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

This was my supper tonight: the ribs that came from the loin of lamb we had on Saturday. I followed this recipe - she does some lovely keto dishes https://www.fatsoflife.co.uk/peppered-lamb-ribs/
I also grilled the flap of fat I cut off the loin until it was charred and crispy, which was also tasty.

Served it up with leftover tzatziki and the mustard mayonnaise that was in the recipe, plus raw courgette batons left over from last night, cucumber batons and baby plum tomatoes.

They're not proper short ribs but for a "free" meal it was very tasty! And just as importantly it was sufficiently filling!

I've had a better day today. Thank you @prettybird for the reminder to drink water. I also took some electrolytes today and I think that may have helped.

Putting my food here because it definitely helps me stay on track.

B: FFGY
L: scrambled eggs and streaky bacon, tomato.
D: prawns in a buttery, cheesy sauce, salad, broccoli.
S: a couple of rollitos

then got distracted by all the lovely roses and went onto the David Austin website instead 😂 this made me giggle @ItsAsIfWeWereThere
Happy big birthday @onthecoast and huge well done with the mindful eating.

I've just reminded myself too late that I'm not a human trash can

On this occasion, the damage wasn't too bad as it was only done cucumber batons - but it was a useful reminder of the principle

I was clearing up and putting things in the dishwasher and they were in my mouth before I realised It just goes to show how ingrained some of these habits are

It has been a busy week so not had much time to pop in and record my food intake. I don't want to get into that habit as I know from previous experience that it can be easy to slip without the accountability. Foodwise my week has been good (I think) though I might need to look at portion size I am never sure if I get the balance right. This week so far:
B - FFGY with a piece of cloud bread
L - either duck egg with three cherry tomatoes, avocado and mayo or mozzarella ball with three cherry tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Always accompanied by a portion of cucumber.
D - Monday - chicken thighs cooked with butter & sage and served with broccoli.
Tuesday - smoked salmon and cream cheese and a large green salad with avocado and olive oil
Wednesday - lemon sole cooked with butter and parsley. Side of zuchinni and asparagus in butter.
Thursday - Burger either cheese in cloud bread and a side portion of savoy cabbage seasoned with oil and garlic.
Dinner this evening will probably be salmon.

I really want to up my intake of green shakes in the morning as an alternative to FFGY but DD broke my smoothie jug and as it is an older model I am finding it hard to get a replacement that won't cost a fortune in shipping & customs. My water intake has slipped this week but today is a new day and I vow to do better. It is also Friday so I am going to have a glass of white wine this evening to celebrate DD's college offer.

@prettybird thank you for only one belt of the stick rather than two.
These are the Little Moon moochi. 11g of carbs so not the worst but I will do my best to avoid temptation in future.

www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/307746108

Have a great Friday everyone.

Good morning everyone. I’ve been on previous boot camps but missed the start of this one. Can I join late?

I’ve just weighed myself in anticipation of a work medical (having avoided the scales since my last medical a year ago) and am going to need to lose 2 1/2 stone to be declared fit…

Ps I’ve added myself at the bottom of the spreadsheet, whilst drinking my coffee and cream.

Welcome @Whicker and enjoy.

I've run the sorting hat to alphabetise the spreadsheet, your row has moved up three rows.

Hi @Whicker

I've been for my run , did really well (for an unfit and chubby 62 year old )
once home , NSV as I thought I’d try on the summer trousers and shorts I’ve bought in anticipation of my holiday ( Iceland , in case you’re wondering )
I can actually do them up ! One hell of a muffin top , but Hey Ho
Obviously , the next thing to do was measure my waist , 2 inches off , still too many inches but real progress

I’ve had a couple of strawberries, and a slice of Port Salut for breakfast , unusual , but nice

DD has just wafted in and said she’s lost 4 lbs , she doesn’t really want to lose weight , she’s perfect in my eyes anyway , about an inch taller than me and weighs 9st 1
Shes eating a doorstop bacon and ketchup sandwich 👍

@cheesenotoast my dh is like that, drops weight with minimal effort - complaining this morning that he has a whole 5and a half pounds to lose!

@LadyBird1973 oh poor chap , it’s going to be so difficult for him 😀

Yoga class done and determined to tackle my filthy windows today as I have the house to myself (I don't know why that makes a difference, but it does!). B: boiled egg, L: chicken salad with mayo, maybe a crispy bacon rasher if I can be bothered, D: Cod with veg cooked by son in accordance with BC rules so always comes up with something interesting and a glass of wine I'm really looking forward to! If I get the windows done, I'll reward myself with the Andy Murray match this afternoon.

