Week 9 - New Year Low Carb Bootcamp - Nearly there ...

[BIWI]

So we enter the last two weeks of Bootcamp. Still time to drop another 2-4lbs!

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for you to come and confess all.

Remember, at the bottom of the spreadsheet is a tab for Ubercamp, if you fancy three strict days.

Good luck!

[JakeBullet]

Well I have lost a total of 7lbs in the last 9 days and I feel absolutely fantastic on this WOE. I will NEVER go back to the carbs I was eating before except in very rare occasions, now tucking into cream cheese pancakes and bacon.
And the Diet Doctor's, yoghurt, cocnut flakes, nuts and seeds plus a few blueberries breakfast looks fab....definitely going to make up the dry mix and try it. He says it keeps him going to lunch time with ease.

[DangerousMouse]

Well done on great losses this week, I am 5lb down which I'm very pleased about.

Thank you everyone who posts on here, I am more of a lurker than a poster but I am following the thread daily. When bootcamp started I was a size 20/22 and going upwards, I have just had a massive clothes sort out and try on and I can now officially say I am a size 14!

My DP has lost 9kg during bootcamp and is feeling much better for it, he watched the food revolution talk on youtube last night and is so converted he is today emailing the local dieticians and diabetic specialists he works with (he's a G.P) with a view to advising this WOE to patients.

You are all amazing!

[thekitchenfairy]

Early school meeting and no time to weigh so will do that tomorrow.

I've really enjoyed the 3 days uber bootcamp, think I have been snacking on too much dairy so this was great to kind of break that habit.

Tomorrow is a big local celebration, I usually make pasties for us all... I'm not going to deprive my DS as they love them, but I am going to make myself a beef stew with tons of swede for me as have a feeling diving into pastry would result in horrific heartburn!

Wishing you all good weeks, and glad to hear some of you will carry on :))

[JakeBullet]

Well den to your DH Dangerous, I am seeing my GP for a check this week and am going to tell her about this. My GP is pretty relaxed and very up to date so am not expecting too much hassle about my change if eating habits. The fact my weight is going down will be enough to keep her happy I am hoping.

And well done to you on a massive weight loss. .....my aim is size 14 clothes so I can buy in any shop again.

[carbalanche]

4.5 pounds ON. Am now 13st 1.5. Knew I had failed badly this week (and the week before). Over the past 8 weeks I have lost up to 15 pounds and now that total loss has reduced down to 7.5 pounds. I have been on the last 3 Bootcamps (under different names) and have followed this pattern - spectacular loss at the start, a slower loss, a gain and then LOADS of gain.

Am not blaming anyone but myself. I am planning to be uber-strict this week and see if I can get a significant loss going again. If I can't manage to do this then I don't know what to do. Low-carb is the only way to go but I never seem to be able to maintain this WOE - I start off all evangelical and then my halo slips and my eating patterns are worse than ever.

I need to lose at least 3 stone and I wanted to do that by middle of June that's going to be impossible now

Sorry to be on such a downer but I'm pleased that I am at least fessing up here and not burying my head in the sand.

Today's plan:
Breakfast: 2 boiled eggs/herbal tea
Lunch - cold chicken salad
Dinner - steak, celeriac and green beans
LOADS of water

[LavenderBriggs]

Carblance - sorry to hear that you're having a tough time with it. Identifying what's going wrong is the start of sorting it all out. Can you think about what's going on when the halo slips?

[carbalanche]

LavenderBriggs I think I just get bored and then I have alcohol and then I think "sod it, life's too short", and then I really enjoy the taste of all the bad stuff (white bread with butter, toast with butter, croissants, potatoes etc..) and then I think "oh dear" I appear to have gained all the weight I've lost and then I think "I obviously can't do this" and then I try again and.... watch this space!!

Just need to break the cycle. I think the trick would be to realise that the depression I feel at having fallen off the wagon is just as bad, if not worse, than the depression I sometimes feel at not being able to eat all the stuff I love (and I DO love it and miss it no matter how adventurous and imaginative I am being with my cooking and low-carb recipes) There will hopefully then come a "tipping point" where my depression at being "deprived" is offset by the joy of being thinner and being able to wear nicer clothes rather than wandering round in sack-cloths. It's navigating that pesky interim period

[WillieWaggledagger]

carbalanche, would it help at all to keep a sort of diary, or just a written account of some sort, of your off-plan eating, feelings associated (before and after if you can remember)?

from what you say, chances are this will happen again, and maybe a read-through of your thoughts from the time before would help put a stop to the fuck-it feelings?

