Week 6 - Little Black Dress Low Carb Bootcamp - On the Downhill Stretch

[BIWI]

Morning losers!

Here is the Spreadsheet of Wonderfulness for your viewing pleasure

Four weeks to go!
Short but sweet OP today, as I have to go off to work early.
Hope everyone has a good week.

Vnmum- sorry I meant to post good luck this morning. How was the actual work then? Did you enjoy it and how are DC? Are they at childminder yet or is that in a couple of months?

Need to reduce my dairy for a few days, can't believe how much double cream and cheese I'm getting through. Any suggestions for the tastiest alternative for a cup of tea? I can't get through the day without several cups ( at least).

Good luck with the job vnmum. My last job was an on your feet all day job and you do get used to it.

Hello there.

I couldn't weigh in this morning as I had drank two litres of water and eaten breakfast and lunch before I remembered. I know I am the same, or up however.

Congratulations on all the losses.

I talked with a colleague who has followed this plan for the past few months and lost 3 stones in weight.

flying through. late. sts have a good one.

Hope the new job is everything you hope for vnmum. Re. tea alternatives for you and Lavender boring, but I have convinced myself I like black coffee - surprised myself really, as I didn't drink that much coffee before, only really a latte as a treat when I was in a cafe or (my particular downfall) going on a train. I think it's partly having trained my tastebuds out of expecting quite so much sweet stuff - it's less sweet without the milk.

And herbal tea, obviously - not the fruity stuff, but peppermint and some of the flavours from the pukka company - they sell them in Sainsburys. (Fairly sure it's not the same Pukka as the Pies...)

Very tired last night and one square of dark choc led to half a bar. Total abstinence is the only way for me, I think.

Dotty - coffee gives me horrible headaches so even though I quite like one now and again I couldn't drink it regularly. Can't imagine drinking black tea as my cuppa though. I have tried it but it just doesn't have the same effect. I know what you mean about sweet stuff though, I had a chai latte yesterday and it was too sweet for me to finish and before this WOE I could have had 3 in a row. I'm sure I have read about oat or almond milk (or maybe it was soy) being ok. Suppose I will have to try a few and see which I prefer just need to make sure it's low carb too.
I have discovered pork belly strips are really yummy. I hadn't been cooking them long enough so just thought they were really fatty and chewy. Are they ok to eat regularly do you think or should they be an occasional thing? My DH says they are a heart attack on a plate (as he munches chocolate and biscuits). Still not sure if my diet has enough fat as mostly just eating what everyone else has minus the carby bit.
On bright side have lost another pound overnight so back on track. Maybe it was just water from TOM but now back where I was a week ago pretty much.
Apologies for epic post, you guys are my sounding board for all this stuff as all my RL friends think I'm mad (but slightly envy my weightloss and the food I can eat).

Morning all. Remembered to weigh this morning. 1lb up which is good considering the latter half of last week food wise.

WIne The job went well, the DC were fine. FUll of stories of their day as soon as I came in. They are hopefully starting with a local childminder after xmas, I am just waiting for her to get her ofsted inspection done and cleared. There were some bits of the job I felt rusty on but others that were fine. IT will all come flooding back to me soon

Lavender - I drink Roiiboss tea, black no sugar and I love it! It took over form green tea with lemon, and before that it was jasmine or peppermint tea. If you buy proper chinese tea leaves (they come rolled up into little cigars or like tiny balls) you only need to steep them for a few minutes to get a delicate tasting brew. Totally different to our Brew-up!(and I hope it counts towards my 2.5Lts water)

My dp has been doing this WOE for a while now and lost about 6-7KG (over a stone) but last week put on 1 kg. It's becasue he's been having porridge for brek,(cos it's good for you!) mashed potatoes with dinner, fruit during the day (ditto)and chocolate (70%) at night (for a treat). The first thing he said when I told him about this WOE was 'well I'll adapt it to suit me' - i told him he can't do that, and his response was 'well I've given up sugar in tea'. He is now going to be a bit more strict, now that he can see the scales going back up!

sorry vnmum had forgotten your job started yesterday - hope it's all going well

captainmummy my mum has drunk rooibos for years (when you could only get it in obscure health food shops) because it's caffeine free and low tannin, but she does drink it with regular milk. i like it too, and the smell reminds me of her

i have the occasional decaf coffee with milk or cream and that's it. it think because i ration it now i tend to go for really good quality and it does make a difference. it's the same with cheats really - if i'm going to cheat i don't want it to be with something crappy it has to be extra-special

lavender i have my period too and i was picking badly at food last night - all low carb but still... the only thing that stopped me was cleaning my teeth and going to bed at 9pm. i don't think you should worry about pork belly - fat is good for you and you are not eating high carb. i have had pork belly about once every two weeks since the spring (the rotation is for variety purposes only, not because i don't think we should have it any more frequently) and had a check-up last week at the doctor's and all my tests were fine

The scales were very kind this morning and I am 3lbs down from last week. But I have been mucking about for a few weeks, losing and regaining the same couple of pounds. Lets hope I continue on the downward trend.

By my reckoning I have now lost 30lbs since the original Bootcamp started back in April. Most of that was lost in the first couple of months and I maintained over the summer. This time round I have only lost 5 lbs since 1st October, but I am ok with that.

I probably have at least another 30lbs to go but I feel really confident that I will get there. I really don't consider myself on a diet anymore. I will just continue to eat lovely nutritious food, trust in the science and enjoy losing the rest.

