Low Carb Bootcamp FAQs

[BIWI]

This thread is about the most often asked questions on Bootcamp, and/or about low carbing.

Each post will deal with a separate question. If there's a question you have or often see, PM me with it and I'll write a post about that.

1. How does a low carb diet work?

When you eat carbohydrate, it breaks down into glucose. Your pancreas releases the hormone insulin to sweep glucose out of your blood stream. The current diet that we’re recommended to follow in the UK is a high carbohydrate one, and so our bodies are constantly having to release lots of insulin.

The effect of this is for your blood sugar levels to rise and fall quite dramatically. Every time your blood sugar levels fall, which will happen around 2-3 hours after you’ve eaten, you’ll feel hungry again. The more carbohydrate you eat, the more pronounced this will be – this is why you’ll find yourself hungry around 11.00 and 15.00 after a typical breakfast of cereal/toast/fruit juice, or lunch of a sandwich and a packet of crisps (and perhaps a chocolate bar!). And what will you snack on at those times? Generally, even more carbohydrate! The biscuits with your mid-morning cup of tea or coffee, a slice of cake in the afternoon, etc.

If you keep your carbohydrate intake low, this rise and fall of blood sugars is much less dramatic. Protein and fat have a much more limited impact – insulin isn’t released to deal with fat – so your blood sugar levels are more stable, and as a result you will feel much less hungry between meals.

Strictly speaking Bootcamp is not a low carb diet, but a low insulin diet. The hormone insulin is released when we eat carbohydrate and one of its effects is to block the release of fat from fat cells. Lowering our carb intake, and therefore our insulin levels, allows fat to flow freely out of fat cells and be used as a fuel source. Over the first couple of weeks your appetite will naturally reduce, and your calorie intake will drop without hunger… and you’ll lose weight.

2. Why don’t I need carbs?

Some people may tell you that you have to eat carbohydrates to fuel your brain. While carbs are indeed a useful fuel, your body has more than one source of energy. When we cut carbs our muscles switch to directly using fat for energy. The brain can’t use fat directly, but the liver is more than capable of making enough glucose to meet the brain’s requirements.

3. Am I to cut out all carbs?

Absolutely not. You will be eating the majority of your carbs in the form of vegetables and salad stuff – and after the first two weeks of Bootcamp, some fruit (mainly berries). Bootcamp is definitely NOT a zero-carb plan. (Actually, there are very few plans that are zero carbs – but people tend to forget that vegetables have carbohydrate in them, and they focus on things like bread, pasta and rice.)

4. How many carbs should we eat per day?

First, we don’t count carbs on Bootcamp. The plan is designed to work as long as you follow the rules. You will be getting the majority of your carbs from vegetables and salad, so make sure you include these in all/most of your meals.

On the spreadsheet there’s a carb-counted list of vegetables – keep your focus on those that are around/under 5g carbs per 100g. That doesn’t mean you can’t eat those that are higher but be more moderate with those. (You will also need to bear in mind the density/amount of a specific vegetable or salad ingredient – e.g. garlic has 33g carbs per 100g, but I think you would be very unlikely to eat 100g of garlic!

Second, the main reason we don’t count carbs is that everyone responds differently to carbohydrate. So, some people have to keep their carbs very low (e.g. at around or under 20g per day), whereas others can tolerate many more before they start to gain weight.

Dr John Briffa (author of, amongst others, “Escape the Diet Trap”), suggests a daily amount of 100g per day, with an aim of no more than 30g at each meal. From my experience on Bootcamp I’d say this sounds more like a maintenance level.

5. Do we need to count calories as well?

Yes and no!

At the outset of Bootcamp you don’t need to count calories at all. Bootcamp was designed to be easy to follow – mainly because I can’t bear having to weigh and count everything all the time! It also encourages what I think to be an unhealthy obsession with food, rather than creating a mindset that’s about enjoying our food.

