Week 5 - Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Welcome to Week 5!

Here's the spreadsheet

Hopefully we can now put the horrible weeks 3 & 4 behind us, and get on with the serious job of shedding the pounds of fat

By now, hopefully, low carbing eating should feel like it's the 'new normal', and you should be getting used to it. However, there's also the opposite danger, that you're seeing carbs creeping back into your menus.

This is a good time to take stock. Have a think about the things you've been eating over the last week and ask yourself if they are really 'in the spirit' of Bootcamp. Are you really keeping your carbs low, and focused mainly on vegetables and salad? Are you really eating enough fat? And, perhaps most importantly, are you drinking all the water?

From now on, you should see the scales move again - albeit that the weekly loss should be in the range of 1-2lbs a week (possibly more if you have a lot to lose).

I really hope that you are finding that you're settling into this WOE, and that you're enjoying the food, not feeling deprived, and are seeing the scales/tape measure reflect your commitment.

At the end of this week we will be half way through Bootcamp!

When my stick blender broke (I use it all the time for soups) I got one, from the supermarket that had a whisk attachment, some kind of masher thing, and a food processor. I use the f-p for cauli rice, grated carrots and finely grated onion for burgers, meatballs etc. Everything else I go all kitchen meditation and peel and chop by hand. I've never used the masher thing, so I might just put that out. I'm a real woose with the mandolin, and terrified of slicing my hand so I have an old and shredded oven glove that I use.

dh moved in 30 years ago with a kenwood mixer. I used the liquidiser a couple of times (but the stick blender quickly took over that role). dh threatens to make bread or cakes, but nothing ever happens. I doubt I can persuade him to part with the antique though so it languishes in the garage covered in cobwebs.

However, I think the pasta maker and the ice-cream maker (also languishing in the garage) are redundant for this woe, and might find themselves on a trip to the recycling centre very soon.

Envious of the successful HOMEMADE mayo @FusionChefGeoff. Was it BIWIs all in one method? I keep writing the recipe down and then never get around to do it.

Had lovely buttery spinach topped with the microwave poached eggs. Lovely!

I have a nutribullet type blender for spice pastes and pancake batters and a stick blender for sauces, soups and swede and celeriac ‘mash’.

@ouchmyfeet I sympathise on the water! I am also in the 4.5l zone, and it is SO HARD.

My lunch today: asparagus spears from the garden

I’m so jealous you grow asparagus prettybird I love it so much, it’s such a seasonal treat. I don’t buy it imported as I am trying to shop more ethically and I think it doesn’t taste as good anyway.

My mum is coming over tomorrow and I’m thinking of cooking salmon as I seem to have a freezer of those skinny fillets (which I eat about 3 of!). But not sure what to do. She doesn’t like creamy sauces and we are having a Thai green curry tonight with low carb noodles so I don’t fancy anything like that again. Any nice salmon suggestions anyone?

Thanks all for the good teen mental health wishes.
I feel I have misled however, my job is working with teens in a school and at the moment so many of them are seriously struggling. We have had a specific event happen as well so it is even worse at the minute.

Hence my uptake in gin.......

I am off for a walk in the bluebells to try and shake some of the day off.

@Timetobuckup ' for you so you don't have to pick the bluebells I am very glad that there are people like you around to support our youngsters. When my dc was self-harming and suicidal there was no suitable help available. School said it was too serious for them, adult psych services wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. It felt like a long, lonely, hard time (and must have felt much worse for dc ).

Fortunately that was years ago and dc is balanced, well adjusted and a brilliant parent.

@prettybird when my parents tried to grow asparagus in Scotland, they harvested it every year and put it in the freezer. It took 3 years to get a meal out of it. You must have more plants, or it's global warming!

@mrskoala I wrap salmon in proscuitto, pan fry it on one side then stick the pan in the oven. The proscuitto stops the fish from drying out. I serve it with oven baked tomatoes (doused in herbs and olive oil), buttered spinach and some kind of other green veg.

Or a sort of salmon 'kedgeree' with shredded cabbage rice. Boiled eggs, spring onions, curry flavours...

@venusandmars - those are the first only two harvestable spears I have so far from my 8 or 10 crowns (3 or 4 years since I put them in) Fortunately dh is not that keen on them

I'm going to make a concerted effort to feed them this year.

Remember, they're in a raised bed and we have the 2 extra degrees from being in a city , so both factors should help eventually

I do those skinny salmon fillets in the oven mrskoala, with a topping of cream cheese mixed with a garlic clove and squeeze of lemon and topped off with grated Parmesan to form a crust.

That sounds so tough venus, glad your dc has come out the other side. So many kids have had the toughest time and I’m glad there are people like timetobookup to provide support.

Glad the clinic visit went well nowlook.

Can I have some advice please? Having a bit of a down day and not sure I’m doing this right. I’ve spent my life calorie counting so I’m concerned that without tracking anything I’m going off plan.

One of the things that has thrown me is reading the carbs on the Sainsburys frozen med veg bag. I reckon I have about 200g frozen as a portion. I don’t understand how the carb count is so high (15.7g per 100g) when it’s mainly courgette and aubergine?! Unless that’s 100g in weight after cooking 🤷‍♀️

Today I’ve eaten:
B: 2 poached eggs, 2 pieces streaky bacon
L: chicken salad (chicken breast, slice of cheddar, 60g Sainsburys TTD coleslaw and lettuce).
D: 2 small lamb kebabs, halloumi (about 1/3 block) and 1/3 bag of roasted veg plus 1/2 courgette.
2l water.

Thank you!

