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Low-carb bootcamp

Join discussions about low-carb bootcamp plans, meals and progress. Consider speaking to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Our last week - Spring Low Carb Bootcamp

949 replies

BIWI · 10/04/2017 06:38

So our last week! Here's the Spreadsheet for its penultimate outing

One more week could see another couple of pounds off.

Fingers crossed, and good luck! Flowers

OP posts:
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JiminnyCricket · 03/05/2017 15:08

Had a bit of a binge yesterday after dinner. A spoon of peanut butter and about 50g Machadamia nuts Blush, but AF turned up today so that was probably why I was struggling with cravings.

I'm finding I'm classing binges differently. It used to be all about what I ate that made me feel guilty and rubbish. This time, what I'm eating is all fair game on this WOE, it's the WHY I'm eating that's making me feel the guilt I used to feel after a full on binge.

If i eat something outside of my meals when I'm not actually feeling hunger, it's causing guilt. I'm not sure if that's how normal people feel when they've eaten something for reasons other than nutrition/ hunger or if this is still a reminant of my buggered up relationship with food? I also didn't drink enough water yesterday which won't have helped with the craving. I was craving something sweet all day and after dinner it just came to a head.

I've stayed off fruit thus far but I'm considering having berries in the freezer for sweet craving emergencies?

On the whole, my relationship with food is far far better than it's ever been on any other weight loss attempt and I'm not getting the self loathy food guilt I used to have that made me throw in the towel so often, but I think I still need to work on the cognitive side of weight loss before I can feel comfortable that I can maintain my goal weight long term or even reach it in the first place.

Today I watched the Netflix documentary based on Michael Pollan's book "in defense of food". LOVED it. I went off and looked up his 64 food rules and although I don't agree with a couple of them, I think it would be a really good way to start DP on the road to weight loss.

DP is 5ft 10 and about 19st. He's a big guy and some of the stuff he eats would make BIWI faint Blush.

He wont do low carb because he's too attached to bread etc, but he probably will clean up his diet if given the right guidence. I'm not really bothered about him losing weight although realistically he needs to, I worry about his diet though because he's eating so much processed rubbish and a fuck ton of sugar. He eats with me in the evening but I suspect he snacks later at night after I've gone to bed, and I know he buys sugary foods on his way home from work regularly because I find wrappers everywhere.

I've challenged him about food before and he started secret eating, hiding his treats etc from me whenever he could so I know it bothers him too, I just don't know how to bring him round to see how much better he'll feel if he starts eating real food..

Any ideas?

JimBullardBullard · 03/05/2017 15:23

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StuntNun · 03/05/2017 15:25

Well you're not going to believe this JimBullard but not eating enough fat can cause a dull headache behind your temples, feeling achy, and very tired.

You have to replace the missing carb calories with calories from somewhere else. We generally recommend keeping protein intake the same so it's vital to eat more fat. Think of it as flipping the switch between carb-burning and fat-burning mode. To be in carb-burning mode you need to eat more than 20% of your calories as carbohydrates. To be in fat-burning mode you need to eat less than 10% of your calories as carbohydrates AND at least 60% of your calories as fat. Otherwise you're in a limbo state where you aren't using either fuel source (carbs or fat) effectively.

Switching to a low carb way of eating causes a massive shift in the way your body stores and processes water. It is essential that you drink at least two litres of water per day (this can include herbal tea, coffee, etc.) It is especially important during the adaption process since you lose water along with your glycogen stores, your kidneys release more water into the urine, and your electrolyte balance changes causing the release of yet more water.

JimBullardBullard · 03/05/2017 15:26

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StuntNun · 03/05/2017 15:30

Oh and yes you definitely can eat too much fat. Fat bombs and bulletproof coffees are common causes of overeating fat. While you're losing weight you shouldn't really consume fat practically on it's own like this. It's preferable to get it from fatty cuts of meat, oily fish, full-fat dairy, and by cooking in fat rather than steaming or grilling.

