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

Sorry to have been AWOL. I’ve caught up on BIWI’s posts but not the whole thread. I’m due a good thwack with the stick as I’ve really not been focussed. Today DH and DD3 flew to ski and I’m home with DD1 & DD2 (mocks etc) but thought I’d treat them to a spa afternoon that included an afternoon tea (yes, finger sandwiches, scones with cream & jam, and quite a few cakes). We did drink tea though rather than Prosecco. If we are hungry later I’ll do a raclette. Or maybe just a veg stir fry.
Loving the Tartiflette recipe and substituting for celeriac - May do that this week too, given we’re missing out on the actual skiing.
Although I’ve been shocking at this bootcamp and only lost about 2lb, I’ve had lots & lots of comments from friends and do ‘feel’ slimmer. My size 12 jeans (several pairs from M&S that are probs a bit generous) feel quite loose and need a belt. Not sure I’d consider a 10 just yet though.

Hardly drink any water today! On it now but not been a brilliant week, a big too snarky and I think I need to look at portions now too. Period imminent too, be a miracle if I lose this week.

Nice dinner of chicken stuffed with garlic and herb Philly wrapped in prosciutto with veg. Planning pigs in blankets for Sunday dinner, at DS's request!

@Rayna37 chuckling at a bit too snarky

• I expect DH would say the same about me this week! Wonder if it’s the lead-up to period (cycle has recently shifted a bit so I’m not always as clear on when I’m due anymore), as I’ve been a little more intense than usual and also had a couple of hungry/snacky days yesterday and the day before.

Today’s food:

L: Grabbed a quick lunch as we wanted to get out quickly and take advantage of the beautiful sunny afternoon. Tin of mackerel in tomato sauce, had with cucumber chunks.

D: Smokey aubergine, chilli and tomato sauce, with roasted spiced broccoli and cauliflower, and a boiled egg sprinkled with garam masala (was going to make devilled egg to vaguely go with the Indian theme, but in the end decided to skip it as it was getting late). DH had roasted curried potatoes and tadka dal with his. Ordinarily, if I wasn’t on BC, I’d’ve had a tiny serving of potato - two or three bite sized roasties, plus a small serving of the dal. But my portion was actually plenty without the extras - the aubergine dish was very rich.

We’re having cheese-stuffed chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto for our Valentine’s Dinner this year! DH used to make it for me so it’s one of our cosy meals that we like to make when nostalgia hits.

I’ve also not been great on the water today but I’ve got time to get another 2 glasses in!

We’ve got lamb shoulder on the menu for tomorrow. It feels very spring-like here at the moment as the weather is so lovely and mild. I’ll probably do potatoes boulangère to go with it. Just wish I had a celeriac to make some for me! Might have to go to the shops and pick one up...

@NotDonna those are great NSVs. Drink plenty of extra water and have a fairly good day tomorrow and it’ll possibly still look ok on the scales! But if not, well, you had a lovely day with your girls.

@OldandTired66 I like March because to me that’s the start of quiche season! You could try crustless quiche or a frittata-style thing, as they work very well for taking to work.

@MaryDoll84 How was the party? I hope you had a good time!

@mimosa1 those Thai/Vietnamese/SEAsian flavours are so delicious aren’t they? I need to get some of the aromatics when I next go shopping, am really in the mood for those flavours atm.

@prettybird I’d probably go for Salt and Chilli chicken wings for my starter as they’re always very tasty (or if I was feeling particularly daring, the wonton soup and take the -minimal, really- hit on the carbs!), then the Szechuan prawns and maybe order a veg dish on the night if they can do a simple broccoli with garlic & soy sauce or something.

So many great recipes on here. How are you all saving your favourites please? The recipe threads take too long to go through when I’m trying to find a particular one. I’m not keen on writing them all out into a notebook. Any ideas please?

@mimosa1 Don't be envious. I probably won't go out again til 2024 now😁
@TangledWebOfDeception It was a canny night, thank you for asking. I had 2 medium glasses of wine, a diet coke and lots of water so I'm happy with that. There were a few awkward moments when I was talking to people I barely know but I kept reminding myself that they probably felt awkward too and chances are I'll never see them again.

Forgot to mention @Gingerwarthog.Im so pleased you're feeling good about yourself-it's such a nice feeling. I put a bit of makeup on last night and did my hair and felt reasonably comfortable in my clothes but I think the main difference was knowing that I'm actively working on myself. If I'd went mad at the buffet and drank myself silly, I know I'd be feeling like shit today and wishing I'd made different choices

NotDonna I tend to be on my phone so often take screenshots of recipes and sometimes remember to file them away in a recipe folder I have in the Evernote app. However when I looked for one recently I found there were loads in there I never look at. For me the most effective is printing them out but I only do that if I'm definitely intending to make it.

Congratulations @Gingerwarthog
I remember when I first started this reading about people getting into size 10 and 12 as their targets and thinking these are not my people and wouldn't understand the problems of actually being obese. I was wrong we can all get there. I know if I can anyone can.

