Bootcamp - the questions thread

[BIWI]

From experience of past Bootcamps, in the first few weeks the chat threads move really, really quickly and it's difficult sometimes to see/answer everything.

So this is a place to post any questions that you might have. Those of us who are old hands at low carbing will check this thread regularly and make sure that we answer you as soon as we can.

Tossed - the issue of caffeine is a difficult one - some people say it spikes an insulin release, others say it doesn't - so it's kind of up to you to see if it makes a difference to you if you give it up.

The other reason for giving it up, though, is the amount of carbs in milk. If you can drink tea/coffee with cream, that's better than milk - but it can still also add up to be a lot of dairy, which some people have a problem with

Sorry to be abrupt but I have to be quick.

Meatballs have breadcrumbs in, can I have these or do I need to make my own?

Thanks

Not really - although check the carb count and work out how many carbs in a portion. Depending on what else you're eating they may be ok. But home-made, without breadcrumbs, will always be better

As some of you know I am along time lurker and have followed this WOE successfully for some time now and I am lighter than I have been in decades!!

Can someone remind me of why from time to time you get a couple of days when you are ravenous.

Plenty of fat being consumed, water being drunk.

Thanks BIWI, going to start on Monday :)

barleywood that happens to me when i'm premenstrual. as i am now. i could probably eat dp if he weren't away with work

Pre-menstrual boat sailed long ago

I am hoping it is followed by a whoosh although I have no right to expect one. Sticking to low carb, high fat snacks so hopefully not too much damage.

Please remind me what proportions of calories are supposed to come from which food groups?

We don't count calories on a low carb diet! In terms of proportions it should be fat then protein and lastly carbohydrate

Oh I know we don't - just one reason to love eating this way!

I'm finding the last stone difficult to shed, so I was wondering whether I should perhaps be a bit more methodical in my approach. I know I can always bootcamp again, but I'd rather not - yet.

According to MyFitnessPal

Whoops!

According to MyFitnessPal, I'm getting about 70% of my calories from fat, 15-25% from protein, and 5-15% from carbs.

Are those optimum proportions, or would I be better of tweaking them?

If you could up the protein a little bit and cut the carbs back a little bit, I think that would be fine

Will give it a go. Thanks

Good luck!

Sueh I use lard in the deep fat fryer. I prefer the taste of light and mild olive oil but lard is better for this woe. I have a rotafryer so I have to remember to empty it before it solidifies. DH has been experimenting with deep fried pork belly (so-so) and chicken wings (yum) and I tend to deep fry spare ribs.

I still don't understand why you don't have to count calories.
Can someone explain please?

Is it that you are so filled up by the yummy fat and protein that you naturally eat fewer calories?

And if so then why the concern about whether people are eating enough calories?

Because the conventional theory of 'all calories are the same' simply isn't true.

And because we focus on keeping the carbs down, because it's the carbs that cause the insulin spike that causes the body to lay down fat.

We do, eventually, have to consider the calories we're eating, as we get nearer our goal weight, but at the outset it's sufficient to count the carbs.

There is a concern about people not eating enough, because the thinking here is that if the body isn't getting enough food/energy, then it goes into starvation mode, and hangs on to everything - so you won't lose weight. That's the theory, anyway!

If you were anaemic, the GP wouldn't tell you to take 5mg of iron filings every day, he'd prescribe ferrous sulphate in a dose which would give you 50mg of iron a day. Which you would take, and get constipated, nauseated and have black poo. So you'd come to MN, and we'd tell you to take ferrous bisglycinate, at a dose which would give you 25mg of iron a day. Which you would take, have no side-effects, and your anaemia would recover faster than it would on ferrous sulphate, despite the lower dose. This is because not all forms of iron are the same. Your body absorbs and processes them differently.

It is very similar with calories. The calorie content of food is measured by burning it under controlled conditions, and measuring the amount of energy it generates. (Because not all foods are tested, the amount if energy they can generate by being burned is calculated from the known values of their components.)

But - hey! newsflash! - you are not a machine for burning fuel under controlled conditions. You are a complex biological process. Just as not all forms of iron are the same, not all calories are the same. Your response to the calorie may depend upon the form it takes, your ability to digest that form, your hormone levels, your response to those hormones, many many factors.

This is why all calories are not the same, and calories in do not necessarily have to equal calories out in order to have stable weight.

I'm going to start LC next week and writing up a shopping list. Quick question - is there an alternative to the Total yoghurt? I get shopping delivered from Ocado and the Total yoghurt is expensive I've seen people posting about the Lidl one but I don't live near one.

Everything from Ocado is expensive!

You could get the Onken one (although make sure it's not the 0%/low fat one), but although it's as low in carbs as Total, it doesn't have the same fat content - so Total will be more satisfying (as well as better on a low carb diet)

Hmmmm I wonder if I can pick up some Total from the local asda to see if it's any cheaper. Surprisingly I do my shopping through the mysupermarket website and Ocado always comes up cheaper than Tesco, Sainsbos and asda it really shocked me!

You could always buy some double cream and add that to your Onken? Mind you, by then you'll have spent as much as if you bought Total in the first place!

I'd buy it if it was just me eating it, but I have a yoghurt fiend DP who would probably eat a kilo of it in one sitting Expensive habit!

How about cocoa( green and blacks probably)? If I make it with water and just a few teaspoons of milk would it sabotage things ?