Week 2 - May '24 Low Carb Bootcamp - my favourite week!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

I see a few have braved the spreadsheet already, and some nice results coming in

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_zdJLFAioyDd3ePLj7Tg5HnIu6E8JbdmsVyqP28Xsak/edit#gid=1892381976

I love this week because it's so often a (lovely) surprise for so many - especially anyone who hasn't low carbed before.

I have noted several lapses already, however! Remember, this WOE isn't very forgiving, so it is really important that you don't cheat. (Hospital stays etc are clearly something you can't do anything about, however).

But let's put last week behind us, and focus on a good, strict, week ahead, before we move on to Bootcamp Light.

We've been invited to friends' this evening, for a music night (choosing an album from '1001 albums you must hear before you die' - a bit like a book club). It's pizza night, apparently, so I've made the shallot and Gruyère tart from the recipe thread to take for us.

Here's to a good week

Yes butter lettuce is just a bog standard round lettuce, beside the icebergs normally. Astonishing CoL fact is that they were about 35p and now 70! They are really nice when very fresh with a classic vinaigrette, some tomato, or a restaurant i liked used to do butter lettuce, chopped avocado and wholegrain mustard.

Just planted some quick grow lettuce seed on my window sill! Hopefully will get at least a few leaves out of it.

Ouch lucky @prettybird

Glad to hear it's getting better.

Ah, I know that as Boston lettuce! I thought it was some delicious way to jazz up lettuce...

Afternoon all,
What a total and utterly miserable day weather wise! I'm quite rural, so all the local lanes are flooded and horrible to drive down. Not budging all night now! @Goodiewhemper Glad to see you're on the up. 💐
@alwaysonadiet1 shame about your cancelled picnic 😧
@NigellaAwesome Could you cook a batch of sausages, eat them cold? Do you like scratchings?

I'm making this curry tonight which is actually from the Fast800 Keto recipe book. Prawn and spinach.

I've added a chilli (as if it's going to be a curry, it has to have some heat!), and a bit more spinach, because my two bags of prawns didn't add up to the required 400g, and also salt and pepper as, bizarrely, seasoning (beyond spices) wasn't mentioned in the recipe.

DH and any of the DC who happen to be in this evening will have theirs with rice; I'm having mine with Bare Naked noodles. I also have a couple of avocados which have finally ripened, so I think I'll knock up a little salad with those, and some crispy bacon.

That curry is right up my street @BIWI! 😋 Is this the rum that you recommended? On a Nectar price, if people have one.

I made the kids prawn egg fried rice for a quick tea tonight and I did not cave! 🥳

B - yoghurt and cream
L - ham and cheese salad
D - leftover salmon and roasted veg, with mushrooms and avocado
AWM - Babybel x2
Only 1L water so far due to a manic day at work

Ooh I'm heading to Sainsbury's tomorrow @PunksVersusBrats in search of the 0% rum - I really liked the sound of this in @BIWI's round up of low carb drinks.
Nice to be back on the low carb wagon:
B: Greek yogurt
L: scrambled eggs, salmon, tomatoes
D: ratatouille (from the veggie recipe thread - I make that a lot and it's good hot or cold) and chipolatas
2L water and lots of peppermint tea.

Well I'm all fed and relaxed.
B: Double Cream and cheese
L: Leftover chicken breast, coleslaw and chicken satay.
D: 2 pieces of bellydraft and buttery brocolli and cabbage.

Doing well with the water It really does help.

TMI alert - cropped picture of my stomach, showing the current state of healing. That's less than the size of my palm. I do indeed smell beautifully of lavender : I got a 100ml bottle off Amazon which came with a good dropper and a little 10ml bottle (also with dropper) that I could fill for use when travelling.

The healing is going well. The patch on my leg is fading and is now a mix of red and yellow and could be mistaken for a large bruise or birthmark.

Biwi, your evening meal sounds delicious - yum. I've been a bit lazy / uninspired with cooking, largely because I've been a bit under the weather but I'm feeling better so keen to be a bit more adventurous - loving seeing the pics of others's food.

My recent discovery is that microwaving tenderstem brocoli is an excellent way to cook it.

Wishing everyone who has been ill / hospitalised / burnt better!

Just popping in to say I was successful in finding the Bare Naked Noodles in Sainsburys, they were with all the other noodles.