For peanut butter go for one made from 100% peanuts such as Meridian. Almond butter tastes very similar and is generally even lower carb.

JimBullardBullard · 03/05/2017 15:33

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JiminnyCricket · 03/05/2017 15:34

JimBullardBullard, I'll try and answer all your questions as well as I can but I'm sure Stuntnun, wombat or BIWI will be able to correct me if I'm wrong on anything!

Why so much fat:
When you remove a large percentage of a macro (protien, carbs or fat), you have to replace it with something otherwise your overall calories will be too low to sustain normal life and you'll get very poorly very quickly or the diet will become unsustainable.

Why fat and not protien then? Out of the 3 macro's that make up your food, fat has the smallest effect on your blood glucose level (blood sugar - BGL). This is important because the feeling of hunger that we experience every day is your body's way to tell you your blood sugar level has dropped and you need to eat something. Interestingly and importantly, it's not the actual level of sugar in your blood that your body recognises, it's the difference between it's highest point and the point it's at now. So, if you constantly keep your blood sugar low, it can't drop very far to trigger hunger. When our BSL reaches a certain level, the body releases insulin to store the excess sugar as fat. Protien raises BSL to a lesser degree than carbs, but can still raise it enough in large quantities to trigger this insulin response. Fat can't reach those levels of blood sugar unless you were eating enormous quantities, so dietary fat doesn't get stored, it gets converted into ketones and used as energy. For this reason, fat makes us feel satisfied faster than carbs. It doesn't make you feel "full", that's a misconception, it dulls your appitite so you eat mucvh less overall.

Finally, your body has to work much harder to turn fat into ketones than it does to turn carbs into sugar/ fat. Your BMR (metabolism) is therefore faster and you burn more calories just by increasing your fat in take.

Also, if you're trying to get into nutritional ketosis you need plenty of fat, that's where your energy is going to come from. It's easier for your body to burn stored fat for energy if it's already in ketosis from burning dietary fat so as long as you're working on a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight.

What happens if you don't get enough fat: Simply put, the immediate effect is you get hungry and bored very quickly. You also need fat. There's a number of essential fats that you need for life, there's no such thing as an essential carb.

Water: When your fat cells release stored fat, they grab hold and retain water much much more easily. If you don't drink plenty, they keep hold of that water for longer which means you don't then show a weight loss on the scales. You'll still have lost fat but it can be very demotivating to see the scales stay the same or even increase from water retention. The more you drink, the less you retain.

Headaches: How much are you drinking? If over 2.5 litres, you're probably lacking salt. Drink a stock cube dissolved in water. It could be keto flu, it would be delayed if you've been eating over 50g carbs a day and not eating enough fat because you wont have been sufficiently fat-rich to get into ketosis qnd probably still functioning in glycolysis by just about maintaining your glycogen stores. If your glycogen stores are now empty, you'll be transitioning into ketosis which can be rough for a few days.

Our last week - Spring Low Carb Bootcamp
JiminnyCricket · 03/05/2017 15:41

Forgot to add, you're not alone... I distinctly remember on the first week of this bootcamp telling BIWI et al that they were all bloody mental for believing that eating fat makes you thin Grin

JimBullardBullard · 03/05/2017 15:55

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StuntNun · 03/05/2017 16:15

JimBullard eating too little fat is a common cause of weight loss stalling. Overeating fat is generally only possible by eating foods that are almost all fat. If you're eating slices of butter, eating fat bombs, having bulletproof coffee then you inadvertently eat too many calories for weight loss. It's the same as nuts, it's really easy to scoff a whole 100g packet of almonds but that would be 600 calories! That's the same amount of calories as 2-3 pork chops which you would struggle to eat as a snack.

Honestly the easiest thing is just to follow the Bootcamp rules. BIWI has put together a low carb - moderate protein - high fat plan that works. You generally don't need to worry about how many calories / carbs / fat grams you eat. If you post your meals for a day then the old hands on here will be able to easily spot where there might be potential problems (such as too much dairy or too little fat or too few vegetables).

