Week 2 - Jan 22 Low Carb Bootcamp Thread

[BIWI]

As I'm doing more and more often, I'm starting the next week's thread on a Sunday evening.

This is because, since I've retired, I am no longer controlled by the tyranny of my alarm clock, and so will often sleep too late on a Monday morning for all the keen Bootcampers!

I love the first post of week 2, because for all those who are new and/or are sceptics about low carbing, this is the point at which they may realise just how effective a low carb WOE can be.

Anyway, here is the spreadsheet, and I really look forward to seeing everyone's progress

for us all

Ohh, need to add cauliflower to my shopping list, as @QueenOfHiraeth and @NigellaAwesome have got me craving curried cauli soup now! Thanks for the recipe suggestions.

I really hope you can all find a way through your difficult IL situation @venusandmars it must be a constant worry for you all.

Janice Turner says in The Times today there is a glut of cauliflower.

@venusandmars you have my sympathy. Do you have access to a sympathetic social worker who could talk to your MIL.

Morning all - still keeping going here and it's become second nature now. I did have a bad wobble when I had awful PMT earlier in the week and was shakey and anxious and tired and knew I was in danger of falling off the wagon completely and buying chocolate so between work appointments I called at a tesco petrol station and got a punnet of strawberries and some extra thick double cream and sat in the car and dunked the strawberries in the cream one at time (holding the stalk) and ate them until I felt better and went to my next appointment. I know it wasn't ideal but definitely the lesser of so many potential evils available in the petrol station. The next day I was fine and PMT had abated and was back on it with little damage done.

I'm not really weighing as I find the fluctuations mess with my head and I can get easily demotivated so I try on my favourite skinny jeans every few days. Today I got them on and zipped up. They were very snug but I'm so happy to be back in them as I haven't had them past my knees in about a year until I joined the low carb bootcamp chat at the beginning of January.

Often with chicken I take the skin off after it's cooked. Then I lays it flat and cook it separately to have as a delicious snack all for me and not shared with any other chicken eaters

I did my first online grocery shop yesterday. Delivery today. I meant to shop yesterday but the day slipped away. I must check out my freezer and see what veg is there, the curried cauliflower soup sounds great.

Venus we had that with my mother. Yrs ago she and DF had made provision for NH care. DF died suddenly aged 71. DM in her 60s. She needed help in her 80s. Living rurally in big house. We visited, live in carers (she hated). Covid was awful as she had less visits and very little of the grandchildren. She was also developing dementia. Anyway she fell, fractured pelvis and wrist. She is in a NH now, aged 87 which would be better if her sister, who visits her once per year (max) wasn't advising her, over the phone, that she was well enough to go home. Getting old can be hard.

My food plans went to pot yesterday, the oven broke so we ended up with takeaway. I’ve never wanted pizza so much in my life but I had a chicken kebab with salad, Mayo and no bread. I was extremely proud and it felt like a real turning point.

Today is busy, it’s my day off work so I’ve got the tiny terror as my side kick all day. We’re going shopping and swimming so lots of time out and about which might be a challenge for food!

Morning everyone, I've been struggling these last few days but am still clinging on to the wagon by my fingernails. Am not hungry but I just want to EAT EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD. Am assuming it's hormonal as I'm not exactly a ray of sunshine to be around right now but, boy, I hope it passes soon.

B: not enough coffee (IF)
L: some kind of salad - tuna or feta maybe
D: cheesy crusted basa, veggies, butter

Am also not drinking enough water, don't know why I'm suddenly finding it so hard as I can normally chug down three litres no problem.

Euugghhh, off to give my head a wobble. KOKO everyone (ie me!!!)

@AllTheBlackCoffee I'm in the same boat this week (but peri-menopausal so never quite sure where my hormones are), I know it will pass but it's still dispiriting - trying to KOKO

@byebyecarbs great NSV!

I'm weighing and wish I hadn't (scales not moving this week), but I'm also still too scared to try my skinny jeans as I suspect they still might not make it past my knees and the disappointment would be awful.

I have some lymphedema under my arm this week and my socks are making a bit more of a mark on my ankles than is normal, hopefully hormone related and when it goes I'll get a whoosh!

Tonight's dinner will be a challenge. Normally make family meals which adapt easily for my LC plate without it looking like I'm having something totally different (often just swapping out the carbs for eggs), but for some inexplicable reason i promised to make the family lentil soup with homemade white rolls and bacon.

Morning all, just caught up with the past few days' thread at last.

Food intake for me has been a bit strange as my appetite seems to have fallen off a cliff. On Tuesday I didn't think about eating at all until about 5 when I remembered I was meeting friends for a meal in the evening.

