Week 3 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - When the Going Gets Unexpectedly Tough

[BIWI]

I'm starting this thread a little earlier than usual, as I have to be at work at dawn's crack tomorrow

Come and confess all on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

So from tomorrow, you can move on to Bootcamp Light, if you want. (Rules on the tabs on the spreadsheet). That means that you can introduce fruits (berries only) and nuts (in small quantities), as well as alcohol (albeit in moderation!)

You don't have to, if you don't want to. You could continue to do Bootcamp if it's suiting you - or do Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend. Whatever suits you.

Whatever you decide here is something really important that you need to know about weeks 3 and 4 (and possibly 5):

It is very common for weight loss to stop at this point in the diet. You may even find that you gain a pound or two. DON'T PANIC! It is entirely normal. Your body is switching from carb-burning to fat-burning, and is re-adjusting to your new WOE. You have jettisoned a lot of water weight, and have emptied your glycogen stores. You will also have lost some fat. Now, your body is working on just burning fat.

PLEASE DON'T PANIC AND START TO TRY AND CHANGE ANYTHING. THIS IS ENTIRELY NORMAL AND HAS BEEN REPORTED BY MANY LOW CARBERS BEFORE YOU. STICK WITH THE KNITTING, AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED BY SEEING THE SCALES MOVE AGAIN IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO

Good luck for next week. As ever, post any questions on the questions thread, and keep us all updated as to what you're doing/eating.

[WillieWaggledagger]

cider - try reducing the magnesium dose, i had that problem too

could you do a bubble and squeak with the celeriac and cabbage - i would pre-cook them then fry in butter with the cold lamb. not pretty but delicious

[CrabbyBigbottom]

Cider I'd dice and roast the celeriac in lots of olive oil (and maybe butter) and rosemary, with some halved shallots and whole cloves of garlic. Then squeeze the roasted garlic in with the celeriac and blend with lots of creme fraiche and butter for creamy mash. Fry the cabbage in butter/olive oil with herbs, and serve with the flash-fried lamb.

I know I said I was stopping weighing every day but I can't resist it either. No change again today, despite me resisting the lure of wine that I felt I rather deserved yesterday. [sulks childishly]

[CrabbyBigbottom]

Ooh bubble and squeak - I luuuuurve bubble and squeak. I like branston pickle with it though.

[prettybird]

It might be coincidence but two things that I am sure helped sustain my weight loss (even during Weeks 3 and 4) during the last Boot Camp was a) making myself go out for at least a half hour walk (even if it was just to go to the local shop to get more eggs ), which had the dual benefit of exercise and UV exposure (which helps your mood) and b) making myself go to bed much earlier than I had been used to (in my case, trying to make it before midnight or even earlier ).

[CiderwithBuda]

Crabby - that sounds delicious. May try that this evening.

Willie - bubble and squeak sounds good too but I like HP sauce with mine! Good idea though - could be yummy with bacon and eggs.

[HeirToTheIronThrone]

Officially 4lbs lost this week, hooray. Mind you, I put on 3lbs the week before, so technically only 1lb lost this bootcamp so far... Still, am very pleased, sat here with a Marmite mini cheddar and looking forward to meatballs for dinner.

[EwanHoozami]

Millie 1lb a week sounds like an ideal target, just bear in mind that weight loss with this WOE is rarely quite that linear. 6lb total in 6 weeks is absolutely do-able if you stick to the rules. What sort of meats / styles do you like to eat? We can recommend some simpler recipes that work for you.

Me today...

B - 2 hard boiled eggs with lots of salt and pepper
L - leftover asparagus fritatta
D - lamb burgers and Big Fat Greek Salad

[halfthesize]

morning all well done on some great losses, I sts, not surprised by that....
no breakfast for me as out early, lunch will be home made soup
dinner tonight is chicken salad. though am craving bubble and squeak after comments up thread
I am going to do uber camp from tomorrow as I go on hols a week on Saturday and want to be my pre Christmas weight

[BIWI]

PLJ is something that I think we could drink occasionally - but only use a dash rather than the whole amount suggested on the bottle. Also bear in mind that citric acid can stall people, apparently.

Cider - here is how I cooked the asparagus (it was from a recipe in last week's Sunday Times supplement, which I tore out and then DH kindly threw away, so this is my attempt to recreate it!):

• parboil asparagus for a couple of minutes, and then drain well
  
• heat a ridged grill or frying pan till smoking hot, add some frying oil, then griddle/fry the asparagus till charred/tender
  

For the dressing:

• a couple of teaspoons of harissa pasta
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• juice of half a lime
  
• generous sloosh of extra virgin olive oil to thin it down
  
• black pepper
  

Put your asparagus on a flat serving platter and sprinkle with sea salt crystals - to taste.

