Week 6 - New Year Low Carb Bootcamp _ Where I start to wave my big stick again

[BIWI]

Morning all

Here it is - come and confess all

Now. Three things have come to my attention.

1. There is a lot of baking going on. Sweet things and bread substitutes.

Please remember that we are trying to avoid sweet things and that we are trying to avoid using artificial sweeteners.

1. A lot most of you are falling off the wagon - either 'accidentally' () or because situations arise where you have not planned ahead or deliberately.

This is not a very forgiving WOE. Lapses/cheats like this will have a big impact - at the very least you will not see any weight loss for a while - most likely, though, you will see a gain of around 3-7lbs. You really have to plan ahead and make sure you do everything you can to stay focused and avoid the carbs. Going out for a meal or to dinner at a friends does mean that you have to think about what's going to be on offer. You cannot assume that low carb options are going to be available (although most restaurants should be fairly easy to navigate).

1. There is a lot of moaning about seeing a weight gain or not losing.

May I refer you to 1 and 2 above?

Please, please, please go back to Bootcamp/Bootcamp Light rules. They are there for a reason!

I can tell you that almost every time someone posts "I don't know what to do, the scales aren't moving for me/I've gained half a stone and I don't know why, because I'm being really good/have been following the rules" this is a massive signal that, actually, they haven't.

Fat is key.
Water is key.
Too much alcohol will stop weight loss.
Dairy - especially cream and cheese - can be an issue for many (yoghurt is better tolerated)
Artificial sweeteners are to be avoided.
Fruit should be severely restricted.

We have only five weeks of Bootcamp left, including this week. Let's get serious and back on track.

A couple of days and it will pass, spilttheteaagain!

Make sure you are drinking plenty of water and keeping your fat levels up. And make sure you are using plenty of salt.

The desperation is the sugar addiction calling you. Don't give in to its siren call!

mumat my kidney and thyroid function has always been ok so I'm not sure if this WOE had had any effect, I just know it hasn't been detrimental. My cholesterol has lowered slightly (it was never massively too high but has come down a bit...).

Has anyone else noticed their skin has become very dry, especially on the face? My lips are so dry around the edges that they are cracking and bleeding

I'm hoping this is cold weather, rather than the woe.

Ewan I always shred up leftover chicken and fry it up with leek, courgette, mushrooms, some olives and chopped-up feta. Stir in a little bit of pesto and little bit of cream. It looks pretty revolting - goes a lovely greeny-grey - but is DELICIOUS, I promise.

thenightsky I have that dry lip thing too - all cracked in the corners. But my skin in general looks lovely, I assume from all the water. So also hoping the lips is due to winter not woe!

We are having Valentine's steaks tonight, with griddled aubergine and leeks, courgette and spinach cooked in butter. Can't wait! I made DP some heart biscuits with raspberry and amaretto so will be doing my best to keep my mitts off them...

thenightsky, my skin is less dry on this WOE, but it does take a while for it to settle down.

I notice when I first start bootcamp (or very low carb) my skin & hair gets greasy initially & I usually get a few spots, but then after about two weeks it settles down & my skin is less dry than it would usually be, my pores tighten up (weird, I know) and my skin looks "plumper" - don't know how else to describe it!!!!!

Hopefully, it is just the cold & damp making your skin chapped & you'll soften up again with the milder weather.

Morning all, I haven't had time to catch up with this thread this week! I attempted it last night and now there are another 100 posts. But I've been good and wasn't even tempted when I made DP five pancakes on Tuesday which he wolfed down with lemon and sugar... I ate some pork scatchings instead!

Quick question - what can I have for lunch? For the last couple of weeks I've been having chicken, salad and avocado most days and salmon and salad on the others. And I'm tired of it now. I'm in the office today so I only have the use of a microwave and an ASDA. Has anybody got any inspiration for me?

Can someone help me with coconut oil please?

I bought a new jar and it doesn't taste quite right. It has a waxy sort of taste. it smells coconutty but doesn't taste nice or of anything. The old jar I had was yummylicious but it was quite old.

Also when I add the new stuff into a hot drink, it seems to form a slick on top whereas the old stuff formed lots of small globules of fat.

I'm wondering if the new stuff might be a bit off? Could that be the case?

Also, any recommendations for whey protein powder? I've had solar whey to go and also lamberts whey protein powder but just wondered if there's a better one.

I'm still struggling to eat meat protein at every meal, so I top up with the protein powder on days where I know 8've not had enough.

Thanks.

Penny, I tend to eat similar things to you in the office.

For a change, I sometimes buy a pack of leerdamer & those little lettuces & a tub of coleslaw & I make cheese, lettuce & coleslaw rolls. Another one is a tub of egg mayo & chunks of cucumber. If I haven't got any meetings in the afternoon, I go for chorizo or salami & lettuce wraps. Occasionally I do a kind of tapas lunch with a some almonds, cheese & olives.

Not sure if any of those appeal. Shall be interested to see if any other good ideas appear, as I get a bit bored with office lunch too.

Could you have chicken wings as an office lunch. I know they are messy, but if you're armed with wet wipes you may be able to retain some dignity! I find them really satisfying with a bit of little gem lettuce.

