Week 6 - July 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - three weeks to go

[BIWI]

Morning all.

It's all gone a bit quiet - which I'm assuming is to do with it being holiday time, rather than everyone has disappeared?!

Here's the Spreadsheet, once again

I'm cooking my slow cooker challenge today, as I have my niece and her husband coming to stay for a couple of days. I'm serving it with celeriac dauphinois and griddled sweetheart cabbage.

Any other slow cooker recipes to share?

Come and tell me how your week is going - and that includes all of you lurking at the back

I've lost my first stone! Bit of weight loss from before boot camp, and more steady weight loss since I started here. No one in real life has noticed (sob) so I'm posting here to mark the occasion!

Well done @cardboardbox24 they do say that it takes at least a stone before weight loss is visible to others. Hopefully you'll get some compliments soon to spur you on.

Hello! I’ve been doing it nearly a week now. I’m kind of making small modifications as I’m recovering from an eating disorder and don’t want to flare it up but I’ve never felt better! I’m only going to weigh once a month as I don’t want to get obsessed with the scale.

Down a total of 9lb so far, 2.6lb this week.

I'd really like all this extra weight to just magically go but we've had family parties every single weekend since we started, as well as holidays, house moves, homelessness etc etc so I know I'm doing my best in tricky circumstances.

Some of my clothes are feeling looser but my arms seem to have ballooned and everything feels tight.

Saw pics from the family party this weekend and it was not good. Think I've got a bit of reverse body dysmorphia which is how it's got this bad.

Feeling quite down about it today amongst all the stress going on in life right now.

@cardboardbox24 that's brilliant! Really well done you. You know you've lost the stone, which is the most important thing. And I bet that next time you meet up with someone, who hasn't seen you recently, they will notice. (Although just bear in mind that often people don't like to make a comment - one of my friends was very sensitive about it, and said 'it's really like they're saying you were fat before'!)

@GingerAndLemonn great progress - and I think you're taking a very sensible approach. One of the reasons I created Bootcamp around 'no counting' (carbs and calories) was because I had become obsessed with counting calories on previous diets. Thankfully no ED, but the obsession in itself made eating a dreary prospect as well as tedious. You don't have to weigh yourself at all, if that's an issue - take measurements or go by how well your clothes are fitting you, instead.

@bandbsmummy sorry to hear you're feeling so low - but try and focus on the positives. 9lbs in such a short time is really good going. Especially if, as you say, you've got other/stressful things going on in your life. What you're actually learning is how this WOE can fit in with life - you've lost a lot of weight despite everything else.

I'm celebrating having lost 20kg since I started low carb eating in January. It's been a long slog but this is the first time in my life I've succeeded in losing more than a few pounds. I've had some falls off the wagon, but it's never seemed too hard to climb back on again.

I've got plenty more weight to lose though. My next target (about half a stone to go) is to get below BMI 40. I'm trying not to look beyond the next target, the next stone off, the next 'decade' of kilos.

One thing I'm struggling with at the moment: for years I've been a size 24/26. Even though I've lost quite a bit of weight, I've only recently got into size 22. And somehow I'm not comfortable with it! I think I was happy hiding in my old clothes. Since I've bought some new clothes, my weight loss is more obvious and I hate people mentioning it.

Gratters @cardboardbox24 and well done.

@Lucienandjean I'm with you on the hating people mentioning it, especially hate the 'have you lost weight' question. I always fob 'em off with an airy oh, my weight fluctuates a lot. It's obvious to me that if they look at my decreased shape and congratulate me, they probably did the opposite when my shape was increasing.

This is IMO completely different to congratulating someone on a reported weight loss.

My NSV is another half inch off my waist which takes me below the 'very high risk' category into the 'high risk.

www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/measuring-your-waist

@Lucienandjean Opps got completely side tracked from congratulating you on your reported two decades loss.

Congratulations and well done.

@Lucienandjean that's fantastic progress! Really well done

You're going to have to get used to people complimenting you, aren't you?

I understand how you feel though. I suspect that for a lot of people, being overweight is kind of a way to 'disappear' and not draw attention to themselves.

