Week 1 - New Year 2014 Low Carb Bootcamp - And We're Off!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

I see several of you have already weighed in on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

As of today, though, we also have our bright, shiny, new Bootcamp section on Mumsnet, including our own Weight Tracker, which will only show your own weight/progress.

You can either use the Spreadsheet as we have done before, which everyone has access to and can see, or you can go here and enter your weight.

Obviously you can do both!

When you're in the new Bootcamp, if you click on the tab that says 'more info' that will take you to a section which has loads of information about low carbing, as well as Bootcamp Rules

Before we get going formally, I have to make an important disclaimer:

I am not a doctor, a medic, a scientist, a nutritionist or a dietician. I have no formal training in food, dieting or low carbing. The information that I provide here is based solely on my reading on the subject, as well as my own experience. If you have any kind of medical condition and/or you are taking any kind of ongoing medication, you should consult your GP before starting a low carb diet

That done, good luck everyone!

Chipping!

LittleMiss glad to be of assistance.

Caramel it does get better, I promise. You've just got to ride it out. I'm finding it most difficult after meals when I just want something sweet. I've been having yoghurt, cream and vanilla instead - satisfying creamy, velvety mouth-feel!

Is low carb bolgnese sauce the same as ordinary? I love it and I'm intrigued over courgette pasta ribbons!

Lighthouse - it depends what you normally put in it :) Check the carb content of any tinned/bottled/tubed tomato type thing and if you use any kinds of packets. If it's just mince, small amount of onion (even better shallots), tomatoes (low as poss, around 3g carb per 100g) & herbs it's fine. Courgette ribbons are the biz!

Food today:
B - 3 eggs scrambled

L - white fish with asparagus fried in butter
D - homemade beef burgers with roasted cauliflower and broccoli.
Snacks - handful of baby carrots

I'm finding the diet surprisingly filling so far! I did 5:2 for almost 3 months and got very used to restricting myself. So I'm really enjoying it.
I haven't weighed myself at all, I don't feel any thinner yet... But my stomach feels much less bloated than usual.
I have a party to go to this weekend, going to have to stay strong, I helped to order the good and it's a carb fest!

Morning BIWI, morning evvvvvveryone. A new day :)

Am a daily weigher, and happy to see tis going in the right direction.

Morning all!

Lighthouse even better if you add lots of mushrooms - they're really low carb but add lots of flavour to a Bolognese.

popnsqueeze - it is one of the best benefits of this diet - you really won't feel deprived!

Morning Pistey Another daily weigher here. All good so far for me too. 3lbs off for me already, which I am a bit about, but very pleased.

Morning everyone! Thread moving so fast and I am shattered from new job early starts and long days so could not read last night as planned. I will catch up properly at lunchtime!

How's the job going BIWI? I have been freelance for 20 yrs, tis a shocker being back in an office this week... Especially one that provides a biscuit tin, tea cakes, a sweetie jar, cake for meetings and all other such temptations! But I am looking forward to proper regular pay days!

New colleagues baffled at me not hovering round the biscuit tin, they are looking forward to bashing me when I 'jump down from my pedestal' ... I however am thinking of BIWI in her office and how she would manage to resist .

I am managing 3.5 litres water during working day... Weird though the more I drink the more thirsty I seem to be. Anyone else feeling this?

Anyone got any good soup recipes? My faves are loaded with pulses so I need some LC ideas.

DH cooked amazing supper last night and not as time consuming as it sounds.

Mince cooked with spices, chilli and stock, a small squeeze of tom puree. Auberge sliced, brushed with oil and grilled. Halloumi fried n pan with butter. Mince was topped with aubergine, then halloumi and served with steamed purple sprouting and spring greens. Absolutely delicious and leftovers will be brekkie.

Good luck everyone!

Forgot to say... 2lb off already... yay!!!! but more importantly.... No bloat, I am looking forward to a run today and am sleeping like a log, amazing as am lifetime sufferer of insomnia.

All well here. I will weigh myself next week. I ate a huge amount yesterday of fat, pork, (even breakfast was 4 slices of bacon and 3 eggs), cream when I wanted an afternoon hit of something, more pork just before bed. Hoping today will settle down - day 3. I'm not thinner yet but I don't have too much to lose and never lose a lot so do not have false hopes and as my period just started still have the pre period bloating anyway which will disappear today or tomorrow.

Will get breakfast after the school run I think as not hungry yet although my body does prefer to stick to set times and no snacks at all.

I sympathise with the office workers. I gave a course to a group of them a few months ago and it just reminded how much we poison office workers every day with junk sugar foods. They had all kinds of pastries before hand. Some had brought in massive Starbucks drinks full of sugar and carbs. Then there were sweets on the table all day, all kinds and loads of conversations amongst the 20 of them about which were best and who eat which. only about 2 of them was not feasting all day (the healthy thin men actually who cycle). Lunch of course was large with sweet puddings and then the afternoon huge cookies at 3.15pm. Even the fruit people put out is still sugar pushing albeit a bit better for them. My daughter cooks 20 boiled eggs on Sundays and takes some into work every day as she eats what she calls "clean" or "caveman" which is basically what I recommend although I'd call it paleo or primal although I think in general it can be best not even to mention food and eating to other people a lot of the time as they have very strong views. If you just say you eat healthily or you don't eat processed foods that is usually easier for people to understand or say nothing and just refuse whatever is offered. In Spain for work a year ago I noticed the afternoon snack on someone'#s birthday was cold omlet in a box they had bought in! - so egg and veg - this was Northern Spain and everyone was having a healthy 3 course meal in the canteen for 2 hours every day, runs, fashion company so everyone was thin too but I have never seen such healthy afternoon snacks anywhere before. You wouldn't get a UK office worker bringing in cold omlet with veg for her birthday celebration sadly.

