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

Happy birthday brassica 🥳

And congratulations on the new job midlife and the school place linda

I haven’t yet nowlook, dd has though and was surprised how quiet it was. 😂 at the standing order! I can recommend portobello just up the street for a good low carb lunch.

Happy birthday @BrassicaBabe have a great day

Loving the pigs and chicks, and at VeryLittleOwl's dh

B - boiled eggs mashed with butter
L - ham and avocado salad
D - halloumi with Egyptian style courgettes

Please don't apologise for brandishing the big stick @BIWI - I need it!

This week was always going to be tricky but I am disappointed in myself about last night to be honest. It was just such a novelty to be out in a sunny beer garden with a glass of wine that I got a bit carried away. The large glass of wine consumed before any food arrived and being on annual leave all week didn't help either as I'm relaxed and losing my discipline!

I think there are 2 factors at play really. One is the holiday mode explained above and the other is my shame at the state that I've let myself get in to. I hate telling people that I'm trying to lose weight. I'm shit at losing weight, I've been on a diet for 25 years and ended up at 22 stone so if I tell people it just feels like advertising what a shit person I am when I ultimately fail a few months down the line. It would have been so much easier to make a decent choice last night if I had been open about the fact that I'm avoiding carbs, but I didn't want to have that conversation with my dad because once I do he'll ask me EVERY SINGLE TIME I see him how much weight I've lost now. I see him a lot because he's a giant man child and I do a lot for him so I just don't want to go there until I have to. The other thing is I've lost 2 stone and not a single person has noticed, that's how incredibly fat I am. I know from past experience that it takes about 3 stone before people start to notice and I'm really not looking forward to that point and being forced to discuss my weight with people. I feel deep shame and it makes it hard to be open when socialising. I need to get past it though because the world is starting to open up again and I'm going to have to learn how to get a grip of myself.

Sorry that's quite garbled. I'm not making excuses, just trying to explain some of my reasons for de-railing myself. My strict 2 weeks starts today and I don't really do bootcamp light other than a few planned indiscretions for birthdays etc and a Friday night gin and slimline so I'm pencilling that in for the bank holiday weekend right now

I am going to be required to make a chocolate cake next weekend for DS1's birthday and there will be takeaway pizza in the house but I've dodged it before and will dodge it again.

I often make mini pizzas using big portobello mushrooms as the base. I don't bother with tomato sauce as the mushrooms release moisture when you grill them, but a bit of chopped veg, fresh tomato and a slice of salami with grated cheese is lovely

@ouchmyfeet

Hope you don't mind me chipping in, @ouchmyfeet, but you sound so down about yourself and I'm so sorry it is hard for you. You have nothing whatsoever to feel ashamed about. Nothing. I know it dosn't really help when people say that, because it is so hard to believe in the possibility that kind, reassuring, positive responses might actually be the true and accurate ones.

I routinelyunderstate to people (and to myself) the weight that I am, for similar reasons to the ones you state here, and in fact part of what helped me to get some benefit from this thread was adding my true weight in the spreadsheet. Every time I hide it from myself, I am accepting and reinforcing the idea that it is shameful. By stating it, I think I start to undermine the shame/self-judgement.

I wonder if it would be possible for you to explicitly tell your dad how unhelpful it would be for him to keep asking you about weight loss? You deserve a supportive response from him and others in your life, one that makes it easier for you to be open about the fact that you are low-carbing. Sorry, I'm not in a position to say anything useful as I don't have much dieting experience. But I do know what it is like to struggle with harsh feelings about yourself, so I couldn't help responding.

Two boiled eggs late morning (Swim day routine) and just had a nice lunch. Spotted some smoked salmon cream cheese canapés half price last night so had them with my salad which made a nice change. Because I'm out at work my packed lunch salads can get a bit samey!

Got some venison steaks out of the freezer for tonight, probably with garlicky green beans and mushrooms and shallots. Sadly put some sparkling water in the fridge; replacing my usual red wine on a weekend. We bought 3 cases of wine in January from various online suppliers to make use of various discounts and the fact DH is at home to receive delivery but it's definitely led to an increase in my consumption. Only from maybe a bottle over the course of a weekend to one and a half or two, but that doesn't help with weight loss! I have been staying off the beer though.

@ouchmyfeet your feelings resonate so much with how I've felt throughout my life. I was a fat kid who grew into a fat (morbidly obese) adult.

I lost some weight when TTC years ago because I had to as wasn't having periods due to my weight. I've been on some kind of diet consistently since I was 11 and have always felt watched every time, with people constantly questioning how it's going. When it's going well that's ok ish, when it's not it just feels like more and more failure.

I am almost thankful for Covid which feels awful as it's had such a huge negative impact globally and to so many people, but for me, it's been a year when I couldn't see anyone, couldn't eat with people and when I've taken the opportunity to sort myself out. I honestly think I could walk past some people I've known for years and they wouldn't recognise me now.

If I can give any real advice it's to keep your diet plans to yourself and don't let anyone else insert themselves into that process, don't mention it, deflect if they ask.

This is the change in me so far after losing just over 4 stone.

photos.app.goo.gl/DLnG9MoTqXfcifng8

@ouchmyfeet I know how you feel about not wanting to talk about it to anyone. I have tried and failed so many times and this time I just want to get on with it on my own and other than dh I just don't want to tell anyone. The constant questions and opinions about my weight loss (or lack of) is not something I want to face with anyone else.

Which is why I pretended to feel a bit rough last night so I wouldn't be questioned why I wasn't drinking as much as usual. It is definitely something I need to work on.

My plan yesterday was to just go a bit prepared with what I was going to say and I suppose I will have to keep spotting the hurdles before they arrive.

