Jan 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the final weigh-in!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

Here, for its last outing this Bootcamp is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

I know the last couple of weeks have been a bit quiet, and apologies for Covid-related absence from me as well, but it looks like this has been a pretty successful Bootcamp, which is great.

I don't know when the next Bootcamp will be, but probably won't be till around May at some point. However, we'll keep this thread going in the interim.

Don't forget to have a good rummage around the other threads in the Bootcamp topic in the interim, especially the recipe threads, as there's lots of useful stuff there.

And thank you to everyone who has posted, helped to support other posters and even those who have just lurked at the back! I genuinely wouldn't have even half the motivation to do this without you. This is a rather lovely little corner of Mumsnet.

Bookaholic to reiterate about burgers—absolutely perfect for BBQ “season”!

DO Buy highest fat content possible. I go for 20% but settle for 15% if I must. Not only is it considerably less expensive than the “lean mince” option we’ve all been brainwashed into buying, it is noticeably more flavourful.

DO try it without a bun, even a low carb bun. Try it and see if it works for you. If it doesn’t, a low carb bun will be fine.

CONSIDER making it a cheeseburger to increase fat and protein content (more filling). Allow me to suggest crappy yellow plastic cheese slices, for their awesome meltability, or if you want get cheddar slices, jarlsberg slices, or even crumble some bleu cheese. Lush.

CONSIDER putting the cheese on the burger in the last 1-2 minutes of cooking so it melts and lovingly embraces its beef patty, rather than serve the patty and putting a cold slice of cheese on it (sorry everyone, but ugh).

CONSIDER mixing your high fat mince with a flavour enhancer—Marigold vegetarian bouillon is gorgeous, see also onion powder, paprika, dried herbs, maybe soy sauce—whatever is to your taste. Bind mince and seasoning mixture with an egg before shaping into patties.

CONSIDER adding everything you’d normally have on a normal burger (lettuce, sliced onions, sliced pickles, sliced tomatoes, mayonnaise, etc) either directly on top of the finished patty or on the side. Adds a to the general feeling of happy burger rather than sad slab of cooked plain lean mince.

DON’T give up experimenting. As a former “Burgerside” gal, I know the joy a simple patty of beef can bring, and the many options to be tried.

Came to tell @Cancancannon about the fat burning process requiring water as part of the biochemical reaction, but I see everyone has beaten me to it

@queenofcauliflower if you're not losing, maybe eat more for a couple of days (so your body knows it is not starving) and especially try upping your fats.

@Bookaholic73 If I go to All Bar One I get their 'skinny dirty burger'. It got a burger, cheese, crsipy pancetta. Then they swap the bun for avocado, and the fries for a salad with creamy dressing. You have to eat it with a knife and fork, but with all that glorious stuff why would you ever want to eat a tasteless bun? Plus nobody ever looks at that plateful and thinks you're on 'a sad diet'.

I have had a terrible week. Completely lost my bootcamp mojo. A heap of carbs, which was of course quickly followed by losing my mood mojo, my getting-off-my-backside mojo, my work mojo, and every other mojo there is.

Some sunshine on my face has revived me a little today. Tonight I had all the bits of lefover cooked veg in a cheese omelette / frittata thing. With enough left for tomorrow. Huge mug of peppermint tea and an early night with my book.

Thank you so much @venusandmars I really appreciate the effort. I’ve had 2L today. I have however had a large (zero carb but still…) whiskey. I’m not proud of myself for that as I’d prefer not to have alcohol. But hubby has gone away for a week (he generally works away from home) and I had a load of teen rebellion to deal with so I had my own rebellion. Ugh. Parenting. Anyway tomorrow is another day. I’m so glad to be here with this support. Thank you all so much.

3.5 off this week, 23lb total, 8.9% of my start weight.

Huge thanks @BIWI, you've been brilliant.

2lb off for me this week. It's been eye opening just how much I put on around my period! I also have the unwelcome bonus of a covid positive test this morning.

My advice to anyone embarking on LCBC.

1. Listen to BIWI
2. Drink enough water every day
3. Listen to BIWI
4. Take measurements as well as weigh ins
5. Listen to BIWI

2lbs off this week, 15 in total. Just trying to KOKO and embed this WOE fully. I don't actually find it that hard but need to ensure I don't mindlessly fall of it.

I wore a dress on Saturday night that didn't 'work' on me two weeks ago so that was a nice NSV. I still have quite a number which didn't work so that's a good incentive. I also need to do some toning exercise in order to wear a bikini later in the summer! Once my foot is better and I've finished my full on course I'm doing (on top of a FT job) hopefully I can start this!

@UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea hope Covid doesn't hit you too badly or derail you!

