Summer 2023 Boot Camp, Week 5: into the 2nd half

[prettybird]

Apologies for being AWOL - life git in the way, wrote a big long post which I lost and then never got round to re-writing it .

Anyway, here we are into Week 5, the 2nd half already . Hopefully you’ll have got beyond the “Stall” period of Weeks 3 and 4 but be aware, it sometimes it lasts into Week 5

Keep the faith, keep focussed, keep drinking the water and you will see progress. Remember all the other benefits you're enjoying

@FinallyHere will be along shortly to link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Water, water, water

I must learn how to roll t-shirts, that looks so much more useful that the flat pile I have. I also need to throw some out but it pains me to discard clothes (unless they're good enough to give away) because I have a screw loose when it comes to waste even though they're tatty and make me also look like a bag lady, one who has fallen on lean times.

@CrepuscularCritter at risk of sounding like I must work for the egg marketing board...what about some hard boiled eggs? You can make a batch and put in fridge and use them in salads.

Everyone's clothes look very tidy! Well done.
I've been kind of doing this for a while - getting rid of things that make me feel bad or are scruffy. It does help state of mind.

I'm currently reading Chris vsn Tulleken's book 'Ultra-Processed People' in the hope it will put me off crunchies and crisps! It does make you think about what's in our food and how disgusting some of the ingredients are.

Am quite enjoying not eating do much meat. Had 1/2 avocado and a boiled egg on 2 pieces of low carb toast for brunch. Made a cauliflower and celeriac soup for dinner with sone paneer. Snack was a celery stick with a spoonful of almond butter and 2 squares of dark chocolate. Plenty of fruit/mint tea as well and a couple of small coffees with a splash of cream.

Ds' girlfriend being veggie is having the consequence that we are eating less meat, even though I'd told her I'd only "cook" for her once it twice a week (although I also get in pre-prepared stuff for her from Lidl).

Having said that, we're having roast lamb (slow cooked, Greek style) on Sunday, when it's my dads turn to come to our place.

Back home, and after a week sleeping fabulously I had a horrendous night 😡😡😡.
Good news is that my step count just increased as the week went on, bad news was not enough water and too much alcohol.......am 1.5lb up from where I was at week 4 but a couple of good water says should sort that out. Weather is horrendous so off to do a veg-laden shop and start planning for next weekend's festival (and keep everything crossed it stops raining!!)

Good result on the scales this morning, making me optimistic that I can reach a healthy BMI by the end of this bootcamp.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch in a carvery today so I'll be having meat and lots of veg, and soda water to drink.

B - avocado, creamy coffee
L - carvery (meat and lots of veg)
D - boiled egg

Thanks for the rolling tips, my t-shirt drawer is now immaculate and I can see everything! B: egg, L: cafe with friends 😬, D: Gammon and buttery veg, 2 creamy coffees, rollitos if snack required. The chocolate box gift has been banished from my sight.

Woo hoo!! Made it under the 11st barrier today 💪. I was 12.2 in mid march so have banished 1 stone 3lbs. Have had a number of family events, multi day conferences and an all inclusive holiday in those 4 months so am super chuffed.

As you can seen from my graph my weight fluctuates a lot but the trend is the important thing. If I can carry on the way I am this IS a lifestyle thing - I can enjoy life AND maintain an ok weight. I need another 1/2 stone off to get to healthy BMI so that's my next goal and then hopefully stay there.... 🙏

The weigh gain pre march was because I was horribly Ill for over 2 months and ate everything to try and make myself feel better.

It didn't work and all I did was put on weight 🤨

@Baystard I am not very good with boiled eggs, but you inspired me to have bacon and fried eggs yesterday and to plan a frittata tomorrow, so thank you. There might also be an omelette later in the week as I have a box of 15 eggs to work my way through.

And inspiration has also arrived from those t shirt drawers. Tomorrow is the review and sift task, then I get to put away all the ones I wear constantly, but don't currently fit in those drawers.

Hi all,
Just checking in with todays food.
No breakfast, lunch was corned beef sandwich on low carb bread with a chunk of feta.
Dinner was leftover cauliflower soup and a boiled egg. Tried to fry some ground almond coated avocado slices but these were disgusting and I do not recommend!
Snack - creamy coffees (3 small ones) and 2 squares of mint dark chocolate.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend

Going well here, somehow by Sat evening, I don’t have anything to cook as LC way!
Yesterday evening though I made some yummy steamed fish in coconut oil, felt like eating in a restaurant. Only thing is it won’t keep hunger away for long.
had left over in the morning today. 2 cream coffee and now made cheddar biscuits. that is yummy, but is there a dip to go with it? Or just eat it like digestives? Never tried/made it before.

Well I fell off the wagon pretty quickly in Paris. I tried to make the best choices I could. On the whole I think I did ok. It could have been a lot worse

I did realise though that once you take one foot off the path to success it's just becomes too easy to forget this WoE. But it was also nice to eat without worrying about it. I didn't get hung up over what I was eating I just enjoyed being on holiday and in the moment. It was bloody lovely actually and the weather was perfect.

It's so much easier now I'm home and in control of my kitchen.

