Week 3 - Leaving Lockdown Bootcamp

[BIWI]

As ever here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

I rather suspect, given the confessions/visits by Cathy Twat, that a lot of Bootcampers aren't going to have much luck on the scales at the end of this week.

As I've warned, cheating really won't help - and this is a very unforgiving WOE. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that you will be lucky, and will see a good result on the scales, however. Or with the tape measure - or that you're fitting into your clothes better.

So now you have a choice

After the first two strict weeks of Bootcamp you can, if you wish, move on to Bootcamp Light. This means that you can re-introduce some fruit (mainly berries) and some nuts/seeds, and alcohol in moderation - and restricted to dry wine and clear spirits.

BUT

... you also need to remember/know that weeks 3 & 4 are notorious for seeing little or no weight loss - sometimes you may even see a slight gain.

So it's up to you if you want to relax things.

If you haven't been totally on plan over the last week, I strongly recommend that you stay on strict Bootcamp for another week

If you feel you're ready to move on, then you can go to full-on Bootcamp Light, or you could consider a hybrid - so strict Bootcamp during the week and then Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Whatever your choice, I hope that week 3 is kind to you!

Please, please, please remember that this week/next week are our infamous 'Doldrums' and so don't be disappointed if you don't see any losses on the scales

This is also another good reason why you should be taking your measurements - the scales might not be moving, but your body shape may well be changing.

Anyway, whatever you decide, good luck!

Hi everyone. Checking back in after what has been the longest day.
DS surgery this morning, he was the 2nd to go down, sat for four hours with no food or drink. Horrible to have to try explain to a 2yo. So i didnt eat because he couldnt, when he went down I wandered to the M&S and bought a salad and some chicken. There was no dressing so just had it as it was.
When we came home, i cooked a full chicken and had that with salad and coleslaw, mayo & cheese. DH had bought a baguette and I rammed a slice into my face sorry all Cathy Twat paid a visit. It was totally mindless aswell.
Need to up the water for the rest of the week, i couldnt drink too much as didnt want to be back and forth leaving him alone.
I need to go to bed really but i’m too wired!

@MrsKoala you look amazing. I am also rather generous is calf. Ted and muffy if they are still running, do different calf sized boots!

@ListenLinda how did the surgery go? Hope he’s feeling ok, and for you all

@OnceUponAMidnightBeery it went really well thank you, he is fine now and fast asleep in bed. Its amazing how much they can eat in a short space of time! 😂 i’ve just spent the last hour cutting holes out of nappies to make things easier for him next few days, I just can’t switch off.

Oh Linda, bet you are very glad that's over with now.
Love the beaut dress x
Stuntnun hope your eye feels better soon.

Poor you @StuntNun

I had a scratched cornea once and it's bloody. painful Don't know how it happened, but the pain started as I was catching a 6am plane from Glasgow to London for an important meeting (it was also just as the Icelandic financial crisis was starting, so I was fielding concerned calls about that as I had a major Icelandic customer ). Took out the contact lens in that eye (fortunately could cope with just the one) but had to survive all day with the pain. Tried the pharmacy at Glasgow Airport when I got back at about 8pm and they told me to go to the Vision Express in Braehead. They refused to see me as I'd been to another optician for an eye test within the previous year Went home and asked my downstairs light neighbour (both GPS) and she told me to go to A&E at the Southern, which I got to at 10pm

To be fair, they saw me quite quickly (a Monday night, so therefore quite quiet, unlike say, a Friday night).

Worst thing was that the following day I was back at the airport to go to Manchester for 2 days of interviews for "my" job, which I had to do with a swollen eye, eye drops and lots of painkillers My company had been taken over and overlapping roles were having l to have interviews to see who would be made redundant - which ultimately I was although I "survived" an extra 4 months compared to my boss

You deserve your wine!

Today

Breakfast cheese slices watercress cream cheese

Lunch mozzarella omelet & spinach

Dinner some bolognaise-y sauce - pork & beef mince small amount Tom sauce. With courgetti.

Ouch! Last time I had a very itchy eye it turned out to be conjunctivitis. 2 hours later the whole ‘white’ of my eye was red, and couldn’t open it the next day. So glad that was an event at which many photos were taken

I’ve got a patch made of wet loo roll on my eye in most pics, and look like a cheap-arsed pirate 🏴‍☠️ 🤦🏻‍♀️

@ElasticFirecracker I have yet to try courgetti, I imagine it to be somewhat soggy? I’ll have a wander through the recipe threads for inspiration, thanks for the idea.

