Jan '24 Dry Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 3

[BIWI]

Morning all.

So I've put the Big Stick down, and let's start this week afresh.

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Remember, this is only a four week challenge, and we're now half-way through. For the next two weeks, if you want, you can do Bootcamp Light (which simply means that you can add in some fruit (berries mainly), and some nuts and seeds. In moderation only, please.

But NO ALCOHOL!.

Whether you started on 1 or 2 January, we've now completed a whole fortnight without booze. Hopefully you should be feeling the benefits of this beyond just it helping with weight loss. Having moaned about not sleeping better, which is supposed to be one of the key benefits, last night I did sleep very well (having had the worst night's sleep the night before!), so hopefully it's all kicking in now.

I haven't made this but I have a document saved with a load of recipes from the old IPD forum. I have this saved for Butter Chicken:

Fry an onion until golden in four tablespoons of groundnut oil and 2oz butter.

Add 8 crushed cardamom pods, 6 cloves and 1 cinnamon stick and stir for a few seconds then add 1 teaspoon of the following -

easy ginger, easy garlic, easy chilli, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ground coriander, ground cumin.

Add four chicken breast fillets cut into chunks, then a tin of chopped tomatoes.

Gentle simmer for 10 mins with the pan covered then 10 mins with the lid off, add chopped coriander and about 4floz double cream.

Simmer gently again for another 10 mins until reduced and thickened and the oil is beginning to separate from the sauce.

This served 4 with rice for them and buttered spinach for me. The whole spices are not supposed to be eaten.

I haven't looked over the recipes recently but very happy to share it for bootcampers if I can work out how to post a word document on Mumsnet

It's been posted before but this one went down well here Butter chicken recipe

@Almahart i bought the bread a few weeks ago and I did see a post about it after. I wasn’t sure it would still be fresh yesterday, it’s dated until April!

This is my favourite butter chicken recipe, it can be adapted if you don’t have a pressure cooker.
https://myheartbeets.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/

Hi all, it's been fine for me today, spinach and egg curry for lunch and burgers and salad tonight. I was planning on homemade coleslaw but have run out of cabbage!

Thank you and yes it is completely illogical to be worried. I worked out the ratios myself using the Omni calculator. I think I will do it again with my husband but on the first analysis I am ok. The doctor really stressed me when he phoned. I was off work the previous day and he left me three messages to call him back as he needed to urgently discuss my blood results. I am usually practical and rational one so my own reaction took me by surprise 😂. Thanks for the link I will have a proper read later.

Thanks so much for the butter chicken recipes! ♥️

Thank you everyone for all the support and handholding. I am feeling much better about it all today. It is amazing what a good night's sleep can do - thank you LCBC.

I am going to try and reduce the cream and fatty cheeses. I love them but suspect I might be sensitive to the dairy effect anyway so it is time to modify a little. And I will eat a little more fish and plant oil (olive, avocado and nuts).

I need to keep in mind that hormones also play a role and that while I was eating 'normally' my cholesterol raised to 7.2 due to a drop in oestrogen.

It might be a good time to start HIIT it other heart friendly exercises. I have been so busy I have been putting it off but I need to stop making excuses and go for it.

I am not going to talk to my GP but I will talk to DH who is also a doctor and take on board what he says. I suspect he will agree with me anyway. I might get a home cholesterol test in three months and see if there is any further difference.

I forgot to mention that my HB1AC has come down from 40 (when my cholesterol was 7.2) to 36. That is another low carb win.

As a matter of interest @metabolicallycomplicated how high did your cholesterol go?

Thank you all again. The support here is fantastic 😊

cholesterol rose not raised 😳

Big shout out to @Metabolicallycomplicated for telling us about whipped feta- fab-u-lous!!! I just had it for supper with cucumber, celery and crispy Parma ham dippers, light and incredibly tasty.

Also it's so satisfying that I've got a pot left in the fridge that I'm not ( very) tempted to polish off tonight.

I watched the Panorama programme about Wegovy this week. Very frustrating to think that Big Food manipulates the population into consuming products, the direct result of which their older cousin Big Pharma is now making a packet "treating". It's shameful.

One of my local Asda stores carries the Protein Bread (schneider brot) but not the other so its worth checking online first to save time hunting the shop for it.

