The final weigh-in thread: March 2021 Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Here's the spreadsheet

I think this has been a really fantastic Bootcamp. Lots of really great losses.

As well as that, though, like every Bootcamp I'm always amazed and often humbled by how much we get to know people. We may all be here because we're trying to lose weight, but there's so much more going on in people's lives.

Tomorrow is the final weigh-in, but I hope very much that people will continue to check in and update us all on 'their journey' (sorry for the cliché)

I'm going to trawl back through the old threads ouch and try to produce a definitive list of useful lunch ideas for when you're on the road. I know cheeseburger pie does well cold, but I always forget the rest and end up with an egg and spinach pot/ pepperami

This will not happen. I'm hoping prettybird* does it

Also surprised that Athelstane has not yet created a database of the recipes that allow you to search by main ingredient

I think the point is that some (me) haven't had to dig deep in terms of willpower dita. Unless I develop a penchant for half-eaten cocopops, no-one here is going to offer me anything which is both carby and delicious. I'd have to make it myself. If I had colleagues pitching up with wonderful cakes, it might well be a different matter.

@nowlook

I'm going to trawl back through the old threads ouch and try to produce a definitive list of useful lunch ideas for when you're on the road. I know cheeseburger pie does well cold, but I always forget the rest and end up with an egg and spinach pot/ pepperami

This will not happen. I'm hoping prettybird* does it

Also surprised that Athelstane has not yet created a database of the recipes that allow you to search by main ingredient

Yeah, that can happen. There's only one main ingredient at the moment though, 'raw minced lawyer'.

S'not a bad idea. May need to wait some time though.

I lost 4lbs this week taking me to a grand total of 2 stone exactly since I first clapped eyes on a bootcamp thread. I am OVERJOYED. I can't wait to get started on the next one. Still got a long way to go but it is suddenly seeming possible for the first time in a loooooooong time.

Thank you so much @BIWI and everyone else for your fantastic helpful posts. I'm usually a few days behind and don't post much myself, I am so grateful for those of you that do post daily it helps me so much. I will endeavour to get involved more in the next bootcamp.

Well done to everyone on their losses and getting through boot camp.
Wether it's pounds off or NSVs were still the better and healthier and I'm thankful for this journey.

Had a woosh after last weeks small gain bringing me to a total of 20.8lbs loss since 4th of jan and 16.8 since boot camp started.

Good luck to everyone on their journey and for those that will koko. Planning to join in April to try get closer to my healthy weight.

Well done everyone! Both those with epic losses and those who have had health and psychological gains.

I have lost about 7lb this bootcamp, but a lot was christmas weight. I am happy, healthy and keen to continue though, and a healthy weight. Sure would love to drop a few more, but for now focusing on health.

Hope everyone else has the glorious weather we have seen here today!

We've had crap weather here - but fortunately the torrential rain had gone through by early afternoon, so Women's rugby training, which started back tonight non contact socially distanced , was muddy under foot (and knees and bum) but at least dry up top

I may feel it tomorrow

Maybe this could work for you as a lunch idea ? It was lovely and sunny and we fancied a walk and lunch "out" so we took 2 SLC bread rolls to our lovely fancy sandwich place and asked them to use that bread. They didn't bat an eyelid and I had a lovely chicken tikka sandwich which was much nicer than I could have made at home!

@ditavonteesed I've been doing this woe for a long time, and I've learnt to accept that on some occasions it is right to be gracious to the people you care for who have gone to a great effort. My example is my MIL who is in her 90s, crippled with arthritis, but will sometimes garner all her strength and make a sticky toffee pudding.

I really hate it - I don't have a sweet tooth at all anymore - and I try to have the smallest piece I can get away with. But I can cope with that rare event for the sake of family / friendship / love / whatever. And I know what the consequences will be, and I know what I have to do to recover from it.

The problem comes when there's a 'special occasion' like that every week...

@ouchmyfeet Food on trains is dire! It used to be that you could get a proper cooked breakfast doesn't everyone travel first class from Edinburgh to London but these days it all bacon sandwiches, croissants, jam... I usually (or did so in the ancient days of travel), take a selection of M&S goodies - prawns to dip in mayonnaise, feta and tomato etc. Many stations have an M&S food place and once you've learnt what food is good it gets easier. Also on previous bootcamps people have recommended things like egg and spinach pot from Leon. We don't have of those outlets in the frozen north so I can't comment, but you can plan your choices.

Food today:
B - coffee with cream
L - scrambled egg and smoked salmon
D - chicken salad with mushrooms and mayonnaise, lettuce, cucumber and celery with St Agur blue cheese creme, tomatoes, half a raw carrot and a small piece of beetroot

Dinner was very late after an afternoon / evening of commitments. And the whole day had not enough veg in it. But a balanced diet is balanced over more than one day...

