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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.

New Year, New Start Boot Camp: Week 1, Now we get down to it in earnest

999 replies

prettybird · 08/01/2018 08:37

Stepping in to BIWI's big shoes and with a loan of her Big Stick, I take a big gulp and lead the first Boot Camp of 2018. ShockGrin

Here is a link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness If your name is not on it, because either it got lost in one of the many copy and pastes, or because you "signed up" after 0732 on Friday, which was when SayrraT produced the spreadsheet, you can add your name add the bottom and at some point it will be re-ordered alphabetically. NB: there is no obligation to add or your name or to weigh-in weekly - this is for those that find the weekly weigh-ins useful for motivation or accountability Wink

These are the Rules for Boot Camp. They are also on one of the tabs of the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness (SoF).

You need to follow The Rules for the first two weeks of Boot Camp. This gives your body a chance to "fat adapt" and for you to learn to eat because you are hungry, not because you crave carbs/sugar. As you get used to this Way of Eating (WoE), you will be amazed to find how often you are not hungry. You will find your fat stores give you sufficient energy.

For newbies, it is important to eat 3 meals a day - even if it is just a nominal breakfast/bulletprooof coffee (coffee blended with butter). Otherwise, you may find that hunger - or habit - will lead you to fall face first back into carby twatdom and then you need to start that process of fat-adaption all over again. Some of us who have now been low carbing for a while have found that we can follow 16:8 fasting or even the occasional 24 hour fast - but this is not something to be done in the early weeks. Don't try to restrict your fat because you think you are having too many calories, as they are important for the process of encouraging your body to change the way it uses its fuel.

So, here are the Rules. After 2 weeks I (or whoever takes over the next stint of the BIWI Replacement Programme ) the rules will be posted for Boot Camp Lite. Many of us who are still actively trying to lose weight tend to follow "full" Boot Camp during the week (maybe with extra berries and nuts) and then allow a small amount of alcohol at the weekend).

1. Eat three proper meals a day.
"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! Eating this way will ensure that your blood sugar levels are kept stable, which will mean that you are much less likely to experience hunger.
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, eg. Atkins Daybreak 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 3g 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 are still drinking 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. Total Full Fat is the best

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 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 (unless you are veggie: check the SoF for veggie rules)

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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Rshard · 09/01/2018 08:48

Thanks thellaminati I used to itemise my salads but have defaulted to one generic word! I have however heeded your advice and had half an avo with my eggs this morning!

I like the laminator reference! I have some certificates I need laminating - am the the club records officer for my dd’s Swimming club.

I like badlyparkedrangerover - mainly because I could adopt it myself!

We’ll done twoo, we all inspire each other here. The camaraderie is one of the things that makes this boot camp great!

explodingkittens · 09/01/2018 08:49

Morning all! Slept well, lots of dreams again though. Had a glass of water and a cup of tea with almond milk before leaving the house, plus a spoonful of coconut oil Wink

Now enjoying a creamy coffee at my desk before a loooonnnng meeting - the joys! Have bought the leftovers from last night's Brussels/cauli/bacon/cheese fest for lunch so feeling very virtuous for a change

littleladylawyer · 09/01/2018 08:53

Thanks prettybird, I thought that might be the case so will try to get more creative with herbs and spices in my cooking to make up for it. Lemon chicken sounds lovely!

Re clothes size- I'm very short and apple shaped, and have always struggled to find clothes which fit both my (lack of) waist and proportionately smaller legs. As I put weight on round my middle first I tend to increase in clothes size more than people would think for my weight IYSWIM

Verilyfrankinscensed · 09/01/2018 08:56

Hi everyone, old and new. Forgot to check in yesterday. Did remember to low carb though. Mid afternoon I got really shaky the result of two weeks of not low carbing I guess. I soon recovered though. I'll try and catch up on the thread later and thank you @prettybird for taking up the big stick.

