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

@Random789 I can tempt you with chickens too

@Pleaseandthankyou as someone at the other end of the journey, I like reading about people who’ve lost and are working out how to make maintenance work for them!

No weight off yet. I feel better and have more energy but I am wondering as a short person, I also need to reduce calories and portion size?

Yesterday:

2 HB eggs with Mayo
Cod and chorizo with buttery cauli mash
Fried halloumi
More fish, flgv

Today:

Green salad with hb eggs
Got some left over flgv and thinking of making a nigella anchovy dip/sauce to go with.

Going to make a cauli/mozzarella pizza tonight I think unless there’s something in there against the rules - staying away from the ground almond types. Think it’s just eggs, mozz and cauli.

Morning all

I survived the night out and although I did cave and have a vodka lime and soda I only had one and I stuck to my plan of salmon and ignored the chips on everyone's plates and the puddings so I am taking that as a win. It was also really easy to then just order a lime and soda without anyone questioning it. And the whatsapp group of hangover moaning this morning has me feeling very smug

I am loving the pig and chickens pics .

@Angliski

No weight off yet. I feel better and have more energy but I am wondering as a short person, I also need to reduce calories and portion size?

No! No need to count calories, how ever tall or short you are!

On this WOE you eat till you're satisfied. But that can be easier said than done, as we're used to large portions - as I said upthread somewhere, the average size of dinner plates has increased over the years by as much as 5cm/2in, so instinctively we put more on our plates.

Keep an eye on your portions, but eat till you've had enough. This does mean that you have to really pay attention to your appetite and how hungry you really are.

Already weed out 1kg since yesterday after all the water just wish the next 19 would come off so easily....

Happy Birthday BrassicaBabe!

I had a nanny and I don't even have twins God, I miss her. She would do all those wonderful things like picnics in the park and meet up with other preschool parents/nannies. Even if I hadn't have been working, there's no way I'd have done it antisocial bugger

It was all very Mary Poppins. She went away when the children were old enough not to need her anymore . She'd still be here now if it were up to me! But (switching to Sound of Music), hairy teen boys don't need a governess.

DH doesn't work now, so he handles the endless logistics of school, football, rugby, hockey, cricket. I'm looking forward to the bit where they start lying about where they are. Public transport will become more appealing for them then

It's a lovely, sunny day in Derbyshire. Have you been into Derby yet @RShard? It was like a ghost town yesterday, sadly. Too many shops haven't made it through. Standing Order was of course doing a roaring trade at 10am .

Happy birthday @BrassicaBabe

Well done @Timetobuckup!

Second trip of the week to our local farm park with DD today. It was so busy Monday, I must be mad

Hello all. As I had mentioned ages ago alcohol is another issue that I needed to address. Two nights this week I have drank a whole bottle of white wine. Completely unnecessarily, just because I'm on annual leave and the weather has been better. It ends now, sick of the guilt.
The really annoying thing is that I have managed to stay on track on the food side of things so it is my lack of will power with alcohol which will derail me. Really enjoying this woe. I love this kind of food.

Annual leave ends today so back to work tomorrow. I don't think I can limit to one or two alcohol units as I had mentioned. Tee total for me for the foreseeable. Being back at work will help with this as I don't drink when I have to be up early!

Some great recipes on this board so I will get more creative next week for evening meals. This chicken alfrdeo seems to be universally enjoyed!

Finally caught up! So jealous of the animals. Our dream is to move to an old farmhouse and keep a few piggy and sheep pets.

Sorry I didn't reply to Biwi and the other poster who replied to my previous post. I was frustrated yes, but am back with renewed focus!

Today is no breakfast (never do, but I'm continuing from previous boot camps), lunch will be fried aubergine, halloumi, cucumber, and fried eggs. Dinner - it's freezer day so I will have a butter paneer and red pepper/mushroom that I batch cooked a while back, with some cauli rice.

Happy birthday @BrassicaBabe Glad you're still here

I had a bad day yesterday with the munchies - far too much lots of cheese and salami . Was out in the garden too so didn't have my normal excuse of boredom/habit in the house, but every time I came into the house to pee I'd have another snack

I might stop having my Greek yoghurt in the morning. I normally do 16:8 but for this 1st week of Boot Camp, I thought I'd give myself breakfast, to stop the urge to snack but having got used to 16:8, it seems to have had the opposite effect

I'll maybe also make a big batch of coleslaw so at least I can "snack" on a FLGV

@Random789 and I can I tempt you with pigs 😈

Eeek, @thegoodshipobvious and @brassicababe, I am now in the process of converting my veg patch into a small livestock farm. Just, please, nobody post pictures of cute cows.

Thank you for birthday wishes.

Yep, still here. Tuesday ended up as Day 1. But had a pretty good week.

Several nanny employers here. It's been a life saver. We'll keep her until next summer I guess when the kids go to secondary school in the sept. They had better learn to change their own beds by that stage

Did BIWIs celariac/chorizo veg/side dish last night. Did it with fatty pork chops. It was very good. Will do that again.

