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.

Morning everyone. Took my coffee back to bed but now need to force myself outside for a long walk in the lovely crisp frosty morning. Had breakfast despite not being all that hungry, a habit I need to break. Streaky bacon and fried egg. Lunch will be stir fry with a tuna steak and dinner a roast chicken with celeriac chips. Right. Walkies!

Morning everyone! 🌻

Leisurely start to the day here - just finished coffee in bed. About to make DH a very non-LC breakfast (my treat to him every weekend as a thank you for everything he does for me/the household).

Going to do a bit of a bedroom drawer re-jig today (I love organising) and also box up/bag up some things to sell/bring to charity shop.

Don’t know what I’ll have for lunch today but dinner is going to be a Thai Green curry with chicken.

Yesterday I had scrambled eggs for breakfast, leftover celeriac and pancetta croquettes with a fried egg for lunch, and courgetti bolognaise for dinner which we cooked (heated) in the campervan on the way south to stay with family. Excellent!

Started the day well with black coffee, eggs and bacon. Sunny but cold, really excited to be heading into London for the first time since 2017 I live in the north and have a smallish child

In awe of prettybird's loaf.

Can't remember who was asking about the seriously low carb bread. I'm not that keen on it, I find it a bit insubstantial and tasteless, and it is pretty expensive. For something to make soldiers with I prefer Schneider Brot A slice is 50g which is about 4g carb. They are thin and dense, a bit like a scandinavian rye bread (but not so treacle-ey). In line with that, I like it spread with cream cheese, topped with smoked salmon and gherkins. It also keeps for ages.

Was out at friends for dinner last night and we ate really late (scallop smoked haddock and cream starter; slow cooked lamb and chorizo stew with brean beans; cheese). We were still eating cheese at 11pm. Result=indigestion in the night.

Will be taking it easy today.
B - just coffee (preceded by my usual first-thing-in-the-morning rooibos, and a glass of water)
L - egg mayonnaise salad
D - cauliflower and leek curry

Ah thank you @venusandmars! I’m Danish so I’m a big fan of that style of bread and do make an exception for it once in a while when I’m maintaining (since it’s not a trigger in the same way that properly delicious, freshly baked bread is).

I would happily eat it exactly as you described - cheese/peppers or smoked salmon/cucumber. And a hundred other ways that fit such as scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, prawn salad, pâté. However I really want something specifically for egg and soldiers/toast feel in my mouth and that style of bread just won’t work.

But thanks for taking the time to tell me your opinion of the bread - I do have misgivings which is why I haven’t tried it yet...

I love Danish rye bread and you have reminded me how nice open sandwiches are: something to look forward to once I'm at maintenance

To whoever asked, the scoring pattern on the bread is actually very easy - it's the rise that makes it look so good. I do a Christmas tree version at Christmas that is also very effective (just a 5 legged W and then the trunks and branches which are just straight lines). I'll take a photo when I do my next loaf (currently underway and I'll be baking one of them tomorrow morning).

Happy Saturday!

I had coffee and cream for breakfast today as I had a deep tissue massage at 9.30 and boy-oh-boy am I glad I didn't have a stomach full of food as I was tortured massaged. Next stop was the library with DS and some chazza shops. Now we're home for lunch then off for softplay and icecream. I know I'm going to wish I was eating a waffle but I have decided not to and am sticking with that choice.

Coffee with cream
Avocado, sliced roast chicken drizzled with oil and a dollop of mayo
Sausages, leeks another veg

I like the Seriously Low Carb bread for sandwiches, but I don't think it makes good toast. It just dries out and has an odd kind of taste.

Happy weekend everyone

@prettybird that bread looks amazing.

Just on a freezing cold train.
Planning next weeks meals. Definitely want to try the celeriac chips. Going food shopping later so I'll look out for some.
The sprouts you all talk of. How do you make them?
I've been doing mine in the airfryer for speed. I slather them with olive oil after.

I don't know about anyone else but the dramatic drop in my appetite is shocking. It is like a switch flicked.
I was forever grazing before hence why I have to much to lose 🙃 but it doesn't even enter my head anymore.

I like the Seriously Low Carb Bread despite the somewhat weird ingredients list but I buy the bread mix and make it in the bread maker so I can have decently sized slices. I slice it and freeze individually bagged slices and eke it out for ages, usually as a base for Eggs Benedict. I like the rolls as well but they're too big, I wish they did a smaller size. To go with soup I make the almond muffins someone recommended on a previous Bootcamp (these are only suitable for Bootcamp Light as they contain nuts.)

Almond muffins
100g ground almonds
30g cold butter from the fridge
3 medium eggs, chilled
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
90g grated cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste, I also add smoked paprika
Fresh or dried chives or oregano

Preheat oven to 180C.
Either grease a silicone muffin tray or use paper muffin cases in a metal muffin tray. (The muffins will release immediately from a silicone tray but have to be cooled to remove them from the paper cases.)
In a food processor, mix the almond flour and butter.
Add the eggs, baking powder and seasoning/herbs and mix.
Add the cheddar and mix.
Spoon into the muffin cases - makes about 9.
Bake for 14 minutes.

