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.

Thanks for the new thread BIWI, and so sorry to hear about your day Metabolicallycomplicated. Hope you can get an answer soon and that it's good news. Well done on not ordering a takeaway though!

I had set myself a target to lose a stone during bootcamp. I still want to do that and I'd really like to get below the 300lb mark 😳. I think it's do-able but will be challenging with a weekend away coming up. This has been long planned so i always intended my dry January to finish on the 27th but it'll just be a temporary blip. I'm going to seriously try to limit my alcohol intake for February too, maybe stick to one day a week maximum.

Well I’ve just eaten left over cannelloni for my dinner instead of the Chinese takeaway I’m craving so I’m feeling very virtuous given the circumstances!

My other thread has reassured me massively about everything, I’m just going to KOKO and assume everything is ok until it isn’t.

Sorry to hear your news but glad you’ve had some reassurance @Metabolicallycomplicated . Well done for keeping on. 💐

I'm definitely in for February thank you @BIWI and feeling positive about losing 4 lbs ( if not 6lb) in the next couple of weeks. Much better day today despite the aftermath of the storm causing a little damage at home. A cup of tea first thing then a two egg omelette with sauerkraut and an avocado on the side at lunch. Two pints of water during the day and another cup of tea late afternoon. I'm back on the pink 0% Gordon's with a low cal tonic which fulfils my craving for something that feels like a G and T despite tasting nothing like! Supper was a rib eye steak and stir fried Brussels sprouts ( I rinse them well and leave about a tablespoon of water in the frying pan and once that's gone I add a big knob of butter about a minute from the end). My favourite 😋. Greek yoghurt and cream for pud with an experimental teaspoon or so of cocoa. Not sure I'll bother with that again but the stirring in is fun.

Such an amazing attitude @Metabolicallycomplicated have fingers and toes crossed for you!
Teally need to start getting some early nights especially when I need to be up at 630.
Bfast - coffee with cream x3 at friends house who had no herby teas
lunch - forgot to have anything
dinner - left over beef made into a curry with green beans, red pepper and Konjac noodles (I know curry and noodles is weird but it was still yummy)
most of the water

Hi and thanks for the new thread @BIWI I am koko but not done well this month, I think that for me just a couple of slips into carbs is enough to gain and also lose willpower. I am away this weekend but with the exception of maybe 2 meals I will try and stick to bootcamp as physically I feel so much better. I had gestational diabetes 5 years ago and whilst I am not diabetic now my blood sugar has crept up over the years so I do need to watch that and on boodcamp I feel generally better. My aim this week is to drink more water and also try and get some steps in, we have been plagued by illness the past few weeks so have been very sedentary.

Ugh another night of 4 hours sleep!! I’m waking at 530 and impossible to get back off again. I was hoping this woe would help sleep.
On good news I’m back to the 149.8lbs I was the day before yesterday. Do any of you do Hiit or resistance training? I’m wondering if there’s good YouTube ones to download/watch.

0.4lb down today but feeling bloated with sausage fingers (period due) so I'm not believing anything will stick at the min.

I'm sleeping much better but keep waking up with a low level headache which wears off during the day only to return next morning. Anyone else had this? I still take an electrolyte daily, anm drinking loads of water and haven't cut down on caffeine or any of the usual suspects.

Forgot to say that on the weekend I wore some size 16 jeans that I'd not had on since before NY and they were actually comfy rather than cutting into me as I remember them being last year. I was chuffed about that.

Hope everyone has a good day

Caffeine can also be a trigger for headaches so might be worth looking at that and seeing if it makes a difference?

Looking for ideas/accountability. I have several hours of hospital tests tomorrow (condition that doesn't affect my day to day life but needs to be checked periodically) and this has in the past led to me going on a sugar/carb fest afterwards to get some energy back/treat myself blah blah blah. I want to do it differently this time! So I have a snack plan of BC friendly and slightly less friendly but still better than my usual post hospital snacks. Am I missing anything? (Veggie). I also know if I cave and have something sugary I can get myself back onto LC, but I figured planning it out rather than winging it would be better... thank you!

