Jan '23 Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 2 - how did you get on?!

[BIWI]

Evening all! I'm posting the week 2 chat thread this evening, as I know how keen everyone will be to post tomorrow. As I'm retired now, I no longer have to set an alarm to wake up, so I don't want to keep everyone waiting tomorrow morning to post.

I love this week. It's when we see how much people have lost, and it can be a significant amount. It can be a real leap of faith for anyone who hasn't low carbed before, and all those who really don't believe you can eat that much fat and still lose weight!

I'm really hoping that you've all had a good first week, and that your commitment 'to the cause' has been rewarded with a good result - be that on the scales, with your tape measure, or the currently-too-tight clothes that you've been trying on.

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

I hope very much that you've had a good first week, and that you're feeling supermotivated for the rest of Bootcamp.

However - if you haven't lost, or you have even gained, please don't be downhearted. We're all different, and there may be lots of reasons why this is the case for you. It's also really important to note that it's not a competition. We all lose at different rates - plus, anyone who is bigger will lose more/faster than someone who is smaller.

Hopefully there are other benefits to this WOE that will keep you on track - at the very least, I hope that you have been enjoying the food, and that you don't feel deprived, like you would be on a low calorie/fat diet.

Good morning everyone. I can’t believe how fast these threads are moving. Like
TangledWebOfDeception I find it difficult to remember who said what!

I am also not sleeping which does not help. Insomnia has been a longstanding issue for years so not new but has been worse last few months despite trying lots of sleep hygiene tips. I long for an unbroken nights as it’s a struggle focusing at work sometimes.

PrettyBird I hope your feeling better.

Well done to those with good losses and NSV’s and also those KOKO despite facing other challenges.

Yesterday
Br: coffee with cream and scrambled egg made with butter and erm more cream!
Lu: gammon, baby tomatoes.
Dinn: pork chop, peppers, red onions, courgettes cooked in garlic and lots of olive oil (was delish).

Today

Br: cream with coffee, boiled eggs
Lu: gammon with avocado
Dinn: salmon, buttery cabbage with a smidgeon of shallots.
Need to work on the water as finding this difficult!

Enjoying food and this woe just dream of that elusive night of proper 🛌 sleep.

Lets KOKO and hope everyone has a good day.

Morning everyone, sorry to hear some of you are not well and others are struggling with not sleeping

Not rubbing it in at all, just sharing my experience after years of waking repeatedly in the night and being awake for long periods, I seem to have turned a corner. Last night I slept from about 10.45 til 4am which is unheard of. I got up for a wee natch then popped a podcast on my headphones and dozed til 7am. That's a real result for me and I actually feel pretty refreshed, which is also unheard of!

The scales seem to be inching down ever so slowly too. I'd lost just over half an lb since WI and 1.2lb since the start of bootcamp when I got on the scales this morning. So glad I didn't succumb to the gin that was calling my name last night.

B: yog and cream
L: shakshuka if I can be arsed making it
D: basa with a cheesy crust, veggies in all the butter. Thinking about it I usually use ground almonds in my cheesy crust so might need to rethink that but the fish will remain regardless.

I am annoyingly staying the same every time I get on the scales this week , hoping for a whoosh
cod in Parma ham last night with the Nigel slater in this weeks guardian online , basically onion til soft , add chorizo, let the oils come out , add sprouts and let it all simmer , a small amount of wine to deglaze ( Biwi stick is quivering now ) and voila

today a picky lunch of tomato , cheese , continental meats
then yoghurt and cream

tonight , not sure yet but chicken thighs are defrosting ready

Good luck everyone

I need cauliflower rice advice. I tried Frying it in copious amounts of butter last night but it still tastes like farts. Is it because I'm buying the packet stuff not frozen? I don't have a food processor to make it myself

Ok 4lb off this morning. Now we are getting somewhere - hit my first mini target. Hopefully it should be the same if not more on Monday as I'm not planning on cheating.

I don't like cauliflower rice so I'm not the best person to help, but I often find brassicas smell like farts but taste fine. If something tasted like farts I just wouldn't eat it. Life is too short for farty food.

@SpottyBumPony I never make cauliflower rice as I can’t stand it out of the packet (although from memory frozen is a lot better), and making it from raw is way too much faff for me. I just make spiced roasted cauliflower/broccoli florets which is much nicer IMO.