Stumbled across this - is it ok for Bootcamp?? I'm guessing in moderation only!!!

https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/sugar-free-buckeye-fat-bomb-bars-keto-low-carb/?fbclid=IwAR0deWCLBTroyCCkDlECj8atmehP35R9p8ieWza5PsrKAsRKff_oRQRirLw

thank you to all the wonderful posters on here. I’ve lost 15lbs (and DP has lost over 30lbs). Noticing a difference in clothes and even people I’ve just seen over Zoom have commented. I will definitely be back on 12 April to get myself into the healthy BMI range for the first time in almost a decade. Sorry that I’ve (mostly) been a lurker; I’m usually pages behind. I will do better next time. Thank you, everyone. What a supportive, inspiring and gorgeous bunch you all are.

@FusionChefGeoff they might be low carb but each one is going to have a huge amount of calories. Maybe they would be okay if you could stick to one a day I know I wouldn't be able to!

That's what I though @StuntNun I guess if I cut them into very small squares and saved them for run days I might get away with it!!

They would have to live in the freezer to help mindful eating rather than boredom / pleasure seeking grazing.

FFS I'm back up the same fricking 2lbs that hasn't moved since week 2

Was putting it down to ' post run weight' yesterday but it's still there and more this morning.

I was awful with the snacking yesterday - had to have a very unsatisfactory solid lump of processed meat for lunch (McDs!) so came home and had coleslaw and marinated aubergine salad, couple of cheese slices and Mayo, bit of ham, celery and pate, 1/2 SLC hot
Cross bun..... was not hungry - just felt 'deprived' from lunch and was bored / purposeless in the afternoon.

Lesson: make and take gorgeous salad if likely to be out over lunch AND stay busy!! Hanging around downstairs means I am magnetised towards the flipping fridge.

I also consciously realised I was full after less than 1/2 a plate of dinner (leftover aubergine parmigiana, cauli cheese, leeks and cabbage) but carried on eating the whole thing as it was so tasty .

I think that comes from the binge part of my disordered past. The pleasure of tasting / sensation in my mouth and being used to feeling overfull.

And I have no idea what to do to stop it.

Any mind tricks / sensible counter thoughts I should focus on??

I keep my hands busy, I do cross stitching or get lost in a good book - if I’m in a hungry/bored mood I’ll promise myself a snack after I’ve done x number of stitches or pages of my book by which time the feeling has passed. If I know it’s bored eating i allow myself a small piece of cheese rather than anything exciting, if you know what I mean. That way if I find myself heading to the fridge I know it’s because I’m hungry - and the bit of cheese will help - or bored, in which case I’ll still be bored with cheese.

The other thing I’ll do is have a drink of boulion - it’s nice and salty so satisfies the savoury craving but not calorie laden.

 FusionChefGeoff If it's any consolation, I still struggle with days where I mindlessly snack even if it's low carb - and that's without a history of disordered eating

What helps sometimes is keeping busy and/or drinking a glass of water and doing something else. I also do the occasional extended fast to break the habit - but if you have a history of disordered eating, that's maybe not a good idea.

In good news, I'm now 11st 1.75lb , which is 9lb this Boot Camp and more importantly 1lb more than I'd got to in the pre-Christmas Boot Camp

I'm back to where I got to Christmas 2018 - possibly more as I'm weighing on a different stop, plus my clothes feel looser than they did then

Now, if I could just lose 2lb by next Tuesday.......

That would be an added bonus, I'm honestly happy with where I've got to so far

I also consciously realised I was full after less than 1/2 a plate of dinner (leftover aubergine parmigiana, cauli cheese, leeks and cabbage) but carried on eating the whole thing as it was so tasty

I think that comes from the binge part of my disordered past. The pleasure of tasting / sensation in my mouth and being used to feeling overfull.

And I have no idea what to do to stop it.

Any mind tricks / sensible counter thoughts I should focus on??

This will get easier as you get more used to this woe. For now, when you start feeling full, have a few more more bites but do it mindfully - eat slowly (don’t shovel it in the way dieting encourages you to do with its guilt when you know you’re doing something you shouldn’t), really, properly enjoy each bite. Then, put the rest away and have it with your next meal. That way you are teaching yourself that the nice stuff is not going to run out or be unavailable to you - another thing that dieting and especially bingeing encourages is a feast or famine mentality - it’s still there and you can have more of it later. It’s delicious but you don’t need to have all of it now. If you have to, put a number to it - I will have five more bites. Then the week after take it down to three more bites. The following week, practise only having more bite when you’ve decided you’re full.

