Jan '23 Low Carb Bootcamp - the (in)famous week 3 ...

[BIWI]

Morning all

Normally I'd link to the spreadsheet, but I'm having an issue with it this morning, as I can't scroll down the list of names and keep getting an error message saying my window isn't big enough to display it. Both on Safari and Chrome, which is odd - so I'm putting a call out for @FinallyHere to see if she can resolve it!

Anyway ...

PLEASE READ THIS POST CAREFULLY!

Welcome to week 3. This is the week where you have a choice. If you wish, you can move on to Bootcamp Light, which means that you can now introduce fruit, nuts/seeds, chocolate and alcohol.

SOME.
IN MODERATION.
NOT AT EACH AND EVERY MEAL!

So with fruit, this is mainly berries - when the spreadsheet is sorted, check out the fruit counter on there, which will show you which fruits are best to introduce. Similarly nuts.

With chocolate, make this the highest cocoa content that you can - certainly 70% should be a minimum - and restrict yourself to a couple of square, not a whole bar.

And as to alcohol - it's dry wines and clear spirits, with low calorie mixers or, even better, soda/sparkling water.

Remember we're still on Bootcamp - so be very careful how much of any of these you introduce.

However, week 3 (and 4 and sometimes even 5) is infamous as this is the point where you may see your weight loss slow, stop or even reverse

It's very, very, very common for this to happen, so if it happens to you, don't panic! It's not a stall. It's all about your body settling into this WOE, and what you'll see once we get through the low carb doldrums is your weight loss will continue, albeit at a slower rate of around 1-3lbs a week. (How much you lose will depend on how much you have left to lose).

Bearing this in mind, you may want to stay on strict Bootcamp. There's nothing wrong with this at all - just make sure you are following Bootcamp rules, and that things haven't started to slip. In particular, make sure that you're sticking to rule 4 - i.e. that the majority of your carbs are coming from veg/salad. And don't forget the water!

Some Bootcampers like to do a hybrid, which means strict Bootcamp during the week, relaxing into Bootcamp Light at the weekend. The choice is entirely yours.

Just wasted 20 mins of my life reading the pate thread and now really need some pate in my life - what can I spread it (as thick as a doorstep) on?!

@QforCucumber I was on there too!

I usually spread it on thick discs of cucumber.

You could also make Parmesan crackers.

Thank you for the pork cooking tips and links everyone 😊

As for 'pudding' when out, my preference is for a starter followed by a main course, while lots of my friends prefer a main course followed by something sweet.

If we haven't already had a starter, I've had good results ordering my starter at the same time as they order pudding. People taking the order sometimes do a double take, so far its worked perfectly.

if we have already had starters, then just coffee it is. Simples. Love this WoE

@BonnieBairn I've been reading these two books lately which focus on why saturated fat isn't the enemy it's been made out to be. In fact, I believe it's now been dismissed as a cause of heart disease but unfortunately most health professionals still follow outdated guidance. You should have a read-it's very enlightening.
Hope the screenshots attach!!

I meant heart disease and bad cholesterol. Apparently the cause of these is due to carbs and insulin resistance. You should definitely have a read as I'm rubbish at explaining things😂

Haha @MaryDoll84 thanks for those recommendations. I will definitely take a look.

Out for a meal this evening and pleased I didn't fall completely off the wagon:
Skate wing with samphire and leeks
Clotted cream ice cream
Espresso
Large glass house red

No chips, rice, pasta, potatoes or pastry.
Feel good too.
Lots of water today.

It’s my birthday weekend so i’m a bit off piste, but made better choices at the restaurant and done batch cooking for the week and turned down a second glass of booze (first time i’ve done that!)

