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!

Have you read the FAQ thread that I have linked to @NoCarbsForMe? All explained there!

Well done @prettybird!

I find I get more thirsty as the fat burning kicks in, does anyone else experience this?

Had homemade pumpkin soup for lunch with a large handful of chopped red pepper included and the same of butternut squash. Bit worried about the carb count but most of the veg was a ghost pumpkin which are apparently pretty LC. I've not roasted one of them before (it was half price in the supermarket!) but the texture was v similar to a marrow and quite watery.

Thanks so much for the veggie restaurant ideas - really helpful!

I made the halloumi harissa broccoli and Brussels sprouts dish from the green roasting tin last night, with leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Always love that!

Venison casserole with green veg for DH's birthday meal tonight then we're eating out tomorrow.

Ready for the weekend!

@Goodiewhemper I hope you are feeling a bit less sore every day, well done for KOKO. And that's really great going @prettybird. I've had a slightly funny food day, a knock on effect of not eating anything last night apart from a snack of FFGY and cream. Just wasn't hungry and I feel less hungry generally. Drinking water fills me up! But I felt a bit light headed on the way to my aqua class this morning so I had emergency fried egg on single slice of gluten free toast and a black coffee on the way. I was craving green food when I got back home so lunch was tomato, avocado and lettuce with lots of garlicky vinaigrette. DH forgot he was going out to a meeting so up side was eating supper early at 5.45pm. Unheard of but suits me much better. Down side was there was only time to for a fry up of eggs, bacon, sausage and mushroom. And a shot of beetroot juice which really does seem to help maintain my blood pressure at manageable levels. Just trying not to up medication if I can help it. I'm looking forward to a calmer day tomorrow and some proper meals, going to try out a recipe from a new book Keto Kitchen by Monica Killan Palmer.

Challenging day trying to resist temptation, as I hit the point of the week where I have had enough at work! Managed to resist, but a lot of wasted energy and grumpiness spent wishing to have a "treat" of some kind.

I know that is purely psychological, and I need to find a treat that isn't sugar or alcohol based, but when you feel time poor things like "have a nice bath" aren't always realistic! Does anyone have anything they've managed to put in the mental "treat" category that does the trick?

Anyway, it was creamy chicken curry and saag paneer tonight, with a bit of cauliflower on the side. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

@ReconstructionSite a nice cup of tea with cream does it for me or some olives and feta.
Ive been ok today but it was really hard to resist the office treats earlier on in the week

Hellish day today so not great on the water front because I barely had time to breath, let alone drink. Good news is I managed to stick with the food which I'll take as a win.

@ReconstructionSite I nearly wrote exactly that post yesterday! Managed to power through with the aid of v cold sparking water, some salted nuts and music in the office. Also interested to hear what other people turn to.

Thanks @Wolfi3 and @LCagain . I wish I could consider a cup of tea a treat but I drink far too much of the stuff already 😂

I think the salty nuts / something creamy might be something to try. I'm still on Strict Bootcamp so maybe I can try positioning nuts and/or a few berries and cream as the things to reach for when feeling stressed (not too much, I appreciate!).

Cheese?

I sometimes make cheese 'crackers' when I have that feeling @ReconstructionSite they're really easy. Grate mature cheddar and/or Parmesan, and then make little piles of it on a baking tray. If you like, sprinkle them with black pepper or some cayenne pepper. Then bake on a non-stick baking tray (or on some baking paper) in a hot oven. They only take a few minutes to melt and start to brown. Take them out, they'll still be melty and soft, but as they cool down, they set and become lovely and crispy.

Lovely with a glass of cold, crisp white wine!

Scratchings are the answer to everything! 😂

I enjoy anchovy stuffed olives and chunks of cheese 😋 - with a small glass of red wine when I’m on bootcamp light.

Plodding along here. Scales seem to be moving down again slightly which is fab.

I am eating the same meals over the weeks so I will try and add some variety in the next week or two. This week and next have been / will be really busy so realistically wont be happening quite yet!

Not been on here much but have been reading along and enjoying everyone’s posts.

@CrystalTits - I agree. Feeling thirstier is a good sign for me.

It does eventually pass as do the multiple trips to the loo during the night as my body gets used to the higher water intake.

Still not managed to break the 13st barrier. But I will get there

@ReconstructionSite not a regular tea but one made with cream! But I appreciate it doesn’t do it for everyone 😅
the Parmesan crisps you mentioned @BIWI sound really good though!

I had the urge for treats today too.
What worked for me (and I'm a couple of weeks behind you guys because I started late) was to massively remind myself that I'm hoping for a result on weighing day.
Not eating the "bad" stuff IS - hopefully - the reward

Sorry, that sounds pious and preachy.

It's just for me, I'm either in the groove/zone/whatever with BC, and when I am, I lose weight
Or I'm not, and I don't

I usually have quite a strict September. This year for various reasons I didn't.

So I'm big right now.
If I'm not 'on it' I'll be enormous for Christmas. Those are my choices.

I don't think it sounded pious or preachy!

@RockyRogue1001 I completely agree. I just couldn't get in the groove earlier this year, but this time is thankfully different. Less 'caring' pressures and doing the same level of bootcamp with DH really helps. But mostly it's all the ideas and support on this thread. I have had time to read around the science a bit more and can feel myself becoming a proper evangelist! I just need to plan a bit better, we are parkrunning in the morning ( miraculous for a previous non runner) so I will take a hard boiled egg and cheddar otherwise coffee after will be a temptation for something sweet.

I think for me, I can remind myself of that ⬆️⬆️ and then think "fuck it" and eat the biscuits anyway
Today, I reminded myself of that ⬆️ and didn't.
But I've only lost 3lb so far this boot camp, and I've been proper on it this week, so the urge NOT to stuff it up was stronger than the urge to stuff it in (my gob) 🤣

Good luck for your parkrun @islandtiger.
That's impressive when it's cold!

I feel the same as you. When I'm feeling the urge I try to remind myself that it might taste nice for a minute but actually the result will probably be me feeling quite unwell and definitely not losing the weight. Suddenly the "treat" doesn't feel worth it.

For me this was the comment that really kicked me into touch, when I started bootcamp last week I was still having a little handful of cashews here and there, drinking a bit of diluting juice with my meal but reading that made me realise I was sabotaging myself and would never get my body (and probably mind) into the right state to lose the weight if I carried on.

I’ve been fully compliant since and it felt good to turn down a sweet treat early this week that I would’ve mindlessly gobbled down a few weeks ago.

I haven’t checked the scales but I feel it’s working as usually I get in from work and want to inhale everything and anything that’s quick and sweet to eat but this week I’ve just been having a cuppa and I’m genuinely not hungry!

I think these are bootcamp compliant as just cottage cheese and egg, could be a good substitute if you really want a meal that uses a wrap

yes, those are low carb! Full fat cottage cheese is only 3.6g per 100g. Eggs are virtually carb-free, ditto seasonings. Obviously don't fill them with mashed potato!

Really pleased to have successfully navigated another meal out. Happy enough with a big bottle of sparkling water (though I did have a glass of white last night). Friday is 2for1 burgers, I enjoyed a lamb burger, lots of nice accompaniments including a great salad to replace the bun and fries, and again even though just a nice village/gastro pub no-one batted an eyelid at my request.