Summer 23 Boot Camp, Week 3: (maybe) you can relax (a bit)

[prettybird]

Welcome to week 3 . This is the week where you have a choice.

PLEASE READ THIS POST CAREFULLY

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 - check out the fruit counter on the Spreadsheet, which the lovely FinallyHere will be along shortly to link to, 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. Your body will choose to use alcohol rather than its fat for energy but some of you have already seen how the disinhibiting effect of alcohol can result in falling into carb consumption

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 and I've seen talk of quite a few slippages . 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.

All the best! And remember, if you're not seeing the scales move as quickly as you'd like, then look at the NSVs: looser clothes, better skin, better sleep - and simply no longer being in thrall to carbs

Food yesterday was a mushroom, ham & cheddar scramblet - fabulous word whoever coined it upthread!!! - rollitos as a snack and curry for dinner, I made one the first week of BC with (I think) cherry tomatoes, spinach, cauliflower, coconut milk, spices and chicken and froze the leftovers.

Office day today, have had FFGY with half a dozen blueberries now I'm here and will decide whether to have lunch later, it's a shorter day than usual due to traffic on the way and needing to leave early so possibly won't be needed. Tea for DH & DC is meatballs with tagliatelle and doughballs, I'll possibly have the meatballs with shredded greens or on their own depending on how I feel.

Excited for swede gratin tomorrow 😁

@cheesenotoast - how did you get on with stretching the two chicken thighs? Putting them into a vegetable gratin sounded a good idea.

@venusandmars - you've now achieved what is my ultimate target - to get below 10st 10lb, which would put me into a normal BMI. I might get there for Christmas but I doubt I'll manage to get there for middle September when we're off to SA. Working hard to get below 11st though (first I have to below 12st )

@FinallyHere - when I do green beans, I boil them till al dente (could probably try the shoogled method in the microwave but haven't yet got round to giving it a go), drain, then add finally chopped garlic and a slab of butter and leaving them on a very low heat while I finish preparing the rest of the food.

I might try them with a vinaigrette and crisp pancetta though

You should congratulate yourself too on getting into a normal BMI . Both by following this WoE (because as we know, it does work) and by doing a stalwart job as Spreadsheet Monitor And grrrrrr at your mother.

@HappiDaze - if I'm doing an omelette, I make them fast on a high heat (having beaten the eggs well): I pour the eggs into the hot pan of frothing butter, swish it a little bit and leave it to begin to set. Then I add the filling (cheese or finely diced tomato I don't eat mushrooms or peppers ) onto half of it. Let it cook for a little bit more and then fold over and let it sit to finish cooking (often I switch off the gas and let it finish off on residual heat).

@Random789 - iirc, you don't have much to lose, so there will be inevitably be weeks that you don't lose. You're right to concentrate on the NSVs at this stage.

Weeks 3-5 (especially 4 & 5) are notorious for being "stall" weeks as your body makes its final adjustments to this WoE and moves beyond its "set point" - but you can also stall when you're close to target.

Keep the faith! And drink the water

Hope the chiropractor helped. I need to see one again as one side of my lower back has a niggle (from when I missed stepping up onto a pavement a few years ago and jarred it - and the lovely chiropractor I saw then and who advised seeing her once a year after the initial sessions, stopped coming into Glasgow after Covid ).

@OldandTired66 - if we had known you were having single cream in your "creamy coffees" , we'd have been even more assertive about saying to knock them on the head  Double cream is much better - much higher fat and you don't need as much 

Dinner produced by ds and mostly his (veggie) girlfriend was very tasty. It was a quorn fajitas dish, so she did mine in a separate pan with courgettes rather than peppers and she had lettuce leaves for me to do my "wrap". Of course, I didn't tell her that Quorn is a bit too processed for this WoE 

@LadyBird1973 - that doesn't sound like much at all. The point about this WoE is that it's not crash diet. After the initial whoosh, you should lose at a healthy rate of 1-2lb/week (sometimes less, occasionally more) while eating satisfying, tasty good food

@prettybird thanks for the omelette tip. I'll do that later for sure. I love how eggs fill me up for ages.

Yesterday

B - coffee
L - 4 egg omelette with garlic and tomato 🍅

S - Glass of Prosecco before DD Prom

D - gammon, seeded slice of bread, 10 nuts and 2 squares dark chocolate
S - put some of DS chips into my mouth starting chewing them before I realised so I ran into the kitchen and spat them out into the bin (no one saw)

I thought I'd love having a slice of bread and it really didn't give me the joy it used to which is a relief so I can now stop craving it.

B today is an omelette with chive cheese, onion, mushrooms and a few cherry tomatoes. And a handful of raspberries. I won't be hungry now until dinner, which will probably be chicken breast wrapped in bacon and some kind of veg (as yet undecided).
Have had 2 small coffees with cream. Decided not to drink more cream in the day and just have one more coffee after dinner. Been trying to get all my water via mint tea or a nice spiced apple tea that dd bought.
I do need to do something about exercise though. I do very little formal exercise and struggle to motivate myself. It's weird because I'm not actually lazy - I will do diy and cleaning but find it hard to make myself do 'exercise'. I think I need to restart Pilates - I used to go to a class but the time changes and I could no longer make it.

@Lucienandjean - today is indeed another day  How are you doing with your water? Go and have another glass now

@Random789 - I love ostrich meat. As you say, it's more like a beef steak but as you say, it's very lean so you need to add fat separately. I'm sure I'll be having some when we're eating out in SA in September.