But this is about you and your health, which is most important. Go and have a read of the resources on the spreadsheet, or have a look at The Diet Doctor's website, and read up about all the over benefits of low carbing - beyond just weight loss.

And as ever, if you're struggling, keep posting here and we'll do everything we can to support you.

And also brilliant @FinallyHere! Those 'little' victories all add up to something really significant

Morning all! I've found and unpacked the scales (amazing really, considering the entire house is still an obstacle course of cardboard boxes. We moved house on Tuesday!). I'm still slightly up on the weight I was before our holiday and house move, but coming back down from the weight after the holiday. So I'll take that! Have meal planned for the week, and had the Tesco order arrive late last night after a week of buying easy to prepare food from the corner shop!

On a different note, because I shared on this thread about the miscarriage I suffered back in June.... I've just had a phone appointment with the GP (on a bank holiday which baffled me!!) and she's ordered a raft of fertility investigation bloods. She was lovely and I hope it throws up something that will be easy to solve!

@BIWI and @FinallyHere thanks for the support. You are exactly right when you say it's about 'disappearing'. I hate being noticed. And if someone says, "Have you lost weight?" it's hard not to hear that as "You looked awful before."

This is the only place where I'm honest and upfront about exactly how much I weighed at the start, and how much I've lost. Dh is generally supportive (and has put up manfully with the lack of potatoes in his diet this year 😂) but he's one of life's effortlessly thin people, and I don't talk hard numbers with him as he'd be outraged, I suspect, that I started off at 22 stone 😕.

Hello everyone and well done on all the losses. I'm happy with my weight now and don't really want to lose more but am thrilled with the other changes ie less pain in my hip and fabulous blood pressure. This morning it was 100/70 (down from 148/95 about 8 weeks ago) which is pretty darned amazing 🤩

I'll carry on with low carb as much as possible simply because it makes me feels great! I'm still drinking wine and the odd G&T and I even caved and had one tiny slice of baguette yesterday but our meals are predominantly very low carb. I've never eaten so many green vegetables and cauli 😂

We've just booked a short holiday in Spain in a few months but I think it should be fairly easy to stick to the plan while there with lots of salads, veg, meats and cheeses.

I didn't realise it was Monday (stupid nights) which means half a pound down for me, will probably be more by tomorrow and I may adjust the spreadsheet in the morning as I am always about 2lb up when I finish nights. Don't know why must be water or something.
@cardboardbox24 well done on your first stone, they may have noticed but not commented, maybe people you know are more polite than the people I know 😂.
@GingerAndLemonn sounds like a good plan. Sounds like you know your own triggers and what to watch out for. Good luck, your health is most important.
@bandbsmummy sorry your feeling down. I'm sure the photos weren't so bad we are our own worst critics. Things you hate about yourself other people don't even notice. 9lb loss is fab well done.
@Lucienandjean 20kg, wow!!! Well done. I also hate people mentioning it but you do sort of get used to it and actually I find it quite funny now. I think generally people are in awe of anyone who actually manages to lose weight and they want tips. It's stopped for me now unless I see someone I haven't seen for ages. I never know how to answer the question, have you lost weight, yes. Where is the conversation supposed to go from there. I also struggled a lot with the psychological aspect, @BIWI and the gang helped me through that. It was like I was treated differently which really highlighted the fact that I wasn't treated well before.

@FinallyHere waist loss is the best. I'm working mine like a beast as I don't really care about the rest of me but I want a little waist 😂
@pinknsparkly justo sending good vibes, I hope they get to the bottom of things for you, and a congrats on the house move.
@catwithflowers where are you checking your bp? I don't want to be a Debbie downer but that's a bit low.
I'm eating out twice this week, once with friends tomorrow where I should be able to stick to plan and once with all my family to celebrate the girls results where I'll be honest I probably won't.

Just checking in, will catch up properly later. Down 1.4lb today, taking me into a new stone bracket, woohoo! Had a bit of an unexpected and off plan long weekend, but haven't gone too crazy so hoping the damage won't be too bad and I will be back on strict BC for the rest of the week.