As long as you’re keeping your carbs low, you will lose weight. In fact, there’s a distinct calorie advantage when you’re low carbing. A calorie of carbohydrate will have much more impact on your insulin levels (therefore your weight) than a calorie of protein or fat.

That said, this isn’t an excuse to go mad and overload your plate. You still need to be mindful of your portions, and to only eat when you’re hungry. You may find that at a specific mealtime that you’re not hungry – this is a very welcome benefit of low carbing, that it acts as a natural appetite suppressant. If you’re not hungry, don’t force yourself to eat!

However, as you near your target weight, you will find that weight loss slows down. And one of the things to take into account at that point is your calorie intake. It also appears to be true, sadly, that as we age, we need fewer calories anyway – so it’s always worth considering how much you’re eating, and whether or not you need to eat that much.

As an example, if you were going to cook yourself bacon and eggs for breakfast (and who wouldn’t want to?!), that you probably serve yourself two slices of bacon and two fried eggs. That seems like a natural-sized portion. But is it? How about two slices of bacon and one egg? Or two eggs and one slice of bacon?

6. Surely we need carbs to fuel us during exercise?

No.

When we’re eating a diet that’s high in carbohydrate (the diet that’s currently still recommended by the NHS), this is what your body will burn for fuel. Carbohydrate is converted to glucose in your body, and there are three ways that the body uses this fuel:

1. as an immediate source of energy (think of the boost you get from sugar/chocolate as an example of this)
2. stored for later use as glycogen, in your muscles and liver
3. stored for longer term needs, as fat

If all we’re doing is eating lots of carbohydrate, we only ever access the first two stores – the danger being that the third store, fat, increases more and more.

When you take exercise, you’re accessing stores 1 & 2. But this is limited in terms of what it can supply to your body by way of energy – this is why runners and cyclists talk about ‘hitting the wall’ or ‘bonking’ – at a certain point, you’ve exhausted all the readily available energy in stores 1 & 2. This is why all the high-sugar gels and energy bars and drinks have been created for athletes – they need a quick ‘fix’ of glucose for extra energy.

We all have fat that the body can access for energy – even endurance athletes who have a very low body fat, but it’s difficult to access the third store, as your body isn’t used to burning fat for energy.

This is where low carbing comes in, and it’s why the first two weeks of Bootcamp are so strict. The aim is to switch your body from burning carbs (glucose) for fuel, to burning fat. This process of fat-adaptation isn’t immediate, but a strict couple of weeks will see you well on the way to achieving this.

Once you are fat-adapted, you have plenty of fuel for exercise.

In the short term, while your body is making the transition from burning carbs to burning fat, you may find exercise more difficult than usual – but this is only temporary.

A really good book to read here is “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance” by Drs Phinny and Volek. They’ve done tons of research into this.

7. What is carb flu?

Carb flu, or keto flu as it’s sometimes called, occurs as your body transitions from burning sugar (i.e. carbs) to burning fat for most of its energy needs.
Switching from a high-carb diet to a very-low-carb diet lowers insulin levels in your body, one of the primary goals of a ketogenic diet.
When insulin levels are very low, your liver begins converting fat into ketones, which most of your cells can use in place of glucose.

When your body is mainly using ketones and fat for energy, you’re in a state of ketosis.
However, it takes your brain and other organs some time to adapt to using this new fuel. When your insulin levels drop, your body responds by excreting more sodium in the urine, along with water.
Because of this, you’ll likely find yourself urinating a lot more often in the first week or so of low carb eating.
This change is responsible for some of the rapid – and usually very welcome! – weight loss that happens in the early stages of a low carb diet. However, losing a lot of water and sodium is responsible for many of the unpleasant symptoms of carb flu.
It’s well known that response to this transition is very individual. Some people may feel fine or slightly tired for a day or two after starting low carbing. At the other extreme, there are those who develop symptoms that strongly impact their ability to function for several days.
These are the classic symptoms of carb flu:
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Irritability
• Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
• Lack of motivation
• Dizziness
• Sugar cravings
• Nausea
• Muscle cramps
You may only get one or two – you may be lucky and not suffer at all! But if your current diet is very high in carbs, prepare yourself for this.
However, carb flu doesn’t have to be unbearable and there are things you do to get through it and make it less unpleasant.

