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I'm really enjoying your saga fatdog - I should have commented before

Congrats on what you are doing, and thanks for sharing.
FatDog wrote: And, more importantly, what do you think of the recipes? Not a hair-shirt in sight, unlike RE's very worthy but, inexplicably, uninspiring and rather penitential offerings.


The old better illustrated CBB book does appeal more, 'tis true. The ladies of the house were particularly drawn to that one after being presented with both.
Weigh-in at the start of day 14: that's another 0.2lbs off after a feed day (with a calorie deficit of just 358 equivalent to ~0.1lb, if such calculations can be taken to such a level of accuracy, which I doubt) - down to 131.0lbs.

I am so looking forwards to dipping below the 130 mark (maybe Wednesday or Thursday morning) - it's nothing special in stones and pounds (9 stone 4lbs) but it feels like a mini-milestone.

Underbust down to 31 inches (overbust 34.5 - is that why I'm squishing into the size 8s?), waist 28.25 (I think it was actually 28 but scarfed lots of water and my big cup of tea before I realised I'd forgotten so couldn't re-check) and tum at 35 inches (methinks transit not permanent).

Glorious day here in Edinburgh: choices - bake low-carb cakes to have with the afternoon's tennis (planning on low-carb strawberries and cream, and maybe a very spritzy white wine spritzer) or take my book into the garden and bake me? Maybe it'll be both, as I suspect I won't be able to handle more than half an hour out there anyway :)

And thank-you for the kind words @minumonline and @Betsysgr8.

@izzy I could send you (pm) all my recipe bookmarks if you like - there's some useful bits in there along with random stuff, but it would take you some sifting through! Oh, and can 'they' not recover your hard-drive for you?

Have a lovely day, whatever you're doing, FatDog.
Izzy, great to see you again, thought we had lost you and that grieved me hugely so, welcome back girl, :heart: :heart: :heart:

Ballerina x :heart:

P.S. TML will be happy to see you as well xx :heart:
Ditto Ballerina

Hope you enjoyed the tennis and the spritzers just slipped down FD
Sunday, day fourteen, feed day : final day of Rose Elliot's low-carb vegetarian two week 'carb-cleanse' phase...

One might try to blame the berries, almonds and cream, or perhaps the pinot grigio spritzer, for my carb blow-out today (29.4g), but one would be very wrong: it was the Co-op ready mixed stir-fry that did it. I mean, what on earth is there in 167g of veggies that makes it (with soy sauce and a few peanuts) so carbiferous (11.7g)?

Okay, truth be told, if I'd not had the two spritzers (3.75g / 125ml each) the carbs would have been only 22g odd, and the fruit concoction came to just over another 8g carbs (but it was my breakfast) - oops. That was my first real fruit (i.e. ignoring tomatoes etc.) and first taste of hooch since starting low-carbing. It's actually worse than the swede disaster on day 2... And on my last day of the 'carb cleanse' too. I'm pretty sure that being sub 30g carb (or even 40g, for that matter) still leaves a body fat-burning, so hopefully I've not ruined the experiment.

And Murray WON!!! :) :) :)

I'm rather kicking myself now for the Entwine pinot grigio spritzer. I was originally congratulating myself for having found a bottle of vino that actually listed the carbs per 100ml on the label; oooh, I'll have that says I, and I'll extra spritzer it with fizzy water - even though it's only 5.5% to start with, it'll be refreshing and I can pretend that it's the real thing.

But I think it might be a bit like getting 'light' cheeses - not a good idea. I could have taken 100ml of 'full strength / full flavoured' white wine instead and added my 1L of fizzy water for the same effect but for just 3.5g (or so) of carbs. Booooo, hiss. Still, it was nice for the occasion (much nicer than the swede even) and I can be a good dog tomorrow to make up for it.

Maybe I should just have gone for gin & tonic - that can be zero carb :)

Right now, I'm desparate for a square of chocolate, but even pulling my 'evening snacks' and 'milky drink' (sans cocoa tonight) wouldn't really make carb space, plus I'd be reducing my calorific intake from 1327 by 526 to 801 calories - not a good idea. Sigh.

Well, here's the day's damage (assuming I don't succumb to the chocolate urge):

....... Calories 1327.06 Carbs 29.40 Fat 101.02 Protein 51.72 Fibre 3.56

No recips today - combinations of fruit / cream / nuts and my later pre-pack stir-fry veggies / spices / oil / soy sauce aren't really recipes (I suppose the same argument could have been applied to my monster avocado salad, sorry).

