The Pre-summer low-carb Bootcamp questions thread

[BIWI]

Ask anything you want here!

Hopefully between me and some of the other experienced Bootcampers we can answer your questions.

That's always a good sign! I have no idea why it does that, but it's definitely something that signals you're on the way.

A bit TMI I know but what do we do with constipation? I'm surprised by how persistent it is this time around (all of last month) compared to previous times I've LC. I take 2 psyllium husks a day, drink plenty, eat lots of green veg, what else can I do?

shiny don't worry I only delete those that either never added a start weight or only added a start weight but didn't update!

Only because the spreadsheet is massive so it makes it quicker to load, it doesn't matter if you post on the chat thread or not. I think several people sign up on the list and do BC but don't want to use the spreadsheet.

stillloving

plenty of fat
high strength vit C tablet
strong coffee
exercise

if all else fails, some sweets/chocolate that use polyols, e.g. Boots diabetic/sugar-free range (or any sweets/chocolate that say they're sugar-free)

... but the key thing is to make sure that your carbs are coming primarily from veg and salad, and make sure that you're eating fibrous veg, not just lettuce leaves!

Thanks BIWI: I mainly eat things like baby leaf salad / spinach rocket watercress salad etc. Are these not ok? What fibrous veg do you suggest?

I do drink coffee and I think lots of fat. I will increase exercise (ahem; I will begin exercise again as I do nothing for the last 5 months or so)...

Things like cauliflower, broccoli, celeriac or swede would all be good

I'm out for a work lunch next week. They've given the menu in advance for me to choose from. What do you think would be a better choice, chilli with salad instead of rice or chicken ceaser salad?

Im eating at this restaurant this evening. Any advice on what to choose?

www.grainstore.com/menu/LunchDinner

I should say I don't eat fish

trixy I'd go for the salad - the chilli will have beans in it

RaisinGirl that looks lovely! Good, Bootcamp choices would be:

STARTERS
Shaved raw chestnut mushrooms & artichoke purée gâteau, cep powder, duck fat & garlic confit dressing
Young seasonal vegetable tartare, scallop ceviche (assuming you could deal with the scallops!)

MAINS
Hot seaweed sushi, glazed pak choi, black garlic purée, hake à la plancha, vanilla butter
Mushroom & celeriac scotch egg, fermented chilli & miso paste, asian greens, master stock quail

Possibly the Vangos moussaka, greek salsa, Josper rump of lamb - assuming the amount of potato in the moussaka will be minimal, as hopefully the lamb will the star of the show!

Enjoy!

Is rapeseed oil good or bad? I've googled and there is lots of conflicting advice. I'd use it mainly to make mayonaisse and frying.

When will the sugar cravings go?

I've followed the rules and have already lost 4lbs so I will stick to it, but I'm having my post lunch sugar cravings and I want it to stop!

Nate I don't use rapeseed oil as I once read something (to bc related) suggesting it wasn't a good choice. I make my mayo with mild and light olive oil and cook with olive oil/ghee or coconut oil.

Mothership The sugar cravings can last about a week I think, but they will pass and your taste buds will become super sensitive to anything sweetened.

Oh, and very well done on the loss so far

Mothership I would agree the sugar cravings take about a week to clear. After that you seriously won't mind seeing the biscuits etc at the office.

Question: can someone recommend a good gadget (preferably from Amazon as I have prime) to make this 'courgetti' business? On the main BC thread there's so much talk about carbonara today that I want to give it a go!

Still I have one of these vegetable peelers which are fine for 1 person portions.

But I was thinking of getting one of the smallish spirals era like this.

I'd be interested to hear what others think.

mothership and stillloving, I'm not doing this BC but eat low carb/paleo as a rule, so hope no one minds me butting in re spiralizers

That one looks fine, I don't think you need a big expensive gadget. I bought one a few weeks ago and it has made a huge difference to our meals. Courgetti is a staple now, either raw in a salad or fried in butter for carbonara, marinara sauce, chilli, etc. Even ds and dp will happily eat it instead of pasta and they are both carb fiends!

We also regularly have a raw spiralized courgette and carrot salad dressed with sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and olive oil, just as a general side dish - it is delicious (and feels very virtuous when you eat it!) particularly with fish fried in butter etc. We had it last night with slow-roasted pork belly, loads of fat on the meat (of course!) but the salad cuts through and is really refreshing.

Somebody mentioned that they eat slices of butter as a snack. Just tried it, yum yum. Is this ok? (Obviously won't do it in public)

The small spiralisers are fine and mine sits in the top of the dishwasher with cups etc so isn't had to clean and is easy to store.

Saffynool - the salad sounds delicious. Must try it.

Can I ask a question about paleo? Did you move from low carb to paleo? I.e. Did you do Bootcamp at any stage? Hoping to be able to move on to paleo after this rather than do my usual of just falling off the wagon. I need a long term plan and I like the look of paleo.

Oh - sneaky weigh in this morning. 4lbs down!

My teeth feel weird. Like they are coated with something. Normal or just me??

Peng I think that's ketosis. Keep drinking the water, it'll help and the feeling wil soon go.

Thanks. I've drunk 5 pints today already. Super thirsty but also a bit ill so not sure what's going on haha/ Hopefully back to normal for Monday.

Buda, yes that's exactly what I did. I was on one of the first boot camps but over the years have moved towards paleo as it encompasses more than just diet. I do eat a fair bit of dairy still though so definitely not strict paleo - I find the 'primal' diet/lifestyle attitude on marksdailyapple.com suits my way of thinking best.

It works really well for long term, I think - bootcamp is fantastic for a quick, effective start and it got me to understand the principles behind low carb and what actually happened to my body when I ate my usual crappy, high-carb diet, but I needed something a bit more flexible after I lost the weight I wanted. I also got into stuff like intermittent fasting that doesn't always fit with bootcamp (I've not eaten breakfast for years )

Basically I'm still wedded to low carb principles but trying to branch out into other aspects of life as well (sleep, stress, exercise etc); paleo/primal is brilliant for all that. I would definitely recommend it!