Thanks to everyone who posts. I have no doubt that this thread has made all the difference to me this time round.

Vnmum congratulations on your first day back yesterday and it's lovely to hear that your DC were really excited about their new routine. I STS which I was expecting after a large bowl of apple crumble on Saturday which was a totally mindful off piste and I enjoyed every spoonful! That said I don't think it was worth it as I had stomach pains on Sunday and felt quite nauseated. That accompanied by a first thing in the morning carb coma painful anyway, worse when the toddler is being a mad ball of energy means no more off wagon for a while - carb hangover is just too painful! Have a good day everyone.

Captain and Willie thank you, I've never heard of Rooibos tea so will give it a try. Willie, was talking to DH about having cholesterol etc tested at some point more out of curiosity than anything else as feel good.
I was worried pork belly strips would be bad for you as so fatty and also remind be of pork scratchings do glad to hear you think they're ok, just need to not eat them every day I guess.

Lavender I drink tea with lacto free milk. It has about half the carbs of regular milk and to me tastes just the same.

Are you working full time Vnmum? Good luck with it all.

I feel a bit rough today. Really sore throat and headache. I am having a day indoors to myself. going to catch up on some tv and treat myself to pork belly strips for lunch.

vnmum best wishes for the new job, hope you settle in fine and everyone plays nice!

winegless thanks, I am chuffed with this weeks loss, Ds is a bit poorly today so off school and activity so no temptation this week at least!

jacaqueen well done! I agree about thinking of this as just a regular way of eating and not stress too much - stress produces cortisol hormone which makes us store fat, so another good reason to chill.

lavendar I drink decaf coffee, peppermint tea during the day and usually have a chamomile tea after dinner/before bed. There are some nice blends out there, it's worth trying a few to mix in with usual tea or coffee.

I would also like to say how much support I get from just reading what everyone else is up to, life as well as food, I'm sure it's helped me a lot with finding my feet with this WOE. all.

lavender you can have it every day if you like, though might get a bit boring! pork belly is good, clean, fresh meat with plenty of fat, and with this WOE you should be getting the majority of your calories from fat.

(and pork scratchings are fine too, but if bought in a packet they will likely have high salt and additive levels which you would want to avoid - the fatty aspect is not a problem).

BIWI and others are much better read than me on this, but you might want to read up on low carbing to allay your and your dh's fears, so they will be able to explain the theory better and point you in the direction of some literature

Morning all.,

Firstly, VNMUM so sorry not to have marked your day back at work! Glad to hear it went well.

Lavender I eat pork belly slices regularly, and pork scratchings alot, they are delish and totally fine to eat on this WOE. (although I expect BIWI will say that the latter are too processed really)

Went to a Cubs/Beavers fireworks and bonfire do last night - avoided the sausages and burgers as I knew they would be the cheapest possible types, did buy a coffee though at an extortionate price and poured it away as it was absolutely rank.

My friend has now lost half a stone in a week. She said she is (and I quote) "Ecstatic! Feel great, so much energy, and lighter somehow, not just because of weight loss, can't really explain it!" She is about to do her first exercise class since starting this WOE so we will see how she gets on with that (pretty hard core Step class).

Wine - I am re-reading "The Passage" by Justin Cronin. I read it a couple of years ago, but the sequel "The Twelve" has just come out and I wanted to read it again before starting that. It is absolutely brilliant, I am enjoying it all over again. I just finished "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan, which I also enjoyed, and I have also started "Dear Fatty" by Dawn French.

Right Chrimble cake will be made today at some point.

Oh I loved "dear fatty" by dawn French, so honest and funny. Just like I imagined her to be. Enjoy!

day 2 going ok so far. haha famous last words.

vnmum so pleased your 1st day went well

Just had brunch of gammon and egg it was yummy!

lunch was cheese slices stacked on celery, with some thickly sliced gammon ham. yum.

Cake made onlylickedspoononce

Got pilates tonight, looking forward to it.

B 2 boiled eggs with a little butter
L prawns, leek and a couple slices orange pepper all pan fried in garlic and chilli, on watercress salad.

Still have the pmt munchies tho, so am about to have some yoghurt in the vain hope it will fill up the cavernous hormonal hole in my insides!

Lavender - fat is your friend! You really do need to get your head around that, regardless of what your DH is telling you. Belly pork is a perfect low carb food, and you could eat it every day if you wanted to - although you would soon tire of it if you did

and more importantly, gives you some of the background to explain why since the 1950s we have been (wrongly) told to stop eating it.

... and Willie is absolutely right - if you can do some reading about low carbing it will give you the reassurance that you need, as well as the ammunition to deal with people like your DH who will tell you that what you are doing is wrong.

The books that I would recommend are Dr John Briffa's "Escape the Diet Trap", and Gary Taubes' books "The Diet Delusion" and "Why We Get Fat (and What To Do About It)". Dr Briffa's book is probably the easiest to read. It's also worth signing up to his newsletter and reading his blog

I've updated s/s - to my pleasant surprise, there is a bit of loss. Not major, but at least no reverse.
I went off food (in terms of liking it), you know, sometimes getting excited about having something nice, normally when I am in a "good cook" mood, but now even that does not give me any thrills.
My friend was for lunch, I forgot she does not eat fish, so I had to improvise from what was in the fridge - Nigelissima-way Mozarells+tomato" salad. I usually like it - but realised I off it as well.
May be that's how the slogan "we eat to live to eat, not the other way round" tastes like?