Garnish with dollops of soft cheese (the original recipe called for soft goat's cheese - I only had cream cheese, but this worked just as well)

Drizzle the dressing over the top and sprinkle flaked almonds over the top.

The recipe for the celeriac boulangere is on the recipe thread.

[prettybird]

I've just had a lovely lunch that was "good" Boot Camp: a sort of de-constructed Salade Nicoise

Seared tuna steaks cut into slices, eggs mollet (hard on the outside, still soft in the middle), roasted asparagus with shavings of parmesan, some fine beans in melted butter and a green salad on the side. It was lovely as was the glass of wine we had with it

Burgers tonight, probably with celeriac chips.

[CiderwithBuda]

Thanks so much for that BIWI. Sounds lovely. And I will use Harissa paste rather than your harissa pasta! I'm sure it was a typo rather than a Freudian slip........

I had a very retro salad for lunch. Well it did have rocket but otherwise was a very old fashioned salad of ham, egg, cheese and mayo! Some cherry toms and chopped spring onion.

Tum still gurgling away.

[toomuchtoask]

I'm starving today - any advice? I have eaten the same amount as normal so don't want to eat more really.

B - omelate and salad.
L - tuna and veg.

D will be gammon and veg.

[teaandthorazine]

Lunch today was feta, courgette and asparagus salad, along with smoked salmon pâté scooped up with little gem leaves. Lots of oily, garlicky dressing on the salad.

Dinner will be pork chops, probably with some sort of cabbage!

[teaandthorazine]

Lunch today was feta, courgette and asparagus salad, along with smoked salmon pâté scooped up with little gem leaves. Lots of oily, garlicky dressing on the salad.

Dinner will be pork chops, probably with some sort of cabbage!

Ate lunch with my lovely colleague, who is doing 5:2 and in a fast day today. She is losing a bit of weight but says she's finding the fasts hellish. She had her WW pasta meal and a diet coke... I have tried to talk to her about low carb but she's reckons as a veggie she won't be able to do it ... sigh.

[teaandthorazine]

Oooh exciting double post, sorry!!

[CrabbyBigbottom]

Why don't you want to eat more, toomuch? Reading about this WOE and particularly about stalling, the advice was to eat when you're hungry! Otherwise your body will conserve all the energy it can on the basis that there's a food shortage. What's wrong with a high fat snack?

[teaandthorazine]

toomuch, is there fat with that veg? Dressing, mayo, cheese? Fat will help keep you feeling full. Don't be afraid to eat!

[halfthesize]

Toomuch have a snack, boiled egg, cheese, greek yog, anything just don't go hungry, there really is no need. Also are you drinking lots of water
I've only just finished over seeing A levels, no break, no food(not allowed) and now on school run!!!
will be having a cheese salad bowl when I get in with chilli mayo. then chicken tonight when dh gets in.
also have to do ridiculous amount of squats

[halfthesize]

oh and just stocked up on LIDL Greek yog, 2 massive tubs

[Badvoc]

I allergic to cheese and yoghurt :
Maybe thats why i find this woe difficult?

[CrabbyBigbottom]

I don't think I could do this WOE without meat or cheese, so you have my sympathies there Badvoc.

[Badvoc]

So many of the recipes I find have cheese on them, or tell you to munch on cheese as a snack, which of course I can't.
I do feel so much better not eating wheat so in that sense low carb makes sense for me, just not sure I can be as hard core as some of you!

[CiderwithBuda]

Badvoc - that does sound very limiting. I did a 'no crap carbs' regime a few years ago which worked well. Basically nothing made from wheat or sugar. I also didn't have rice or potatoes. So for bfast would have porridge with blueberries. Salads for lunch with protein. I was eating pulses etc. I also quite like that heavy German rye bread which is wheat free. Very heavy so one slice is enough. I sometimes had that with soup or egg mayo or something for lunch. Snacked on things like oatcakes. I was losing about a kilo a week. I am aiming to get back to that after bootcamp.

It might be worth thinking about it for you if you are struggling with this.

[Badvoc]

Yes, that sounds more like it.
I am eating far to much sugary crap ATM.
I did John briffas diet last year which is low carb lite I guess and it worked well for me.
Just can't seem to get back on the wagon....

[CrabbyBigbottom]

Badvoc I think the most sensible long-term way of eating is low-GI (glycaemic index), to be honest, you won't lose weight as fast as with low-carb and you still need to be very careful about which grains, fruit and veg that you have. No refined carbs still stands of course. I think it's got a big cross over with long-term low-carbing (as opposed to this wonderfully effective weight-loss Bootcamp!) and you might find it a lot easier to stick to as a cheese averse person. I can do the low-GI and I think it's the healthiest WOE, but I do miss my 'treats', which for me are either sugary or fatty. This low-carb WOE is working for me because I love love love cheese, mayonnaise, veg cooked in oil etc. The only downside I can see is the cost, tbh.