BC compliant
Lots of water
Cheese
Cheesies
LC sandwich
Nuts
Sparkling water
Seaweed crisps

Not BC compliant but better than a snickers & coke
Latte
Fruit & nut bar
Lentil crisps
Flavoured fizzy water

@AllTheBlackCoffee I've woken up a couple of times (including this morning) with a headache. Both times my initial horror was that I'd given in and drunk too much the night before! Which I hadn't - still very much alcohol-free.

But I'm not really sleeping any better either, @NotDonna, which is really annoying. The nights I sleep better - i.e. getting to sleep quickly and 'only' waking 2 or 3 times in the night - are simply to compensate for the nights when I slept really badly!

@bluesupermoon sounds like a long and difficult day! But not quite sure why you're considering non-BC compliant foods, when the ones on your BC-compliant list look perfect?

Oh good . More rain !

Another one waking with a headache , I just assumed I was a bit dehydrated and glugged a big glass of water
I slept well last night and didn’t wake til 7 ish , but some nights are dreadful
I have no idea why , just luck or bad luck

We need to shop today , aubergine parmigiana is on the meal plan for sure

Aubergine Parmigiana here too! Will probably serve with some courgettes, pan-fried in butter/oil with chilli flakes. Or some Savoy cabbage which needs to be used up.

Another bad sleeper here! Before low carbing and in fact until the last couple of weeks I slept very very well.

Now I'm exhausted by 9pm and sleep well until 2 or 3 but then I'm waking up with my mind racing unable to get back to sleep. I drift in and out until morning in a very light sleep. I don't know if it's due to diet or stress - currently in the process of getting my son onto the waiting list for an autism assessment and have meetings with the SENCO on my mind. As soon as I wake up my mind jumps to all that and then that's me awake!

I don't feel too tired during the day but think DH is getting fed up of me falling asleep on the sofa.

Ok fair point!! I suppose my logic was - if none of the BC stuff appeals in the moment when I'm feeling fed up of all the prodding and poking and trying to get myself back to work, I'd rather have a supply/list of not so bad stuff that raid the nearby supermarket in a fit of the fuck it's.... I think if I keep hydrated and snack while I'm there that will help me as well.

But you see @bluesupermoon, all you're doing is reinforcing the fact that you need carbs/sugar as a reward. So still allowing carbs to have their hold over you. I notice that broccoli isn't on that list?!!!

Not BC compliant but better than a snickers & coke
Latte
Fruit & nut bar
Lentil crisps
Flavoured fizzy water

I actually wonder if these things are just as bad as a Snickers and a Coke? They're foods that masquerade as healthy. If you look at the carb counts, I'd wager that they're also pretty high - in other words, sugar!

@SpinningTops good luck! I have one dc diagnosed and one on the everlasting waiting list. Feel free to PM me if you want to.

Re waking and overactive brain, I stick some earphones in on low sound with either white noise or an audio book I've already listened to (Stephen fry is great). It's enough to distract my brain from thinking but not so much that I engage with it and I usually fall back to sleep

Thanks very much for the new thread BIWI . I appreciate all that you're doing for us.
Well done to all those who have shifted some pounds this week and also to anyone who's not satisfied with their results this week, but is still putting in the footwork. Fingers crossed for you especially.

Here, I've got rid of 4 pounds this week and I'm delighted. Usually, this journey is much slower for me. So, this is great.

I'll also be on board in February. All the best with our last (couple of ) week(s) !

Thanks I really appreciate your view. I feel like I've totally changed my perspective on sugar as treats/stress reliever(found this much harder than giving up alcohol). It's more than I'm anticipating from experience feeling really low on energy and trying to plan beforehand. I'll start with the things on the BC list first and will report back. Good to be challenging our preconceived ideas of what we need I guess!

