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

Another one who's not a moderator but finding the Christmas chat useful to get my head in the right place.

Just KOKO here.

Busy at work so not very good at keeping up with the thread.

Feel that my midriff is less solid.

Still waking up at 3am most nights - thanks peri - but not eating the snack that I'd convinced myself I needed to get back to sleep so that's great!

not eating the snack that I'd convinced myself I needed to get back to sleep

Oh, yes, @agnesmartin I'd score that a double win, getting back to sleep and not eating the snack.

Well I totally lost it last Christmas, started this woe new year before so was my first Christmas and I put 5kg on. I was upset. Too much socialising. I haven't really thought about how I'm going to do it differently this year so it's really interesting reading what others do.

I'm definitely an abstainer I have no off switch. Once I start.

Thank you @FinallyHere I'll take a double win. Definitely less hungry at night 👍🏻👍🏻

Thinking a bit more about Christmas - I will be very pleased with myself if I go back to LC for a few days between Christmas and NYE rather than spending the whole Twixtmas scoffing cake and chocolate.

Last year I bought a panettone to try - and it was not my taste at all - but of course I ate it 🙄so at least I'll avoid that.

Following on from other posters am thinking about non-LC 25-26 Dec and then 30 Dec-1 Jan would work for me.

It's such a tough time for healthy eating! Will be interesting to see how it goes now that I am really aware of not liking the sugar rush and then crash that comes with sugar/carbs. Am hoping the sweets will be less compelling ...

On another note, I made this tonight (amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/14/pork-meatballs-tomato-sauce-recipe-apple-eccles-cake-thomasina-miers) and just skipped the breadcrumbs. It's yummy. I think the tomato sauce makes twice what is needed - so I have a tub in the freezer for another meal or two.

Don't know how to do links properly on my phone.

I particularly liked this bit of advice from @StuntNun :

whatever you do, don't fall for the trick of finishing up all the leftover carbs before you allow yourself get back on track. Someone else will eat the half a box of Celebrations or you can even chuck them out if no-one will eat them. It's just as much of a waste for you to eat food that's bad for you just to use it up, as it is to throw it away.

In other words, we should value ourselves: we are not human dustbins

Success would be for me to loosen the reins a little without going completely off the rails. That wouldn't work for me @FinallyHere I must be an abstainer rather than a moderator. I've already decided what I will do for Christmas and I'm going to stick with that. There will be minimal temptations in the house. Whereas set me free in a house full of mince pies and Christmas chocolates and I will be finding excuses why I need to eat them. I'm the same with caffeine; I can't even have caffeine-free tea or coffee or my subconscious will be finding reasons why I need to go to Costa. I don't think it's even an addictive personality, I'm just a very all-or-nothing type of person so I don't do anything by halves.

I like that idea, @prettybird and am absolutely on board with thinking of eating good I don't want to eat is equally if not more wasteful than just throwing it out.

Do you have a link about moderators v abstainers? I've found Gretchen Rubin but appear to be both 😁

Thanks @StuntNun

I also got the abstainer v moderator description from Gretchen Rubin (I have her "The Happiness Project" book and one of the later ones that I can't remember the name of ). I'm mostly a moderator but there are limits. I add in the "mindful" bit which helps me but I can't moderate for long - which is why the Festive Period is difficult .

So for example, if I were in France, I'd allow myself two of my favourite items of patisserie - but on the last two days of my holiday. (A religieuse au café and a tarte aux framboises or pommes, depending on where I am). If it were only a weekend, I'd only allow myself one of them.

Posted too soon: because good French patisserie is special, that's why I'll allow myself to choose an item and enjoy it mindfully . But to reduce future temptation, I do it at the end of my stay, so I can't fall face first into more patisserie

In @ShagMeRiggins absence , I feel duty bound to do a shout out to drink some water

Great ideas about Christmas everyone. Unfortunately I had an unexpected challenge to deal with at work yesterday that's carried over through the evening and into today, but I will catch up more fully when I can, and respond to team BC properly

I'm not sure I agree with the concept of abstainers and moderators. I suspect we're really all abstainers but some of us like to think we're moderators. Maybe moderators exist in the wider community but I do have to wonder whether a moderator would end up in a weight loss support group.

That is a good point @StuntNun or I wonder if we are all both at different times. Moderators when all is calm and life is not throwing us challenges but then it all gets messed up when we have stuff to deal with. I've always said I can lose weight but only when everything else is right, this last year has taught me that is not true but the effort required when other stuff is going on is so much more, the reward however is also more.
I have also come to the realisation that I will always be having to focus on my eating, not like my slim friends if I want to stay healthy I will always have to be weighing and focusing. Hopefully not as much as now but always.
While focusing for a long time on mini targets and having reached my weight loss target last year and being nearly back there again now I have decided to be a bit radical and change all my targets.
I initially wanted to be a healthy bmi and I'll be honest I didn't think I would ever get there. Having maintained around 11 stone for a long while now (with the up and downs as expected). I am setting myself a new target of 9.5 stone. That is what I weighed at 21. I may find that is too much and makes me look old but I want to see if I can actually get there.

