Week 4 - Little Black Dress Low Carb Bootcamp - where the going gets tough ...

[BigBroomstickBIWI]

Morning all!

Come and confess all on the Spreadsheet of Wonderfulness

By now, you may be finding it tough going. The weight loss is nothing like it was in the first couple of weeks. In fact, you may even have seen the scales show a gain.

This is quite normal at this stage, as your body is shifting/has shifted into fat-burning mode, and you are now burning only fat. No more water loss. Long-term, sustainable weight loss is likely to settle at 1-2lbs per week.

By now, though, you should be more used to this WOE, and it should seem a more normal way to eat. Hopefully you've sorted out how to plan for times when you're out and about, and have a few strategies up your sleeve for the unexpected. And hopefully you are also better at knowing what does and doesn't work for you.

Here's to a good week to us all.

Yes frumpet, Christmas is 9 weeks tomorrow!!! Aargh!!

Back from our week away but in the back to school/ work Monday madness I forgot to weigh. I have not been on the scales for 9 days now so must be out of the habit as I usually weigh everyday.

I will weigh in tomorrow morning and update the spreadsheet then.

Gah, went totally off-piste this weekend and put on 4lbs :(

Oh well, will try to be stricter this week!

Good luck all :)

Hi I have updated s/s and realised i made a 2 pounds mistake last week. I have not lost any more since then, but I have sinned, very little but I did- with the old friend 70% chocolate, one square at a time - but I pay with no loss this week.
Still feel very optimistic and vow this week take a grip on it. Easier probably not to have it in the house, I reckon.

And I need to drink more - I forgot now and then.

Congrats to all the losers.

I will try another week of boot camp with new scales.

bfast: 3 scrambled eggs, little butter and 100gr smoked mackeral (yuk), coffee with double cream (splash).

This seems huge, but I want to see if eating a little more at meals, and a little more fat, will keep me fuller longer. Bfast was very high in calories but low in carbs. This seems very wrong to me, but I suppose it takes ages for ingrained ideas to lose their grip.

Can anyone please recommend a good palce to look for accurate carb counts in food. MFP is confusing.

Appear to be 2 lbs up this morning. Will do spreadsheet tomorrow and see if my ahem... efforts to deal with slight constipation today... will make a difference.

Haven't been drinking enough water - not nearly.

Also had lots of carbs on Friday night (did a 'pot luck' supper for the mums at school, and didn't like to turn my nose up at the food they'd brought - seemed so rude). First time in five weeks. Will not be doing that again. Felt like SHIT on Saturday, and had a very weird experience after going to bed on Friday night where my right leg went into a cramp - terrible, terrible spasm in the calf and thigh muscle. I was sobbing with the pain and the leg still hurt yesterday from it. I can only think it had something to do with breaking the diet, as I haven't experienced anything like that since being pregnant 8 years ago!

Anyway, I've learned my lesson. Went to a birthday party last night and only ate greek salad and chicken. Said no to a delicious looking lasagna and some awesome brownies and fresh cream and apple Victoria sponge. I was so impressed with myself!

Thanks everyone - you made me feel like I wasn't overreacting on DD's behalf!!! I am going to e-mail the mum later to try and find out what happened. I just got the impression from the venue that it wasn't a last minute cancellation... but didn't actually ask!

Anyway, 1 lb down this week. Not bad and for me shows that the 20%/80% thing is probably true. I have tried hard to let any individual 'bad' meal not turn into a bad day or week so each case was isolated. Next week of course there won't be any at all of course!!!

well done everyone!

much more positive here. bug finally cleared, course of antibiotics finished, and as a result am 1.5 lb down. hope others who have been poorly are on the mend - you forget what it's like to feel well!

am trying no dairy - started last week and it is surprisingly easy. and as a bonus my lunches are now a bit more interesting as i have to think about what to have other than cheese and salad. i do miss my one coffee with milk a day, though, but if i get desperate i think i will allow myself one occasionally

slow cooker hasn't arrived yet, but had bought breast of lamb thinking it would have done. so i did it in the oven yesterday in the same way that i do pork belly (30 mins on high, 2-3 hours on low) and it was delicious with nice lamb crackling. had it with buttered curly kale (so my iron levels should be good!)

oh yes mrshp, that was horrible for you and dd yesterday, definitely not overreacting. one of those things you might remember when you're older, but i'm sure the time out with you afterwards will have made up for it!

Well done everyone else on your losses, and all of you who have been able to avoid temptation in difficult situations (like parties and out an about!). I think all those little victories are what make the difference.

Coud it be that my very modest loss is to the fact that I have been on low carbs for a few years now, so may be my body is not censoring much change, especially that the retched square of 70% choc is still creeping nearly every night?
So plainly - can that square of choc hamper all my other efforts?

Frankly the only three big changes: no croissant for breakfast, more water intake and including fatty meat (which I do not like very much, but buy porc belly weekly now).

Another pound off for me this week. Slow and steady is all very well, but I was hoping for a bit more. The three stone mark is tantalisingly close. Friday for me is the 7 month point, I shall weigh again then.