@ditavonteesed
I'm just checking with a home machine but a decent and reliable one. I've checked the NHS website and BP is within normal range. To be fair that's on the low side for me, I check most days and it's usually a little higher but not much. 😊. Checked with my husband too (doctor) and he thought it was fine.

Just another benefit of a low carb lifestyle!

@Lucienandjean just to let you know that those 'you've lost weight' comment feels equally hard when you've gone from 12 stone to 10... We all feel the implied judgement of others. Everyone wanted to talk to me about losing weight, I only wanted to talk about my catastrophically high blood pressure. Keep your focus on your physical and mental good health. Ignore other people.

(and I get what you mean about your dh - mine is a long, lean, skinny thing - he'd be bewildered that I (a foot shorter) would weigh more that he did)

So, in some bizarre synchronicity, I have bought a slow cooker. This thread and the previous one (which I didn't join) have @BIWI posting slow cooker recipes. This is my first time - have made hungarian goulash for tonight. But I don't understand how you cook a 'joint' of meat. The instructions say to cover everything with liquid? How does that work? Or do you slow cook and then briefly roast? Help!

B - spinach, avocado, poached egg
L - cheese
D - hungarian goulash, sour cream, cabbage, a few peas (can't resist them fresh from the garden)

A late check in due to mental Bank Holiday weekend...(husband put back out, I've been running around after everyone, had to make puddings for family bbq yesterday, friends over today with last minute changes to dietary requirements sprung on me and toddler has come down with scarlet fever 😭😭)...but 4lbs off this week, which is 12lbs since 9th August and I'm absolutely thrilled.

I made a batch of LC savoury muffins this morning, I'll share the recipe tomorrow, off to bed for me 😴

Just popping back with today's food.

Brunch: poached egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato (meal out with family). I left the toast (this is huge - bread is my one craving).

D: low carb chilli, sour cream, avocado, lots of salad.

a Late check in from me as well, as I am still on holiday, I have scales here and have managed to stay the same this week, which is also week 3 for me, so hoping to carry on like this and stay same whilst away.

Found you all! A very minor loss this week. I did roasted belly pork today. I boil it briefly which really tenderises it. Tasty!

@venusandmars that sounds odd - one of the things you have to do with slow cooking, in my (very limited, I will confess) experience, is add less liquid.

The pork loin I cooked yesterday was the joint on a bed of sliced onion, lemon, apple. I dry fried the joint first, over a medium heat, to render some of the fat and also brown it a little, and then deglazed that pan with a little water, which I added to the slow cooker.

The end result was a lot of 'jus' from the veg/fruit as well as the joint. If I'd covered it with liquid it would have ended up more like soup I think!

There are some great losses here. Well done everyone.
1.2 loss for me this week.

As someone who has put on a massive amount of weight in the last year I am always conscious of what I imagine people are thinking and not saying whilst trying to be invisible.

Did day one of c25k yesterday. A bit eventful as I fell over on uneven ground and later was bitten by a dog. Neither incident caused any serious harm. Dog was over enthusiastic young lab. It was excitement not aggression.

Made a filo feta pie on Sunday without the filo and it was lovely with leftovers for weekday lunches.

2 weeks and 2 days til holiday. Have bought a lot of lovely clothes to fit the new bigger size. I know that’s not how it should go but at least I will feel better about myself in nice clothes and when I have lost this weight I will give them away.

meal plan for today was portobello mushrooms as pizza base but Ocado substituted sliced mushrooms. I will make a mushroom cheesy mess I think.

I'm getting a bit disheartened now. Now had two weeks of no loss and this week I've put 1lbs on. I feel better for low carbing but the main point was to lose weight and apart from the initial 5lbs that hasn't happened.

@CleanQueen123 did you read my posts about weeks 3, 4 - and occasionally 5? Unfortunately lack of loss, and/or occasional gain, is very par for the course, so don't be downhearted.

If you're following the rules (you are, aren't you?! ) then it will happen for you. Just KOKO.