Okay, long post over - back to getting children up.

I weighed myself this morning and moly list 1 1/4 lb so far.

Yesterday I ate
b- scrambled egg
L- sausage, cheese and 2 cherry toms
D- chili (no beans) with cheese and sour cream
I had 3l water, green tea and a mint tea

Today I plan to eat
B- ham/roast beef philli rolls, ff yog
L- left over chilli
D- low carb sausages, cabbage and leek

Morning,onto day 3,hooray. I have tried to edit my weight on SOF as the one I put in was a bit heavy(stupid addition) hope I haven't bolloxed it up. I want to get an accurate reading of how much of a loser I am .
Off work today, so have a smear test...oh joy...then can start my ex programme I intend to do with this woe, if work would just stop getting in the way

thekitchenfairy one or two of us have said that we are drinking loads but feeling more thirsty, I think the other person was lucyvsfood but not 100%. So far I don't think anyone has been able to answer us though, I may have missed it.

Morning everyone!
I had a mini attack of the munchies late last night – had the tiny bit of cream left in the pot (about four teaspoonfuls) with grated vanilla. Seemed to do the job – with lots of jasmine tea. Kept getting up to pee but scales registering a couple of pounds down from last week (though knowing the way my body works will probably register a pound or two up before it settles somewhere in the middle
No meal plan sorted today yet but off for C25 W5R2! Never thought I'd get this far...
Am loving the photos by the way. Going to pinch Crabby's bubble and squeak idea – and those salt and vinegar crisps (can't remember who posted them)! Thank you for all for recipes, ideas, thoughts... helps to know we're all in it together!

Morning all!

Had to go to a bar for an event last night and my friend had got me in a slimline tonic with ice, I drank that and then went to the bar to investigate and had a soda water, which was ok I guess. I don't think it'll be my drink of choice again, but it helped to have something clear and fizzy in my hand because no one even asked me what I was drinking. After my nurse friend told me I'm probably damaging myself irreparably, I really can't be bothered explaining to anyone else!

Feeling a bit more motivated and less exhausted today, if a little sad because my husband is going away for work today

crabby how much vanilla are you putting in your yoghurt? I seem to be able to smell mine more that taste it

thekitchenfairy yes, I've got a mouth like ghandi's flip flop at the moment, and I'm galloping down water like a horse. You are not alone. Can't be a bad thing!

Morning!

All going well here so far.

Told the whole school in assembly (650 kids) That I had given up sugar so I have to stick with it now!!

Can someone give me a kick up the arse please? I am a daily weigher, have been next-to-perfect (I think) in my food (apart from 2 x 1/4 tsp of sugar in coffee each day... I have even weighed it in my patheticness and it's literally 3g total of carbs), and have not really lost anything this week so far and am getting demotivated.

Writing this down is helping actually because articulating it I can already foresee the responses with great prophetic ability I have a lot to lose (I would say at least 4st) and imagined that the weight would fall off to start with. I lost 4-5lb last week, am now 1lb heavier although I have my period.

Yesterday's food:

B - Total with orange essence
L - can of tuna with avocado, dressing, lettuce, cucumber
D - Puttanesca sauce with courgette pasta and parmesan. Estimate my portion of sauce would have contained 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

Anyway. I know I'm being a tit.

Ruprekt - that is a fantastic way of having to keep to it!

Why does everyone think this way of eating is 'no carb'?

There's carbs in most things, healthy or not. You're just eating less carbs and getting it from different sources.

Had a birthday meal with DM last nigh and ate 90% of the dinner but just helped myself to extra veg and skipped the carbs. Got another earful about how nutty it is. Luckily there are no obligatory dinners for another month or so

Well done to everyone else Some lovely ideas on this thread. All very inspiring!

Isn't it just proof though, of how messed up our idea of 'healthy eating' is when people think you're mad for having extra veg? Hope you slathered some butter on it

helium, are you getting enough fat and water? Add some double cream to your yoghurt, dress your courgette ribbons with butter (apologies if you're already doing this!) Keep the faith, it will work. I bet you suddenly drop a few pounds in the next couple of days.

Helium - are you on week 2/3? You do sometimes get a 'stall' in week 3,when the glycogen/water weight is gone. Your meals look a bit light in fat - and what was in the dressing on your salad? Was is homemade? Lots of oil? The puttanesca sauce doesn't have much protein in it, and again, quite low in fat. Low fat plus low carb means your body will go into 'starvation' mode! Are you drinking enough?

Those of you drinking loads and still thirsty - make sure you are getting sufficient 'salts'. You can buy electrolytes in bikes shops and suchlike (make sure there is no sugar) or eat more salmon,avocado, spinach; add lo-salt to meals, otherwise there is a risk your electrolytes get too diluted by all the water.

If you are drinking lots but feeling thirsty still you may want to check you are getting enough salt and potassium. Add some salt to your food and increase potassium rich foods like salmon or avocado. Lo salt (sodium chloride and potassium chloride) can work too. Keep an eye on this

Oops x-post with captainmummy

What she said!

I most certainly did! I dindn't bother defending it as I can't really be arsed and i'm losing weight & eating 'all that fat' cue DMs best horrified face so I know it works

Think extra salt/very dark leafy greens is helping with the thirst/feeling tired/pukey too