(Adapted from www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/flu-side-effects)

8. So how do we avoid, or at least deal with, carb flu?

There are three key electrolytes which you need to be consuming when you’re low carbing – low levels of these contribute towards your symptoms. These are sodium, magnesium and potassium.

Sodium is the easiest one to deal with, and The Diet Doctor suggests this:

“During the first few weeks of your keto lifestyle, whenever you develop a headache, lethargy, nausea, dizziness or other symptoms, drink a glass of water with half a teaspoon of salt stirred into it. This simple action may alleviate your keto flu symptoms within 15 to 30 minutes. Feel free to do this twice a day or more, if needed”

Magnesium and potassium can be found in foods like salmon, avocado, spinach and full fat natural yoghurt.

You can also take an electrolyte supplement, like Zero

9. Why do you recommend that we consume more salt – I thought too much salt was bad for us?

As well as stored carbs holding on to water, they also hold on to sodium. So when you restrict your carbohydrate intake, it’s not only water that’s excreted but also sodium. Sodium is one of the key electrolytes that your body needs.

We’re told that too much salt (aka sodium) is bad for us, so many people do restrict their usage of salt. It’s quite common for me to read on Bootcamp threads that people aren’t cooking with it or using it on their food because of this. If you were to continue to eat a high carbohydrate diet this would be fine, but when we’re low carbing, we’re ‘washing out’ a lot of sodium too – and there are dangers in a diet that’s too low in sodium.

There’s a lot of contradictory findings about this, but there are some suggestions that a diet that’s too low in sodium:

1. can increase insulin resistance (which is when your body’s cells don’t respond well to signals from the hormone insulin, leading to higher insulin and blood sugar levels)
2. may increase your risk of dying from heart disease
3. may increase your risk of dying from heart failure
4. may increase your LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides
5. may increase your risk of death if you have diabetes (Type 1 or 2)
6. is associated with hyponatremia, a condition characterized by low levels of sodium in the blood. Its symptoms are similar to those caused by dehydration. In severe cases, the brain may swell, which can lead to headaches, seizures, coma, and even death. Certain populations, like older adults, have a higher risk of hyponatremia, because older adults are more likely to have an illness or take medication that can reduce sodium levels in the blood.

(Source: )

Whoops - sorry, the source for the post above is www.healthline.com/health/hyponatremia

10. Why should I eat three meals a day (plus snacks) if I’m trying to lose weight?

This isn’t a ‘diet’ that asks you to starve yourself to lose weight. Eating regularly keeps your metabolism going so that once your body switches over to fat-burning you will be able to effectively use up your fat stores. Eating regularly also prevents you getting too hungry and grabbing something carby. It’s much easier to avoid bad food if you’re already full of good food. You should never be hungry on Bootcamp. If you’re hungry then eat something! (Just make sure that it’s low carb, of course!)

Snacking is generally not something we’d recommend, but we recognise that in the early days of low carbing you may still be hungry at times, until your body adjusts. However, it’s also important to point out that a lot of us snack out of habit – we always have a biscuit with a cup of tea, or a ‘little something’ in the afternoon/early evening. If this is you, ask yourself if you really need it. Are you really hungry? If you are, then go ahead and eat – as long as it’s something low carb. Having a stash of hard-boiled eggs or cooked low carb sausages in the fridge is a really good idea, especially in the early days.

Other low carb-friendly snacks include cheese, olives, celery and cucumber.

11. Won’t I miss bread/dessert/fruit?

You may find it hard to do without these things, especially fruit as we’ve been trained to see this as healthy food. But it’s called Bootcamp for a reason! That said, we aren’t suggesting a life of complete denial. Once you’re happy with your weight then you can reintroduce some of these foods. Bootcamp is only ten weeks and those foods you miss will still be there at the end of it.