How did it work for you?

I had a big work event today, working until 1am last night and up at 5am - so didn’t get around to posting meals yesterday.

Yesterday
B: Arabian Nights yoghurt (lemon, pistachios, dried rose petals), coffee with cream
L: egg Mayo with smoked salmon and salad
S: bunless burger with blue cheese and salad

Today: making do with what I could eat at the event:
B: bacon (taken out of bacon roll)
L: chicken and salad (taken out of wrap)
Snack of nuts (which I was trying to avoid this week but it was the only low carb snack in the service station coming home and the above was a bit meagre without the bread!)
S: veggie stir fry with broth (I could have done with something more filling but DD kindly cooked for me as I was shattered.

Going to sleep now!

Oh no @StuntNun eye pain is horrible I've been 'lucky' enough to be born with a bum eye which has needed a couple of surgeries. If you find it more comfortable to have your eye closed you can use the micro pore tape you get in the chemist for sticking bandages together and just tape your eye lid closed.

Will never forget the sensation of blinking after having stitches in my eye ball. That wasn't a lot of fun.

Whether for good or bad, I did a sneaky weigh in and it wasn't kind so the protein bars have to go. They are low carb but not low calorie, so hardly help with weight LOSS.

Hello I'm still here just failing to check in as work very full on. Have read the thread but too tired to hold names / comments in my head to reply.

The veggie curry recipe looks lovely. Although I think adding the spice mix to the frying veg would give it an even bigger oomph as it's supposed to help release the flavour before you add the liquid

I am so sorry for those of you who are struggling with medical problems, surgery and everything else life is throwing at us. I found a pea sized lump between my right boob and armpit yesterday. Bloody Drs was closed for training by the time I got through today so it's number one priority tomorrow morning. They've been really good throughout the pandemic we're very lucky so I'm confident they'll whizz me through the process. Trying not to think about it at the moment.

I did have a cheeky wee on a ketosis stick this morning which showed a big fat negative which was a bit depressing. I know vast quantities of liquid make them unreliable but when I used them when I first started they were showing up so I guess my weekend binge is still haunting me. Despite running 8 miles since and being very strict.

I'm still KOKO though

B: none 16:8
L: green soup with soured cream, 2 eggs mashed with butter
D: celeriac dauphinois with cabbage, bacon and mushrooms. Slice buttered cheese with cucumber.

2.5l of water
3 teas with USAM
Large pot fresh ginger and lemon tea
Yogi Himalaya tea
Black coffee
Green tea with lemon
Chamomile tea

Also checking in and trying not to lurk but failing miserably. Sunday was a shocking food day for me, total self sabotage and I’m still pulling it back.

Massively struggling to drink enough and this has been a constant battle.

But. Not giving up, trying to make conscious choices and remind myself of the consequences of every food choice I make. I don’t have half of what some of you guys are dealing with so I take my hat off. My struggles are tame in comparison and pretty typical of my demographic- stupid stressful full time career and 2 beautiful but ridiculously high maintenance kids - 18 months and 4.

[quote OnceUponAMidnightBeery]@ElasticFirecracker I have yet to try courgetti, I imagine it to be somewhat soggy? I’ll have a wander through the recipe threads for inspiration, thanks for the idea.

How did it work for you?[/quote]
Hmm. It's OK.... It is soggy if you cook it too much.

It's quite a good way of eating a pasta sauce without pasta. I really like it with a pesto sauce.

The worst thing is washing up the spiraliser.

I often slice courgettes long-wise and make batons to have with a sauce which I really like.

@ChoosandChipsandSealingWax
Arabian nights sounds fantastic.

Do you make it yourself? What is the recipe?

@Keeva2017 for water, do you have a desk based job? I have an old Fentimans bottle which holds 750ml and a small glass (100ml ish - kids one!). I put 4 hair bobbles around the neck every morning.

I put the bottle and glass next to me and literally every time I look at it I take a drink / neck what's in the glass.

Or, at the weekend, I keep in the kitchen and every time I walk into the kitchen I do the same.

When I refill the bottle, I put a bobble on my wrist so I can see how much I've done / left to go.

If I go out anywhere even click and collect (!) I now always take a 500mlSports bottle to sip on.

