Low Carb Bootcamp challenge - lose half a stone before Christmas

[BIWI]

If we start next Monday, there are 6 weeks leading up to Christmas.

Hopefully that means that we can drop 7lbs in those weeks - but only if we're properly strict.

It's entirely up to you if you want to do strict Bootcamp, or Bootcamp Light across those 6 weeks, although I'd suggest that if you haven't got too much to lose, you veer towards a stricter approach.

It's also, we need to bear in mind, a more difficult time of the year to think about losing weight as there are likely to be more social occasions, so a stricter approach around all of those events is probably a good one!

Who's in?!

I STS this week - will need to really focus on the water intake.

Today I'm on to my 4th rooibos as it's cold in the house and we're trying not to put the heating on

...a bit too much wine yesterday

But in fairness, we were toasting our friend who died just over a year ago and whose birthday it would have been

We had ds and his girlfriend over, plus my cousin and her boyfriend. She's back home to Oz today although her boyfriend still has work, so he'll continue house sitting my dad's place before flying out just before Christmas.

We did have a lovely evening, drinking two (good) bottles of our friend's wine, so it was worth it

@thehoundschicken just be careful with the keto shake - we don't really recommend them on Bootcamp as they're so processed as well as using artificial sweeteners. Here are the ingredients of one of them:

coconut oil powder (milk), calcium caseinate (milk), medium chain triglyceride powder (7%) (milk), avocado oil powder (3%), natural flavouring (milk), stabilisers (xanthan gum, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose), flavouring, salt, colour (carotenes), sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame K), vitamin B6, vanilla bean powder (0.1%), zinc oxide, vitamin B12.

Creamy vanilla shake

... and by the way, there is no law - or Bootcamp rule - that says you have to have eggs for breakfast! There are plenty of alternatives. It doesn't have to be special breakfast food - just anything (low carb) that you fancy.

@BIWI "whose stupid idea was it it to do a low carb challenge this side of Christmas" made me laugh out loud earlier!!! I then obviously had a coughing fit as I've finally succumbed to DD & DH's germs which have been wafting round the house for weeks 😱.
Weekend visiting DSis in London - failed miserably to remember my LC train picnic so ate a mishmash of cheese, fruit and boiled eggs on Friday morning/brunch. Plenty of walking then my sister's version of a LC dinner which was chicken and leek pie with pastry top & bottom (!), plus lots of green veg, did the best I could with the pie filling. Saturday was the fantasy exhibition at the British Library which was absolutely brilliant followed by lunch in a turkish restaurant so we shared mixed kebab (which came on flatbread), hummus, charred broccoli, more flatbread and fries. tbh if we'd reaalised that the kebab came on flatbread we wouldn't have ordered a separate one, bit of a menu fail there! I had my share of the kebab - lamb and spiced chicken, most of the salad and broccoli, some hummus and nicked a couple of fries. Way more wine than usual over Friday night and Saturday but also managed nearly 50k steps in the two days so.........late train back Saturday night and then a 6-hour round trip to Whitehaven yesterday for football!!!!
Haven't weighed today as barely scraped out of bed but having plenty of water and herbal tea, with little else as no appetite really. Even though I'm lighter than I was, I actually feel really bloated still - possibly last week's totm but hoping to flush my system properly this week. My birthday on Wedsnesday and DH has said he's sorting dinner which is a tad worrying (and not really my preference, I'm happy to cook on birthdays and high days!!), then office day Thursday and a gig Friday so need to keep an eye on things
LoveCat that's a brilliant loss well done!

I think that I could easily live on eggs but trying not to. Eggs and cheese is my happy place.

Alledgedly I've gained this week but I've been on the wagon so I don't really believe it, I've felt off-colour all day so I assume there's something else happening. I've put the correct weight on the sheet and will hope for something more dramatic next week.

I forgot to weigh yesterday but am expecting bad news.... a combination of rather falling off the wagon and also not being able to walk/hobble much after foot surgery last Monday. I'm more mobile now (though still very hobble-y!) so hoping for a better week! I've got my 3 month post partum blood test on Thursday to check my gestational diabetes has gone away and not turned into T2D....

After lots of water and rooinos yesterday, I'm going to adjust my weigh-in for this week to 12st 2lb, so down with 1lb

However, I have a Christmas lunch out tomorrow with my group of Pilates friends We couldn't go to our normal place Brian Maule as it closed down suddenly this year and where, being such a fine dining place, was good for low carb but instead at another place which is ok but which has been a nightmare to deal with: forcing us on to the Christmas menu, insisting that we order and pay a month (with a non-intuitive order system) in advance (the automatic payment included the "optional" 10% tip , so I had to ask for a different link) and has generally been a nightmare to organise We won't be going back

I forgot to weigh again this morning.... so weighed fully clothed and wearing my surgical boot. Plus the bandages and dressings are still there. It came up as just short of 4lb up on last week. I've decided to split the difference and log it as 2lb up. Which is better than I was expecting to be honest! I will update to a more accurate weight if I remember tomorrow morning....

That's very noble to weigh yourself with all that extra weight @pinknsparkly!

While it's lovely to read about inspirational weight losses, it is reassuring to read about the struggles too! In the interests of making myself more accountable, this is my yesterday...

