Summer 23 Boot Camp, Week 4: we (might) enter the doldrums

[prettybird]

Here we are in Week 4 already - nearly half way through . By now, most of us should be seeing some good results - but not necessarily all of us to the same extent as our bodies are all different.

Remember that many of us experience a few weeks of doldrums over Week 3, especially Week 4 and even possibly week 5, where the scales will resolutely refuse to move - or even move upwards slightly . This is normal as your body adjusts to this WoE, so keep the faith , follow the rules , KOKO and the scales will to move again. In the meantime, concentrate on the NSVs, like better sleep, better skin, more energy and/or looser clothes.

Remember that this is a marathon not a sprint, and try not to get too fixated on the short term. All healthy weight loss regimes will eventually settle down to a rate of 1-2lb/week but at least on this WoE, you can enjoy healthy, tasty food and not be hungry all the time. Concentrate on what you can eat, not what you can't

I’ll get our lovely Spreadsheet Monitor @FinallyHere to link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Here's to another good week - onward and downward

I just weighted and am lb up! Have no idea why since I've been sticking to the plan. It's not really week 4 for me since I've been cutting sugar and carbs for a couple of months now - I did the strict bootcamp for a couple of weeks to keep me on track.
Anyway, started today with a glass of water and will see what happens over the weekend.

It's common @LadyBird1973 as your weight varies by 2-3 lb each day. Just keep on keeping on and it will come off again.

@LadyBird1973 for all of us, our weight fluctuates for many reasons - hormones, the weather, water retention... The important thing is to trust the process and not to panic. Over the years people have posted some great graphs which show daily and weekly fluctuations, but the important thing is that the overall trend is DOWN. Sometmes a short plateau is followed by a 'woosh'. Sometimes we lose inches while our weight stays the same. So KOKO, healthy weight loss is incremental.

Having said that, sometimes a small increase can encourage you to look at whether there is any drift... Are you still drinking all the water? Are you still eating enough fat? Are you still eating enough? Has there been any carb creep?

I've got a middle of the day commitment so It'll be a two meal day.

Brunch of egg florentine with creamy coffee
Dinner - vegetable and halloumi curry, followed by ffgy with a little blackcurrant compote

Thanks @StuntNun and @venusandmars
I do think I'm eating enough - definitely when hungry. Maybe my fat has been more cream based - I do like a coffee with cream and I do also sometimes add cream to scrambled eggs and to vegetables. I cook with olive oil so I think there's enough fat, have butter on low carb toast.
Possibly carb creep, I think I need to not buy fresh berries as these tempt me far more than frozen ones.

Food yesterday
Brunch - creamy scrambled eggs on low carb toast (2 eggs, 2 slices of toast)
Snack 2 squares dark chocolate and a handful of walnuts (choc was 9g carb)
Dinner small bowl chilli with celeriac chips (oven baked in olive oil).
I fake gin with low sugar tonic (about 7g carb)
3 coffees with a bit of double cream (not loads though).
I did try to drink lots of fruit/mint tea as well.

@LadyBird1973 From the list you have up there, looks like you have loads of carb per day. Your food diary looks like the one I used to do and wonder why I don’t loose weight. Also when I have my weight go up, I kind of give up as well. It’s a bit tricky this woe, the weight would surely come off, and the clothes would go loose, but after first two weeks, it may not be easily measurable. Coffee with cream was my comfort food too, but too much of that and the weight stalls for ages( I never had that woosh, that I was waiting for, so decided to go with my clothes/appearance than getting on a scale)

I did a body scan with me 360 and happy with the results. Tried to make s chicken-broccoli- bacon- cheesy bake and it turned out like a soup, a bit salty as well 🙄
no idea how to rescue that, could probably serve that to kids on a pasta base :)
I need more recipes, feels like I am only eating eggs and chicken all day everyday.
I am not adding on app anymore, but trying to drink more water then ever. And cut down coffee to one a day.

@LadyBird1973 I agree with @Newlease that's loads of carbs and three coffees with cream are likely to disrupt your insulin stability. If you think dairy might be an issue then try to only have it a maximum of twice a day and, with creamy coffee have it at the end of a meal not at a different time when you aren't eating. Add more butter to scrambled eggs and vegetables if you want to increase your fat macro. Low carb bread is not particularly low carb, depending on the brand, it's usually heavily processed, and it can contain ingredients that cause bloating. It's okay but not something to have every day, think of it more as a treat. You could also have more eggs (3-4) and less bread (1 slice) instead. The carbs in alcohol, dark chocolate, walnuts and berries will add up really quickly, I suggest only having one of these three each day while you're actively trying to lose weight. Also, you mention a "small bowl of chilli" which might mean you're subconsciously still in the diet mentality of restricting portion sizes. If you can manage it, it's much better to have two bigger meals and no snacks per day. I know it's counterintuitive but if you don't eat enough calories then you won't lose weight.