@FusionChefGeoff I would never get any prizes writing a cookery book. You are quite right. The spices go in early in the process. 😀Throwing some on the roast veg helps too. I buy spices in large catering packs. Much cheaper so you can be generous. Sous chef are good online

@FusionChefGeoff just read the rest of your post. Thinking of you this morning

I love courgettes but find courgetti a disappointing soggy mess. Perhaps I over cook it. Not sure, but my preferred pasta substitute is leeks or cabbage (or both) fried in butter. It doesn't look like pasta but it's delicious with tomato sauce and meatballs which is a family favourite here. I find it quite hard to adapt the kids favourite meals so that we can eat together as my lot are big carb fans so pasta and meatballs is one I do quite a bit as I can make it work for me too

Hi everyone, struggling to keep up with posting here too. Stressful job which I'm trying to leave and they're trying to make me stay in, kids, the rest of it!
Food is going fine though, just keeping on going. I could definitely do with drinking more water. I probably do about 2 litres but I also drink about 2 litres of tea and coffee, too

[quote ElasticFirecracker]@ChoosandChipsandSealingWax
Arabian nights sounds fantastic.

Do you make it yourself? What is the recipe?[/quote]
Oh it's just me giving it a fancy name really! I like the whole "Temple Food" (as Nigella calls it in How to Eat) psychology - and also spoiling myself with exotic food "holidays"!

Greek yoghurt (I put lemon juice in but you could have it without if you prefer it sweeter or have some rose water if not sugary) with crushed pistachios and dried or fresh rose petals. Optional extras depending on whether you're being careful with nuts: tahini/nut butter, chia seeds, flax seed.

@FusionChefGeoff I hope you get to see a doctor quickly
@StuntNun ouch. Hope eye is better this morning
@OnceUponAMidnightBeery I like courgetti. I use a julienne peeler as less faff and then fry in oil or butter. Or raw with tuna, olives, capers, mayo and lemon.
Peeler: www.johnlewis.com/oxo-good-grips-julienne-peeler/p231906873?sku=231906873&s_ppc=2dx92700055668748920&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CjwKCAjwj6SEBhAOEiwAvFRuKJhGE7NKgZ-uB1lzAbuAkpIXNzXZ5Pz0JnFs2MEbKf6vCuPecwVsGBoCePYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@Covid10lbs good idea to drop the bars. Processed things are rarely worth it. Your two chicken thighs might be the same cals but lower carbs and significantly healthier.

My no snacking wasn't perfect yesterday. I was proper hungry in the evening. I mindfully ate a sensible piece of chicken and cheese off a plate. I don't eat breakfast so considering this my 3rd meal. I have lost more weight this morning so feel OK. Trying to focus on hunger and not being a fridge hoover.

Today:
L green soup and some chicken
D cheese, mushroom and ham omelette
and big salad
Swimming

Hopefully no snack as I will eat later.

@ouchmyfeet

I love courgettes but find courgetti a disappointing soggy mess. Perhaps I over cook it. Not sure, but my preferred pasta substitute is leeks or cabbage (or both) fried in butter. It doesn't look like pasta but it's delicious with tomato sauce and meatballs which is a family favourite here. I find it quite hard to adapt the kids favourite meals so that we can eat together as my lot are big carb fans so pasta and meatballs is one I do quite a bit as I can make it work for me too

@ouchmyfeet cabbage and leeks is a good idea.

I find you don't really need to cook the courgetti if you put a really hot sauce on it. My main objection to it is the faff factor.

I was feeling slightly smug because I hadn't been missing crisps/wine. But had massive cravings for these last night in my usual carb craving slot.

I've been trying to just sit with the uncomfortable feelings that are the cravings and rude it out till it passes and not try to think of a substitute. It's quite hard.

Overall I'm really delighted that I've lasted this long and feel like I'm getting better at it. I've never been successful with very low carb before because I think I found it hard to eat enough. So thanks again for the support and company.

Off to the gym for a slow run now.

Completely failed in my intention to go for an early morning brisk walk. Since it's not helpful for me to set tasks that I won't meet, I think I'll find a different way of meeting the Move it May challenge. Perhaps by walking after work.

When the children were small I would bounce out of bed and take the dog for a jog before they got up. These days it takes me ages to wake up properly.

Yesterday's food:

1 coffee with cream for breakfast
L: Scrambled eggs with fried cappage and a tin of sardines
D: Lamb fried with random spices and a spoon of greek yoghurt; boiled cabbage with butter.

15g 100% chocolate for evening treat.

For some reason I'm finding it harder to keep up with the water. I wanted to go up to 3l but in fact I only just managed 2.