Week 5 - New Year Low Carb Bootcamp - We Reach the Halfway Point!

[BIWI]

Sorry for the late start to this thread. I had an appointment at my gym for an induction this morning.

If you haven't already, put yourself on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Good luck for the week!

Hi Heyho, congrats on your weight loss. And TBH half a stone in 2 weeks for your DH is pretty good going. I would strongly advise you just stick with it and he will continue to lose.

Your food looks fine - I don't think that much cheese a day is a problem, I eat way more dairy than that. Ensure the dressings you use are low carb, some have a lot of sugar in them.

I am sure BIWI will be along soon with more advice but mine is to just keep on keeping on!

...even more importantly, I'm 2-3 notches in on one of my favourite belts (which I wear with a nice knitted dress). :)

I forgot to take measurements at the beginning, but the belt will be a good proxy! :)

Marking place

Oh thank you ginot! I will jog to the shop and buy it later. That is very encouraging to know it is becoming a bit more accepted and mainstream.

Just got back from my run. Only 4 miles today but I think I've started to crack it energy wise. I've had a really bad couple of weeks of crashing and burning but am finding a carby dinner the night before (I say carby - yesterday was two roasties and some carrot as well as the usual low carb stuff) and a normal breakfast seems to be doing the trick. I am doing a lot of trial and error and the moment, but a dinner of about 30g carbs seems to give me enough energy and keep me in ketosis.

How's your training going?

Marking place

1Ib off for me so that's a total of 15 pounds since Jan 7th - 176 pounds now. Pleased but had hoped it would be 2 off! Haven't had a drop of alcohol since Jan 7th but am going away for the half term break at the end of this week and know temptation on that front will come my way. Also having friends round on Thursday for a catch up and red wine will be visiting my house in large quantities! I think this is going to be the hardest week for me so far.

I experimented a bit this week (not strictly Bootcamp so apologies BIWI). I used to do the Zoe Harcombe approach and lost a lot of weight on it. It says that you can have carbs but that you cannot eat them with fat/protein. So you can have a jacket potato but you can't have it eat with cheese and butter or tuna. You can have rice, but you can't accompany it with meat or cream/cheese. What this actually means is that you don't end up eating carbs because what's the point of a jacket potato without cheese and butter?! Or a sandwich without cheese/ham/chicken inside it? Most of the people on the forum just eat fat meals (and some just eat meat/eggs/cheese/100% chocolate and very little veg/salad)

Anyways, I had a spinach and potato curry with rice and on another day a veg curry with rice AND a bit of soft chapati. It was nice. And I think when I reach my goal weight I will eat more meals like this. BUT I think they did set off a carb craving within me and I actually cracked for the first time and had a bit of my son's fresh-out-the oven white roll with butter on! Couldn't resist.

I still lost a pound but I think it would have been more if I hadn't had these carb meals. So lesson learned there. Need to be strict until I lose the heft and THEN adapt and modify.

I also have noticed that it is rare that I eat over 1200 calories a day. I have been inputting my daily meals into myfitnesspal (purely in the interests of scientific research!) I have gone out and bought some single and double cream and intend to start having MORE of this with berries as a dessert in order to get my calorie consumption UP. I really don't want my weight loss to be down to calorie restriction. I want it coming off because of low-carbing. I am also feeling really wiped out most evenings and had put it down to carb-flu but maybe I just haven't been eating enough?

Good luck to everyone else. Keep the faith and hope everyone has a good week this week

PS Blackaffronted - you have done so well - don't let your "friend's" stupid comment put you off your stride. I think you've done brilliantly and you've lost a load in a short space of time. Your body will be in a period of adjustment now and you just have to be patient and then it will steadily start dropping again when it's ready.

Going to give it one more week, if no weight loss then I am going to have a rethink. I have to lose weight, I am super morbidly obese, I cant just just stay the same indefinitely. Thing is, I know nothing else will work :( It really is depressing. I have no idea what other options there are out there though. Feeling very stuck. I also hate bringing your nice, cheery thread down with my moaning - Im sorry!

