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

All posts here are made on the basis of the information provided.

They're also made:

• to ensure people are following the rules
• to ensure people are eating properly/well
• to ensure people get the right information and support

They are also always made directly to ensure clarity and that there is no room for doubt

But please know, that they are also always made on the basis of caring for the people who have taken the time to join this Bootcamp and share their experiences, because I want it to work for everyone.

I'm sorry if you took offence @Thinnerlikeachickendinner - and clearly you did. Nobody has to 'bend the head' to me or to anyone else.

Right. If you don't see me for the next hour or so it's because I've gone for my run. I haven't flounced off!

Well, that's a disappointingly reasonable outcome @Thinnerlikeachickendinner and @Ninkanink.

Will you not have a croissant? I'm killing time until my next conference call...

@nowlook I’m not officially on BC, so I could, in theory, do whatever the hell I want!

God, no offence at all.

@nowlook I'm secretly typing this while eating a kilo jar of jam with a spoon

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner

God, no offence at all.

@nowlook I'm secretly typing this while eating a kilo jar of jam with a spoon

Let me guess. You've just made the perfect bakewell tart for the family and that's all you're having...

Too soon?

Ha! I made them all a gluten-y three course picnic and now it's just me and the jam crying in the garage.

Right I'm going to go and do some work for the rest of the day so to summarise a) not offended b) very grateful c) high sense of own needs/worth d) off to have some courgettes drenched in butter etc as all these mentions of them have made me mad for them.

Sorry just taking a moment to show off and blow my own horn. Wednesday has always been my official weekly weigh in, stepped on the scales this morning and 3lb down from last week so as of today I am 60lb or 25.75% smaller than I was in August 2020.

I can't believe there's a quarter less of me than there was. Feeling very pleased with myself.

Anyway back to what you were doing and enjoying reading the debates and fabulous looking recipes on here!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo That is fantastic! 💐💐💐Congratulations on that incredible achievement!

Joining in a bit late! I can't seem to add my name to the spreadsheet so will have to get the laptop out later.
I lost stones on bootcamp in 19/20 but have had a baby since then and I really need to lose this baby weight plus more I've put on! I can't weigh myself at the minute as don't have any scales but I must be at least as heavy as I was when I started bootcamp last time if not more. But I'm winding down my breastfeeding with my 6 month old and I'm back to work in July so have to shift some. Not looking forward to carb flu aside sleep deprivation from DS but must persevere!

B - creamy coffee and 2 scrambled eggs
S - mini babybel
L - rotisserie chicken salad with olive oil dressing
D - more chicken stir fry
Tooooons of water

Thanks all for the advice on the licorice and peppermint tea. It’s the Pukka one. I can’t see anything about carb content in the pack or their website but they do mention hypertension.

I’ll limit myself to one cup a day. It is delicious though.

@MrsKoala, @MrsOmelette @margaritasbythesea  and thank you. I'm so sorry to hear of other children struggling but it is really helpful to know I'm not alone so thank you for commenting/sharing. I hear a lot (well meant) about how resilient children are (or worse how it's all down to the parenting, their ability to cope or not). DTD2 had also got very obsessive about her hair, it had to be pulled back just so and it started to break and thin at the front. Thankfully speaking to her about it seems to have helped break that habit, but she still brushes it more thank necessary and has some other compulsive behaviours that I don't feel comfortable about. I keep thinking it will all be Ok when we 'get back to normal' but with each lockdown, school closure and change of the rules I get a little less hopeful. MrsKoala your comment helped me understand DTD1 a little better - she doesn't have friends she could go with as this was the first thing that she had been brave enough to do without her twin and without knowing anyone. I was so proud of her for doing that and now I can understand that it makes it even more difficult to do it again.
Oh and they've become even more picky eaters in the last year than they were before so I empathise with all the beige eating children too!

On a brighter note. I have just dropped off my dining chair seat pads to be recovered and I'm really looking forward to seeing them spruced up and matching the new decor (painting and blinds were done pre COVID and then it's taken me until now to get around to organising this last bit)

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo - that's so inspiring!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo that’s brilliant!!!! Well done 👏
@StuntNun definitely feel smug, teabag suggestion SO good.
@BrassicaBabe I am incredibly jealous of all those celeriacs 😁😁 still can’t get any. I may grow some next year!

gratters @HalfShrunkMoreToGo

What you have achieved has been on my bucket list for years so why did I keep eating all the pies

I hear a lot (well meant) about how resilient children are (or worse how it's all down to the parenting, their ability to cope or not).

I think that's often said to make people feel less anxious about their own parenting over lockdown, or at any time in adversity. Children can be resilient but there's a definite limit for all of us in how much we can cope with. My two have been ok over this lockdown but the first one was very difficult for them - my DD just about refused to go back to school in August and its been really tricky getting her back in and settled again.

As it stands, she might not return to her gymnastics class when it re-opens but we might find something singing, dancing, performance related because these are the things she can't do in school and which actually make school manageable for her. I think very few children will come through this completely unscathed, its such an unnatural way of living.

Solidarity with all the DC suffering
I've ended up home-schooling DS2 since the first pandemic. He refused to go back to what was a very odd environment. That said, he's done the square root of bugger all since Christmas, apart from dye his hair purple. Today, he's going for his first assessment at a local Kip McGrath centre (I've been plying him with chocolate all morning), so fingers crossed that works. His maths is fine, but his writing fluency is not. Cricket also starts again tonight and we're being very bright and breezy in the hope he'll go. He's in year 6 and I'm just praying I can restore some of his confidence before he joins his big brother at secondary in September.

In other news, I've just had to send a strongly-worded email to my local gym. They wanted to let me know about an amazing competition to lose weight courtesy of "their friends at Herbalife"

Cool. So for anyone who's interested in cocoa...

10g of Green and Blacks cocoa powder is 1.9g of carb.

10g is like a desert spoon.

30ml of (Sains) double cream is

Hi everyone, for everyone with struggling DC. My lot are young enough that they've escaped the worst of the stress, but it's still been really hard.

I've discovered Skyr low carb yogurt. It needs some cream as it's low fat too but very delish as a treat. It does have some artficial sweeteners so it might have to wait for BC light.

I think most if not all children have had their moments of struggle over this last year.
As someone who works in a secondary school helping students with their emotions I am not a fan of how resilience is used as a stick to beat kids with. It can make children put on a stiff upper lip and hide how they are really managing which is really unhealthy.

FWIW I think "children are resilient" is also used as an excuse not to provide support- as there is sadly so little available.

Huge congrats, @HalfShrunkMoreToGo! Have you had any chance to show it off, yet?

I've lost 3 and a half stone since August but hadn't seen anyone. We saw close family at a funeral at the end of Feb, and I overheard my SIL ask my DP where I was - she didn't recognise me at all. A nice feeling, even on a sad day.

It's also made me determined to get the final 1 and half stone (maybe 2, we'll see) off and have it over with!

Thankfully @BIWI reminded me about raspberries yesterday as I had totally forgotten they're not alllowed in BC.

I've also some phtos of me at starting weight, 2 stone, 3 stone - then I'll do one at the end of this. Loved your photo, @VeryLittleOwl!

*photos. And of course I mean 2 stone gone, 3 stone gone....

This last year has been so hard for lots of kids. Dd is in year 11, so whilst she’s not doing her exams they’ve been constantly doing assessments which will contribute. She’s missed swimming, which is a huge part of her life.

Wow halfshrunkmoretogo! That’s incredible!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo and @50FootWave that is amazing. Congratulations to both of you.