Week 3 - Pre-Christmas '24 Low Carb Bootcamp: Full, Light or Hybrid?

[BIWI]

Morning all.

To repeat my warning about week 3 (and possibly 4):

... just a word of warning for those of you new to low carbing (and a reminder to those who aren't!) - weeks 3 & 4 are notorious for seeing little or no weight loss. Sometimes you may even see a slight gain.

As long as you know you've been sticking to the rules, DON'T PANIC! This is very normal and we see it every Bootcamp (which has been going for 12 years now). KOKO and things will get going again.

From next week you can, if you wish, move on to Bootcamp Light, which will allow you to reintroduce (some) fruit, nuts and seeds, chocolate and alcohol. All in moderation, of course! And all should be low carb choices - i.e. berries rather than grapes or bananas, almonds rather than cashews, 70% minimum cocoa chocolate and dry wines and clear spirits rather than cider or lager.

Bearing in mind the advance warning about next week, you may decide to stay on Bootcamp if you wish - entirely up to you, as long as you really are including plenty of veg and salad in your menus. Or, you could consider a hybrid, so Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

Here's the spreadsheet

Good luck all who sail in week 3!

I survived my first office day, with a pot of FFGY and cream and a boiled egg (not together) for "breakfast on the go", and then a roast chicken salad with vinaigrette and mayo for lunch. Emergency Pepperami also eaten, but that's what it was there for!

Preparation is definitely the key, so I just need to keep on top of that. We only really have a Greggs close to the office so not ideal if I'm not organised to bring something.

Well survived @ReconstructionSite!

B: 2 boiled eggs
L: Greek salad: spinach, tomato, cucumber, celery, feta (1/3 pack) black olives, drizzle of olive oil. Greek yogurt.
D: venison grill steak (basically a pork and venison burger) with kale and ratatouille. Just scavenged a couple of spoons of yogurt, a couple of walnuts so time to leave the house...

Going to attempt to make the low carb bread someone posted on the last thread, does anyone know where I could buy flax seed meal from? Or is it just the same as the flax seed I could buy in Aldi?

Went swimming this morning so had an early lunch of grilled haloumi and roasted veg: peppers, courgettes, aubergine. Spent all afternoon outside in the garden, not heavy work but totally ravenous by 6pm so at last I persuaded DH to have an early supper. I had a two egg omelette with cabbage and chorizo fried in lots of garlic, oil and butter. Doing better on the water, but still really enjoying a 0% GnT with lo cal tonic at the end of the day. I think the Tanqueray is much nicer than Gordon's which smells of chlorine. Although maybe it's me that smells of chlorine . Somone asked which 0% alcohols have sugar. There's a martini aperitivo which is a bit laden with sugar but the gins and the Captain Morgan's rum 0% ( good with soda and lime 🍋‍🟩, thanks @BIWI ) doesn't have any at all.

Not unhappy, especially considering I wasn't expecting to have lost anything. My period was due this week so I felt very "heavy" if that makes sense and wondered if it would be reflected on the scales.

But I also would've liked to have lost a bit more. It's all in my head. Sensible me knows that any loss is good. Impatient me would like large amounts of weight gone immediately 😁

Same here. Our canteen is carb central and the only other option is Costa. My team are also feeders so there's a never ending supply of sugar based foods lurking in the corner!

Thanks @islandtiger
It was me who was asking about 0% alcoholic drinks

Yes, same here with the office feeders! I used to love office cake culture in my 20s and early 30s, when I could eat whatever was going and stay a Size 8. Now completely on the other side of the coin and dread walking past certain sections of the office.

I do the same. Sit where I can't see treats on the windowsill and avoid the canteen if at all possible.

They have ground flaxseed in my local Tesco Express - haven't seen in Aldi recently

Good morning everyone, hope you are all well.

Yesterday’s (Tuesday) food was:

Breakfast: FFNY with some berries & vanilla bean extract
Lunch: Scrambled eggs with some bacon lardons & mushrooms served on salad leaves with a little advocado oil on.

Tea/Dinner: Salmon fillet brushed with toasted sesame oil & airfried, with stir fried veg & cauli rice.

Felt hungry for some reason so had some slices of cucumber with Boursin on, & some black olives (felt the Walkers French fries were calling me).

Today having the same breakfast as yesterday. Not sure about the rest yet, but have plenty of fresh & frozen vegetables, tinned tuna, tinned salmon, eggs, meat in the freezer etc. etc.

Good morning fellow boot campers. Congratulations to all on all the scale and non scale victories.

I had a fall last week and have bruised my coccyx. I am off work until Friday and am on Difene and Solpadol for the pain. I have been BC compliant other than drinking a little less water the first few days as peeing was painful. If anything I am eating a little less than usual as I am not really hungry. I have reintrodced nuts and seeds in the form of the low carb Londoner bread. My weight is going up instead of down which is dispiriting as I was really hoping to get below 77kg this week. I have lost 3cm of my waist since the start of BC though and I have not been tempted to dive into cake. I just need to trust the process.

Hope you all have a great day.

Sorry to hear that @Goodiewhemper

Sending lots of healing vibes and your choice of a hug or hand resting lightly on your shoulder. Get well soon.

Oooh - painful @Goodiewhemper! Hope you recover swiftly

Hi all, posting for the first time on this particular BC but followed it successfully a couple of years ago before work stress derailed me, so here I am again. I'm also a shortie with 1st to lose, planning to do it in two stages (pre Xmas and post). Have had a fairly compliant couple of weeks so far with just one major slip up involving late night millionaire shortbread bites (those things are like crack cocaine). Losing at about 1lb / week so far, bit disappointing but I'm being realistic now that I'm the wrong side of 50.

This week I've made my usual mega LC moussaka from the spreadsheet - it's having something ready to reheat when I'm home late from work that helps me stay on track. Last night I followed it with a few spoonfuls of whipped cream with lemon zest/juice though and actually felt a bit gross afterwards, probably too much dairy.

Lunches are generally a ham or chicken salad with mayo, or a mushroom omelette if I'm at home.

KOKO bootcampers and thank you @BIWI and @FinallyHere for all your support.

Fab thank you, will need to get the ground almonds in Tesco anyway

Having done the same thing back in June @Goodiewhemper you have my sympathy. Get on Amazon and buy a special cushion is my advice!

I'd forgotten how much I struggle eating out on LC as a veggie - can anyone recommend good chain restaurants or types of cuisine/dishes to look out for pls?

I'm not veggie anymore, but I think I'd be looking for tapas, or other "small plates" style restaurants. You'd get garlic mushrooms / olives / padron peppers / aubergine with cheese on most tapas menus, and more modern ones might also be more creative veggie wise?

Wow, I really killed this thread didn't I....! 👑

Was down to 13st yesterday (another half pound since Monday's weigh in) - so that's the full half stone since we started this Boot Camp

Back up half a pound this morning (don't think I drank enough water yesterday) but am hopeful I can get under 13st by Monday

That's amazing well done. 👏

I'm new to all this. How does drinking more water make you lose more?

Pretty also trying to see the 13's here! Just hovering above at the moment.

@NoCarbsForMe - the water is important to help keep the ketogenic adaption working.

The way I like to visualise it - which really helps me - is that the water helps pee the fat away

More prosaically, you need the water to keep your kidneys flushed, and if you don't drink enough, you run the risk of water retention