Had post sugar crash earlier after some cake and felt terrible; reminder for me that this woe isn’t just about weight loss, it’s about how i feel. Topping off the birthday weekend by going to sunday roast tomorrow, but that’ll be easy to stay on track and i think i’ll drive as i don’t fancy a drink

Happy birthday @LittleMy77! Feel-good food choices definitely the best pressie to give yourself.
My library is kicking all the goals this week, @MaryDoll84 I've just borrowed The Big Fat Surprise, thanks.
@Rayna37 thank you for that sauce recipe. I love mustard but not making sandwiches anymore I can never think of how to eat it.
@Savedmybacon glad to hear your pain and inflammation are resolving. And kudos for picking yourself up post binge and getting on with the work of being good to yourself 💪

Thanks for those @MaryDoll84 im going to give them a go too!

after the microwave fire of last week we haven’t yet replaced it (couldn’t get the smoke smell out) and have been making scrambled eggs in a pan, they really do taste so much nicer ! But any tips on them not sticking?

Sadly the answer is probably a new pan! I'm resigned to a new small non-stick pan we use for omelette/scrambled eggs on a near annual basis. I think DH does more harm to it than me but I have no interest in making his breakfast and lunch or taking over the washing up the pans we get from John Lewis do have a lifetime guarantee but that's for breakage not just wear and tear from heavy usage- it might make 4 meals in an average day, not bad as cost per use! For scrambled eggs, I know many swear by low and slow but I'm firmly in the higher heat, plenty of butter in first, stir constantly and turn off while still a bit wet school of scramble.

I use a non-stick pan, and do the low and slow method. Plenty of butter is a given! Never tried it on a high heat before but that appeals —as I am impatient— might give it a go next time.

It doesn’t stick much if you stir gently all the time, although you get a little bit of residue which comes right off.

@DontGetEvenGetEverything I use mustard in cream/peppercorn sauces, in cheese sauces, in Remoulade and vinaigrette, and as a condiment with sausages, chops, and so on. It goes well with braised chicken too. I keep the jar for ages so it always gets used up eventually, in fact we always have at least 3 jars on the go - wholegrain, English and Dijon. Sometimes a 4th as the farm shop does a fantastic French mustard with a different flavour profile to Dijon.

Happy Birthday @LittleMy77! 🎉🎁🍰🥂💐

Happy birthday @LittleMy77
Interesting trip to M&S yesterday, woman saw my cealairac in basket and wa telling me about the cottage pie she was planning on making with one and how she was reading about eating high fat but cutting the carbs. Should have steered her here.

@Savedmybacon (and others, sorry I’m so bad at keeping groups of names in my head!)

I’ve been there before. It’s a horrible feeling. But it’s not the end of the world. And the good news is you can avoid going back there! Choice is a big part of it - making the choice not to go there, like @FinallyHere said, evaluating what you want more: the good feeling for an hour or so but then the horrible feelings later for much longer, or the thing that you’re hankering for. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s really not! But half as often is still better than every time.

It takes time and effort to build new habits, especially where there is a strong psychological pull toward something. A few slips will happen here and there but each time you can learn what your triggers are and how to better avoid them next time.

Late last year I finally decided (as I’ve decided several times before over the years, tbf) that I was done feeling so unwell - firstly from eating the things that are wrong for me - I don’t feel right even on moderate amounts of bread/pasta/baked goods/sweets etc, but also from the meds I’ve had to take in the past year to counteract the carbs, which made me feel so nauseous).

But this time I have gone in completely differently. It’s hard to explain but I’ll try...I decided I am going to have to approach this the way an alcoholic has to.

For me the reality is it has to be for life. There is no leeway, there is no ‘maybe I can someday have small amounts’, there is no ‘I’ll cheat carefully’, there is no ‘this is temporary’ mindset.

This is different for most of you, of course, as you will likely be maintaining in a different way to me; you may be able to go off piste with a big blow-out once a month, for example. But I know with certainty that I cannot. I’ve tried many times and it really doesn’t work for me.

So as part of my reprogramming I have taken from the maxim ‘behave like the person you want to be’ and that, simply speaking, is what I’m doing:

Every time temptation hits I say the words to myself, I am not a person who does X when I am sad/frustrated/angry/etc. I am a person who looks after myself well. And then I don’t do it.