Thanks guys. Just to clarify I'm not drinking alcohol at all - it's fake gin with zero carb but the tonic has 7g.
The bread is called lovelife, and is about 4.5g per slice, (it's tiny so that's probably why it's low), but you are right in that I don't need 2 and could just have one because it probably is very processed.

I'm not always hungry at dinner time, hence the small bowl of chilli - I think that by the time I've cooked, I've gone off the idea, but I definitely ate enough to be full.

I think I do rely on the cream too much. And cheese. So will make the effort to reduce these. I did buy a nice flavoured coffee from Aldi that has no carbs/sugar that I could drink without cream in the morning so will try that.

I really don't want to give up the chocolate though, although if cutting the cream doesn't work, I know I'll have to. But that's a problem for next weeks me

Thanks @NotDonna we're off to London on Monday til Friday, trains and hotel booked (Premier Inn for the breakfast 😊) and a vague plan but DC has asked about some things a bit more off the beaten track as well as the usual museum run so having to furiously Google!!! Luckily I'm not driving to Lancaster today so have time in the car. So far I've got the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, the Bowie mural, Camden and the walk from the Eye to Borough Market in my sights.........iirc there's a lot to see on that route. Our normal haunts on city trips are Afflecks and the NQ in Manchester and anywhere with a forbidden planet so hoping I'll get more ideas

Did ok yesterday, I seem to be getting into the habit of just eating in the evening on non-work days and weekends so last night was steak, roast cauliflower, pepper and courgette with broccoli cheese. Everyone else had Parmentier potatoes and chocolate muffins too 😯

hello lovely bootcampers, good to hear how everyone is doing, and a timely reminder that I have been awake for hours this morning and not yet drunk any water. It usually suits me to start drinking water as soon as I wake up, so shall have at that right now.

HatTip @Lucienandjean for truly inspirational results.

Thanks @StuntNun. I’ve never tried 30 day shred but I’ve heard good things from quite a few people now. I’ll give it a go.

@ItsAsIfWeWereThere you might find at least the first level on YouTube for free. I bought a secondhand DVD from eBay for a couple of quid.

Just checking in to log today's food.
I had the two coffees with cream this morning before posting so no more until tomorrow now.
Brunch - salad with olive oil, olives and a couple of slices of bbq brisket.
Snack - 2 squares no added sugar chocolate (10g carb)
Dinner - roast chicken and home made coleslaw.
Hopefully this is better and enough to start getting me over my stall.

I've been drinking loads of water as usual but I could tell I was dehydrated this morning

B coffee FFGY

L Cabbage fried in butter with cumin and a drizzle of lemon juice - very delicious

D - FFGY - more cabbage

I need to finish all the food from the Fridge because we're leaving tomorrow before I head off to Paris for a week.

@LadyBird1973 If I'm not losing weight I go back to the original 'hard' bootcamp rules. One of which is we should get most of our carbs from veg. That is the way to make this woe sustainable and healthy. So carbs from celeriac are great, carbs from walnuts - OK, the bread, the tonic. A lot of empty carbs. The chocolate... why 2 squares? Is one not enough?

Oops, just seen your more recent post...
I'm wondering if you're eating enough? don't try to restrict your eating. Also wondering about the chocolate snack habit? I have a square of 90% chocolate ocassionaly after a meal. Not every day. Do you need a snack? could you alternate days with chocolate and some other lower carb snack? Could you have one square of chocolate? See it as an experiment not a deprivation.

@HappiDaze so much cabbage - wouldn't want to be sitting next to you on the plane!!

dc2 is on a flying visit so I feel the need to fill them with healthy (vegitarian) food. We will have breakfast and lunch:

B - avocado, tomato, mozzerela, coffee and cream; FFGY with blackcurrent puree
L - left over halloumi and veg (spinach, greenbean, courgette, a few peas) curry
D - (dc will have left so I'll probably just have herbal teas)

Quick update to keep me on track. B: boiled egg, L: streaky bacon, olives, roast chicken post bike ride. Snack, half a protein bar, D: Steak, swede fries, salad. Dreamt it was Wednesday today and am really struggling! Have to keep checking the date on my phone.

I've been a bit woeful with the woe this week, a bit slobby and demoralised in the way I eat, which easily segues into snacking. Haven't planned, haven't bothered with nice recipes, etc.
It seems much easier to 'know' that you have eaten and feel that it was enough if you have taken time with the food, honoured it and yourself throughout the preparation and consumption, noticing the efforts you have made and the pleasure of eating, etc.
If I just drift about and cobble something together absent mindedly, I still feel 'unconsoled' after eating and cast miserably around for consolation. So I have snacked after meals.

