Low-Carb Bootcamp - Ongoing Support Thread

[StuntNun]

That's it! We made it to the end of our mini Bootcamp. How did everyone do?

The marvellous BIWI always keeps a support thread going so if you have any victories, questions or low carb conundrums then please keep posting here. And don't forget to check out the Recipes thread for some cooking inspiration.

Add your final weigh-in to the Spreadsheet and to the Weight Tracker.

Hi Ujjayi and HUmphrey welcome and welcome back

I am just going to continue recording my daily meals here to help keep me on track.

Yesterday

B: Two fried eggs, coffee with cream
L: Cream of cauliflower soup
S: Two fat bombs
D: Two lamb chops, fried egg

Today

B: Two fried eggs, fat bomb, coffee with cream
L: Cream of cauliflower soup
D: TBC
S: Cucumber sticks and sour cream dip

I have lost 2lbs since Monday so very pleased, I'd like to lose 4/5lbs before the next BC starts then 10lbs during the next BC which will take me to 200lbs which is 14st 4lbs.

P.S Sorry if I repeat myself, I am on more than LC thread and forget where I've said something!

I tried 5:2 Humph and undid months of health benefits! After an initial promising loss I also put back about10lbs! Now I'm really struggling to shift said 10lbs so I would cheerfully smack Michael Mosely in the mouth for promoting it! Worst of all, my brain fog returned big style and my blood glucose, (which I had got right down to normal from diabetic levels), went scooting right back up. Thanks to a mixture of BC and the IPD plan I have got the health stuff back in control but the weight is being flaming stubborn. Could you maybe post the Whoosh Fairy to me? I will refund postage!

Miffy did you switch to 5:2 or combine it with LC? I did 14:10 for a while but I couldn't sustain it with trying to introduce carbs at maintenance as my carbs were too high for effective hunger control. I'm tempted to do a partial egg fast (two egg meals per day) next week to get back on track.

Initially I did 5:2 as it comes. I think a lot of people get taken in by the idea of eating what you want on the other days and it just doesn't work like that. I found the fact that I was back on carbs was counter productive. I also found that I instinctively seemed to want to eat more than I normally would on the fast days. Maybe I'm just a contrary mare and it was being told I couldn't have it that made me want to eat more than ever!

Like you Stunt I did 14:10 or 16:8 for awhile but I just prefer straight LCHF. Because of having to work round having FMS I have a slow start to my day so I just have coffee and a coconut oil cube when I get up and miss out on breakfast. I have my breakfast eggs at lunchtime. I do always have a small snack when I go to bed though as it keeps my blood glucose more level. Its usually just 1 or maybe 2 BabyBels or a buttered oopsie roll. Maybe I should stick to the oopsie or even do myself extra boiled eggs for my supper. That would give two egg meals and one normal, LC meal.

I have noticed a big difference in my BG though since I stopped the Greek yoghurt. I'm hoping the drop in BG again will mean less free insulin and therefore fat loss. OK, I can hope!

Thanks for the welcome back! LittleHumph is great thank you, into everything and exceptionally cute. NOt that I am biased

I'm going to do the same Sayra
When is the next boot camp??
I finally broke though the 11 stone barrier this week although only just. Now 10st 13.6lb
I want to be below 10 for my wedding so another stone off by the end of October

Today -
B - coffee with cream
L - not so good, black pudding and apple stack thing
D - will have lamb leg steaks with butternut squash chips

4 pints of water and have just poured another

Ready I think the next Bootcamp starts on the 29th?

Miffy it sounds like you're doing bulletproof IF anyway so you might find that's the best option for you, especially with having to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels.

Hello Hump! I can't believe it's 11 months since LittleHumph made an appearance!

I came across this piece this morning, which makes for really interesting reading. If you have the time, it's also worth reading the comments below too.

Hello BIWI, I can't believe it either.

And thanks to low carbing I am relatively thin! Had a nice time trying on clothes today and bought a fabby cardigan. Off to read the piece now, I am feeling VERY evangelical about low carbing at the moment. I have even managed to up the fat in the dc's diet which can only be doing them good.

That is interesting, isn't it? Have read some of the comments too. I do think that Bootcamp's insistence on eating lots and lots of veg goes a long way towards making this a brilliant WOE that works incredibly well for me.

My DH is very resistant to doing bootcamp, he really feels that it is not for him. I think he would do great with eating the low carb food I cook, adding the rice and lentils and cutting out bread and refined sugar. There isn't much argument about the need for sugar in our diet!

I know I've been guilty about being a bit evangelical about this WOE in the past (and I've tried to tone it down a lot ), but when something works for you so well it's hard not to want to shout it from the rooftops!

But it's undoubtedly true that it doesn't seem to suit some people. Although, I have to confess, those who have complained it's not working for them I have always suspected that they weren't doing it properly! Double

I learned the hard way just to keep my mouth shut about LC! Unless someone specifically asks me I keep quiet. Even when I'm asked I onlt say the minimum.

I wish my DH would give it a try. He is evangelical about Slimming World and he lost a huge amount but he put some back on after a brush with the Grim Reaper and now he can't shift it. I'm sure its because he lost the bulk of his weight on the old SW plan and now its the Extra Easy its full of carbs and hes going nowhere (except to trawl the cupboards and fridge for snacks!). Hes always hungry. Drives me crazy!