We did walk miles everyday and my breakfast was mainly cheese, ham, eggs and yogurt with a fresh apricot and kiwi. I don't normally eat breakfast so I wasn't hungry again till 4pm where I'd have a small snack before dinner later on where I didn't eat particularly much either tbh.

Weighed today instead of tomorrow, as I know today is going to be tricky to manage. I’ve made it through the next stone barrier! Very pleased with this.

Congratulations @Whicker on breaking the next stone barrier. Feels great doesn't it? 👏

Lots of water yesterday (not just the stuff coming out of the sky!!!), omelette with peppers, bacon and spinach with feta crumbled over and smashed avocado for lunch then spanish pork stew with padron peppers and roast cauliflower for dinner. No alcohol either and back down to where I was before going away this morning. My original goal for this BC was to lose half a stone, I'm 2lb away from that so definitely doable.......but I'm tempted now to try and get to the next stone and be under 12 stone for the first time in at least 7 years. It means losing 4lb from now and keeping it off - in theory doable but we have a festival next weekend and then a trip to Ibiza which is the last week of BC so would do the final weigh-in on the day after we get back!!!!!

Very encouraging graph, @SummerSazz , I feel a bit all over the place at the moment but will persevere. I think I'm just plateauing a bit. B:boiled egg, L: bacon, chicken, olives, cheese, lettuce for crunch picky plate, D: Steak, roast veg. Cycling snack half a protein bar and the biscuit served with my coffee and cream.

I messed up today. Went out with DS and bought a n almond milk dirty chai latte that I think had done kind of syrup in it and a slice of cake with jam and buttercream and sprinkles. I've been fancying cake for weeks. Anyway, I ate/drank half and then stopped (although I could definitely have finished the cake and old me definitely would have). I did try to do that thing where you stop eating once it starts to feel like you've satisfied the sweet craving and it's starting to feel sickly.
Hopefully not messed up weigh in tomorrow by too much!

Hello all,
ahem, so I signed up pre-week 1, but am just finishing week 1 now (ugh!). The first few weeks I was reading all you lovely people’s posts whilst knowing at the back of my mind that I really needed to start too - hey ho, better late than never eh. So thank you for all your inspiring stories and looking forward ish to the weigh in tomorrow.

Delurking… I started bootcamp a bit late and didn’t post or add myself to the spreadsheet in case my willpower wasn’t up to the challenge. 4 weeks on I am managing fine. My only blips were two social events where I ate non-bootcamp-compliant food to be polite but I’m still 8lb lighter than I was at the start, which makes me very happy.

Here’s my food for the last few days and I am drinking loads of water.

Fri:
B: coffee with coconut oil.
L: chicken thighs & guacamole. Creamy coffee.
D: lamb steak, cauli cheese & cavolo nero

Sat:
B: coffee with coconut oil.
L: mushrooms, spinach, egg cooked with lots of butter. Creamy coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil
Snack: chunk of cheddar
D: chicken curry from freezer with mushroom & cavolo nero

Sun:
B: coffee with coconut oil.
L: sausage, mushrooms, spinach, egg cooked with lots of butter. Creamy coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil.
D: not sure yet

@TheOnlyMrsW well, your new goal could be tricky, BUT... the good thing about this woe is that you don't have to weigh things or count calories. Just avoid non-veg carbs. So plan well for your festival, be lean and mean in Ibiza.

They will have loads of meats and fish and oils and salads. And tbh, in the heat, who wants sticky sweet things. If you're going to go off plan do it with an iced watermelon! How much of a challenge is is to avoid alcohol? Beer at the festival, sugary cocktails in Ibiza - if you're tempted those might be your downfall.

Plan for it, those four pounds might just be within reach

@OldandTired66 koko , really that is just what to do. And sometimes go back and read the 10 rules for bootcamp. Drink all the water, add fats and oils to your dishes, make sure you eat enough. And if you're cycling, prepare beforehand with protein and water, and recover later with protein and water and loads of veg.

@LadyBird1973 but why? I get that sometimes we are given things that are sweeter than we want or expect. I wonder what led you to ask for that and buy it?

I will now discount everything above by saying that I spent a full 4 minutes in the 'fresh cream deserts' section of my local supermarket, picking things up, and putting the down, reading their carb content, salivating sometimes it just gets to you. But today, I chanelled my inner bootcamp. I walked away.

And @LadyBird1973 you might find that tomorrow is OK but the next day is when any gain happens. Don't worry if that happens and just keep to the rules.

@Suxeed welcome. How has your first week gone? There will be a new thread up soon for the start of week 6. Look out for it and join us.

@MovingRightAlong totally understand your fears - will it work? will I stick with it? But you've seen the benefits - 8lbs is great. 1 or 2 lbs on average per week is just about right for a healthy approach.

Great that you are eating load of veg (which is what I'd often what I'm calling out for people to do - but nothing red - tomatoes or peppers?). And I'm wondering why you are adding coconut oil (and sometimes also with cream) to your coffee? I know that some pure keto diets do this (bullet proof coffee), but they often also restrict the carbs that this 'way of eating' gets from veg.

The lovely @stuntnun (who is very experienced in this woe) warns against 'drinking your calories'.

But great for joining in, and well done for negotiating those social occasions. Keep on going and join us on next weeks thread.