Week 3 - Low Carb Bootcamp - the hard work is over!

[BIWI]

Morning all!

Well done everyone for getting through the first two weeks. Still a bit of carb flu around by the sound of it though. Remember it's really important to keep your electrolyte levels up, with all the water that we're drinking. This means plenty of salt!

I know we're all told to keep the salt down, but it's (yet another) thing when you're low carbing that runs counter to expectations. Cook with it, and put it on your food.

Here's a really good post about salt and why we need it

As well as sodium, we also need magnesium and potassium - salmon, spinach, avocado and (full fat) natural yoghurt are all good.

Bootcamp Light

So now, if you want to, you can move on to Bootcamp Light. The rules for this are on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

(Oh, and don't forget [[www.mumsnet.com/bootcamp the Weight Tracker as well)

Essentially the differences are that you can, if you want, start to skip breakfast if you're not hungry - I know that lots of people have problems with eating first thing. By now you should have stabilised your blood sugar levels, so if you're not hungry in the morning (or at any other time of the day) you don't have to force yourself to eat. Just make sure you don't end up ravenous later on and without anything appropriately low carb to eat!

You can introduce some fruit - berries or rhubarb only (although bear in mind that rhubarb will need to be sweetened, which will mean using an artificial sweetener; stevia is probably the best one to use - brands are PureVia or Truvia.) But be careful not to go mad - it's an occasional thing, and in moderation!

Similarly with nuts and seeds. These can be introduced now as snacks, but go easy. They can quickly add lots of carbs to your diet. Almonds and macadamias are the lowest in carbs. And if in doubt, check the carb count on the back of the packet

And you can also introduce alcohol, but with the same warnings about moderation! Spirits like vodka and gin are the best, as these are low carb - drink them with sparkling water or - if you have to - slimline tonic. Champagne, dry white and red wine are allowed, but these do have carbs, so go easy.

The week 3 (or 4, or 5) stall

PLEASE NOTE! IT IS VERY, VERY COMMON FOR WEIGHT LOSS TO STOP ALTOGETHER AT THIS POINT.

This is to do with your body switching from carb-burning to fat-burning - StuntNun posted a really good post about this last week, I think, and I'll ask her to re-post. It is entirely normal and doesn't signal that you're doing anything wrong.

However - you may feel, knowing this, that you want to stay on Bootcamp for a bit longer. There is no problem doing that, as long as you are getting your carbs from vegetables and salad. You may want to consider doing Bootcamp during the week and Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

So good luck everyone! Here's to another good week

[BIWI]

jimmy - sounds like low blood sugar - you must make sure that you eat!

[pingufan]

Yes I've switched to full fat mince etc but do tend to eat a lot of chicken breast, tuna and tinned salmon. I have aldi ff mayo which is 1.4g carb per 100ml and I do use that quite freely. I am using over a pack of butter a week! And I have just ordered from Amazon coconut oil to make the bpc. Will try and concentrate on the fat more.
Thanks all I know you've said it before but it's so frustrating when you don't see losses and overall I'm over 9 weeks in so should have passed the stall stage by now.
I should be measuring though, my shoulders and collar bones are feeling skinny this morning lol

[BIWI]

BUT YOU HAVE LOST 20LBS!

[BIWI]

BUT YOU HAVE LOST 20LBS!

[BIWI]

Sorry for double and incomplete post

pingufan you have done brilliantly so far. Try and focus on what you have already achieved!

20lbs is 40 packs of lard. Just visualise that.

Re-read Bootcamp rules and ask yourself if you're really following them.

And are you enjoying your food? Do you feel deprived? Do you feel like you're on a diet? Are you hungry all the time? Do you want to have to go back to weighing, counting calories, or 'syns' or points, and all those other things that made food a torment rather than a pleasure?

[pingufan]

Yes I am happy with this WOE, I can honestly say I've passed all the sugar cravings, carb cravings etc.

Last night I did a party food thing for the kids as they had a sleepover, did chicken goujons, pizza, Doritos, salsa, grapes and I made a Madeira cake. Not one bit of it bothered me

I was so full from sausage bacon and egg at lunch all I had for a late tea was cucumber and pepper cut into slices with a large dollop of mayo and 2 slices of ham.

