Preparing for Bootcamp - starting on Monday 9 October!

[BIWI]

Lots of people have signed up for this one - no doubt thinking about Christmas and squeezing into that little black dress!

So in advance, here's some stuff to think about so you can get planning over the weekend.

1- How long is Bootcamp?

Bootcamp lasts for 10 weeks, so our final weigh-in will be Monday 18 December.

The first two weeks of Bootcamp are the strictest, to help you shift your body away from burning carbs for fuel, to burning fat for fuel.

After the two weeks are up, you can move to Bootcamp Light, which is a little bit more relaxed. If, though, strict Bootcamp is working for you, you can stay on that. Or you can do a hybrid, following Bootcamp during the week but switching to Bootcamp Light at the weekend.

2 - Bootcamp should be easy to follow

There is absolutely no need to weigh anything, or count the carbs in anything. Nor do we count calories. Just follow the rules (only 10 of them!) and you will be fine.

Low carbing isn't the easiest WOE (way of eating), because our contemporary diet is built around carbs. Just take a look at any high street coffee shop or takeaway - all carb central!

And you may find the first few days tough going, until your body adjusts, but once you're into it, it's a simple plan. It's made that way because I'm a lazy arse who can't be bothered with all that weighing and counting!

3 - Foods that you're not allowed to eat during Bootcamp

Absolutely NONE of the following:

pasta/noodles
rice
bread (in any form - so no wraps, bagels, pittas, naans, chapattis, etc)
barley/oats/quinoa (or other grains)
flour
cake/muffins/brownies/flapjacks
potatoes
other sweet vegetables - especially sweet potatoes/sweetcorn (the clue is in the name!)
pulses/legumes (e.g. peas, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans etc)
balsamic vinegar (it's made differently from other vinegars and is very high in carbs - wine vinegar is fine)

4 - Well what can I eat then?!

We're aiming to switch the ratio of macronutrients from carbs:protein:fat to fat:protein:carbs.

This is a high fat diet. This is something that blows most people's minds when they first start out low carbing. We've been told for the last 30-40 years that fat is bad for us, but this simply isn't true. It's a claim that was initially based on bad science and given further credence by politicians and the media.

Good sources of fat include olive oil, coconut oil, butter, cheese and cream. You will find that not only will your food taste absolutely delicious, but it's also very satiating. You will not be hungry on a low carb diet!

Other things to include in your diet are fattier cuts of meat and fish. Stop seeking out low fat chicken breast with no skin, and embrace the loveliness of roast chicken with lots of gorgeous crispy skin!

Buy mince with a higher fat content. It will have a much better taste than low fat stuff.

Fry your food rather than grill it, etc.

Your carbs on this WOE will come mainly from vegetables and salad. When I post the spreadsheet on Monday morning you'll see on the tabs at the bottom that there's a list of vegetables and their carb counts - if you stick to veg that's around 4g carbs per 100g or less, you'll be fine. Higher carb veg occasionally is OK.

If you've been used to basing your meals around pasta or rice - which lots of us do, especially if you buy a lot of ready meals, you'll have to re-think your approach to meals/cooking.

Here are some examples of meals that I might cook:

•Roast chicken with roasted vegetables• (e.g. shallots, leeks, fennel, courgettes, peppers, cauliflower). Veg roasted in olive oil, and oil or butter on the chicken skin

Marinated salmon fillets with stir-fried vegetables (salmon marinated for c. 20-30 minutes in olive oil, with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, lemon juice and Chinese 5 spice powder); veg could include mange tout, shallots, baby sweetcorn, celery.

... or serve it with egg fried 'rice' made from cauliflower

This is really easy and tastes surprisingly good - trust me! I resisted cauliflower rice for a long time, because I thought it would have too strong a cauliflower taste, but I was wrong.

To make this, separate the florets of a cauliflower, wash them, and then either pulse in a food processor until it's blitzed into small rice-like pieces, or use a box grater (this way is a bit messy, but works well if you don't have a food processor). In a wok or large frying pan, fry this in some light oil or coconut oil. It's all cooked through, which won't take long, push it all to the edges of the pan, and then in the 'hole' in the middle, add a little bit more oil, and then pour in a beaten egg. Let it set a little bit, and then stir it through the cauliflower, so it forms shreds

Shepherds pie made with high fat mince, and using celeriac mash for the topping

I will

@SayrraT is never rubbish!

I'd just like you all to know that, along with the also very lovely @wombattoo, SayrraT has run, developed and continues to manage the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness.

wishing more reassurance from me - I've been eating LCHF for nearly two years. I went from 13st to 10st in 8 months and have remained there ever since (+- 5lb). No yoyoing or unhealthy food relationships just easy and satisfying food. I tend to eat LCHF all the time - The only downside is that I am probably slightly addicted to creamy coffee...
Im a bit of a lurker rather than a poster - introverted shy person! I still hang around cos I like hearing new recipe ideas and also because it's great seeing new people who start off sceptical and end up blown away by how well this works and how easy it is to stick to. People on the threads give great advice and support. Thanks again to BIWI et al. - you're all ⭐️

Can I give a tentative hi and join in from the sidelines??

