Ongoing Low Carb Bootcamp Chat Thread

[BIWI]

Well done everyone who completed the Summer Bootcamp!

here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness if you want to continue adding to it

Obviously there are many of us who want to continue, either to lose more weight or just for general support to help with this WOE, so here is a brand new, shiny chat thread.

As for me, having slipped a lot a little when I was away, I'm firmly back on the wagon today.

And can I remind you, that if you haven't completed the survey we would be very grateful for your views/thoughts on how we can improve Bootcamp.

[LilyAmaryllis]

Congratulations to some astonishing losses and shrinkages!

Its pretty amazing.

Fatty you are 4lb down - brilliant! I think the deal was you now change your name?

[BIWI]

loopy sounds like you're having a really hard time at the moment - don't be too down on yourself.

I think that as well as reading up about low carb, so that you can see other benefits beyond weight loss, it might be a good idea to find other things that you can buy/eat/do that will be some kind of treat/reward/comforter for you.

At the moment, it's the sugar addiction that still has its grip on you. I know that you know that but you do need to break it, and the only way to do it is to knock the sugar on the head properly.

It's hard. But then it's not called Bootcamp for nothing! [evil]

[loopyloou]

Thanks BIWI, I know you're right. It's so annoying, I've been eating low carb for over a year on and off, but until Christmas I was sticking to it faithfully and lost almost a stone (dairy slows me down and it took me a while to figure that out). I didn't crave anything and felt really strong. Then we took time off for Christmas and ate the usual stuff, mince pies, cake, chocolates. Since then we've been a week on, a week off more or less. One of us always gives in for some reason and the other follows.

Part of the reason is it's so hard to eat low carb sometimes - the world is not equipped to deal with it!! Everything is either bread based or sugary when you're out and about and I'm so fed up of eating the same stuff - all I take to work is tuna salad, ham salad, egg salad, cold chicken ... I'm not a fab cook, just average, but not very imaginative, so struggle to come up with new ideas. Even seeing recipes on the thread doesn't inspire me to try something new - lazy, I guess. Now the lack of money isn't helping, but probably isn't the main problem here. I am feeling stressed, anxious, tired because I'm not sleeping well and chocolate is my comfort food. I know I need to change that, just not sure how.

I think it's also my frame of mind. At the beginning last year I think I thought if I could get through the first few days, weeks, months, the cravings would go and never come back. But I've found out that's not true for me, the cravings (a bit like smoking) are always there. I haven't smoked for nearly 8 years but still sometimes in times of extreme stress I find myself thinking, I could have a fag! I never do, but then I have health anxiety and I think that stops me going down that route. Doesn't stop me buying chocolate though!

[BIWI]

How much more weight do you have/want to lose?

I hadn't realised you'd been low carbing for such a long time. In your case, it might be worth seeking out some sweeter low carb treats that would be allowable in your diet, then you won't feel so bad about not being able to have anything. This does have to become a sustainable, long-term WOE after all.

And definitely agree with you about the world not being low-carb friendly! It's a nightmare. But, as ever, the secret is about planning ahead as much as you possibly can.

Do you have a supermarket near you? And do you have access to a microwave at work? If you do, why not go and check out their range of ready meals to see if you can find one that's not too high in carbs? It's expensive, but once in a while as a change/break would be fine. Or, if they have a rotisserie section, buy yourself some (unflavoured) chicken pieces, and have that with a bag of salad.

But overall it sounds to me that your current situation is not helping you - you sound very down - don't let the strictures of your diet make you even lower. That will only add more stress to your day!

[loopyloou]

Can anyone recommend any books about sugar and how damaging/addictive it is? Thanks

[HeySoulSister]

That was interesting about coconut oil

I've been oil pulling (mentioned in the article) using coconut oil for almost a week now. It's very effective

Just wish it wasn't so expensive!

[loopyloou]

BIWI I weigh about 10 stone 11 (daren't weigh myself!) and would like to get down to 10 stone. I'm 5 feet 7. But TBH at 10 stone 7 I feel quite comfortable too, although could still get rid of a spare tyre! But then I lose the plot and put 4 to 6 lbs back on At 10 stone 7 my clothes feel quite comfortable and I can bear to look at myself in the mirror. For some reason half a stone more makes a huge difference to my middle and my face.

Yes, if I could incorporate some treats so I don't feel deprived without piling half a stone back on or craving more I might feel happier.

Yes, there is a Sainsburys in town near work and not far from home (although not walking distance) but no microwave at work.

Yy, re stressing myself out about food as well as everything else. It has to stop!

[daisychicken]

Just logging in...

Yesterday:
B: strawberries with Greek yog & piece cheese
L: huge salad with bacon, shavings of Parmesan and salad dressing - was yum!
D: courgette "pasta" with spicy veg sauce and chorizo with Parmesan shavings
S: small handful peanuts

Today:
B: strawberries with cream and piece cheese
L: no idea - salad of some sort - poss same as yesterday
D: cauli and broccoli cheese with sausage
S: olives

Lidl have a massive 850g jar of olives on offer for £3.99 (the 'E' name like the yoghurt) - just had some and they are bloody lovely!!!


Has anyone seen chicken (breasts preferably) on offer anywhere? Lidl is still at £6.99/kg and I'm hoping to stock up on an offer as we've run out of chicken...

Have got more cookbooks from library, am going to see what other recipes I can come up with that are suitable for everyone in the house! Can I add recipes on here or is copyright a problem??

[bulletwithbutterflywings]

Just had some exciting news! SIL has gone into labour D's is getting a cousin!!! Ahhhh! So excited!