I don't have an asda nearby unfortunately and a quick Google tells me that's the only place to buy the protein schneiderbrot. I'll just need to keep looking for an alternative

Hi everyone, I'm finally back home, 0.7kg heavier, gaargh. A combination of not being able to plan LC meals while travelling and being entertained, but I'm disheartened because I did exercise portion control, certainly compared to previously, and I still gained. Never mind, it's only 1.5 lbs and they'll go again, but it has crystallised again how I can't go back to the way I was eating before once I've lost the weight.

Food today :

B: Pret veggie shakshuka (a few beans which I tried to leave)
L: steak Diane and buttered leeks
S: mango tea from Costa which is very nice
D: roast chicken and Brussels

@blackteaplease (love the user name) butter mint tea is gorgeous - a bit like a mint humbug. Highly recommend if :)

Have had a funny food day today, just not hungry at all. My short black coffee with cream fills me up in the morning but I'm not really a big fan of breakfast until 11 ish anyway. So today I had a two egg omelette with chorizo and coriander at about 1430. And this favourite for supper tonight, salad tricolore with mozzarella. I know there are carbs in the zero alcohol wine but I've been making a 50/50 spritzer with fizzy water the last few days. Find it a great substitute for the wine that I really, really want!

Just had a lovely supper from a recipe I tore out from an old Observer Feast supplement for a "crustless quiche": fried pancetta, 3 beaten eggs, 200ml double cream, 1.5 tablespoons cream cheese, 50+g of grated cheddar, handful of chopped spinach (I used a cube of frozen chopped spinach that I defrosted) and 6 cherry tomatoes, halved. All mixed together & seasoned and then put into a greased cake tin (I just used the Le Creuset non-stick frying pan I'd cooked the pancetta in rather than dirtying another tin) and then into the oven at 180C (fan) for 25 minutes. Technically, it was an air fryer recipe (think it said 10 minutes at 160C but I'm not sure).

It puffed up and was lovely and light.

Think I could add another cube or two of spinach and more halved cherry tomatoes.

Really tasty and definitely to be repeated

Not pretty pictures I know!

(It claimed to serve 4 but it was only enough for dh and me )

Had a fidgety day today, couldn’t really settle and was hungry and snacky today. Definitely craving carbs. Staying the course but need a better day tomorrow. Love reading the thread as helps me realise I’m not alone and helps me stay focused on my goals.

I feel a bit like that too this evening Thesoundofmusic23. I've snacked on a few babybels but am really craving a slide of toast and peanut butter! think I'll just go to bed 😔

So we had Andi Oliver's chicken curry tonight, which was OK - a bit disappointed if I'm honest. But it was tasty enough, and easy to cook. I had i in the end with Bare Naked Noodles rather than trying to make my wrap pretend it was a paratha. Fewer calories and carbs in the noodles!

Not lovely enough for £13.00. Nozzecco is much cheaper but slightly carbier. Sticking to sparkling water or like the dealcoholised wine spritzer idea.

@TheOnlyMrsW whats your spiced lamb please?
Some great recipes and general ideas so thank you ladies.
what are you eating with your whipped feta? I’ve just got to give it a go!
Another good day today. Played tennis then walked the dog and then lunch. Still hungry an hour later so had seconds. Then come dinner wasn’t remotely hungry but fancied a taste so had a few pork scratchings. Drink a lot of herbal teas today.

I can’t remember Goodie I’m afraid! It was enough to be considered ‘high’ though

The vomiting bug got me in the end. Not a pleasant 36 hours and all I could keep down was rice cakes and, eventually, a small bowl of plain pasta.

Feel better today so going to start unpicking the damage. Would usually cycle in to work on a higher gear than usual to burn off the glucose, but feeling too delicate for that still.

So, tube to work, and then
L: chicken breast, salad w sun dried tomatoes and blue cheese
D: pork chop w braised cabbage

Morning all, walk of shame for me. I had a doner kebab last night for dinner because I was absolutely knackered and couldn’t bring myself to cook. I only had salad, meat and Mayo so no bread or chips but even so, I’m 2lbs heavier on the scales this morning and back to 20st exactly

I know those 2lbs aren’t really ‘weight’ and it will likely be water from all the salt but I’m still kicking myself.

Ive learned though that lack of energy is a huge thing for me and not feeling up to cooking is a massive trigger for the fuckits.

Hopefully I can correct course today although I have my annual review at work which could easily throw me off mentally all over again!

Meal Plan:
B: 16:8 with protein
L: Chicken stir fry
D: moussaka

Good luck today @Metabolicallycomplicated and all.

I'm going to make the aubergine parmigiana for the weekend.
Would you use fresh mozzarella or grated?