8am Egg, coffee with cream
10:15 Coffee & cream and slurped the dregs of the cream carton
1:15 chicken and veg Soup, lc bread butter, cheese
1:30 last coffee and cream of the day, water for the rest of the day)
5 pm chicken drumstick and cheese
7pm Salmon, cheesy veg (aubergine, cabbage and leeks)
7:15 small portion of Chocolate
9pm greek yoghurt, still hungry
9:30 Massive chicken sandwich because home alone. Would not have done if DH home. I don't know why I do this and generally have it under control. DH couldn't care less what I eat or when so I think it must be a throwback to childhood where access to food was strictly controlled for poverty and large family reasons (we didn't starve, just not allowed to help ourselves on a whim!).
Drank plenty of water but probably not 3l.
And that was supposed to be strict bootcamp. Today is a new day.

@OldandTired66 I was just coming on here to commit to doing the same.

My scales have new batteries and now say I haven't lost any weight, which may not be far off the truth, I can't see much difference, so I'm going to post all meals here in the interest of accountability. I've had a horrible virus and ate a lot of 80% chocolate on Sunday, am pretty sure that and some walnut snacking has thrown me off track.

STS phew but still feel more wobbly around the tummy than of late, on my (approx) 4th cup of herbal tea as it's so cold I can't face water, sparkling or otherwise and just had brunch of two boiled eggs with asparagus dippers grilled with ham (asparagus tips in this week's super six so stocked up!).
Dinner later is tacos for the carbies and leftover pork casserole with veggies for me

Hello :)

Quick question about lasagne. I've tried the courgette strips. I cut them 2-3mm thick, salt them and then fry them (ah, just realised that last time I'm sure I put them in the oven which would've made the process simpler). They came out ok but it was quite a palaver and the dish tasted quite salty (not QUITE too salty, but getting there) but it wasn't watery.

Someone makes their's with aubergine. Is that a simpler process? Assuming you don't need to dose with salt and there is less risk of a watery lasagne.

Thank you!

Did you salt the courgettes? I never salt them (or aubergines for that matter ). I found that by slicing them into disks, they weren't too watery - but I am going to try pre-cooking them slightly (maybe laid out onto a baking sheet) next time.

Dh is not keen on aubergine, so I rarely use it so can't help you with its potential as a pasta sheet substitute in lasagne.

....sorry, just re-read your post and you do explicitly say that you salt them

I’ve tried a few different ways, and yes this time I did salt them. Some water came out but not sure it was worth the saltiness.

I shall try disks next time - and precook them a bit in the oven. Thanks @prettybird !

It was me with the aubergine. I think I did salt them last time (cut into long strips first) then rinse and dab dry and I griddled mine till soft, but we have a range cooker with a hotplate so its easy to do, also it was only for me so small quantities, I did 3/4 with pasta sheets for the rest of the family. A large dry frying pan would also work but I do think they need to be cooked if not salted.

Ah, I didn’t rinse! 🙈 That could be it. Thanks ☺️

If I salt them - I leave them then rinse and dry before use.

My favourite lasagne is made with aubergine that is oiled - laid out on trays in thin rounds and baked for 15 min at 180 fan. They come out when all golden and some (almost) too crispy to use in the lasagne and have to be eated at once (yum).

These are a completely different aubergine animal to the cubes and lumps that appear in other dishes.

I've been thinking about what you wrote. It rings a few bells here. (A loving home -but limited resources -hunger -and strict rules about not eating someone else's share/being greedy/ and always leaving tables able to eat a bit more :( )

The difference between BIWI's bootcamp and diets that fail me often is being able to eat when hungry - and to keep doing that on days when I need to .

Making my brain accept that there is no famine and food is plentiful lets the starving lions inside me sleep!

Otherwise I find my self trying to cut back on calories at meals (as in the bad old days) and get hungry and want to eat in secret again.

After a day like yours I'd not go on a punishment thing. I'd make sure that tomorrow was set up with some extra filling low carb meals and I'd be very sure to really eat enough at each one. (You can feed the lions enough to keep them dozing in the days ahead but it sometimes takes a few un-dietlike feeding days first.)

@OldandTired66 fighting chlldhood demons is really tough! Not that I'm the best at actually doing this consistently, but I would highly recommend having snacks pre prepared and ready to go. For me, that's often cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, diced cheese, peeled hardboiled eggs and shredded chicken. Or those small snack sized bags of nuts. Being able to grab them when I get the snack-attacks saves me having to think about what I want to snack on and then fight against the urge to eat all the carbs....! When I'm actually organised enough to do this...

I think I might try this recipe from the Christmas thread: https://www.gnom-gnom.com/keto-pull-apart-christmas-tree/ has anyone got any thoughts as to whether I can use ground almonds or if I need to get the super fine almond flour? Also, do you think I could leave out the sweeteners altogether? Maybe sub in a bit of vanilla extract? I LOVE cinnamon so could also increase the amount of that, perhaps? I don't like feeding my toddler artificial sweeteners, and actually prefer her to have sugar if that's the only alternative.

Sorry to be late posting my weight, work has got in the way. I'm really pleased to have lost 2lbs this past week. That makes over 23lbs since starting Bootcamp in September. Slow and steadily getting there.

Thank you @OldandTired66 @LiesDoNotBecomeUs and @pinknsparkly for what you have written. I came from a family that was hugely dysfunctional about food, in many, many ways, but I am finding that the way of eating I've been introduced to on @BIWI 's Bootcamp has meant that for the first time ever I feel that I am in control over what I am eating. I can't say thank you enough 💐💐💐💐