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Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 12 (but Newbies always welcome!)

464 replies

BIWItheBold · 02/07/2012 08:04

Wow! Three months almost completed. I'm amazed what everyone has achieved, and really impressed how many people are still here!

They say it takes 100 days to make something a habit, and by the end of this week we will pretty much have reached that. Hopefully eating this way will have become much more 'normal' for us all now.

As requested, I have change the title of the thread, so that others interested in low carbing can find us more easily. I will also re-post the rules and the list of allowed veg:

The Carnivore Rules

1.Eat three, proper meals a day.
You must eat breakfast. It doesn?t have to be a lot, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you?re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn?t be hungry. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack)

2.Avoid processed food
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. You can have them, but just not every day. Avoid foods marketed as low carb, e.g. Atkins Daybreak bars.

3.Eat lots of fat.
Eating fat helps you to burn fat. Honestly! Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat ? e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4.Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food ?
This is where your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat

*5.Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited). It can impede weight loss for some people. If you are still drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. You may eat cheese, but don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best.

6.You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink

7.No alcohol
If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8.No fruit
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada.

9.No nuts/seeds
Whilst these are really good to snack on later - it can be too easy to start snacking on these - and before you know it, all your carbs have gone on nuts. Seriously - in bootcamp - don't do it to yourself.

10.No sugar or artificial sweeteners

Allowed veg

Don?t eat any veg unless it?s on this list, and try and focus on eating those that are under 3g carbs per 100g:

Veg (raw)Carbs per 100g
Mushrooms0.4
Watercress0.4
Spinach0.8
Celery0.9
Broccoli1.1
Asparagus 1.4
Cucumber1.5
Lettuce1.7
Fennel1.8
Courgettes1.8
Cauliflower1.9
Avocado flesh1.9
Turnip2
Pumpkin2.2
Runner beans2.3
Swede2.3
Celeriac2.3
Bean sprouts2.5
Green pepper2.6
Baby sweetcorn2.7
Aubergine2.8
Leeks2.9
Okra3
Tomato3.1
Mangetout3.3
Shallots3.3
Brussels sprouts3.5
French beans4.7
Cabbage5
Yellow pepper5.3
Carrots6
Orange or red pepper6.4
Ginger (peeled)7.2
Butternut squash7.5
Onions7.9

Veggie Rules

Only slightly adapted from BIWI's but best to take notice of the changes if you're vegetarian.

1.Eat three, proper meals a day.
You must eat breakfast. It doesn?t have to be a lot, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you?re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn?t be hungry. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack)

2.Avoid processed food
Focus on pure, natural ingredients as the basis for your meals. Vegetarian Sausages and Burgers are ok in small quantities, but check the carb count as some can be very high. Avoid foods marketed as 'Low Carb' such as Atkins Daybreak Bars, etc.

3.Eat lots of fat.
Eating fat helps you to burn fat. Honestly! Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4.Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables and salads with your food ?
This is where most of your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat

5.Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited). It can impede weight loss for some people. If you are still drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. You may eat cheese, but don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best.

6.You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink

7.No alcohol
If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8.No fruit
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada.

9.Beware of Nuts and Seeds.
Nuts are a very good way to include more fat and protein in your diet, however some are very high carb (e.g. Cashews). Stick to small amounts of Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Dried Coconut, Walnuts, Seeds and Peanut Butter, but check the ingredients, many supermarket brands have sugar added.

10.No sugar or artificial sweeteners

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BIWItheBold · 02/07/2012 08:10

And here are the rules for Bootcamp Light:

  1. Eat three, proper meals a day

You must eat breakfast. It doesn?t have to be a lot, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you?re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn?t be hungry. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack)

  1. Avoid processed food

Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs.
You may include processed meats like bacon or (low carb) sausages, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, gammon - but please don?t have these at every meal or every day. As well as being highly processed they often contain undesirable ingredients, can add unnecessary extra carbs into your diet, and often include sugar.

  1. Eat lots of fat

Eating fat helps you to burn fat. Honestly! It will also keep you feeling fuller for longer. Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat ? e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

  1. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food

This is where the bulk of your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat.

Beware that some of the veg on the allowed list can be surprisingly high in carbs once you make up a portion of it ? this is because they are denser, and therefore you tend to use more ? compare, for example, 100g of onion with 100g lettuce! Keep your focus on those veg which contain 3g carbs per 100g and use these as the focus of your meals. Use those over 3g per 100g sparingly.

  1. You may eat some dairy

You should aim to include plenty of butter on this WOE. Fry with it and add it to your vegetables. And if you know that dairy doesn?t impede your weight loss you may eat cheese, but don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best.

If you?ve been cutting out tea/coffee, you can re-introduce this ? but just be careful how much milk you end up drinking. You can end up adding a lot of extra carbs this way.

  1. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day

Even if you?re drinking more tea/coffee than in Bootcamp, this is still a non-negotiable part of this WOE. And the more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. Water helps to flush out the ketones that your body will product ? so flushing out the fat.