@LadyBird1973 - all that Diet Coke would also have been sending signals to your brain to want sweet things and to snack You've done so well to break that addiction

@prettybird @FinallyHere
I think the SoF is gone weird.
My entries have disappeared. I'm now next to Pretty and she's lost 30lbs. it's not alphabetical. Is it just my computer.

You're absolutely right - it's gone really weird

And there was me finally getting on to a laptop to post this week's weight.

It wisnae me, honest guv I never even got as far as being able to post my weight

I'm hanging in. Struggling a little. I appreciate that others are too.
I cycled 60K this week. I did it LC. Omelette beforehand, and protein bar during. But I felt wretched after. A real bong! My bike computer tells me I've burnt 1,400cals. I have to find the minimum level of carbs I can eat to avoid that recurring. I dived into the bread bin that evening. 😳
I'm still KOKO though. Not letting a bad day become a bad week, foodwise.

It wasnae me either! Honest!! 😳

@Eanair23 - this is the book that's been recommended in the last re low carb eating and high physical performance and recovery. I had nearly remembered one of the authors names correctly

I've not read it myself but have thought about getting it for ds who is desperately trying to put on weight for his rugby

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance https://amzn.eu/d/aBKrzeK

Thank you for the heads up about the SofF @prettybird and @Eanair23

Im on it ...

hello lovey Bootcamp people, with my apologies for the loss of service, spreadsheet-wise, on Spreadsheet of Fabulousness SofF

In order to restore service, I have deleted everything back as far as 10:30 yesterday, 5th July. Please redo any changes since then yourselves.

A copy of the changes that were made is available, however, it's not immediately obvious which are correct and which incorrect, so i will not apply any of those changes and leave everyone to re-do their own updates.

Let me know if you are suffering exceptional hardship and I'll do my best to help.

I've done loads of things on a computer with entirely unexpected and undesirable consequences to have any judgement around such outcomes. if you were trying to do something and wonder what happened, give me a shout here or in a PM , I'm happy to work though to get the desired outcome. xx

Thank you @FinallyHere

@LadyBird1973 I'm the same, I like to walk and dance but largely hate any sort of formal exercise. I am a member of a gym (mainly so I get a discount on the spa and because they have a lovely sauna/steam rom/jacuzzi attached to the pool) but force myself to go twice a week and don't enjoy it at all. I think I'll get to the end of the 12 month and then cancel.
I'm supposed to be starting this on Monday - tried a couple of online classes but prefer in person and they're finally close enough to be able to get to a physical class 🙂

https://rockfit.org.uk/

That looks really good @TheOnlyMrsW . I'm gonna do the free version and dance to MTV

Stressful day today but hanging in there. Usual boiled egg for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch with a side of cheese, small piece of chocolate, pork steaks and buttery veg for tea and an early night! @Eanair23, be sure to drink plenty during and after the ride. Carry an electrolyte sachet if it's hot to drink when you stop for refreshments or when you get home. I carry emergency polo mints if I feel very flaky - pure sugar but only weigh about 3 grams and it's usually enough to get me home. Also enjoy a salty bacon based lunch when I get home to replace all the sweat!

Today I have had:

Brunch: Bacon, egg, tomatoes and mushrooms
Dinner: Salmon and buttered veg (tenderstem broccoli, babycorn and green beans)
50g of raspberries

I am doing well at sticking to my resolution not to eat after 6pm. Comfort/boredom eating on the sofa once I have got my children to bed is normally when I overeat (and when not low carbing it's crisps and chocolate etc). So knocking that habit on the head is good.

I started doing daily Zumba online routines with Dance and Health at the start of February. I have only missed 5 days since then. Weekdays I do it at 7am and weekends 8am (it's only 30 mins):and it feels a good way to start the day (well actually I get up at 5:10 as dictated by DD).

Unfortunately, I still have rhino skin elbows - hope that improves soon.

Bought some lovely eggs from the local honesty box , 5 of the 6 were double Yolkers 👍
I had 2 fried with some mushrooms for lunch , DH had one and the other 3 went into a chocolate cake , not for me , obviously .

DD is on her way here for a long weekend … except her 17-18 train from Paddington broke down at about 2 miles into the journey , she’s now on the 18-48 from Paddington and will be here much later than planned ( starving , exhausted and in need of some country air no doubt )

Had sausages (3.1 g carb in 2 sausages I think from reading the package ) a mountain of cabbage and some HM gravy , was delicious

DD and I will have the day together tomorrow as DH has plans , nothing planned as yet , see what tomorrow brings

Thank you. I really appreciate that message plus the encouragement of the other kind BC-ers. I wasn’t looking for validation or forgiveness but just explaining my thought process which I’m very comfortable with. Fortunately I’ve quickly got back in the saddle :).

Just putting today's food out there, as it does seem to help:

B: 2x cocoa with salt
L: fried shredded cabbage with leftover swede and crumbled stilton. (Weird, I know, but quite nice.)
D: Improvised attempt at low-carb 'pizza'. Base was fine-chopped cauliflower, shredded mozarella and four eggs. Topping was just a dash of tomato puree and a few slices of chorizo.
May have another cocoa shortly.

Four eggs is rather a lot, but I went for a long fast 3hr walk with the dog today at Castle Eden Dene in County Durham. V interesting landscape. Long, ancient ravine, eventually opening out at the coast.