Just making some low carb sausages & braised cabbage for lunch.

Got a lovely looking January King Cabbage in my veg box this week, so I am braising that. Hope it works as well as it does with white cabbage!

Welcome, HeyHo!

I lost 9 pounds and am thrilled, totally. I have more energy, my clothes fit better, I am enjoying the food.

Brilliant! well done!

My DH has a lot to lose, 2.5 stone.
He has been eating the same food as me, but has lost 8 pounds. Actually writing that down looks good, but he lost 7 pounds the first week and was thrilled and was so excited to weigh in this morning but had barely lost 1 pound this second week. He is really disappointed.

So he is disappointed that he has lost more than half a stone?! What was he expecting?! This is brilliant progress and he/you should be very pleased.

Could it be - he is eating a good bit of cheddar cheese, like 2 fingers width with every lunch

There's no point looking for a 'reason' as there is none! He has lost a lot of weight to start with, and it's impossible for the body to keep losing weight at that rate. Long term, sustainable weight loss is 1-2lbs a week. Be aware that in weeks 3 and 4 it is very common to see no weight loss, or even a slight gain - just keep focused, keep the faith, and keep going and it will start again around week 5

Re the cheese, some people do find that dairy is an issue for them, and it can impede weight loss. So keep an eye out on that

he finds it hard to drink a lot of water as he needs to pee constantly and his job makes it hard for him to get to the toilet. He has been getting at least 2 litres, but should be more.

Drinking water is really important, and he will get used to drinking more - if he's drinking the two litres then that's a good start. Try increasing it gradually.

Is it portion size? we've been having 3 egg breakfasts with butter, lovely big salads (chicken/ bacon and avocado, lots of spinach leaves,with italian dressing) for lunch, fab dinners, eg 1 pork chop in butter, fried mushrooms, turnip chips

again, nothing going wrong, so nothing to worry about! The rule of thumb with low carbing is to eat if you're hungry. As long as you're keeping the carbs down, you will be fine. Normal portions - no need to cut down - but obviously no excuse to pig out either!

By the way, when you say 'Italian dressing' is that home-made or pre-prepared? If the latter, please check the ingredients, as most pre-prepared dressings contain a surprising amount of sugar (and therefore carbs)

(We have both used ketostix and are in ketosis, we think)

Don't waste your money on these - if you're keeping the carbs low, you will be in ketosis. And if you're drinking enough water, the sticks will only show very pale pink anyway!

Does anyone have the tiffin recipe please? I love baking and haven't done any for the last month but I need to bake something now... Preferably something I can also eat! Thanks in advance

Blackaffronted Just had a look at the spreadsheet. You really have done phenomenally well. Don't worry about moaning on here (I thought that was what it was for??!!) Enjoy your lunch and don't try and over-restrict yourself to get a weight-loss, just carry on doing what you've been doing and what you did to get that initial weight loss. If you are "super morbidly obese" you need to give this time. And, as you say, what else is out there that will really tackle it? Hope you have a good week.

Thanks carbalanche :) I know I need to keep going, its just so hard to see it when you are down, isnt it?

blackaffronted I'm really sorry you are feeling down. As others have said you have done very well when you look at total loss.

Things are going slow for me too, but here is what has been getting me through...

-think about what other non-weight-related acheivments you've made. Less bingeing? More cooking from scratch? More mindful eating?
-any other benefits you've noticed? Better skin? More even energy?
-can you see yourself sustaining this?
-are you eating like a healthy person?

Hopefully this will help you see that you have come a long way in the last month. There is so much more to this WOE than weight loss and you just have to trust it will happen. Give yourself the 10 weeks, give yourself a chance to make this work.

Start to appreciate yourself right now, as you are. You can do this!

Oh dear, 2lbs on this morning. BUT (that's a big but, btw)... have had a horrid period and haven't weighed myself weekly in years, so I'm not sure how much period weight I carry each month. It used to be up to 6lbs! Also I haven't pooed in at least 2 days, so am going to reweigh tomorrow morning then enter that weight, whatever it is (Brownie's honour).

