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.

Everyone's meals sound delicious again!

I was very happy with my lunch, but have since realised I will be having almost the same for dinner as I didn't go shopping yesterday. So it will be something like: leftover chicken, sliced ham, cucumber, lettuce, spring onion, tomato, celery. Probably with some crumbled cheese and a mayo/yoghurt dressing. And any other veg I find.

Then I will use the chicken bones and make a leek, shallot and carrot soup for tomorrow's lunch.

I've had soup made of left over veggies and blitzed with a hand blender with cheese on top

And salmon with mushrooms and cream

I realise now that most of the carbs in my house are eaten by me
No one else is bothered by no bread or potatoes. Although DD eats a lot of pasta. Luckily her DP has been on at her to eat more protein so this is perfect for her too. She has a lovely figure so hopefully it won't be such a shock for me when I look in the mirror in future and see more of a resemblance to DD and how I once looked. although I'll never be a size 6 but a size 12 will make me happy

Hi everybody, hope you're all having a good day on week two!
Sorry, I did previously just jump on and put my own meals because I'm not very good at typing on the iPad. I am dictating this to see if it's any better!

The whale jerky (that came out at first as wheel Cherokee) sounds like something I would definitely try at least once!

Hello to @prettybird fellow Scot 

Like @RatatatCat I was low carbon but came off for Christmas and New Year. Getting married - that's a great goal reason and congratulations!

My dinner will be pork bellies and roasted vegetables instead of the mince because the use by date is sooner than I thought!

Low carbing not carbon

Really pleased to hear such positive stories and results, already!

Dinner here is salmon, which is being marinaded in olive oil, lemon and lime juice, garlic and oregano. Served with ratatouille and some shredded, pan-fried cabbage, which I'm going to drizzle with some of that Basque dressing I linked to yesterday.

Forgot to weigh this morning 🤦🏼‍♀️ that's a tomorrow morning job now.

Lunch was turkey salad, marinated cucumber and carrot, two boiled eggs and some mustard mayo. Had yoghurt and cream for pudding.

Dinner was Bolognese with buttery leeks that was delicious and very comforting after a ridiculous day at work.

Plus 2ltrs of water and a few cups of tea so probably managed 2.5ltrs.

any suggestions on what to eat if you have sweet cravings? Thanks!

Nearly 2kg down today, but it feels like about half a stone, feeling so much better already.

Steak with lots of butter and salad, followed by cheese.

All the water!

Just back from Pilates , to a nice dinner of salmon fillet and a great big serving of the kale and leek gratin

I’ve just had a look through the recommended products , but can’t see one ….
Any one know of a nice Bootcamp friendly cracker to go with cheese ?
I have my first challenge on Wednesday evening , DH goes to table tennis , and I usually tuck into wine , cashews and possibly ice cream , this week I want to prepare myself a cheese board ( whilst watching Rivals … again )

@BIWI I love fried slices of cabbage which I got from a previous BC possibly run by @prettybird a few years ago when you couldn't

I took down the Christmas decorations last night and up in the loft today followed by yet another clear out of some of the loft so lots of physical exertion

What I just noticed is that I bounced off my chair much easier and I sort of fold better at my tummy when I bend over ie my body is already more flexible and lighter

Visitors are not impressed at having to walk over all the crap in the hallway this evening ready for the tip which includes clothes and shoe donations boxes and an on-site charity shop

KittenPause - this is me! I eat most of the carbs too. I have a loaf of bread sitting there that I bought for everyone else and nobody even wants it. DH has opted to eat the same meal as me each night out of preference as he 'doesn't like carbs anyway'. I can only hope that will become true of me soon.

@semmalina tonight I adapted the cracker recipe kindly suggested by @QforCucumber (who I thank for the inspiration) to take out the nuts (which aren't BC friendly in the first 2 weeks). I used seeds only: 50g ground linseed, 25g sesame, 25g chia. 1/2 tsp each of salt and paprika and about 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder. 1 beaten egg. 120 g cheese. Mixed together until doughy and rolled very (very!) thin, then baked for 40 mins. Results were good, nice and crunchy. Haven't tried with cheese yet but had some with butter for my supper and they were lovely.

Edited to point out that I'm talking about crackers!

They sound amazing!

@Livefreely for sweet cravings I like either liquorice tea , which has a sweet taste or an espresso (decaf if you like) with a dash of double cream - has a hint of chocolate.

