Week 1 - 2016 Pre-Christmas 8 week Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Welcome all!

I see that there are almost 130 of us signed up for this one, which is brilliant.

I'm starting the week 1 thread a little early, as I'm away this evening and won't be back home until mid-morning tomorrow, and I know you all want to get cracking

So, without further ado, here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

If your name isn't on it, just add yourself at the bottom. Don't worry about the alphabetisation - wombattoo will sort that out later. Add your weight, but don't touch the blue cells!

It's up to you when you weigh; I'll start a new chat thread each Monday, with a link to the spreadsheet, but if you feel happier weighing on a Friday (or any other day) then it's totally up to you.

raisin that's normally. Try to drinks lots of water and add lots of salt to your food. If you are weeing lots you would have flushed out electrolytes.
Your brain is also protesting as its not getting it constant supply of sugars like it's used to. You are going through withdrawal, same as a smoker or an alcoholic.
Have a google of low carb flu symptoms

Fuck me, you lot - we're only half way through Day 3! You really need to think about what you're doing and what you're posting.

Bootcamp isn't easy - the clue is in the name - but you really do need to give it a chance to work.

Bisketti

All I can think of, now, and for the last 2 days is food. Eating. I can smell toast. I've noticed that I eat because I'm bored/emotional/hungry (note the order). I've also noticed that after eating, the hungry feeling passes if I wait and don't keep on filling my face. But all I think of is the next thing I can eat.

You shouldn't be letting yourself get hungry. Simple fact. If you're eating 3 meals a day, as per Bootcamp rules, and if you're eating enough fat and drinking enough water, you really won't be hungry.

Yes, you may miss some of the carbs you enjoyed before - I can't do anything about that. But you will get used to it. And just remember - these are the carbs that made you gain weight in the first place.

I've made the mistake of weighing...
Yesterday was good.
Today is not.

Stop weighing daily. It's only torturing you. Your body fluctuates on a daily basis anyway. And if an upwards turn is going to depress you like this, then you're on a hiding to nothing. Leave it until you've done an entire week.

What's the point?

To re-train your body and your taste buds.

To lose weight.
To improve your general health

A high carb diet is associated not only with weight gain and obesity, but also type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer and Alzheimer's Disease.

PaulineFowler

Bisketti I feel your pain. Eating punctuated my day, it was something to look forward to. It was my reward to myself. Now the day seems to drag, I was feeling quite blue yesterday. This too shall pass.

Why aren't you looking forward to your food? You can eat lots of lovely things when you're low carbing - far more indulgent and enjoyable than if you were on a low calorie or low fat diet. You need to make sure you're planning good meals. Have a look at the recipe thread for inspiration

I also made the mistake of weighing myself this morning, I've been LCHF since Saturday so I expected at least a pound loss, even if it was just water. nada. Nothing. I think I've been seduced by the stories of dramatic weight loss in the first week.

Don't. And don't judge your own results by other people's. Everyone loses at a different rate. We had one Bootcamper who lost nothing in the first three weeks, but then suddenly dropped over half a stone, I seem to remember.

And you haven't even been doing it a week either! You really do need to give it time.

I make a soup by frying off a load of garlic, a shallot, celery & leeks in wads of butter in a pot, adding some chicken stock/water and whatever bits of veg I have floating around, usually a wedge of celeriac, or a quarter of a pepper, some baby corn or the end of a bag of mange tout. Then when it's simmered for a few minutes I throw in a whole bag of baby spinach leaves and then when they wilt down I blend it all. Get's me 4 big portions, and I add double cream once served. It's delicious!

keepon

bisketti I could have written your last two posts. Honestly. Just the same. Even down to weight loss before wedding and thinking 2st is possible but not three. Even though it should be. I am constantly exhausted with restarting a diet every week of my life. Here and now I am tempted by junk in the cupboard. Am going to go and have some left over roast chicken and maybe a chunk of cheddar to ward it off.

Firstly, why have you still got junk in the cupboard?!

Second, you need to PLAN your meals, and make sure you've got some tempting meals to look forward to

I was on the previous bootcamp, changed name. My OH decided to join in as well. He didn't lose anything for ages, a couple of weeks, he's now 2 pounds off 2 stone. Low carbing does work, give it time :)

RaisinGirls it's called carb flu. It's a good sign, as it means your body is adjusting to a low carb way of eating.

