Jan '23 Low Carb Bootcamp - welcome to week 5

[BIWI]

Evening/morning (depending on when you read this!)

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

So now we're in the second half of Bootcamp. Hopefully we've successfully navigated the doldrums of weeks 3 & 4, and the scales should be a bit kinder to us all. But bear in mind that weekly losses are now going to be smaller than in the first couple of weeks. This is entirely normal.

By now everyone should be feeling more confident about low carbing/Bootcamp, and how this can become a longer term WOE. Of all the diets I have ever done (and I'm guessing that like many of you, there have been plenty along the way), this is the only one that has ever felt like it can become a genuine WOL - way of life - as well as WOE.

The thing that always marks these threads out to me, compared with any of the threads about weight loss that you might read on Mumsnet, is just how much they're about good, tasty food. Not deprivation or compromise. And I think that's why it's easier to stick to.

So in the spirit of foodiness, it seems appropriate to issue a Bootcamp food challenge! Like many, I'm very much aware of the cost of food right now - try as I might, the cost of my weekly shop seems to go up and up. I wish I could say it was because of all the fillet steak and lobster I'm buying, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

One of the things I've been trying to do, to keep the weekly bills down, is to add in at least one more vegetarian meal per week. So my challenge to you all is to post a recipe for a killer vegetarian meal - obviously one that also fits with Bootcamp - that is perfectly suited to weekday, family eating.

Look forward to reading all the suggestions

@AllTheBlackCoffee I wrap mine like the Koreans do - little one or two-bite parcels. I also follow their custom that filling your mouth all the way with said parcel - to where you can hardly close your mouth to chew - is perfectly acceptable! Makes fillings spillage much less of a problem.

Sorry to hear about redundancy situation at work @AllTheBlackCoffee - hope things settle down for you soon

@Smorgs glad to see you're still with us though!

I wish I could promise that all the weight would magically drop off, but sadly it doesn't work like that. As we've said in the past, this is a marathon not a sprint.

Another one here with no time for lettuce "wraps"- fajita style chicken/beef here is just a plate full of spicy meat and veg with a dollop of sour cream or three and grated cheese on top. DH often will have some spinach underneath all that but I rarely bother.

Just to add, hopefully obvious I use cutlery

Hi all, congrats to everyone for their losses. A 2lb loss for me this week, it's all adding up, slowly and surely!

Here is my veg recipe recommendation, it always comes out delicious, the whole family love it and guests love it too.

headbangerskitchen.com/recipe/keto-eggplant-parmesan/

I have a question, I'm thinking ahead to the start of Ramadan on 22 March and I'd like to keep up this WOE during the month long fasting.

How do I maintain my water intake? I will try and drink as much water as possible but of course the water won't be spaced out throughout the day, so it would be 4 glasses in the evening and 4 glasses in the very early morning.

Will I still see the benefit of drinking all that water? I'm concerned that my body will just dump the water because I overloaded it.

Any advice would be great!

@Squeezita I would add electrolytes to your water during Ramadan so that you're absorbing as much as possible. I would definitely try to keep up with the water if possible.

My monthly weigh in today duly recorded in the spreadsheet. This is the moment when I wish I had been brave enough to weigh myself at what turned out to be a maxima

Started 10 Jan 22, first weight recorded early May 22.

I'm KOKO and focussed on how I feel after eating anything. The scales are certainly going in the right direction.

Good going @FinallyHere!

Your message made me take a look at the spreadsheet @FinallyHere Bloody well done, that is am amazing loss. You must feel like a different person.

Tucking in to Spanish chicken with cauli rice with some pecorino grated on top. It’s delicious and can’t quite believe I can eat this on a diet. Chorizo is allowed right?

BITW when in Aldi the other day I found the most enormous XL avocado, I risked it and it was incredible! This will never happen again!

Incredible progress @FinallyHere! I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't put this weight on overnight so it's not going to shift instantly either!

I buy Aldi avocados, but try and get them on the day I intend to eat them, and rarely have issues.

For anyone that celebrates V-day, it looks like both Waitrose and M&S have some bc-friendly options (cheeseboard for dessert!) in their meal deals.

Well done @FinallyHere!

Well done @FinallyHere , fantastic loss and a real inspiration to keep on going.

