the moment working around baby nap times and sometimes delaying drinking to avoid an inconvenient loo trip.

I've skipped bf today just because I didn't fancy anything cold and couldnt be arsed to cook eggs. Boiling a ham for tonight though so will have that with cheese sauce and broccoli and potatoes for the rest of the fam.

Starting to lose interest in food generally which I tend to do week3-4. This is dispite definately feeling hungry.

Fridge is empty until tomorrow's shop which may explain why. Hmm I think I'll need to boil an egg for lunch salad. Really must eat something but struggling with motivation to get up. (It's been a rough few nights with the baby if you can't tell)

I've found using a water tracker app on my iPhone really helpful. I just got a free one from the App Store and it works a treat. I think it's called Water Reminder and I can upload drinks from my Apple Watch as well 🤓

@BIWI I've only lost half a stone because I went carb-crazy on the weekend before I started and put about 5lbs on! So I lost it all very quickly in the first few days once I cut out the carbs again - as you do. I'm 2lbs lighter than my first starting weight, before the frenzy, which is where my weight had been hovering for ages beforehand. I can gain and lose 2lbs over the course of a month eating perfectly normally so there's no real loss than I can currently attribute to eating differently.

Anyone else hoping their sweet tooth would just go away? I'm not missing the potatoes/rice/pasta at all but 3 weeks in I still crave chocolate on a daily basis. I did cave and have a few square of 70% dark at the weekend but I'm not sure how long term I'll find this WOE if there's no puddings or sweet treats ever. Is it just something I limit and accept I'll lose a lot slower if I have some?

@Iamnotacerealkiller

Only half a pound off for me, annoyingly it was one and a half yesterday so hopefully that will go again this week. Need to focus more on water. Any strategies for keeping count? I've been trying to have half a pint per hour between 8am and 8pm but it feels very ad hock at the moment working around baby nap times and sometimes delaying drinking to avoid an inconvenient loo trip.

I've skipped bf today just because I didn't fancy anything cold and couldnt be arsed to cook eggs. Boiling a ham for tonight though so will have that with cheese sauce and broccoli and potatoes for the rest of the fam.

Starting to lose interest in food generally which I tend to do week3-4. This is dispite definately feeling hungry.

Fridge is empty until tomorrow's shop which may explain why. Hmm I think I'll need to boil an egg for lunch salad. Really must eat something but struggling with motivation to get up. (It's been a rough few nights with the baby if you can't tell)

A PP recommended the waterlogged app for tracking water intake. I have been using it and it's a game changer. I don't normally let any of my apps do notifications on my phone but this one is really useful. I'm managing to get through 5 litres a day with it, it does get easier

Hello again everyone. I am loving this thread, the support is briliant and I never knew about the limited loss in week 3, I wonder if this is why I have given up many times in the past. Only one tiny G&T drank this weekend so all in all a good weekend. I do have a virtual cocktail making event on Friday night,hoping I can somehow avoid drinking them. Guess I will make them then pass to my husband.
Yesterday had Roast Pork loin with a cream and mustard sauce, spinach and brocolli.
Today
B: Coffee with cream
L: chicken curry leftovers from last week
D: salmon with FTGV

Thanks BIWI. I boiled my ham then roasted it then scraped off the crispy fat and ate that for breakfast :). Then had the meat with feta and spinach oil etc for lunch.

Yes 're baby rearing. Very much feels like a slob right now. A 3 and 1 year old is hard especially not going out. I'm in no danger of falling off the wagon though. It's too engrained after years and I'm motivated with a holiday in June. Swimming costume awaits!

@flossiegrippiter

Anyone else hoping their sweet tooth would just go away? I'm not missing the potatoes/rice/pasta at all but 3 weeks in I still crave chocolate on a daily basis. I did cave and have a few square of 70% dark at the weekend but I'm not sure how long term I'll find this WOE if there's no puddings or sweet treats ever. Is it just something I limit and accept I'll lose a lot slower if I have some?

It's only in Bootcamp that you're supposed to avoid puddings/sweet treats. And your taste buds will change - although if you keep indulging, then they won't! Trust us all when we tell you that it really does work.

flossiegrippiter - after the first strict two weeks - and as the occasional close to a meal ie not an every day fixture , have a look at the "Desserts" thread that is one of the threads that is pinned to the top of the LowCarb Boot Camp topic.

I use erythritol as a sweetener which is a sugar alcohol that apparently goes straight through you and also inulin as an icing sugar substitute or if I'm caramelising it with a blow torch. Inulin is supposedly good for your gut biome too

[quote Dailyhandtowelwash]@BIWI I've only lost half a stone because I went carb-crazy on the weekend before I started and put about 5lbs on! So I lost it all very quickly in the first few days once I cut out the carbs again - as you do. I'm 2lbs lighter than my first starting weight, before the frenzy, which is where my weight had been hovering for ages beforehand. I can gain and lose 2lbs over the course of a month eating perfectly normally so there's no real loss than I can currently attribute to eating differently.[/quote]
Think of it this way though - you know carbs don't agree with you, because of the weight gain!