@Timetobuckup I can’t answer for teenagers but I’m a psychotherapist and have seen a huge change in my adult clients with this lockdown. Folk who were coping ok in the first lockdown have found this time round very hard going, I’ve also seen a surge in referrals since lockdown lifted. I think the second one has been harder because it’s been winter, folks Christmas plans were thwarted, and this time round there wasn’t the same novelty factor keeping people going. The levels of isolation and ongoing anxiety on a societal level about health has also had a real impact.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see teen mental health taking a battering both in lockdown and in the return to school, which I know has been anxiety provoking for kids I know, including my own.

In other news, in knackered today - couldn’t sleep last night until around 1.00 and my DS came into our bed about 2.00am which woke me up again, and I couldn’t settle back to sleep. What I’ve realised is the more tired I am, the more hungry I am too so I’m trying very hard not to go rogue on the carb front. Lots of low carb snacks but I’m craving sugar - probably for the energy hit.

@Chunkymonkey123 those values are for cooked vegetables so it's probably just that cooking releases so much water it makes the carb content much higher. I can't see how you could go wrong with aubergine, courgette and bell peppers, they're all low carb staples.

@Chunkymonkey123

Can I have some advice please? Having a bit of a down day and not sure I’m doing this right. I’ve spent my life calorie counting so I’m concerned that without tracking anything I’m going off plan.

One of the things that has thrown me is reading the carbs on the Sainsburys frozen med veg bag. I reckon I have about 200g frozen as a portion. I don’t understand how the carb count is so high (15.7g per 100g) when it’s mainly courgette and aubergine?! Unless that’s 100g in weight after cooking 🤷‍♀️

Today I’ve eaten:
B: 2 poached eggs, 2 pieces streaky bacon
L: chicken salad (chicken breast, slice of cheddar, 60g Sainsburys TTD coleslaw and lettuce).
D: 2 small lamb kebabs, halloumi (about 1/3 block) and 1/3 bag of roasted veg plus 1/2 courgette.
2l water.

Thank you!

Well, it's plainly bollocks, isn't it? They list the ingredients as being only courgette, aubergine, red pepper and yellow pepper. That just cannot mathematically come to that number.

Yes @Moonswimmer it's a killer! Was supposed to be on 5l when I started bootcamp but that much water knocked my electrolytes out and just made me feel ill, I feel much better on 4-4.5 so will try to keep that up as I shrink.

It's doable but it really needs me to concentrate on it all day and consciously drink when I'm not thirsty. I find it much harder at the weekends when I'm not sitting at my desk all day and have lots to do. I'm sure it's linked to the fact that I always seem to put on or stop losing at the weekend, even when my food is right.

Waterlogged app recommended by a PP is good but it's still a big effort to actually consume it all!

Just sharing my joyous fast food- cheeseburger pie and green beans, both from frozen.

Stealing RShards salmon recipe for tomorrow as I always bake it plain and that sounds like a simple improvement.

Those salmon dishes sound good!
I have 2 large freshly caught frozen trout fillets in my freezer. 2 pieces stuck together and no one else wants it.
Any suggestions?

@venusandmars it was! And honestly soooo simple or I just massively fluked it first time

I eat a LOt of Mayo on this woe and although the Aldi one is low carb this version is obviously better.

And I'm so sorry I can't remember who first suggested the saag paneer omelette - but will you marry me?!??

Best thing I have tasted in a very long time and took bout 4 minutes to throw together when I was a) starving and at risk of snacking and b) knackered after another bonkers work day.

I also tried having my 'dessert' as an afternoon pick me up as I often force yoghurt / cream / rhubarb / berry type things down later even though I'm full but because I was really looking forward to eating them! So this way I get to eat them - when I'm hungry - and get a longer fast too.

Thank you!!!

Ref yhee we'd frozen med veg scandal- I'm a bit dubious about some of the Aldi foodie market carb counts. I've got some linseed mix which is apparently 1.9g per 100g yet contains 50% sunflower seeds, 30% linseed and 20% pumpkin seeds which are all a good bit more than that- maybe 20g/6g/15g respectively?!!

I actually queried something once with the manufacturer (might have been a nut butter) and got short shrift. I do recall the carb count on the too-lovely-to-be-true Onken set yogurt increasing too. It's frustrating when you think it's meant to be "science" but then even calories are debatable I think!

I bought a Kind dark choc and sea salt nut bar for after my lunch (salad, chicken, mozzarella & sun dried toms) and was full enough to put it in my bag and bring it home!
Not sure about the carb count of the sundried tomatoes, i didn’t check. Hopefully not too bad, dressed in oil so doubled as my salad dressing.

Shredded my feet today wearing new shoes to walk in while dropping kids off and getting to train station. Terrible idea, feeling very sorry for myself. I had hobble to the water cooler

Also, just been offered a discount on Renpho scales, I think they have been in my Amazon basket too long!
I know they have been discussed on here before, but are they really worth it? Or should I stick with my £10 supermarket ones until they totally pack in?!

Jamie Oliver mushroom curry was delicious. Have added that to my recipe book. Looking forward to trying the aubergine curry Thanks @venusandmars and @Bestbees

Thank you all

@venusandmars Thankfully I work in a school that absolutely tries its best but sadly we are not CAMHS professionals and at the moment we feel like we need to be.

@nowlook yes it really does feel worse, not surprisingly after this year. I always think which year of my social life would I miss out on? It is never my teen years. They should be the best an most fulfilling.

@Jellycatspyjamas Could you please clone yourself ? Young people who we worried about when they were at a 7/10 on the scale of anxiety/depression/suicide/self harm/feeling shite are clearly now off the scale but then the students who were a bit wobbly at a 4 or a 5 are now at the 7!

Anyway, I have been with the bluebells and am about to eat and then face the day again tomorrow .

I have salter scales that can do fancier things but I can’t work them out so just use to weigh...

You're right @Timetobuckup. I'd miss out a year in the early 80s when every weekend was a village barn dance with my parents