Bear in mind that although a piece of fruit is healthier than, say, a Mars Bar – it’s still got a lot of sugar. It may be natural sugar, but it’s still carbohydrate. You can get all the fibre that you need from vegetables, so cutting fruit out (at least temporarily) is a good thing.

We’re also using the ten weeks of Bootcamp to re-train our sweet tooth. You will find that your tastes do change, which will also help you to avoid overly carby treats and snacks in the future.

12. Can I avoid eating fat?

Absolutely not! Fat is processed differently by the body when we eat low carb, because of the effect of insulin mentioned previously. On Bootcamp, a steady intake of healthy fats actually speeds up the release of your fat stores. Eat full-fat dairy, add butter to vegetables, roast or fry your food, and it’s fine to eat the natural fat in foods such as crispy chicken skin or pork crackling.

This is not a low fat way of eating – it’s high fat, medium protein and low carb.

13. How quickly will I lose weight?

If you follow the Bootcamp rules and move to Bootcamp Light after the first two weeks, then you can expect to lose an average of 1-2 lb per week. Note that you won’t lose weight every week; the typical pattern is to lose several pounds in week one, 1-2 lb in week two, nothing at all in weeks three and four, then 0-2 lb per week in weeks five to ten. A lot of factors affect weight loss: how healthy your previous diet was, whether you’ve been on a low-calorie diet, your sex (men lose more quickly than women on low carb), how well you follow the rules, underlying health conditions such as PCOS or thyroid issues. One person will lose 9 lb in week one, another might actually gain weight in week one, most people will be somewhere between these two extremes. If you’re concerned about your rate of weight loss at any point, then don’t give up! Ask on the current Bootcamp thread and an experienced Bootcamper will help you. The most common causes of weight loss stalls are not drinking enough water, not eating enough fat, and eating too few calories.

14. Why is water so important?

When your body stores carbs, which is what is happening when we eat a high carbohydrate diet, it holds onto water. For every 1 gram of carbs you store, you’ll store an average of 4 grams of water. Once these carbs are removed from your diet, water will come along with it, so it’s important to maintain proper fluid levels when you’re low carbing. Dehydration can make you feel quite poorly, making you feel tired, as if you’re going down with something, and can lead to headaches.

15. Why you should drink more water when low carbing

Your body goes through major metabolic transitions as you become a fat burner. Here’s why adequate fluid levels are crucial:

1. you need to replace lost water

As mentioned previously, your body stores water when carbohydrates are present. When carbs are eliminated, water is also flushed out.

1. it curbs cravings and regulates appetite

Often, when you experience hunger pangs or sugar cravings when you’re low carbing, it’s most likely because you’re dehydrated. Make it a habit to reach for a glass of water instead of a sugary treat when these cravings arise.

1. it puts less stress on your kidneys

Ketones are acidic and some of these ketone bodies are flushed out instead of used for fuel to ensure they don’t accumulate in the body. Drinking more water supports the kidneys’ role of filtering out any unnecessary toxins that may be lingering.

1. water helps fat metabolise faster

The process of beta oxidation (where fats are broken down) requires water molecules. Burning fat costs more water during the process compared to carbs which means more water consumption will help your body break fats down more effectively.

(adapted from www.carbmanager.com)

Finally, one other benefit of keeping your water intake up is that it helps to prevent constipation!

16. What counts towards my water intake?

Ideally, just plain water! However, that can get boring quickly, and other fluids will clearly help to keep you hydrated, so you can include tea and coffee – just be aware that if you like milk in your tea and/or coffee, you can very quickly rack up a lot of carbs. So try, as far as possible, to drink them black. Remember there’s also caffeine in tea and coffee, so it is preferable to aim to get your water intake mainly from plain water.

If you find plain, cold water boring, try adding slices of lemon or lime, or cucumber – or even fruit like strawberries or raspberries (just don’t eat them!). Sparkling water adds texture which can make it more interesting, and there are lots of flavoured waters on the market too – just be careful to avoid those that contain sugar and sweeteners.

