Pre-Christmas 22 Boot Camp: Week 4

[prettybird]

Good Morning all! Sorry I’m a bit late - had a fabulous weekend away and will weigh in myself tomorrow after spending the day drinking a lot of water

Here we are in Week 4 already - nearly half way through , Remember that many of us experience a few weeks of doldrums over Weeks 3, 4 and even possibly week 5, where the scales will resolutely refuse to move —or even move upwards slightly . This is normal, so keep the faith, follow the rules , KOKO and the scales will move again. In the meantime, concentrate on the NSVs, like better sleep, better skin, more energy and/or looser clothes.

Remember that this is a marathon not a sprint, and try not to get too fixated on the short term.

I’ll get @FinallyHere to link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Here's to another good week

@HaveGogglesWillTravel - good for you for getting back on the wagon. I'd definitely count that as an NSV.

I know you've said you can't pinpoint it, but maybe going forward, in addition to all the water, make sure you don't get hungry, which leaves you open to temptation and the bad habits of disordered eating. Try and have a good three meals a day and have low carb snacks and/or some water always to hand.

Good advice, thank you prettybird

afternoon all, well done of getting the far, last week after my (massive) face plant into carby hell I am back on it and feel better for it.

One thing I would like help on, I feel now the weather has changed I am missing warming food for my lunch at work. I keep eating salads or picky bits but sometimes you just want a warm bowl of soup or casserole, can you give me some of your warming meals that are easy to take to the office, we have a microwave and a kettle. Also mum gave me some leeks from her garden, ideas please?

@Crazyone84 this is my favourite thing to do with leeks: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/buttered-leeks

Alternatively, you could make them into soup to take to work in a flask?

Just wanted to report 1.5lbs loss. Happy me, water helped. I need to stick to the water situation.. Thanks so much for your suggestions @NotDonna and @Skiphopbump

@ZiggZagg Aww.. hoping Iris bring lots of happiness. she is so cute.
@prettybird I just started trying to sleep at 10:30 since Nov 1st ( Reading Atomic Habits and wanted to try something rather than just reading it.. Lots of sleepless/poor nights prior to this, setting the time really hit it off.
I wonder if anyone takes milk on BC ? (this is also to help good sleep), But the way I drink cream coffee per day, I think I will go well over my carb/dairy margin if I do.
Eggs for Lunch
Chicken curry for dinner
KOKO everyone..

I'm up a couple of pounds this week, but I'm not going to stress about it. I lost 4lbs the week before so I think this is just part of the up and down nature of the way I lose weight.

One of the best things about Bootcamp for me, is looking back at the end of each one and seeing a solid loss. In the eight weeks I'll have been up and down, happy and discouraged, but at the end there's always an overall loss of a few pounds. I need the perspective!

I'll just KOKO. I've a difficult week coming up so I'll just do my best.

B: yogurt and a few raspberries
L: eggs, mushrooms, avocado
D: low carb chilli, sour cream, guacamole, salad.
S: a nibble of cheese

Water - not so good today 🙁. Will just go and drink another glassful now.

@BIWI a good reminder!! Thank you!

I was away last week and abandoned this WoE . Anyhows I'm up 1 lb and back on it today - rested and refreshed! After my successful BC i was 164lbs. I've floated up or down a little, and I'm 163 today so my goal is still 160 in the short term.
@ZiggZagg you made me laugh with ravished. Since you're home alone, awaiting mayonnaise, I assume you meant famished. Beautiful dog.

Thank you to everybody posting, @prettybird @BIWI @FinallyHere and all the regulars and irregulars. You make this thread so supportive. A little team of motivators. Talk tomorrow, as one of my intentions is to GO TO BED on time. 'Night all.

I'm up 1.4lb but I've lost 2cm off my waist. I would love to understand what's going on here?
I'm not so worried about weight, I've been putting weight on for the last 18 months and I've just hit the unhealthy range, so I wanted to put a halt on it. But I'm feeling good. And I'm thoroughly bemused by this waist getting trimmer while weight not lost?!?!