I know I don't appear to be losing very well now but I have lost a heap on LC. It suits my health problems too which is why I'm reluctant to experiment with adding in carb etc. Maybe I will just have to accept that I will never get back to a really decent weight. I have finally got back to where I was before I had my eldest DS and hes 35! When I was first diagnosed with FMS my GP told me I was wasting my time trying to lose as people with FMS can't do it. Well I proved that bugger wrong! I will continue to persevere!

I'm thinking of investing in some scales with a body fat monitor, anyone got any views on whether they are any good. I've heard varying reports and the ones I fancy are quite expensive so input from someone who has some would be appreciated.

Miffy I have reasonably priced scales with a body fat monitor and it's almost useless. It gives you a very rough idea, that's all, and it isn't useful for tracking %bf change over time as it's too inaccurate. To be fair though it's an inherently inaccurate method so those type of scales are never going to be that great anyway.

I am of the opinion that LC works for everybody, apart from a few medical conditions such as familial hypercholesterolemia or abetalipoproteinaemia (can't digest fat). BUT that doesn't been everybody needs a low carb diet whether for health reasons or for weight control. I do think there is a certain type of person - overweight, appetite out of control, metabolic syndrome - where a low carb diet has the biggest impact on health and weight.

Thanks Stunt. We had some once before. I wondered if it would give a better idea given that I am doing a lot of weights and hopefully building muscle but losing fat. Also DH is struggling too but he has lymphoedema in one leg and some days its huge! I wondered if he might be able to see that sticking on plan would actually show a reduction in fat.

I think the thing that is most important on any plan is that it fits your life style and you can keep it going. I could never go back to low fat/high carb as I dislike most carbs now. There is some research (but I forget where!) that showed low fat is good if you aren't insulin resistant. If you have metabolic syndrome its better to go low carb.

Miffy I bought these Omron scales a week or so ago. They measure body fat, visceral fat and skeletal muscle, using bioelectical impedance (putting a weak electrical charge through your hands and feet and calculating the above according to the amount of resistance. I don't know how accurate they are but according to a few studies I looked at on Pubmed, Omron and Tanita BI machines compare well with other methods (like calipers and body pods). Obviously I can't tell how accurate they are, but the results were enough to shock me into action, which was probably worth £50 in itself.

That should read bioelectrical, not bioelectical, obviously.

Thanks Crabby. They were the ones I was looking at. I liked the idea of the screen being on the handset. I don't even wear my specs when I get weighed! I'd heard that the actual fat % might not be absolutely exact but general opinion seems to be that it does show if you are going in the right direction.

Miffy couple of linkies...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23701358
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22935366

Yes the consensus seems to be that they are good at showing changes. I've weighted every day for a week now and my body fat and skeletal muscle measurements vary by up to 1% (usually increments of that). The visceral fat remains the same (and one of the studies I've linked to concluded that it's not a greatly accurate measure of that.

I've lost 4lbs this week on my Start Anew September regime.

Hello Stunt, btw. Haven't seen you for ages as I was lost in a swamp of carbs and wine.

I haven't weighted, I've weighed!

Morning all.

Off to Milan this afternoon. Sadly for work rather than leisure! I have no control over what food I'm going to get, so am preparing myself for a couple of carby days.

I've definitely lost a bit of weight since holiday (I haven't weighed, but I can tell from my clothes) but that's under thread now!

I went shopping yesterday for some new Autumn stuff, and it wasn't quite as bad as I had feared. I avoided as much as possible looking at myself in the mirror though

Ooh BIWI Milan! Even though it's for work not leisure, how lovely. I think when in Rome Milan do as the Romans Milanese do and eat trough-loads of carbs and appreciate the local cuisine.

But it won't be lovely, crabby! I have to give up half of my Sunday. I'll get to my hotel about 8pm where I will be confronted with a room service menu of food I probably won't want to eat. (I don't like eating in the restaurant on my own)

Then I will have to up really early to get to the research agency, where I'll be working till about 9.30pm, (goodness knows only what food we will be provided with, but I'll put money on it being sandwiches of some kind), then I'll come back to the hotel, this time with the client and design agency in tow, so I'll have to dutifully entertain them.

Rinse and repeat for Tuesday, then I have to be at the airport on Wednesday morning by about 5.30am to fly back to go straight to work.

Frankly I could be in Croydon!

The coffee will be lovely BIWI, and none of us will blame you if you accidentally eat some delicious pizza.

Thanks for the links Crabby. The second one does suggest that they are reasonably useful for body fat and muscle doesn't it even if the visceral fat reading is questionable.

I'd seen some Omron scales similar to yours but cheaper, however, looking at your Amazon link theres a comparison chart of the various Omron models and I'm thinking I might do better to spend a little more and get the extra features. Are they fairly idiot proof? I'm no technophobe but because of the effects of the FMS on my once excellent brain I now find that I don't retain new information. Every time I buy a new gadget I end up working with the instructions in my hand as I have forgotten what it said at the top of the page by the time I get to the bottom! It can take days before I can get to grips with stuff that requires too much thought!