So, periods - was really, really craving food, any food, for the first time since Jan 3. Lots of tsps of peanut butter, too much cheese, too little proper cooking (DP was away 2 nights, easy not to cook for one isn't it?), but the only carby 'cheats' I really had were some muffin crumbs and half a cigar wafer. Still, they made me feel crap with indigestion.

Biwi, your wise words upthread about week 4 stalling or slight gains have cheered me up a bit though.

I'm still following Bootcamp but my mood is low and I'm worried about a big crash off the wagon. Do you think I should switch up to Bootcamp Light to vary my diet a bit more and stop me losing the plot altogether? Long-term lowcarbers, your advice would be much appreciated...

BlackAffronted I'm sorry you're feeling down. But you have done brilliantly!

And I did warn everyone about weeks 3 and 4! That's what you're suffering from. You will be fine, honestly. Just make sure you aren't allowing carbs to creep back into your diet.

Are you enjoying your food? Yes, I bet you are!

Do you feel deprived? No. Thought not!

Have these to cheer you up.

Well scales aren't moving for me, but have lost 10cm off waist! also lost off hips but didn't have accurate measurement to start with. (I am short with small waist and humongous hips and bum). Anyone else losing inches but not pounds? Are the scales likely to start moving soon do you reckon?

What I have noticed is that on days where I've had a bit more carbs (30-40g) I find it much harder to stick to than when I've eaten very low carb, so really want to keep my carbs down this week. Have planned for night shifts so won't have a reason to cheat.

Well done to all of you!

STS for me but frankly it serves me right after all the alcohol I shipped this weekend - we were away with friends - and anyway, I don't think I can complain - I had a really lovely weekend, lovely food, managed to stick to the WOE despite my friends offering me all sorts of things I couldn't have (just ate around them and topped up the veg) - so to have such a lovely weekend and not put anything on is for me, an endorsement of the WOE.

Marking place

Thanks for all the cheering up guys. I was going to avoid the thread, as I didnt want to affect it with my negativeness, but Im glad I posted now. I think its the fact I am having constant bleeding after having no periods for years, Im feeling bloated, my sleep has gone from great to crap for no good reason, have gone from (tmi) daily pooing to hardly once a week and now no weightloss. Im struggling to find many positives just now to be honest.

I have pulled myself up though, bought some peppermint tea for the bloating, planned some tasty meals and will just need to pull my big girl panties up & hope for some scale movement.

black do you find peppermint tea works for bloating? Am tempted to try some.

blackaffronted perhaps you just need a massive poo? Instant weight loss!

A pound off for me, thought it might be more as I'm feeling slim! still only 3lb overall but I've only got 12lb to go now so Im not expecting huge losses. :)
black at least you aren't putting on, ignore the doubters and enjoy your food!

Don't get scales obsessed everyone. Remember the body can gain & lose a couple of pounds in water weight on a daily basis. When you cheat & eat carbs, you will immediately gain water weight because of the way the body digests & then stores the energy from carbs - something to do with glycogen in the liver.

If you are going to weigh, try and think longer term. Once a month will give you are far better indication than a week - or heavens above every day.
I don't weigh (mainly because I don't have any scales) but clothes continue to feel loser, as well as rings.

I am being very, very good though. Went out for dinner (a curry) on Sunday night and resisted all poppadoms & bhajis etc to start (nearly dribbled I was so tempted ) and then had chicken sizzler (basically chicken rubbed with seasoning & herbs & hot stone baked) and sag paneer (spinach, cream & indian cheese). Then resisted all kulfi & ice cream puddings and the after eight mints. Had one gin & slim & lots of fizzy water. Felt so bloody virtuous!!!!

Keep the faith - you aren't going to get huge losses like you do in the first week or two, but if you stick with it (and don't start doing lots of cheating) you will still lose.

Hello chaps - well done for the losses. Chin-up STS'ers and gainers for you've got through the tricky couple of weeks. I BET you've lost inches even if not poundage.

4lb off here, but that's having been really strict after a carb lapse the week before. Something about glycogen stores, I think