The Tandoori style chicken I cooked last night was delicious. I smothered chicken in yoghurt and curry powder then cooked in the air fryer.

Meals today
Greek Yoghurt
Very green soup (lots of garlic olive oil and cream included)
Greek salad, I might crust the feta in crushed pork scratchings and then fry it

Oh I love a tandoori roast chicken! Might do one soon actually.

@SpottyBumPony I just use a grater to make cauli rice then fry it with salt, pepper and garlic so give it a nice flavour.

Morning all - picking up from last night - apologies for any repetition, as always

@DryWhiteagainW

I’ve been using butter and olive oil to cook and using chicken thighs and oily fish. Eating ff yogurt too now.

I think you need more than this though - are you frying your chicken, for example? Are you adding butter to your veg, and an oily dressing to your salad?

And yes, as PP have said, pesto with pine nuts isn't allowed - I didn't think I'd have to put pesto on the list of disallowed foods, because nuts are on the list! But good shout - I'll put it on the list for the next Bootcamp, along with hummus.

@Gingerwarthog better skin is a definite benefit of low carbing! (And no alcohol will also help too)

@Jenasaurus LOL at 'green balls of flatulence'!!!

Sorry to hear about back/legs, @DontGetEvenGetEverything . I'm assuming you will have read Why We Eat (Too Much), by Dr Andrew Jenkinson? The second half of the book (from memory) talks a lot about inflammation, and the imbalance of Omega-3 and -6.

@Savedmybacon that's a classic low carb dream! For me, it's usually dreaming that I've eaten a king-sized Mars Bar. I haven't had a Mars Bar for years, never mind a king-sized one . The relief, when you realise it's a dream, is immense.

However....

You haven't stalled! And I need to remind you that you've lost over 13lbs, so almost a stone, in just over 2 weeks! Of course your rate of loss is going to slow down. And if you're weighing daily - which it sounds like you are - then you will see fluctuations like this.

So when you say:

Have never managed to follow something this strictly before so was really hoping for big losses on top of the other benefits

... I think you really need to get a sense of perspective! I know you're anxious to lose - but remember, the weight didn't go on overnight, so it's not going to come off overnight either.

A loss of 13.2lbs since 3 January is brilliant progress, so it's clear that this IS working for you.

You are also starting week 3, and weeks 3, 4 and sometimes 5 are notorious for seeing weight loss come to a crashing halt. It's all part of the process of your body adjusting to this WOE and is quite normal.

@ThistlyPerf do eggs cause inflammation? I thought they were the opposite! Would be good to know more about this if you can point me in the right direction?

Great result @AllTheBlackCoffee - and very well done for resisting the siren call of the gin

@SpottyBumPony which cauliflower rice are you buying? If it's a branded one, an ambient one - i.e. just on the shelf without any chilling required - then my experience of those has been really poor, as they taste disgusting!

The one I buy is this one from Sainsbury's, which is in the produce section

I always fry it with other stuff though - always onion or shallot, sometimes with ginger/chilli/garlic. It still has a taste to it that's less pleasant than if you make it yourself from a fresh cauliflower.

You don't need a food processor to make it either - you can grate it with a box grater.

Well done @Greatly! How are you feeling today?

I made something new last night that was judged a success by people here, although I was not convinced.

Pork and chorizo burgers, from Marcus Wareing's book, New Classics. (Obviously I didn't have mine in a bun!).

Basically minced pork, finely chopped/crumbled chorizo, finely diced onion and then mixed together with eggs, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water biscuits and smoked paprika.

(I used No Added Sugar ketchup, and there were only 6 water biscuits between 4 burgers, so the carbs were 3.75g per person)

They tasted very nice, but didn't hold together - despite the egg/water biscuits - so they were very sloppy. Certainly those with buns couldn't pick it up and eat it with their hands.

Having gone online to check the carb count of the water biscuits, I discovered that there are two different sizes of these - the small ones that I used, and also a larger size - I suspect if I'd used those, then they would have held together better. I also don't think it needed the egg - whenever I make burgers or meatballs, I never use egg (or anything else) as a binder. So I'll try them again, but without those ingredients. (Which will also keep the carbs down!)