@SerenWantsItAll have you been doing much exercise? That would explain it. It's why it's important not to just look at the number on the scales.

Haha @CaffeineFreee !! I did mean famished, sometimes with fibro I forget the words I mean!

@SerenWantsItAll - congratulations on losing the inches around your waist. One of the effects of adapting to the WoE and balancing your hormone is that your insulin is managed better. One of the (indirect?) effects of that is that your visceral fat - the dangerous fat around your organs - is reduced, hence the positive effect on your waist.

I'm not good at explaining it though (especially why it is the visceral fat that reduces) - @StuntNun is one of the best

I got to bed just before midnight, so achieved my "self-care" objective last night

I've dropped a half pound, which is good, except I've had a stomach bug the last few days so frankly I feel cheated!

Had a banana yesterday which wasn't on plan obviously but hadn't eaten anything and it felt like it was what my stomach needed.

I'm now 11st 10.5, and according to happy scale am losing at 0.67lbs per week. Today will be a slice of SLCB toast and spag bol for dinner.

Just posted on the old thread. Copied and pasted here.
Thanks for the new thread @prettybird and @FinallyHere . I’ve been absent last week completely fell off the wagon. Back on now though I hope. I love the well-being challenge. I know I need to improve my sleep and that a lot of other things would also improve. I am trying to reduce caffeine and screen time. I also started a wellbeing diary a few weeks ago which I was using each day as a prompt to think about what’s gone well and get into in a more positive frame of mind.

B black coffee
L nice cheese and salad
D veg noodles, miso broth, poached egg.

and I need to up my water.

I had the same as @Lucienandjean yesterday - low carb chilli with grated cheese, guacamole, sour cream. Lots in the freezer for another day too.

Will be making soup this morning with a rather sad looking leek, some broccoli and kale and blue cheese.

Morning all
ohhh @ZiggZagg she is lovely !

The problem here is that your weight is an incredibly poor indicator of your body fat as it can fluctuate by several pounds each day. If you've gained weight but your waist is smaller then you've lost fat but the fat loss is masked by water retention. Especially in weeks 3-5 after going low carb which is when water retention is at its highest. Other factors that can mask fat loss are exercise, particularly if it makes you feel sore a day or two later, eating too much fibre, or your period being due.

@prettybird the reason this way of eating targets visceral fat as the first weight lost is because different parts of our fat stores have different receptors, they are not all the same. The visceral fat, which is the unhealthy fat that surrounds organs, is very susceptible to be lost when blood glucose levels are well controlled and insulin levels are lower, which is what happens when you go low carb. The bad news is that belly fat is the hardest to lose and will be the last to go after you have lost excess visceral and subcutaneous fat (the fat immediately under the skin.) People that are trying to flatten their tummy need to achieve a very low body fat percentage in the 14-20% range. That's very low considering most of us would be very happy if we were in the 21-24% range.

Had a banana yesterday which wasn't on plan obviously but hadn't eaten anything and it felt like it was what my stomach needed.

@DearieMeWhatsUp when you're ill you need to prioritise your recovery over trying to stay low carb so you did the right thing having a banana. Similarly, after a D&V bug, most people want to have a piece of toast when they're ready to start eating again. In this case it's better to eat something that will definitely stay down rather than try to eat low carb.

I have just discovered after doing this for ten years that piccalilli is low carb! The only problem is I'm not sure what to do with it. I tried some with mature cheddar which was very nice. I also reckon it could be good on a burger. My DH thought it might go well with gammon. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

@StuntNun - thank you for that explanation

At least I did remember correctly that it was something to do with insulin

Piccalilli is lovely with a Scotch egg @StuntNun - although obviously would have to be a low carb one!

Please can I have your recipe @BIWI as I have a deep fat fryer so I would be able to make it.

To be honest @StuntNun I would just eat it out the jar with a spoon, I love picalli
Geeat couple of days here did body pump class last night and had a pt session this morning. Down a pound and a half this morning. Which only leaves me 2.5lbs of my before Christmas goal.