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

Gave blood, didn't have the weird drink that probably has sugar in or any of the snacks, but I did drink a litre of water while I was there

Breakfast - Creamy coffee
Lunch - as previously mentioned (basically loads of yummy leftovers)
Dinner - sausage casserole over a bed of steamed savoy cabbage.

Treating myself to another creamy coffee as I didn't have a snack after giving blood. Can't do yoga tonight as not allowed to do heavy lifting.

@Theghostofchristmasarse chicken satay skewers, without much of the satay sauce (which is definitely high fat but probably quite carby)? Duck pancakes with lettuce leaves instead of pancakes? Stir fried beansprouts.

@RagzRebooted if you get to order a dish just for you, beef and green peppers in black bean sauce isn’t too bad in a pinch. Agree with the PP to accept a small serving of rice and just move it around the plate to hide it. Also, prawn crackers? Basically just fat, no? Probably check that with someone who knows better…

Forget who, but a great reminder - I have to dig out the Shorts of Confidence. They were renamed (previously the Fat Shorts) after reading a S&B thread about body positivity ages ago. If they don’t do up, I need a stern word with myself. If they do up and I can zip them up and attempt sitting down without rupturing something, then hallelujah!

Hello all been doing ok, the angry sugar starved monster seems to have gone and I had a bit of a drop to cheer me along.

Biwi need a bit of advice please, tined soup am I able to use it as an easy lunch or is it to processed ?

I do have the SLC company loaf mix but not a bread maker A was thinking of making some rolls from it and freezing them for a weekly 'bootcamp' light bacon sarnie !

Any tips @StuntNun ? Did you use any oil? Salt? Normal yeast?

@Theghostofchristmasarse King prawns with ginger and spring onions? avoid as much of the sauce as you can. Chicken foo yung? A half crispy duck (to share, of course!) A vegetable side order.

I know we're still in strict bootcamp, but take some berries and cream to have with the cake. Then you can eat the berries and somehow leave the cake...

Or ditch the chinese - say that MSG gives you a headache. Eat before you go.

Well done to folk with losses and KOKO to all. Good idea to have a piece of clothing to monitor changes. That really helped last time around weeks 3-5 when not much happened. Also focusing on feeling better, less bloated and I’m having deeper sleep. Can’t wait not to be interrupted with night wees that’s a bit annoying!

Loving the lasagne & lchf bread photos.

What about Chinese beef & green pepper or prawn & ginger avoiding too much sauce. Tricky.

I’ve lost 5lbs which I’m very pleased with. My NSV are avoiding wine on the weekend and being on it with the water properly for the last two days! I have slipped up & had a couple of cappuccinos when out so want to reign that in & watch my dairy intake this week.

B: coffee & cream x2
L: omelette with cheese, ham & spinach
D: sautéed leeks, sprouts, bacon & spinach with leftover meat. Greek yoghurt.

Going out this coming weekend & menu looks tricky. Triple cooked chips & everything in breadcrumbs. Hope it changes by then otherwise it’ll be the cheese board & salad for me.

That was meant to be a grin, not a hmm…!

And my grin/hmm comment was meant to clarify a post I made to byebyecarbs

I might have covid so am using that as an excuse for foggy head.

As for PRAWN CRACKERS…59g per 100g. Basically twice as many carbs as same serving of white rice. Full of starch. They’re crackers. Do not eat.

I’m a fan of chicken lettuce wraps, usually found in starters, plus chicken satay sticks.

@SpottyBumPony Cut the aubergines in half, lengthways. Cut into the flesh down to, but not through, the skin - making a diamond pattern. Drizzle olive oil into the aubergines (they will soak up a lot!), season and then bake in the oven till they're nice and soft - 30 - 40 minutes should do it.

The crumble some Feta cheese and crispy, streaky bacon over the top and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

@Theghostofchristmasarse

Well I didn't lose anything this week, weighed in at 149lbs, it was 148 last week 😭 I had wine, and possibly too much milk. Also not drinking enough water. I thought I'd done ok though

... but you hadn't done OK though if you were drinking wine, too much milk and not enough water! I'm sorry to hear that you've gained, rather than lost - but that's why it's so important to follow the rules.

Re the Chinese, is the restaurant online? If so, post a link to the menu and let's see if we can help you.

One thing I'd look for is lettuce wraps - iceberg leaves, that you stuff with either chicken or pork, minced together with various veg. It does come with hoisin or plum sauce, so if you could swerve that it would be better.