Yesterday I was desperately trying to sort out going out dancing but none of my friends want to these days (which is fair enough we are quite old), asked all my friends, asked 19yo dd who said no she wants to sleep, 16yo dd said she would go dancing with me, so we are going to do a class at the gym called clubbercise this morning, apparently there are glow sticks and everything, closest I'm going to get to going out dancing, I'm quite looking forward to it.

Food has been quite basic so no recipes to inspire anyone I'm afraid.

@ditavonteesed
Clubbercise sounds amazing.
Let us know how it goes!

Thanks for posting about your NSV of feeling good about yourself @Gingerwarthog , a good reminder for all of us about possibly the most important reason to KOKO when things are tough.

@ditavonteesed clubbercise sounds ace!

One NSV I realised yesterday was the variety and quantity of veg the whole family are eating now. When I was being controlled by carbs I cooked veg with meals because I knew I ought to, rather than because I was looking forward to eating it. It wasn't very imaginative and the family ate it also because they knew they ought to. Now I plan and cook a much wider assortment, think more about how to add flavour and texture, and we're all eating loads more than before. I'm the only one in the house doing LCHF but we're all eating better because of it.

Meal out last night was a success. I had a burger, swapped the chips for salad and ditched the bun. DH had a wander away from the wagon with pie and chips washed down with lager but as it's his first slip this year and he's pretty much at target now, I'll let him off.

Am feeling a bit ropey after a few glasses of wine but off out to walk the dog in a min to blow the cobwebs away. And I have to do my last run of the week at some point too on sure that will help, although a very big part of me is wishing I'd gone yesterday!

Whole chicken in the slow cooker for tea later and I found some smoked salmon left over from Christmas in the freezer that I'll do with scrambled eggs for lunch.

BIWI and any other shakshouka queens…Tried making the Shakshouka this morning. But as the eggs were poaching the tomato sauce was sticking and burning. I finished it off under the grill, which made the eggs a bit too firm. Everyone still enjoyed it. I’m wondering if it’d be better to put in the oven or start with pre-prepped ‘tomato sauce’ so it’s not already hot & bubbling. To be fair it was my worst pan and I’ve a much better non stick one. I can’t work out how to cook eggs without burning sauce. Thanks!

Sounds obvious but did you put a lid on the pan and turn it down after you'd put the eggs in?

Make sure the sauce is a little more liquid than you might think you need it to be, too. It will thicken as it cooks (especially if you don’t cover it - I don’t as I usually use little individual gratin dishes to make it).

You can also make it perfectly well on the hob if that’s easier than doing it in the oven.

Oh my god clubbercise was so much fun. Flashing glow sticks and black light making everyone's funky leggings glow. Will definitely do that again.

Ooh no!

Just the thing for a Sunday morning!

That should help then @NotDonna

Oh heh @NotDonna I just realised you did do it on the hob!

Yes, as @prettybird said, when I do it on the hob I always cover and turn the heat down - the eggs don't need to actually boil like when you're poaching them - they will cook gently in the steam! Oh I fancy a shakshuka for lunch now...luckily I have two eggs left (more coming tomorrow) and half a tin of chopped tomatoes left from last night's dinner. Perfect!

@ditavonteesed Glad you had lots of fun at Clubbercise!

@AllTheBlackCoffee Dinner sounds great. I've been craving burgers the past couple of weeks so I've put it on the menu for this coming week (if I have any beef mince left in the freezer, that is!). We went on a long, long walk yesterday as it was lovely and mild with lots of sunshine! I always feel so happy and contented when I get back, just in a gentler way than when I used to run.

@Baystard it's such a good side-effect of this WOE and one of the reasons why I scoff at anyone who tries to tell me it's bad for me or I'm missing out nutrients. NO! I'm really not...

Ha ha - glow sticks and clubbercise - brilliant!
Thanks all. I'd got to a point where I thought I'm over 50, I'm never going to look 35 again so why bother? So, I scraped my hair up and did nothing to it, minimal make up, stopped buying clothes and so on. There's nothing wrong with any of that - but for me it indicated that I'd given up.

I always kept my sport up though.

The HRT has been brilliant- this WOE has sorted out the rollercoaster of food cravings too.

I am away with DH for his birthday, but still on the bootcamp path. There's a Nandos here, and I can have chicken with broccoli in lemon oil which sounds good for tonight's dinner.

NSV time too. I found a fitted work dress that wasn't in my size. But it fits perfectly...two sizes down. That's been very motivating. Still a way to go, but it was the morale boost I needed to koko.

FFS, just spent the last few hours making a delicious roast dinner only to pour DS's gravy all over my portion. Bollocks!! I just wasn't thinking and tipped it everywhere. He ended up with my portion, complete with loads of lovely LC cauli cheese and butter drowned veg and I had his much smaller and slightly disappointing one

Great NSV @CrepuscularCritter

I've had a good few days but this evening is one of those permanently-hungry times. I know that I've eaten plenty today and that if I have the slice of buttered toast that I'm craving I'll still feel hungry but I'll also feel disappointed with myself. So far that knowledge is stopping Mr acting but if you wouldn't mind bringing your stick and taking a position in front of my toaster @BIWI that would be super