Week 6 - May '24 Low Carb Bootcamp - getting back on the wagon

[BIWI]

Morning all.

Seems like a bit of slippage all round - and I include myself . So let's draw a big fat line over last week, and start afresh this week!

There are three weeks left, so time to undo any damage and drop a few more pesky pounds. Perhaps consider going back to strict Bootcamp for this week?

Anyway, hopefully we all have a good week. The weather - at least here Darn Sarf - looks a bit brighter. Possibly even warmer! Well, at least it's not raining ...

As ever, here's the spreadsheet

Good luck to us all

Thats me! But the next size up! 😂14's are visibly loose, but if I try a 12, I still have to do the jean dance and wiggle, and then lie on the bed to do them up! 😂😂And they are not comfy!

@MissBeck - I find reminding myself that I am NOT a human dustbin (or trash can ) really helps!

So what if you throw out the food - why eat it if you don't really want it?

It's an equal waste, whether it is in the compost or dust bin or in your stomach "just because" - but in your stomach then means it migrates on to your hips

Good morning all. I am a little late posting this week. As expected I was almost a pound up this week. Sigh 😞 I have been trying extra hard this week and between colleagues leaving at work and my dh coming back from Italy bringing gluten free treats from my sister in law I am finding temptation increasingly hard to resist. I am looking forward to my few days away in Edinburgh on Sunday. It will be a bit of a struggle when I don't have access to my own kitchen but hopefully I will be too busy doing touristy things and shopping to do much damage.

I like exercise to give me a bit of a psychological boost and as a menopausal woman who has struggled with hrt I know I need to increase my levels for heart health but also to increase my core strength, mobility and bone density. I have recently started doing Gillian Michael's beginner HIIT on YouTube and it is pretty good. I really want to take up Pilates again. I might give the Darcy Bussel routine a go (apologies I can't remember who mentioned it). I would love to sign up to a class in the gym with a trained instructor but I never seen to find or commit to the time.

Have a great day everyone and koko.

I'm glad people are seeing change. I'm really frustrated. For the last 3 weeks I've been bouncing the same 1lb backwards and forwards. I weigh in kg so I've been 66.8kg, 67.2kg, 66.8kg, 66.8kg, 67.2kg over the last few days.

I'm trying to be so good. Yoghurt (home made) and a few berries for breakfast, a salad with cheese and EVOO dressing for lunch, and ½ steak with creamy mushrooms and veg in a tomato sauce for dinner last night. Several pints of water as well as my cups of tea.

What am I doing wrong?

Sorry you're feeling frustrated @Lougle - and it really doesn't look as if you're doing anything 'wrong'! Reading your post, three things spring to mind:

• How tall are you? It could be that you don't have much to lose, in which case weight loss will inevitably be lower
• Try cutting down/out on the dairy for a few days, and see if that makes any difference - so eggs for breakfast instead of yoghurt, for example, and ham or other sliced meat on your salad instead of cheese. If you can, drink your tea black
• It's possible that your medication may have an impact on your weight - but it's obviously important that you continue with that!

... and finally, look at your portion sizes - can you cut anything out/down there? I know we don't calorie count on Bootcamp but calories do, inevitably, come into things.

As you get nearer your goal weight, it's often just about tweaking rather than massive changes.

Thanks @BIWI I'm 5'8" so within the broad healthy weight range, but last bootcamp got to 60 kg, which felt much better. I have a small bone structure and small boobs, so the lower end of the range is better for me.

I'm not sure about portion size - I had 2 heaped spoons of yoghurt, 2 strawberries, 3 blackberries and a few blueberries. At lunch, a handful of lettuce leaves from the garden, a sliced tomato, 1 inch of cucumber and a radish, plus a smallish piece of cheddar. Dinner, I cut a sirloin steak in half, added 3 mushrooms and a glug of cream, then had a bit of mixed veg in tomato sauce on the side.

I'll try moving to less dairy.

Morning all!

@missbeck could it help to have more snacks type things in for busy days? Babybells , packs of ham/meats, ready salad etc? Then in a pinch there is something easily available? Of course meal planning is best but sometimes we all let it slide.... I have jelly in the fridge but have had yoghurt, cream and a bit of jelly/berries for lunch when I couldn't be bothered

Weight has been frustrating this last week but finally saw the next stone down on the scale! So hopefully that will stick and not just a fluke/one off sighting! I have a holiday countdown app and yesterday was 40 days! I'm hoping to get another stone off by then.

I have a cream tea tomorrow (surprise party type event). Sigh. ALL the treats I won't be able to eat.... I'll eat before I go and try to waft about with a few crumbs on my plate and make out I've eaten 😁. I'll stash some babybells in my bag but seeing the 18 on the scale today has really helped!