BadlyParkedRangeRover · 09/01/2018 08:57

So ive just had a slice of livlife bread (3.7g carbs) and a teaspoon of peanut butter. I woke up feeling like i was withdrawing from anti depressants! Horrible electric shock feelings! Back to bed for me

prettybird · 09/01/2018 09:00

Re alcohol in food, I found this https://casaveneracion.com/cooking-with-wine-does-the-alcohol-evaporate-do-the-calories-disappear/

It points out that in most cases, all the alcohol doesn't burn off anyway - and what does, converts to sugar. So definitely no alcohol in cooking in the first 2 weeks! Shock

Mrsreynolds - the weight thing is interesting - I am now c12 stone (just below before Christmas Wink) and have just bought 2 pairs of high waisted skinny size 14 jeans (Primark and M&S) and could probably have squeezed into got the Size 12s Shock In fact, the Per Una Slim
bootcut jeans that I also tried on were too big, but they didn't have a smaller size Sad But before that I'd spent a de-moralising half an hour trying on Size 14 jeans in TK Maxx - some were too large and others I couldn't even get over my large bum! Confused

OP posts:
prettybird · 09/01/2018 09:08

BadlyParkedRangeRover - sorry you're not well and hope you feel better soon. Flowers

But channelling BIWI I feel obliged to point out that Livlife bread is not compatible with the first 2 weeks of Boot Camp (and I'd need to check for afterwards as if it has flour, it is a No No throughout Boot Camp) and peanut butter is definitely not allowed! No nuts in the first 2 weeks unless you are veggie Shock

OP posts:
StuntNun · 09/01/2018 09:21

MrsReynolds it sounds like you might need a bra intervention! Have a look at Boob or Bustt* for more information.

Gammeldragz eating low carb won't give you hypothyroidism but it can exacerbate or reveal a thyroid issues that is already there. A critical sign is feeling cold all the time, in fact if you take your basal body temperature it will be lower than it should be. One option is increasing your daily carb intake from healthy sources such as the higher carb vegetables (carrots, butternut squash) and introducing some more fruit (apples, melon, satsumas. The other option is introducing regular cheat meals every couple of weeks, again focusing on healthy carbs such as a baked potato or a small portion of white rice. I am not a medical professional either so if you have any concerns then consult your GP.

As for Reynaulds symptoms getting worse on this WoE then I wonder whether magnesium could be a factor. It might be worth experimenting with Epsom salts baths and/or supplementing with magnesium chloride (but be very careful when introducing a magnesium supplement as it can give you diarrhoea).

mrsreynolds · 09/01/2018 09:24

Its so so odd isn't it pretty??
I'm still in my 14 jeggings and jeans from marks but only just!!
When I've done lchf in the past I've lost 6/7 lbs in the first week!.....

TimeIhadaNameChange · 09/01/2018 09:31

Another one interested by the clothes size conversation. I started BC last May. My first weight, which I took a few days early, was 11st 4. At the time I was most definitely growing out of my stretchy size 12 jeans. A few months earlier I'd wanted to buy a dress for my birthday, but even the 14s were far too tight. That was a depressing day. However, it took a few months to get my arse in gear and start on this.

I'm now just under 9 stone and my 10s are falling down again. I want to get down to around 8 stone, as I have an overhanging belly despite not having had children, and I'd really, really like to lose it. I was that size about 5 years ago and, although I did still have a belly, the size suited me as I'm very small framed. I look larger than a friend of mine who is a 12/14.

