Week 3 - May 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - moving on to Light?

[BIWI]

Good morning!

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness once more

So today you have a choice: you can move on to Bootcamp Light, if you wish - which means you can re-introduce some fruit, some nuts/seeds and some alcohol. Note the use of the word 'some'!

If you wish, you can also now introduce/re-introduce intermittent fasting - most people drop breakfast, but it's up to you how you want to do this. @StuntNun has a thread about how to combine fasting with low carb for anyone who is interested in this approach.

You can, if you wish, remain on Bootcamp, if it suits you and it's working for you. Alternatively you can adopt a hybrid - so Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Whichever route you decide upon, good luck!

@TheRealShedSadie that's a good idea about going lite at the weekends...I might try that.

Today:

Lunch: chicken, boiled eggs and avocado in mayo with lots of lettuce
Dinner: chicken thighs with FLGV (although specific veg yet to be decided).

On target for 💦. I do find drinking water is much easier through the week than at the weekend. Chugging my way through a massive bottle of water...it's like a dumbbell when it's full so I'm exercising one bicep at the same time!

Bit of a random lunch today as I’ve been chairing a v long online meeting. Sliced roast beef, chunk of cheese and bowl of Greek yog.

Tonight is spaghetti bolognese but with shredded cabbage instead of the spag for me.

Congratulations to everyone for making it into week 3, especially those who are KOKO ing !

Can I check something out:

Sausages - the meaty one

They are 97% pork, and only 1% carbs, but that 1% is likely to be the rice flour and gram flour that's been added. Is that still ok?

Stayed the same weight-wise but as BIWI said I have lost inches so will take that as a positive. Like @BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation I really struggle with three meals a day so will have something mid-morning and then dinner in the evening with a snack if need be in between. Aiming for close to BC during the week (may have a pre-gig glass of wine this week) and lite at weekends, although I'm not really a fruit/nuts person anyway apart from something to relieve the yoghurt........

@UnOeufIsEnough

@TheRealShedSadie that's a good idea about going lite at the weekends...I might try that

So you didn't read my OP then ...

They're fine to eat, from the point of view of their carb content - but if you look t the ingredients list, that demonstrates that they are pretty heavily processed. And we're trying to avoid processed foods as much as we can.

But every now and then these are perfectly OK!

 I did...but that was a good 6 hours before I replied to @TheRealShedSadie...brain like a sieve!

I'll fix it...

@BIWI that's a great idea about going lite and the weekends. I'm going to try that!

Thanks @BIWI - I have some steak in the fridge so I'll have that while the others have sausages 🤣

Happy Monday folks, and well done to all the losers and KOKOers.

I hardly dare type this, but I'm showing a 5kg loss over the last two weeks
Probably just need new batteries in the scales or something

B - Egg and cress mayo
L- Cheese and salad sandwich made with Livlife LC bread
D - Celeriac and stilton soup

Wow @SageCardy that's amazing well done.

Well done everyone on the fantastic losses and those who Koko with determination.

I am going to try weekend-lite for a couple of weeks. If it stalls the steady losses then I'll review it.

Since covid, my taste and appetite has been affected. I struggle with foods that I used to love. It isn't as bad as it was though but it means my diet is a bit repetitive. I can't stomach any processed meat or any fish now and prefer cheese / eggs. I have a lot of salads with a cheese for the protein. And I'm fine with eggs.

Thankfully that all works on this woe. I'm away for May half term and would like to lose 2 more lbs for then. It means I can hopefully fit into a nice summer dress that I bought when I was thinner!

@SageCardy well done. Give your self the credit. I bet there is nothing wrong with your scales. Fantastic result.

Just marking place, well done everyone, keep on going!

NSV, DM commented that I’d lost weight today. She’s usually very quick to tell me I’ve put it on.

Would you mind if I join?

I started LC on 26th April and I've kept a note of my weight and measurements each week so I can update the spreadsheet - do I add my own name or do you do that if it's OK to join in @BIWI

I did LC about 7 years ago after being diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I lost enough weight to get me into the healthy zone on BMI and down two dress sizes, but I got a bit obsessed with not allowing a carb to pass my lips. It's an issue with me - if I fall off the wagon I give up. So ended up giving up after a holiday where I couldn't easily find LC stuff in the restaurants. I've tried Slimming World, Weight Watchers and calorie counting but LC seems to work for me. Oh and the pre-diabetes went away with the weight. The GP asked me what I was doing as my good cholesterol was extremely high and the bad stuff was very low.

So I'm back on the wagon with a better attitude this time. We went to my best friend's house for Sunday lunch at the end of my first week. I didn't want to tell her I was LC-ing - she's put on a lot of weight due to a medical problem and finds talk of diets depressing at the moment (having been a 5 times a week at the gym woman she now has to use a walking stick and it's getting her down). So I forgot the diet, had a slap up Sunday lunch plus pud and a glass or two of wine and went back Keto the next day. Lost 2lb that week! Hopefully it's taught me that you can't always control everything you eat so don't stress it but get back to normal as quickly as you possibly can.

Fingers crossed I'll keep it going this time, holidays, Christmas and all. I've got about another 21 - 24lb to lose to be in the BMI healthy zone. And get back into those jeans!

@LondonJax we need some carbs, but the important thing on this way of eating is that we get our carbs mostly from healthy sources - i.e. veg, and mostly green veg. Celeriac, cauliflower, nuts, shallots, garlic, beans, tomatoes etc. etc. all have some carbs but they also have all the healthy stuff you need, and the great tastes and textures that we enjoy. And the good nutrition and the great flavour is what (for me) make this sustainable in the long term / forever.

