Week 10 - Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - the final weigh-in!

[WillieWaggledagger]

well done on making it to the final week! pop your weight in on the spreadsheet and give yourself a pat on the back!

although the formal bootcamp ends this week, we always have an ongoing chat thread for support, advice and general chitchat, so we won't be going away. you will see on the spreadsheet that you can carry on weighing in weekly if you want to, but i won't be doing the biggest loser stuff until the next bootcamp

bullet hope you start to feel better soon x

Crabby, I can deal with the odd carb thing here or there, but a whole week off totally derailed me and I am still struggling :( so dont do it! I lost 2 stone in the foirst bootcamp & none this one because of going off-plan :(

Breakfast - 1 special brew, bacon & eggs
Lunch - 1 special brew, veg soup, 1 crackerbread (3.5g carbs) & slice of ham

I have chicken quarter thingies for dinner tonight - anyone got an interesting recipe for a sauce or marinade?

Come on crabby ? you've done so well since we started back in May, so just see it as a temporary blip and plan your cheats this week. I derailed myself with a cheat here and another there until I've had a couple of really off piste weekends and am finding it hard to get back in the zone again, like black says, so I totally get where you've coming from. What Daisy and others say makes sense ? it's got to be the occasional treat rather than lots of incremental ones so it doesn't affect us maybe.
Black - didn't realise you lost 2 stone last bootcamp. That's amazing.
I did okay yesterday (no booze, low carbs) but feeling really flat.
Am going to really try to push through the crap this week (didn't manage last week despite starting out okay)
Today:
B eggs
L tuna and mayo with chopped celery and cucumber
D buttery chicken with buttery green beans and buttery celeriac
Did the jug of water with cucumber and a slice of tangerine last night so thanks to whoever suggested it ? really helped me up my rubbish water intake.

Hi all... can't believe it's the last week already - Happy-sad.

It was my birthday on Sunday and I had a lot of drink and ate 2 slices of cake. I just couldn't resist as I'd been good for weeks on end. I resisted the bread, potatoes, crackers etc...

I'm not weighing in till tomorrow though as I'm sure I've put on a lb or 2 :-(. But it was worth it.. the cake was divine.

Hope you're all well and gearing up to the end?

Maid haha!!!! When you have been talking about " special brew" I thought you were having a crafty beer!!! but just seen you had it for breakfast, so guessing its so not alcohol.

I'm new and on day 3. Are you sure this is going to work? As I have been calorie counting for 2 years I've been deprived of butter/fat/mayo etc and I am loving being able to eat them! Just had a lovely lunch of 2 greasy lamb chops (not had a chop in 2 years) and cauli/broc/green beans with butter. It was delish but feels wrong when I'm trying to lose weight! Too good to be true? I'm not really missing the sugar either.
Nor do I feel crappy. Is this ok? Shouldn't I be in withdrawal? I have been very good and not broken the rules (last nights dinner was courgette with pesto and Bol sauce and a tiny bit of cheese). I eat eggs like they are going out of fashion. Bit of cream in my coffee. A tiny bit of wine in the evening (about 1/4 glass topped to make a pint with soda). Not hungry.
Sure????
Also, I'm an apple and although pretty slim everywhere else I have a huge belly - is this a good diet for apples?

Black - I had chicken thighs and legs yesterday, I covered them in the last of a jar of thai red curry sauce, half a tin of coconut milk and some stock. Add some cauli and leeks and served over broccoli or cauli rice.
I had the leftover sauce today watered down with more stock and some leftover cauli mashed roughly, as a sort-of thai soup.

Who was it with the citrus/cucumber water? It reminded me of a hotel in germany - at breakfast there were bottles of water, flavoured with strawberries in the bottom, or mint sprigs, or cucumber - very nice. I've got a jug in the fridge with cucumber, mint and satsuma-peel in water at the mo, and agree with whoever said it's like a Pimms!

MustTidyUp - yes this really does work! You have to rid your mind of all the low-fat,low-cal, low-cholesterol crap that the government have been feeding you for the last 40 years. Fat does not make you fat - sugar does! Fat fills you up, and levels your blood-sugars so you don't get that sugar-crash/starvation 2 hours after eating.

Not everyone gets carb-withdrawal/carb-flu. I'd didn't and i was a carb-queen!

It does work, and you get to eat real, proper food.

Black affronted: bake chicken thighs i the oven with thyme, little bit of stock, garlic and a (no more than half) a lemon.gorgeous lemony garlicky juices.you can add cream too at the end.

Molly, tis me thats drinking the special brew its a concoction of stuff thats supposed to aid weightloss/boost metabolism (green tea, apple cider vinegar & coconut oil) - no alcohol! ha ha On my 3rd cup now.

MustTidy - trust us, it works! I lost 2 stone last bootcamp eating lots of fat. I have never had carb-flu either, I just knew it was working when the weight fell off & I stopped being hungry :)

Mmmm those chicken dishes both sound lovely. No red thai paste or coconut milk in though, so thats out. Hopefully I have a stray lemon so can try the other one - thanks!

Thank you all for your support and advice; you're all fabulous!