Thought I was being virtuous but looking at that now seems I didn't have enough fat?

I have a lot of weight left to lose and am stuck in between clothes sizes. Almost in a 16 from a tight 18 but I expected to keep on losing even a pound a week would be nice. Perhaps I'll get a whoosh soon x

[teawithlemon]

pseudo just goes to show I'm far too sensitive about my weight and issues with food!

[StuntNun]

Sorry I have loads going on this morning and I can't get time to post. Pingu I will get back to you later but I just wanted to have a quick shout at people... PLEASE DON'T EXPECT TO LOSE A POUND A WEEK! I consider myself a bit of a poster child for this WOE: the weight crept on steadily over the years, every pregnancy added a few more pounds that wouldn't shift, I was desperately craving carbs, insulin resistant and unhappy with my weight and appearance. I got my fair share of scoldings and big stick wielding courtesy of BIWI, the weight came off over the course of five months and has stayed off for the last six months. BUT and here I finally get to the point and yes there is a point! I lost an average of 1-2 lb a week overall. Some weeks the scales went up, sometimes they went down, sometimes they stayed the same. Sometimes I stayed the same weight for three weeks and then had a visit from the whoosh fairy and a couple of pounds came off overnight. And this is absolutely typical of weight loss on this WOE. I think people are getting mired in the short term view but weight loss just isn't linear like that. Have a look at the weight loss success thread. This WOE works. Follow the rules and you will see the difference. If you think you are having issues then post about them and people will make suggestions but please don't expect to see steady weight loss week after week, we need to look at the big picture.

[teawithlemon]

I still get cravings pingu, it's when I'm tired and stressed. Emotional eating without a doubt, but recognizing that is half the battle. Couldn't tell you how many diets I've tried over the years, and this is the ONLY woe that's been effective for me.
Last time I did LC must have been two years ago, then the weight just whooshed off, but this time around menopause is looming and I'm seeing a much slower response from a metabolic perspective.

Thanks stuntnun, patience and perseverance (and big stick waving) is much needed and appreciated!

[Ohwhatfuckeryisthis]

So sausages had vanished, (drunk ds) that meant scrambled eggs with asparagus. Yawn.
We were supposed to be going out, but dh is "poorly". So dd is sulking cos no day out. I'm going cook a hooge roast chicken (put butter under the skin with garlic) green veg for me, roasty spuds for the carby fuckers amongst us. Fucking weather, even going for a walk is out of the q.

[lookingforhope]

Hi all - Stuntnun thanks for that explanation. Have been getting a bit confused with all the mixed advice out there on LC'ing - no calorie counting / don't overeat, protein is good / you can have too much protein, cauliflower is safe / you can have too much cauli etc!! It's too much for my small brain. One of the things I like about this WOE is the simplicity as I hate, hate, hate calorie counting, and was getting bogged down. Your explanation has helped clear things up.

Been good this week - mainly on BC but had some FF Greek Yoghurt and 6 strawberries as a treat on Friday, and have had a couple of glasses of white wine. Ate out 3 times and managed not to go off plan once apart from the wine (and didn't drink very much of it) Italian meal out tomorrow, have already planned to have the chicken in a cream sauce and creamed spinach for the main, and calamari salad to start. Yum!

Feel I haven't lost weight though. My trousers still feel tight - will weigh tomorrow but not hopeful, but what I do love about this WOE is not feeling hungry and not snacking so will persevere for a bit

Today's menu

B: Smoked salmon, scrambled egg and spinach, coffee and cream
L: Egg mayo wrapped in lettuce leaves
D: Roasted tuna steak, cauli, aubergine and courgette in pesto

Good luck to everyone tomorrow. Tons of admiration for those of you who are struggling with disabilities, kids in hospital etc etc, you make my efforts seem feeble.