Ooh M&S for V day- have they got the "Love sausage"again?!!! Bootcamp approved seasonal eating at its finest

Today: snuck in a swim after breakfast club drop off (DH away). Nice avocado & cheese omelette for breakfast, and lunch was tinned mackerel in oil with a wholegrain mustard and sour cream "sauce" and salad, plus some yogurt and low carb granola. Beef with green veg in oyster sauce (hm and previously frozen) with some fried cabbage.

Friend due over any moment for wine, olives, a bit of manchego and peanuts. Will try to go easy. How are we all doing on the water? I'm . It's really important!

Think I need to make more of an effort with water as I’m really struggling with being ‘backed up’ despite also adding in fybogel. I lost 1 kg between Monday weigh in and Wednesday after a few normal er evacuations!

My main veggies are cauliflower, broccoli, spinach and celeriac which seem not to have the same effect others are experiencing 😕Anyone have any tips?

@ThistlyPerf

Definitely the water - and also upping the fat - should help you.

Do you do any exercise? If you do, then do some more/make it more vigorous - and if you don't, then try to get some in. Even if it's just going for a walk.

A strong coffee and high strength vitamin C tablets are also supposed to help.

However ...

... if you had 'normal evacuations' on Tuesday (which it sounds like you did from your post), that would suggest that you're not really constipated! Reduced frequency isn't an issue - it's only an issue if you're suffering difficulty and/or pain when you're going, so not really a need for the laxatives at this stage.

@Squeezita I'll be doing ramadhan with you. We can support each other.

Oh, and I picked up this little snippet from Dr Michael Moseley this morning:

The broad rule of thumb is that for every kilo of weight you lose, you lose about a cm around the waist

Which is interesting!

Morning campers!

Can't offer any advice on the constipation issues, I seem to be the opposite at the min Always the same when I'm stressed out! But agree that water, fat and a strong coffee seem to help.

I've just been marvelling how easy I'm finding it to stay on track at the minute. I'm not losing tonnes but the scales are inching down day by day and I'm not feeling any urge to cheat. This is the first time in a very long time I've felt like I might actually be able to do this and it's a weird feeling. Clothes are fitting better, I'm getting back into running and I'm feeling generally much better in myself. After months, or years if I'm honest, of feeling constantly bleeeuuugghh, it's such a positive change. Not sure of the point of this ramble but just wanted to put it down in writing somewhere.

Today's plan:
B: yog and cream
L: stuffed mushrooms, salad
D: salmon in Parma ham, veggies, all generously doused in garlic butter

I'm very glad! It's lovely when you feel that you're in control of your diet, rather than the other way around

@AllTheBlackCoffee

I'm feeling generally much better in myself.

That's how I've been feeling, it gives me real hope that this woe really is sustainable in the long term. I'm a long way from needing to negotiate the complexities of maintenance rather than loss, though I feel confident enough that that day will come to indulge in idle speculation.

@FinallyHere @AllTheBlackCoffee Same here, very few cravings, lots of new variety in meals, especially vegetables, where I was in a real rut with steamed carrots and brocolli, or salad. Feeling confident that if I just KOKO, I'll be in a very different place next year. Todays meals, boiled egg for breakfast, stir fry chicken for lunch, steak and chips (swede fries for me) for dinner as eldest is honouring us with a visit and it's his favourite. There may be wine, a small glass for me, and dessert (cheese for me if I feel the need). Then I can spend all next week worrying about him on the ski slopes...

I love this @AllTheBlackCoffee it has taken me 4 weeks or so but I've finally broken past the 'eating for habit not hunger' phase.

Even when fully full I would always go and grab a something every time I made a cup of tea, a biscuit or a babybel - leftover need to have something in my hand with a brew form my 'tea and a ciggy' smoking days I think. Realised yesterday that 've not done this in over a week, a creamy coffee is proving a sufficient breakfast and only really needing a hardboiled egg or 2 for lunch (with wholegrain mustard mayonnaise to keep the fat up)

so, even though the scales aren't shifting, the better sleep, the brighter head, the clearer skin and the lack of a 'need' to eat all the time are changes I'm more than happy to continue with!

Another poster who can relate to this. I know it's early days but I'm also starting to feel a glimmer of hope that I might be able to stick to this long term. It's amazing to not be constantly thinking about food and counting down the hours til I'm next 'allowed' to eat. I'm not really starting to feel properly hungry till around 2pm.

L:cheese,cold sausages,hard boiled egg,olives,mayo
D:prawn curry served on roasted cauliflower
S:FFGY with tbsp chia seeds and a few brazil nuts