April Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - week 1

[BIWI]

Welcome everyone!

Here, as ever, is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness created and lovingly managed by the wonderful @AthelstaneTheUnready

Hopefully you should find that you're already on the spreadsheet - but if not, just add your name to the bottom of the list. Don't try to insert it in the right alphabetical place - Athelstane will do that for you. And don't touch the blue cells or try to enter any other data or comments!

For those that are new, each week I'll start a new chat thread, on Monday, and we'll start off with recording our weight.

However

You don't have to use your weight to measure your progress - and you don't have to be on the spreadsheet if you don't want to be. Instead, take your measurements each week (bust/upper arms/waist/hips/thighs), or find an item of clothing that's just too tight/small right now, and keep trying it on each week.

The rules of Bootcamp are on the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet - but here's a quick summary of the rules for the first two weeks:

1. Eat three meals a day
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Make sure you're eating vegetables and salad with your food
5. Be careful about dairy, apart from butter which is unlimited
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water a day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds

10. No sugar/artificial sweeteners

Make sure you have a really good read of the spreadsheet for the full detail of the rules. Also, check out the tabs at the bottom - there's a huge amount of information that will really help you, especially if you're new to low carbing/Bootcamp.

There's also a thread here of FAQs which should be helpful.

Some thread etiquette

The thread will move really quickly - especially at the beginning.

But please take the time to read everyone's posts, rather than just plopping on with your own comments/thoughts/questions. It's very frustrating when someone comes on to the thread to ask a question that's been posed and answered already!

Don't lurk!

I know that not everyone is confident about posting - and also that there are a lot of posters who are regular Bootcampers, and who know other Bootcampers. Please don't think this is a cliquey thread. It couldn't be further from the truth!

Everyone's views and experiences are welcome and valid, so jump in and post.

Any questions, please just post. Or PM me. There's always someone here who can help - and if I or they can't, then we can always find someone who can!

Above all, very good luck to everyone.

I very much hope that by the time we come to the end of these ten weeks, that we really are (as a country) completely ready to leave Lockdown well behind.

Wishing everyone all the luck

After sending @BIWI over the edge yesterday by almost eating raspberries, here's today's menu.

B: celery sticks with cream cheese
L: ham salad with olive oil dressing
D: tofu stir fry

3l water. Big lunchtime walk and weights class.

Happy Wednesday!

@1stMrsF tweens exasperate us all, you have my sympathy! Hm watercress soup sounds nice, is yours just stock, herbs and the cress?
I’m sat drinking (sipping) water, I didn’t know the facts about gulping it...
Today’s food: L - Roasted red pepper soup topped with cheese, D - baked monkfish, wild garlic & broccoli.
Hope everyone has a good day.

I'd like to know about the watercress soup too, please.

Did better on the water (2.5l) yesterday and no headache, so will try to keep that up, although I’ve run out of sparkling so I will feel less fancy while sipping it.

Plan for today:
B : Greek yog
L: Ham and cheese salad
D: Spicy poached eggs with feta and bacon

Food shop coming tomorrow- meticulously planned so there’d better not be a bunch of weird substitutes!

The husband is delighted at the salads and properly planned dinners, and is eating cereal on the side as he isn’t dieting. I’m having to cook different stuff for the kid as he is mostly beige in his choices and hates spice and lettuce. He tried the courgette last night and looked at me in horror that I’d attempted to feed it to him. I thought they were ok!

Day 3! As i staggered and creaked my way downstairs this morning I was very specifically looking forward to the low carb moment when all
my joints ease! Black coffee currently on the go while I consider breakfast options.

Morning guys.
Harking back to the courgette chat, I love them like @StuntNun does hers, going to try @BIWI frozen broccoli method today. About Dubai, yep. I have lots of qualms....I am a scruffy 42 year old teacher, I like walking my dog in forests and feminism. Fairly incompatible, human rights are abysmal and ddog can't even come with us till at least October if the direct flight routes open up again as she is arthritic and grumpy. Sob. However I've lived in loads of countries so I'm sure we can make a go of it and hopefully be part of a tribe out there that fit, if that makes sense? Sorry, that was a stream of consciousness there for you! Have great days everybody and thanks to @Bestbees... Fish dish was delish!

Yes to the less creaky joints moonswimmer!

Loving all the courgette chat, definitely on my shopping list. I might do some fritters, maybe with a little red chilli?

Had the worst night ever! My 1yo has a cold and so was up most of the night crying, tried everything, resetting bedtime, medicine, cuddles, even laying on the floor beside her cot till after 3am. Then my 2yo got up at 5.30! It's going to be a hard day today with 2 grumpy DC. Luckily I made extra chicken yesterday which I put in the fridge. @Makegoodchoices my 2yo is also very beige with her food, can put alot of restrictions on family meals.

I'm another one that gulped down pints of water at a time, definitely will be sipping from now on!

B. Egg and bacon on SLCB with a side of mushrooms fried in butter and garlic.
L. My left over chicken baked in nando's sauce, butter and herbs either as a sandwich or with FLGV.
D. Either buttered chicken with cauli rice or steak. Need to go to the shop later so will decide then.

DP just dragged himself out of bed so I can have a couple hours sleep, I knew there was a reason I keep him around

Oh no, @buffythe buffetslayer. Commiserations hope the poor wee toot is picking up soon x

@oscarandelliesdad glad it was good, always worried when I recommend something!