Off to Aldi tonight on the way home... Any must buys?

I really rate Aldi's Special Selection cheeses - their mature, regional Cheddars and the Red Fox in particular.

Their gins are good too, if you're in the market for booze! And DH buys all our wine there too.

This is our 'everyday' (except not every day, obviously!) white which at £4.09 for a bottle is a real bargain.

Their full fat Greek yoghurt (10% fat) is excellent.

Also their Specially Selected ground coffee.

Actually loads of things from Aldi I rate!

Thanks @BIWI I'll look out for the cheese yum 😋

Good evening.

Just got home from playing taxi to DD, and have picked her friend up for a sleepover as we are going to The Autism Show at the NEC tomorrow. Food choices will be interesting as you have me low carbing, her with sensory issues and her friend only eats pizza!! 😂

@SpellitwithaY That's the problem! I have enough snacks around, but I'm not eating full meals! I;m living off the snacks, but I've got a plan! 😇😈

@BIWI - that wine would have to be £4.50 in Scotland (we have minimum pricing and 12% ABV = £4.50/bottle minimum price).

Still good value though!

Apologies for absence - we have visitors from Oz right now, so it's all pretty full-on here.

@Lougle how frustrating as you do seem to be VERY on plan. Fingers crossed you have a whoosh soon rather than all the blinking bouncing!
@BIWI size 10!!! Haven seen that number in jeans since I had babies some 20 years ago! Well done you! May I ask how much you were when you very first started this woe and how long you’ve been doing it? Just being nosey!
@MissBeck do you have time for batch cooking. Not sure if I’ve mentioned that I stir fry 3 leeks (there’s 3 in the pack) and a whole cabbage and pop the mix into quite about 4 small Tupperware boxes. They stay in the fridge and last a good while. Any that I’m not likely to eat that week go in the freezer. I do the same with broccoli and peppers. You do need a bit of fridge/freezer space though!
The house is currently chaos as DH and DD2 & DD3 fly to Oz tomorrow am. It’ll be just DD1 and I at home for the week so I’m food planning to try have an empty fridge by Sat when we fly out to join them. It’s going to be some bizarre combos!! The BEST thing is DH is away and not drinking wine in front of me every night tempting me!

Ooooooh @donna that's a great idea! I'll have to try that! Some packs of veg are far too big. I'd not thought of freezing veg

University open day with eldest today, so more 'low carb in the wild tests'. Usual breakfast of yoghurt and cream, then a tuna nicoise salad from the Pret on campus and some salted almonds as a snack before heading home.

Back home with no really plans for food, the others wanted a chippy tea. I had a fish, picked the fish out of the batter and had it with mayonnaise, which isn't perfect but a compromise that I was happy with. A glass of wine in a sunny garden has rounded off a good day 😁

Evening!

I am here, but going through the recipe threads filling out my recipe cards.

Interesting day at The Autism Show at the NEC, but food choices were brutal as nowhere was open in the part we were in! There was an artisian bakery, a cornish pastry place, a Londis shop, a Subway and a vending machine! Wow! The kids plumped for Subway. I chose not to eat and had a bottle of water. 😂

Tomorrow will be just as dire as DD is at her show rehearsals from 10am - 5pm.

Anyway, back to the recipes!

Ok @BIWI
I have exercised a lot this week and have stuck to the rules, drunk loads of water, no bananas or dried fruit, cake, nada. I have put weight on???
Eh??
Any advice? Why!!!!???

@PunksVersusBrats I found uni open days quite difficult for lc - lots of cheapish carbs to keep tummies full on a budget. Interesting though (DD is going this September 🤞 and her course is way more exciting than my boring English degree!) and the campuses are nothing like in the mid-90's 🤣. Last one yesterday to DD's firm choice as it was late to the list and we missed them all before!

Been plodding on this week, feeling very meh about everything - lots of work, busy in the evenings, away mid-week next week to plan for and house things to deal with. Some fun weekends planned next month but feels a loooong way away 😕.

@NotDonna it's 30 years since I've seen a 10 on a label, not sure I'll get there!

Definitely different @TheOnlyMrsW, I was rather jealous of how good the facilities and courses are now!

All the best to your DD for September 🤞

Ah yes @PunksVersusBrats** agree that uni cafes are yet another place where low carb anything is in short supply. Once you go back to this WOE you notice how rubbish the choices are in lots of places (this week I spent a lot of time in train stations (without an M&S food concession) and various other places with the standard chain takeaway cafes and it is so hard to make good choices. Even our supposedly healthy salad bar in the office is very carb oriented, bulking out most things with rice, pasta, quinoa or lentils. I enjoyed uni open days ( I think most unis are on much more of a charm offensive than they were pre-tuition fees) - and yes love the great facilities and greater choices as long as you have a DC willing to plot and plan what they actually want you to do do. Good luck to your DD. Mine has just finished her second year of 4 in a beautiful city and is very happy indeed, DS about to start (somewhere different but another lovely city) in Sept after a year off working locally.