[LavenderBriggs]

The diary is a really good idea - then you will have a much better understanding of what's going on.

Could you try to challenge some of those thoughts - when you think "life's too short" maybe you could counter it with "life's too short to be fit and healthy? are you serious?", which would show it up for the unhelpful nonsense it is.

Or "I obviously can't do this" with "er, yes I can, I just did".

The unhelpful thoughts have made themselves some lovely strong pathways. You need to make those pathways difficult to negotiate and create your own. Lots of new pathways for thoughts that say "look how well I've done", or "why would I feel deprived of food that makes me overweight and ill?"

[BIWI]

The thing that really cemented my commitment to this as an ongoing WOE was all the reading I did about it. I had started low carbing purely to lose weight, and always in the back of my mind was the belief that I would return to eating pasta/bread/rice etc again, once I reached my target.

But learning more and more about the damage that carbohydrates do to us really clinched things for me.

That's not to say that I don't still go off piste but I no longer pine for foods or feel deprived that I can't have them.

Have you done much reading about low carbing?

[pyjamalover]

Sorry to hear about your daughter midnight.

I made these for dinner last night, no wasabi though as I am a wimp, guacamole was just avocado, lime juice and fresh coriander. They were SO yum, really excited about having some of the leftovers for lunch today. Thanks to whoever posted the recipe!

I am very much back on the wagon, enjoying the food and feeling good again, but the craving for all things bad for us has not settled, it's taking all my self control not to go and do something I know I'll regret!

[BIWI]

Ooh - I posted that one! They are good, aren't they? Only thing to realise is that they are very low fat. (Although I suppose the guacamole has got the fat in it)

[BlackAffronted]

We should organise a clothes swap, for our old stuff that doesnt fit? Might save some money while we are dropping through the sizes (though im still firmly a 24, I hope to be smaller soon).

[JakeBullet]

Bugger.....just bought Tesco Guacamole....got it home and then saw th carb content .

One to keep in the fridge and allow inky a spoonful of if I have a veggies and dip moment. Loads of Total yoghurt though so will crush some garlic etc add cucumber and make a dip from that.

[BlackAffronted]

Have been looking at VLCD diets like Slim & Save, but they are so depressing to think about :( and expensive!

My friend doing Slimming World has lost 2 and a half stone in the same time Ive been doing bootcamp, and she looks amazing! I am so bloody jealous.

[NoelHeadbands]

Marking my place. Well done to the losers and STSers

[timidviper]

Black As your older twin, can I just tell you to STOP IT NOW BEFORE I HAVE TO SMACK YOU OR PULL YOUR HAIR!! (Can you just imagine two size 24 evil twins tussling on the floor! ) Nobody ever motivated themself by putting themself down and that is just what you are doing at the moment.
You and I are the same clothes size, in fact I was towards the top end of that size when I started out here and, as we said yesterday, you don't see a change that quickly in plus sizes. I am 2st 5lb down since October and still in the same size but we both just have to keep thinking "this is the biggest size I will ever need"

You know logically, if you do a VLCD it will be torture and you will put it all back and more because you have a love of food and I do wonder if that is where your problem lies tbh. I love good food too and although we do not restrict food on bootcamp I have noticed that, on weeks where I have eaten very well, I may lose less than on weeks where I have reined myself in a little. No matter how good a WOE is, we have to find the version that works for each of us, even too many veg can stall your loss if you are susceptible.

Don't give up, your friend on SW will have been hungry, hungry, hungry (one of my friends has just lost 4st on it and says it works once you learn you can never eat anything nice ever again!) You can do this, have a look at ubercamp and check out the portions, it'll be fine.

[QuickLookBusy]

Sorry you're having a hard time Black.

Midnight I hope your dd is better and out of hospital soon.

I've lost .25lbs which is good as I'm on maintenance now. I have been having carbs with just one meal a day, breakfast (small slice of toast) or lunch (oatcakes) or evening meal ( we went for an Indian so I had a popodom and about a tablespoon of rice)

The rest of the day I'm still sticking to LC, eating lots of veg and drinking lots. Will continue the same next week and hope I STS.

[SwitchedtoEatingCheese]

1.5 off for me this week, very pleased!

Carteblanche a couple of weeks ago BIWI (and others) were talking about 'treats not cheats'.
This stuck with with me and Saturday night is now treat night for me, my kids go to their dads so its me, some wine, snacks and telly (yes I am that sad that its a treat). This week I had a big steak with buttery mushrooms and made a cream and blue cheese sauce with salad, 2 litres of fizzy water and a couple glass of nice red wine. Later I had some nuts and a cheese board.