I’ve prinised myself I’m going to join and commit properly this time, as trying to do it by reading the thread only didn’t work. Was like watching tv with the sound turned down.

Admittedly I’ve scoffed 4 cubes of white cooking chocolate before posting. At least I’ve signed in, which is a start. Hi to all!!

Now you've posted @Frigglet there's no hiding!!! Welcome.

Wishing some of us like me found boot camp after the last bc had finished and hung around getting support advice and encouragement of all these lovely helpful —oldtimers— to understand this woe.* I’ve been doing it this way since the beginning of August and have lost 12lbs and it’s now I hope become a way of eating for me that I’ll continue doing with the support of the all you people new and not so new. We’re all learning and sharing the ups and downs of this journey. Together we’re strong.*

Oh no more bolding where I don’t want it. And my strike thru didn’t strike thru!!

Does anyone else get THE most hellish itch on their fat bits while losing weight? I have inadvertently scratched my poor belly raw while watching Cold Feet :( Weight gain was kind to my skin, didn't really get stretch marks, but I've got about 4 large ( long AND wide) ones of each side of my belly now, (who knew you could get stretch marks as you LOST weight?) and my skin just feels so tender and friable. The tops of my boobs are the same, but somehow I don't get into an itch scratch frenzy with them. Dr did bloods and liver function tests, and all ok there, but it is really driving me mad. Currently got an old bag of frozen sweet corn on my belly - given I've no other use for it these days, that seems appropriate. I'm only having luke warm showers, using tons of moisturiser and E45 anti itch cream - have even taken piriton and bought high waist cotton pants. But still it itches. My poor skin. Any partners in misery?

Well said BIWI

The bootcamp threads have always been inclusive for anyone who wanted to join. I have been here a number of years and would hate to think that anyone would be discouraged because we speak another language.

I understand how this can happen and we have 'in jokes' and terminology from other threads but it shouldn't be brought into new threads.

Welcome to newbies

Fucking hell I just lost a huge post where I addressed some difficult truths. Just can't do it again.

In short Thank you ilove.

I don't blame vanity sizing or society for me being fat. It was me who chose to eat all the pies and me who can fix this.

And big women are beautiful!

ilove I can't believe I missed your post. Great post.

We have had many on here who refuse/are too embarrassed to post their true weight. That's why BIWI has always done the 'just post 100 and count downs'
There have been quite a lot of posters who have declared relatively high weights. Good on them. Good on you

Ilove, do you take any oil supplements? Have just read that fish oil, flax oil and borage oil can help with itchy skin.

Ilove I get the itch too.* Not just on my fat bits as that would be everywhere but my back mostly and often my belly, usually the sides of.*

Oh I got a bold fail too. What’s going on?

ilovecherries found an article on the keto itch

But they discuss it having a rash, do you have a rash?
They suggest working out
-- Does it appear in area's of sweat, don't sweat.
-- Does it appear in ketosis - eat more carbs

Or Drink bone broth,
Take Anti-Inflammatory Super foods.
Eat oily fish
The rash has a name and basically it could be losing weight releases hormones / Toxins / Bacteria and flushes thru the skin.

The good news is— while we’re not discouraging paying a trip to your doctor— prurigo pigmentosa is non-life threatening, and is an apparently natural reaction some people have when entering ketosis. There are natural solutions to clearing up the keto rash that you can try right away, and if the rash doesn’t show any signs of improvement or relief within a few days, you may want to pay a trip to your doc at that time to see if he or she has any other solutions.

For mosquito bites itches we use cold tea bags. Make a cuppa save the bag and dab on the skin when cool. if it works in a small area perhaps make a pot of tea and soak a flannel / cloth as a compost.

p.s not responsible for any mess you make dabbing to hard.

Good luck

@SayrraT sorry forgot your the spreadsheet queen.

Tried cauliflower pizza

Did forget to put the tomato on then the cheeses chicken and bacon. Tasted ok but probably need to dry the base out more first.

Hi - not sure anyone spotted me... Can I be in please?

Bit disappointed this morning, I ate my lowest amount of carbs ever yesterday and the scales stayed the same! This time last week I would have lost a lb from eating that way. I think my body has adjusted to the lack of sugar pretty quickly

(I know I should wait longer for results but I kind of got used to seeing the scales drop so don't mind what I say too much :) )

In advance of tomorrow, here's a link to the brand new Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

If your name isn't there, don't panic! Just add it to the bottom of the list -and it will be re-alphabetised.

If you have a look at the tabs at the bottom you'll find all manner of important stuff - the rules for a start! And also, a veg carb counter. This shows you carb counts for a long list of veg, but it's also a calculator that you can use if you want to weigh and count your carbs. Although I generally tell people that you don't have to weigh or count anything on Bootcamp, when you're new to it, it can be a useful thing to do, just to get an idea of how much 100g of anything is.