@ShangPie it was @VeryLittleOwl with the shorts!

@Pisseslikeahorse tinned soup is really difficult - not because it's processed (because actually they tend not to be too bad), but because most of them are really high in carbs. If you want soup for lunch, that's low carb, then the only way to guarantee that would be to make your own.

I can't help myself, I just have to add a word of warning here. Quite a lot of words.

It's about low carb bread.

There are several simple principles for bootcamp. One of which is eat real food. Another to avoid highly processed foods. And of course to get our carbs from healthy veg (mostly those which have fewer than 5g carb per 100g).

I really understand the role (ha!) that bread plays in our normal food plans. I totally get the craving for toast very tempted to kill dh every time I smell the delicious scent of hot buttered toast wafting up the stairs But I also understand the craving for sweet flavours or wine or chocolate. Of course there are low carb / keto substitutes for all of these, there are ways of upping fats and reducing carbs - fat bombs, artificial sweetners, bullet proof coffee.

But for me (and I appreciate that this is my own personal viewpoint), the delight of this woe is about ditching all of the above. Finding satisfying breakfasts that are not a 'keto breakfast bar' but an egg, some soup, an avocado. Experimenting with lunch options that I can take when I'm travelling. Cutting out sugar and not replacing it with any other sweetening agent. When I do this it changes the way that I eat for the long term, it changes the way I think about traditional meals. I really cannot imagine that I will ever return to a sweetened cereal breakfast or gin and tonic (rather than gin and soda). It changes my tastes and my habits.

Of course I'm no paragon of virtue. Sometimes I have bacon, egg, mushrooms - sometimes I'm looking for something more bread-like with it. And my goodness I'd love a croque monsieur.

However I would really urge you to be mindful about low carb bread. It is expensive, it is processed and it does little to change your habits. Ultimately, for most of us it's too expensive to use as a permanent substitute for ordinary bread, so where does that leave us? Back to a high carb, wheat based diet.

The slc bread mix is 10g carb per 100g. That's more carbs than carrots, more than beetroot.

Anyway, enough said. I do have 4 slc rolls in my freezer, ready for when a bacon and egg roll feels like a necessity. But I imagine it will be a rare treat - once a month maybe.

Well done to all those who are moving down (both a little and a lot). Well done too to those who've stayed the same and are having a hard time reading the posts where people are announcing how happy they are to be getting rid of their kilos. And another well done to all who didn't do what it takes to reduce their weight but are still here with us all, putting one foot in front of the other again and renewing your efforts. You've got this !!

A few words of caution about low carb bread

There's been a lot of chat this week and last about low carb bread - which brand to buy, how to make it, etc. And while I don't dispute that there are some really good low carb options available now, I'm rather concerned about just how much these products are being adopted by Bootcampers.

As I posted last week, if all you do is to switch from normal bread to low carb bread - you're not trying to switch your mindset away from foods that are really associated with carby food. Low carb bread is expensive - and therefore I'd be prepared to put money on people simply going back to normal bread once Bootcamp is over.

We're trying to create new habits here, so I really worry that using these low carb alternatives isn't going to help.

And - on top of that - these products are actually pretty processed, and one of the aims of Bootcamp is to eat food that's as natural and unprocessed as possible.

These are the ingredients of the Seriously Low Carb bread:

Water, Vital Wheat Gluten, Egg, Organic Brown Flaxseeds, Oat Fibre (Oats), Vegetable Oil (Palm, Rapeseed; Water; Salt; Emulsifiers: E471), Yeast, Syrup, Salt, Dough Conditioner (Wheat, Soya), Flour Treatment Agent (Calcium Sulphate; Wheat FLOUR (Calcium Carbonate; Niacin; Iron; Thiamine); Emulsifier: E472e; Palm Fat; Ascorbic Acid; Rapeseed Oil) (Barley, Soya), Xanthan Gum (E415), Erythritol

So please - go easy with it. Try to find other things to eat rather than toast or sandwiches, and use the low carb bread only occasionally.

Oh - massive cross post with @venusandmars !!!

So here, 2lbs down . I'm really pleased with that. And I'm pledging to another week of LCHFing.

Thanks again for all the enlightening posts,@StuntNun and @BIWI. And thanks to all who've been open and honest about their struggles -special mention to @NigellaAwesome - good on you with those salopettes. Now, it's just about aiming for a little wiggle room eh !