  1. You may drink some alcohol

But restrict this to once or twice a week max. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine. Absolutely no beer/lager, cider, liqueurs, cocktails or full sugar mixers. You can drink spirits with artificial sweeteners, but bear in mind that we are attempting to avoid all things artificial!

Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for your body, and it will use this over and above anything else that is available to it. Therefore, even if you?re following the diet absolutely to the letter, including alcohol can prevent weight loss.

  1. You may eat some fruit

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb are all fine. But please ? only once a day at the very most, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. Just for information ? these are the carb counts:

Rhubarb ? 0.8g carbs per 100g (but don?t forget you will need to sweeten this ? and not with sugar!)
Blackberries ? 4.4g carbs per 100g
Raspberries ? 4.6g carbs per 100g
Strawberries ? 6g carbs per 100g
Blueberries - 6.4g carbs per 100g (although this is a bit controversial - I have had differing carb counts from various sources - some saying as much as 12g carbs per 100g)

  1. You may eat some nuts/seeds

Nuts/seeds can make a good snack. BUT it is incredibly easy to overdo it, and you can end up eating your bodyweight in carbs. Also, if you prefer salted nuts, it is very easy to eat too much salt via nuts/seeds. As an occasional snack they are great. As well as being bad for you, too much salt can result in fluid retention - which will mean a higher weight on the scales.

Macadamias are not only luscious, but they are very low in carbs. Sainsbury?s sell little bags of roasted, salted Macadamias that work out at around 4g per bag.

Here are some carb counts ? BUT ? check the back of your packets as I don?t know if these are for raw or roasted nuts:

Pistachios 4.6g carbs per 100g
Macadamias 4.8g carbs per 100g
Pecans 5.8g carbs per 100g
Almonds 6.9g carbs per 100g
Peanuts 7.1 g carbs per 100g
Cashews 18.1g carbs per 100g

10. Avoid artificial sweeteners
The aim of Bootcamp was to help reduce the stranglehold that sugar has on us ? and to curb your sweet tooth. But it does make some things difficult, e.g. desserts at a dinner party, and it is undeniable that it can be enjoyable ? occasionally ? to eat something sweet. However, restrict such goodies. For some people, artificial sweeteners can impede weight loss.
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SharonGless · 02/07/2012 08:21

Fuckety fuck -= 4lbs on.

Strict bootcamp for me now after the wonderful wedding. Suspect most of it is to do with alcohol and too many nuts which I was eating to stay away from high carb foods.

Right fellow LCers - onwards and upwards. 5 weeks to go

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BIWItheBold · 02/07/2012 08:46

Sharon - if you've slipped off the wagon, and the gain is based solely on that, it is unlikely to be fat that you've gained, and so if you go back to strict Bootcamp you should see those pounds disappear quickly.

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HavingAnOffDAy · 02/07/2012 08:56

Hi

A newbie here, I found an old boot camp thread last week & have done a low carb shop in readiness.

Current weight is 11 st 9 & I'd like to lose 9lb by my hols in 4 weeks time.

Just enjoyed scrambled eggs with smoked salmon for breakfast Smile and looking forward to really getting started! Any hints or tips very welcome. I'm a boredom snacker and like to feel full during the day to stop this.

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Creamtea1 · 02/07/2012 09:27

A pound on this morning (since yesterday afternoon!) for me too. Culprit: prawn in black bean sauce with bean sprouts and temptation of a few duck pancakes. Was yummy, but very shocked at overnight gain.
(tmi alert) especially when it gave me an upset tummy anyway and was up at 3am 'on the toilet'
Lovely! evil Chinese takeaway filth..

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ZZZenAgain · 02/07/2012 09:40

marking my place to come back later. I am going to have a go at this but I bought SO MUCH fruit on Saturday. Sniff. I love my fruit....

back later, thanks for posting the details of the diet BIWI

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mummyduff · 02/07/2012 09:40

Morning and well done loosers, I am down 1lb this weekGrin

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Thegoddessblossom · 02/07/2012 09:46

Marking place. [waves]

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Shimbo · 02/07/2012 09:47

Morning ladies. Well it's a STS (if that means stay the same?) for me this Monday. This is to be completely expected and I am quite relieved I haven't actually gained because a few meals this week which couldn't really have been helped because they've either been eating out or at a friends have not been bootcamp friendly. That's not to mention the alcohol Blush.

Lessons learned this week: avoid eating Thai food out because it is horrendously sweet (which I would never have noticed before starting this woe), every dish we had tasted sickly sweet and not very pleasant - and this was previously my favourite food! Don't overdo it on the wine because lack of carbs in stomach = get drunk much quicker = painful hangover in the morning!

Hope everyone has good weeks.

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HumphreyCobbler · 02/07/2012 09:51

Morning everyone. As suspected I am 3lbs up this morning thanks to wedding at weekend. Think it is mostly water though and sticking with it without despairing!