[daisychicken]

loopy what about looking for some different salad recipes? Sort of change the norm a little? Personally I find that as long as I don't have choc or biscuits etc then I don't crave it - the minute I have a little I struggle... What else could you have as a treat? What about jelly mousse? I have a recipe from a low carb forum a few years ago that I do if I need a sweet treat - I make it and split in to tiny pots then serve with a dash of cream or berries - easily transportable as well - I can post recipe?

[Xenia]

loopy, Sugar books - I am sure others will have ideas but Robert Lustig's book is good. Anyone with Diabetes will like Sugar Nation.
It is also worth watching the two "Big Sugar" films on you tube and Addicated to Pleasure (sugar programme) also on youtube.

One of my children who was picked to play for an England squad this year had a training session last weekend. She tells me she had had a bowl of cereal with milk for breakfast as that was all she had in and not her usual protein (for first time in months) , she nearly fainted in the one to one session and the trainer said it would be the breakfast. I think I am positively influencing the off spring in eating this way.

[loopyloou]

Daisy, that sounds interesting, would love the recipe, thanks

Xenia thanks for the book suggestions, will take a look. I'd just found the Robert Lustig one on Amazon and have downloaded the sample chapter to my Kindle to have a look at.

I struggle with my 12 yr old dd as she is very picky (didn't used to be!) and doesn't really like meat or fish much. She will have tomato soup for breakfast, usually with a slice of bread and butter. I'm not sure if that is better than sugary cereal! She doesn't like eggs or bacon, although will eat sausages.

[letsseeificandothis]

My new favourite meal as it's so quick and easy (though not particularly cheap, admittedly). Serves two/two meals.

Waitrose (other brands are available) chicken crown with lemon, tarragon and shallots. (The chicken is 1.2 carbs for each half portion.) Roast in a deep baking tray for 1+hour. Halfway through add loads of cut-up vegetables - mushrooms and courgettes work very well - around the meat and turn them with the juices.

I thought it was delicious, even though it's somewhat pre-prepared.

[daisychicken]

Jelly Mousse:

1 pack cream cheese 2.8gc
1 1/2 sachet of Hartleys sugar free jelly 3gc - best flavour is raspberry or black currant
1/2pint water

Boil water and dissolve the jelly granules, leave to cool slightly
In a bowl soften the cream cheese then add the jelly mix and whisk well. Pour into containers and leave to set.

I use the tiny baby food pots (the ones that are just slightly bigger than an ice cube) and get 8-12 portions but entire recipe is 5.8gc's so even if only split into 4 pots, it would only be 1.45gc per pot.

Eat on its own or with cream or cream and berries

[loopyloou]

Thanks daisy. I used to do something similar when I followed Slimming World years ago, it's quite nice. (My worry is that having something sweet anything sweet might make me crave more?)

I also enjoy full fat greek yoghurt with berries.

[kiwigirl42]

well done everyone who has stuck to it and lost weight. I had put on 2kg when I weighed myself on Friday but prob due to painkillers I think has have been sticking to plan, more or less.

I'm going to start being ultra strict bootcamp all over again this week. JJust had steak (rare rib) with broccoli and asparagus (buttered) - this is my favorite meal now I think. I put some of this Moroccan seasoning on the steak and it was very tasty

[daisychicken]

You might be ok then Loopy - just get some ice cube size pots from the cheapy store or value supermarket ones and have it with a few berries/cream/yog - it's not overly sweet like chocolate. I also find that the pots disappear quickly - it's not me eating it but the kids(!)

[alabama1956]

Hi all,
Was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice please...I'm a long term lurker and serial dieter!

After being inspired by others I know being very successful at low carbing, I decided to give it a go about a month ago. In this time, I have stuck to the 'diet' religiously and have only lost 3-6 pound. (It fluctuates a lot!)

I've tried cutting out dairy and drinking tonnes of water but neither seem to make a huge difference.

Yesterday I ate;
B-black coffee
L-Tin of tuna, mayo and salad
T-Prawns cooked in garlic butter, salmon fillet and spinach.
Supper-Small bowl of greek yoghurt.

I feel so disheartened, what am I doing wrong?
Thanks.

[loopyloou]

How high is double cream in carbs? I have some in the fridge and am contemplating making crustless bacon and egg pie for lunch for the next few days. It would make a change.

[BlackAffronted]

heysoulsister, I just posted a link to some cheap coconut oil on the oil pulling thread :)

[BIWI]

loopy - my Tesco double cream is 1.6g per 100ml, so it's pretty low carb.

alabama - firstly, how much do you weigh and how tall are you? How much are you aiming to lose?

Second, it doesn't look as if you're eating very much. And your protein choices are all quite lean - you may need to eat more fat. Are you putting an oily dressing on your salad?

Finally, weeks 3 and 4 are often weeks where little or no weight loss is seen - sometimes you may even see a slight gain. So it's most likely reflecting an adjustment period for your body as it switches from carb-burning to fat-burning.

[tigerchair]

Hi everyone, I'm just back from hols and ready to get stuck in again. Had lost 6lbs but couple pounds on again. Currently 10 st 4.5lbs, still want to be 9st 7lbs! Glad to have found you all again and have completed the survey. Back on track tomorrow

[prettybird]

Just loaded my weight in to the spreadsheet.

I have lost 36lb since I started Boot Camp. Dropped 2 dress sizes - from a 16 to a 12.

I've lost over 12cm off my waist (must re-measure that as I've not worn that particular belt for a while).

And I'm enjoying my food.

Weight loss has slowed probably got a lot to do with the wine I've been drinking but I know the key thing I need to do, which is to drink more water.

All in all, a great success

for all the support on here.

[prettybird]

Oh - and meant to say have lost nearly 20% of my body weight!

[BIWI]

Wow! Well done.