Summer Low Carb mini-Bootcamp - week 3

[StuntNun]

Welcome to week 3 of our mini-Bootcamp. If you have been following strict Bootcamp then you can move to Bootcamp Light this week. This means you can eat when you're hungry rather than sticking to three meals a day, and you can re-introduce alcohol, low carb fruits, nuts and seeds, and dark chocolate in small quantities. Some people choose to stick with strict Bootcamp on weekdays and do Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Note that there is almost always a weight loss stall between weeks 3 and 5 of going low carb so do not worry if the scales don't drop this week or next. It's caused by a temporary increase in water retention and you will still be burning fat if you keep following the rules. If the lack of weight loss gets you down then remind yourself that this is to be expected and the scales will start moving again.

As always, here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness!

@legallyblond

I got starving earlier and had a snack of done pork scratchings…. What’s the official view of those?! A no no? I sometimes turn to them as an instant hit if on the floor with hunger

There's nothing wrong with pork scratchings, as long as they're not the overly processed ones.

But why are you 'on the floor' with hunger? If you're eating enough, and eating enough fat/drinking enough water (as well as keeping your carbs low) then you shouldn't be hungry between meals!

@venusandmars I just mean that when it’s been really long between meals and I’m really hungry. I don’t often snack but don’t react well to skipping meals and I often don’t get round to lunch because of meetings / work stuff until at least 2pm or often 3/4pm when I’m in the office, and by then I’m just really hungry after 6 of 7 or so busy hours without food, even if it’s been proper nourishing food at breakfast. No work today but i do still find that after about 7 hours without any food I’m sometimes quite suddenly on the floor blood sugar wise and need a quick hit while I prep / cook / or at work go into the next meeting.

@Oneborneverydecade I’m sorry. That’s really tough. That feeling of being let down is very, very hard and upsetting.

Sorry @BIWI , missed your post, but as I said, I’ve always had this drop in blood sugar. I eat 3x meals a day but long gaps of 6+ hours can quite suddenly cause a sudden drop for me. I recover pretty quick but have always had this almost dizzy feeling after about 7 hours of no found and just need a snack while I cook / fix something. I may be odd in that as I definitely eat enough at meals once I get there!

@Oneborneverydecade hope your ok

@Oneborneverydecade that sounds very very difficult. I hope you've got good RL support to work out next steps and boost you up

Thank you everyone

I'm am feeling a bit helpless rn, as beyond the steps we already had in place I'm not sure how to manage DH with money (not that I should have to). He/we are going to need counseling to understand his motivations to avoid it happening again

@Oneborneverydecade that’s a tough one. Hope you are ok. . I remember you posting about this issue on a previous BC.

I’m off to London today for a client meeting. Have prepped lunch in a little chill bag so that I’m prepared. Usual difficulty with what to wear particularly shoes as it’s only about the 4th time out for work in 18 months. Feet can’t hack formal shoes anymore. Definitely looking less polished than the old days but I would feel odd and uncomfortable dressed they way I used to for work. Will see if everyone else is in a suit.

It will also be interesting to observe how I feel about some of my old triggers when travelling for work. Buying snacks at stations/ on trains etc which I won’t be tempted by.

B black coffee
L left over frittata, home made red cabbage coleslaw with fennel, Greek yoghurt
D aubergine parmigiana with courgetti

I did a sneaky weigh in this morning and have have lost my holiday 2lb gain. I know it fluctuates, but I’m back on track at least.

Yesterday’s celeriac fries were amazing and I made a small dip of Greek yog with siracha sauce and it was delicious.definite keeper.

Thinking of steak for dinner and more of those celeriac fries and salad

L tuna Mayo salad
B Greek yog, raspberries and flax seed

That sounds tough @Oneborneverydecade, really hope you’ll be ok

@Jollyholibobsthe thought of wearing formal shoes now makes me shudder.

I have the most amazing work heels and clothes and they’ll probably never see the light of again.

Good luck

Packing today for our holiday tomorrow!

B: berries, Greek yog and keto granola
L: eggs, bacon and spinach
D: need to use up what’s in the fridge. I have chorizo, some celeriac and a bit of cauliflower. I’m thinking chorizo chilli with celeriac fries and cauliflower mash but any other suggestions are welcome!

Sorry haven’t kept up with messages, hope everyone is ok & doing well.
Have had a mega busy week & will be much the same next week, have weighed a bit early as won’t have access to scales over next few days, lost 3lbs so I’m very happy with that.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend & good results on Monday

12.5 today - lowest ever. I always weigh less on a Friday. Determined not to let it creep up (alcohol) by Monday

Lovely to see a mini bc for the summer. Bit late to party after dropping off last bc due to feeling overwhelmed with stress. Am back on wagon now but at the end of 2 back to back isolations so g he as been hit and miss with shopping!! Free tomorrow!

