Week 3 - Jan 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - Bootcamp Light or not?

[BIWI]

So now you have several choices:

• move on to Bootcamp Light for the next 6 weeks, which means allowing nuts/seeds, fruit and alcohol all in moderation!

• a hybrid, where you do Bootcamp during the week, but relax and follow Bootcamp Light at the weekend

• stay on Bootcamp, if it's suiting you

Bear in mind that weeks 3 and 4 (and sometimes 5) are infamous for seeing little or no weight loss - indeed sometimes you may see a gain.

Whatever you decide, here's the spreadsheet for you to declare all!

I hope very much that you will see good results from the last two weeks (or the last 3 or 4 weeks, depending on when you started!)

And now this week's challenge!

Like me I'm betting you all have several cookbooks that you rarely use. Go and find one that you haven't used for ages and choose a recipe that is or could be low carb and post it here.

You may have to change some of the ingredients, but that's fine! Let's all look for something that inspires us to cook something new/different.

Here's to a successful week 3

Hello!

Scales were wobbly yesterday but back on a downward trend today .

B IF
L (Approx. 3pm - hectic day with work/hospital appt for child & online parents' eve) M&S crackers & salmon pate + leaves & EVVO
D @LuckyDog7's keto chicken tenders, slaw & ranch dressing - I can't wait!

I bought some reduced chopped kale this morning. Any tips for kale crisps? The last time I tried they were all oily & disgusting and NOT GOOD.

@queenofcauliflower

For the kale I stick it in a roasting tin with a slosh of normal oil and a smaller drizzle is sesame oil. Plenty of seat salt, a bit of pepper. Sometimes some sesame seeds too. Roast on a low heat until dried out and crispy.

If you’re not eating it all straight away, store in a Tupperware tub with a bit of kitchen roll at the bottom to mop up any excess oil.

Ooh duck ragout sounds lovely @Frenchpoodle!

@StuntNun so with you on the wobble front! Can’t see any weight loss and last year’s shorts still VERY tight but feeling a bit “tighter”? Out of a sudden it’s easier to bend over 🤔

I saw somebody mentioned gherkins- my food for work is chicken, chopped gherkins and green leaf salad mixed with a dollop of mayo.

@queenofcauliflower I did some for the first time yesterday and am now 100% on board with kale chips!

From what I read before doing mine, seems a really low heat and longer time is better to avoid bitterness. You want them green, not brown. Also, you need to spread the leaves out thinly or they steam instead of roasting. Do them in a few batches to avoid overcrowding the roasting tin.

Oh, and you can add sprinkles for flavour! I did lots of salt and a pinch of smoked paprika, but @MrsTerryPratchett has it best with grated parmesan. That’s tonight’s experiment

Thank you @BaconOmelette @ShangPie! A quick question, would I put on the parmesan after baking?

Oh, forgot to say @queenofcauliflower that I didn’t put much oil on at all. Maybe a teaspoon or so in the pan, add salt then turn the leaves over to lightly coat. Doing it in batches meant some were more oily than others and they mixed well together in the snack bowl later

@venusandmars that’s rubbish re cleaner. At least she should have the decency to resign instead of choosing the cowardly way of ghosting you.

@missfliss covid is crap and one fall of the wagon is nothing.

To all of you with lovely cabbage recipes- tempted to try but maybe after I finish work (and even then I might fill up one of the gas bottles).

Could anybody explain what shuggled sprouts are? Are this sprouts semi cooked then fried with bacon?

Breakfast was 2 fried eggs with nothing as fridge nearly empty.
Lunch will be Boursin with smoked salmon probably
Dinner- haven’t got a clue. Might take out cabbage parcels in tomato sauce from the freezer but they have miniscule amount of rice in them so not sure if suitable.

Went to bed last night without snacking on cheese or ham. I probably need to move my dinner a bit later everyday- cause and effect

Off to work tonight so take care everybody, beat covid,carb craves and keep going 🙂💪

@byebyecarbs Please don't use gluten intolerance as an excuse. Eating the filling out of a sandwich could make me very unwell (as would the gluteny SLC roll!). It's no-one's business what you do/don't eat but spreading misinformation about allergies and intolerances can lead to real harm.

Got on the scales again this morning which was a mistake - 1lb gain on since Monday and 2lb heavier than I was 11 days ago. I'm starting to feel a bit down about it, I'm sure I'm retaining an ever increasing amount of water but can't seem to shift it, my hands are quite noticeably puffy today.

I'm drinking plenty but read conflicting information about whether I need to increase my salts or reduce them. I take 500mg magnesium every night, and eat quite a bit of salted butter and cheese. Do I need more potassium? Thyroid was checked about 4 months ago and ok. Have tried eating more, or eating less.

B - coffee
L - undecided, probably 3 eggs with butter and cream.
D - lamb chops, celeriac mash, cabbage.

Thanks @queenofcauliflower @ShangPie and @BaconOmelette for talk of kale crisps, I'm going to have a go at that!

Really odd behaviour about the cleaner - just don’t understand that ghosting behaviour.

Yesterday:
All the water
B: IF
L: Tuna Mayo & celery & salad
D: x2 chicken thighs on bed of buttered cabbage plus mushrooms
S: cheese & saucisson slices. Tea coffee dash of milk. Herbal tea.

Really like sound of those waffles & cabbage fritters. Am going to make the kale crisps today.

Can someone repost the M&S crackers please.