Instead, I do something else — a little job or chore on my list, a bit of crafting, write in my journal, make myself a cup of tea and read a chapter of my current book, ask my DH for a hug and kiss, do some virtual window shopping (dangerous strategy...) or go out for a quick walk.

It’s amazing how well it works.

Remember the mind likes to be told what to think/what to do. It will respond positively to positive instruction.

Sorry for excessively long comment, I’ve tried to be less verbose but it never happens.

Hope you each have a lovely Sunday.

To add, I think that the fact I have managed in the past to control my diabetes with diet for long, long stretches at a time, meant that I’ve got a bit complacent as the years went on.

I used to be able to have an extended holiday from being strictly LC but still keep it to a fairly low intake so it wasn’t bad for me. Don’t seem to be able to do that anymore. Probably because I had a very difficult time with stress at a previous job that made me extremely unwell on top of already having had a very difficult 6 months with bereavement and other negative experiences, and then my DH having several heart attacks a couple of years ago (completely unexpected - in his 40s, fit and healthy, doesn’t drink excessively, never smoked or taken drugs, eats well).*

I think I’ve just been a bit battered and bruised from all that, in emotional/psychological terms, which has made moderation too difficult over the past couple of years. However I am coming out the other side and feel stronger/more resilient now, thank goodness.

*That reminds me, I had a lovely email at the time from someone on BC, offering to help with coaching when/if I was ready to get back into work. Might have been @prettybird or maybe @venusandmars? I’m sorry I can’t remember...but it was such a lovely thing to do and I really appreciated it, so thank you!

Happy birthday @LittleMy77

I'm with you on the 'fast scramble' method @Rayna37. Good friends of ours, who we stayed with last night (and who made scrambled eggs this morning!) are devotees of the 'low and slow' method. But I always think that gives it an odd, almost grainy, texture.

@BonnieBairn StuntNun knows her stuff about cholesterol and, I'd be prepared to bed, more than your GP. Zoe Harcombe also writes a lot about cholesterol and how we've got it all wrong. The books @MaryDoll84 linked to are a great place to start - I'd also suggest reading The Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes for an explanation of how saturated fat came to be so villified.

And if the GP starts to talk about statins, I'd think twice about that. If your cholesterol levels really are worrying, then I'd give the diet a chance first - a low carb diet (which is high in fat) should rectify any issues. (Unless you have family hypercholesterolemia, which is different - see here). Statins are one of the world's most profitable drugs - profit before health?

We were out yesterday afternoon with our friends, at a music festival (indoors thankfully!) which was really good. Started off beforehand with a tapas lunch, which was lovely, but then at the festival it all went a bit wrong - the only food choice was pizza, from a street food van parked outside. It was very thin, and very tasty! but still not quite what I wanted.

But, today is another day ...

I'm prepared to 'bet' not prepared to 'bed'!

Oo-er @BIWI!

Lovely bike ride this morning, much milder and saw daffodils! Interesting PP chat on high cholesterol. Mine was high about 18 months ago - blood pressure fine, HDL ratio fine (weight not fine😬) so I tried to reduce with changes to diet. Three months of cutting saturated fat - cut right back on cheese, fatty meat, butter, all the pleasures in life! Cholesterol fell by about 0.2 (from over 7). GP decided it was probably familial. One month on statins and my cholesterol level was halved.
B: boiled egg
L: 'tapas' plate of smoked mackerel, streaky bacon, feta cheese, olives,
D: Beef stew, cauliflower rice, maybe carrots.

Zoe Harcombe - why we've got cholesterol completely wrong

... and a follow-up piece

Finally, a piece about the relationship between cholesterol levels and heart disease

In which is the following:

High cholesterol is associated with lower heart disease and vice versa – for all the data available in the world. High cholesterol is not even associated with high heart disease, let alone does it cause it.

^^