I keep them in the fridge and serve them by halving them, grilling both sides and adding lashings of butter. You can also make them plain by omitting the cheese. You could theoretically make them sweet, they would be similar to scones, by adding artificial sweeteners but I can't eat artificial sweeteners so I've never tried that.

@TigerYiger Thanks for that. I'll look it up once I've finished the few books that are sitting in my kindle library. I'm reading Grain Brain at the minute which I'm finding rather interesting and the author supports a high fat, low carb WoE as a preventative measure against almost all chronic illnesses.
@TangledWebOfDeception Thanks for the explanation regarding blood sugar. I'm a bit of a lightweight anyway so I definitely don't want to be overdoing it whilst low carbing! If I fancy a drink again I'll make sure I have some fatty food with it, and sip water at the same time.

Not sure on my menu or plans for today but have a great weekend everyone.
Oh yeah, just to add, I agree about the seriously low carb bread. It's lovely as bread but always burns around the edges if I toast it. I can recommend the buns but they are on the pricey side. They're a lifesaver for those times when all you want is a bacon sarnie though

@FinallyHere - I echo your words on the Lindt Dark chocolate. Its so good for you too, a small square can satisfy the craving for chocolate and has antioxidants etc, I have cherries when not on BC for the same reason, when in season I have them fresh and when not in season have them frozen straight from the freezer on my porridge, now if you combine the porridge with a square of dark chocolate and the cherries you have a healthy black forest tasting breakfast! I know not allowed porridge on BC but when eating my normal LC (less than 130g carbs a day) I have this for breakfast and it keeps me on track and satisfied)

Good Morning everyone, I hope you are feeling better today @prettybird and can enjoy the weekend.

Today I have my pedicure that my DD got me vouchers at Christmas for, so just getting ready, realise my feet look awful and a little embarrassed, I may post a photo of them afterwards if I feel brave.

Today I got dressed several times as I have lost weight but am not quite there, so bought clothes in different sizes and found a lovely outfit, only then realising that I have to strip off (it was a jump suit) evey time I go to the loo, which is quite a lot and as I am out for a few hours not really practical, men have it easy dont they, they can just pull it out to go whenever!

Have a lovely day everyone and keep sharing those photos of meals, I find it really inspiring.

Morning everyone......I've a confession to make, I went to a party last night fully intending on drinking diet tonic and lime juice but ended up having most of a bottle of Prosecco 🤦🏻‍♀️ the good thing is I managed to avoid the inevitable carb munchies and stuck to the LC nibbles all eve so I'm proud of myself for that. Before BC I would've eaten my body weight in crisps. So drawing a line under it and KOKO today 💪🏻

@TangledWebOfDeception that was really interesting to read about alcohol as it's always been my downfall when trying to lose weight. Thanks for posting that.

@BonnieBairn
You are not alone. I Intended to go to pub and have no alcohol beer - two large glasses of red wine later.....
On the other hand, did not give into carbs and had healthy prawns with salad.
Onwards and upwards ( and no more wine for a while).

I eventually found the celeriac in my local Tesco today, in the fruit aisle beside the melons! 😂

@Gingerwarthog thanks! Normally doing something like this and then the subsequent carb fest would be enough to completely derail me but I'm determined, not this time.

@Jenasaurus I was thinking 'yeah, mean have it easy, they just pull on any old trousers' then I read your post properly

Just discovered another of dh's misdemeanours: he ate all my holymole avocado dip, leaving the sweet chilli humous.

I think he needs to be reminded of the rules. That is MY rules - DON'T EAT MY STUFF

@venusandmars He’s just trying to be placed in the naughty corner isn’t he! Is it very warm and comfy there? Maybe remove the fleecy blanket and he might think twice about it!

To be fair dh is lovely, and coping with a lot of family stuff (very elderly very frail parents who have today sent their live-in carers home!!). He's intelligent and articulate but he has never studied any biology, biochemistry, or science (beyond complicated maths and contour lines), nor is he interested. He knows meat is protein and sugar is bad but that's about it.

So he sees me eating butter and cream and doesn't understand why I'm not eating chickpeas.

I'm the opposite - biochemist/pharmacologist by training and see life as one big existential experiment and the kitchen as a chemistry lab. In a parallel universe I am a food technologist and nutritionist and as parallel universes go I'm also a ballet dancer and an actor

I think I'll make it easy for him by having a 'me' shelf and a 'him' shelf in both the fridge and the freezer. Beyond that I refuse to baby him by making his breakfast or choosing his lunch. To his credit dh is the most fabulous holiday researcher and planner.

And he's a terrible cook, and I'm a good cook and fussy, and quite controlling so me doing the food planning and cooking is 100% fine.

Awww @venusandmars I hope you didn’t think I was implying your DH is anything less than lovely!

A shelf each sounds like a good idea.

@BonnieBairn
Am back on the good path!
Water.
Fried eggs
Tea
Long walk

@TangledWebOfDeception no, I'm fine with any criticism of dh it's just interesting how different we are...