Low Carb Bootcamp - Jan 2016 - the questions thread

[BIWI]

Post here any questions (or concerns) you may have here. The main chat thread often moves very quickly in the first few weeks, so specific questions can get missed!

I'm not bootcamping but hope it's ok to ask some questions.

1. I'm skinny all over except the belly and hips and suspect some of that might be caused by the perimenopause/menopause. I've put on about 8pounds in the last year but I was very skinny before that- 8.5 stone and 5'9" is low carbing the way to lose what I regard as the extra?
2. Do you then live a low carb life or can cake, wine and chocolate return in moderation?
3. Can you low carb lite from the beginning, will my body start adapting or do you always need the bootcamp to kick it into ketosis first?

I'm not sure why you would think it's the menopause? If you've gained weight, then you've gained weight! Weight around the middle is a sign of visceral fat, I believe - i.e. fat around your internal organs - and it's the most dangerous kind of fat in terms of our health, so it would be a good idea to try and shift that.

That said, 8.5 stone at 5 ft 9 in isn't overweight! Are you sure it's not your posture and/or tone/definition? Exercise might be better for you.

In general, it's better to live a low carb life, because high carb diet not only risks weight gain, but it's also bad for you - diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, Alzheimers ...

That said, once you're at the weight you're happy with, the occasional slice of cake, piece of chocolate, glass of wine won't hurt - as long as it's not an excuse to suddenly devour all the carbs you can see!

You don't have to do strict Bootcamp to lose weight - you don't need to be in ketosis to lose weight; cutting down on carbs should result in weight loss. However, everyone is different in terms of the amount of carbs that they can tolerate, so you'll probably have to experiment to find out what works best for you.

Not so much a question but those microwaved Babybels are AMAZING.

How can I make egg muffins less soggy? I think it's probably the mushrooms, but they turn out like eggy sponges.
How long should they be in the oven for?

Thanks BIWI The reason I thinks it's menopause related is because I developed it within the last year. I've had it checked out and there isn't anything sinister going on. My friends are all developing the same way and we are all the same age. It's like bloating before a period to some extent but there is also solid chunkiness around the kidney area. Two of us have independently found that cutting carbs makes a difference. And yes I am trying to plank to build up muscle tone in the relevant areas.
Thank you for your other answers. I've always been skinny. 8 and a half stone was my weight for years and years so this is unusual for me. Otherwise, I know it's not considered overweight for my height.

Patapouf I leave them until they go quite dark brown on top - but I've found that veggies of most kinds make them soggier. Do you cook off the mushrooms before you put them in? If not, try that, as that will remove loads of liquids from the finished muffing.

I have a recipe from Hello fresh
**Super popular firecracker prawns with Chinese leaf & basmat (avoiding the rice).
The foods I am stuck on whether they can be used are
Ginger chopped 1 tablespoon
Sesame oil
Chilli bean paste
Tomato purée
Rice vinegar
Soy sauce all listed as 1 tablespoon of each.
Foods I know allowed are prawns, garlic,spring onion.
Chinese leaf also used is this low carb ?

Ginger is fine
Sesame oil is fine

Chilli bean paste unlikely to be fine - beans are high in carbs - but check the label

Tomato puree is ok in small quantities

Rice vinegar is fine

Soy sauce is fine

Chinese leaf is also fine

Sounds like a goer, apart from the chilli bean paste!

Thanks for the reply Biwi.
The chilli Bean paste carbohydrates 2.2g in 18 gram recipe shared with hubby so less than that.
Ingredients in chilli bean paste.
Salted Chilli Peppers 48%, Water, Fermented Soybean Paste (Water, Salt, Soybeans, Wheat Flour), Fermented Broad Bean Paste 9% (Broad Beans, Water, Salt, Wheat Flour), Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Dehydrated Garlic 1%, Chilli Pepper Powder, Soybean Oil, Acid E270, Flavour Enhancers (E631, E627)

Recipe accompanied with mushrooms in butter.
It was a nice meal

2.2 per 18grams is >12g of carb per 100 momof!

Thank you hefzi I've tried with both cooked and uncooked mushrooms.i made a few batches last night and the ones in the silicone muffin tray were drier bizarrely but I guess I stick with it.

I use silicon trays too, Patapouf - I've found even without putting veg in, they can sometimes be a bit watery, but I have a crap oven, so I thought it's just me! I used to make them with cottage cheese, years ago, and they'd always disintegrate on the way into work - nothing like cold, soggy egg and frogspawn for a tasty lunch

I have bought some Sainsburys "Tolouse" sausages.

What is the carb count on the back - it should be pretty low.

It should give you a carb count for carbs per 100g.

Oh, and I was wondering about the sense or otherwise of combining a lc diet with intermittent fasting. Does anyone do this?

If I were you, I'd focus on getting into low carbing first, before you start thinking about intermittent fasting.

What's the rush?

Fair enough.

I think in time we all consume much less calories on LC. If you stick to 3 meals a day you are most likely have 10-14 hour break between last meal and the next day's breakfast. This is not far off the 16:8 some people are following.

I think both intermittent fasting and LC'ing are for some long term lifestyle choices and in some way it won't be too hard to switch from Lc'ing to 5:2.

Week 1 day 6
B fried egg and bacon
D Chicken Breast grilled with feta and leek topping with avocado.
T boiled egg and asparagus
Two coffee & cream.
Water will have had three litre through day.
Do I need to weigh in tomorrow and add to spreadsheet.

I do think, however, Felicity, that low carbing will work well with intermittent fasting, or 5:2, simply because your appetite will be under control. Definitely something to think about when you're fat-adapted, and when low carbing has become something you have definitely adopted as a WOE.

Felicity it's possible to combine IF and LC, that's how I would eat when I'm near or at my goal weight. If you're more than half a stone from your goal weight then you shouldn't need to incorporate fasting although if you have T2 diabetes then it can be extremely beneficial (check out Jason Fung for more information). If you do decide to incorporate fasting then I recommend waiting until you have been eating low carb for at least a month first since while you are adapting to low carb it's important to eat regular meals.

I would tend to veer away from combining 5:2 with low carb. It can be done but you would have to eat quite differently on the fast days, keeping fat consumption low to avoid going above 500 calories. I would go for 16:8 instead. Personally I aim for a fasting window of at least 14 hours three times a week. It's the length of the fasting window that's important rather than the length of the eating window. So the way I do it is if I wake up and I'm not that hungry then it's a fast day. If I ate dinner at 7 p.m. then I have a cup of tea in the morning but don't eat until at least 9 a.m. Usually I end up having two slightly bigger meals on fast days. If I wake up and I'm hungry then I don't fast that day. Simples!

Thank you

Is there a guideline amount of carbs we should be aiming for? I'm trying to stick to under 50g but should it be less?

There's no limit (lower or upper) on Bootcamp, because we're all different. Some people can't lose weight unless they restrict themselves to around 20g a day, other people can tolerate around 100g a day.

Just follow Bootcamp rules and you will be fine!

Thanks BIWI is there a rules thread or is it just what you posted at the start of the first weigh in thread?