Week 3 - May '24 Low Carb Bootcamp - Light or full-on?!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

This week sees the opportunity to add back into your diet fruit, nuts and seeds, chocolate and alcohol, by moving to Bootcamp Light.

HOWEVER!

All of the above in moderation.

Fruit - keep the focus on berries, and don't go mad by having lots of it, regularly. As with veg, there's a carb counter on the spreadsheet which you can use - just look at how few fruits are in the green section!

Nuts/seeds - there's a carb counter for nuts on the spreadsheet too (and when I get round to it, I'll do one for seeds. Again, go easy. While they're very good for us, they can get carby very quickly as they're so moreish.

Chocolate - aim for a minimum of 70% cocoa. You'll be surprised - if you've been avoiding sweet things for a while - at how easy it is to enjoy higher cocoa content chocolate. It's also actually good for us too. Lindt make a good 90% chocolate, but I prefer one that Sainsbury's sell, in their Taste the Difference range, which is a Ugandan one - https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-ugandan-90-dark-chocolate-taste-the-difference-100g

2 squares of this is very satisfying.

Alcohol - be very careful here. Partly because you'll find it has more of an effect on you if you're not eating carbs, and partly because once you start drinking you'll suddenly find yourself easily able to justify those crisps! But mainly because a) there can be a lot of carbs in it; b) all the time you're drinking alcohol, this is the source of fuel that your body will be using, rather than fat and c) even if you choose a spirit which has no carbs in it, chances are you'll be drinking it with an artificially sweetened mixer - and remember we're trying to avoid the artificial sweeteners.

Yeah, it's thighs I have in the freezer, so all's good!

@OpalTiger I wfh pretty much full time and snacking when bored is a real thing, I have to be really careful. I tend to move my laptop away from the kitchen when temptation gets too much (2 flights of stairs to the attic definitely puts me off!). I do try to get out of the house most days to be social but that generally means coffee shops which are temptation itself!
Scales slowly inching downwards, if they keep on this way I should be another lb down by Monday 😊.
Food shop this morning then off out with DD for lunch.........

I have days when I want to snack and days when I don't, and it doesn't seem to relate to water intake or the tempting things which are around (not saying I wouldn't be tempted by some home made coffee and walnut cake, but currently avoiding putting that sort of temptation in my way) . Not likely to be hormones at my great age.
Yesterday I had a really slump in energy and a headache which I would normally only expect in the first few days of low carbing (it's only my second week but had been feeling more energetic before that). I drank all the water, so it wasn't that. It did follow a spin class, but nothing out of the ordinary.
B: 2 boiled eggs and butter
L: leftover shepherds pie (mashed cauliflower and leek topping)
D: griddled courgette (cut in long thin strips) with mint, lemon juice and crumbled feta
Snacks: few pecan nuts, small slice cheddar

I am almost two weeks in. Lost 6lbs the first week. Bounced up a little then bounced down again to stay the same. At least I haven’t put any on this week. Thanks to everyone who is posting as it does help to keep me on track.

Same here, week 2 was a bounce up which was disappointing but I was travelling overseas for work which was tricky. Sticking with original bootcamp this week and I'm coming back down and looking like I'll match the loss of week 1. Well done to you and I echo your thanks, the posts really do help!

@Pleaseandthankyou yes, I experience the bouncing around a lot! My overall trend says I've lost an average of 2lb a week though. It's hard not to sweat it but trust the process!

My Ralph Lauren shirt dress almost fits again. The buttons are just straining slightly but the waist is ok. It would not button a few weeks ago in. The goal is to be able to sit down in it with no gapes. It was a bargain in a sale a year ago

It’s so good to have NSVs like that. I have a dress that I wore the night before my wedding 12 years ago and aim to be able to wear on holiday in 4 weeks’ time.

@pangolinfan - sounds to me like you need to up your electrolytes, especially sodium. If you had a headache after a spin class, I'm assuming that you would have been very sweaty (otherwise you weren't doing it properly!) so need to replace those electrolytes lost in the process.

Thanks @BIWI, I did break out the electrolyte tablets yesterday, but they didnt seem to improve things. But today I've done a 30 minute slow run plus a yoga class, and although I feel a bit drained I don't have a headache or feel as if I need to lie on the sofa all afternoon! So maybe electrolytes plus my body still getting used to using fat for energy.

This is similar to our dinner last night. I made ours with mushrooms bacon and quark ( I couldn't get full fat what I wanted!). It was nice but this recipe looks better 😀

@Pleaseandthankyou. That's a great effort! I've a pair of jeans I bought in the sale at M and S for £2 (lol) that I thought would fit but the button and hole might as well be on Different continents.... Even lying down didn't get them there, so hopefully get into those before too long

B - all the meats omelette
L - tuna mix and salad (this was gorgeous)
D - more of last nights chicken.

I've seen a recipe for cream cheese pancakes that I'm keen to try. Had anyone tried these?

Good movement on the scale already so that's spurring me on. Let's hope it's still off by Tuesday 😁

@PunksVersusBrats I love the way that recipe is marked as 'low carb keto' but then instructs you to serve it with pasta, rice or garlic bread!