This is the second Marcus Wareing recipe I've tried which hasn't been successful. Of course it's him and not me.

@SpottyBumPony Tesco frozen cauliflower rice is the least cauliflower-y tasting one I've found. Even my cauli-hating DH will eat it.

@SpottyBumPony
that chicken sounds lovely
if you don’t have an air fryer can you do it in the oven ?

Managed to catch the fish van this morning and treated myself to a kipper! Planned to have it for lunch, but I’ve not had one in years and the smell tempted me to have a second breakfast. Oops!

I’ve also bought monkfish. The family love a monkfish curry but my usual recipe uses coconut milk and I don’t think that’s allowed? Anyone have an idea for a substitute for it? Or any other monkfish recipes?
Thank you!

@BIWI i do like the sound of those burgers. I often make beef burgers without any binding agent but haven’t tried with pork; will give these a go. But will wait a week or two as we’ve just had a pork goulash with chorizo the other day.

My meals for the last couple of days:

Lunch (same on both days): a big handful of each of these frozen veg: mushrooms, mixed peppers, sprouts. Plus a load of spring onion. Sautéed in lots of olive oil and butter with mixed herbs and plenty of S&P. Once it’s cooked down I move it over to one side of the pan and fry two eggs in the lovely flavoured fat/juices.

Dinner, Tuesday: Chilli made with slow cooked shin beef, had on a bed of little gem lettuce, topped with a guacamole/pico de gallo mashup.

Dinner, Wednesday: Tuna and cheese melt with a couple of cherry tomatoes, small bit of red pepper, olives, cornichons, jalapeño, mustard, lemon, fresh parsley and mayonnaise. Was a little light on the veg as I forgot to get a cucumber. Had on a bed of little gem lettuce.

Snack: radishes with butter and salt; Cheese cubes

(I don’t eat breakfast as being a seasoned LCer of many years, I very rarely do and I’ve established that it’s just better for me not to mess with the routine)

I have one cup of coffee daily with a tbsp of double cream. I also have one spoon straight into my mouth.

I’m really not feeling the water this time - was going to make sure to have a glass whilst waiting for the coffee machine to do its thing this morning, to see if that could kick start the habit, but I forgot. Might make up a jug of lemon infused water just to help me along.

Have a great day everyone! To the poster whose back is painful I hope you manage to get some relief soon.

@JustAPony coconut milk/cream is fine.

@JustAPony you can have coconut milk! You just need to be careful which brand you choose, as the carbs vary a lot.

Try this brand - only 1.1g carbs per 100g.

@JustAPony I think coconut milk is okay isn't it? Think I read that, as long as the full fat one?
Thanks for advice @BIWI - you're right to get me to put it in perspective, just hard to know if I'm eating the right thing/too much of it/too little fat/too much meat. I like the 'mouthfeel' of the creamy/fatty stuff we're eating, but should we only be having small portions? Am I even in calorie deficit and does that matter? Impatient I know!

@Mercedesbenz2022 yes, you can make it in the oven. Roast as you normally would (jointed, or whole).

However - be careful of creamed coconut - the stuff that comes in a block, as that's much higher in carbs.

@Savedmybacon remember this is a way of life, not just a diet as a means to an end. You’ve got the rest of your life! It will come off, be assured of that.

@Savedmybacon

just hard to know if I'm eating the right thing/too much of it/too little fat/too much meat. I like the 'mouthfeel' of the creamy/fatty stuff we're eating, but should we only be having small portions? Am I even in calorie deficit and does that matter? Impatient I know!

You've lost nearly a stone. Doesn't that tell you that it's working?!

There is no need to worry about portion size/calories at this stage of the game. Obviously that doesn't mean I'm giving you permission to eat like a trencherman, but eat enough to satisfy you.

(And even if you’re not planning to eat this way for life, slow and steady wins the race. It’s hard but try to focus on other benefits. If you’re finding lack of weight loss frustrating do your measurements now so you have them to refer back to - it will really help when the scales aren’t showing progress as you will usually still be losing inches!)

Also as I think Ragz? would say - my memory is shot these days - WATER WATER WATER. If you’re concerned about helping the process along water really is a key component. Which is why I need to go and get my water in!