Week 6 - Back-to-School Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Morning all. And a decidedly chilly one here in Sarf Lunnun. We've had to put the heating on for the first time this year . It seems so sudden, after all the much warmer weather we've been having recently.

Anyway.

Here's the spreadsheet for all your confessions

So we have three weeks left - might not seem long, but still time to shed a few pesky pounds. But only if we follow the rules!

This week's challenge - with apologies to the vegetarians - something lovely and low carb that you can make with prawns.

Ladies, I'm so excited - I found celeriac dauphinois in M&S !
And they were reduced, to use by today, so I bought two - I'll risk one tomorrow

Just double check that they haven't also used potato in there @LadyBird1973!

I can't see potato on the ingredients list. The whole thing is about 20g carb but I think that's okay, with a steak for dinner

oh that looks amazing @LadyBird1973

I've got some kimchi - any ideas on what it might go with for a low carb lunch?

I lost 0.6kg in 2 days, is that normal at the beginning of a low carb diet? Thanks.

I'm definitely interested in low carb and its effect on fatigue. My DD suffers periodically and I'd love to be able to find something to help her. We are trying hard to reduce the amount of UPF she and her brother eat but it's hard telling a 17yo to lay off the chips / chocolate when she's out with her mates after college...

We had a fab weekend away in Lanzarote anyway, I happily avoided cocktail temptation and stuck 95% to low carb apart from crisps 😳 so not too much gain. Hoping loads of water and a few strict days will have me down again by Monday.

@Notmytotoro the first few days can lead to a big loss, especially if you're drinking all the water. It's a good encouragement to get stuck in!

@Gnomegnomegnome thanks 🥰 I was planning on taking one photo a week but haven’t managed to be quite that organised 🤣. I’m very happy with progress so far though, size 12s were becoming too tight and the only time I’ve ever had to wear a 14 is in the immediate aftermath of pregnancy, so it was time for action. Now I’m back in my size 10s which is lucky because that’s what size nearly all my clothes are. Have completely fallen off the exercise wagon though recently, stress has taken over, blood pressure shot right back up and my sleep is all over the place 😞.

I had leg of lamb in the slow cooker last night. It was delicious.

It involved a glass of wine in the recipe but I figured that was fine as I haven't had a drink for a fortnight.

I also went to the gym and did 10k on the bike. Was knackered in a really good way and not a 'fat and tired' way which was good.

At the moment, I feel my mood has definitely improved 😊

That's good to hear @fruitstick

... but sorry to hear you're struggling again @VeryGoodVeryNice - sounds like it would be a good thing to get the exercise going again, as that can help you with those issues

@Notmytotoro sounds like it's all going well for you!

@BIWI I have intentions of trying a jog this afternoon but had to start BP medication last night and it’s made me feel really dizzy and weird and so I’ll see how I am by then. Really didn’t want to take the medication but been checking my BP the last few evenings and the top number has been up near 150 and bottom number around 105 so don’t think I can opt out really. It dropped so much when I started LC but DD2 has really upped her game with the old causing me stress since then. So glad it’s half term and I get a week off wrangling her into school and the constant meetings, phone calls etc that go with it.

Oh goodness - that's not great

Hopefully half term will help you (both)

@VeryGoodVeryNice I don't know your backstory but you have my full sympathy with any school related trauma, been there, done that, got the t shirt....

Went for an Indian last night for one of my son's birthdays, I find Indian really easy to low carb at, just skipped rice and naan, but I did have a tiny bit of daal, to me it's just not a complete meal without it. Lots of water today.

Busy few days at work, just catching up. Thanks for sharing the articles about low carb/keto and menstrual cycle @Autumnleaves27 and @BIWI - I've just read them both. Reassuring that changes are normal but I think I might have to go slighter higher low carb and allow myself a bit of pulses or oats, see if that settles things down. I want to find a way to make this WOE last long term, but not if that means my (usually very regular) cycle goes haywire.

Have a residential training weekend this weekend with a black tie dinner tomorrow.

There were biscuits and pastries on every table during the breaks, v limited LC options at lunch and I'm definitely going to need alcohol to get through this! I didn't log a loss last week so I'm keen to make it happen this week.

Wish me luck and send good food wishes my way... Must. Stay. Disciplined.

Evening all.

Not been on these threads in a while but wanted to pop back in.

I lost over 2.5 stones last year doing low carb (just wish I had tried it before!). Learned so much useful stuff on here with the Bootcamps - thank you BIWI etc Al!

Didn't get to quite where I wanted as a final goal, but got back to the top end of normal BMI (I know) so was happy to stop there for a while.

I them took the brakes off and gradually went back to including carbs. Stayed static for ages and then a a couple of months ago realised I had crept back up 5lbs...

Decided to do Part 2 and push to get to pre children weight. In 6 weeks I have dropped 7lbs and have for the first time in 20 years seen 10st (albeit + 13 lb) on the scales.
I have decided to keep going hard until mid December, and then have another push in January if needed.
I so feel soooo much better. Just need to shift the blasted menopausal middle flab which is definitely the last bit to go!

I still use packs of butter as my encouragement.... I visualise each 1lb loss as 2 packs of butter, and imagine carrying bags of butter around all day :)

Well done on the picture evidence of change! This WOE really works.

A M&S food hall is opening near(ish) in the next few months- that celeriac dish looks good. Tesco here has not had celeriac for a very long time.

Work hard over the weekend everyone. Monday will be kind to us.

At friend's last night and had a few glasses of Prosecco and some fruit pie with cream.

I had been very frugal all day so hoping it hasn't done too much damage.

So I survived travelling to the funeral on Thursday by eating the filling from sandwiches. The service stations in Northern Ireland don’t seem to have M&S or Waitrose.
Travelling again yesterday and today over to Liverpool for a match but again trying to stay on track.

I normally do my food shopping online with Sainsburys and the store it comes from doesn't stock celeriac. I was passing a greengrocers earlier in the week and bought 3. Probably bit too much! But I had bubble and squeak (made with celeriac mash) with fried eggs for lunch and it was delicious.

A question for all :)

If I am shopping at the (large) Sainsbury's in a nearby town, what are the best low-carb things to bring home?

What do they have that my local farm and local Tesco won't stock?

@ChimneyPot well done for eating the middles and discarding the bread. I have a family member with a nut allergy and I sometimes try to channel their inner energy in totally rejecting some food items. (it's not good for my body, so I won't have it).

I've had such a chaotic week!! Some fish fingers eaten with grandchildren. Too much wine with friends.

Do you like quorn? Maybe some different varieties.
Cheeses?
Celeriac (as above).
Romanesco cauli (for roasting:) ) ?

I love Romanesco and want to try that celeriac dish.
(Both those veg are available locally ... sometimes!)

Do Sainsbury's do any good low-carb extras? (I was told they might have actual cream cheese - the solid stuff - but that might have been in a dream :) )

That really is a bit like asking 'how long is a piece of string?'!

Remember that our focus on Bootcamp is eating fresh, natural and unprocessed foods, as much as possible. If you're already shopping at a local farm shop, you should be able to buy most, lovely, low carb stuff there!

What is it, do you think, that you should be looking for in Sainsbury's?