This there's a theory that your fat cells temporarily refill with water when they lose fat. Once a certain amount of fat cells contain water they all release it together causing a big drop on in to scales. It's well supported by the evidence from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment where the men noticeably wee'd more on the day before their weight dropped on the scales. If you follow the Bootcamp rules consistently then you will be losing fat every day but your weight will only drop every so often. Realistically even weighing weekly is too often, you're never going to see weight loss week after week. If I had my way people would only weigh in once a month!

And perhaps most importantly, in preparing for tomorrow, here are the rules of Bootcamp

1. Eat three proper meals a day.
If you're not adapted to low carbing, then you must eat breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a lot, and it doesn’t have to be absolutely first thing, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you’re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn’t be hungry between meals. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack).

After the first two weeks of Bootcamp we will relax this, but these two weeks are critical in terms of helping you switch easily to a low carb way of eating - and if you start to feel hungry, it makes things much harder!

A typical high carbohydrate diet can mean that snacking is a routine part of your day. Once your blood sugar levels are stable, by eating low carb, you should find that you no longer want to snack. But the rule of thumb here is ‘if you are hungry, eat!’. (Just make sure you are only choosing low carb snacks, of course!)

2. Avoid processed foods.
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals - meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. You can have them, but just not every day. Avoid foods marketed as low carb, e.g. Atkins bars.

3. Eat lots of fat.
Eating fat will not make you fat. Honestly! But it will keep your appetite satisfied, and it sustains your body’s energy requirements perfectly. Fat does not provoke an insulin spike, unlike carbs which do (a lot) and protein (a little). Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat – e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food.
This is where your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. Make sure that you focus on eating those vegetables that are 3-4g carb per 100g or less, and this will ensure that your carb counts are kept low. You don’t have to weigh/count carbs – this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you’re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat.

5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited).
Dairy can impede weight loss for some people. If you drink tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day.

There are a lot of carbs in milk, so if you are having several cups of tea/coffee per day, you will quickly rack up your daily carb count (e.g. 1 medium latte contains more than 12g carbs!) You may eat cheese but again, don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. I think Total Full Fat is the best, but other posters have also discovered a good one at Lidl.

6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. This is from www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/. Water is essential to weight loss for those who eat low-carb. The minimum consumed in a day should be:

Your Weight----Litres
140lbs-----2.5
160lbs-----3.0
180lbs-----3.0
200lbs-----3.5
220lbs-----3.5
240lbs-----4.0
260lbs-----4.5
280lbs-----4.5
300lbs-----5.0
320lbs-----5.5
340lbs-----5.5
360lbs-----6.0
380lbs-----6.5
400lbs-----6.5

High levels of ketones in the blood stream can lead to a reduction in ketone production, therefore being well hydrated could aid in keeping the levels low and ketone production ongoing. Consuming enough water can have many other positive side effects: aids your kidneys with the processing of protein, reduces the retention of water, helps with preventing constipation, and reduces the levels of ketones released by your breath, which in-turn will reduce breath odour.

However, drinking a lot of water can mean that you also need to keep an eye on your electrolyte balance. You need to make sure that you are consuming sufficient sodium and potassium. On a low carb diet we can eat more salt, so make sure that you are cooking with salt and adding salt to food, if you like it.

Good, low carb, sources of potassium are spinach (raw), avocado, mushrooms, courgettes and asparagus, as well as salmon and yoghurt.

7. No alcohol
Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for the body to burn, so it will always use this first before it starts to burn any fat - which is why you need to restrict it, especially in the first two weeks of Bootcamp, when we are encouraging the body to stop using carbs for its source of fuel and turn to fat-burning instead. If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8. No fruit
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada. After the first two weeks of Bootcamp you will be able to introduce certain fruits, but at this stage fruit is simply too carby. We are also trying to break the addiction to sweet things, so cutting fruit out is part of this process. If you are getting all your carbs from vegetables and salad, you will be getting all the nutrients and fibre that you need.

9. No nuts/seeds.
Whilst these make a very good low carb snack, and can be added back in after these first two weeks, they are very moreish and can quickly become very carby. Also, carb counts vary enormously. Almonds and macadamias are the lowest.

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners
Sugar is an obvious ‘no no’, but artificial sweeteners are also an issue. One of the aims of this way of eating is to eat pure and natural foods, so including sweeteners is not recommended. Some people find that artificial sweeteners can impede their weight loss, and there is some suggestion that your body can respond to sweeteners as if they were sugar, by releasing more insulin - and therefore laying down fat.

Given that the aim of Bootcamp is to help us lose our sweet tooth and addiction to sweet things, then it is a good idea to avoid sweeteners altogether in this first two weeks.

I think I'll pass this time, I only saw this thread a couple of days ago and it is too short notice for getting rid of the carbs already in the house, menu planning and shopping to start tomorrow. I will lurk with interest though.

It might be helpful to print the rules out, so that you have them to hand. I can tell you that 3, 6, 7 & 8 are the ones that most people seem to 'forget' about

No worries, @Oncewaswho

You can always join in next week? We generally find that people join us all the way through!

Was there an earlier thread BTW? There are way more names on the spreadsheet than there are posters on this thread. I do keep an eye on this topic but didn't spot one.