Week 2 - Jan '25 Low Carb (Dry) Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Morning

I know that for some/many of us, this is actually only week 1, but as there were some valiant people who started last week, it is now week 2!

As ever, here's the spreadsheet

Just a reminder that if you're using your phone/the mobile app, you'll need to download the Google Sheets app to access the spreadsheet. And when entering your data, only add your weight and - for fear that @FinallyHere will have a coronary, don't touch anything else!

Good luck everyone.

My bill has probably gone up as I am eating lots more meat and dairy. I was cooking mainly vegetarian meals before, because my DD is veggie. So things like pasta with a vegetable sauce, bean chilli, veg stir fry or curry with loads of rice and possibly naan bread, homemade soup and crusty bread. All of which are quite cheap but carb-heavy! Really I should venture into more vegetarian dishes now, but I don't want to eat processed food and am trying to keep it simple for myself so I stick with it.
Think I will start making thick soups for lunch at work.

Thanks for the info on Greek yoghurt. I have an Aldi near me, so will look next time I am in. The ones I was comparing yesterday were in Tesco. I ended up buying the real Greek one, but couldn't see a huge amount different on the labels apart from the price. The real one is delicious, though.

Thanks for the book recommendation too @BIWI, that looks good.

Thanks, BIWI. Yes, I'll have to experiment. I think that should be easier once I have achieved a few weeks of significantly low carbing. I can introduce oatbran as my only high-carb food and observe what, if anything, it does to how I am doing.

I'm hoping she'll write a vegetarian keto/low carb book next - but in the meantime, here's a link to some of her vegetable recipes

@ColouringPencils have you checked out the vegetarian recipe thread in the Low Carb Recipe topic? That might inspire you!

I'm glad to hear other people struggled wanting alcohol last night, because I found last night really, really tough for just that reason. I'm glad I resisted, but it wasn't easy or fun.

I have an idiot's question about carbs.
Are they actually fattening, or is it more they give your body the spikes that make you crave more food?

Those are some great recipes. Celeriac parmesan chips cooked in lard are definitely being added to the list!

Is there a thread/tips somewhere about the best oils to cook with or did I imagine seeing that?

I was quite tempted, alcohol-wise, last night as I went out for a meal, and then to the theatre - and I didn't have the car! But I thought of the carbs and desisted.

The meal out worked really well - prawns to start and sea bass to follow, with salad and roasted Mediterranean vegetables and a large side of aubergine parmigiana, for complicated reasons.

Sorry BIWI, I didn't mean to quote you there, but can't edit it out!

Finally made it to the thread. I was in Austria January 1st to 6th so there was lots of beer and strudel but the last couple of days I was preparing for this so stopped the beer and did loads of walking and from the 7th till today been good. I weighed on on the 7th at 14 st 7lb and I want to get down to 11 st so planning to be strict for 12 weeks. I've followed the rules and was doing a fb challenge thing for 5 days do followed those recipes. I've stopped having breakfast and had 2 cups of coffee with cream, then lunches srambled eggs or omelette or cold mackerel with salad. Dinners had chicken and mushroom with cheese sauce and cauli rice. Paneer curry with cauliflower rice, today might have thin steak and brocoli. Yesterday I did a 24 hour water fast. My friend was telling me about the 3 day one she did so that was my aim but I just hot too hungry! Already lost 5lb. Weighing in at 14 stone 2lb so pleased with myself. I have been getting some sweet cravings though. Really need to keep it up, last year was really hard, I already needed to lose weight but then my steo dad died, I got ill with fibroids and had severe anaemia, I ended up needing a hysterectomy and my boy was in trouble at school so I'm really keen to tackle this now. I've been taking part in a research study that does body scans. Looking at your fat composition and blood flow in the veins/arteries so I'll be interested to see how this affects it on Tuesday.

Hi all. Going to drop off sorry. It's my birthday today and I haven't been able to stick to my goal. I have had carbs and there is alcohol planned this evening. Also going to a lovely hotel for 2 nights from tomorrow!

I will come off the spreadsheet but will keep reading and taking recipes as after Tuesday I will be back on the wagon.

Thanks all and good luck

Having Gressingham roast duck legs tonight - £3.99 for the pack of 2 in Lidl at the moment. Serving them with celeriac chips and asparagus (dh will also have peas as he weirdly isn't that keen on asparagus).