That said, it does sound delicious.

Good afternoon!
Officially off work for a week! Oh, I so need the break. 😁
Nipped in the butchers on the way home and got some lovely meat. I wanted to get veggies from my local farm shop, but it's on a very busy 'A' road, and a pain in the arse to pull out of as it's right next to a busy roundabout, so I'll try in the morning when it will be a bit quieter.
I'm another who's weight bounces up and down. I'm like a bloody yo-yo! 😂

Sharing my dinner as I'm delighted with myself! £7 salmon steak reduced to £1!! Pan fried with lemony butter and broccoli and asparagus ❤️

Fab!

@OpalTiger i wore a dress last week that I wore to a wedding 26 years ago. It is bias cut so more forgiving. Do I win the prize for having the most vintage wardrobe (it’s not the oldest thing I still wear 😀)?

Ooh @slummymummy35 Great Bargain!!
Well done @Pleaseandthankyou for getting into your dress!

B: Cheese
L: Scratchings and scotch egg (with breadcrumbs scraped off)
D: Lamb steak, buttery brocolli and sprouts

One of my Boot Camp objectives is to get back into my Nicole Fahri dress - just above ankle length black velvet, button up the front (so can reveal a lot of thigh ). Interestingly @Pleaseandthankyou , it is also cut on the bias . It's nearly 30 years old! . Last time I wore it was to a rugby club ball 11 years ago I've got into it since then but only in the privacy of my bedroom as it made me look like an extremely buxom wench and the buttons were under extreme pressure

I should make it by Christmas

In the mean time, I've had to order new jeans as my current ones a) have developed hole between the thighs (the straight ones) and b) (the skinny ones) are too tight. I've gone for another M&S Sienna (ie straight cut) size 12 - which will be too tight (as my current pair will have stretched) - but I wasn't going to buy a 14 I used an offer and vouchers to get them so they've only cost me £9

So getting in to them comfortably is an incentive

I also have goal jeans, size 12 as well. I actually bought them for my daughter, who scrunched her face up at them when I showed her them, so I will claim them. They only cost me £3 from salvation army shop. I currently have 3 pairs I wear regular. 2 size 14's and a size 16, but they are all getting baggy now. I need to do a charity shop run for more jeans!

I am popping on to stay connected. It's been a busy, stressful week - still back and forth to hospital on a regular basis with my sister who was critically ill, now temporarily out of the woods but I helped her move to a hospice today, putting up family and dealing with various teen related dramas at home whilst DH has swanned off gone sailing for the week. I could cope with that, until he buggered off to play golf today after only getting back late last night (muggins drove to the airport to give him a lift). He didn't arrive back until 7pm, after promising to cook, not buying the ingredients I had asked him to get on the way home, and then planned to 'cook' by intending to heat up LC foods I had pre-prepared in the fridge.

I am severely pissed off at his lack of support and selfishness, and I know I deserve the big stick, but I am currently sulking with a bottle of fizzy rosé. Sorry - I know it isn't the relationships board, but I can't really vent anywhere else at the moment. Apart from the rosé, my food has not been bad:

B: fried cavalo nero with fennel & coriander seeds and fried egg (delicious)
L: late lunch of little gem, tomato, cucumber, avocado, ham, coriander & lime dressing, red pepper & walnut paste
D: Zoe Harcombe pork & apricot salad (teeniest amount of apricot) on bed of iceberg & sliced peppers. This is delicious - it comes with a dressing of greek yoghurt garlic & dijon mustard.
3 decaf coffees with cream, herbal tea - need more water

Checking in as have fallen off the wagon severely today at a friend's birthday and had a (very nice, smallish, vegetarian) pizza. I really enjoyed it and will get back on the horse tomorrow. Also had 3 glasses of rose with my Mum who I don't see very often - great night but off track....

@NigellaAwesome - sounds like you need them

In terms of points, I made tablet last night and didn't even eat either of the "soft ball" tests or any of the scrapings and managed to break it into squares today and still didn't have a single piece

I had to ask dh if he'd have a piece and tell me whether it was a good batch it is

The honest truth is though that I can't have a single piece is because I can't have a single piece

So not so after all

Had popped away from the thread between drafting my post and then posting it so hadn't seen @NigellaAwesome 's one.

Oh Nigella - it's absolutely ok to vent here. If you want an "excuse"/justification, our relationship with food, especially carbs, is entwined with our emotions, relationship and stress, so of course it's relevant

So you need lots of

On this Boot Camp, people have had to suffer me whinging about my nasty, albeit self inflicted, burns - but your situation is much more relevant.

I hope your various issues resolve as best they can - and that your dh sees the light and is more supportive. He needs to make you a lovely low carb meal ( and get you some )

@NigellaAwesome a bit of fizz isn't the worst and it sounds like you need a break. I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time.

Great will power @prettybird!

Ended up having a spontaneous take away with a friend who dropped off teenagers and then stayed until midnight! Got a kebab so grilled meat and salad not too bad (although wine too)

Today, sausages and eggs for brunch and dinner was chilli with lots of salad, avocado, FFGY and grated cheddar on top. Snack of saucisson sec, babybel and cornichons.