Oneborn I remember reading about your difficulties with DH debt last boot camp. I’m really sorry that the plan hasn’t stuck. Counselling seems a good shout to me. I once had help from StepChange charity - they were great and helped me to face up to finances and get back on track. Luckily nothing drastic. The thing that stuck out for me was that they helped me see that making poor financial choices wasn’t a moral failing. I wasn’t a bad person because of it. That helped my MH no end and I realised I did have that perception of debt as being wrong or stupid.
Sounds like you are bring a fantastic support to your DH. It must be so worrying look after yourself too.

@legallyblond

If you're eating enough, and if you're eating enough fat and protein, then you should easily be able to go for 6+ hours without your blood sugar dropping through the floor. (I'm assuming that you don't have some kind of diagnosed medical condition here?)

Looking at your food, I don't think you're eating enough, and there's scope to add more fat:

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs
Great - but why not try mashing these with butter and/or mayo? That will be more filling/sustaining

Lunch: day off do one of my favourites… baked Camembert with celery, radishes, bit of red pepper etc, plus some salad leaves with vinegrette. Also couple of slices of salami abs cured ham. So good… (children also had but they added oatcakes..)

If your children shared this, then you haven't really eaten very much of the cheese - and the rest of what you've eaten is relatively low in fat.

Dinner: stir fry beef strips with Greek salad
Obviously I don't know how you made this, but stir fries are generally pretty low in fat, and the type of beef that would work well in a stir fry is probably also low in fat. Did you have an oily dressing (and/or mayo?) on your salad?

This is not a low fat diet. You should be eating high fat, medium protein and low carb.

I think that in some ways the pandemic has been good for feminism - no more dressing up in stupid shoes and uncomfortable skirts when you've got used to being more relaxed and comfortable. However I also think that the whole wfh and homeschooling has put women back years... with so much of the mental load and family life being on their shoulders, while some dear, fragile men have the luxury of locking themselves away and being important

B - eggs
L - salad with tuna mayo
D - lamb and feta meatballs in tomato and veg sauce, broccoli and cauliflower in butter

Have you ever tried intermittent fasting Legallyblond? I used it to shed the last six pounds after a months-long stall. If you're feeling on the floor with hunger then you could still be insulin resistant and increasing the length of your overnight fast can help with that.

I was just eyeing up the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser trial thread, but would be too scared BIWI caught me signing up to be picked!

@Oneborneverydecade - that's so tough! Sending you lots of hugs and happy thoughts. A friend of mine works for CAP (christians against poverty, but absolutely not preachy and you don't have to be a christian to use their services) and I've heard great things about them from other people too. I think you ideally want to try and get as many outside people on board to help as possible, otherwise it ends up all on your shoulders and that's never a good thing for your mental health!

Since @StuntNun mentioned about leaving longer gaps between foods, I've been trialling a 16:8 type of intermittent fasting. In general, I am very successful on work days (4 days a week), but on my non-work days (Sat, Sun plus one day mid week) I've eaten breakfast, and sometimes also a snack, by 10.30! I know this is partly out of habit and I am working on it, but is there still benefit to me doing intermittent fasting a few days a week and not on other days?

On another note, my husband has requested we make home made burgers together at the weekend. I'd like to make his spicy and mine with absolutely no spice at all. Does anyone have any amazing recipes? His spicy ones don't need to be low carb

@FusionChefGeoff - I'm keen to try keto bread recipe you posted. The recipe says to use "almond flour". Is that ground almonds or another product entirely?

@pinknsparkly re: intermittent fasting, there are some studies which say that it is actually MORE effective to vary the pattern on intermittent fasting, so what you are suggesting sounds great (imo).

@BIWI This is a really helpful observation - thank you! I definitely thought I was eating high fat but I agree I could add more. I’m very liberal with the olive / avocado oil (so if you see salad, assume I’ve had lashings of oil!) and I guess I have thought that eating egg yolks, having this like salami, having plenty of oily dressing, cooking in lots of butter etc, all of which has come to be very normal to be over the last 20 months, is enough, but yes there is scope to add more and maybe that’s the problem. I do definitely still get blood sugar lows, albeit nothing like the crazy crashes I used to experience (to the point I was often dizzy - mind you I used to have an awful diet of silly restricting and blow out bingeing). Yesterday the Camembert would have been about 1/3 of the whole, and the salad was loaded with feta, olives and oil plus salad things, but maybe it is just a question of eating more and higher fat. I’ll give it a whirl.

@StuntNun I’ve always been wary of intermittent fasting but open to thinking about it given (I assume) it’s combined with really densely nutrient eating…

Is it essentially stopping eating early event and not eating breakfast until later?

Love all the celeriac fries being cooked. So good! Ultra good with aioli Mayo….

B: nowt
L: 2 x cheese and almond muffins with butter and peanut butter
D: meatballs, swiss chard, broccoli, lots of butter and EVOO

[quote pinknsparkly]@FusionChefGeoff - I'm keen to try keto bread recipe you posted. The recipe says to use "almond flour". Is that ground almonds or another product entirely?[/quote]
I THINK and i may be wrong that almond flour is what Americans call ground almonds. I always use ground almonds anyway.

@naemates

I was just eyeing up the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser trial thread, but would be too scared BIWI caught me signing up to be picked!