Here's the really important take-home message...
You don''t lose weight by eating less food; you eat less food because you're losing weight.
By transitioning to a low carb diet you're gaining easy access to your body's fat stores. It is insulin (caused by eating glucose) that blocks the access to your fat stores. When you have free access to your fat stores your appetite naturally reduces.

wombattoo · 03/05/2017 16:23

Hello everyone
Welcome hippa
There are some really good explanations on here for anyone who is struggling to understand how it works. Thanks all.

hippadoppaloppagorillapig · 03/05/2017 17:16

Ooops, went into town today & didn't take lunch. Tis ok, thought I, went to M&S. Bought & ate the following things: Cheese & parma ham rollitos (or whatever they're called), chorizo crips & crackling crisps. Gone over my calories today by about 500, although still well under on the carbs! I'm not hungry though, so maybe I'll be ok?

Also, going to Miller & Carter tomorrow, I don't like steak, so what shall I have? Is there anything? Nothing springs out at me, it all includes potatoes or sugar in some form! www.millerandcarter.co.uk/mainmenu Shall we cancel & go to the indian buffet instead?

GuyMartinsSideburns · 03/05/2017 17:17

Hi all, sorry I haven't been checking in for ages. I had a really low 6 weeks or so but it was my rock bottom and I've been very committed since picking myself up. When I've tried during previous boot camps I'd mess things up very early on and then stay in that cycle, I'd say I haven't low carbed 'properly' since the time I did it 2 or so years ago (by properly I mean sticking with it etc)

Basically I can't remember when any of the side effects would disappear, which ones I can ignore etc. Today is day 9 for me and during the past couple of days I'm noticing dizziness on occasion and super tiredness in the afternoons. I was out walking earlier and started getting that 'spaced out' feeling. I recall the spaced out from before but it didn't last long then. I'm drinking lots of water, adding salt to food etc, and aiming for enough fats (though I should prob drop the milk in coffee and have cream.) I haven't had anything I shouldn't in the past 9 days, and I'm not craving anything. I'm at the point where I can skip meals due to not feeling hungry.

(Sorry for the essay) I'm meant to be going running tonight. I've had a couple of months off (when I was low) but I'm concerned about running when I've been having the dizzy spells, and I'm really wanting an early night tonight. From what I've read this may clear up around week two so I may be better suited to start running next week instead. (I should say I tried 4 miles on Monday but struggled terribly, whereas before I was doing 9/10 comfortably).

I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts? Perhaps more fat, early nights when I can until I feel more energetic and go running then? I may have answered my own question there, just wouldn't mind clarification.

Oh and I haven't had headaches or nausea but I am DEF suffering from brain fog. I've got an assignment due in this month and I'm struggling to take in anything I'm reading etc. Not too confident about this one tbh.

Any help/thoughts most appreciated Flowers

StuntNun · 03/05/2017 18:46

Hippa the Mediterranean mezze platter could work. Or the lamb rump, sea bass or salmon and hold or leave the spuds.

ShastaBeast · 03/05/2017 20:25

Hello,

I'm new to this and trying to make my way alone but hope to join the boot camp proper when it starts.

I am doing it for weight loss but also health, I'm borderline healthy/overweight on BMI and want to be in the middle at least.

I'm doing a light version with some fruit and occasional brown rice and very bad treat. So a typical day is yoghurt and low carb fruit with coffee and cream, salad with avocado, cheese and vinegarette dressing, fish or meat with veggies for dinner, nuts or creamy tea for snacks. I'm tracking on MyFitnessPal to check the carbs but my calorie intake can be too low on some days, I'm just not that hungry, no cravings and nothing I'd fancy eating. I feel a bit empty but not hungry and would rather sleep - often a problem a night when I realise I've only had 1,000 calories. I'm worried I'll mess up my metabolism down the line. It's weird as I was always hungry before. I need to find some good snack ideas. I'm in the third week so not much weight loss so far.