I've had a very strange start to the day, did my usual wake up, drink some water then start my exercises. I felt a little weird about 5 mins in, then the whole room started moving around and I couldn't get up! I just sat there for a few mins, then I was fine. I didn't carry on exercising and have a just had a lazy morning-drinking lots of water. I'm fine now but nothing like that has ever happened before.

I've also put on a pound, I'm premenstrul and constipated so I'm feeling very sorry for myself!

i am wolfing down chicken and mayo with salad for lunch after potentially career-defining presentation. I couldn't eat beforehand as i had anxiety-induced diarrhoea (too much information??), so was starving afterwards

penny i realise this is no use to you for today, but I often bring in leftovers and heat up in the microwave (moussaka, stew, curry etc)

Hi all, hope everyone is doing ok, been so busy here recently RL getting in the way,so will have a good catch up later.

Happy Valentines

Oooh - Willie - hope it went well/you get a good result!

Penny - I would also do leftovers, if you have a microwave,

gosh had forgotten it's valentine's day, already have card sorted

thanks biwi - hard to know. i love giving presentations (i like the sound of my own voice, can you tell?!), always v nervous beforehand but the adrenaline rush afterwards makes you feel great!

quicklookbusy, how odd, hope you feel ok for the rest of the day. possibly premenstrual symptoms? i know i get very clumsy and walk into things! look after yourself though and make sure you're eating enough. v sensible to drink plenty too, but make sure you're getting enough salt/potassium?

well done Willie!! I know what you mean about presenting.

Accidentally drank 3 gins last night which really affected my sleep so am tired and hungry today. In office which is good as I can't raid the fridge, but have had an enormous protein and salad lunch from the canteen. Boiled eggs marbled in tea anyone?

lol dosh really? do they have primary school children staffing your canteen?

I know!! Bored chef syndrome.

Dosh, what did that even taste like?

Thanks for the chicken ideas. I have unearthed a jar of tahini from the fridge and now have a hankering for chicken in tahini and yogurt dressing. Maybe with some roast cauli.

Lunch was leftover braised cabbage which has left me uncomfortably full. I usually have a more proteinesque lunch. Ah, you live and learn.

Choos. My son is now 16 and dong a Compter Games course at the local College. It was first suggested to us that he was autistic at nursery, so 3, statemented before he left Reception and in fact he has Aspergers, ADHD and dyslexia poor kid. He went to mainstream primary and secondary and was one of 3 AS boys in his year. They also had a classically autistic lad and a girl with Tourettes. I found the support got a lot better once he was at secondary school, they seemed much more geared to deal with special needs. Good luck and keep pushing for the help you (and he) need.

Eek- only seen dh for a nanosecond today and he is at work tonight - totally forgot to give him his present!

How lovely the whoosh fairy has been visiting some of you:)

I fear I have to add more than callentics... Saw doc today and he suggested to aim to lose another 5 kg! Sounds terrifying but I have lost 5 since the beginning of this woe without excersing. Doc says its ok for me to exercise and my back will benefit. Swimming perhaps.

The night sky- I haven't had dry skin, but a week in to the woe I got a breakout which I think was all the bad stuff oozing out.
Mrsherculepoirot- that sounds great at the docs.
Scillycow- I do that with the dc pasta too, you are not alone:)

B- Brie wrapped in ham
L- salad of lettuce, avocado and bacon
D- roast lamb, sprouts and sweet corn.

Snack- 2 babybel tomatoes with cheese in.

Full quota of water ( proud)

Biwi, I cant remember what Ive eaten the last 5 days :( but I can honestly say that no obvious carbs have passed my lips! Like I said earlier, I even spit out pasta when I test it for "doneness"! I do have dairy, but not every day. I rarely touch nuts (once a week maybe? about 5 barzil nuts or pecans) and never have berries. No caffiene. Drink only water or fruit tea. Plenty of fat, plenty of veg. I do eat out, so maybe hidden carbs?

I have dropped the 2 lbs I put on yesterday, so back to my first week loss of 12lbs. I so hoped to be under the first stone barrier by now - I have never lost a stone before!

B - bacon, egg, mushroom
L - 2 low carbs sausages, tiny bit of red onion
S - ham slices
D - will be gammon & cauliflower cheese. DH wants potatoes & peas with his!

Meant to add, no inches lost since the first week either. I have jeans that were snug before, fit fine now but have got no looser in recent weeks.

Right. Can I suggest that you start keeping a food diary from now on? And can I also suggest that you're not actually eating enough carbs? Work out how many carbs are in your day today - virtually nothing in your breakfast, as mushrooms are incredibly low carb. Virtually nothing in your lunch - but the carbs are coming from your sausages rather than the veg. Virtually nothing in your dinner as cauliflower is also very low carb.

There's not a lot of fat there.

And all four meats that you have chosen are processed meats. Which is why I suggested going back to Bootcamp rules!

How much water are you drinking every day?

And finally - you have lost 12lbs! That's really impressive. Please don't think it's not working for you!

I am on track. I am on track

I have not cracked.

Can I ask, those of you having the cream cheese pancakes - any Bootcamp suitable topping recommendations? All the berries etc sound lush but are forbidden