One caveat re. ordinary Amoy dark soy sauce though - it's surprisingly carbiferous:
soya sauce, 106c/C25.6/F0/P0.9/Fi0/100ml
......... 15ml cal 15.90 C3.84 F0.00 P0.14 Fi0.00

And I didn't bake, again...

n.b. downing 50g of emmental is much easier when one slithers it impossibly fine and liberally sprinkles it with s&p, and chilli and garlic flakes... mmmm, that's actually more-ish.
Weigh-in at the start of day 15: ta-da, gained 0.2lbs sob... calories were only 1327.06 - surely I can't be so carb sensitive that I stop burning fat, and pile on the lard, at 29.4g of carb? Please say no... No, I'm pretty sure that is not how it works, but right now I can't see what to 'blame'... and I really want to blame something.

I know, it's 'just one of those variations' and, really, it is just 0.2lb, but it's a monstrous damned nuisance that it happened right at the end of the experiment. Grrrr.

Right, order, order...

The grand total of weight lost during my Rose Elliot's two week 'carb-cleanse' is: 6.6lbs.

On re-checking RE's tome it seems that a loss of between 6 to 7 pounds 'is not uncommon' (p14), so, there you go, I'm common; and I really should not be disappointed in any way. I think my greedy eyes picked up and latched onto the odd reference to 14lbs losses and I was hoping for one of them. Never mind, the trend is going in the right direction. Good.

Broached the idea of doing another week of 'carb-cleanse' (some do it happily for months, p15) with OH, and he's game for me to do it! Yay! RE indicates that the weight loss tends to decrease after the first two weeks so we'll see how this goes.

So you'll have to put up with my daily witterings for another week, as the experiment continues...
You will probably continue to lose as I find this fasting business can take a day to two to reflect your true accomplishments, anyway I will be reading with interest
Your gain may just be a bit of water retention, soy sauce has quite a bit of sodium. ;)
Thanks @gillymary, @Betsysgr8 and @izzy for your kind words... I've been wandering around chewing chair-legs all day, I'm that cross with myself; it doesn't help, I suppose, that it's a fast day...

Could well have been the soy sauce, and I did drink gallons of water yesterday because of the heat. Oh, and did I mention that the scales are playing the one-legged-game again and coming up with a weird error message that vanishes before I can read it, along with random readings (that repeat several times) varying from 130.8 (yes please) to 132.0 (no thanks) - the 131.2 just repeated the most often, so that's the one I took.

Yup, this week should be fun... Cheers, FatDog.
Monday, day fifteen, fast day: first day of extended 'carb cleanse' - into week three and hoping for nice results as per the previous two weeks. However, I am forewarned that the weight-loss slows after the first two weeks. We shall see.

Food very simple today, abandoned my fast-day-minimalist cheese&nut evening snacks to accommodate accidental extra cheese for dinner (was weighing the cheese and at 54g instead of 40g I went into 'normal' mode and thought "that'll do"... oops). Steamed (microwave) cauliflower and green beans, with grilled mushrooms, sprinkled liberally with chilli and garlic flakes (+s&p) and smothered with grated cheese, and further grilled. Yum. All for 338 calories. Slacker's yoghurt for pudding and even managed to squeeze in my ritual 85% chocolate squares.

Today's accounts:

...... Calories 503.59 Carbs 14.52 Fat 33.26 Protein 31.62 Fibre 13.66

I've become rather set in my foods, so I'll have another look at CBB for some fresh inspiration (my own forays into creativity have been somewhat carb challenged) - though make no mistake, I'm happy eating broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and cheese until they 'come out of my ears'. "Pizza" tomorrow, Tuesday...
Weigh-in at the start of day 16: Well, I'm stung for words (except for very rude ones).

The scales hate me: each reading repeats several times, different readings after pauses or moves, take your pick:- first up 136.6 - yup, I've really put on more than 5lbs over-night after a fast day -, 132.0 - possible, unlikely, but possible - , a few others and 131.2 - that's the lowest it went.

OH says the scales are fine - he's never witnessed the depends-on-the-leg-one-stands-on phenomenon and, as an ancient scientist, doesn't believe anything unless he sees / works it out himself. I, however, no longer trust my scales.

