Week 1 - Back-to-school Bootcamp!

[BIWI]

Morning all. I hereby declare this Bootcamp open

Here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

... with many thanks to the lovely @FinallyHere for creating (and managing)

I know you're all keen to get going, so will post this now and then come back with some important housekeeping notes

Evening all.

B- 2x cups of tea - splash of milk in each. Can't give this up I'm afraid. Hope won't sabotage me too badly.
L- chicken, bacon and spinach salad, with peppers, cucumber, tomato, onion etc
D- steak and vegetables
S- babybel

2l of water too.

For boot camp, I will abstain.

Still need to log my weight. Think on day 3 I’m getting the hang of boot camp. I find breakfast tricky.

yesterday:
B Greek yogurt
L tuna salad
D Chicken curry with cabbage

today:
B: Mushrooms and celery fried
L: left over chicken curry and tuna salad (a strange beast indeed but was time pressed)
D: will be salmon fillet and green veg and tomatoes

Hi all. I did weigh on Monday morning at 194.4 lbs but like @VeryGoodVeryNice I'm struggling to edit on my phone and the Google Docs app is taking me round in circles. I was 189lbs a few weeks ago so a bit gutted I got complacent and have gone back up.
So far I've eaten:
Monday
2 slices Boiled ham
2 boiled eggs
Cherry tomatoes

Co-op salad box
Cooked salmon fillets

Hot dog sausage

Tuesday
2 slices boiled ham
2 boiled eggs
Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber slices

Tin of mackerel in tomato sauce
Small avocado

2 small glasses white wine (🙈)
Hot dog sausage

Loads of water but reading back makes me realise my eating can be rather weird but I've not been home for dinner either evening and it's been 8.00pm when I get home so grab what's there. I need to plan better. I'd shopped on Sunday before I saw these threads so I've not bought the right stuff for me. I also do tend to be a bit repetitive with what I eat. I need more veg !!

Good day yesterday. Freezer ferreting resulted in the discovery of an ice cream tub of goose fat from Christmas. Reheated leftovers in that and it was delicious!

Today will be hard as I am going out to an event at which everyone will be drinking. Going to try my best to abstain...
B: babybel
L: ham with yesterday's goose fat roasted veg and some salad
D: fish curry with coconut oil roasted cabbage

@Gnomegnomegnome @MyShinyThing I'm also someone who can eat the same thing over and over again. If I like it I like and it keeps things simple. I don't have any DC to cook for though which helps and DH and I only cook for each other a couple times a week. He tends to do 5:2 diet.

@VeryGoodVeryNice Amazing results!

@fruitstick @finallyhere Really interesting about satiety. I am defo an emotional carb eater, though becoming more aware of that which helps. I did have an empty feeling yesterday afternoon which I thought I was hunger but maybe it wasn't - stomach wasn't growling, I'd had a good lunch. Will watch for that again.

B: Burger, cheese, cucumber and tomato
L: on the go so will be cheese ham and cucumber
S: a repeat of yesterdays slow cooker ragu sauce on courgette/marrow with cheese on top. (DH will have his on pasta).

I weighed myself this morning (which I probably shouldn't have done and I'm exactly the same. Not worried about it as literally it's been two days.

However I haven't been to the loo since Monday so that might also be having an effect.

Do we need to take supplements for that? I'm betting it's all the eggs

Also, I fancy curry this evening. DH is doing the cooking but are there any pastes that aren't full of sugar.

What marvellous things do people do with a whole cauliflower ?? - I can't eat chilli.

@ginislife this is absolutely delicious, and a good one for keeping extra portions in the fridge or freezer for a quick microwave meal. I have it with lots of salad.

@fruitstick I haven’t had a 💩 since Saturday 😫 you’re not alone. The eggs definitely aren’t helping.

This is bloody amazing! Well done! You must be feeling so pleased and relieved.

Everyone on this thread eats a LOT less than I do 😂 I remember this from some previous bootcamp threads. I am a total
glutton in comparison (but I still lose loads of weight eating this way somehow). Speaking of which, I’ve just been for a short run so am now off to make my celeriac hash brown type thing, which I will put on the vegetarian recipes thread now while I remember.

That bake sounds delicious @VeryGoodVeryNice think I'll make one work my work lunches next week. I really struggle with things I can prep in advance to take into the office. It's definitely been my downfall in the past.

I was out the door early this morning so didn't have time to eat and I'm at a client's all day. I've hit M&S though and managed to find the Greek salad mentioned up thread, thank you for the suggestion. I've also got cucumber sticks with sour cream and a pot of olives & cheese. Hoping if I space them out it'll keep me going until dinner.

^^

@ginislife 2 glasses of wine? And yesterday was only day 2!