Could you try that, rather than saying sod it and having toast have a stash of delicious low carb goodies that you could 'treat' yourself too?

[MrsHerculePoirot]

black!!!!' List everything, every morsel of food you are eating and drinking for us so we can help.

For the record I have lost the same few lbs for the last few weeks, but I know I haven't had a whole week where I have stuck to the rules. I haven't drink enough or I've had a small bit of something etc etc

[SwitchedtoEatingCheese]

Totally agree about slimming world - my friend is doing SW too. I stayed at her house a couple of weeks ago and see made me scarmbled egg for breakfast. Made with skimmed milk and no butter. God it tasted awful.

[Ruprekt]

Ubercamp for 5 days.

B 2 egg mushroom omelette cooked in butter
Glass water

L chicken breast baked in oven 0.6g, buttered turnip and swede, sauteed cabbage in butter.
Glass sparkling water

2 mini packs pork scratchings

[BIWI]

BlackAffronted

Please list out for me, day by day, what you have eaten and what you have drunk. Everything.

It can't be the case that low carbing doesn't work for you, because you lost 12lbs in the first week.

So there has to be something going on in terms of what you are eating/drinking.

Some things to consider:

1. Are you eating too much? Although on Bootcamp we don't weigh/count things, as this is designed to make the whole thing easy, this doesn't give us free rein to eat too much. Even if you are eating low carb meals, it's still possible to eat too much. Try Ubercamp for 3 days, as the portion sizes are given there.
   

1. Conversely, are you eating enough? It's very easy to think that if the weight isn't coming off that you should eat even less.
   

1. Do you know how many carbs a day you are eating? It would be worth weighing your portions for a few days to see how many carbs you are actually eating. On the spreadsheet there is a veg carb counter to help you work out how many carbs are in anything you are cooking. Or follow Ubercamp for 3 days, as the portion sizes are given there.
   

1. Are you eating unprocessed foods and avoiding artificial sweeteners? If you're buying/eating processed stuff, do you know how many carbs are in them?
   

1. Are you really making sure that your diet is fat:protein:carbs? Or has it become protein:fat:carbs? Too much protein will also cause your body to release insulin and lay down fat.
   

1. How much water are you drinking a day? This chart is from the Bootcamp rules:
   

"The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. This is from www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/. Water is essential to weight loss for those who eat low-carb. The minimum consumed in a day should be:
Your Weight----Litres
140lbs-----2.5
160lbs-----3.0
180lbs-----3.0
200lbs-----3.5
220lbs-----3.5
240lbs-----4.0
260lbs-----4.5
280lbs-----4.5
300lbs-----5.0
320lbs-----5.5
340lbs-----5.5
360lbs-----6.0
380lbs-----6.5
400lbs-----6.5
High levels of ketones in the blood stream can lead to a reduction in ketone production, therefore being well hydrated could aid in keeping the levels low and ketone production ongoing. Consuming enough water can have many other positive side effects: aids your kidneys with the processing of protein, reduces the retention of water, helps with preventing constipation, and reduces the levels of ketones released by your breath, which in-turn will reduce breath odour. However, drinking a lot of water can mean that you also need to keep an eye on your electrolyte balance. You need to make sure that you are consuming sufficient sodium and potassium. On a low carb diet we can eat more salt, so make sure that you are cooking with salt and adding salt to food, if you like it. Good, low carb, sources of potassium are spinach (raw), avocado, mushrooms, courgettes and asparagus, as well as salmon and yoghurt."

You have said you have a lot of weight to lose - so you should be drinking a lot of water.

1. How much alcohol are you drinking? As well as the carbs that it contains (unless you're drinking spirits), alcohol is a very easy source of fuel for the body, and it will burn that in preference to anything else. So every time you have a drink, your body is not burning fat but just using the alcohol.
   

Please, please, please don't go down the VLCD route. Apart from the fact that you will hate it - as someone who is a food love, that is obvious - you will be hungry and it will really test your willpower. Worse, even if you do lose weight successfully on it, it will not help your metabolism. have a read of this

[BIWI]

Oh, and:

1. Try taking dairy out of your diet altogether for a few days - Ubercamp is designed to do just this. Dairy can impede weight loss for many people. (Butter is OK, by the way) But no milk, cream, cheese or yoghurt.