@BuffyTheBuffetSlayer sympathies. I hope you have an OK day despite the tiredness.

I am out for lunch today, but to a grill place so should be easy to sub out the potato sides for extra veg. Eggs and mayo in lettuce wraps for breakfast. Dinner will be left over turkey with various salad left overs.

@Rshard I have made courgette fritters before. I think they used almost flour which is not allowed at the moment. However if you grate and squeeze them, add grated cheese and an egg I am sure that could work.

Started the day with some black coffee and sainsburys taste the difference full fat Greek yoghurt, that stuff is lovely so rich and creamy.

Have soup in the fridge for lunch and my water bottle is primed and ready for action.

@BuffyTheBuffetSlayer Good luck today, I remember those days well and just getting through the day is an achievement! (I blame school dinners for the beigeness. He was a lot more open to trying things before!)

shorts pictures I have taken a photo and my bootcamp goal is to do them up
Brilliant idea!
I am so inspired by the meal ideas on here.
Going to try the cauli mash today and also have a go at the home made mayo.
B -was spinach and egg with butter and a dash of parmesan. Only takes 30s + 30s on microwave in the easy egg plastic thing

Thank you to whoever suggested a fruit teabag in a 2l bottle of sparkling water!!!

Second that @MrsOmelette its great!

Have never drunk sparkling water but now think that could be a better faux-alcohol fix than lc tonic do going to try that too.

I made a variation of a Nigella recipe. Cut courgette and aubergine into small cubes. Fry with an onion or shallot. Add garlic, ground coriander, ginger, cinnamon, smoked paprika ( anything else you fancy). Add some minced lamb or beef and cook through. I eat it on lettuce leaves with Greek yoghurt. Lots of veg, dead easy and delicious. The scales are moving down.

Cinnamon question.
Can see people have cited this - how do you use it?

@Covid10lbs at least you ate chunks of cheese, not a bag of crisps or a donut but yes, a planned afternoon lunch sounds like a good idea.

Food today:
B - boiled egg mashed with butter , creamy coffee
L - left over chicken and veg soup; avocado and salad
D - Asian salmon, with psb and pak choi (noodles for dh) spiced courgette noodles for me.

Sun is shining here so a walk by the beach is calling...

Thanks @oscarandelliesdad @Bestbees I also have their cold so I know how miserable the poor wee things are. Would've appreciated a bit help from DP last night but he was busy playing dead

@Makegoodchoices This is my 2nd time around, I also have 2 adult DC. Somehow I must've blocked out the horror that comes with having toddlers or I would never have done it. Godamn you! sneaky mother nature 😂 That's a shame about your son. My oldest DD went that way too during her school years, she's through it now and loves experimenting with food.
My 2yo is autistic and refuses to try pretty much anything I put on her plate. So now I make a mini buffet with rice, wraps, raw and cooked veg, etc lay it all out on the table in individual dishes and let her help herself. It's working so far, I try mixing that up with plated meals in between so the novelty doesn't were off.

@venusandmars I am heading to the beach today, and so excited! Foggy here at the moment, but hoping it will burn off.

Despite party with Cathy yesterday I am down a lb which is good. Feeling bloated with period pains though.

@TeddingtonTrashbag lots of people put cinammon on their yoghurt. I also like yogi teas like @FusionChefGeoff and they are often cinammon based. I put it in chili and morro an style dishes too. There was discussion on a previous thread about benefits I think? Is that what you were referring to?

@Pleaseandthankyou

I made a variation of a Nigella recipe. Cut courgette and aubergine into small cubes. Fry with an onion or shallot. Add garlic, ground coriander, ginger, cinnamon, smoked paprika ( anything else you fancy). Add some minced lamb or beef and cook through. I eat it on lettuce leaves with Greek yoghurt. Lots of veg, dead easy and delicious. The scales are moving down.

This sounds absolutely delicious!

Am going to make felicity cloake’s caponata today, obvs without the sugar and raisins and drastically reducing the vinegar.

Also planning: courgette with sour cream and pesto with an avocado, chicken curry made with spice paste and coconut milk and cauliflower rice, spinach etc.

I just fell down a long rabbit hole of celeriac Googling where it turns out that different countries rate its carb content differently and therefore it swings from being great to actually quite carby?

For the previous poster who didn’t think I ate enough, it was quite a lot of the different components! Am making completely separate meal for DH and kids (lentils pasta etc) and so couldn’t be bothered making anything big for me.

Although I am going through something that my sister and my mum both went through in their 40s where our metabolism, even with low carb, just drops to the floor. My mum is now tiny in her seventies, but in her 40s she really, really struggled with that extra stone, so does my older sister now and me too over the last couple of years (well, stone and a half). HRT was fabulous for both of them but just added to the weight gain. Grr.

@TeddingtonTrashbag - I just use a pinch of cinnamon on my yoghurt and then mix it through.

@50FootWave - hope your portions are big as your menu doesn't look like a lot of food. So a big salad in a nice oily dressing and a FLGV in the stir fry

Can I just make a shoutout for raw courgette?? Try slicing it into really thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler? Gorgeous mixed with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and I like parsley too. The rest of my lot won't touch parsley so I just add that to my portion

Thinnerlikeachickendinner just don't want you to feel deprived or have small portions and you need lots of fat!
I'm down 2lb already!