Take paracetamol, and make sure you drink plenty and eat lots of fat. Also, it's important to keep your electrolyte levels up, which means sodium, magnesium and potassium.

For sodium, this means salt. Cook with it, add it to your food. Have a hot drink made from Oxo/Bovril or Marmite.

For the others, salmon, avocado, natural full fat yoghurt and spinach are all good sources.

Keepon I'll answer your soup question on the other thread

And don't bother with ketostix - if you're drinking the amount of water you should be, then you won't see any/much change in colour, which is likely to be more disheartening than encouraging.

I'm quite tempted to get myself a soup maker - love soup and it's frustrating not being able to find something low carb enough. The thought of fresh, home made soup in 25 mins is very appealing!

BIWI & Polka thanks for the suggestions re: headaches. Ive taken a painkiller, and upping my water - although Im pretty good already with the water. Been eating lots of spinach and avocados too.

But...realised I haven't used any salt at all in my cooking - in fact I think I've been using unsalted butter, so that's probably the cause. Will make myself a yummy bovril now and cook with lots of salt tonight.

Hopefully report back later, headache free

Thanks BIWI. I know you are right. I do look farward to my meals now (more so than I did before LCHF, because I used to scoff biscuits and never be really hungry for my meals like I am now). But I miss that time after the kids had gone to bed where I'd sit down with a cuppa and something sweet, or watching a film with a tub of Ben and Jerrys. It will take a while to break that association with relaxing and food, I suppose.

I'm loving this not being hungry between meals. Blood sugar is stabilised as has mood - I'm not so shouty mummy this week!

I have fallen into the ketostix trap though. Will try to give them a miss.

Hi all, can someone add me to the list please?

I'm 168Lbs and am trying to get my head around eating so much fat.

I'm allergic to eggs and dairy, including beef.

Mercury - welcome! Just add yourself to the bottom of the spreadsheet.

And really don't worry about eating the fat. There is no link between saturated fat and coronary heart disease. Have a look at the resources on the spreadsheet (look at the tabs at the bottom) and do some reading there to reassure yourself.

Super hungry today so while i don't normally snack i had to eat a left over mini burger with cheese melted on top as dinner won't be until after 7 and i didn't want to cave in.

does anyone take magnesium or potassium supplements? I have some from a while ago and wondered if it was worth taking them.

Last Boot camp I found posting pictures of my meals helped with portion control and stopped me going back for seconds so I'll do that again if no one minds. That is breakfast and dinner. Lunch was a small slice of belly pork on the run rather than the salad I'd planned before running out of time.

For the person up thread (sorry can't remember who) who thought pork chops were dry these were done SestraClones way. I.e. Coated in yogurt and Parmesan. Delicious (if a little over done on this occasion.)

sestra sorry to hear about your granddad.

One thing to take note of - this WOE (say of eating) isn't about deprivation.

Anyone who's been on a low calorie diet will be able to describe in graphic detail the gnawing hunger that strikes, usually at around 11.00am or 3.00pm. Scrabbling around for a meagre piece of celery to munch on until it's time to eat - or (more likely) caving in and eating a biscuit or three, and then torturing yourself with the guilt.

So whilst it's generally sensible to watch your portion sizes (low carbing isn't carte blanche to eat like Desperate Dan!), please don't leave yourself hungry. Eat good, low carb food, with plenty of fat and protein, and eat until you're satisfied.

It will take a few days for your body to get used to it, but once you're fat-adapted, I can promise you that your appetite will be curbed. And you'll even find yourself forgetting that it's lunchtime!

But please don't let yourself go hungry. That way sabotage lies.

If you do find yourself hungry between meals in the early days, there's nothing wrong with eating - as long as it's a low carb snack, of course!

Thanks for the pics flummoxed, I'll find it useful as ive a tendency to have huge portions. It's useful to see what others eat.

I went out for lunch today which I thought would be a challenge as it was just a pub - but I had scallops with slivers of bacon on a tiny bit of pea puree. So pretty good, I thought.