Week 3 - July 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - full-on or Light?

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Some good results already I see - which is great.

Here's the spreadsheet

A warning about week 3

We now have the choice. You can either stay on Bootcamp, or move to Bootcamp Light, which allows some fruit (mainly berries), some nuts/seeds (although check the carb counts, as they vary hugely) and alcohol in moderation.

However. Week 3 (and 4, and sometimes even 5) is notorious for seeing a change in the rate of loss. You may not see any loss, and you may even see a slight gain. If this happens to you, DON'T PANIC! It's totally, totally normal. As long as you're following the rules, and KOKO, things will resume. It's all about your body adjusting to this new regime.

So bearing this in mind, you may decide to stay on 'full-on' Bootcamp. Or, as some do, a hybrid, so Bootcamp during the week and then Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Whatever your decision, I hope you have a good week.

Good idea @PennyPinkPineapple, I've made those before and had forgotten. At the time I found them a bit strong but then the butter would make them more mellow - 2 birds with one stone maybe.

Sadly @Baystard potato skins are 35g/100g carbs.

Ahh drat @Lougle , I thought I'd had a great idea

Have you tried making cheese crackers, @Baystard?

Dollops of grated mature cheddar or Parmesan, dropped onto a baking sheet and then baked in the oven on a fairly high heat, till they melt, and go crispy

Take them out of the oven and let them cool and then they go crisp. They're a bit fragile, but could probably withstand a sliver (or two) of butter on the top.

@Baystard I made low carb scones yesterday and had a piece of one with butter and the other piece with cream and a couple of raspberries.
Yesterday I wanted to up my green veg do
B- spinach, mushroom, tomatoes fried in butter with 2 eggs friend on top
L- tomato, mozzarella, lambs lettuce and basil drizzled with EVOO
D - chicken fajitas without the wraps with a side of lambs lettuce

S LC scone, butter, cream, jam

Today
B Greek yoghurt with cream
L Prawn Caesar salad
D In restaurant
Salmon gravlax with fennel and orange followed by aubergine, courgette, pesto and Parmesan thing that was delicious.
Glass of Chardonnay and glass of montepulicano.
3l + water each day. I stop counting at 3l

Heading glamping with DH tomorrow.

I suspect breakfast will be the most difficult to manage as it is delivered in a picnic basket and is very carby which is why I was baking yesterday. Will pack some LC bread and scones to substitute.They so have some erythritol but probably better than a croissant and a bread roll!

I make myself cheese crackers every week. Slight adaptation from a Fast 800 recipe...

120g strong cheddar, grated. 60g ground almonds. 3 tbsps mixed seeds (I use sesame, sunflower and pumpkin). Mix together and mix in the white of an egg.

Form into 10 balls and flatten to biscuit shape. Bake at fan 180 for 15 mins.
I like a bit of cayenne pepper on top for variety.

Supposedly 1g carb each. I think that's right as I have been eating them daily since Easter and losing steadily

Lovely with a bit of butter, or tapenade or just on their own.

I have ordered some VLC tortillas via Amazon... will report back if they are any good!

In this hot weather one of my favourite suppers is red peppers, halved and de-seeded. Add some halved cherry tomatoes, garlic, loads of olive oil, salt and pepper and baked for about 30 minutes, adding some feta for the last 5 minutes and sprinkled with fresh oregano when out of the oven. I had this with a couple of sausages and griddled courgettes (we have a glut 😩) for supper this evening and it was very tasty.

This weather is turning me into a puddle. Blahhhh.

Lunch was hastily grabbed, pate with cheese and cucumber. Dinner was lovely lamb chops with a whole pack of asparagus

Started making a big jug of lemon and ginger with boiling water to make tea - tastes like the tea bags and can top it up, it's nice and refreshing - hoping this is nice and low carb? Finally cut out sugar free squash so makes a nice change from water.

@comfortablyfrumpy sounds gorgeous! Will try this tomorrow!

In the original recipe it is 60g cheddar and 60g parnesan - I don't always have parnesan in the fridge so tend to just go with all cheddar (I use a mega mature one)

*parmesan !

Oooh yummy. That's tonight's dinner sorted!

I have taken one for the team, and just had one topped with a slice of lovely salty crystally butter (Aldi Beurre d'Isigny). Can report, is absolutely delicious.

Those crackers sound lovely @comfortablyfrumpy - will have to try those.

