Week 1 Weigh-In - Little Black Dress Low Carb Boot Camp

[WillieWaggledagger]

i know you're all dying to get started on the low carb boot camp, and for those who haven't done this before, here is the link to the spreadsheet where you should record your starting weight for Monday 1st October in column c next to your name. Please don't touch any other columns for now

weight is recorded in lbs, so if you have problems converting from kg or stones, FiddledeFat made a handy widget which can be found in the tab at the bottom labelled 'conversion'

if your name isn't on the spreadsheet then you can add yourself by adding a new line and dragging the formulae down from an adjacent row, or just ask me to add you and I will do so as soon as i can

good luck with the first week of bootcamp!

Good morning everyone. Hope you are all feeling well and getting through your carbflu.

frumpet I really struggle to drink plain water and always crave fizzy drinks to quench my thirst. This is normally fizzy water, lemonade or fizzy wines.

Today I bought 16l of fizzy water. Two litres of soda water and 1 litre of bitter lemon (which is full of additives but has a strong taste so only a tiny few sips goes a long way in satisfying tastebuds)

Also bought a small bottle of Almond flavouring. This is in place of the vanilla flavouring as the only one in the supermarket was an artificial one. A few drops will be put in the goats milk/greek yogurt to create a dessert.

First breakfast was two spoons of goes milk yogurt and two slices of Italian salami.

Second breakfast was two boiled eggs with butter and mayonnaise with some oven baked chorizo.

For the sausage lovers on here, how about this? I am tempted to get one to try and to have control over the contents.

vnmum It is understandable to feel the way you do however your husband is correct; children are resilient and they will adapt. Think of all the extra trips/treats you can all have with the new wage

vnmum - Sheesh, the overnight thing sounds very complicated. Maybe that particular job isn't a good fit for your family because of your husband being away? DOes your job have to entail overnights?

vnmum - just wanted to say that I empathise. I generally work pretty flexibly but DCs are in childcare a couple of nights a week and there is a lot of juggling/struggling to fit in homework and it is hard finding time to have friends to play etc. I feel constantly conflicted between my need/desire to work and study (am doing a ft PhD, which is funded, so I treat it like a job and also do freelance stuff) and what might be best for them. There is no easy answer - but maybe this is your time to do something for you - and earning more could be good for you all in the long term. I'm sure you will find a way to make it work. Our answer is in part giving up on weekends as 'fun' or housework time and using them to get homework and friends to play etc done and focusing them around the DCs and what might otherwise be after school stuff. I actually quite like having more time at home doing low-key pottering stuff, not so many days out/weekends away. The house is a tip though and we currently have a trike in the garden which is being overgrown by a shrub like sleeping beauty's castle.

BIWI , i will be wearing the same clothes as i only have one pair of jeans that fit and i refuse to buy anymore in this size (18)

Littlefrieda , hark at you with your posh togs ! I am aiming to give up smoking in the near future , but am fighting my demons one at a time or as a Dr once said give up your addictions in the order that they are likely to kill you ! Given that i am a obese borderline alcoholic smoker , giving up the wine and losing some weight will have the most dramatic short term effects , then i will tackle the fags .

vnmum - I struggled too when I went full time, like you I'd always been there for pick ups etc and was always around for plays, sports days etc. But... My kids were fab. They love afterschool club (mostly) - it's not an extension of the school day but rather a chance to socialise with their friends without the structure of school.

When I'm on a late shift they go to a childminder rather than the club - it might be worth your while seeing if there's someone you trust locally so that if needs be she could have them overnight? That'd be easier (but expensive) once DH is away rather than panicking once the time is on you.

They'll always remember you being around when they were little - you working now won't change that. Don't beat yourself up - it's hard enough to get to work every day without throwing guilt into the mix.

vnmum Those sausage maker kits would be good if only minced meat and spices/herbs were put in and not the bread crumb mixture.

Vnmum - we are all friends in here, just friends who haven't met yet.
I have massive guilt issues about working shifts which mean my dc have been in chilcare from day 1. When dd started her first full day in reception last week I felt awful that she was going in breakfast club and after school club - bad mummy. I put an hours leave in to finish early and off I skipped to pick get up. She saw me and bawled her eyes out- didn't want to come home! She wanted to play with her friends. I had to carry her out screaming!!

All I will say is that you will work it out as a family as you are going along. Try and worry about one bit at a time ie get them settled in to the routine before your DH goes in his next tour. Plan to do things with them and quality time

Sending hugs though- I know it's hard

Quick question , if i drink 10 cups of coffee a day , does that count towards my water or do i have to drink the 3 plus litres of water as well ?

vnmum , i second finding a good childminder , the ones i have used have been fantastic and the children have loved being there , DD still talks about hers even though she hasnt been for nearly 5 years ! Or and this is only an idea , what about becoming a childminder !

Sorry I'm referring back in the comments below a bit as have just got in from the gym. Personal trainer says he is noticing a steady improvement now - woohoo!

Lavita You are not alone, my bowels are always much looser when I start low-carbing. It surprised me after hearing all the tales of constipation with Atkins but it does settle down for me after a while though. I think it just takes my insides a while to get used to things, I'm generally gurgly and feel "empty" sometimes too at the moment.

hurricane I make cauliflower rice by boiling the florets till soft then mashing roughly with an old fashioned masher thingy. It's maybe not as regular as from a processor but once you have other food with it, it's fine.

vnmum One thing I have realised now DCs are grown up and I am looking back is that children cope with things like this a lot betters than we mothers do! I have been very lucky in working part-time but one time when DS was moaning that "everybody" had the new Xbox/Playstation/whatever except him and I did asked him would he really sooner have that than all this fun time with me and he said YES!!! Your children know you love them and, believe me, they will be fine.

vmum
I am lucky that we can afford for me to go part-time, but at the moment full-time would not work anyway cause DH is away, so it wasn't an option. If I really had to, then I would and they would survive, even flourish.