And yesterday I made a salad with home-made coronation chicken (no grapes and tiniest bit of mango chutney) around 12.30ish - and never ate again for the rest of the day. When evening came around I just didn't fancy anything.

One thing I've started doing when I see recipes posted on this thread is to cut-and-paste them into an email and schedule to send to myself in a few days' time so each day I'm getting a reminder of a new recipe.

I cannot wait to try both cauliflower soups mentioned upthread. I'm going to use the glut of cauliflower rice I have in the freezer (not fussed on it as a rice or pasta substitute) as I presume the only difference is it will need less blending.

Quick question, Anyone else getting spots? My face has a few little sore ones is this all the badness coming out of me?

[quote StuntNun]@ditavonteesed roast them on a grill pan so the juices drip through the wire at 220C for 35-40 minutes. Make sure you spread the skin out so it will crisp up. If you want to marinade them, put them in a plastic bag or a container with a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic purée or powder, mixed herbs, extra basil (fresh if you have it is better.) I would also add a splash of balsamic vinegar but it's not essential if you're being strict. They don't need a long marinade; 20 minutes will do if that's all you have.[/quote]
Sorry yet again for the downer, but just a reminder that balsamic vinegar isn't allowed on Bootcamp! It's too sweet/carby.

@YesIcan3

Quick question, Anyone else getting spots? My face has a few little sore ones is this all the badness coming out of me?

Are you very bad @YesIcan3?!

It's probably something to do with hormones - it usually is. Maybe@StuntNun can advise more?

Last night I had a MASSIVE, and I do mean massive, plate of broccoli and asparagus in butter plus salad leaves with loads of mayo, celeriac dauphinoise and a cooked chicken breast. I can't believe I can get away with eating such massive portions. Should I be reining in the portion size a bit?

@BIWI hmm yeah I'd say enough for my children to notice

[quote YesIcan3]@BIWI hmm yeah I'd say enough for my children to notice [/quote]
The cruellest judges of all

@YesIcan3 sorry, I'm the opposite, my skin usually breaks out every month but it's been really good. The water seems to be helping.

It could be unrelated to LCBC so don't ignore it if it's getting bad.

Hope everyone is well today. So I started well this morning with some scramble eggs, roasted mushroom, tomatoes and some avocado. I do worry a little about my increase in egg consumption after being told forever that they are high in cholesterol…

Lunch wasn’t quite so successful because my DH tried to do a nice thing by making me soup for lunch…but it was spicy roasted parsnip soup. He doesn’t know the ins and outs of boot camp rules so thought this would be perfect! I didn’t have the heart to throw his nice gesture back in his face so had a very small bowl. It was lovely but tarnished slightly by the knowledge it was against the rules!

Oh well. Onwards we go…!

@StuntNun can give the best succinct explanation why the cholesterol in eggs is not bad for you. 

She's also good at explaining hormones which might explain the extra spottiness that @YesIcan3 is experiencing (I think @BIWI 's tag didn't work )

Booo have now tested positive for covid myself ( husband been Ill all week).

Any tips?

@DollyDingleberry - today is my day off work with the tiny tornado too! Hope you're managing to do ok food wise so far. We went to toddler group this morning and as per usual, during toddler snack time they also produced apple and orange juice plus baked goods for the parents. This week it was a ridiculously deliciously smelling fudgy brownie My daughter is definitely on board with me low carbing as it means she gets my brownie while I congratulate myself on my willpower to resist Attending toddler group during intermittent fasting is a bad idea though. I think I'm going to stop trying to do it on Thursdays and just make sure I eat breakfast before the group from now onwards!

@missfliss - Dh and I had it at the start of November - just a few weeks before we were due our booster . Neither of us got it badly - just chilled in front of the TV for a week - but the main bit of advice I'd is to take it easy afterwards.

We both found that we were quite breathless even going for a walk around the local pond (once we were "allowed" out again), something we re-instated as we'd got out of the habit of going for our daily walk.

I eased myself back into rugby training and after about 4 weeks felt fine.

Dh, on the other hand, still has some residual breathlessness.

@CoffeeChocolateWine PrettyBird is right, @StuntNun will be along soon, I’m sure which a proper explanation about cholesterol. However I was very struck by the visual imagery of one of her explanations that cholesterol has a protective effect, and so when it shows up in arteries, it is because damage has already been done, and it is trying to fix it. The analogy was that you frequently see paramedics at the scene of bad accidents, so there is a link between paramedics and accidents, but the paramedics didn’t cause the accidents, they are there to sort out the mess afterwards.

Thanks @prettybird - had an awful illness before Xmas and took a month to get over that properly ! Gah!

Any tips for bootcamp or for next week bootcamp blight comfort foods ?!?

Bootcamp Blight? Is it really that bad?!