Thanks @comfortablyfrumpy for testing this I'll give this a try this evening.

Minor victory this morning - I'm down into another stone bracket. Next challenge is to get down to a round poundage number!

Less great is the lower back pain I've been waking with every day for the last week, unsure if it's something wrong with me or if I need to review my sleeping arrangements (DH is heavy and although relatively new I think the middle of the mattress sinks a bit at his side). Persevering with ibuprofen for now.

Going to try making my usual LC bread in the slow cooker today too. I love homemade LC bread - it's lovely toasted and buttered and lots of good fibre. The need to bake it for several hours in the oven is the only downside with current electricity prices, but I'm going to experiment with the slow cooker today.

@Baystard Which recipe do you use? I have seen quite a few, not sure which to try.

Hello late to the party but could I also join? I’m afraid I’ve been conditioned by low fat diets but have turned into a carb monster with an insatiable appetite.

I won’t lie the thought of eating fat seems terrifying in case I gain more weight rather than lose despite me having read the science behind it!

A major NSV for me would be to stop thinking incessantly about what I can eat next and get cravings under control.

I promise I would catch up one day 🙄I haven’t forgotten about you 🙂

Kids off to school on Tuesday so that should free up some time (except the errands that piled up while they are off and I’m unable to do when they are here)

1kg down here as I “only” would like to shift a stone.

Need to look at some exercises as I want to shrink my upper arms a bit (they are on the big side) and the bit round my waist doesn’t want to go either🙁

Keep on losing 💪

@comfortablyfrumpy

50g psyllium husk powder
140g ground almonds
2 tbsp seeds or ground linseed (I use a variety, trying sunflower and pumpkinseed this time)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cider vinegar
3 beaten eggs (recipe says use whites only but I just use the whole egg)
240ml boiling water.

Mix dry ingredients, mix in egg and vinegar then add the water and beat until smooth.
Normally I bake in a loaf tin at about 170 degrees for at least 2 hours. You're meant to bake until not rubbery inside but actually I prefer it a little more moist (and it takes many hours to get it really dry). It does take longer than instinct tells you though - you see it rise and brown nicely and imagine that after an hour it must be ready but you need to persevere until a skewer comes out clean. It looks a bit like a malt loaf when baked rather than a loaf of bread but it's very tasty and toasted will have a bit of crunch.

Depending on the brand of psyllium it can be a bit purple in colour but toast and cover in butter and you'll never notice

@sheepdreams welcome! I know it feels crazy when you've been conditioned to see fat as the enemy but it really isn't (we have "Big Food" global corporations who make huge profits processing cheap carbs into "food" to thank for this scandal). If you're looking to regain control of your diet and eat nutritious, satisfying real food then you're in the right place!

Welcome @sheepdreams . I promise you won't put on weight by eating fat. I add clotted cream to my yoghurt each morning. That means I get 26g fat each morning, just for breakfast. I've lost 26lb since May and I didn't have masses to lose to start with.

Morning everyone, just did the dog walk nice and early, had my coffee and cream and 1.5l water down already.
I want to try to incorporate some strength training into my routine so thinking of doing 2 x 15 mins per day as I can slot them into my schedule easily enough...a mix of squats, lunges, planks, press ups and shoulder press....gotta start somewhere!
Lunch today will be a big tuna salad with feta and olives
Dinner - fried chicken and mushrooms with a chilli pesto and cream sauce served with Courgetti
I have a batch of homemade egg mayo which I will have a couple of spoons of as an afternoon snack
I am going to get organised for the week and meal plan and do the online shop today...a good weekly plan is key to me not falling off the rails!

@Baystard thank uou. I have all ingredients so will try that one :)

Honestly @sheepdreams you will be surprised.
I switched to low carb at Easter and have since lost 27lbs and several inches off my waist.

I didn't think I would cope as my diet really had been carb heavy. I had no off button. Chocolate, bread, biscuits, pasta ...

I don't get nearly as hungry with this WOE. I don't cook specially for me, I just substitute extra veg for potatoes, rice etc (though recently have tried some of the low carb noodles etc). (Aldi currently stocks some). Roast cauli is lovely . I have plenty of butter and olive oil. I do have some chocolate, but really really dark. I don't need much of that, whereas I previously could chomp through a 100g bar of milk chocolate.

The support here is fantastic. Go for it, you will not be disappointed.