Week 1 - May '24 Low Carb Bootcamp. And off we go!

[BIWI]

Evening everyone!

I'm starting the first week's chat thread this evening as I know everyone will be chomping at the bit to get going tomorrow!

First, and most importantly, here's the link to the spreadsheet

You'll see that it's now got a bit of colour coding going on. There are several posters who have said that they don't want to be on the spreadsheet, so they are on there, but greyed out - so I know who is/isn't wanting to talk about their weight.

If you're said you're a vegetarian, your row will be coloured green; this is important, so that we know how to advise you about foods (or rather, not to tell you off if you're eating nuts/fruit/seeds when you're allowed to, as a veggie!)

If you haven't seen the spreadsheet before - or even if you have! - have a good look around it. As well as Bootcamp rules, there's loads of helpful information on there (look at the tabs at the bottom). I've revised the vegetable carb count, which now includes some more veg.

If there's anything that isn't clear

Can I ask how you did the Moroccan chicken? And the fennel? Both sound good and I currently have a fennel in the fridge and don’t know what to do with it.

I managed to lose 3lb since Monday, which might be a bit fast.
I had my gall bladder removed about 15 years ago, and my usual moderate fat intake has never been a problem, but certain effects today make me suspect that I'm not fully digesting the increased fats since Monday.
I've googled a bit and have ordered some MCT oil to use in place of the cream, butter, etc
On the plus side, I'm not craving sweet things, and I think already I'm less tired and achy.

@prettybird I'm so sorry to hear about your scald - well done for getting it under water so quickly, I'm sure you saved it from being worse and it looks horrible enough as it is.

@Baystard these AI recipes are inspirational! I work in marketing and there's lots of discussion about using or not using ChatGPT - it's great to hear some everyday life examples.

@MissBeck what about cooking your fish in chopped tomatoes, with perhaps shallot, garlic, peppers or courgettes (maybe chilli?) and add feta before serving. Sort of saganaki-esque?

I was visiting another site at work so had lunch in their canteen. Unfortunately for me it was meat free Wednesday so the hot dish of the day was sweet potato curry... however I managed a hard boiled egg, salad (lots of olive oil) and some vegetable soup (more olive oil) so it wasn't all bad. I struggled to drink enough water in meetings all day though and on the way home all trains were cancelled and I arrived home finally starving. I stuck to a babybel and some jerky and then had leftover cheesy leeks and chicken and coleslaw for dinner. Brought a herbal tea to bed to boost fluids!

Good morning all.

Wishing you better @prettybird ! That looks very sore.

Ive been struggling to get in the zone due to lots of travel and being entertained this week, but I'm hanging on by a fingernail. I've just done a massive supermarket shop (sadly no frozen mushrooms as I did it before reading the thread but that soups sounds gorgeous)

I do have all the ingredient for the halloumi curry to hand though, so I will give that a try!

KOKO all

Only read the thread up to yesterday evening but wanted to jump on and suggest @prettybird goes to the local pharmacy and asks for flamazine - it looks nasty. If they haven’t got it they’ll recommend something suitable. Looks very sore!

Ahh it seems you have your scold under control @prettybird - who new 8hr cream was so amazing! Some one mentioned a dupe - what’s it’s called?
Im still a bit sore from surgery so zero dog walking / exercise for me. I also broken my ankle in Feb so can’t yet bounce around anyway.
Yesterday saw a couple of pounds down & a little less swollen. I had…
bfast - coffee with almond milk x2
lunch - chilli with lots of salad & FFGY
dinner - more chilli with lots of salad & creme fraiche (as rest of family had chicken Alfredo tagliatelle)
snacks - green olives
lots & lots of minty fizzy water - it’s just fresh mint from the garden in a large jug topped up with sparkling water from the soda stream. Was delish.

@NotDonna
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/cauliflower-chicken-alfredo
the next time the family have pasta Alfredo , make this , it’s delicious

For those of you struggling with the no alcohol thing, I can really recommend three 0% alcohol products, that I discovered when I was doing Dry January:

Tanqueray 0% is really good. Obviously in a side-by-side comparison you'd know which one was the 'real' version, but it makes a perfectly palatable G&T without the alcohol. The only downside, of course, is that you'd be drinking it with artificially sweetened tonic, and we're trying to avoid the sweeteners.

