Week 3 - Autumn Low Carb Bootcamp - The Crossroads!

[BIWI]

So we have reached the end of the first two, strict weeks.

Come and confess all on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

By now, if you have stuck to your knitting, you should be ketogenically adapted - which is to say, you should have switched your body from burning carbs to burning fat.

Hurrah!

You now have a choice. You can relax things a little and can include some fruit (berries) and some nuts/seeds - and a little alcohol in moderation The rules of Bootcamp Light are on the spreadsheet.

Or

You can stay on Bootcamp, if it suits you - as long as you promise me that you are getting your carbs from vegetables and salad!

Another option, which many of us adopt, is to do Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

The choice is entirely yours!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their food, which is the most important thing. And good luck for the next week.

I obviously missed something by going to work today....

I'm very happy because
a) I no longer undo my bra when I get in from work because it's so tight
b) my Rennie consumption has shrunk from anything up to a dozen a day to 1 or 2 at most (I knew I should go to the GP about my rampant indigestion but never got round to it....)
c) I actually have the energy after work to cook a proper meal and then wash up afterwards
d) apart from having to get up twice a night to pee I'm sleeping much better
e) having lost very, very little in week 2, I've been weighing every morning and have lost nearly 4 pounds this week. So on Monday I'll no longer be the only person on the spread sheet with a 3 at the start of my weight
f) my trousers are continuing to get longer!
g)for the past 3 weeks I've come in from work on a Thursday or Friday and done all the cleaning & washing, so I don't have to do any at the weekend.

Not a bad list of outcomes...

Yay!

Brilliant.

What happened today?

Forgive me Bootcampers for I have sinned. I have been a carby twat this evening, and what's really galling is that it wasn't that nice, and really wasn't worth it!

The threads about what constitutes bullying on MN, Ruprekt. Eventually one poster decided to name names, and singled me and Hully out. It wasn't very edifying.

I had strawberries and cream, ds didn't like the cream so I ate his too. It was nice but I have sickened myself with it. Hope it doesn't stall me....

Evening all....

So, the books have arrived.. new atkins new you, new atkins cookbook, Dr Briffa's book .... just getting into them. And the ketostix have arrived. Over the last couple of days my stick colour has varied between 'trace' and 'moyen' which i am guessing mean medium. I had hoped for the darker shades at the top of the stick, but what does it all mean? If I am showing trace, does that mean I am drinking lot sof waer and so not getting very concentrated ketones? If I show dark am I burning up fat faster? Would ubercamp, whatever that is, make it go purple? Does bootcamp light mean it goed to trace and the WOE is not as effecive at burning fat? Help..

That's the thing though isn't it crabby if you're going to cheat it has to be worth it (learnt this off a mate who is a super strict eater because of their sport and they will eat chocolate brownies but not bread)

Yesterday I was very proud of myself having not eaten the cakes/biscuits/carby offerings on arrival, morning and afternoon breaks and at lunch - I had a salad for lunch (though it did have chickpeas in it) and took blueberries and nuts to snack on instead :)

whodunnit - if you're drinking the requisite amount of water, the ketostix will never show dark purple

They are a waste of time/money IMVHO. If you're following the rules, you will be losing weight, because you are burning fat.

Cheers, BIWI. Just a last quick question. Does bootcamp light mean we are losing weight a bit slower than bootcamp regular?

It may do, because you will be allowing yourself to eat more carbs.

Bootcamp is deliberately low carb to ensure that your body switches over from carb to fat-burning. This, though, can make it quite restrictive for many people, hence the relaxation into Bootcamp Light. However, your carb levels should still be low enough for you to lose weight.

The difficulty is that as we all cope with carbs differently, it's impossible to give everyone a specific amount of carbohydrate that they should be sticking to per day. In general, if you're consuming less than 80-100g carbs per day, then you should lose weight.

As we don't weigh/count on Bootcamp (unless you want to!), then Bootcamp Light is your opportunity to experiment a bit, and to see what you can cope with.

If you're happy on Bootcamp and don't find it too restrictive, there's nothing to say that you can't continue eating this way. You don't have to move on to Bootcamp Light - as long as you make sure that you are getting your carbs from veg and salad.

Please, please, please though remember that after the initial couple of weeks, weight loss on this diet will slow down to around 1-2lbs per week, and this is sustainable and much better as a way to lose weight.

By the way

Low Carb Diet News is an interesting and useful source of information - you can sign up for their newsletter/bulletin as well.

Bleuagghhh, was a carby twat yesterday. Had a shocker at work them needed to get in the car for a 5 hour drive, realised in the shitness of it I hadn't eaten for 24 hours (had some dreadful news on Thursday so replaced good with wine) ended up having a Burger King - what a twat!

Have had a good think about it overnight (played havoc with my stomach) and have realised again how much I self medicate with food - had a shock? People hurt your feelings? Then stuff all those hurt feelings down with a shot pile of crap food.

Bit of a revelation to me and it's hit me what a damaging behaviour it is. Really need to think about it some more.

The funny thing is that because it's messed my stomach up I've actually lost 4lbs! I know that it will go right back up over the next day or two. Anyway, back on the wagon. Have a wedding today so food is slightly out of my control but have a huge breakfast and a bag of snacks so I can avoid the worst!

