Get Ready for Summer - Next Low Carb Bootcamp (10 weeks) starts 29 April

[BIWI]

Just to give you a couple of weeks advanced warning, so you can think about it, plan for it, etc.

Thanks for the tip(s)

One of the greatest benefits of low carbing is that it curbs your appetite.

However, if you are feeling weak, then you really must eat something. The first rule of Bootcamp is that you must eat three meals a day. This is to make sure that you are keeping your blood sugar levels stable.

Making some Parmesan shortbread with DS this afternoon, looking forward to seeing how it turns out

I feel so WELL! I can't emphasise how well and bright I feel. Even after having 1 or 7 G&T's last night. I'm full of energy, buzzing about the house, playing with DS, I feel great.

Looking forward to sucking it up on Bootcamp in 10 days, hopefully that'll get me a few extra pounds' loss.

Also, my weight is stable for the first time in years. Previously, it was very up and down with no real pattern.

That's very good to hear, slatternly

Not chillis (I'm not sure of the carb content but one doesn't tend to eat them in large quantities)

Go easy on tomatoes and sweet peppers - no need to cut them out completely but they do have a carb content and it's easy to overdo it. So I would say 2-3 cherry tomatoes at a time, and maybe not every day.

My weight is fluctuating a bit so I am looking forward to bootcamp too.

Not cheated or had a carb blowout at all but need to up the fat and water again.

Bbq tonight.

Really good piece here

And it's worth clicking on the link to download the charts as well.

Good Christ.
EVERYONE. CEASE WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND MAKE THE PARMESAN SHORTBREADS IMMDEDIATELY.

I had some hot, with butter. It's like a party on my tongue. And everyone's invited.

Also, I feel quite proud. I had to make a cake for DH's club, and I did a jam and cream sponge. I was really tempted, but I got the rest of the whipped cream and had it with strawberries

Go you

what are the quantities for the shortbread?

No. It won't be about too much fat.

List out for me your meals this week, and also include what you've been drinking, so I can see if I can help.

Also, how tall are you and how much do you weigh?

Auntie I used Nigella's recipe and substituted the flour for ground almonds;

175g ground almonds
100g butter
1 egg yolk
75g grated Parmesan

Mix together and roll into a sausage. Wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for 45 mins. Heat oven to 180 deg. Cut shortbread into rounds and place on lined baking tray (baking parchment or you'll never get them off!)
Bake for 15-20 minutes until crisp.

Eat hot with butter and extra cheese. Fuck yeah.

The texture is v crumbly due to almonds, not unlike an oatcake; seriously filling and utterly, utterly delicious.

Ground almonds are 6g per 100g of carbs, so NOT suitable for bootcamp. But fine for general LCing. And tbh, I've eaten 3 and I don't want my tea tonight now

I have to confess to being disappointed with the parmesan shortbread

I rushed into the kitchen after you posted and made some, using the quantities given on the recipe thread. However, they are different from the quantities you have given here, so maybe that's why? They have come out quite soft, and leaving them in the oven for longer hasn't made any difference (other than burning some of it )

I will try again with the quantities you have given as I am determined to find a good biscuit recipe!

It's a very crumbly texture BIWI, which is down to the ground almonds I think. They really are best eaten hot, with butter on.

You need to keep an eye; it's a fine line between crisp-ness (crisp-ity?) and burnt-ness.

You're not going to get a hard - tack style biscuit because that's what flour does. Plus, the butter and cheese melt and the almonds release oils when cooking.

OK - your BMI is 24, so classified as desirable. This means that you aren't going to lose massive amounts of weight. Your progress will be slow because you really haven't got much weight to lose. What is your target?

From what I can see, your food looks fine. You really don't need to worry about the fat - eating fat doesn't make you fat. Honestly!

One thing I would just caution you about, though, is dairy. It's possible that this might affect your weight loss. Try a couple of days without cheese.

And how much water are you drinking? It is really important to make sure that you're drinking at least the 2 litres per day.

I would suggest that keeping a food diary will really help you.

The other thing to think about, given that you (presumably?) don't really have that much weight to lose, is your portions. Are you eating loads? Can you cut these down a little?

Calories don't really matter when you're low carbing, but as you get nearer to your target you do need to consider how much you are eating.