Week 6 - Pre-Christmas '24 Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Morning Campers!

I hope Storm Bert hasn't affected you too badly - looks like it's been awful in South Wales It was mostly just windy in South London, but also weirdly warm, at 16 degrees. So at least we didn't have the heating on!

So we have three full weeks to go. I see from the spreadsheet that there are at least three people who look like they might make a whole stone by the end, so fingers crossed for them. But also, obviously, still time for everyone else to drop at least another 3lbs or so. (Whilst also acknowledging that we're heading at speed into party season ... !)

Here's the spreadsheet

Good luck

Also, picking up on the posts from last week about emotional eating, there's a useful post about how to deal with it, from the Mayo Clinic:

How do you get back on track?

When negative emotions threaten to trigger emotional eating, you can take steps to control cravings. To help stop emotional eating, try these tips:

• Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you're feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you might see patterns that reveal the connection between mood and food.
• Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing.
• Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don't have a rumbling stomach, you're probably not hungry. Give the craving time to pass.
• Get support. You're more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group.
• Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you're not hungry, distract yourself and substitute a healthier behavior. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the internet or call a friend.
• Take away temptation. Don't keep hard-to-resist comfort foods in your home. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you have your emotions in check.
• Don't deprive yourself. When trying to lose weight, you might limit calories too much, eat the same foods repeatedly and banish treats. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Eat satisfying amounts of healthier foods, enjoy an occasional treat and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.
• Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a healthy snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with low-fat dip, nuts or unbuttered popcorn. Or try lower calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
• Learn from setbacks. If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you're making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that'll lead to better health.

Strike-outs are added by me, given that we're not about low fat or low calorie!!!

I know that we often talk about 'comfort food', especially when it's cold and wet - by which we don't always mean something in quite the same realm as emotional eating - but I do think it can become very close, so it is worth thinking about some of these tips in a more general sense.

Thanks @BIWI
This BC has really drawn my attention to how much weight fluctuates daily!
Up 2 lbs on yesterday 🙄

Morning All!

I’m definitely an emotional eater. If I’m having a crappy day, all I want is cake!

During boot camp I sometimes leave the FFGY until the evening so I feel like I’ve had a sweet dessert. When I’m not doing boot camp I usually replace with apples and peanut butter.

I just wish everything I love to do (eating junk, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, laying horizontally in front of the telly for hours) weren’t so bad for you! 😂

But I’m very happy because 2lb off this week…

And I got to eat a shit load of cheese so can’t really complain!

Good morning everyone, hope everyone is ok.

Good luck for the rest of Bootcamp.

Thanks for the new thread @BIWI.

Thanks for the new thread @BIWI.

1.2lbs off here, so 8.5lbs overall - there was another 1lb showing on Saturday but I didn't drink anywhere near enough water this weekend so I suspect that is part of it. I actually don't mind the scales going down then up, because it makes me feel like I have the next loss "in the bag" 😁

It's still very windy up here in Scotland, but set to be calmer from tomorrow. I've got my flu jab later, hoping for no reaction but I often feel a bit woozy afterwards. Great to hear everyone's progress. I'm holding off weighing in until later. It looks like I've STS so far but my weight fluctuates 2 or 3lb in a day. Yes I do hop on and off them regularly! I think less exercise last week definitely set me back a bit so will KOKO this week and hope parkrun is on next Saturday to give me a push. DH is getting a bit dispirited at STS having been up a couple of Ibs most of the week so has decided to cut out the olive, cheese and sausage snacks and I'm going to have smaller portions of FFGY and cream. And drink more water!!!

Hopefully you won't have any issues with the flu jab @islandtiger - I was fine this year, but the one I had last year gave me such a sore arm I had to take paracetamol and go to bed!

Totally know what you mean with this.

This morning’s weigh in was the lowest I’ve recorded this week. Now I feel like I’m going to have to really push for a loss this week.

Last week’s weigh in was one of the highest of the week so I was a bit more relaxed if that makes sense…

Either way, it’s all going in the right direction!

2lb loss this week so pretty happy with that. I started earlier than most on boot camp and started in September . I’ve gone from 13st 10/11 lbs to 12 st 3 lbs so pretty happy , especially as I’ve had a few blips with illness and personal issues .

Back up a bit this week but pleased despite feeling under the weather and long hours at work that I stuck to LC. Well done everyone!

Frustratingly, I am still above 12st 10lb. Only lost 1/4lb last week, down to 12st 10.25lb.

