Week 5 - Low Carb Bootcamp - time to get rid of all the Valentine's treats!

[BIWI]

I rather suspect that a lot of us have been so far off the wagon this weekend that it's disappeared over the far horizon!

having to post on the spreadsheet may sober us all up, in more ways than one!

I hope any cheats were enjoyable. There's nothing worse than deciding to cheat and then not liking it.

But from now, it's time to buckle down and get back into the swing of things. If you did cheat, please don't complain that the scales aren't being kind to you. It's an inevitable consequence.

So let's focus on a really strict week, recognising that this is the end of our first half of Bootcamp.

Good luck to us all

2.5 off for me which I'm chuffed about. No cheating for me here though I very very nearly caved at my banoffee pie. First time making it and it looked amazing. Of course now oh is asking when he can expect the rugby round to finish it off. It's rather big and our 3 year old won't make much of a dent so it's all ohs.

Yesterday made roast beef in red wine garlic and stock gravy. Butter courgettes, roast swede (delivery exchanged my turnips) broccoli. Oh had potato and Yorkshire. Beef was lovely and I ate rather a lot of it.

@CisMyArse you don’t need the stick for feeling a bit despondent!

What week are you in? And are you remembering the water ‘gain’ that happens when the body is preparing to rid itself of fat cells? Are you measuring your waist, hips and boobs, and upper arms/thighs? Have you taken progress photos? If not, do it today?

@prettybird Thanks!

Totally awesome weekend here. For the first time ever I made a roast for Sunday lunch - I know its tragic, but they always scared me!! So it did the most amazing roast chicken, with all the butter mixed with tarragon, rosemary, lemon rind and garlic rubbed between skin and meat. GO withs were shoogled sprouts, and broccoli and cauli cheese. Did roast baby pots & stuffing balls for DF - Had one of each & two glasses of wine - totally worth it!!

After all that and generally picking at the skin for the rest of the day - didn't have dinner.

I've lost 3lbs so 12.10 on the scales this morning, which I am delighted with. Tried a whole "eat slowly" thing since Wednesday. Which involved actually putting my cutlery down between mouthfuls and chewing food properly. not sure if it made a difference, but have not managed to finish anything apart from yesterday's lunch - which took 30mins - but I was damn sure I was leaving nothing on my plate!!

Today:
L - Rocket, smoked salmon and a cream cheese and egg pancake - fee inspired from earlier chat
D - Port ribs (sans sauce) broccoli & green beens.

4 liters of water & two coffees!

KOKO everyone - this is going to be a fabulous week!

Fuck load of green vegetables

@Jollyholibobs

DH will not countenance IKEA for pans. Thanks for all your tips. He has a lot of anxiety about buying the wrong thing. Massive amount of research first before we buy anything. I think it’s a bit OCD related. One of his things is to buy the most expensive as he thinks that means it will be good

Then more fool him, actually!!! To be fair, I didn't really have great expectations of the IKEA pans, but as someone who cooks a lot, and likes to have good kitchenware, I can reassure you/him that they are very good quality. But I appreciate it's hard to make a choice when you're buying online.

@CisMyArse

My weight has stayed exactly the same for 2 weeks now which I'm a bit gutted about.

My only cheats have been 2 gin&slims and I ocassionalmy eat the no added sugar jelly and I add cream.

I drink about 3 litres of water a day and I haven't fallen off the wagon food-wise.

Bit despondent BIWI - stick please!

Have you not read my posts about weeks 3 & 4?!!!

And can I remind you that you have lost 13lbs in these four weeks.

Why are you a bit despondent? Many people here would be delighted with that.

I would, though, counsel you to be careful about the alcohol and artificial sweeteners. Ultimately they won't be helping you.

You're updated, Nink.

Not weighed here as too faffy this morning and now a coffee and some water down. Will be a non-week though, as went the full roast beef experience yesterday with yorkshires and roast potatoes.

I'm not convinced by the use of 'cheating' either, mainly because it's inaccurate. 'Cheating' implies getting away with something. You can't hoodwink your own body, it knows exactly what's it's breaking down in digestion. I tend to call it 'stopping' mentally, as in "today, I am stopping losing weight".

And for ChristMyArse, and hope there's a fairly good path out of the trouble.

Sorry - in these 5 weeks - since we started. Plus the two pounds you had lost from the beginning of the year.

Very good points about the use of the word 'cheating'.

And you're quite right both @Ninkanink and @AthelstaneTheUnready. Making a choice to step away from the plan should be done mindfully. And with the expectation that you won't be fooling your body.