They are these ones @BSky

Thank you @Hopeislost - they look fab. Will seek these out at my next M&S trip!

Still on track here too and clothes feeling much more comfortable.

Thanks for all the recipes/ideas so far. The food is so tasty! (My main struggle will be not to eat too much.)

There is a family wedding in May I'd like to buy clothes for but in any case, I'm very happy eating like this and feeling better.

If people are after crispy food, and the BC rule of more cheese = better...

Finely grate parmesan into a non-stick pan, heat (carefully) until melted and golden brown, leave to cool, take out with a fish slice, break into 'crisps'. www.marthastewart.com/965063/cheese-crisps

You wouldn't want to eat too many as they are VERY rich. But sometimes you need a crunch.

I've just had a delish lunch of trout pate in little gem lettuce leaves, and a couple of M&S crackers. The pate is more of a thick dip in texture (so would be great with celery) and made from hot smoked trout, cream cheese, mayo and lemon juice. 1.4g carbs per 100g. I found it in Sainsbury's.

In other news, my embarrassingly large Montezuma's order has arrived, complete with bags of those 100% choc peanut butter eggs. I've had to put it on a verrrry high shelf (I'm only 5' tall) to avoid ripping into it before the weekend...

I've bought those M&S crackers before, I like seeds but they tasted like birdseed to me

Baystard a lot of potassium-rich foods are excluded by Bootcamp so if you're suffering from water retention you could well need more. The easiest way is to switch to low sodium salt which contains potassium chloride as well as sodium chloride. Otherwise you could try taking an electrolyte supplement such as the Zero tablets (which contain artificial sweeteners) or an unflavoured, unsweetened electrolyte powder.

Thanks @StuntNun, I hadn't realised just how much potassium was recommended and I can now see why it could be low - and I didn't realise it wasn't included in my multi vit and min supplement. I had a whole pot of guacamole at lunchtime but I suspect that's not going to be enough. I do have low-salt in the cupboard so I need to get into the habit of using it. Fingers crossed.

Every second pint glass of water that I have has a generous shake of Lo-Salt and a squoosh of lemon juice. It also helps me count the number of glasses that I have.

Frenchpoodle mmmm duck ragout! Let us know how it turns out.

STS for me this week, but January's final total weight loss was around 4kg. I'm measuring in kilos because I seem to have less emotional attachment to them than st & lb

B: leftover roast chicken and mashed swede
L: Not v hungry, picked at some salami
D: Spiced coconut cabbage, baked ginger tofu

Not enough water (goes off to glug)

@byebyecarbs

Still going here. Not weighing in until Saturday when my period has gone as although I know any weight gain will be associated with that I will still feel demoralised if I see higher numbers. I am one of these people that really changes shape for about 8 days a month and I balloon.

Food today will involve a chicken tikka biryani (made with cauli rice and spinach) for lunch and then I am working late at an event and a buffet will be provided. I will take a buttered seriously low carb roll in my bag and fill it with the contents of a standard sandwich. If anyone is curious enough to ask what I'm doing I will say I have a gluten intolerance rather than saying I'm low carbing as I find this is easier for people to accept and causes less questioning.

Please don’t say this. Anyone who actually is gluten intolerant ( or who knows someone who is ) will know that you are lying and think you are crazy.

Because anyone doing this could become ill because of the bread sticking to the filling.

Or they will actually believe you and subject you to a lecture all about it.

Just take a box with salad/ cheese / meat etc in it . If anyone asks say something about healthy eating. But no one will bat an eyelid - lots of people are trying to lose weight at this time of year.

Reading through posts and realise I never do list my food..
B:- IF
Lunch : two eggs with kale and tomato
Dinner would be Two beef burgers with lots of bacon and leaves.. Had to eat at McD other day as had to get out of the house at lunch time for house viewing, so couldn't cook anything before as not to fume people with smell.. it was surprisingly filling leaving the bread and just Mayo no other sauce. Never knew about this until I read on this post.. Trying to replicate the same for dinner today..
I don't have the heart to weigh (see it gone up) but also not much NSV after the first week.. neck looks a bit thinner.. stomach a teeny bit flatter, but nowhere near to getting into an older jeans.. Started on Jan 10th and I am religiously following it, other than failing on water some days :( hoping to see some NSV soon.. KOKO people, half way through the week..

Good timing @Newlease it reminded me to pick up a box at lunchtime (and some cheesy ones too). I hope they're a useful crunchy thing to have with pate, the texture of which I find really needs crunch.

Not getting on famously with brassicas at the moment, but bought a big bag of spinach which I'll have with lamb instead of sprouts.

Thinking of my potassium intake I'll forcing myself obviously have a few squares of 95% chocolate melted with a little double cream for desert.

Just catching up with this weeks thread. I’m a bit late to the party. Like @missfliss and @AThroneOfLies Covid has finally caught up with me and I’ve seemed to do nothing but sleep since the weekend. Well done everyone with loses and nsvs.

That cod recipe looks good @mirpuppet I love her cookbooks and website. I’ll try that next week. Same with @MrsTerryPratchett beef and anchovies, and those kale crisps @ShangPie Thanks for the ideas.

@BaconOmelette I’m not keen on those noodles, but my DP eats them regularly. I give them a good rinse under the cold tap, then soak in boiled water for a few minutes while heating up a frying pan, then drain and fry them off so they aren’t too watery. They smell really fishy when you first open them, the rinse and soak helps.

Right, off to dig out an old cook book for @BIWI challenge for the week.