Morning all, I had a loss of 2.8lb in the last 6 days which is quite a big loss for me! But I attribute that entirely to losing my appetite thanks to covid rather than low carbing. I did try to stick to low carb where possible but had a slice of hot buttered toast one day when it was all I could face trying to force down an incredibly sore throat! I was off sick all of last week but am working from home today (and still testing positive). I finally made it out of the house yesterday, but a walk round the block absolutely wiped me out! I've definitely not been drinking all the water, but rather drinking hot and extra diluted (sugar free) squash by the bucket load. I know artificial sweeteners aren't ideal, but how bad are they in this context? Better or worse than not drinking much at all?

@pinknsparkly my view has always been that if you're really poorly you just do what seems to help you at that point in time.

I had the incredibly sore throat as well - horrible, isn't it?

venus it seems rare for you to lose your mojo. Any thoughts as to why? (You don’t have to share them at all, just asking.)

Your post reminded me of How Stella Got Her Groove Back (in part, took a younger lover), and the motherhood books by Vicki Iovine, which included the Girlfriends’ Guide to Getting Your Groove Back (in UK was published as Best Friends guide because in US ‘girlfriends’ are ‘best friends’ as well as being, obviously, same sex girlfriends.

Such trying times.

Anyway, none mentioned mojo, but I’ll bet a fair few were low carbers!

UnexpectedItem your guidance is perfect.

Having lost an official 11+ lbs this past Bootcamp, I didn’t weigh in today as I slept on sofa, happily watching the Indian Wells tennis tournament finals (love a bit of tennis), which didn’t disappoint.

Might be just as well—yesterday I cooked a Sunday Roast (beef), with all the trimmings, which included these Yorkshire Puddings.

Which leads me to ask—has anyone tried Yorkies with almond flour or other for a low-carb version? Should I send myself off to Coventry the recipe threads to search?

I had one, I must admit. The rest was beautifully rare sirloin, steamed broccoli with butter, a salad with beef drippings (quite nice, if I’m honest), and two baby carrots, one purple, one parsnip-coloured.

I think I did well, all things considered!

Finally, howdy to everyone joining, sorry about the covid for everyone who has been infected by it—lots of sleep—and to Cancancannon, I have SO. MANY. TEENAGER. ISSUES as well, to the point we’ve dubbed them The Hormoaners.*

Wishing you well.

*should that be Hormoners? Would that be funnier in print? Asking for a friend who might be writing a book.

Hi BCers. I'm in danger of slipping into Bad Habits, so I think I'll like for a while.

Lurk!! even

What's triggering that @APerfectlyGoodName, do you think?

Popping back on to say thanks so much @BIWI a stone down and one to go to be back to my pre Covid pre menopause happy balance.

Hopefully I can finish that last stone off for the start of a new boot camp in May.

Incidentally this way of eating has helped massively with long covid.

That's really interesting to hear @stayathomegardener - why do you think it's helped? (And sorry to hear you have long covid)

@ShagMeRiggins you your friend should absolutely write a book!

[quote NigellaAwesome]@ShagMeRiggins you your friend should absolutely write a book![/quote]
My “friend” just might be working on a book, in her spare time with her chief exec husband, about the similarities between managing employees and rearing children.

One of those stocking filler books. It’s been in the works for over a decade, but only now does my “friend” catch an occasional window of time to work on it.

So which is it, Nigella? Hormoaners, or Hormoners? Which scans better?

Also, making the Gnarly Peanut Chicken again tonight, this time with chicken pieces (thighs, not breasts, but at least not my experimental whole chicken first attempt) because the Hormoaners absolutely bloody loved it!

Hadn’t realised it was a Jamie Oliver 5 Ingredients recipe, but perused that book again this morning and noted just how many terrific, easy LC recipes there were. Served with fatted-up veg or salad, I think I’m going to be returning to this one for the foreseeable.

My “friend” also needs to get off Mumsnet and do some work work today!

Good afternoon everyone.

Thanks everyone for the advice about the BBQ, I'm going to have so much fun trying new things!

Especially thanks to @ShagMeRiggins re the burgers. I think I'll try a deconstructed cheeseburger with salad and all the trimmings. And a bit of blue cheese on top sounds so good!

@venusandmars I hope you're feeling a bit better now, the sunshine always seems to help me feel more positive and find my lost mojo.

I've had fun trying all sorts of new recipes and foods these past few days. I discovered taco bowls, and am slightly addicted. Beef mince, taco seasoning, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella, cucumber all in a bowl. So filling and also so delicious!

Diet, what diet? @Bookaholic73!

That’s how I feel @BIWI! I’m worried I won’t lose any weight because I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing anything at all.

We've all been there! The first couple of weeks are a real test of faith (I always think of that Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones scene where he has to walk where he believes the bridge to be).

But if you follow the rules, it really will work.

We often need to emphasise to Bootcampers that this WOE isn't about deprivation.