Last night I had a Rooibos tea which usually sits at the back of the cupboard and it was sweet enough for me so I recommend it if you have or haven't tried it before. Mine are from Tesco or Sainsburys but I put them in a fancy brand Rooibos packet I got so I forget they're generic but taste just as good as the more expensive versions

@ColouringPencils I know it's ridiculous isn't it. I have a bread maker so I rarely buy bread and I haven't bought or made any and no ones asked for it

I had a brand new loaf I made last week just sitting there uncut for 24 hours or so and no one ate it so I sliced it and froze it.

@lastchancesalmon
lastchancesalmon - in a previous SW diet life I ate A LOT of fish and chip shop fish (minus batter) and still lost weight. An option for another time maybe?

@Livefreely
livefreely - fruit tea? Something crunchy. Get past it and don’t feed the craving.

Stuck to the plan yesterday with scrambled eggs and fried mushrooms for breakfast, cheese, salami and olives for lunch, and then a stirfry of pork, peppers and spinach. I think I probably didn't drink enough water,but, as I'm at my desk today - hurrah for school restarting - I can address that.

Today the plan is:
B: FFGY w double cream
L: left over stir fry, maybe with salad if it needs bulking out
D: cauliflower cheese w salad

Woohoo 4lbs down! I know it's mostly water at the start but I find a bigger whoosh at the beginning really motivating.

Amazed by all the weight loss that so many of you have already. Congratulations!! I am not even going to get on the scales until a week after the initial weigh in, and my best guess is that I will not have dropped.

Could some of the weght loss just be a rebound from the temporary gains of Christmas? I'm not dissing that type of loss at all -- it is very creditable. But (by some kind of miracle) I didn't gain over Christmas so I can't expect a rebound.

I second Livefreely's request for food choices when you have a hankering for something sweet. As lastchancesalmon says, something with cream can often get you past that: greek yoghurt with a dash of cream is helpful for me. But I would love to have more options.

I can't be doing with liquorice in herbal teas. Somehow its sweetness is sad and disappointing. Cocoa powder is a bit helpful in a hot drink. I've been drinking chai tea with cocoa. I know that chocolate isn't allowed, but I think that just a tsp of cocoa is an ok compromise

A bit late to the party but wishing everyone a Happy New Bootcamp. It really is inspiring to read how well everyone is doing already and getting back into the swing. So much in the media about Iceland this year but I am not sure about eating whale! I think I need the yoga that was mentioned last week. I am 3lbs up after holiday indulgence which was hardly surprising considering how much I lost focus. But as others have shared earlier, I just feel a bit rotten on carbs. We stuck to cream in our coffee and was not too tempted by sweet stuff but bread etc pushes me back up. Doing much better yesterday with our go to salad tricolore ( avocado, tomatoes, mozzarella) and fried up cabbage and chorizo for supper. Need more water. We are heading to France on the ferry tomorrow so we are eating up all the eggs in a big mushroom omelette before we set off. I know I'm going to be tempted to fall off the wagon but this thread keeps me motivated and I do have to decide if I really want to feel better by my birthday in March. I've got about 18lbs to lose ideally but I'm realistic and even half that by March would be a big step after being stuck for so long. Good luck everyone, I'm off to drink some water.

Thanks @Baystard im going food shopping today , will make them this afternoon and report back

On sweet things, I sometimes add a scraping of fresh vanilla pod seeds into greek yogurt and cream... maybe half a pod per serving. It is an expensive treat, but I figure I'd spend that on cake if I weren't low carbing! it really shifts the yogurt/cream into feeling more like a dessert. Probably a bit of carb in there, but at less than 1/4tsp, I can't imagine it is much.

That sounds like an interesting thing to try @ReconstructionSite.

I might buy some fresh vanilla pod seeds. Experimenting with high-quality fresh ingredients is quite an important part of the WOE, I think (to the extent that each person can afford it). It marks a change from the mindless shovelling of large quantities of cheap carbs to the real and mindful honouring of ingredients and our body's natural, balanced need for nourishment and pleasure.

@AlbertCamusflage - in my case, the very motivating immediate weight loss is absolutely rebound from the excesses of Christmas

I don't expect it to continue: from now on, it'll be the (healthy) average of 1-2lb a week (even if I still hope for a bit more of the whoosh to continue this week ).