Re homemade mayo, I use a stick blender and the narrow jug it came with (the narrowness is important). 240mL oil (I use mild olive with a dash of EV)
About 2tbsp white wine vinegar (can also use lemon juice)
2 heaped tsp Dijon mustard (a matter of taste)
Ground pepper
One egg.
Put the blender in the jug covering the egg yolk. Blend on the highest setting till it starts to turn into mayo (usually 20-30s for me). Very slowly start to move the blender up to the top of the ingredients and down again for maybe another 20s till it seems thick. Transfer to a clean jar.

@MissBeck i had to google ‘bellydraft’ as never heard of it!
Such a drizzly horrid day.
Didnt do much of a dog walk as met a friend with a puppy who couldn’t walk far. Had a very late lunch of cold cooked salmon & spinach leaves as just busy. Had chilli and more spinach leaves & creme fraiche for dinner. Drank quite a bit of herbal tea as so cold!

Stick blender mayo is great! So much easier than having to drip oil in, drip by drip. Just one thing though - don't use extra virgin olive oil, as it makes it very bitter.

The prawn curry was a bit of a disappointment, to be honest - although I think mainly as the prawns were just tasteless - it would have worked better with fresh rather than raw ones, I think. Might even be better with a meaty white fish. But the paste/sauce that you make is definitely a good idea as an easy and quick way to start a curry.

I'll be travelling this weekend for the bank holiday so I don't think I'll be posting til next week. I've has a sneaky mid week weigh in at 78.9 so another o.5kg off which I'm pleased with. 4 days in France with parents and kids is going to be a challenge though. Hope you all have a lovely BH weekend and that weather improves.

Don't use cold pressed rapeseed oil either, it looked beautiful (yellow) but tasted foul.

If I'm cooking with pre-cooked prawns I find a sprinkle of Thai fish sauce on them before adding them is a good boost to the flavour.

They weren't pre-cooked though - I very lovingly with irritation prepared two bags of frozen, raw prawns.

Actually, I think the sauce might be better with chicken. Will try that next time.

Sorry, I mis-read

Good Morning lovely low-carbers. I need some KOKOenergy today.

I feel like the weight loss atm is so slow. I read something about your body storing fat when you’re breastfeeding which is probably why as I’ve been rigid with the rules and every time I’ve done low carb before I’ve seen bigger losses in the first weeks.

I get it - the baby needs food. But mamma needs to shift the weight because summer clothes aren’t great at hiding Spanx! 😫

@Bex5490 - are you just losing at a rate slower than you'd like? (Apologies, I'm on the app so can't see if you logged your weight loss on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness)

Your pattern of weight loss may well be different because you're breastfeeding, but you are losing

Yeah just slower still losing! You’re right. Just the words I needed. Bring on the omelette! 😂

@Bex5490 to be losing whilst breastfeeding is amazing; the speed isn't the important thing. I'm sure you've done this, but measurements can be so important too, because you can easily plateau for a few weeks, but keep seeing a drop in those! I think the fact you're keeping to a healthy WoE whilst feeding is incredible tho (as someone who lived off chocolate digestives with my first...!).

@EasilyDefined thank you for the mayo recipe and tips; I'll give that a go at the weekend!

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement!

This is actually a really good idea to measure because I do feel like I look slimmer.

And I lived off biscotti biscuits and cake with my 1st baby and put on 2 stone AFTER giving birth! So I’m determined not to do that again because the weight was hard to lose after that. But I did it with low carb eventually so I know this WoE definitely works.

Good luck to all this week - KOKO! ❤️

@Bex5490 on a long ago bootcamp, a bootcamper posted pictures of themselves trying on a pair of denim shorts - they started off not doing up and ended up fitting, it was miraculous and so motivating. Perhaps there is a visual aid like that that would help? I wonder if breastfeeding also means you hang on to fluid too.

Day two of the Sandwich week menu at work. Not even the usual salad bar, just baguettes. I brought tuna, boiled egg, cheese and avocado from home but didn't have any salad leaves there either and the whole thing was a bit oily without so I feel a bit bleugh. Must do better tomorrow because I don't want a cheap burger in a cheap bun!

Little blip up on the scales yesterday but back down today and my skirt is looser for sure! KOKO

Hang on, hang on @Bex5490 - you've lost 2.8lbs in the first week. That's really not bad! The weight didn't go on over night so it won't be coming off over night either.