Ouch I'm having an inexplicably hungry day. I've planned a big LC lunch including 3 eggs and some cheese, which will hopefully reduce the risk of carby grazing later.

Had berries, Greek yogurt and cream with a few flakes almonds for breakfast. And a chunk of cheese as I was still hungry. And 2 coffees with cream. So no more dairy for me today!
Also having a hungry day.
A NSV is that my rings feel slightly less circulation cutting looser, so that's good!

Something odd has happened to dh and he has taken to going to the supermarket. This is very unusual and throws all my planning out of the window. My food plans exist mostly in my head or my paper diary - neither of which dh has access to, so he buys random things. Yesterday wasn't too bad - salmon which we had for dinner, but I'm still left with the squash, courgette and tomatoes that I was going to put in a gratin. I suppose that'll be tonight's dinner, even though I was thinking of steak...

This morning however dh went to buy a newspaper and came back with biscuits and snacks for his treat cupboard, but then brought me a cup of coffee and a warm pain au chocolat. What was he thinking??

at your dh. He knows your WoE

My DH just cannot get his silly man head around the fact that I don't want to eat sugar. The other day he was thrilled to come home with a tub of posh drinking chocolate 'because I often drink cocoa' and seemed literally unable to comprehend the difference between the two.

Also (and this is a mark of his sanity rather than his limitations) he just doesn't understand AT ALL the fact that there are foods that I am afraid to have in the house because of my inability to eat them in moderation. He can easily eat one littel portion of treat-type food and then forget about the rest of the packet for a week, but not me

I should have said, the drinking choc was a present for me because I often drink cocoa. He doesn't want the bloody stuff.

If it's any consolation, @Random789, my daughter recently brought me back a gift from holiday - a pot of honey, because 'I know you don't eat sugar or carby things'. 🤯

But she meant well.

I thanked her, and gave it away to a neighbour.

It's so frustrating having food items around the house you can't eat. I'm sort of used to it because I buy items specifically as per someone else's request so are sort off limits to me.

My bloody oven is broken. So I'm using my slow cooker to currently cook Tandoori chicken which I marinated yesterday. So waiting on the fan heating element to arrive. It's an easy fix actually.

Never cooked Tandoori chicken in the slow cooker so fingers crossed it's ok. I've just added a single layer to the bottom so it can dry out more as it cooks hopefully.

Yesterday went a bit Pete Tong as it were food wise. I had a couple of G&T and it all went a bit sideways after that. Seaded Bread and butter, Cornetto and a couple of gluten free dark chocolate and nut bars

I bought some fat free Skinny Free maple syrup 0% of everything. I added it to FFGY so hopefully that will help curb mad cravings

@HappiDaze - you've experienced first hand the risk of drinking alcohol - it's not just that your body will use the alcohol fir fuel rather than your body fat but also that the reduced inhibitions will result in falling off the wagon

Also (Big Stick out ), I can understand why you got the fat free Skinny Maple syrup as you think it will help curb your sweet cravings BUT think about it : we're trying to "eat clean" on this WoE and stop those sweet cravings . Look at the ingredients: all those artificial sweeteners and ultra processed additives . The very things we're trying to avoid . And your brain doesn't differentiate between "real" sugar and "artificial" sweetness, so will continue to crave sweet things - as well as potentially still triggering an insulin response.

If you're desperate for something sweet in your FFGY, why not have a few raspberries or strawberries mixed in? At least you're getting some fibre in with the sweetness - and it's a "real" product.

Welcome @Whicker

If you've been on previous Boot Camps, you'll know the ropes. Go back and re-read the OP of the Week 1 thread to reacquaint yourself with The Rules, follow them for 2 weeks and then you're up to speed with the rest of us, who're now on variations of Boot Camp Light.

Remember to drink all the water and take some measurements/have an item of clothing you want to get into to motivate you.

@prettybird

Tandoori chicken in crockpot tastes really good - would have been more authentic in the oven but it's very succulent nevertheless. I'll try it with drumsticks or thighs next time

Sorry been missing this week, work has been really busy and had a lot of PTA events on this week.
food has been good, water has been okay.

Hope you all have a great weekend!