But it does seem as if dairy could be an issue for you - last chat thread we talked about going 'cold turkey' but it doesn't look like you have done that.

Also adding in things like chocolate flakes and wine could all just be conspiring against you, I'm afraid!

You need to be sure if it's the dairy though, so why don't you go without the cream and the cheese for this week and see what happens?

prettybird if you’re ever in south Cambs, have at it...

plumstone I have tried the 0% alcohol Gordon's gin. It's okay but definitely needs a decent tonic. I've used the fever tree light tonics - my favourites are Clementine and angostura bark. But each mini can has 4.6 g of carb so it does push the carb count of the drink up.

I'm prepping Bolognase for tonight, having mine with courgetti. Is it ok the throw a small glass s of red into the sauce? Making enough for 8 so I can have some for the freezer.

I've been running about in the snow all day with various animals. Training session with the horses this morning for my course, then had to go and collect three of my sheep who'd come in off the commons with someone else's flock and walk them home, then had to get the rest of my sheep, who I'd brought in off the commons a few days previously, into the village pens ready for their pregnancy scans. Am proud to say I'm due to become granny to 24 lambs arriving from the end of April onwards, including 10 sets of twins!

Because I knew I was going to be outside a good half of the day and the scanner was due at 12, I had breakfast for a change - leftover cheesburger pie - and then when the neighbour coordinating let me know the scanner was running at least an hour late, ended up having broccoli soup with a glug of double cream stirred in for lunch. Currently feeling pretty full, but it's chilli for supper, so I can just have a little bit with FLGV, otherwise it'll be 24 hours before I eat again and although I'm happy on 16:8, I'm not ready to go further than that yet (although am following the fasting thread with interest).

@BIWI that's why I was apologising for the cheese! I hadn't had any till then. And I never actually tried the chocolate flake thing - my sweet tooth is never the problem, and that was 'bored mouth' as discussed on here.

I know very well that carbs hate me, and I limit them a lot of the time which does keep my weight more or less stable. But I'm struggling to lose more, which I need to do, which is why I want to try Bootcamp. I will KOKO, because I might as well give it a proper go, but it would have been good to see some new result from the change to keep me motivated! The more I need to narrow what I eat, it will unfortunately become less sustainable.

My weight loss has been extremely slow for several years, so I desperate to find something that actually works, but it needs to last and not just be a short term severe deprivation, which is the only thing that has worked for me over the last five years.

I have now gone six weeks without a period which won't be helping. My hormones are my enemy.

Have you POAS?

Being serious ...

I know very well that carbs hate me, and I limit them a lot of the time which does keep my weight more or less stable. But I'm struggling to lose more, which I need to do, which is why I want to try Bootcamp. I will KOKO, because I might as well give it a proper go, but it would have been good to see some new result from the change to keep me motivated!

Why, now we're in week 4, are you talking about 'trying' Bootcamp?!

Why, are you now saying you might as well 'give it a proper go'? You should have been giving it a proper go from the start!

What do you mean when you say 'it would have been good to see some new result from the change'? What change? Do you mean dairy?

One final question (sorry if this sounds like I'm haranguing you - I'm not really, I'm trying to get to the bottom of things for you ) - are you taking any form of medication - short or long term?

There is also a theory that our bodies have a 'set point weight', which it has got used to/tries to ensure that you stay at.

Why it should be higher than any of us want to be is a mystery to me!

There's some interesting information about it here

Two key things I took from that:

• don't deprive your body of calories, as this will slow your metabolism down
• slower weight loss is better than sudden/fast loss, as you might get from a 'fad' diet

@kilojules how did you make your pork cracking in the air fryer? I have a role of pork skin in the freezer but I'm clueless what do do with it.

@BIWI

Being serious ...

I know very well that carbs hate me, and I limit them a lot of the time which does keep my weight more or less stable. But I'm struggling to lose more, which I need to do, which is why I want to try Bootcamp. I will KOKO, because I might as well give it a proper go, but it would have been good to see some new result from the change to keep me motivated!

Why, now we're in week 4, are you talking about 'trying' Bootcamp?!

Why, are you now saying you might as well 'give it a proper go'? You should have been giving it a proper go from the start!

What do you mean when you say 'it would have been good to see some new result from the change'? What change? Do you mean dairy?

One final question (sorry if this sounds like I'm haranguing you - I'm not really, I'm trying to get to the bottom of things for you ) - are you taking any form of medication - short or long term?

Sorry, I should have used the past tense. I was explaining why I'd gone from generally low carb eating to Bootcamp. I've stuck to every single rule since the start. I meant 'proper go' as in not just giving up on it after three weeks. And 'the change' was eating according to Bootcamp rules rather than my usual habits.

I do take meds - methamphetamine - which usually result in weight loss.

And no, no POASing required!

I am starving today. Had bacon, 2 fried eggs and mushrooms for breakfast, celery sticks with peanut butter and a chunk of double gloucester for lunch. Trying not to eat until dinner which will be pork belly and flgv. Staving off the hunger with ginger tea. No idea where this has come from though.