Cows are too big to be cute I find random. Never trust any animal that can look you in the eye!

Morning all. No weight loss this evening but I suspect because portion of dinner was pretty generous and probably too many baby sweetcorn. Hey ho, am still 3lb down on Monday.

Sympathies to those struggling to stick to the rules. I'm like a split personality. Half of me (bigger half) is "Yes, you can do this, you know this works, you'll feel so much better not to be overweight any more". Another part would really like a glass, or several of wine, sometimes a big piece of cake. But like BIWI says it cancels out all the hard work.

I've definitely found the appetite suppression helps. Before this bootcamp I low carbed for a few weeks and over Easter added a few carbs. But the damage was minimal I think in the main because my appetite hadn't come back. So I had a burger and chips one day, couldn't finish it and didn't need to eat anything else that day.

I'm off work this week which makes it a bit harder.

Reading everyone's meal plans is really helpful re ideas.
L leftover chicken from last night, salad. Trying some Hellmans garlic mayo.
D Friday night is takeaway night - but not for me today. When we get to bootcamp lite I may treat myself to the occasional carefully chosen curry and do some cauli rice.

So need to find something that is minimal effort and doesn't feel like I'm missing out massively on takeaway! I have a yummy aubergine, tomato sauce and mozzarella dish which might do the job, need to check aubergine carb numbers...

Suggestions v welcome!

yikes sorry so long! thinking out loud!

I recently found a really good curry mix @colouringindoors here. You only use half the packet. Other than the spice mix, I used onions, a tin of chopped tomatoes, garlic paste, oil, chicken, greek yoghurt and a bit of water. Tasted as good as a takeaway and I knew what was in it!

@colouringindoors

3lbs since Monday is great! But honestly you can't expect to see a loss every day, so you need to dial down your expectations.

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner I've tried using cauliflower for pizza bases before but never had that much luck; it always seem to be too damp - but people do rave about it, so I think it was probably me that was the issue!

BIWI - I found the same with the cauliflower pizza base. Tasty but soggy

Happy Friday everyone!
Congrats on the new job midlife and school place Linda

Quietly following the rules here; enjoying having breakfasts for the first time in ages (and finding out it makes me less hungry during the day - #whoknew).

Some poor evening meal attempts following the triumph of Tuesdays shepherds pie with cauli mash : fish cooked in butter and cream was slightly unpleasant - need a better recipe (this had 1tsp mustard in to thicken the sauce but I could still taste); and posh quiche without the crust (needed to be eaten that day) was very unsatisfying.

Need to start menu planning and shopping better. Double tick on the FLGV and water though.

LOVING the pigs and chicks. trip to the farm this weekend is DEFINITELY on the cards.

Happy birthday @BrassicaBabe, hope you have a fab day.

Food today

B. Greek yoghurt
L. Ham salad sandwich I think, or ham and cheese and mushroom omelette
D. Friday is pizza night here, but not for me, I’ll have chicken tikka from the same takeaway place with some salad

Hungry day today, had some cheese to fill the gap and avoided the jelly beans my DS so lovingly shared with me.

@Random789

Eeek, *@thegoodshipobvious and @brassicababe*, I am now in the process of converting my veg patch into a small livestock farm. Just, please, nobody post pictures of cute cows.

DH nagged me for the best part of 10 years to get cows. Then last year he needed some sand for a lockdown building project in the back garden and our friend at the big farm up the road told him to go and help himself from her sandpit (some of her fields back onto the dunes, so she has a sort of sand quarry in one of them that she just scoops out with a tractor bucket when she needs any) - and by the way, the bull and a couple of her cows were in there, but don't worry, they're friendly and won't bother you.

Well DH didn't have his thinking head on that day and instead of hitching up our field trailer to the quad bike and taking that down to fill, decided he didn't need much and went down there with a couple of empty feed sacks. At which point the best part of a ton of prime Aberdeen Angus bull went cantering over to him going, 'Do you have a second breakfast for me? You're my new favourite person in the world!'

DH nearly required a change of underwear and hasn't mentioned cows since

Thinking of alternative pizza bases, I made one a while ago (just for me), using a chicken breast.

Cut down the length of the breast and open it out, like a book. Then cover it with clingfilm/greaseproof paper and using a rolling pin bash away at it until it's flatter and thinner.

Season it, then pan fry to brown it on both sides, (using a pan that can go in the oven) then top with tomato sauce and your usual favourite pizza toppings plus cheese/mozzarella, and bake in the oven till the cheese is melted and browning.

Lololol, @VeryLittleOwl . That reminds me of a video clip I saw online of a bunch of very friendly elephants all racing up to a much-loved human that they had spotted . The vibe of the clip was meant to be 'how moving that they loved him so much' but all I could think was 'how is that man not terrified of becoming puree?'

As a dogwalker, I have had many scary cow experiences - and even a scary bull experience.

I think that my veg patch farm will have to have miniature cows, like the minipigs and tiny ponies you can get. Perhaps labrador sized at most. That would fit with low carbing, since the milk supply would be correspondingly small.