Summer Low Carb Mini Bootcamp - week 6

[Oneborneverydecade]

Morning and welcome to week 6 - our final week! Hopefully we'll see some great loses this week.

If you need a quick reminder of the light rules @stuntnun kindly included them in the week 5 thread.

I'm hopeful that with my kids back at school today I'll find it easier to focus (although I'm dreading the school run).

[[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1skj8YR9swAyjNR1zNoU-BVBUx8VsZoQbrRwAqNoNwj8/edit?usp=drivesdk spreadsheet of fabulousness]]

Please let this work, if not you know the intention was there :-)

I realised something yesterday...I now can not stand 85% dark choc- of any quality

My cod theory is that I did t even attempt faux sweet this time around - I didn’t have any truvia,. So my taste buds and craving having completely gone and I can’t actually stand choc any more.

Last time and previous times before that I used truvia as my ‘pudding’ alternative and so my love for sweet never really disappeared. Something word has gone on this time. Every time o try a chunk of Lindt it tastes gross and I feel rank afterwards.

The only sweet I can eat now are berries. Very weird.

@ditavonteesed I used to get days like that, it was almost a physical thing. HRT was the way forward for me.

Weighed today and 1.5lb up🙈 had sons confirmation at weekend and ate off plan.
Back on it yesterday
First week of gain since I started.
Down 24lb since April happy with that.
@ditavonteesed do you know the trigger of your anger, mine is definitely my teenagers a when they change plans.
I like to make plans and stick to it within reason.
Teenagers don't think when they change their plans that it affects you like if you have to drop them off collect them or if you have made food and they say I'll eat when I'm out and then ask for money for takeaway 🙈

I just made a faux pastrami salad sandwich! Genius!

Yes it can ditavonteesed and there's a good menopause topic on here if you need to chat about symptoms.

Just checking in. Down 2lb last week. It helps that schools are back and I'm mad busy!

@ditavonteesed I didn’t get the rage but lack of sleep almost destroyed me. I was so tired, got anxious and could have burst into tears mid afternoon. I was running a business in a pandemic and had to work really long hours. I started HRT patches and was back to normal in 3 weeks.I just felt bright however it is definitely not for everyone. It seems to cause a lot of arguments on here. I think if you just need to find what works for you.. I am under a lot of stress at the moment but feel calm and ready to deal with in. My skin is great too. We have osteoporosis in the family so I am hoping it helps with that .
After two weeks travelling the length and breadth of England and Wales I am a pound heavier than when I started this boot camp. Eating in restaurants and with family had very few low carb options so I just thought sod it. Have whatever looks good. I am at my goal weight from the last boot camp but want to lose a bit more. I have been back on schedule since Monday morning.

I managed to push through to an 18 hour fast today and then had a lovely "picky" lunch consisting of random low carb fridge bits. I wasn't even slightly jealous of my husband's cheese and ham sandwiches! I think I might be finally settling into this WOE and viewing it as a WOE rather than a deprivation diet!

That's promising @pinknsparkly!

What did you have?? Always keen for ideas for the fridge.

I've just had a fried halloumi a d roasted veg a d feta salad.

I’ve been very distracted today and forgot about lunch. Just made a roast chicken salad and loads of Mayo. V stuffed.

Can someone give me a quick run down on why people fast? I generally go from dinner between 5-8 pm to breakfast at 10. I do t get hunger pangs or cravings. Does that mean I’m fasting and something is working or is just the principles of LC anyway?

Dellabob123 5-8 p.m. until 10 a.m. is a 14-17 hour fast so you're already doing intermittent fasting. 16:8 intermittent fasting can be helpful for weight loss, especially if you're near your ideal weight and you've had a long stall. It's especially beneficial in people with type 2 diabetes as it improves insulin sensitivity independent of diet so combining it with low carb is a double-whammy in the treatment of diabetes. There are other benefits such as helping to shed visceral fat (the dangerous fat around the organs), reducing inflammation and oxidative stress (damage caused by free radicals), lowering blood pressure. It could also potentially increase your lifespan, reduce your cancer risk, and lower your risk of dementia but these are theoretical since no long-term studies have been carried out. In general, though, I think most people use intermittent fasting to manage their weight and the health benefits are an added bonus. I find that I don't get so hungry when I don't eat breakfast so 16:8 makes it a lot easier for me to eat healthily.