BIWI - I didn't follow all the bully thread yesterday, was shocked to see names had been named. Just wanted to say thank you for how much your doing for people and how much it's appreciated.

BIWI is coconut cream ok? I had one of those sachets and used a 1/4?

The celeriac mashed with coconut cream on top of a cottage pie meat base went down v v v v v well! (With the adults, the kids still whinged but I think they'd have whinged whatever!) I could taste it was celeriac but DM said she wouldn't have known if I hadn't told her and DH only knew after I told him and he doesn't like celeriac! SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!! Also good to note that the topping reheated well so a good meal to have if you all have to eat seperatly (which DH does when working late).

I didn't see the bullying thread - tbh, I can't be bothered with stuff like that, but I will say that you've been fab whenever I've spoken to you on here or seen you reply to others so I'd just ignore them - they obv don't know what they are talking about and being horrible for the sake of it

I have come to the conclusion that what I may need is a new set of scales. My weight leaps up and down by nearly half a stone in one go on a regular basis - this surely cannot be right! Anyone got a recommendation for some good, accurate scales?

I skimmed the bully threads and thought it was a bit ridiculous. I certainly can't imagine you bullying anyone BIWI (apart from us with your big stick of course, which is entirely consensual ), why on earth would someone say that?

I know that for most of us, nasty words hit home and are retained far more than kind words, unfortunately. But please BIWI focus on all of us here who think you're the greatest thing since sliced low-carb-bread-alternative and are immensely grateful for your kindness and the time and effort you put in to sharing your knowledge and expertise with us.

I'm cross with myself about last night. I'd bought fish to make a fish curry and then just didn't fancy it. Feeling grumpy and as though I deserved a Friday night treat to cheer me up. Decided to do fried fish in a polenta coating and was easily persuaded by DP to have chips and peas with it, mainly because tonight we're going to stay with friends so I'm sure it will be a night of carby twatdom so I thought 'oh well I may as well start now'.

The really annoying thing was that it didn't taste of anything! Just bland chips and tasteless fish and it didn't cheer me up at all; I just felt annoyed with myself.

A much better treat would have been to make the fish curry and then have anther little fruit crumble which have become a lot bit of a habit this week and taste sooooooooo glorious that I can't believe they're low carb.

Silly Crabby.

Aww crabby don't be so hard on yourself.

We went to the pub for tea and I had a big meaty mixed grill (minus the chips) but had drank 3/4 of my usual cider before I realised what I was doing! Its so easy to miss things when you're distracted by dp being annoying

Actually we should have sticks for DPs who distract us and send us on the wrong path

flowers Biwi.

I didn't see the threads, nor do I want to. I second what Crabby says - the time you spend on here motivating us all and keeping us on the rightish path is tremendous. In actual fact, I am even a bit surprised to learn that you even have time post on other areas of MN!

On other news, I have been doing lots and lots of cooking. My fridge is now bulging with LC meals.

Moussaka
BIWI's shepherds pie with buttered swede on top
Roasted vegetable crustless quiche (just had some for lunch - pretty damn good!)

Thank you

Yesterday was quite a revelation/shock it's fair to say. I don't dispute that there can be some fairly robust and sometimes unpleasant stuff posted on MN. But my posts yesterday were a) trying to understand/find out why some posters ate apparently so intimidated by MN that they only lurk or communicate by PMs, or b) defend the wonderfulness that is MN. Not only was I named specifically (along with Hully) but there was a strong insinuation that I am one of the MN bullies. An accusation that I strongly refute.

It was very hurtful.

So I really appreciate your comments. Thank you.

I've not seen the thread ( and indeed rarely post outside of about 5 threads anyway) but I hope it hasn't really got to you dear BIWI. You spend so long motivating and inspiring others when you could easily say sod it, I'm slim, work it out for yourself. You give us so much attention a d kindness and you are hugely appreciated. Please don't let it get you down.

and for you my darling xxx

BIWI I missed you being named. That is COMPLETELY outrageous.

I have been here for nearly 7 years and seen you around before the first bc. You always struck me as being a reasonable and measured poster.
(That was before I knew about the big stick

The effort you put into Bootcamp is unbelievable and I truly credit you for turning my life around.

Big hugs and ignore the feckers who say otherwise

BIWI I missed the bullying thread, what a Nasty Nest of Bloody Vipers Take no notice of the twunts, you are far from a bully and I would personally like to thankyou for all your support and help

Now then BIWI you just stop that lip-wobbling right now. You are our hero, our guru, our wise woman. Wobble your lip and bootcamp wobbles with you! Plus, we might all career off half cocked to hunt down thise who have slighted you!

I'm a little proud of myself, clawing back some self- respect from yesterday (thank you for your kind words Maggie) - so far I have not eaten at our friends' house...
Biscuits with the tea
Crisps with the wine
French bread with starter

There shall be at least one roast potato though.

Crabby - baby steps. That's good work when visiting friends

Am slightly peeved. DH in charge of tea. I have been LC for nearly 2 years. He made rice for everyone and when I asked where mine was his answer...he forgot