BIWI · 03/05/2017 20:50

Shasta - welcome! However, you're not really doing Bootcamp are you?

And if you haven't seen much weight loss, then surely this should indicate that you need to go lower carb? You should definitely ditch the rice, the fruit and whatever the bad treat is!

And yes, if you go too low calorie, then you do risk messing up your metabolism. You need to be eating plenty of fat to keep your calories up.

OP posts:
OldBooks · 03/05/2017 22:17

Wow all this information is so interesting. I never knew that about keeping blood sugar level to avoid setting off insulin. Thanks for the fat bomb info, I was thinking of them as emergency meal replacements when I just don't have time!

I have done OK today though I fret that I might be eating too much dairy. I had greek yog with creme fraiche stirred in for breakfast, snacked on a couple of cheese slices around 10 then went till 2 before having lunch - normally I am chewing my arm off at 11.30!! Then went all afternoon with no snacks and didn't get tea till 8, sausages with a pile of veggies (leeks, courgette, cauliflower and pepper with butter). I am beginning to not want something sweet after each meal which is good.

Tomorrow will be a challenge as DD is having an operation so we will be leaving early and spending all day in the hospital. While I can take some bits with me I can't take 3 meals + breakfast the next day so I am a bit concerned that a) there won't be suitable food at the hospital and b) I will be nervous wreck and use food to calm myself down Confused

OldBooks · 03/05/2017 22:19

Oh I should have said lunch was feta and salad with olive oil

JiminnyCricket · 04/05/2017 06:20

Morning! off for a run this morning, finding morning runs seem to suit me much better.

Ended up having macadamia nuts again last night Sad it was after dinner again so definitely not hunger.

AF is particularly heavy and horrid this month, could that be related to my sudden cravings? Do you need more calories at this time of the month?

JiminnyCricket · 04/05/2017 07:07

There's a running track a 3 minute walk across fields from my front door... who knew?!

Our last week - Spring Low Carb Bootcamp
ASDismynormality · 04/05/2017 07:50

Does anyone know anything about blood sugars?
When I've eaten my glucose levels are between 4.2 and 5.8 which is fine. However fasting they are high, this morning 7.2 (which is in the diabetic range). I'm really at a loss as I have been eating low carb, had no foods which should have a negative impact on blood sugar as can be shown by after meal blood glucose levels. After so many months of this woe I would have expected things to be normal.

Leostar · 04/05/2017 08:16

Morning all. Do you remember me saying I felt awful a fee pages ago? Well I'm currently sitting in hospital with an infected gallbladder and have been put on a no fat diet.

I recall a few ladies saying that they have had their gallbladderd removed and are fine with HFLC diets. Was this straight away or after a period of time.

Brekkie today was cornflakes and dry toast Angry

JiminnyCricket · 04/05/2017 08:32

I'm minus a gallbladder and completely fine on LCHF :)

I can't say whether I'd have been fine straight away but probably :)

StuntNun · 04/05/2017 08:54

OldBooks don't worry about dairy unless you're eating huge amounts or your weight loss stalls. Fat bombs aren't ideal as a meal replacement because they are nutrient poor. At the hospital you're just going to have to make the best choices from the foods that are available. A salad with mayonnaise could be an easy option. They may have an all day breakfast type meal (I add a couple of pats of butter to get enough fat to fill me up as the breakfasts tend to be cooked without fat). I hope all goes well.

StuntNun · 04/05/2017 08:58

Jiminny periods can go a bit wonky in the first few cycles of going low carb. You don't need more calories but cravings are a common problem. Choosing a low carb snack such as macadamias is better than resisting the urge to snack and risking carbs twatdom. Grin Any hormonal issues should resolve within around three cycles and you will probably find any menstrual symptoms are much improved. The process of full adaption to this woe can take months to complete.