Week 8 - Back-to-school Low Carb Bootcamp - the final week

[BIWI]

Morning all

So we reach the last week. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?! Today is day 50, of a total of 56 - remember the piece about it taking an average of 66 days to create a new habit? By now, therefore, hopefully we're all well into the swing of low carbing, and new habits are beginning to settle in. I hope that cravings for really carby foods - especially the sweet ones - have lessened (if not disappeared).

We have one more week before our final weigh-in next Monday. Let’s make it a good one! 😊

@TheOnlyMrsW

Might a stretchy belt be any use to help the 'hold-up' operation and put off the evil moment of having the buy new jeans ?

Any almond flour experts here? If so, have you ever made flatbreads using Greek yogurt and almond flour and do they turn out nicely? Also- can you substitute almond flour with ground almonds? Thanks! ☺️

I've never tried to make those @nappiesandcontracts - but why not have a go?

Ground almonds can be used in place of almond flour, but if you can buy the flour it is slightly finer. Holland & Barrett sell it, although I've just looked online and they're saying it's out of stock.

You can buy almond flour from Sous Chef

If I can get my hands on some almond flour I'll do so this weekend and report back 😊

Thanks for all the veggie inspiration! Have added cauliflower pizza, flatbreads & aubergine to my list.

Some of the low carb veggie dishes I've been enjoying the last few months:

• cauliflower cheese
• harissa halloumi & mushroom (adapted from the one of the prawn week recipes) with courgetti
• paneer curry & Keto naan, cauliflower rice or Konjac rice
• omelettes
• baked feta & veggies
• flaxseed bread sandwiches (have added caraway seeds to the recipe now)
• Buddha bowls or salads with lots of cheese
• peppers stuffed with egg and mozzarella
• mushrooms stuffed with Boursin
• crustless quiche
• baked tofu with veggies
• cabbage with walnuts and Gorgonzola
• cheese & spinach muffins

Hi everyone

@bluesupermoon I like the sound of cabbage with walnuts abd gorgonzola, do you have a recipe? The stuffed mushrooms are a good idea too.

I ate lunch out today at a market kitchen, went for Turkish and had lots of grilled chicken kebab, wings and salad. I probably had too much but kept to low carb.

Catching up with you all just before the end of this bootcamp. I've been mia for various reasons but haven't strayed too far from this woe.

@bluesupermoon eating out I find that indian or italian often have the best veggie options. I'm going to an italian tonight and will probably have avocado, mozarella, tomato to start, then aubergine parmigiana with a side of green veg.

For eating at friends' houses I suggest a veggie curry, but let them know I won't need rice or naan. If I know them well I might take home made keto naan.

Other veggie favourites:

• oven roast pumpkin (and onion, garlic, chilli in lots of olive oil) with a variety of nuts (yesterday we had walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios) raosted for the final 8 minutes. Take half the mix (peel the bits of pumpkin) and blend it was a little balsamic vinegar and some water to make a thick sauce. You can be quite cheffy and make a 'smear' then top with the roasted veg/nuts. Add rocket/watercress. This is also vegan.
• courgetti with lemon zest and juice, chopped basil, lots of parmesan, toasted pine nuts, olive oil - very light, very quick
• swede and cabbage gratin. Par boil thinly sliced swede (like dauphinoise) mix with finely sliced cabbage, loads of melted butter, grated cheese and some whole grain mustard. Top with more cheese and bake in oven till everything is soft. Also a great accompaniment to cooked ham or pork for non-veggies

One thing that irritates me at the moment is that so many restaurants are no longer doing veggie options but replacing them with vegan options with fake cheese etc. Today my friend had a vegan tuna sandwich. I can't imagine anything worse than a sandwich containing something that isn't fish but which smells/tastes a bit fishy. Luckily my buttery mashed boiled eggs, almond muffin and creamy coffee earlier in the day meant that I was entirely happy to skip the sandwich lunch.

Hi all,
Monday morning again and the dreaded weigh in! I've lost 3/4 of a pound this week, although the spreadsheet has gone a bit funny and recorded it as 3lb (I wish)! So in total I'm down 11lb this bootcamp. I've reached the target I was aiming for, this time around but hope to shave off another half a stone by Christmas. I think this will be hard though, as the shops are full of Lebkuchen (sp?) and Baileys!

My bathroom refit is now done and I've been madly decluttering the house, so am starting to get a bit Christmassy now. Christmas is when any kind of diet or good intentions usually goes tits up, so determined not to blow it this year.

Good luck to anyone weighing in today - fingers crossed you all have good losses

Here's the link to the final weigh-in thread

Thanks for this! I wouldn't have thought of Italian but that's a good tip. Am also annoyed about the veggie options being taken over by the vegan ones, sometimes it's like eating out in the 90s all over again...

Yes it's from the Fast 800 Keto recipe book, will see if I can post a pic

Cabbage, walnuts & Gorgonzola

Hi everyone

I have lost another lb. I am now dead on 100kg, I know I am still massively overweight and have a long way to go but I am 11lb lighter than I was 7 weeks ago. (And partly why I haven't added my weight to the spreadsheet as I am so embarrassed) I will join the 1/2 stone before Christmas thread, I am not sure I will manage that much as I am perimenopausal and so things are slow, but if I can get to 1 stone loss or maybe just over in total I will be happy. I am anticipating it will take at least another 12 months for the weight to come off so my main aim is trying to stick to something I can manage rather than blowing it all at Christmas.

Thanks so much @bluesupermoon and others for the veggie recipes I am going to try some this week.

I haven't dropped any dress sizes but feel my clothes are starting to fit me a bit better.

Thanks everyone and especially @BIWI and @FinallyHere for your support, this is the first time in years I have actually managed to lose weight and stick at something for more than a few weeks.