Captain Morgan Spiced Rum 0% is my preferred spirit option. I don't drink spiced rum normally, so I have nothing to compare it with, taste-wise (although I do like a gold rum), but this is really good. With a lot of ice, good slice/squeeze of lime and topped up with sparkling water, it's a great alcohol-free drink.

If you're normally a beer/lager drinker - which is very difficult if you're trying to cut out the carbs - the best option I've found is Big Drop Citra *which is less than 0.5g carbs per 100ml. And it tastes really good. There are many 0% or low alcohol beers available now, but you have to be careful as many of them are very high carb.

Here's a list of the carb counts I've found so far (shown as carbs per 100ml, with the total per can/bottle):

Big Drop Citra <0.5
Brew Dog Nanny State* 1.2 3.96 (330ml)
Brew Dog Punk IPA* 3 9.9 (330ml)
Becks Blue 3.1 8.5 (275ml)
Doom Bar Zero 3.2 9 (500ml)
Corona Cero 3.9 12.8 (330ml)
Carlsberg Alcohol Free 4.2 13.86 (330ml)
Stella Artois Premium 4.2 13.9 (330ml)
Birra Moretti 4.4 14.5 (330ml)
Heineken 0.0 4.8 15.84 (330ml)
Erdinger AF wheat beer 5.3 26.5 (500ml)
Peroni 5.6 18.48 (330ml)
San Miguel Especial 5.6 18.48 (330ml)
Brooklyn Special Effects 6.3 20.79 (330ml)
Leffe Blonde 9.8 24.6 (250ml)

*Although these are good options from a carb perspective, I'm personally boycotting Brew Dog because of how they treat their staff - the latest being their refusal to pay their staff the London Living Wage.

sending lots of healing vibes @prettybird that looks very ouchy ouch. Who knew about 8 hour creme(!) and KOKO (Keep On KeepingOn) to everyone else love boot camp, when anytime i check the thread there are heaps of lovely messages to read from like minded lowcarbhighfat peeps.

Hope you feel better soon @NotDonna

Generously smoothing 8 Hour cream on my burns and they look a little less red already. But the pharmacist is a good shout - they're good at prescribing simple stuff and we don't have to pay for prescriptions here

Good point, @BIWI. We didn't get it for low fat though; we always use a silicone liner so the fat stays with the food. The only fat I drain off is from sausages or really fatty meat, because I don't actually like it. Roasted veggies and cheesy broccoli bake are coming out nice and oily/fatty! I guess because our old oven is so shit, it's more like our go-to oven now when cooking for just two or three of us. And it's so speedy! I love it.

@prettybird, your belly burn must be so sore, if it's darker red than your leg. Glad the cream is working.

@Baystard, that's amazing that 'at our age' you've been down to uni weight! Congratulations on that. I'm taller than average with a big frame (the fancy scales tell me I have more bone mass than DP!), so I look good at 10st, which I was for about 20 years; healthy. I would be thrilled if I could get back to that (eventually). And @TheOnlyMrsW, you too - what great results. I have hope!

@Stowickthevast, that prawn recipe looks heavenly; I'll be trying that. Thanks for sharing.

Off to make my coffee with thick cream. Question (probably a stupid one): if you're doing IF, presumably a creamy coffee breaks the fast? Even if I have nothing else until lunchtime?

KOKO.

@prettybird I would second @NotDonna 's suggestion of flamazine for the scald if you haven't managed to get your aloe vera and lavender. Can I also add to the general conversation of awesome skin preparations? Clinisept is absolutely amazing - it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal, and amazingly soothing. We use it for absolutely everything skin related. They use it both pre and post in plastic surgery. There is a larger version sold as a podiatry prep, but it is exactly the same formula, but better value. https://www.cliniseptplus.com/

@MissBeck hollandaise sauce would have been nice with your fish. This is a nice easy one: eatlikeanadult.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-quick-easy-hollandaise-sauce/

@DrBlackbird The Moroccan Chicken is a Zoe Harcombe recipe which I adapted. I'll post a picture of the recipe later, but basically a bed of rocket, I slice the fennel using a mandolin but finely sliced is fine, chicken chunks cooked with ground cumin, dijon mustard and cream (The original calls for freshly squeezed orange juice and balsamic and mustard), dotted with goats cheese and some sliced green olives. It is a lovely flavour combination. I also do a Whole30 recipe using fennel - basically slice, braise in olive oil and garlic on a low heat for ages and it starts to caramelise. Eat on its own or mix with mayo (I make my own). It is fabulous!