It sounds like everyone has had a great food weekend though, which is all that matters. I'm not going to wave The Big Stick around about it, because I think at the moment enjoying our food is a key part of getting through lockdown.

Deffo onboard with the strict week.
STS again which is a miracle considering the weekend.
Am doing an extended fast on the other thread from today teatime - only 24 hours (not quite at Stuntnun's level yet!)

Whilst I'm happy with the maintaining - at least I know I can do it - I'm not where I want to be yet to actually maintain!

Let's all have a good week.

I haven't got a sweet tooth @Iamnotacerealkiller, but I will make a huge exception for a good banoffee pie! Well done for swerving it

@Ninkanink I took measurements, but given I'm wearing the same dreary outfit everyday atm (a look best described as theatrical stagehand effecting a scene change), I can really tell by how my clothes fit.

How are you feeling today BIWI? I was still wobbly yesterday (three days after vaccine), but feel ok today.

Well, slightly hungover from the two cosmopolitans I had last night.

Four units of alcohol last night, and I was like him out of Shameless.

Sorry for my random flgv post, I was distracted by DD.

I'm down 1lb, I'm happy with that. I'd like to lose 3lb before the kids maybe go back on the 8th.

I love IKEA. I'm waiting on a delivery of storage boxes after watching The Home Edit on Netflix. I'm genuinely excited ha

@CaptainOmelette that is an awesome NSV!

Well done to everyone who has stuck with it and lost (and a slightly jealous well done to those who have snaked off-plan and lost). I weighed yesterday with 1/2 a pound on so ready to be strict this week.

I’m thinking of giving up cheese for the next few weeks (or possibly for Lent - but that always feels a tad weird as I’m not religious). If I did do Lent and therefore had the next few days to play with, I’d be quite tempted by this: www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2019/02/omelette-souffle-with-cheese.html

Looks so good!

I have a ridiculous amount of meat to get through though. Does anyone have any good pork chop recipes? I have two and I was quite excited for them when I ordered them but now feel uninspired.

@BIWI and @Ninkanink
Thank you both, very much! Feeling a little teary.

I started the week before the 11th so assumed I'd be past that stage.

I'm a recovering bulimic (suffered for 30 years) and avoiding carbs has been a saviour.

I tend to avoid measuring because I don't want give myself any reason to start obsessing about it. I'd love to know my BMI but I avoid too much scrutiny just in case. Don't want to go back to those dark days.

I'll keep plodding on. Will increase water - maybe 3litres isn't enough!

@nowlook maybe it’s time to find an outfit that isn’t dreary?

KOKO!

This week I’m going to focus on self care - starting with my eyebrows (or should I say caterpillars ). I feel 100% better when they’re tidy but I detest doing them so I leave it as long as possible every time. I should just get into a routine of tidying them daily.

Thank you @AthelstaneTheUnready, much appreciated!

And yes @Iamnotacerealkiller I'm almost 100% certain I couldn't have resisted a banoffee pie. Well done

@plumstone your roast sounds delicious! I'm nervous about roasts too, I leave it to DH

@CisMyArse you’ll be OK. Ride out the plateaus, as they come. They will. Your body will do this its own way.

I am posting before weighing this morning, after my own mindful detour yesterday. I had about 3lbs last week when I weighed on Saturday so cannot wait to see what I did to that with yesterday’s food. Think I’ll put Saturday’s weight down on the spreadsheet though to give myself the momentum after my mental struggles last week as I know I can pull back last night’s damage.

Thank you for your comment Ninkanink My meals look huge & I'm one of those who eats everything on the plate. Another recovered bulimic here ( 30 years now) but I still have the binging tendency in my head.

Would someone be knd enough to add me to the spreadsheet please? Started 2 weeks ago at 161, weighed in today at 153. Thank you

@CisMyArse oh that makes sense. Definitely don’t measure then.

Could you use a mirror and just look at yourself every few days and appreciate the small changes you can see? I find that very helpful. But of course that requires that you absolutely don’t take a harsh position...look at yourself and your body as you would a friend or family member and find those things that you can love and adore, and learn to see yourself with affection for your body.

@Ninkanink it really is! I did have to clench my bottom but still, it counts 😂.

@Lyrata I'm very boring with pork chops. Cover with oil and a sprinkling of thyme/bay leaf. Leave in fridge for half an hour. Fry and season. Take them out of pan. Make tarragon sauce using stuff in pan, white wine, tsp of cornstarch if you need it, creme fraiche and tarragon (obvs).

Not very exotic!