Well we had a fantastic lunch, really delicious. I had cajun salmon with baby new potatoes and vegetables, so not exactly low carb but certainly low GI. Normally I'd have half a cider but I had mineral water with a slice of lemon in. The salmon was absolutely gorgeous, really succulent and the spices were lovely. MIL and I both had the same, and DD (10) had the most enormous portion of beer battered fish and chips that I've ever seen. The waitress said 'our fish and chips are a huge portion... we do have a child's menu'. I think the look DD gave her said it all... When it arrived I didn't think she'd be able to finish it, but bar a bit of the batter, she demolished the lot.

I'm going to be sticking religiously to the rules this week, and will deal with Saturday when we get to it. My plan is to have a glass or two of bubbly/white, then switch to red, and try to drink moderately. It's a BBQ and MIL was talking about getting steaks so it should be quite easy to stick to plan. Resisting/refusing cake (and not making one to take) is the main food hurdle, and the fact that once I've had a glass of wine my good intentions re moderation appear to dissolve in the bottom of the glass.

Today:
B - few mouthfuls of smoked salmon in creme fraiche that I made for DD (this is now her favourite breakfast; she has expensive tastes that lass)
L - as above
D - will be the last of the ragu with mushrooms and courgette 'pappardelle' - I bought 8 courgettes today so I don't run out again!

Hi all.

Crabby - I am totally the same with the wine. Completely my downfall. When I steer clear I can stay on track.

Negroni - I did notice you offered to stay off the wine if I did but (1) I typed a big post at that stage and lost it and didn't have time to retune and (2) I haven't been avoiding the wine!

No point at this stage! Defeatist I know but we are def in holiday mode here and I am enjoying my wine. Opened last bottle of my nice white last night though so once that's gone tonight that's it.

Have another UTI. Started on Sunday. Dropped a sample into the doctors yesterday and they sent off to lab rather than just do dipstick test. Just been to pick up prescription for antibs. Had to chase them lots though. Desperate to start the antibs as don't want to feel rubbish travelling on Thursday.

Black - your special brew sounds vile!

It was me who suggested the cucumber / citrus water. Glad everyone is enjoying it .

Cider, you should take lots of coconut oil whilst you are taking the antibiotics - what with all the anti fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

I have stayed off the wine so far this week. I hope plan to stick to it until Saturday.

Beryl - that water is fab. I usually drink 2.5 litres of plain water a day but I'm on my 3rd litre of cuc/citrus water! Might vary it with different citrus peels and different mints, but I love it.

Breakfst - usual rooibos tea with coconut oil
Lunch - thai cauli soup, celery stick and pate.
dinner - turkey burger in lettuce wrap, mayo, H/M coleslaw. (everyone else had buns and new potatoes)

Prob 1 cup coffeeandcream later and a bath and early night; save me from the wine/chocolate/nuts.

Crabby - I'm getting good at disguising how little much cake actually passes my lips! Especially outside, when I can drop large bits into the shrubbery, or drop for the dog, or just generally drop! A tiny peice is all i need to feel I've done my duty - and I don't really want a dry, tasteless, sweet cake anyway

Musttidyup it all sounds good and most of my visible inches-loss from this bootcamp has been around my tum and backfat so I'd say, there's hope for an apple.

I should warn you about the week 3-4 stall phenomenon, its normal for weight loss to slow or stay the same in week 3-4 of doing this, it doesn't mean you are doing anything wrong apparently

Those who have stalled and ended stalls seem to recommend "eat more fat and drink more water". must go and take this advice myself

Cider. my special brew actually tastes like hot cider - quite yummy :)

What's the water you are all raving about please? I hate water so struggle to drink much as I also don't like tea and coffee.

Evening all, and welcome musttidyup

I know it seems weird to be eating fat when the standard advice is to avoid, but if you do some reading on low-carb (Dr John Briffa book "escape the diet trap" is the classic starter text, you will also find lots of info on the "resources" tab on the fabulous spreadsheet, link is always in the first post on each weeks thread) you will understand a lot better the sugar-insulin-laying down of fat on body mechanism. Good fats keep us full, steady and energetic!! Maybe a good idea to measure your waist/hips/tummy now and watch them reduce. I look "slimmer" at the weight I am now than I ever looked at this weight in the past, cos I am now not bloated and puffy from carb overload.
And not everyone gets carb flu, and the symptoms/severity vary a lot anyway.
Enjoy!!

And today's food

B 2 egg omelette with bacon bits
L pâté on cucumber
S cappuccino
D tuna mayo on little gem lettuce wraps

And I can add an extra snack just now of peanut butter spread on a slice of cheese. Def got the munchies tonight!!

It's DS2's birthday today but I couldn't have any cake because I'm breastfeeding DS3 who's allergic to eggs, so that's one carb pitfall avoided. Today was a great day, I had to put a new hole in my belt.

B: Greek yoghurt and a few blueberries, 10 salted almonds.
L: paleo win at the restaurant - half a roast duckling with mushrooms in garlic cream sauce. DH was green with envy with his five spare ribs and coleslaw.
D: dominos pizza for the birthday boy but dominos chicken wings and salad for me. No birthday cake.