Also, serve yourself less to begin with.

It is hard, but it is possible to learn to let those compulsions go.

As others have said, I use distraction a lot if I’m having a phase of wanting to eat more than usual. But I try to make it productive. So I’ll either work on a hobby, or get one or two chores done. That usually gives me enough time to work it out of my system.

Congratulations @prettybird!💐

@FusionChefGeoff

That recipe is like a lot of the Keto ones, especially from American sites, where they seem to regard artificial ingredients as quite acceptable.

Just look at the ingredients and then look at Bootcamp rules - would they really be allowed?!

1.25 cup peanut butter no sugar added so likely to have some artificial sweetener
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp vanilla stevia artificial and processed, no matter what the manufacturers of stevia would like you to believe!
6 ounces sugar free chocolate chips using artificial sweeteners
6 ounces heavy cream
1/8 tsp sea salt

OK, technically I know we're no longer Bootcamping - but the principle of avoiding heavily processed and artificial ingredients is still one that is best abided by, I think.

Also, remember, we're trying to train ourselves out of sweet things and, especially, seeing sweet things as treats, so we can at least lessen the emotional hold that they have over us.

So it's a big fat bomb no from me I'm afraid!

Re the rest of your post I think the best advice I can give you is:

• plan and prepare your food/meals for the week ruthlessly
• make sure you're eating properly - 2 or 3 meals a day, with plenty of fat and protein - so that you know you're not really hungry
• avoid buying anything you think will trigger you (even if the rest of the family like it!)
• consciously plate up smaller portions for yourself. If necessary use a smaller plate than normal. If you know you're really enjoying the specific meal, plate up a second serving for yourself to have at your next meal. The food isn't going to disappear!

... and then if you find yourself mooching around the kitchen, gazing into the fridge, have a drink of water or go and do something else to distract you.

Good luck with this - it's very much about developing new habits and I appreciate it's much harder if you have a disordered relationship with food/eating

The broth/bovril/bouillon tip from pp above is good too - it’s about training yourself to find more healthy comfort/satisfaction habits. Think positive thoughts, go through a positive narrative in your mind, read a chapter of your favourite book whilst sipping your hot broth - anything to help build a positive, happy and comforting association. Then build a habit of doing that daily for a few weeks, to reinforce it.

My penultimate photo for the earring challenge: these handmade gold earrings were bought for me in Burlington Arcade by a very dear friend after a lovely day together in London about 34 years ago. My friend died unexpectedly and far too young recently but they bring back happy memories of the times we shared

Echoing what BIWI posted, I have made fat bombs before and they used ingredients like dark chocolate and coconut oil - no artificial sweeteners needed! So if you really fancy a fat bomb @FusionChefGeoff then it might be worth searching out some less processed recipes. Ultimately though they're born out of the keto ideal that you have to meet certain macro ratios and it's tricky to do that without resorting to foods that are pure fat. Whereas with Bootcamp we're aiming to get our fat from healthy sources such as the natural fat in meat and from dairy, olive oil, avocados, etc.

Homemade chocolate truffles are made from dark chocolate, double cream and butter so they would be a good alternative to fat bombs so long as you have the self-control not to eat too many which I certainly don't, I'd scoff the lot! You could roll them in chopped nuts or cocoa nibs for crunch and they'd be lovely. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-chocolate-truffles

They are gorgeous pretty- love the way they shape to your ear

I found your point about gracious eating very impactful venus. Sometimes it's important to literally break bread with elderly relatives.

So tonight I am going for dinner to a friend's house who I'm really keen to see - I'm going to her because she lives near where I need to be for work so it makes no sense to drag her to me. She is also very happy to see me and is insisting on cooking dinner but will just have rushed through the door from work so, as many people would, is saying 'it's no bother, I'll just knock us up some pasta'.

And you know what, I'm just going to eat it, because it's not for me to dictate ingredients for her, which would mean she had to shop for me, or to ask her to make something else that might take more time or might not appeal to her after a long, stressful working day. I did initially suggest we grabbed something at the café by her house but she wants to offer hospitality.

Sometimes it's just not about the food, is it?

Also not hungry anymore, which is nice!

Went through the last week's food and realised I'd had a rubbish week. For the three days preceding hunger, I only ate an omelette (each day). In my defence, I was working and painting all the time, so just got a bit neglectful. I wouldn't be surprised if I was also subconsciously restricting food with a view to stepping on the scales.

Either way, obviously not enough fat or veg. Duly remedied yesterday with a lovely roast chicken thigh dinner. Veg was celeriac roasties, cheesy leeks, cauliflower cheese, broccoli and roasted radishes. Feel much more balanced today!