@Dellabob123 - the reason I'm trying fasting is because it's been shown to help lower blood glucose levels. My blood glucose levels are actually the main reason I joined this bootcamp (though any weightloss will definitely be a bonus!).

My (very limited) understanding is that to get to the point where you benefit from fasting, you need to have at least a 12 hour period of not eating, which you are doing. So you're benefitting from being in a fasted state. I was previously having a milky cup of tea first thing in the morning, and would have a snack before bed (plus something to eat in the night if I woke up hungry) so never went more than a maximum of about 10 hours between eating!

@FusionChefGeoff - I had a big pile of salad veggies (cherry tomatoes, cucumber, half an avocado) with lemon juice and olive oil, plus cocktail sausages and a couple of breaded chicken poppers stolen from my husband that I dipped in a left over sour cream and chive dip

Thank you for the info It’s so interesting.

Well done for finding your trigger @pinknsparkly. Are you seeing a drop in your hunger levels now you’ve identified?

Thanks @Dellabob123. If I can sort out my blood sugar, then I think I might look back on it as a blessing as I personally find it much easier to commit to this WOE when it's for distinct health reasons (i.e. "I don't want to develop diabetes") rather than vague "to lose weight and look better". I have experienced a drop in my hunger, particularly at night. When I'm physically at work, I can often get through to 10 or 11am before I even realise I've not eaten yet but when I'm at home (like today) it's a totally different story! But that demonstrates that it is a head hunger due to habit rather than a physical starvation issue. So it gave me the push to make myself get through to 10.30 (when my fasting window ended) and then I fairly happily carried on fasting until 12.30.

This is probably a really stupid question, but is there any way to tell if you have visceral fat?

Sadly I don't think there is an easy way @Dellabob123 - I remember watching a TV show by Michael Moseley (of the 5:2 diet fame) talking about the concept of being a TOFI (Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside). Meaning that you could be a size 8 but have a large amount of fat around your organs if you're unhealthy, whereas a much larger person could be larger because they have lots of subcutaneous fat but not as much of the dangerous visceral fat

Ah yes - the skinny fat syndrome!

I need quick ideas to go with some minted lamb kebabs. I have all the veg but lacking ideas. Doing for dinner tonight so hit me with your best ones!

@Dellabob123 I would probably have buttery cauliflower rice with the kebabs

Just adding now. UP .2lb. But that's ok as I had a big drop last week. Good and bad days here, but onward.

@Dellabob123

This is probably a really stupid question, but is there any way to tell if you have visceral fat?

Yes you need to measure your waist:height ratio. Your weight should be 50% of your height or less although in older people a larger waist measurement is acceptable.

Ooh, thanks @StuntNun
I may give that a try...quietly mind

@Dellabob123

Ah yes - the skinny fat syndrome!

I need quick ideas to go with some minted lamb kebabs. I have all the veg but lacking ideas. Doing for dinner tonight so hit me with your best ones!

Sorry but late but we have fried peppers and onions with oregano and then add halloumi and homemade tsasiki.

Family stuff it all into pitta bread and I have on salad.

If I'm lucky there would be a bulk pot of roasted Med veg in the fridge to add to it

Thanks @FusionChefGeoff that sounds delicious. I will do that tomorrow now as I ended up having curry instead!

I just did the test @StuntNun....I’m pleasantly surprised

I'd recommend making a nice lot of tsatsiki as it goes really well with quite a lot of things and if you've got proper fat Greek yoghurt it's very compliant