If I'm eating with other people and not in control of the menu then I try to be mindful of what the real purpose of that meal and interaction is. If it's a monthly lunch with collegaues and they've chosen a pizza place, then I value it for social contact and accept that I'll probably be eating a fairly dismal salad. If it's gourmet dinner with my dsis I'll chose a place where each of us can delight in the kind of food we each prefer. If my 92 year old MIL has made a cake, I'll just accept it graciously (but only a small piece), knowing the effort it took her, and her happiness in being able to feed us.

I think your lunch with your friend falls firmly into the latter category. It does us no harm, but remember to enjoy it :)

And a word of caution for those embarking on bootcamp-lite, and maybe especially if you're doing strict bc during the week and lite at the weekend. I know from heavy experience that it can be tempting to relax a bit too much and add fruit / nuts / alcohol into every meal.

So you weigh on Friday morning - all good! The Friday evening (start of the weekend) you have a glass of wine with dinner, then maybe another. And a small piece of dark chocolate when you watch a film. Saturday breakfast you add raspberries and chopped nuts to your yogurt and double cream. At lunch time you snack on peanut butter and celery (in addition to your egg mayonnaise and ham salad). Before dinner you have gin and soda and a handful of nuts. Sunday breakfast you have cheese and almond muffins, with peanut butter they are glorious then roast chicken lunch with a couple of glasses of wine, followed by strawberries dipped in chocolate served with cream. Dinner is a just regular bootcamp meal, maybe shakshukka. And a small night cap to round off the weekend.

Monday morning, on the scales - eek!! Each of those 'little extras' might be permitted on bootcamp lite, but it's having ALL of them, that has been my downfall. I'm doing strict bootcamp for these 2 weeks (was bc-lite for the first 2), but when I return to the less strict version I will be trying to heed my own advice!

Thank you @ditavonteesed and @Jollyholibobs

It's my 24th wedding anniversary today so I don't have time to read all the posts.

Today's weight is 12st 3.75lb so that a loss of 3lb from last week. Could someone put it on to the spread sheet, pretty please? That's just under 9lb from the start.

I did debate putting yesterday's (and Saturday's weight) which was 12st 2.25lb but decided that given that this is Week 3 and I will probably stall anyway and today is my wedding anniversary and I've already shared a bottle of bubbly with more to come I decided I wouldn't make it too difficult for myself to continue to log progress

Dinner tonight is squares of salmon cured/marinated in orange and lemon juice sandwiching cucumber mixed with yoghurt, followed by thick cut fillet steaks with celeriac chips and asparagus , followed by raspberries

@LondonJax you are very welcome! Just add your name to the bottom of the list on the spreadsheet.

And @venusandmars is very wise!

Anniversary congratulations @prettybird . Enjoy celebrating.

And @venusandmars is very wise!

But I still remember my very first post on bootcamp several years ago, when I got a BIG thwack with the stick. Oh the shame!

@prettybird happy anniversary

Well done to all those who lost this week and KOKO everybody!
The cat and I had our weigh in this morning.
I have lost a pound and the cat has lost 0.2 of a pound. We are both happy with ourselves.
Actually that isn't true, the cat couldn't give a stuff but the vet tells me her kidneys are grateful.
@ditavonteesed I hope your dog has had a good week too

I agree totally @UnOeufIsEnough about water, i definitely find it more of a slog on the weekend.

Excellent advice @venusandmars!

happy anniversary @prettybird

And congratulations to you and your cat, @Livelongandprosper on your scale victories 😊

@venusandmars - absolutely agreed, food is a very social thing. We hadn't seen our friends since December 2019 as her illness meant she was shielding a lot during the Covid lockdowns. A few glasses of wine and some roast potatoes isn't going to kill me - or the diet as long as, as you said, you don't carry on with a glass of wine the next day or 'oh one potato won't hurt' later in the week.

Right...a recipe as I've jabbered on. I don't know if this one is already posted as I'm working through the threads at the moment! There's a great keto recipe site called Wholesomeyum.com which is where this one's from. It's a US site but you can click on metric measurements and it'll change them. You can reduce the servings if it's a big dish and the system will change the measurements too although that sometimes means you have slightly daft things like 1/8 teaspoon!

I just use the same cup for both the mayo and the sour cream so the ratios are the same in this. The flavours mingle after a day in the fridge.

1 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Sour cream
2 tsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Dried parsley
1 tsp Dried dill
1 tsp Dried chives
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Literally stir the lot together, add almond milk or watered down double cream if it's a bit thick, put it in a jar and it will keep for about 10 days in the fridge. Absolutely lovely on salad or as a dip if, like me, you take a mix of things like bacon, chicken, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber to work for lunch.

And you can use it to make another one of her recipes which is my son's favourite dish at the moment - Chicken and Bacon Ranch. Can be made the day before, left in the fridge and bunged in the oven for 15 minutes.

Full amounts are on the site as it depends how many you're cooking for and it's based on an 8 person dish.

A four person dish would be about....

450 gram cooked chicken breasts (I use thighs as well depends what I have) shredded - great to use up a roast chicken.

4 rashers of cooked back - nice and crisp - chopped up
1.5 cloves of garlic (I used the garlic in a tube)
90mls Ranch dressing (above) - but I'll pop more in if it looks a bit 'dry'
About 60gms each of mozzarella and cheddar
180 gms cooked broccoli, well drained or 225 gms cooked, drained and squeezed spinach. You could use asparagus or green beans - as long as they're cooked as the dish doesn't have long in the oven.

I've put more veg in if I'm a little short on chicken or added a couple more rashers of bacon - it's pretty much a chuck it in and see what happens dish.

Keep back half of both the cheeses. Then put everything else into an oven proof dish. Combine. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Put it in the oven at about 190 degrees for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve with a salad or veg.

As I said you can make it the day before and cook from the fridge. Freezes well - just defrost before you cook it so it's not watery.