Thank you for these recommendations - I actually came on here to ask what people would recommend to drink when out as I’m going for a colleagues leaving do today. I would probably not have been drinking alcohol anyways (not a big drinker) but my usual non-alcoholic go-to would be lime cordial and soda or Coke Zero. I might try the captain morgan 0% rum!

Yesterday was interesting, many of my usual go-tos for snacks which are generally considered ‘healthy’ are no-go just now (nuts, fruit etc) but I had a handful of olives and a few cubes of cheese for mid-afternoon snack and loved it! New favourite!

Today I’m having cheese and ham omelette and avocado for lunch, beef jerky, olives and cheese for snacks and leftover bolognese from yesterday with salad for dinner. 😋

@Menotum I’m afraid creamy coffee does break your fast. If you’re new to IF you might want to hold off doing that until after bootcamp? Or change your eating window? I find IF help regulate my blood sugar (and I’ve done it for so long I can’t really face food before 12) so I’ve continued that but make a point in doing a larger snack in the middle of my eating window so it’s almost like 3 meals

Thanks, we don't (live in a very non-diverse, semi rural area) but we have got two big Sainsburys nearby.

Feeling good today - eating the same menu everyday so won’t bore anyone with it!

Eating enough that I’m still producing enough milk for baby so happy with that.

Also finally feel strong enough to pick up some weights again today!

Only downside is I have had a banging headache for 2 days which I think is withdrawals from sugar. Kind of shows how gross and addictive the stuff is (even if it is bloody delicious!)

PSA - my SIL is coming to stay today, until Saturday, so forgive me if I'm not around much.

But don't worry - I'll still be watching😎

@NotDonna the 8 hour dupe is an Aldi one, they call it Miracle Cream and the packaging is very very similar to the Elizabeth Arden one (no idea how they get away with it!) but it only comes out every now and again in their Special Buys so it's worth stocking up! The chicken alfredo looks lovely, that's going on next week's meal plan!

1 1/2lb down so far so I need to be careful not to get complacent, out at a gig tonight but I've volunteered to drive to avoid temptation! I'm not a fan of soft drinks at all so will probably have blackcurrant and soda, dinner beforehand will be spiced spatchcock chicken (from the woopsie in Tesco) with roast veg and salad.

Fridays are my non-working day so I'll meal-plan today and shop tomorrow, then lots of errands to run so will have to make sure I've got snacks. KOKO all, the first week is halfway there!

Also, did any Masterchef fans see the restaurant celeriac carbonara dish - that's on my list to try as well if I can figure out to get the "noodles" without a spiraliser!

@TheOnlyMrsW i did the chicken Alfredo from the bbc good food but it was for the rest of the family not me as it’s with tagliatelle. Shredding the cooked chicken with forks took too long so doubt I’ll do often. You could do shredded cabbage or courgetti instead of pasta. I’m not keen on it to be honest. A bit bland. But my youngest loves bland and beige so this is a winner & I’m constantly trying to feed her up as she’s off the charts low!! There’s a Tuscan chicken I do which is much nicer with garlic, sun dried toms and cream. Again test if family can have with pasta or rice and you with veggies.

@BIWI - don't you mean, "You'll be watching 🦯 " ??

Thanks for the alcohol-free list @BIWI , I boycott Brew Dog for the same reason. I don't tend to drink at home, only if I'm at the pub and I'm not a big drinker anyway so I am pleased there are so many low alcohol options now but you do have to take what they've got which is usually a limited range. My other default is Diet Coke which is far from ideal.

@prettybird no suggestions other than things that have already been mentioned but hope you heal soon.

@NigellaAwesome That looks easy enough to do with my limited cooking capabilities! Thank you. 🙏
I'm so glad I joined up for this bootcamp, actually being able to ask things and talk to people. I've read all the previous bootcamp threads, and saw how supportive you all are, and now here I am.

Lots of lovely recipes on here. If you can find it, baharat is a really great Moroccan spice.

I like this recipe without the potatoes ofc.

Pleased not to snack today

B FFGY
L Tom & Mozzarella & avocado salad
D Roast veg & halloumi

Does anyone else find that with this WOE that you're not hungry at all after breakfast then you're absolutely ravenous all of a sudden because you've had a late lunch due to not being hungry?!

It's like the hunger creeps up quickly and out of nowhere. It's a different kind of hungry that I'm used to...is this making any sense?!

It's not a negative thing at all, just that I'm normally counting down the minutes til lunch