Week 2 - New Year Low Carb Bootcamp - Half way there!

[BigStickBIWI]

Sorry to be a bit late this morning - no doubt you're all chomping at the bit to declare all on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

at making the house cleaner, and wearing gym clothes!

My trainer cancelled my session this morning, which I'm quite glad about, as my arms are so stiff from my Sunday session. Could barely reach around my back to do up my bra this morning. I think another rest day is probably a good idea.

Pinot, FDM and Willie - that sounds really tempting!

Do you have any recommendations for the brand/type of slow cooker to go for?

furrydogmother mmm those all sound lovely; are they on the recipe thread? I'd love to pick your brains. As long as they're low carb . And I've never tried beef shin, either .

Ginot That's a really good idea, doing it the night before. Actually never thought of that

Managed to stay away from the scales this morning, as it's becoming as addictive as sugar! I'm going to try and last until Friday, because I know I'll lose less this week.

Going for a run this lunchtime with my friend, and I'm looking forward to that in a weird kind of way.

B: FF Natural yoghurt
L: Tuna salad with a few dollops of mayonnaise
D: Fish pie topped with swede mash and some creamed leeks swished in, cabbage for me, peas for DH (he's not LC-ing, just staying away from proccessed stuff)

I love my slow cooker, although I don't use it as much as I could/should. Although to be honest, that's because I mostly work from home, so can do stuff earlier in the day and shove it in the oven too cook. That said, we have a smart meter now, and I was to see it change colour when I put the oven on! I need to get into the slow cooker habit a bit more, I think.

But, I also have a pressure cooker, which is fab for cooking things like shin of beef. Takes 10 minutes at high pressure and that's all!

slatternly - yes, I totally know what you mean about weaning yourself off the scales. Is is a bit addictive, and totally unnecessary!

BIWI yes, sounds like you need a rest! Well done for all the hard work though.

Am quite excited about slow cooking now. Looking at recipe books - if anyone has experience of these, or other recommendations, do let me know!:

www.amazon.co.uk/Hamlyn-Colour-Cookbooks-Cooker-Recipes/dp/0600620697/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358248805&sr=1-1

www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Slow-Cooker-Delicious-Recipes/dp/0600618951/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358248805&sr=1-3

www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Food-Favourites-Triple-tested-Recipes/dp/1849902089/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358248805&sr=1-4

Hmm, just browsing brands (yes - whilst at work. Sorry boss! )

The sear and stew ones look very handy. How important / necessary is it to have a timer though, do you think? Found a nice Morphy Richards one, but no timer.

I have I think morphy Richards sear and stew and I'm happy with it - didn't really look at any others though!

novelty I am also big fan of slow cookers, I use mine loads

Oooh

I thought sugar free jelly was OK...I'm sure I read about it as snack on a previous (summer time I think) thread.

Oh well - that's that 'treat' out of the window!

half and willie - my mind is made up! Shall report back on slow cooked loveliness... (Though have to wait two more weeks for payday first )

Well done all losers....only 1lb loss here but am slow loser and TOM last week so any loss is good. These threads are great but hard to keep up with and by the time I'm finished reading I can't find all those interesting links/articles that people post. BIWI you are such a fountain of knowledge on low carbing - would it be possible I wonder to have a thread (like the question and recipe threads) where links to all the articles supporting this WOE could be posted - feel cheeky asking as you do so much already - but also feel it would benefit us newbies/converts - its such a mind change from low fat eating some of us may need to keep convincing ourselves that its okay -

isn't funny years ago I used to get excited about New clothes, make up etc. these days it's more about stuff for the house ie. slow cookers, Hoover's etc what happened

novelty mine is a,delonghi, only cost about £15 on offer from amazon a few years back

Novelty I have a morphy richards. Or at least did until I smashed the dish! It doesn't have a timer but if I am out for several hours I just put it on "low" and its fine.

Definitely half!

I can even get excited about Tupperware, when the mood takes!

Gadzooks! I'm cold. Must have a cup of tea.

B mushrooms in butter
L two egg omlette with ham and cheese, one cold sausage
D ? poss celeriac mash and ham hock

HavinganOffDay - read Bootcamp rules! Rule no 10 is about avoiding artificial sweeteners, which is what sugar-free jelly is full off. We are aiming to eat natural, unprocessed foods as much as possible. (And there is some evidence/suggestion that artificial sweeteners contribute to weight gain)

Also, and perhaps more importantly, the whole point of cutting out sweet stuff is to break our addiction to sugar/sweet things.

After Bootcamp, the first two weeks, is over, and you have 'recalibrated' your taste buds, you can, if you wish occasionally add back in sugar-free products, but only occasionally - you may find that you simply don't need them by then.

Just half a lb off for me this weekend...I think I need to wean myself off the daily weighing as well. It's a bit uneccesary and intimately disheartening!

Today so far,

B - 2 boiled eggs, dollop of Greek yoghurt
L - Tuna mayo salad with avocado and feta
T - Undecided

What's the general consensus on Quorn mince and tinned tomatoes?

NB. Just eating cold sausages (97% meat - I checked!) and some mayonnaise for lunch.

If anyone wants mayonnaise top tips, this one's LOVELY.

I couldn't get the Delouis one, but I did find Sussex Valley Classic Mayonnaise - only 0.3g carbs. It's really, really nice!

'full of', obviously

BigStick - can I just confirm something please? Should I make sure that every meal has some veg (for carbs) and some fat in it. Does eating fat (butter/cream) actually speed up the weight loss. I do wonder if my modest loss may be because I often have protein only meals eg scrambled eggs, cheese and/or meat. Am still drinking quite a lot of tea/coffee but it's all black. And I'm getting my 3 litres of water down me too

Today my friend wanted a Mc Donalds breakfast.

I went and had a bacon and egg mc muffin, i ate the egg and bacon and through the muffin away.

How about that for will power?!

It may not be possible (or you may not want) veg/salad at every meal - e.g. breakfast - but yes, you certainly should be eating fat with every meal. It's not about speeding up weight loss, it's about getting the right proportion of nutrients. We should be eating fat:protein:carbs.

Obviously with eggs and cheese you are getting fat as well, but with eggs there is more protein than fat. With meat, you are getting some fat, but this obviously depends on the cut of meat - chances are you're actually eating more protein.

Fat does not provoke an insulin release, whereas protein does (albeit a lot less than carbohydrate).

You should certain not be eating meals that are just fat or just protein. Aim to combine the three nutrients for best effect and health.

If your weight loss is slow, you might also be wise considering reducing the amount of tea/coffee you're drinking. Some believe that caffeine also spikes your insulin.

lapetitedame if you look on the spreadsheet you will see a tab called, I think, resources. Some of the best books, articles and videos are linked there to help you with further reading on the subject of low carbing. Dr Briffas book is a good starting point.