Don't get me wrong @bluesupermoon - I absolutely understand the feeling and the need! (Been there, got several of the t-shirts). But it also comes from a long career of working in advertising/marketing/new product development which has made me very, very aware of how we're sold things as 'healthy' when in fact they're often the very opposite.

And in the low carb context, this becomes even more important! For example, in a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk there are 57g carbs per 100g. Raisins have 69.3g carbs per 100g! Yet if you asked most people, I'm fairly sure that they'd say it would be better to eat the raisins than the chocolate.

If there is an M&S near the hospital I recommend grabbing a bag or 2 of the chorizo crisps. They're delicious, and because they're so high in umami they feel really indulgent and rewarding. Also, it feels ridiculous being able to eat food of this sort on a diet. I have a few packs lying around for when I feel the need to reward/indulge myself.

@BIWI
Thanks so much - here’s the last few days. Be honest with me…..

Saturday
Breakfast- 4 pieces of chicken tikka ! (Left over from takeaway night before- chicken tikka (tandoori no sauce) and okra . No rice or nann.
Brunch Coffee with cream, 2 x eggs, mushrooms and spinach
D tuna steak and green veg in butter

Sunday
B coffee with cream, Greek yoghurt with cinnamon
L bowl of buttered sprouts and Parmesan
D roasted chicken thighs with skin and green veg … with some gravy

Monday
B same ( yogurt when got to work)
L left over chicken thighs, spinach and mayo
D chicken sausages , green veg and mayo, handful of spouting seed mix (high protein)

Green veg alternates-mix of sprouts, broccoli, spinach, cavolo nero.
Heck chicken sausages - 2.2g carbs per 100g

Is spouting seed mix okay - very high protein? Have some today for lunch with left over veg and 2 sausages.

Drinking lots of peppermint tea and hot water with lemon (slice). An extra black coffee too. Have decided to give up cream this week to see what difference it makes. Much easier when at work … prob have 2 or 3 coffees with cream at the weekend!

Oooooh I didn’t realise m and a had a good low carb selection, I’m off to investigate the one near work, might have myself a little low carb picnic for lunch!

For anyone struggling with sleep, I highly recommend one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/MUSICOZY-Headphones-Bluetooth-Ultra-Soft-Nighttime-Black-Curved/dp/B0BRQDCN7W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1610H1D4ZCQUJ&keywords=headphones+headband&qid=1706009909&sprefix=Headphones+headband%2Caps%2C82&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

If I wake in the night, I pop it on with a podcast on low volume and it distracts me from my busy head. Doesn't always work in helping me back to sleep but it's a better distraction than worrying about work or family or whatever else is on my mind.

I ordered some trousers from Uniqlo after reading about them on the 'comfy but smart' trousers thread. The website told me the XXL would be too tight for me but I bought them anyway with the plan being to slim into them. They arrived today and are on the verge of being too big. They were only £12 a pair so I'll keep them but hopefully they won't fit for too long.

@Metabolicallycomplicated this is my favourite M&S snack. I sometimes buy cucumber to go with it and dip in the sauce...

I hope you're feeling more settled today after your disturbing medical news, and I hope you get a scan soon. Worrying about these things never helps.

Challenging day here with a big community issue being debated by the useless local council. They have been totally hoodwinked by the commercial company who stand to make millions out of the project, and they refuse to listen to the reasonable objections of the majority of the local population, you know, the ones that the councillors are supposed to represent! The meeting is going on at the moment and I've had to walk away from watching online to get my blood pressure back under control. The scale of the proposed project is unnecessary and such waste of public money when there's so much more that it could be used for. Grrr

Sipping water to calm down...

Brunch today is a toasted slice of Schneiderbrot piled high with cheese, ham, cucumber, mayonnaise, avocado and boiled egg.
D - lamb mince bolognese. I was hoping there would be courgettes in the veg box for noodles, but I'm going to have to try making them from turnip (swede) instead. Might be a bit tough for my hand held spiraliser. Will be broccoli and ruby chard on the side.