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Jins · 02/07/2012 09:51

Well done to the losers!

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TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 02/07/2012 10:02

After my bad weekend, my bf baby has developed spots on her chin. Could the carbs be the cause?

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teaandthorazine · 02/07/2012 10:05

Ahoyhoy losers! Grin

Feel good today. Even though it's Monday, it's raining, I'm on day 8 of an 11 day work stretch and I STILL haven't started my hideous essay. But frankly, I look properly slim and that, the angry feminist in me is ashamed to say, makes me HAPPY!

Yesterday:
B - protein shake (I swear this protein is making such a difference to my shape, I have muscle tone now!)
L - half packet of salted almonds (busy at work)
S - half a chicken breast wrapped in pancetta (leftovers) with mayo
D - panfried trout with asparagus and rocket salad, with pesto (and a bit of 85% choc while watching the footy)

Right, off to read rest of thread now!

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Livelongandprosper · 02/07/2012 10:09

Marking my place. Good morning everybody, welcome newbies.

HavingAnOffDay - I found the trick to feeling full and therefore not needing to snack was to make sure I ate enough protein. I have disliked meat (and to a certain extent fish) from a very early age but since joining bootcamp have re-introduced chicken, bacon, salmon and prawns. Breakfast now (e.g. eggs and salmon or bacon) means I don't feel hungry till lunch time. Before, breakfast was a very carby affair of toast and cereal and I was ravenous two hours later.

Good luck everyone, another week begins!

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teaandthorazine · 02/07/2012 10:24

Oh thanks BIWI for the adjustment to the thread title Wink - hopefully it will bring lots of curious newbies in!

I've got a wedding coming up this weekend so was interested to read everyone's carby wedding woes... never mind, back on track and those pounds will fall off again.

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BIWItheBold · 02/07/2012 10:29

HavingAnOffDay - welcome Smile

Once you're in ketosis, which will take you around 3-5 days, you will find that your appetite is suppressed anyway, so you are unlikely to feel hungry between meals. It's one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating).

And if you are hungry, it's either because you're not eating enough and/or you're not eating enough fat/protein.

There is no need for deprivation on this WOE - if you are hungry, then eat! Just make sure it's a low carb something that you eat.

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QueenStromba · 02/07/2012 10:33

I ate about 150g of protein yesterday and I'm definitely still well into ketosis - I could probably remove nail varnish with the acetone in my armpits. I wonder if eating lots of protein only prevents ketosis if you aren't already keto adapted.

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled in butter
Lunch: Spicy cauliflower and coconut soup (I'll post the recipe once I've figured out what it is) and some hot smoked salmon
Dinner: Roast chicken, celeriac chips, mayo, curly kale, broccoli

The main reason that I'm doing roast chicken is because I want to make Tom Kha soup and don't have any chicken stock. I can't believe that I've turned into the sort of person who looks at a recipe, sees that it needs chicken stock and incorporates a roast chicken into their dinner plans so that they can make stock rather than just chucking a stock cube in.

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BIWItheBold · 02/07/2012 10:35

Grin

That was my secret plan all along, Queen ...

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HavingAnOffDAy · 02/07/2012 10:47

Thanks for the welcome Smile, what sort of snacks can I eat? I'm mainly office based, have access to a fridge and microwave and reeaaally want to avoid eating eggs constantly!

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HavingAnOffDAy · 02/07/2012 10:47

That soup sounds gorgeous Queen!

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Lorelilee · 02/07/2012 11:16

Good Morning Ladies - room for a (rather large) little one? I have been reading these threads for the last week and feel that this is the one for me - just need to get used to the notion that fat = good! This is what I propose to eat today (had B already),:

B- 1/3 carton of Total Greet Yog, handful of peanuts
L- leaves with Tuna, Mayo and some chopped red onion
D - Chicken breast with brussels sprouts cooked with butter

A special thanks to SingingTunelessly for her advice re Thyroid issues... and convincing me this is the way forward...

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WillieWaggledagger · 02/07/2012 11:28

marking place...

bravo to losers

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BettySuarez · 02/07/2012 11:31

Marking my place too. Stayed the same this week Sad but onwards and upwards.

Well done to everyone this week Smile

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HumphreyCobbler · 02/07/2012 12:13

Yes, well done to those who didn't eat chocolate pudding at a wedding

I am amazed by the fact that I am so relaxed about the three pound gain. It is not my normal pattern of loss, eating forbidden food, weight gain, despair...

I am just looking forward to my lunch and thinking that I will soon lose it Smile

This is the point in my cycle that I normally start carb overloading, it will be interesting to see if those cravings go away. I think they will.

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PMMummy · 02/07/2012 12:15

There are 5 (FIVESad) bags of goodies in front of my desk at work and they are talking to me ......
Grrrrrrrr - early lunch me thinks to stop hearing chocolate voices.

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