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.

[BIWI]

Choos - Michael Mosely, on whose diet that plan has to be based, does not advocate consecutive days - and I can't see how anyone could easily two two days of low calorie eating back to back.

[Ruprekt]

marking my place

B - bacon and HB egg with mayo

L - Avocado with ham and sour cream

Pint of water

[timidviper]

slummymummy Wasn't being unsympathetic there, I x-posted with you. Hope the week goes ok for you. I don't know if it makes you feel any better but I have 2 friends medically retired from nursing in their 30s, obviously they both have ongoing health issues but both lead really full and happy lives.

[Iamaslummymummy]

Thank you I just want it all to be over and to know what's happening. 15 th may is the datet that they terminate my contact - that will be 2.5 years off sick! Not long to wait now. Night have to get some duck and zero carb noodles and rice to cheer me up!

[PostBellumBugsy]

Sorry to hear that slummy - when is the medical?

Apols for the misinformation on coconut flour!

[Ruprekt]

could we have these?

This website looks good.

[QuickLookBusy]

Well done for everyone's losses this week.

I've lost 2.25lbs which I'm pleased with. I've lost 8lbs altogether, I had aimed to lose half a stone, but I can still pinch an inch or two around my tummy, so am going to keep at it for a bit.

Dh has lost 1stone 5lbs so far!! Am very proud of him, he's got about another stone to go but he cannot believe how easy he finds this diet.

B-scrambled eggs and a bit of smoked salmon
L-cheese, celery and avocado
D-creamy chicken "pie" without the pastry and roasted veg.

[PostBellumBugsy]

Ruprekt - I love Elana's Pantry. I cook quite alot of stuff from there for my DCs - her brownies are to die for.
Alot of it is too carby for me, but those crackers look very possible!

[Doshusallie]

hope it goes ok Slummymummy.

Greek yog
mushrooms, lump of cheese, and left over veg from roast last night with mayo
tea will be roast chicken salad.

Yet again no exercise as still have cough

[Iamaslummymummy]

My medical is on Wednesday

[Collywibbles]

Sigh. I have stayed the same again. I have now been the same weight (give or take a lb or two) for months. Not sure what to do now. I honestly don't cheat (I don't drink and am not a fan of sweet stuff). I eat plenty of fat & drink loads of water. I thought I ate too many nuts so have cut them out totally for 3 weeks and it has made no difference.

I did Dukan 18 months ago and was a stone lighter than I am now - then had a course of steroids (I have bowel disease) and have been this weight ever since. Now I know I am not huge but I am certainly not thin. I am on steroids again (also take other permanent meds). I don't want to do Dukan again - I like this way of eating but want to get rid of the flabby bits.

I exercise quite a lot - a mix of weights / cardio classes plus walk daily with the dogs.

ANY ideas? I have been looking at ADF in addition to LCHF but have a history of food issues so not sure restricting what I eat is necessarily the best way to go.

[EwanHoozami]

timid are those noodles from H&B the same as the shiritaki ones? If so I love them, they are very similar in texture to those vietnamese glass noodles. DH did something fabulous with them and some squid not so long ago. I'll ask him for the recipe.

Colly I wish I could think of an answer that isn't "it's the steroids" but I can't :( Not that I'm an expert in any way, but a good friend of mine has ulcerative colitis and uses low carbing to maintain her weight. She's not losing but says that without the LC WOE the steroids would make her significantly gain.

[ChoosandChipsandSealingWax]

Iamaslummymummy cross-posted with you earlier so missed about your medical - that sounds really stressful - try to plan some nice low carb meals to treat yourself without getting sabotaged.

BIWI it was two low-carb days back to back, not two low-cal days - but I was a bit about their idea of low-carb. It wasn't even Bootcamp Lite!

LavenderBriggs Finsbury Park (or Crappy Rub Sniff as it is affectionately anagrammed) is my local running park - having a bit of a break from it at the moment as toenails still settling down after half marathon - lost five - but intending to get back to it again once I'm back from holiday.

[Lavendersbluedillydilly1969]

10 2.25lbs this morning. Not great but heading back in the right direction. Would really appreciate it if someone could put this on the spreadsheet for me as my phone is not letting me do it.
Need to cut down on the peanut butter already, just noticed how much of the jar has gone and I'm the only one who eats it. An out for a curry tonight with friends so hoping I can avoid poppadom a, rice etc and just enjoy a couple of veggie dishes. Happy to be back on this woe though, food is much more satisfying. Only fell off the wagon for 5 days but will take a bit longer to get back to where I was.