This isn't slowed weight-loss, it's stopped. Assuming the scales aren't lying, I've either encountered the dreaded "@Carorees Chinese restaurant syndrome" courtesy of excess soy sauce, or I've hit a bloomin' plateau! Or maybe it's fate's revenge for the wonderful loss of the previous two weeks. I think I need @kencc's forensic analysis of my intake for the last three days as I can't see what's wrong with it. Whatever the cause, it is making me very cross, I mean, how dare!!? I know, it's the trend that matters - but I'm sulking all the same...

On a happier note, I'm sitting typing this in a very pretty sun-dress that I acquired (charity store) last year that was on the 'neat' side (you know, a bit trussed turkey, underarm muffin-tops) but was lovely for slopping about in the garden. The dress is now verging on 'too big'. Grin. Except that, if I keep shrinking, I won't be able to wear it anymore (my sewing skills are second to my culinary skills, zilch). Hmm.

Measurements as before, except underbust which might have dropped below 31 to 30.75 ish.
It doesn't matter that the 'evil' scales are reading okay for my OH, they're doing anything but for me. And I've 'proved' it (well, satisfied myself that I'm right... proof is a bit strong perhaps).

Nipped into a local charity store on the way to the Co-op for my messages and, lo!, there's a set of ancient Salter analogue scales for two quid (I've never seen bathroom scales in there before: they do say "what's for you won't go by you"). FatDog hops on: numbers look about right (given I've clothes on). Having them. Mine.

OH calibrates with electronic scales when I get them home - yup, same reading (well, highly similar - can't actually do 'same' as the analogue scales don't do fractions of a pound very clearly).

FatDog hops on: 9 stone 3 pounds and a tad (confirmed by OH - much comedy but it's before the 9pm watershed so I shan't go into it). Yes, you read that right: a tad over 129lbs, and that's after over a litre of liquid down my thrapple, so nah nah nah to the electronic scales.

129lbs -ish is what I was 'expecting', given the trend / pattern of previous low-carb readings. I'm going to 'correct' my tracker to 130lbs (rounding up conservatively). Edit: I'm also 'correcting' the day before to 130.8lbs (one of the readings the 'evil' scales came up with, but I was playing very conservative) which fits in with the 0.2lb loss-post-feed-day pattern.

Wonder if the heat is affecting the electronic scales? I'll use both from now on - they can sanity check each other. Oh, happy FatDog :)
The nature of dogs...
09 Jul 2013, 15:52
@kencc Ah, yes, sorry for the confusion. FatBitch (as in female dog) isn't very nice in common parlance, so FatDog it was/is. I'm definitely a candidate for, what the psychologists call, species dysphoria - in my case I'm a dog stuck in a human body: basset hound or maybe dachshund (you'd understand why if you saw me - disproportionately long body with fore-shortened deformed arms and legs; plus, of course, my dog-like nature). I'm in good company though, apparently Kepler thought he was a dog too!

The 'mysterious weight-gain-plateau' is no more - naughty, naughty scales - so your forensic dietary analysis skills need not be troubled... But thanks ever-so for responding :) FatDog.
Tuesday, day sixteen, feed day: carboholics' heaven - PIZZAs! They weren't perfect but they received full marks all round - made enough for two and stretched to three for an unexpected guest, so I had two critics. I, personally, thought they were delicious *smug emoticon*. Oh, and if stretching to three, the calories are well within fast day limits.

However, there had to be a downside, didn't there... it took me an age to make them. Not because there's anything complex to it but my blender does not do 'cauliflower rice', and then trying to get the 'rice' dry was, well, trying. I was sufficiently occupied in their making that eating them at nearly nine o'clock broke my fast (except for a cup of tea earlier in the day). Do not be deterred though - I'm very slow in the kitchen, and you'll probably whizz through making them. Recipe below: the cauliflower base is a tad adapted from http://detoxinista.com/2012/01/the-secr ... zza-crust/

Damage today - assuming I manage my rather enhanced 'evening snacks' (50g emmental, 50g brazils - didn't get round to my breakfast nuts) and 'milky drink':

...... Calories 1346.77 Carbs 17.83 Fat 110.26 Protein 66.64 Fibre 11.43

I didn't run out of carbs, for once: substituted brazils for pistachios / almonds in the evening. Brazils are a brilliant source of all sorts and low carb too - just 3.1g per 100g.

