May Low Carb Bootcamp - the questions thread!

[BIWI]

Welcome! From experience, the first couple of weeks of every Bootcamp sees very fast moving chat threads, and so if you have a question, it's easy for it to be missed.

So post anything you want to ask on this thread and I and the other experienced low carbers will try and keep and eye on it and give you our best answers.

Don't worry you will still get hungry, I will just build up more gradually and skipping a meal or eating late won't bother you so much.

Brilliant, thanks StuntNun. I think I may be in ketosis then. I definitely recognise your description of hunger building up gradually, instead of the desperate , must eat now kind of feeling I quite often get!

Is it normal to have weird breath if you're in ketosis? And are we supposed to be in ketosis, or does it not matter?

Re:courgetti do you fry it or boil it?

pata yes, it should pass in a few days - drink more water as it helps

fry or rather saute in butter just for a few minutes until they soften

EmpressofBlandings Thank you, those sound lovely suggestions, I'm looking forward to visiting M&S Food dept again!
LexLoofah Thanks for those recipes, will look out to see if I can find all the ingredients here!
Re: Ketosis - my hunger pangs are not really abating here. For the past two days, I have woken up with my mouth feeling like the inside of a parrot's cage (so to speak) and I swear I've not touched a drink or a ciggy! Is that a sort of sign of ketosis?

RE: ketosis

It is not necessary to be in ketosis to lose weight, I think most people need to be eating very LC to be in ketosis (,20g carbs per day) so you don't need to try to get into ketosis.

The main signs are:

thirst
ketones on your breath (pear drops/acetone smell)
metallicy taste
loss of appetite

To avoid this you could eat a few more carbs (in the form of LC veg) to take you out of ketosis, drink more water (but make sure to up salt/potassium) to avoid disrupting your electrolyte balance. Do not try to use ketostix to see if you are in ketosis as if you are drinking sufficient water then the ketostix won't work.

And finally remember you do not need to be in ketosis to lose weight

Thanks so much for that, SaryaT - I'm probably misreading posts here, then, as I've gained the mistaken(?) impression that people are aiming to be in ketosis.

That was supposed to be

Maybe some people are aiming to be in ketosis but it certainly isn't essential for weight-loss.

Thanks Sayra!

Dp's feeling horrible today, sluggish and struggling, he's said he's making sure he's getting enough salt, and is drinking enough water, any idea how I can help him?

He needs to keep hydrated and ride it out, it's probably carb flu!

Plenty of fat and really needs to make sure he's drinking plenty of water.

Salt - on food, in cooking, and try drinking a hot drink made with an Oxo cube, or Marmite/Bovril.

Question for those in the know/long term low carbers on taking vitamin supplements.

DH and I take one day multi-vits (organic, raw blah blah blah - they say no fillers but are based on plant/veg/fruit extracts) I am guessing as the quantity is so low unless they are super-concentrated little carb bullets that these are OK in terms of eating low carb right?

Also Super EFA is OK?

thx

Thank you. That's what I've said, I just wanted to make sure there was nothing else that we needed to add!

Just been browsing through FB and came across a recipe for peanut butter cookies, 2 eggs and 2 cups peanut butter blended together then baked for 5-6 mins. Obviously no good for bootcamp but would they be ok for bootcamp lite?

Lex - multi-vits usually aren't worth bothering with.

The RDA is based on very low levels required. As an example, the RDA for Vitamin C is based on the amount you need to stop you getting scurvy.

Better, IMVHO, to buy specific vitamins/supplements and take a decent amount. And, if you're following Bootcamp rules, and making sure that you're getting your carbs from veg and salad, and you're eating fresh/unprocessed meat/fish, then you really shouldn't need to worry about adding extra vitamins/minerals.

I take multivitamins as a safety net for if I don't manage to get all the vitamins and minerals I need from my diet. I supplement with extra vitamin D and if I go very low carb (10g per day sends me into ketosis) then I need a small amount of extra magnesium as well or I get leg cramps. Unless you eat a lot of oily fish, a high quality cod liver oil could be beneficial.

There are some who suggest that vitamin D can also help with weight loss, I seem to remember - will go off and research that a bit more. But often we can be vitamin D deficient as well.

Here you go - vitamin D and its impact on overweight/obese post menopausal women

Things aren't moving along very well despite eating plenty of veg and drinking lots of water- 3 days now and I'm feeling a bit worried. Is psyllium husk OK to add to a salad or could this stall me?

Are you actually constipated though (i.e. having difficulty/pain) or is it just that you haven't been to the loo?

If the latter, no need to worry. Don't start adding psyllium yet. Just make sure you're eating plenty of fat as well as the veg. Some exercise can help as well.

Can I ask- if you have a food shop budget of around £60 per week, what does your shopping list look like when low carbing?

Oh, and which sausages are low-carb?

thanks biwi - not constipated and no urge to go but I feel fine so I guess a good long walk needed. I have been sitting down marking a lot lately.