[BIWI]

CollyWibbles - sorry but it's almost certainly to do with the steroids (as well as whatever other medication you are taking).

Personally I wouldn't bother with Dukan, but that's up to you. I think there's far too much reliance on artificial foods, and I'm not really convinced about the protein only days - it's too far away from normal eating for me. And I hated, hated, hated the oatbran galette!!!

If you're happy with the food you're eating on LC, then why not try the fasting?

[BIWI]

Lavendersblue don't just 'hope' that you can avoid the carbs! That way falling off the wagon lies. Plan what you are going to have. If you know where you're going, and they have a website, look at the menu online and make sure you know what you're going to eat. Veggie dishes can be carby - depending on the veg, obviously. Your best bet is something from the tandoor, with a spinach or mushroom or cauliflower side dish.

[timidviper]

Ewan The noodles are these. They are made from some vegetable fibre I think.

[ShebaQueen]

Woo hoo, I have been extra vigilant re carb creep this week and am 4lbs down despite a challenging celebratory weekend surrounded by cake and sandwiches!

Biwi, in fact thanks to all for your moral support, it really helps.

Well done to losers and sorry to those who have sts or gained.

[AuntieMaggie]

Congrats ladies :)

Where do I get flax seed from?

[ToomuchWaternotWine]

Despite STS, I am still enjoying this woe so much. For one thing, it can be so damn quick and easy! Take my tea tonight. Didn't fancy "cooking" anything major as Ds had early tea with his wee playchum, and DH is out.

So I quickly fried off some mushrooms and half a leek in butter and oil, adding a big splosh of double cream for the last minute. Meanwhile wilted some washed spinach by simply pouring some boiled water from the kettle over it. On to plate with a few cubes feta and a couple of chopped plum tomatoes. Add apiece of peppered mackerel from the fridge, done and served up in about 5 minutes tops. Think it took longer to scoff it than to prep it!!

[Ilovemyteddy]

As a longtime low-carber can I echo everything that BIWI said in her OP.

As well as changing what we eat there is also an emotional/psychological barrier to get through. I know there are many books and websites out there that adapt recipes to suit a LC lifestyle, but one of the things we are trying to get past is relying on bread, cake and the like as an emotional crutch or as a substitute for eating properly. By eating LC substitutes for these things we aren't really moving on from the "reaching for the biscuit tin" mentality. I think these substitutes are okay occasionally, but they should be regarded as a treat.

Just my very humble opinion!

[NoveltySlippers]

Evening all

Slummy am really sorry to hear that

I finally got another visit from the whoosh fairy. Lost 3.4 lb so am pleased.

Am now at the lowest weight that I've been on since I started Bootcamp - no real recollection of being lower than this weight ever, so it's unchartered territory from now (if I manage not to gain next week). Will be so excited if I lose even just a pound next week. Hoping pancake day doesn't muck it up tomorrow!

(Am doing the cream cheese ones, in case stick was heading my way!!)

[NoveltySlippers]

Black I made a combination of your breakfast pot and oeufs en cocotte for supper tonight (shallots, pancetta, mushrooms, grated cheddar, one egg and cream on top) in a bain marie.

Did it for 15 mins, but still couldn't get it brown on top - think it must be the soured cream! Will try it again when I get some double cream in. Was delicious though (again). I think this may be what I cook instead of omelettes, in future!

[captainmummy]

auntieMaggie - I get mine ready ground from health food shops. You can buy them whole in supermarkets but they are a bugger to grind unless you have an industrial food processor or coffee grinder.

[PostBellumBugsy]

Wow Novelty - that is quite something - well done. How much have you lost in total?
What are the cream cheese pancakes like? I'm going to do them tomorrow too.
Agree with Ilove - to be successful with this WOE does involve retraining your brain a bit and learning to realise that if you eat well with low carb you'll easily be full & not hungry until your next meal. Reaching for snacks, when you are not hungry is definitely a bad habit - which I am as guilty of as everyone else. I do genuinely stop thinking about food when I do this WOE though - so there has to be something in it.