Dh will probably be opening a bottle of wine but I won't be partaking

Eating lots of carbs means that your pancreas produces lots of insulin, to sweep the resultant glucose out of your blood stream. And what insulin does is to 'fix' fat into your cells.

I've posted a long explanation of the role of insulin up thread, so have a read of that.

But yes, tin short, o answer your question - insulin sweeps glucose out of your blood stream, and it's this which leads you to feel hungry.

Thank you @BIWI
I read all the sciencey stuff upthread, but I hadn't linked the "fixes the fat" bit.

Those veggie recipes look great, thank you!

The duck legs were wonderful. Lovely crispy skin and really tasty. Obscenely easy to prepare: prick skin, season with salt and pepper and put in oven for 90 minutes, basting occasionally with the fat that comes out and then rest for 10 minutes. I used some of that fat, after 30 minutes, to cost the celeriac chips when they went in the oven too.

I'm going to see if Lidl has any left tomorrow and get two more packs to freeze

@AlbertCamusflage answering way in advance of when this might be likely... but once I am well into this way of eating and managing everything well, I have one day per week when I eat more carbs (but also less fat). So a smallish amount of something I crave. It might be overnight oats, or puy lentils, or beetroot. But essentially something really healthy and good. One small portion, one day per week, accompanied by less fat.

I'm trundling along here - not a lot to report. Today was a bit of NSV (Non Scale Victory) - I did Park Run, 5K, with my children this morning. my time was good for me, 31 mins some seconds. The boys were each sub 30 though it's only their 3rd ever ParkRun. I was pleased to get us all out though - and I just felt really well! Good energy. Then I dropped the boys home, had a creamy decaf, then and met friends for a swim session - we did 2,000m. not fast, just nice and steady. but again I felt really well.

Then I had brunch, an omelette thing, but I scoffed some pate while it was cooking as I had gotten very hungry by then.

Anyway, my weight loss isn't dramatic, but it is happening, but my energy levels are good.

In terms of LC exercise - I can do an hour on an empty stomach. I often have breakfast after swimming. I had creamy coffee between running and swimming this morning. The swim was 45mins. I can do those short bursts LC, but exercise that lasts a few hours, like a long cycle, is a different beast.

I'm thinking of doing the hamburger pie tomorrow. I've bought a beef joint for roasting, but if the day works out tomorrow, we might do a family cycle. The joint will keep. I've loads of veg in the fridge too.

@ColouringPencils whisk butter into your soup - makes it extra creamy, and thickens it.

Forgive me @BIWI for I have sinned. Had an unavoidable bootcamp challenge today - a long ago booked birthday present, a Japanese cooking class. I did my best. I did not put any soba noodles in my chicken and leek dashi soup. I loved the miso aubergine. I ate one and a half sushi, and 1 pork and spring onion goyzu, plus the filling from 2 others. But I also know that the mirin, soy, miso paste, etc have loads of things I'd never normally eat, and a load of sugar.

It has left me feeling salty and thirsty. Tonight, soda water is my friend.

I want to do another post about Limbo - this is a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) that you wear with an App, that gives instant feedback on you blood sugar (BS) levels. It's diabetic technology, but interesting if you want to stay low sugar.

The system has rules - 3 meals a day. 'Carb conscious'. The eating emphasis is protein and veg and lots of water. 3 meals a day, with no snacking is a kind of Intermittent fasting though. You are trying to keep your limbo line steady - it will jump with potatoes/rice/bread. Actually mine didn't jump a lot with very small bread portions. But anything more than half a slice would, so it was easier to skip. Similarly i could drink 1 milky coffee, but a second would send it up.
The system didn't work great for me - when I ate off plan (you had to record all food and drink) a message would arrive 'this food isn't in line with your goals' - clearly AI generated, and I would think 'no shit Sherlock!'

They also had the tip take a short walk after meals - this is to burn off any immediate carbs, and maybe to get you away from the table, but it does steady the BS line, So if you have had that second milky drink a walk will do something to mitigate a glucose spike.
Non food things also raise blood glucose. Exercise will , and cold showers. My morning swim would raise my blood sugar, which makes sense as your body needs to get energy from someplace!

My takeaways - if you have been a little naughty, had some birthday cake or something, an immediate 10minute walk will help.
Try not to eat in the evening.