Find a really good childminder whom your kids love. Don't be afraid to change if you don't get the right vibe from her.

And don't forget that even if you take the job, you can always quit if you really hate it, or you feel you are compromising too much.

Is this the only job that you feel qualified to do? Is there any way of getting something similar parttime?

vnmum I totally understand where you are coming from and the over night care sounds tricky when DH goes away again!
Children do adapt very quickly to new situations and don't ever worry about them not loving you.
Friends of mine use a live in nanny for their 2 children, who are both at school, as they both work long hours. (could be worth looking into)

I worked with both DD1 & DS1 but have been a stay at home mum with DS2, this is due to end when he starts school next September, I am also dreading it, but the extra cash will be great.

Well done BIWI on loss, I'm like you just back to where I was before holidays etc and do not intend to have any wine this weekend.

Viperidae, I made the meatzza last night too! Found it a bit bland - probably my cooking, though, as I'm having to leave salt out of family meals for DD at the moment.

9 stone 9 this morning - hurray! Have finally lost last weekend's badness plus half a lb of new loss. I didn't Shred last night, though, so I must do it today. Need to walk the dog soon, though, so Shredding will have to wait.

B: Greek yoghurt, cup of tea
Snack: hunk of cheese. I must get out of the habit of thinking 'oh, DD is napping, time for a snack'!

L will be leftover meatzza. D to be thought up yet.

instructions here

Thanks for the advice everyone.
littlefrieda, Mme I am qualified in a specialist field so want to get back into that field so my hard work and training doesn't go to waste. Most jobs within this sector involve similar shifts although there are some that don't involve the nights but are rare. Vacancies don't come up that often.
This particular job is only 10 minutes away so I would not have to factor in any extra travel time into my childcare arrangements. Other places where vacancies may arise are at least 30mins by car away which obviously means additional time needed for childcare.
I really don't know wether a nanny would be more expensive than a childminder.
Obviously I don't want to go back to work to then spend all my wage paying for the childcare as that defeats the point.

I am also under the impression from a friend that there may be a shortage of good childminders in the area with term time vacancies. I also don't know where to start looking for childminders, nannies etc. Does anyone have any ideas?

In an ideal world if i got the job, the employers would be understanding enough of my circumstances to maybe help me juggle shifts so that when DH is away I don't do the nights but when he is here I maybe do extra ones to make up for it or something. Not sure if employers are that understanding though.

I also feel that I have been out of my field for long enough and if I don't get back into it soon then I may never get back into it.

TooImmature I'm terrible for varying recipes so altered this slightly.

I did season the meat part of the meatzza with a seasoning mix called "Season All" by Schwartz which has salt, pepper, paprika and things in. I also used different tomatoes to the usual canned ones, as I found a can of tomato fillets in the cupboard and used those. There seemed to be more flesh and less juice than normal so thatmay have helped. Used a ball of mozarella sliced up but added a small sprinkling of cheddar for flavour then a bit of dried oregano as had no fresh basil.

I left out the breadcrumbs from the base and noticed mine produced a lot of liquid that I had to drain off despite being good mince.

vnmum - Ah well very best of luck with the interview. How about an au pair? Do you have a spare room?

vnmum childcare.co.uk

Hi all

vnmum just echoing the others really, I'm sure your dc will be fine. My youngest has just started reception and although he's been in full time daycare since he was a baby, I was having a really hard time with the thought that he would have to do Breakfast club and After School club every day. So I've put in a Flex working request, juggled all my hours, go into a deserted freezing cold office at 6am twice a week and work for twelve hours, so that for three days of the week I can take him and collect him myself.

What does he do? WHINGES that he wants to do the clubs every day! That's gratitude for you!

Anyhow, back to the bootcamp- I've messed up. I totally forgot that we're going away this weekend to sunny Lytham. I will just have to do my best

so just to check (sorry or blithering on this same subject again...) those who seem to be on teeny weeny meals and no snacks, eg greek yog for breakast, or 2 sausage and mushrooms, they have maybe been lo carbing for a while and have a lower appetite?

There is no way i could exist on such a small amount of food

b at 8.30am 2 sausages, 2 eggs, 1/4 can baked beans (sorry), cup coffee, cup tea

l at 11.30am 4 hotdog sausages, grated cheese, little onion, cup tea

oh, no water yet, is that important?

vnmum - I'm a great believer in not worrying about things until they need to be worried about. I would take the job if you are offered it and see how things pan out: lots can change in six months. In any case, I suspect they would be sympathetic to your situation. Have you been to the interview?

catstail - water v.v.important! I make it a rule not to eat anything if I think I'm hungry before having lots of water, as often I'm just thirsty. And you really need to be careful about carbs in beans and hotdog sausages. (But you're right - it does get easier) Now go drink some water!

Catstail I'm sure biwi will be along shortly to shout "water! Now!!!" at you

Well I feel a teeny bit better after my earlier moan and after eating a proper breakfast. Still feel like staying on the sofa till pick up time tho!! Even though I have tons of stuff to do.

Leeks fried in butter are nice! Shock!! Who knew?

And as I understand it, they could be eating the whole tub of yoghurt and a whole box of mushrooms and it wouldn't matter cos the low carb food is u restricted, so you might be imagining them have a little, but they are actually having a lot, just of the right things iyswim.