Jan '24 Dry Bootcamp - our last week

[BIWI]

Morning all. Hope Storm Isha didn't do any/too much damage.

Here's the spreadsheet - hopefully fixed now!

Although this started out as a 4-week challenge, I realise of course, that January is the never-ending month, so we'll continue right to the bitter end, which will be a week on Wednesday!

Don't panic though - I will be starting another one for February, only this time it doesn't have to be a dry one.

I'll start the next one 'afresh' so it gives other people a chance to join us, which means that (if you want to) the first two weeks will be the usual strict Bootcamp. If you're happy on Bootcamp Light, or you simply want to be able to have a drink (!), then it's entirely up to you.

So thinking about our last ten days - what do you realistically want to be able to achieve? I'm still hoping to get the scales to start with 9 rather than 10, but that does mean I'm going to have to be super strict, as that leaves me with 3.25 lbs to lose. I have two meals out before the end of the month, but they're both in places I know I can make good choices, and I'm finding it easier to forgo the alcohol too, so I'm not too worried about those.

For me, then, it's a weight challenge - but it doesn't have to be weight. It could be a specific item of clothing (thinking about those of us who have holidays coming up), or your measurements, or anything else that you think you can work towards over the next ten days.

I sometimes get nausea with carb flu.

I had a mini whoosh last night, so peed off the night nurse and another pound with it. That takes my loss for this camp to 6lb.

Hoping for another 4 in the next BC and to stay stable on holiday in the USA - wish me luck!

Thanks @BIWI and @cathyandclaire. I'm not great at salting food as I have a 3 year old who I avoid using salt for.... I try to add it where I remember, and use salted butter for me. I do feel a bit better after the Hi5 and will make more of an effort to salt my food going forwards!

If you're drinking all the water, then it's really important to make sure you're keeping your electrolyte levels up - and that's especially so with the salt.

I like this way of thinking about it. Not realistic to say I'll never eat a pizza again but working towards the occasional mindful carbs

I've also had a mini overnight whoosh leaving me at a tantalisingly close 13.8lbs lost in January (including the extra 6 from the new scales!). Hoping the final 0.2 might shift by the final January weigh in tomorrow

I've had a response from MNHQ about starting a low carb recipe topic - they want to gauge the level of interest in it before they open a new topic, and have asked people to post on this thread if you're interested/would support this idea

Done, thanks for the link @BIWI

Also added my support on the recipe thread.
Good luck for tomorrow everyone!

Evening all, what a day and what I wouldn't give for an ice cold Sauvignon blanc right now! I will of course resist, but I think this is the biggest craving I've had, after a nonstop day at work and pretty much the same this evening too. Still, tomorrow I will drink as it's DHs birthday and we always stop Dry Jan then - think maybe that's why it's so tempting today.

Just made a LC cake for DH for tomorrow. It smells divine. It's this one https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-chocolate-cake and I will serve with fresh raspberries and clotted cream. Can't wait!

Food today:
B: Greek yog, cream
L: cheese, ham and mustard on LC wrap
D: spag Bol with courgetti

Meant to say I bought some Dash flavoured waters at the weekend and they are a lovely treat-y drink if you're trying to abstain. They are infused with fruit but are really LC and with no sweeteners. Deffo worth a try if you've not had them before.

I really liked the Dash raspberry one - but they're really expensive, so I only bought them when they were doing a special Nectar price!

They are a bit pricey but I'm thinking that as I haven't spent eleventy billion quid on wine in January, I can justify a four-pack to get me through the week

Good point well made!

Are the dash drinks fizzy @AllTheBlackCoffee ? I like Kombucha and whilst they're fairly LC (about 5g per big can) they do have sweeteners, and are a bit too sweet for me. I like the fizziness though.

Yes they are fizzy @Baystard

Done @BIWI, great idea

Added my support to the site stuff request for a recipe topic. Extra ordinary as always how randoms take the time to oppose things ... well... randomly.

I loved the suggestion that there was too much Bootcamp and it was taking over Low Carbing! Or the poster who was complaining about not having other weight loss recipe threads, who is someone who never posts in any of the weight loss topics.

They just do it to stir things up.

The thread about recipes did have some odd comments on :)

What is so frightening about low carb threads?

(I might have missed a memo. Are we a bunch of plotters secretly planning to take-over Mumsnet? Or, are we just buttering-up the management as part of a dastardly sugar-snatch scheme?)

The bit that fascinated me was ‘well low carb doesn’t work for everyone and it’s like a cult’ - uh…. Ma’am there’s literally like 30 different diet topics you can choose from on MN, you can pick one that works for you if you don’t think LC but if you’re not a fan of cults you might want to avoid slimming world….. enjoy your unmashed banana!

I’m still here although a bit quiet on the threads. Must do better on that. My next MRI is on Monday, this time it’s contrast imaging so should help get to the bottom of whatever’s going on with me.

Anyway in better news after my STS last week I’ve dropped 2lbs overnight, so I’m at 19st 10lbs down from 20st 7lbs at the beginning of Jan. 10lbs in a month with my metabolism/ hormones as they are now is unheard of and I’m exceptionally pleased with myself .

I’ve realised I’m now officially in the groove with this WOE and it feels eminently sustainable at this point. Last time I remember hitting a similar point but I knew then it was temporary as I was treating the whole thing as a weight loss diet. This time I’m not thinking that way, I’m treating boot camp like a training ground for the rest of my life. I simply can’t eat a high carb diet, it makes me fat and sick. If I had coeliac disease I wouldn’t bat an eye at not eating gluten ever again and I see this as the same: I can’t tolerate high carbs so my diet simply has to stay low carb if I want to be well, and I do.

This is a massive shift in mindset for me: I am in no way ‘dieting’ or trying to lose weight at this point. I’m keeping an eye on my weight because it interests me to see the scales move and tells me if something new I ate the day before might have been too carby, but fundamentally there’s no deadline to this, this is just how I eat. Ive never felt so at peace with food, it’s a lovely thing.

Congrats, that's a brilliant shift!

Extra almost 2lbs loss here compared to Monday, so nearly 4lbs for the Jan BC. Maybe cutting out the dairy made a big difference in the end!

Woohoo!

Completing this Boot Camp at 11st 4.75lb

Signed in belatedly on 5th January at 12st 2lb so that's a loss of 11.25lb in less than 4 weeks

Suspect I might go into the doldrums/the Week 4-5 stall next week but I'm going to KOKO

Morning
I'm the same as Monday so 10lb off this boot camp which I am extremely pleased with.
Thank you to everyone.
The support here is so good it makes such a difference.
Slightly wobbly Friday coming up with a night out. But even if there is a blip that is all it will be and I will be present and correct on Monday for the next iteration of boot camp!