[StuntNun]

Pingu if you're coming from a high protein diet then you could be eating too much protein. If you eat too much more protein than you need then it can be converted to glucose which could make your carb count for the day too high. Do remember though that meat isn't pure protein. For example a 140 g chicken breast has around 43 g protein. If you think you're eating too much protein then do check for a typical day on My Fitness Pal or a similar app, and try to keep protein to around 20%. Chicken breast is very low in fat, even with the skin on. Chicken thighs, drumsticks, quarters or wings are better than chicken breast. Try and pick the fattier meats and eat the skin and the fat. I use lots of butter when I'm cooking. You can brush chicken thighs with melted butter before cooking them. I have been known to rub lard into pork belly before cooking to get really crispy skin. Steaks fried in beef dripping are nice but steaks fried in bacon grease are amazing. If I boil or steam vegetables then I melt butter in the microwave to pour over them. My dinner plate usually has a puddle of butter on it. I keep a big bottle of homemade vinaigrette in the fridge so that I can drench salad in it. Mayo is another way to add fat but check the carb count if you don't make your own. A lot of people can't stomach eating the fat so a bulletproof coffee is a good way to get more fat. Bear in mind that if you have a lot of weight to lose you may not need so much fat as you will be using up your fat stores. It's when you're at your maintenance weight that you may need to up your fat intake.

Also Pingu the week 3/week 4 stall isn't the only time you will stall. It's normal to stall at times on any low carb die. A stall is usually defined as four weeks without the scales moving, although you often find you lose inches without losing any weight and then have a whoosh. There are techniques you can use to break a stall but I don't think you've reached that stage yet. As a first line I would say up your fat and make sure you're drinking all the water.

For everyone else, unless you're having a specific issue, then don't get bogged down with calorie counting, just follow the rules and you won't go wrong.

[lowcarbforthewin]

Pingu as a long term dieter I would also say it is entirely normal to stall sometimes. Don't panic, don't even adjust things much, just keep going. I always think of it as the body getting freaked out and needing a bit of space to catch up with it's new state of being before letting you lose more, but that's not exactly scientific. You should be eating fattier cuts of meat though.

Back when I started this woe, I was told that at each meal you should eat a portion of protein the size of your palm, the fat should equal the size of your thumb and you should eat two big fistfuls of veg. For me that's been a really handy way of visualising how much I need. Obviously if you're hungry after that you can tweak things a bit but it works pretty well. For me I think I'm near enough maintenance stage that I do have to watch my portions, so I'm really trying hard just to eat when I'm hungry and not just mindlessly graze.

[JimmyCorkhill]

Thanks BIWI. I think that's the 1st time in my life that I have been told to eat more

I think it's a lesson learned that I need to plan my whole day and have food easily to hand. I don't miss any forbidden foods but I do miss the convenience.

[magso]

Lookingfor your day menu sounds lovely - am cooking your breakfast for lunch.
Pingu loosing 20 lbs is inspiring and excellent!
Going back to the conversation about supplements I read ('The new high protein diet by Clark and Clark- which is really about LC) that a very low carb diet can leave you a little low on vitamin C, so I have started taking vit C. I noticed this too late -already have a cold!!
If you like long baths, a good soak in an Epsom salt bath (about a cup)can help restore magnesium levels, as it can be absorbed if needed (or ignored if not) through the skin.
We had to drive some miles yesterday at short notice so I did not take food with me or realise it would take all day. After attending to our mission, we were starving. Nothing in any of the cafes was suitable for me to eat so ended up stealing the contents of a few of the rest of the families sandwiches. Later (tea time by then) we had fish stew and it was really lovely. I feel slimmer even if my highly variable scales are not showing much change.
Stuntnun and BIWI and everyone else who has worked so hard to get this BC up,running and supported - thank you

[pingufan]

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to post

lowcarbforthewin the portion sizes in relation to a hand are fab! thanks that what I was having trouble visualising! the amount of food, in particular protein to eat. On the previous terri ann 123 plan I was in we had to eat a minimum of 250g of meat or fish each meal.

Today for lunch I ate the whole leg of a roast chicken with the skin which wasn't actually a lot of meat but very filling, cabbage, swede, cauli and broccoli all with butter. Delicious.

I don't eat cream, keep cheese to a minimum say 3 times a week and haven't yet eaten any berries or nuts.

Will keep plugging on, I don't feel like I about to give in but I just wish I could fit into some nice clothes! Got a weekend away with the girls next weekend and have hardly anything to wear! Will try and stick to the plan the best I can but there will be vodka drunk!

[antimatter]

StuntNun - thanx for this explanation! It makes sense and fills in gaps of my knowledge.

For those asking themselves how much water they should drink - have look at this calculator
nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

it takes int account your weight, number of minutes of exercise you are doing, climate you live in etc.