Now that I am on to Boot Camp Light (next week for the rest of you ), I can make myself Tom Kerridge's bread loaf that uses almond flour and a lot of eggs (and I add extra seeds). It's not as light as "real" bread (or the SLC products) but it toasts well and is lovely warm from the oven slathered with butter.

My SLC bread roll order is due tomorrow Thank you for the wise words though BIWI and venus

5lb down this morning. I'm happy with that

L: H/made creamy chicken & veg soup
D: H/made sausage & tomato soup with cheese croutons
Was too low in fat so had some Greek yoghurt with clotted cream. I didn't realise DH was planning soup for dinner too

I did my old familiar trick of sneaking in something off plan because we're a whole week from our next way in. Need to stop that in it's tracks

I have been trying to post since the start of the first thread.. by the time I read half of the posts, I nod off and then next day have more to read before I post 🙂
Thanks BIWI for helping us through this. I had lost a lot doing Keto ages ago but gained all that and some and on my highest ever now! Looking forward to do this with you all.. I have made cheeseburger pie and shepherds pie, both stayed fresh in fridge, easy lunch to eat at desk, very yummy as well. I am on Week 2 and total loss of 7.2 I think.. (converting to lbs makes it difficult for me to remember lol.) Only 1.6 lbs this second week. Entered this on spreadsheet.. need to def up my water intake.. barely finishing the 2ltr bottle. But have two maasive mug full of black coffee though and desperately trying to count it along with water 😔

about the low carb bread. I'm whole-heartedly in agreement with the change of way of eating. I don't live in The UK and I can't get the ingredients to make it. But, to be honest, when I was younger I didn't eat that much bread and I was slimmer. Instead of bread and cheese, I used to eat lettuce and cheese. And I've gone back to that now.

I'm convinced that is one of the reasons I only started to get fatter again very slowly - because I was hardly eating any bread after I came of bootcamp. And, even though it was slowly, I'm also convinced that is one of the reasons I started to get fatter again too. I gradually upped the bread. So, yep - I'm on the 'Take care with the LC Bread' bandwagon too.

Holy shoe @DollyDingleberry that’s some weight loss!

Congratulations to all losers and keepers, keep going!

Still LC but a bit absent as life keeps taking over sometimes.

Scales are wobbly so unreliable but feeling a bit less flab around waist and a bit more energetic(unless I have late night).

Still have pangs of hunger sometimes in the evenings so feasting on cherry tomatoes (used to sit with large glass of wine and crisps)
Also thirsty like hell so drinking water.

See ya all soon 🙂

@FrenchBoule if you're very thirsty you might need some added salts... Potassium in particular. Sprinkle of lo-salt and a squeeze of lemon juice in a glass of water...

Well done everyone
Just caught up on thread. Marking place for tomorrow

Ooh, thanks for the tip @venusandmars always plenty of lemons here 🙂

Thanks all for the suggestions, I'll try to post the menu if I can't find anything. Can't eat before, straight from work, but made a big salad for lunch.
And yes, deserved big stick over the wine, but it was a difficult day. Sticking to it this week though, Chinese takeaway not included 😬

[quote BIWI]@SpottyBumPony Cut the aubergines in half, lengthways. Cut into the flesh down to, but not through, the skin - making a diamond pattern. Drizzle olive oil into the aubergines (they will soak up a lot!), season and then bake in the oven till they're nice and soft - 30 - 40 minutes should do it.

The crumble some Feta cheese and crispy, streaky bacon over the top and bake for another 10 minutes or so.

@Theghostofchristmasarse

Well I didn't lose anything this week, weighed in at 149lbs, it was 148 last week 😭 I had wine, and possibly too much milk. Also not drinking enough water. I thought I'd done ok though

... but you hadn't done OK though if you were drinking wine, too much milk and not enough water! I'm sorry to hear that you've gained, rather than lost - but that's why it's so important to follow the rules.

Re the Chinese, is the restaurant online? If so, post a link to the menu and let's see if we can help you.

One thing I'd look for is lettuce wraps - iceberg leaves, that you stuff with either chicken or pork, minced together with various veg. It does come with hoisin or plum sauce, so if you could swerve that it would be better.

@ShangPie it was @VeryLittleOwl with the shorts!

@Pisseslikeahorse tinned soup is really difficult - not because it's processed (because actually they tend not to be too bad), but because most of them are really high in carbs. If you want soup for lunch, that's low carb, then the only way to guarantee that would be to make your own.[/quote]
I've been having 'fresh' soup for some lunches. Varies between 2 and 4g carb per 100g. I presume this is OK?