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.

@Kleptronic - go you!!!! You will do it!

It seems a good time to re-post this meme

@venusandmars moussaka is on my list for next time DH has lasagne; a great LC option. I also love aubergine in any sauce/dip form such as baba ganoush/zaalouk. Another great recipe (with some modification if you're strictly LC) is Chanakhi, a Georgian stew with lamb or beef and tomato/aubergine/peppers.

Had our veg delivery today, too, including a Seville orange marmalade kit for DH so I expect we will make that together this weekend.

Big bag of baby spinach, some of which we will have tonight. The rest will be great for my soups/salads/omelettes this week. Two fennel bulbs so we'll have some lovely crunchy salads. Lots of carrots and cabbage, plus other things. I'm very happy right now!!

Also had my delivery of SLC rolls to try out for the first time - they've gone straight into the freezer - and a pack of LC crackers which I'll save for a later date when I really fancy them!

@prettybird can't remember if I said but of course I love smorrebrod, makes a very luxurious and delicious brunch treat for me once in a while!

Thanks @prettybird! I feel seen

That's a great loss @Kleptronic! Sorry for not seeing you - it's often quite random what my brain decides to actually see/absorb/remember on a long thread like this.

I'm right there with you on keeping on with one foot in front of the other - since this a lifetime thing for me, it's really the only way I can approach it.

@TangledWebOfDeception that aubergine tip instead of pasta is great, thank you. I always struggle to know what to eat with pasta sauce when I've made it for the rest of the family.
Definitely going to try the moussaka someone else mentioned too...

@venusandmars I love chicken parmigiana with aubergine (I use this but make my own tomato sauce) or ratatouille which I must make this week!

Brilliant @Nugg that looks great! definitely going on my list.

@Smorgs Glad I could help! I sometimes add cheese on top, or change it a bit with plenty of garlic/herb butter instead of drenching it in olive oil and mixed herbs/chilli flakes.

I've just added one of my regular aubergine recipes to the vegetarian thread:

Vegetarian Low Carb Recipes http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/lowcarbb_bootcamp/3146576-Vegetarian-Low-Carb-Recipes

Aubergines with tomatoes and harissa (also works with pesto if you prefer it or have a jar open!)

DS likes to call Aubergines "aubos" which makes me laugh as though he's some type of influencer trying to find the next thing after #avo ! (He's 5 and won't actually eat them)

Oh @Rayna37 I love Harissa so I'll definitely look that up too!

@TangledWebOfDeception mmmmm garlic and herb butter, now we're talking
@Rayna37 love harissa and have a jar that's been sitting on my shelf for ages, another good tip thanks

Loving all the moussaka talk! There's a recipe in the meat recipe thread but I always make mine with @BIWI's cheese sauce. I do the same with cheeseburger pie (not keen on the eggy topping!)

Can anyone recommend some sharp pickled onions? Just had a few with my lunch (Sainsburys normal ones) and they taste so sweet I couldn't eat them!

@Rayna37 thank that does sound lovely!

Good morning. Very interested in the 'prune' chat'. I've found swede to be most effective (and celeriac but don't like it). Will up my spinach intake. Today's challenge is coffee with friends in a garden centre. UK residents will know garden centres are carb heaven but aiming to only have coffee. Pray for me!
Breakfast: boiled egg
Lunch if I survive the garden centre - Cauliflower cheesy soup
Dinner: Spag bol without the spag and leeks braised in butter.

I realise it's not morning! Failed to post earlier 🤦‍♀️

Aw @TangledWebOfDeception no worries, I only posted the once. I'm an old tired veteran of many years so haven't said much.

I do think that's where I'm going wrong, I need to keep myself accountable and encourage others!

My best self weight wise was achieved on this WOE and I've been mostly low carb since. A stone on in 5+ years and lockdown is good going considering my age 😬 so it really does work, everyone! Well it's a stone and a half, I keep losing the same half 😂

As well as umpteen events I've got a wedding this year and a dress from 5+ years ago I want to fit back into. Unless it's a bit dated but I guess that's a question for Style and Beauty 🤔 Still, it's motivation for health and the wallet.

Onwards lifestyle changers!

Sorry for absence from the thread. An exciting day started with not waking up till after 9 because I had such a bad night's sleep, with a rush to get ready to go to the dentist and then the hygienist. (First visit since the pandemic, so I was a bit worried about that). Then after lunch spent 57 minutes on hold to HMRC to get them to confirm I don't have to do a self-assessment tax return this year.

Really frustrating process to get them - finally - to confirm this. Started with completing an online questionnaire on their website which said, 'no' I didn't need to complete one. But that's not the end of it. Then you have to report this result to HMRC - on the same website - which I did on 3/1/23 - only to be told that I'd have to wait around 15 days to hear back from them. Today, 21 days later, I went on to my personal account to find out that the process had been completed, but that the result would be posted to me - so I'd have to wait up to 14 days to hear from them. . 14 days would obviously take me past the 31 Jan deadline.