Another 2lbs down. I've not been well and I'm struggling with breathing but once I've shifted this it's back to exercising to help the weight loss along.

Very weird I think my scales may have taken a turn. I've been restricting calories as well this week in the hope of getting things moving and they have been, about half a pound a day, got on the scales just now and I'm down 2 and a half pounds from yesterday. I reset scales and did it again with same result. Only thing I can think off while dd had a shower this morning shower curtain fell off and pole May have landed on scales.

If it's right it gives me a mega victory of bmi 24.9 but it can't be right can it?

@ditavonteesed I've tried bashing my scales with the shower curtain pole. Didn't work for me

For Christmas I do two things: first is remind myself how lovely and decadent the food is on this woe - I can have delicious cualiflower cheese and bacon any day of the week, I can have avocado and sour cream on my chilli and don't have to bother with the boring rice, I can make delicious butter chicken, or sprouts shoogles in butter - who needs to wait for Christmas for treats?

I also think really hard about what does constitute 'a treat'. For me it's a really good roast potato. But it is NOT a soggy one at an overpriced Chrismas meal out. It might be a tiny portion of really excellent Christmas pudding (I make a variation of the Heston one with a brandy soaked clemantine baked inside, it is VERY rish so a tiny portion is all that anyone can manage) but it is NOT the multiple not very good mince pies / stollen cake / stale Christmas cake on offer everywhere I go. And I know that I will feel awful if I start eating sweeties, so I just don't buy them.

Brunch today - bacon and eggs
D - Slow coooked thai chicken curry

@venusandmars!

I took the batteries out and put them back and it's back to the more expected half a pound.

On the self care I just stopped at Tesco on the way back from gym and bought myself some lovely flowers, which actually appear to be cabbages so well boot camp friendly.
Dd1 has gone away for the weekend for the first time ever so I'm going to really test that anxiety medication this weekend.

On the subject of Christmas food, I've just turned down my first mince pie of the season, and am feeling a little bit proud of myself.
When it comes to Christmas itself, I will eat small amounts of carbs on Christmas Day itself (one roast potato, a little bit of Christmas pudding, maybe some crackers with my cheese) but only on that one day. I've already said I'm not buying Quality Street or other junk, and I don't want sweets or other carby stuff as presents. Hopefully this'll limit the damage!

As it happens, I only like my home made mince pies and dislike shop bought ones, so it's easy for me to turn down any I'm offered

In self-care progress, I managed to get to bed before midnight again last night - only just, mind: it was 11.59 In my semi defence, I seem to be getting my biorhythms into better balance is that the reason I was so close to midnight was that I fell asleep on the couch

I was so inspired by the idea of self care and decided to I take myself out for a walk even if just ten mins each morning before I start work each morning. It would be a very good use of the commuting time I save when WFH.

Shamefaced to admit that it hasn't happened yet.

Going to stop thinking about how lovely it would be tomorrow morning and instead set my things out the night before and get ready & go out before I've had a chance to think about it.

Let see how it goes. 😄

That's a lovely idea @FinallyHere

You can do it

In addition to getting your stuff ready tonight, I'd advise not opening your curtains before you go out. Whatever the weather, you'll appreciate that you cleared your head and valued yourself for that short walk

And then you can sit down to work feeling smug that you've already achieved something

I'm really not sure what I'm going to do over Christmas this year. It's been really interesting reading about others' plans and thoughts. I remember one year when I eas doing SW gaining 11lb in the week, that was depressing. I'm working really hard to lose- don't want to gain it all back! Having said that, it would be really miserable not to have any special food. I think I'll try to stay as LC as possible, but prepare some really luxurious LC food so I don't feel deprived.

Everything has been slightly complicated by DP finding out he has raised cholesterol and the GP wants him to reduce by diet. He's also got IBS so can't have gluten or onions. He's a skinny queen but lives on cake and ice creams. It's pretty challenging trying to think of meals we can all eat! Luckily the kids aren't too fussy!

B- eggs with butter and ham
L- yoghurt with blueberries and walnuts
D- salmon, broccoli, baby sweetcorn and homemade hollandaise.

Kids had s'mores for pudding- I was jealous!

Sorry I haven’t kept up with the thread much, it’s been a shitty few days resulting in me & DH currently not speaking.
Food and water still okay and i’m reading and cheering you all on still.
KOKO everyone x