There are also many cold fruit infusions on the market now, as well as fruit and herb teas if you want something hot.

As well as cold water, try drinking it hot– it’s very soothing, and lovely with a slice of lemon and/or ginger.

17. How can I make sure I drink all the water I need?

If you have a lot of weight to lose, you’re going to need to drink a lot of water, and that can seem really daunting. But if you spread it through the day, it will be easier.

Some tips:

• drink a couple of glasses of water as soon as you wake up. Your body is most dehydrated after a full night’s rest, so drinking water as soon as you wake up is a great way to start your day hydrated.

• buy a new water bottle if you don't have one, or perhaps a nice glass. Figure out if you prefer large glasses or if that actually over-faces you. Perhaps a small one topped up by a bottle is better for you?

• if you’re sitting at a desk all day, make sure you always have a bottle of water on the desk

• try the elastic band trick – let’s say you have to drink 4 litres of water per day. Break that down into a smaller number of glasses, e.g. 8 x 500cl glasses. On your water bottle, put 8 elastic bands. Each time you finish a glass of water, take one of the elastic bands off.

• try using a hydration app – for example Waterlogged; you can photograph all your different bottles/mugs/glasses in regular use and add their sizes and log as you drink

18. Do I have to exercise to lose weight?

Definitely not.

Exercise is very good for our overall health and wellbeing, but it is a very small component of weight loss. Generally quoted figures on the internet suggest that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. But Dr Jason Fung (who wrote “The Obesity Code”) suggests it’s 95% diet and only 5% exercise.

The reason that it’s hard to lose weight only using exercise is that, firstly, you have to do a LOT of it to burn a significant number of calories. As an example, if you’re running 5K in around 30 minutes, that will burn around about 320 calories. It’s very easy to eat an extra 320 calories – because the other thing that happens with exercise is that it makes you hungry.

On top of that is the psychological element: “I’ve been to the gym/been for a run/swim, so I deserve that biscuit/cake/chocolate, etc.”

It’s a great idea overall to try and build exercise into your week, but don’t count on it as a way of losing weight.

Is there a book or post you could recommend about what is actually left to eat?

Reading this I realise I eat about 95% carbohydrates! I’m wondering what i should get into the house to be ready.

1. Eggs

What else?

Thanks a million.

3luckystars I'm a newby to this way of eating,i started in September. There is so much you can eat, but yes,you need to be prepared and ready.
Mushrooms are low carb so I make a large omelette with spinach and cheese and that lasts me for 3 days( I take it cold and eat in the car between jobs!). I keep babybels and peperanis in my car to snack.
Lunch could be a tin of tuna in oil,mixed with full fat mayo and lots of peppers and other veg mixed in.
Evening meal tonight is smoked haddock cooked in Philadelphia with cherry tomato and load of roasted veg. My sons will have it with some pasta.
Evening snacks could be pork scratching and olives.
Good luck.

Thank you.

@3luckystars have you seen the prep thread yet?

I've written on there about the foods we can/can't eat, which should help you. Also, go and have a look at the recipe threads, which are stickied at the top of the Low Carb Bootcamp topic. That should give you plenty of inspiration!

Thanks very much. I just need to get organised now.

Sorry it’s me again. I hope I’m not annoying you now!

I decided to give the low carb a go in October after reading your thread and was all excited. My diet is 100% sugar and carbs and I really want to change my ways.

I got a few days in when my daughter had to go to hospital suddenly and there was absolutely nothing there to eat that was suitable. Nothing whatsoever!! Even the healthy stuff was all on the ‘what not to eat’ list.

I gave in and had a chicken sandwich and then as I was stuck there for a few days, I just went back to my own ways. My body never even got a chance to get used to the new way.

I’m determined this time to be more prepared and to have something to fall back on if I am away from home.
She has to go to hospital again next week but this is a planned trip.

I should have just got back on course again but I am hoping posting here will keep me straight if I am in a situation where there is nothing suitable to eat and I have a bad day.