Got on the phone - recorded message told me they were very busy (not surprised, at this time of the year!) but I wasn't going to give in and cut the call. At 50 minutes into the wait, I tweeted about it - funnily enough my call was picked up 4 minutes later. Coincidence?! Anyway, the good news is that I definitely don't have to submit one.

What a waste of time!

Anyway, off to do a usual long post to answer various questions and posts from last night/today ...

@prettybird that recipe sounds good - I love lemon posset, and it's so easy to make it is a pretty regular feature at various dinner/lunch parties! I thought the explanation as to how it works was interesting too. I did once try and make it with a different citrus fruit (think it might have been pink grapefruit?) and it didn't set - I think you need more acid perhaps.

Interested that the recipe specifies 2 different kinds of sweetener - any idea why? I'm also a stevia avoider, as it upsets my stomach.

Re all the various comments and recipes for aubergine one of the things I've found is that you have to fry it first, rather than just chucking it into things. Otherwise it seems to remain stubbornly tough. I love frying it, though, as it absorbs lots of lovely olive oil!

@amispeakingintongues and @TangledWebOfDeception I have read that if you cook pasta, then cool it, and re-heat it, that somehow the carbs are lower. I don't know how, or by much, but I'll try and find out. I can, most of the time, quite happily go without pasta but every now and then I would like to be able to have some. The Low Carb Company's new product may be worth trying, but it's the expense of it that's a bit off-putting. I certainly wouldn't be feeding it to others in the house!

I hope you're feeling better today @BSky, and that the scales are kind to you. I'll spare you The Big Stick - but next time if you're not feeling well, try and avoid bananas!

@JustAPony I'm afraid prunes are definitely out! 54.3g carbs per 100g for dried prunes! If you're going less frequently, no need to worry about that. It's only if you're having problems or pain going that you need to be concerned. Keep up your veg/salad intake, along with the fat/water and all should be well.

Other things to consider are strong coffee, a high strength vitamin C tablet, and some/more exercise. You can, of course, now introduce some nuts/seeds which might also help.

@DryWhiteagainW the thing is, if you were to plot all your daily weights - over time, you'd see that the trend is downwards (assuming you stay on plan, of course!). If the daily weighing is affecting you negatively, then why not just weigh weekly?

Great result @stayathomegardener! And not just the weight, but the other benefits. As @Jollyholibobs says, it's such a relief not to be at the constant beck and call of food.

@QforCucumber sorry - I missed your post yesterday.

now that the appetites are waning, when it comes to eating which is the most important the veg or the fat? Or should I try to balance equally?

The ratios we're aiming for are:

High fat
Medium protein
Low carb

... so that's what you need to bear in mind. That said, it's really important that you eat plenty of veg/salad per day, as this is really good nutrition.

on Sunday I wasn’t hungry at all from breakfast to dinner. Literally had a Pepperami and a babybel, but wondered if I should have had a handful of cucumber or something else in there too even though I didn’t need it?

Appetite suppression is one of the major benefits of this WOE, so if - at this stage - you're not hungry, then there's no need to force food down. This is why many people start to add in intermittent fasting into their days.

Go you @Kleptronic! I've seen you too! Keep posting here so we can help you retain your focus.

@BIWI private pasta does sound appealing. I could create a pasta pedestal in my kitchen somewhere

@BIWI - I've no idea why it asks for two different sweeteners I don't have Stevia (and no intention of getting any ) so I used inulin instead as I have some. Next time I'm going to try with no sweetener at all (will just do a small amount all for me )

I think grapefruit has some sort of enzyme that could've impeded it setting.

I have noticed, whenever I've searched, that any grapefruit posset recipe also calls for lemon juice to be added - your explanation makes perfect sense!

Can you make lemon posset without suger? So just lemon and cream? I love it but I’m not a fan of sweeteners so wondering if that’s a vital part of the setting process. Appreciate it would be quite tart but I’m ok with that.

Given the explanation that @prettybird linked to, it's the reaction between the cream and the lemon juice that makes it set, so I don't think you'd need the sugar. So you could definitely try it. If it's too tart - which it might be with just lemon juice - perhaps try making it with fresh orange juice? Just need to add some lemon juice as well I think (based on my own experience with another fruit!)

@BIWI the author of the keto kitchen cookbooks claims a few drops of liquid stevia sweetener cuts away the horrible mouth cooling feel/taste some people get with erythritol. I don’t know if she’s right, as I’ve never tried it. I’ve got xylitol and insulin syrup here. Glad you got your taxes sorted.

The chaffles do seem to freeze well.

Mixing a couple of tsps of sumac, and a couple of crushed garlic cloves with olive oil is a nice marinade to brush on aubergine before roasting (tastes great on lamb too) is my addition to the aubergine love.

Ah! Good to know @UnfinishedBusiness - thank you.

*inulin, not insulin. Curse you autocorrect!