Week 4 - May 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the end of the first half!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

I see from the last thread that there have been some great losses, despite the doldrums that we generally experience in weeks 3 and 4.

For those who haven't seen the scales move (or for whom the scales have moved in the wrong direction), don't panic - KOKO. Make sure you're following the rules, and all will be well. Remember that this is a marathon not a sprint, and try not to get too fixated on the short term.

Here's the spreadsheet, as usual . Casting my eye down the list there are some really great results, with at least four Bootcampers already more than 10lbs down, which is fantastic.

Here's to another good week

@stayathomegardener - hope you're feeling better soon. @Baystard hope you continue to improve!

I'm down 2lb this week (yippee!!) And discovered braised in butter white cabbage...I made some keto (ish) coleslaw for Saturday slob in front of the TV with a pizza (or a piece of butterflied chicken breast with cheese and tomato on top for me).

I had half a cabbage left over so we had it with a beef casserole for dinner yesterday. Braised cabbage - why didn't I know about this? Why didn't my mum (another story - soggy sprouts anyone). Shredded cabbage, three tablespoons of water and a big blob of butter, bring to a simmer, stir and leave for a few minutes to cook. Add salt and pepper and toss in the butter. Even our teenager ate it (which is a miracle believe me).

Oh, while I'm here...anyone got any recipes using eggs. I had a delivery yesterday and realised I'd manage to order 6 eggs earlier in the month, forgot and order 12 more. And I've already got 4 in the cupboard. So 22 eggs to use by 7th June and there's only three of us! 😂Omelettes' will get very boring soon.

Diving back in after a week on holiday! Will weigh in tomorrow to assess the damage.

Well, very pleased to be minus another 2lb this week. Clothes are certainly feeling looser and hopefully it won't be too long before I can get into things I was wearing last summer.

I have decided to aim for another 1.5 stone though, I think it is do-able with LC. 😀

Can anyone suggest best options from the ikea restaurant please?

anyone got any recipes using eggs.

None of these are what I would call inspired but I do like eggs on this woe. I have them a lot scrambled with smoked salmon, fried with sausage and bacon, egg mayo (lots of salt and pepper and a swirl of mustard) on salad and always add a hard boiled to any normal salad.

They're also just good to have hard boiled in the fridge in case.

No loss for me this week, but today my period just started so feeling puffed up, so hopefully next week will show some loss.

Hollandaise sauce also good for LC @LondonJax it's basically egg yolks and butter. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/hollandaise-sauce

Good with ham.

I had a fabulous dinner tonight and it must be one of the quickest, simplest ones yet. Feta sliced into about 1cm" slices, dipped in egg, then in ground almonds and shallow fried in lots of beef dripping and served with salad. Ohh the crunchy outside and then the warm but firm cheese, and then the tang. I wish I'd made more. I'm thinking it would be great as a snack if Feta cut into tiny 1cm cubes and fried in the same way.

I'm still hungry and craving something crunchy fried in dripping, trying out some home made LC bread fried...

Thanks all for the egg ideas!

That feta recipe sounds good too @Baystard

@LondonJax eggs last way beyond their use by date. Don't panic!!

My teens will also eat shoogled cabbage and love creamy leeks

I'd also be interested in how to improve gut flora. Is Kimchee good for this?

Good day today and hoping for a loss tomorrow given my (self induced) plateau

Hi all, well done on the losses and also those who didn't- we will get there

Made this tonight from madhur Jeffrey curry vegetarian
Mix 250ml passata with 250ml double cream (I doubled this as kids like things quite saucy)
Add 2 tsp grated ginger, ground cumin, salt, garam masala, chilli powder and 1 green chilli (which I left out cos of DCs) the recipe said you could add dried fenugreek leaves as an option but didn't have any
Cut 2 packs of paneer, mix with salt, Black pepper and cumin seeds
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil
Brown paneer in one layer, get at least 2 sides brown
Add sauce and simmer gently for 4-5mins

It took about 10mins to make and was tasty. Reckon you could add more spices but didn't due to kids. Had it with coriander/tomato/cucumber/ red onion salad and shoogled broccoli
Cauliflower rice would prob be nicer with it to help soak up the sauce

Had a much better water day - I struggle so badly at the weekends, when I'm at my desk it's so much easier.
Yesterday slow cooked a small lamb shoulder in the slow cooker with pesto over (from the Italian deli so not sure of the carb count but it's amazing!), gad some last night with broccoli asparagus and halloumi. Leftovers made into curry with spices, courgette, mushroom, cherry tomatoes and spinach for tomorrow night. More leftovers tonight with roast red pepper, cauliflower and courgette dotted with feta 😊.

I love lamb and tend not to buy as it's expensive but when I can get 3 or 4 meals out of it then it's not too bad - curry will do DH and I with an extra portion for my lunch.