Also we actually only carry tiny amounts of sugar in our blood - so if you did need sugar during EXTENSIVE exercise - a square of chocolate would do for 30 minutes (after the first hour)

Great NSV @Leaving20

Weigh day for me. Down 2lb, which I do not feel reflects my week. I've been very strictly bootcamping and have resisted a LOT of temptations food-wise. I've done very little exercise, which is unlike me. I usually do 4-6 classes a week and last week I only did 1. (And this week is going to be the same). And I've struggled to get all the water down, although not done terribly with that, but not sure I've drunk as much as I'm supposed to every day. It's harder when it's not hot outside.
I'm pleased it's 2 down, but still a little disappointed. Will KOKO.

good luck to the rest of you for weigh day tomorrow.

The dangerous soft play party wasn't as perilous as I had feared. I avoided the kids food. I did purloin a small bite of birthday cake from a passing child but, as I spent the afternoon scrambling over soft play structures to retrieve a stuck 2 year old and carrying a buggy up and down tube steps, I hope @Leaving20's correct and it will have been mitigated.

Also managed to stay alcohol free, which I think was heroic. 😂

Today we shall have a fry up and then a mid afternoon meal with friends. Not sure what they're cooking but they know I'm carb free. If an evening snack is required I shall eat some of the leftovers in the fridge.

Happy Sunday all.

Thanks @venusandmars . I think I will experiment with similar after the bootcamp. I just want to get to the carb level that protects me from food cravings and allows me to keep feeling strong and well, as I do when I eat sensibly without snacks and over-large portions. I don't need to lose a huge amount of weight.

I was reading about acid reflux last night, which can be brought on by high-carb meals and/or by certain sorts of carbs, if you are intolerant. I'm starting to understand that I do get heartburn, and that the way that I experience it amounts to a very intense craving for food. It isn't really painful, it is a fiery feeling in my chest (presumably my oesophagus) which is instantly assuaged while eating but returns immediately after eating. I'm not always conscious of it, but unconsciously it generates a desire to eat that is similar to the desire to scratch at an itchy bit of fiery eczema.

I think if I can restrict my carb intake enough to cure heartburn that in itself will help me a lot.

Fantastic running and swimming, @Leaving20 , and the monitoring device/app sounds really interesting. It must be really useful to be able to be able to observe the dimensions of the small level of carbs that doesn't kick you off target

2lb is still a great loss @RockyRogue1001, I hope you can reconcile your disappointment as the day progresses. And I completely understand - I somehow want my loss each week to be directly proportionate to my struggle!

Morning everyone

I'm doing well avoiding all the LC obstacles sent to try us so far

I'm quite tired though so not sure if it's LC flu or just general post Christmas NY slump plus it's bloody freezing 🥶 out there so not very enticing

Drinking a glass of water usually is a great pick me up for me when I'm working and hit that afternoon slump along with a cup of tea. I avoid the usual accompaniments that go with your afternoon cuppa anyway not having a sweet tooth

I've had some Gammon / ham for breakfast I cooked last night with a cup of tea and coffee.

Later will be chicken and veg and a salad somewhere along the way the way

So as we're on this for a month absolutely no nuts yet or fruit is that correct ?

Any loss is a great achievement @RockyRogue1001

Years ago when I joined a gym with a pool and classes when DC were little so I wasn't working F/T it wasn't till I hit the 3 month mark that u suddenly noticed a significant change in my dress size and body shape

So for me I always give things 3 months and then whoosh the changes seem to show properly

Very cold here and I'm treating myself to a dash of double cream in my normally-black coffee.

I find I'm spending a little less on the weekly food shop @colouringpencils probably because compared to before I'm cooking more using the raw ingredient but I suspect also because if the omission of wine, crisps and biscuits etc.

Sympathy with those who aren't seeing the scales moving as much as they'd like. I've stayed the same for nearly a week now but I've been eating well and I know there's a whoosh brewing so I need to just KOKO - weight loss isn't linear. Patience is easier said than done though!

NSVs - arthritis definitely better this week. And a pair of trousers that had been a bit on the snug side now fit very comfortably.

Spicy lamb planned for dinner, with cauliflower deconstructed-pakora (basically cauli pakora recipe without the gram flour to bind it, then shallow fried in lots of beef dripping). I'll marinate the lamb in a little FFGY and lots of tandoori spices, then fry very hot. I also use a blow torch to get the charred effect as I like the flavour and texture it adds.