I am 9 3 this morning. The same as 3 weeks ago. In that time I have gone down to 9 2, back up to 9 3, down again to 9 2, and back up to 9 3.

Booooooooooring. Oh well, will keep on keeping on as do love the food.

We have (yet another ) dinner party this weekend. I am tempted to cook so that I can be in complete control of what we eat.

Please may I ask you lovely ladies to post your ideal 3 course low carb dinner party menu? Or 2 course, because I can make a high carb pud and just have cheese.

Same brekkie as always.

skaffen - snap. Had total disaster this weekend. Still, I will take away the following lessons. 1 - going for dinner with friends who have just built a wood fired pizza oven in their back garden is never going to be good for a low carb diet. 2 - stay away from MN threads about how easy and delicious homemade macarons are, just in case you find yourself with 2 stray egg whites and think 'I know...'

Two strict days and then we are off on holiday to Spain, so will have to be light-ish. Hope at least not to put any on this week.

Shagmund - I get vicious cramp if I have not replaced my salts from water consumption.....

doshusallie - I would go for antipasti to start - meats, olives, lowcarb salady bits (Carluccio's do a gorgeous green bean salad as part of their antipasti). You can do some bread for your non-low carbing friends. Then some kind of casserole - good for the time of year. DH made me fabulous lamb shanks on Saturday night, done in the slow cooker with red wine, a little orange peel and juniper. The house smelt of mulled wine all day. With celeriac mash or dauphinoise and lightly cooked savoy cabbage and maybe one other low carb veg. Roast cauli?

I made the flax seed crackers to have with cheese that someone linked to on the other thread and DH ate them in preference to oat cakes! Ate too many though, also had large glass of red and got into 'ah, sod it' territory. Ah well.

What about a chocolate mousse for pudding...could be Bootcamp lightish

Take an ounce/25g of 70%+ chocolate and an egg for each person.
Melt the chocolate, adding an optional splosh of strong coffee or liqueur (I use cointreau it gives a slight orangey taste) per person if you like. Stir in the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites until just stiff, then fold them together with the chocolate. Pour into serving dish/dishes. Grate choc/orange zest on top.

Very retro!!!

2lbs off this week which is jammy in the extreme after Saturday night's nacho/fizz-gate. Will be extra strict this week as I have a weekend away with old school friends this coming weekend. The place we've rented has a hot tub so the thought of swimwear will keep me motivated...

Dosh - maybe some kind of smoked salmon/avocado/cream cheese stack for starter, or pate. Then v slow roasted should of pork with fennel seeds, with either a celeriac or swede gratin on the side, and green vegetables. Or a boeuf bourguignon with the same sides?

Hungry now!

224lb this morning (was 222 on sat :( )

I was feeling flushed with my own success yesterday as the scales showed 5lb down but, despite having a good day yesterday, they read only 3 down this morning! I have been really good last week too and was hoping for a good loss in view of my slow Week2. Still, never mind, this is me all over to want to lose a vast amount quickly depite knowing it is not reasonable or good for me.

Had 1 sausage, 1 bacon rasher, mushrooms and scrambled eggs with dash of cream for breakfast.

Finbar my favourite with yoghurt is stewed rhubarb with added cinnamon and ginger. I use sweetener in mine which I know is not ideal but the spices make it taste lovely.

oooh thanks guys, great ideas. I am not a very experienced cook so like the idea of a cassserole I can do in our slow cooker.

Dosh I went to a dinner party a while back where the starter was a large mushroom with cheese and stuff in it and the main was a lovely rich beef stew with ginger and horseradish in (it was Mary Berry's Latimer Beef), they would both be fine.

Dessert wise I always fall back on a lemon mousse (from the Atkins book) and put dishes of fruit and small biscuits out to go with it.

Dear BIWI

I promise to be good this week. I shall not starve all day only to be tempted by the ricecakes and nutella. I shall eat good fats and not be scared by the calorie content. I shall try not to think too much about baby cows and piggies when I am eating meat ( find it v hard on this WOE as a bit of a veggy at heart!!).

That is all.

Love from debs39

Argh was really pleased as theres a chinese supermarket near work so I went to get noodles... and i got the wrong ones!!!

I also got a bottle of hoisin...

Hi. I was really pleased to be down 2 lb again this morning. That makes 8lb since the beginning of October and a stone since July. And I'm now under 11 stone! I also got the tape measure out again and I have lost inches since 1 Oct. I can now wear jeans again (just too uncomfortable round the tummy before) and wore skinny jeans yesterday (with a big shirt to hide the bulge over the top, but still..) It doesn't seem right when I am eating so much! and snacking on delicious things.
I have had to start cutting my portions just because I was so stuffed. I found I was coming in from work starving, snacking while cooking tea, food was so delicious I ate loads of it - then had a drink of water and felt quite ill and really tired cos I'd eaten so much. Then of course started craving carbs because I felt tired. Resisted but succumbed to an Atkins daybreak bar. Last in the packet so will try not to buy any more unless there is an emergency.