Also eat a lot of eggs, this morning was two hardboiled with ham and grated cheese, but can mix it up as frittata, scrambled, muffins and shakshuka for different flavours

4.5 loss this week but that’s only from
being v strict after last weekend’s fall off the wagon. Dying to lose 2 more pounds to get into the 10 stones.

egg, very thin polish smoked bacon from Lidl whic was amazing, avocado for breakfast. Salmon pate and celery for lunch. Chicken, broccoli and peppers for dinner.

I've just weighed myself and have lost 0.7lb this week 🤗 plus, I'm telling myself that as an evening measurement rather than my usual first thing in the morning, I've definitely lost more than that in reality! Not a huge loss compared to many on here, but an improvement on my STS last week 😉

No breakfast as I was IF
Lunch was a big avocado, cheese and mayo salad
Couple of cups of tea with milk
Dinner was "fridge tapas" - chedder cheese, blue cheese, cucumber, decaff coffee with double cream and a small handful of nuts.

I'm becoming aware that my diet is quite dairy heavy but until I get to the point of the scales not moving for 6+ weeks, I'm too attached to them to consider cutting them out of my diet 😜

Just checking in 😊haven't weighed yet as we were away over the weekend and no scales. Just KOKO!
Well done everyone for losing or sticking!

I was in ikea last week and managed to get a tomato and mozzarella salad.

@Rshard
i Googled ikea menu and it shows the food , along with nutritional info including carbs ( I know we are not supposed to count carbs , but as a one off it will be helpful to choose from the menu
ps count your steps around ikea , it will definitely be 10000!

I'm just marking me spot - lost 1 lb and happy with that. I've been awol for x days on the threads as I went away for a couple of days, stayed bang on plan then came home with a horrendous stomach upset, so when I did start eating again, I was on bananas/toast/cracker and the like, not excessive, but just needed to reset meself for one day and thankful any damage was minimal.

I had leftover roast pork today with bubble and squeak out of the veggies (not including any potato) yummy especially the crackling!

I'm finding It quite nice thinking outside the box all the time with meals

Thanks @Baystard that's super interesting about colour. I know artificial sweeteners are awful for you but I'm addicted to Diet Coke, and I don't use the word addicted lightly. I'm weaning myself off with the caffeine free stuff at 1 can / day and then trying to cut it out completely. M&S so some nice sparkling waters with lemon with 0 cal or 0 sweeteners and I'm trying to make myself like them... I shall report back on the best of the bunch.

Today has been a bit weird - errands then DD2's SALT assessment, then governors meeting.

B - small slice of pork, left over broccoli with a small knob of butter.
L - salad: lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pork mayonnaise.
D - butter and garlic sauteed spinach and green beans with a slice of pork.

I don't think I've eaten enough today. I'm feeling vaguely unsatisfied - I've run low so need to go shopping.

Fluid -usual 3x 750ml water; 6 cups tea.

Actually, I've just gone downstairs and got a chunk of cheddar. No point moaning about being hungry when I could just eat something!

@LondonJax the cheese and almond muffin recipe uses 3 eggs, the IPD moussaka recipe uses 3 eggs in the cheesy topping (3 eggs, 300ml cream, 200g feta).

@SummerSazz yes, I think fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut etc are good for encoraging a heathy gut biome, and drinks such as kefir and kombucha. But you have to read some of the labels carefully to watch out for high carb / added sugar / sweetener. Onions, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes fartychokes and aparagus too. I think @Stuntnun makes her own kefir.

I've made a load of chicken stock from the carcass of yestserday's dinner. Most is in the freezer, but some is awaiting tomorrow's veg box delivery... I also made 'chef's salad' which is chopped cooked chicken, chopped ham, grated cheese and lots of mayonnaise. I alaso add chopped raw mushrooms just before I eat it - they don't do too well pre-added to the mix. It makes the cooked chicken go a looong way, so I might be having that every day for lunch with lots of salad veg.

@mimosa1 there are quite a few brands of zero carb flavoured water. I like the Ugly brand.

@pinknsparkly not everyone has an issue with dairy so don't worry about it unless you have an extended stall.

Well I'm glad that I went down and got a little block of cheese last night. I also drank another bottle of water. It was a busy day and I think I just ran out of inspiration! This morning I'm down to 65.5kg so that's encouraging. I'm going to get some more food today.

I'm down a pound, but it's back this morning, I'm bouncing. My body is not following what normally happens I can only assume it's because of the gym/personal trainer. I am shrinking, my waist is down another half an inch and my arms are getting very defined. So I guess as long as I'm shrinking it's all good but I get a but obsesses with the scales and I'm 3lb above my target and can't seem to shift it back down.

I had a training day yesterday and didn't take enough food so I ended up hunting and the only thing I could find in the hospital canteen was a very sad very expensive salad. Better prepared today.
@Livelongandprosper naughty cat, Eric the dog is still doing well.