Alcohol isn't allowed in the first two weeks of Bootcamp

Also, there's quite a bit of processed meat in your days - these are OK occasionally but not every day. We're trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible. I don't what brand of hot dogs you're buying, but just look at these ingredients lists:

Herta frankfurter:

Pork 86.5%, Water, Salt, Corn Dextrose, Lactose, Milk Protein, Pea Protein, Wheat Fiber, Yeast, Flavourings, Antioxidant: Sodium Iso-Ascorbate, Preservative: Sodium Nitrite, Colours: Paprika Extract, Carmine, Lactic Acid Culture, Smoke

Ye Olde Oak (tinned:)

Hotdogs: 63% Mechanically Separated Chicken, Water, Rice Four, 3.3% Chicken Collagen, Salt, Stabilisers (Triphosphates, Polyphosphates), Collagen, Spices, Herbs, Thickener (Guar Gum), Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Smoke Flavour,
Brine: Water, Salt, Smoke Flavour

Usually I drink tea with milk and one sugar first thing but I’ve switched to one cup of black coffee before going to my peppermint tea. Now I know why people rave about coffee

Bike ride day today so plenty of water on board. Breakfast was scrambled egg with parma ham, babybel as cycle snack. Lunch will be streaky bacon, chicken and olives snacky plate, dinner chicken curry. I found the first couple of weeks of BC constipating back when I first started, but it does improve, keep up with the veg. I found mashed swede and cauliflower to be particularly effective! I do lots of veg bakes - parboil or saute whatever I've got, toss in butter, maybe add a dash of cream. Into a dish, add grated cheese, bake for 20 minutes or so.

@fruitstick Did you read my post about daily weighing?!

Seriously, we're only on day 3 now. And this is a new WOE for your body to get used to.

Being constipated because you've eaten too many eggs is a myth - 'egg bound' refers to eggs getting stuck in chickens, and is not a human condition.

Some people find that they go less on a low carb diet - this is normal. Unless you're experiencing pain when you go, then it's not constipation.

... and if you're eating all the veg/salad that you should be on Bootcamp, and drinking all the water and eating all the fat, then there shouldn't be an issue!

@ginislife I really like roasting cauliflower with spices - I often use garam masala but, if that has chilli in it, cumin will be delicious. I don't bother the parboiling palava, but chop into small-ish florets, toss in oil of your choice and cover liberally with spices and salt. Then put in a hot oven until it's a softened and a bit charred - usually about 40 mins. It's also very nice just with oil and salt if you don't like spices at all. We've been eating this for years, way before I even considered low-carbing. My OH says it's his favourite beer snack (defs not in the spirit of bootcamp).

On satiety, I've realised that I definitely feel full after a high fat/low carb meal, but I don't feel stuffed in the way that I do when I eat a bowl of pasta/rice/potatoes. I wonder if this is a) because it's a lot easier to overeat carbs, whereas I've actually struggled to finish all my goose-fat slathered vegetables (unheard of!), and b) I've come to mistake feeling carb-stuffed and a bit bloated with fullness.

I started last Wednesday and 3lbs down. My target is another 11lbs before Christmas and to be the same at the end of January. I have a holiday in the middle of this bootcamp so I am being realistic. The support on these threads really helps so thank you everyone., especially @BIWI and @prettybird Great news about the blood pressure.

@ginislife

I love cauliflower roasted - break it into florets, put them into a baking tray and drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and some ground cumin. I also like to add 3-4 quartered shallots.

Roast for around 20-25 minutes in a fairly hot oven, turning/shaking half way through. When they're nicely golden brown/charred, they're done.

Or, I make cauliflower cheese. Instead of using a flour-based sauce, I make the cheese sauce simply by melting half a block of grated, extra mature cheddar into 300ml double cream. Stir together till melted, season with black pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Pour over cauliflower (previously boiled till just tender), add another handful or two of grated cheese, and bake in the oven till the cheese has melted and is browning.

Keeping a food diary

One thing that's really worth considering is keeping a diary of what you're eating and drinking each day. That way, if you find you're not losing or that you've gained weight, it can help you identify if there's any reason for that.

Doing this, for example, I discovered that cream definitely has an impact on me. It doesn't stop me eating it (see post above about cauliflower cheese!), but it makes me more aware of the fact that it's something I have to use sparingly.

It's also important as time goes on - it's very easy to allow carb creep. So if things start to slow down, or you're not seeing any weight loss, being able to compare what you've been eating recently with the earlier days can be very insightful.

It is also helpful too, in that you have to be really honest with yourself - how many glasses of water did you really have? How did that gin and tonic slip in?!

Same here! But weirdly my calories are lower than they would be normally, even on this new WOE which involves a LOT more fat and protein than I'm used to. Will see what the scales say on Monday... Well done for going for a run! 🏃🏻‍♀️ I'm planning a gym class at lunchtime 💪

@BIWI that cauliflower cheese recipe sounds delicious. I’ll try that. Because I can’t eat gluten I’ve stayed away from anything like that (the alternatives are horrid).

I use an app called done to track my water (and lots of other things like sleep, reading, exercise etc).

Oh and also one of those water bottles with times on the side although it’s too big for the fridge and a bit rubbish when it’s warm.