Also, I have let my water consumption fall, And I have had some beer during the week.

However, I went for a long walk in Hamsterley Forest yesterday (the wood-ant nests! Massive! Red! Amazing!). It kicked me out of the doldrums.

I ate nothing before the walk (except milky coffee as I had run out of cream); when I got back I ate a Lidl selection of salam & prosciutto, plus a gnerous portion of olive. Then for dinner I made a salad with avocado, tomato, mixed leaves, goats cheese, olive oil.
Then one creamy coffee.

I feel mildly un-inched today and may risk weighing myself at the gym later. I think I should feel happy if I have maintained my last weight, and not hope for a loss.

@venusandmars I think with the chocolate I kind of feel that if I build in a little bit, it will stop me from going back to what I used to do, which was to eat biscuits and chocolate all day. I'm still a person who struggles with eating lots of meat and fish and green veg, since these have never been the kind of foods that I enjoy the most. Ideally I'd not eat meat at all, but I do think it's necessary for this woe to work most effectively. I think it's probably much easier if you naturally gravitate to meat and fish as your preferred foods.

That said, I'm honestly much less hungry than I used to be because the food is real. I'm not getting hunger pangs/unbearable cravings like I used to. I'm not even missing alcohol. But I do still see the 'reward' element of chocolate or a fake g&t and on some level feel like I need them if I'm going to stick to this long term.

I will cut down though because I do need this to work now and I am enjoying having nicer skin and a coat that fits and rings that aren't too tight!

@LadyBird1973 yes, I'm enjoying wearing my watch - and then taking it off without leaving a patterned indentation on my wrist!

I had one 'bad' day this week. I slept badly, woke with a pain in my wrist. It was swollen and throbbing. I went to the local injury clinic for an x-ray - nothing broken. But between fatigue, lack of time and soreness, there was no cooking, little water, and ... Anyway determined to follow my own advice, I got back on it next day (2lbs heavier). And the 2lbs are gone again today. Relief.

Lots of water for me today, and hoping for a loss tomorrow.

Shout out to @prettybird
Hope all is well with you. I'm missing your updates.

@HappiDaze is the FFGY Cabbage a culinary revolution or did you mean you had them sequentially? As a fan of both I have receipe FOFO

@LadyBird1973 Having spent years drinking enormous lattes every day I now prefer black coffee but as a treat, from time-to-time I make a cappuccino or flat white with some steamed double (or even clotted) cream. I use a special tiny coffee cup and take my time making it, savouring the process. Could reducing your creamy coffee to the point where it's a treat help with the need for a reward? That said I've found I get on better when I don't use food as a reward (rather than just thinking about whether I'll savour and enjoy it, and not feel regret afterwards).

@ItsAsIfWeWereThere what about some nice vacuum packed cured meats for festival - spicy chorizo or similar?

@OldandTired66 and @Goodiewhemper turnip/swede chips sound delicious!

I have properly stalled now but I'm not too bothered (nor entirely surprised, it's happened before) so I'm going to keep going and see how long it takes.

I made Thai cauliflower soup again this week. I discovered that the cheapest coconut milk is also the least UPF-containing which was good. Less happily I've discovered that all of the jars of beetroot on sale at my local supermarket contain artificial sweeteners (saccharine), I mean come on - seriously?!

Indian takeaway planned this evening. Looking forward to it. I will swerve naan bread and poppadums and tuck into spicy tandoori meats and salad, it's tasty and virtuous.

Hope all OK @prettybird

@Baystard the cabbage was delicious and I wanted to use up what was in the fridge. I had it with a fried egg for lunch.

B - tea
L - Homemade burgers (a bit of potato salad I couldn't say no because my DM made it as it's one of my favourites) and strawberries and cream and G&T

D - no idea yet

@Baystard funnily enough I'm currently drinking an Irish cream flavoured coffee (no carbs or sugar or sweetener) from a little coffee cup!

Had 2 boiled eggs on one slice of low carb toast for lunch today. No breakfast as I usually don't eat until 11ish normally anyway. Making a chicken and veg curry with konjac noodles for dinner.

@Baystard I like the idea of that coffee. I am trying to cut down coffee and only drinking one a day now ( from 6 to 1), so a fancy one would be more fun.
@LadyBird1973 could you please point me to the Irish coffee you are describing, May be that is what I am looking for.
loving reading all the posts, and reminder to drink water. I was out in the garden working on few stuff, so lunch was chicken bake at 3pm. Added mushroom to it, to make it less salty.
not stepped on scale it, but I can definitely see the difference in clothes, no muffin too over the jeans/shorts. And lost 2 cm from each arm, and a good chuck over all too.
KOKO everyone :)