Oh mate! @ouchmyfeet. You certainly will dodge the chocolate cake. Perhaps consider one of the fab puds that prettybird puts together?

Those photos are incredible HalfShrunk and I am completely here for your user name on that shared drive thingy

Wow! @HalfShrunkMoreToGo you look amazing, you must be so proud of yourself .

Afternoon folks!

@TheGoodShipObvious if I get a choice, I always eat early and honestly after a while you don't get hungry later I promise!

@Covid10lbs I like that cheese tip - I often use Parmesan for that reason as it's so strong

@Random789 love your general enthusiasm for this! Also very impressed you are already managing better portion control I'm still shit at carrying on even though I'm full. Getting better though

@debka I'm a middle distance runner and everything is sooooo much easier on this woe! Sprints - not so great, but my distance runs are amazing. I don't eat before or during and it doesn't matter!!!

@BrassicaBabe Have a wonderful birthday!!!

@Timetobuckup now that is seriously impressive - please enjoy the very smug non hangover feeling

@nowlook that perspective on actually wanting your kids to lie as it gets you out of taxi duty is wonderful and very me and my benign neglect style

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner I did an amazing cheese based base for pizza which blew my mind! Shout if you fancy something different to the cauli base and I'll dig out the recipe I think it was a YouTube one

Wow, big catch up!

B: avo, Mayo, boiled egg, chilli oil
L: salmon, courgette, parsley salad with hm tsatsiki
D: something with celeriac, not too much dairy and FLGV - any ideas gratefully accepted!!!!

@FusionChefGeoff, I’d tend to go with a really nice steak, with or without garlic butter. Because it’s Friday.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo wow wow wow!

So inspiring, really incredible! You've really motivated me to get over the finish line with this lasy stone. Thank you.

*last

Oh @50FootWave this last goddamn stone is a killer. The first 2 seemed too easy, then it really slowed but this last one, by god it's clinging on for dear life. I have 9lb till I hit healthy BMI, 2st4lb till I hit what the online charts say is the 'ideal' weight for my height. I'm going to play that last goal by ear and see when I feel ready to stop, I think it will be when I'm comfortably in size 12 clothes or thereabouts. I can do up size 14 jeans now but they're not comfy yet so a little ways to go.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo  You're beautiful and check out that fabulous jaw line 

@ouchmyfeet You're here on Boot Camp, you're being supported by us and don't let anyone get in the way of you looking after yourself. You are worth it

Thanks for the solidarity folks 👊. I'm not always so down on myself, but that shame does linger in the background and I'm not surprised I'm not the only one. Having started this process with a BMI of 46, I'm inching closer to plain old regular obesity rather than the morbid variety so I will have a celebration when I reach there (15lbs to go).

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo you look amazing. Very inspirational. I know exactly what you mean about lockdown being a blessing. I think I'm just further behind you as I was so stressed about it all at the start that I spent 4 months eating and drinking everything in sight and put on the 2 stone I've just lost! I feel better for taking control of it with the last bootcamp. I'm anxious about restrictions ending as it feels like a loss of control over what I eat. Clearly it's not, there will just be more temptation around.

@FusionChefGeoff

I am very much bothered by their lack of cunning My parents were very protective and we lived in the sticks. By the time I was my eldest's age, I was getting dropped off at a friend's house 20 miles away, then immediately taking a train back to about a mile from home to "spend time" with my boyfriend.

Joking apart, they are not remotely streetwise, which does concern me. Hate the idea of them suddenly facing the big wide world in a couple of years

Wow @HalfShrunkMoreToGo - you look amazing.

Oh @ouchmyfeet I am so sorry to hear you are feeling so down. Weight / eating is so personal but so visible; there’s no way of hiding it. I am so ashamed of how I have let myself go during lockdown (I didn’t wear a coat all winter because I don’t have one that fits me) but I am determined now to make some changes for good and enjoy what is happening now rather than be desperately aiming for my target. Very much easier said than done though; I know it’s all going to be about digging down deep to maintain my resolve when it would be so much easier to let it all go . Thank you for sharing - stay strong today and tomorrow you will feel much better

HalfShrunkMoreToGo

WOW

Congratulations! and also, you're beautiful 😍

nowlook thanks very much for that, have just ordered one! Just need to check on carbs in a tin of tomatoes. Sounds delicious.

I've also found that M&S or Waitrose Chicken Saag Masala is surprisingly low in carbs, eat 2/3 with veg for Sat night treat

Hello hello!

Sorry for being awol. I have school hol malaise, and I went to the PUB yesterday!!! Stayed on plan, with halloumi fries with aioli dip, then a bunless, loaded Wagu Beefburger. Also homemade coleslaw. It was most epic.

@AthelstaneTheUnready I think I have over 50,000 unread e-mails e-mails. Oops.

@nowlook your roots are invisible! Also @JimmyJabs and @cheeseisthebest. I have gone full badger.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @BrassicaBabe!!  (virtual, therefore virtuous).

I'm envious of all your beautiful livestock. DS would love chickens, but our dogs would murder them.

@ouchmyfeet it made me sad reading your post: all that shame you carry. You are NOT your weight, you are you, and you deserve to be happy as you are. 

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo wow!

Having an ok day here today. Kids are back to school on Monday for the first time since March 2020, so we're girding our collective loins in the Jupp house.

Delurking to say how happy I am to be back on the low carb wagon and to post the courgette, ricotta and mint frittata I just made for lunch (recipe via a piece in today's Guardian on 17 ways with mint). Creamy and delicious.

I am at McDonalds with my DC devouring Happy Meals in the car . I don't care and although it is well past lunchtime for me I am not tempted at all. Sometimes I barely recognise myself these days !