"Pizza"
cauliflower, riced, cooked, dried 35c/C3.0/F0.9/P3.6/Fi2.5/100g
.........256g (raw weight) 89.60 7.68 2.30 9.22 6.40
eggs, brown, 151cal/C0g/F11.2g/P12.5/Fi0g/100g
.........~54g x 1 of 81.54 0.00 6.05 6.75 0.00
cream cheese, full-fat, 260c/C2.8/F25.0/P5.4/Fi0/100g
.........100g 260.00 2.80 25.00 5.40 0.00
parmesan cheese, 392cal/C0g/F28.4g/P33.0g/Fi0g/100g
.........10g 39.20 0.00 2.84 3.30 0.00
garlic powder; 2ml 0.00
italian herbs, schwartz; 5ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
tomatoes, tinned, chopped 15c/C3.0/F0.1/P1.0/Fi0.7/100g
.........296g 44.40 8.88 0.30 2.96 2.07
olive oil, 824cal/F91.6g/C,P&FI<0.1g/100mL
.........30ml 247.20 0.00 27.48 0.00 0.00
fennel seed, fresh ground
.........2ml 0.00
s&p 0.00
pizza base and tomato sauce total 761.94 19.36 63.97 27.63 8.47
FatDog's 1/3rd pizza base and tomato sauce total 253.98 6.45 21.32 9.21 2.82


Toppings
mature cheddar, lake district, grated, 416cal/C0.1/F34.9/P25.4/Fi0/100g
.........22g 91.52 0.02 7.68 5.61 0.00
mushrooms, cc, organic, sliced, 15cal/C0.4g/F0.5g/P1.8g/Fi1.0g/100g
.........8g 1.20 0.03 0.04 0.14 0.08
onion, fine chopped, 43cal/C9.3g/F0g/P0.71g/Fi2.1g/100g
.........10g 4.30 0.93 0.00 0.07 0.21
cherry tomatoes, 1/8thd, 20c/C3.1/F0.3/P0.7/F1.0/100g
.........20g 4.00 0.62 0.06 0.14 0.20
olives, black, sliced 134c/C0/F15/P0.5/Fi2.5/100g
.........8g 10.72 0.00 1.20 0.04 0.20
chilli, green, fine chopped, 40cal/Fa0.2g/Ca9.5g/Fi1.5g/P2.0g/100g GL4
.........3g 1.20 0.29 0.01 0.06 0.05
basil, dried; good pinch to each pizza 0.00
s&p 0.00
FatDog's toppings total 112.94 1.89 8.98 6.07 0.74
FatDog's pizza grand total 366.92 8.34 30.31 15.27 3.56

Method: 1. get the tomato sauce going first: reduce the quantity (and runniness) of a tin of tomatoes (400g) to 300g by draining off the juice (a use for which is pending), add the olive oil and fresh ground fennel and simmer, stirring now and again, to reduce to a rich paste consistency; 2. mix dried stuff* together with cheeses; 3. beat / whisk egg; 4. add egg to dried stuff and cheeses and fold in thoroughly; 5. dollop a well heaped tablespoonful (for four mini-pizzas to serve two, or somewhat less if you're stretching to six, to serve three) onto pre-oiled parchment on a baking tray; 6. flatten (1/3 rd to ½ inch thick) to form into a circle**; 7. cook 10 minutes each side in preheated oven at 200C; 8. slather the tomato sauce paste over each pizza*** and then add toppings and either grill or bake again until golden brown / bubbling

* This pre-supposes that you've managed to get the 'riced' cauliflower dry: I tried (bunged the cooked flower in the oven at a low temperature to dehydrate) but failed, so although my pizzas were solid enough to turn and hold up, like a biscuit, once heavily loaded with the topping they drooped precariously and needed a fork to eat (or a gallus disregard for stained trews). ** I used the back of the tablespoon to press the edges so that I had nice neat rounds with even depth (ish) - I've seen pictures of others' efforts and raggedy edges seem to burn. *** I inadvertently allowed the pizza bases to cool substantially before adding the tomato paste - I do not know if this had any effect on the outcome.

Enjoy! FatDog :)

p.s. I'll cross-post this to the recipes section too as it will only get buried in the journals bit...
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