It tells me I should drink 3 l of water! And that's without taking into account what I need to drink to keep my kidneys going!

[antimatter]

lowcarbforthewin - I read somewhere that the terri ann 123 plan recommends no processed meat for the first 10 days but yet they advise to have sausages which IMHO are processed food
lots of sweeteners in that diet!

[lowcarbforthewin]

Sorry to hear you've had such a shit weekend. Please do tell us about it if that would help, but don't if you don't want to iykwim. Huge well done for sticking to BC.

[linesandlines]

Thanks so much for the calorie explanation StuntNun, that had been really confusing me too.

In terms of getting more fat in to your diet, BPC is great, and someone here advised buying the poshest butter you can, and having a slice of that. It feels so so wrong, going against everything you're used to, but it's proper yum. Would a slice of cheese with a slice of butter on top be too much? A bowl of whipped cream, even without berries, feels like a pudding.

Has candida and die-off been discussed on this Bootcamp yet? After starting BC I did a course of probiotics and feel as though that has really helped with sugar cravings and overall wellbeing.

Finally, MrL made some swede (turnip) dolphin pose this week, which was great as a stodge replacement, but tasted really quite sweet to me. Is it supposed to? Our salt & sugar jars are identical, so I have my doubts....

[pingufan]

Well I've put today's food so far into mfp and the macros are 10% carb, 30% protein and 60% fat. So that tells me that I am probably eating too much protein as usually I have ham with my buttery eggs for breakfast (didn't today) and I would normally have something meat based this evening too.

Will just have to have butter for dinner to even things out!

[ImSoOverIt]

A bowl of clotted cream always finishes a meal off for me nicely!

I hate to not catch up properly yet again but have had people at mine all day and now at my mum 's on phone...

I had an incident yesterday. I went for a 10 mile run yesterday as part of my half marathon training. It was the longest run I have done so far training for this event, I did 7 miles when I first started this woe and was fine. I had been out for short runs 3-4 miles) two days in a row before yesterday.

As soon as I set off yesterday I didn't feel "right", I felt achey and tired and had to keep stopping to walk, which is really unlike me. I assumed if I kept going it would pass but it just didn't. Anyway I completed the 10 miles and went for a little push at the end, but when I got in I nearly collapsed. I had a tight headache, felt really sick but really hungry at the same time with massive tummy rumbles. I felt so weak and tired and couldn't even stand up to have a shower so had a bath and then crawled into bed. I also felt really drowsy and was snapping at dp.

I tried eating some cheese and tomatoes and I drunk some water and dioralyte but I wasn't getting any better, so I gave in an ate some white bread. Treatment of hypoglycaemia is give 15g carbs and wait 15 minutes, so I ate I small slice bread (10g carbs) and waited 10 minutes, then ate another and then I eventually started to feel a bit better. I still felt wobbly all evening, so I confess to eating some of dp's naan, a little bit of poppadum and didn't pick the potatoes out of my veggie korma like I normally would!

I know that true hypoglycaemia is rare in a non insulin dependent diabetic (I am a medic), but I honestly believe I was hypo, seeing as I got better after the carbs. Or I may even have been a little acidotic due to the lactic acid and/or ketones after such a sustained workout with no reserves.

I am just worried now as I am doing this half at the end of June, and I want to be able to do it whilst in this woe! I have had a good google and there are people who manage to distance run on a high fat low carb diet once they are "fat adapted", but I don't know what to do to get there.

I am disappointed that I had to eat carbs last night, but I was honestly so unwell and didn't seem to be able to get better without them. I have been doing strict bc up til now, but I'm not sure whether to switch to light so I have a few more carbs, or whether this will delay me getting fat adapted and cause an even bigger "bonk" when I do run and deplete any glycogen stores I build up.

I have been back on bc today, but of course was 1.5lb up this morning which is disappointing after the effort I put in yesterday! I have also felt like absolute crap today which I'm not sure is still the hangover from my episode yesterday, or having to go through carb flu again after having those carbs yesterday.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I really want to do this half, but also want to succeed on this woe as well, and I can't risk feeling like I did again yesterday - I worry I might end up collapsing on race day! How do I manage if I have an episode like this again? Sorry for the essay