Oh and good luck to @TheOnlyMrsW DD too - it's an exciting time, especially when they are raring to go and start the next part of their lives

@Gingerwarthog firstly, although I get how frustrating it is, daily fluctuations are quite natural. This is a screenshot of my January weight, which was measured daily. You can see that there are plenty of ups, as well as the downs. The important thing to note is that overall the trend was downwards. (The sudden blip at the end was the end of Dry January !)

Second, I don't know how tall you are (forgive me if you've already told me this), but it looks like you possibly don't have far to go before you reach you target, in which case losses will be slow anyway. At this stage, it's often about tweaking things rather than wholescale changes.

However, that said, list out for me everything that you've been eating and drinking over the last 3-4 days and let's see if there's anything we can spot that could be changed.

Thanks @BIWI
I am 5'8 so am a healthy BMI but low- carb has toned me up a lot.
Ok
Yesterday

1.5 litres of water
Muesli (small bowl with oat milk)
Falafel salad (with lettuce and beetroot)
Meatballs with tomatoes, beans and red peppers
Skyr yoghurt
Very small glass of red wine (1/2 a glass)

Friday

1.5 l water
Several coffees with oat milk
Rice crispies
Chicken salad with lettuce, sweet potatoes and tomatoes
2 Babybels
Yoghurt and raspberries

Thursday

1.5 l water
3 coffees
Yoghurt and strawberries
Banana
Sausage salad - large
Yoghurt and granola
Missed dinner (sea swimming)
Glass of Prosecco

Well ...

1.5 litres of water
Rule 6 - you should be drinking a minimum of 2 litres

Muesli (small bowl with oat milk)
Muesli?! That's incredibly high in carbs. Obviously I don't know which brand you're buying, but Jordan's Natural muesli is 68g carbs per 100g. And oat milk is higher in carbs than dairy milk.

Falafel salad (with lettuce and beetroot)
Falafels are made from chickpeas or fava beans, so are also very high in carbs. Ditto beetroot - it's not forbidden, but it's in the amber range on the veg carb counter.

Meatballs with tomatoes, beans and red peppers
Skyr yoghurt

Very small glass of red wine (1/2 a glass)
If you're worried about the weight gain, it's probably worth knocking this on the head for a few days!

Friday

1.5 l water
As above
Several coffees with oat milk
Is there a reason you're not using dairy milk? Oat milk is around 7g carbs per 100ml, whereas whole milk is 4.7g. Might not sound like much of a difference, but if you're having several cups, then that will soon add up.

Rice crispies
Really?!!! Even worse than muesli, at 86g carbs per 100g
Chicken salad with lettuce, sweet potatoes and tomatoes
Sweet potatoes have more carbs than white potatoes - depending on if it's baked or just the flesh, this is around 22-29g carbs per 100g
2 Babybels
Yoghurt and raspberries

Thursday

1.5 l water
As above
3 coffees
Yoghurt and strawberries

Banana
And again, banana is the worst fruit you could choose - from a low carb perspective - 19.3g carbs per 100g
Sausage salad - large
I assume that these are low carb sausages?

Yoghurt and granola
Granola is almost as bad as muesli - depending on the brand - around 60-65g carbs per 100g
Missed dinner (sea swimming)
Glass of Prosecco
As per the red wine!

I think, looking at what you're eating and drinking, it's fairly clear why the weight loss is slower than you want - and that you've gained weight.

You really need to ditch the cereals. If you want a low carb granola, there's a lovely recipe in the Low Carb recipe section (I think it's in the vegetarian topic).

You also need to be really clear about the carb counts of the veg/fruit that you're choosing - and definitely need to knock the bananas on the head!

Morning all! I made it through the cream tea and I think I didn't arouse any suspicion! I ate one ball of clotted cream, two slices of smoked salmon and some cheese! Lots of water, coffee and a glass of no-secco! I moved sides of the table to sit next to the birthday girl at one point so I got away with it as they thought I'd eaten at the other place lol 😆

I have eaten very little this weekend however. I just haven't been able to stomach it. I was full at dinner last night after about 4 bites. I just knew if I pushed it I'd be sick 🤢. I have an odd relationship with my stomach and although large, sometimes my stomach just says no. It usually just one meal however, not a whole weekend... I'll see how I go on today. I'm not poorly otherwise...