I know I can't really complain because @BIWI would remind me that I've lost nearly 11lb this Boot Camp

Still, KOKO - and more strictly than usual as I'm desperate to get under 12st before Christmas. Desperately hoping for a "whoosh"

Back up after a very sloppy weekend away with all kinds of deviations. Overall trend is down though. This week should be good.

After a dry September and superb moderation throughout October I've had two big "sessions" already this month so do need to address that.

Somehow, I arrived from work today 3 lbs lighter 🧐. Taking it positively… ( I don’t normally weigh myself twice a day 😬, it was an accidental urge)

I'm always scared to weigh twice in case I weigh more!

Unexpected NSV last night...

I was doing some home yoga in the evening and it was one of those seated forward folds to stretch your hips (sat cross legged, fingers stretched out on the floor in front). I suddenly realised my chest was A LOT closer to the floor than normal. Began to congratulate myself on my improved flexibility... then realised it was the serious reduction in peri belly that was no longer getting in the way of bending forward 🫣😂

Brilliant to hear everyone's updates. Some fantastic progress. I have STS which is a tiny bit disappointing but not entirely surprising. So I need to adjust my goal as this BC my losses seem to be slow and steady rather than fast and furious. I was hoping to see a round 10 stone if not the glimpse of a 9 but that will have to be in 2025. My main goal now is to lose another 5 or 6lb, keep up exercise and maintain the moderation in all areas particularly wine! We have a quieter week on the socialising front, one meal out with 'moderate' friends who don't drink so that will make it easier for me to resist. Good luck this week everyone.

Thanks for the new thread & the emotional eating tips @BIWI
2lb gain for me this week but I know why it happened (not eating the rights foods and definitely not drinking enough water) but I’m not too stressed as overall I’ve still lost 7lbs this bootcamp.
I am back on track, have already had a litre of water so hoping to lose that 2lbs by next week.

One NSV for me is not craving sweet stuff when I wake up, I actually cope fine without sugary snacks or drinks in the evening it’s always in the AM I fancy it (probably not helped by a sugary cup of tea/coffee and always lots of treats in the office at work)
but I have found since BC I’m fine without and I’ve stopped taking any sugar/honey in my hot drinks and still enjoy them!

hello lovely bootcampers, I really need your help.

After a good few years of celebrating Christmas together at restaurants, where good quality and tasty meat and veg are perfect for this way of eating, this year my BookGroupers have decided on Chinese Take Away in someone's home for our festive celebration. Heeeelp.

I'm a big fan of "real" chinese food, ate in Chinatown for a leaving do recently, and really enjoyed lots including a spectacular spicy cauliflower dish which arrived in its own 'castle' type service dish and voted 'best choice' by many who tried it.

Our Bookgroup sessions are routinely wine and carbs fuelled, i usually make sure I'm not hungry, am driving, drink lots of water and just swerve the carby food. Having said that, I'm keen to navigate this challenge with grace and unobtrusive poise.

www.fantuanorder.com/local-life/en-US/merchant-reviews/store/lemon-house-chinese-takeaway-ed8112b718c635345e627c29332e2ce1-GB?f_channel=f_review_g

Might mixed seafood in garlic sauce be worth a punt? or stir fried broccoli and stir friend Chinese greens with garlic sauce?

Appreciate it's a very first world problem , i love them all dearly and really have no appetite for this. Something makes me suspect that if I just opt out as usual, ill be facing a 'go on, enjoy yourself for a change' Makes me a tad emotional just thinking about hwo wrong peoples thinking about food can be (and reflecting that telling them that is maybe not the right way forward).

Your suggestions very welcome, lovely bootcampers,

@Floralnomad well that sounds fun! it's brilliant that you have a plan. To me your food choices seem perfect although I'm no expert, Chinese take away is a very rare treat these days as we live so far from one! But it all sounds Delicious. On the drinking front, is there anyone else who doesn't drink? So you have a buddy? Or are you driving, can you volunteer to drive, can that be a reason not to drink. I'm focusing on the drinking because that is my downfall in a social situation where I find the pressure to join in hard to withstand. As my DM often wisely said to me 'play it cool' in other words if I don't make a big deal of not drinking or eating carbs then it's slightly easier to dodge any issues gracefully. Hope that makes sense, interested to hear what else would be BC compliant.

@FinallyHere I'd go for chicken lettuce wraps

... and traditional roast duck with stir fried mixed veg

Thank you both very kindly

You may, actually, find that the lettuce wraps is big enough to have as a main course!

@FinallyHere I love tofu so would go with the tai curry and stir fry mixed veg or mange toutes

Or maybe the prawns in teriyaki with a bunch of veg sides.
Just avoid the rice.

Mmm sounds yummy! 🍲