Hefzi · 09/01/2018 09:34

Cheers, Bird- and a brilliant idea about the creamy coffee: that's the way forward! I also have some cheese snack packs about my person today - I'm ready and waiting Grin Because I'm so fat, I have to drink buckets of water - normally I drink 2-3 lives, but taking it up to 5 is having me wee for England Blush On the positive side, last BC was a struggle as I had no access to a loo during the day. This BC, I'm virtually living there Grin

Hefzi · 09/01/2018 09:35

Oh, and a big Flowers to BIWI in Oz!

prettybird · 09/01/2018 09:41

Re Reynayds - I've always suffered from it (as did my mother, who I blame for my poor circulation), so on occasion, my fingers will go yellow! Shock It hasn't got worse per se on this WoE. Maybe it's the magnesium supplements I'm taking Wink which fortunately don't seem to have any side effects Grin

OP posts:
Smallpotatolove · 09/01/2018 09:43

Can I ask about portion sizes? Are there any rules about how much we should be eating?

Just thinking about why I was so hungry yesterday and I'm wondering if I didn't eat enough yesterday. Made a huge fritatta thing yesterday and I only had a quarter for lunch, might have half today and see if that helps but I don't know if that would be too much food?

Smallpotatolove · 09/01/2018 09:45

Sorry that was a lot of yesterdays in one post! Been up since 5.30 with DS, my brain is still asleep I think.

prettybird · 09/01/2018 09:47

Smallpotato - at this stage, there is no "too much". Eat enough to ensure that you don't feel hungry. Feeling hungry is the route back to carby twatdom.

If and only if you stall at a later stage, then you can review your portion sizes.

OP posts:
Gammeldragz · 09/01/2018 09:53

stuntnun thanks, I have been hypothyroid for years now and take replacement levothyroxin for it. My resting heart rate and temp are always lower than normal.
I did a bit of reading around it last night and it seems fasting and very low carb aren't great for me, so I will aim for 50g carbs (rather than 25!) and try to eat a bit more often.
Prettybird yes I can see my colour leave my hands/feet when they're really cold.

Clothes sizes - I'm 5'10" and have lost 3 stone but only 2 dress sizes, from an 18 to 14. However people are always supposed by how much I've lost as I didn't look that big (hourglass figure on a tall frame). I have huge feet, but I can fit in some 8s now I've lost weight.

mrsreynolds · 09/01/2018 09:58

I've just had 4 eggs scambled
So far I've had a coffee with milk (1 of my 2 a day I allow myself) a glass of water, a glass of water with a berocca in And a herbal tea
Salmon for dinner I think
I'm going to get some lamb chops too

mrsreynolds · 09/01/2018 10:00

Can I clarify that carbs are supposed to be 25g or less?
I can't remember!!

TheWayOfTheWorld · 09/01/2018 10:12

The weight/height clothes size thing is bizzarre. I am 5ft 2 and at my heaviest (just after DC2) I was 13.5 stone and wearing size 14-16. At 10 stone I can fit into size 10. I was 9.5 stone when I got married and looked tiny (was wearing size 8).

With me, I think it is a combination of heavy bones, muscle and the way my fat is distributed - have a small waist with most of my fat on my hips, bum and thighs.

Polkadotties · 09/01/2018 10:26

I’m 5ft6 and weighed 11.9st yesterday. I wear size 8 tops and size 10 trousers. I can wear this size regardless of whether I’m at the lower end of 10st or nearly 12st.

thedayismine · 09/01/2018 10:29

Morning all - feeling so good this morning knowing I am back on this WOE.
In some respects low carb has become my normaility - but I am better at maintaining than losing so I really need this focus.

B bacon, scrambled egg , mushrooms in butter
L tuna and avocado salad
D not sure yet but probably seabass and green veg

Need to get going on the water off to pour a glass now

my iPad won't let me bold or punctuate properly , pretty bird can you please direct me to the,Sticky lemon chicken ? DH would love that !

LeapinLizards · 09/01/2018 10:57

The weight/height thing is so weird. Thewayof theworld, i'm same height as you but no way could I fit into size 10 at 10stone. I'm pretty much always a 12, regardless of whether I'm 10stone (albeit a very snug fit!) or 9stone.

Itsjanuary · 09/01/2018 11:02

On portion sizes is it better to eat a lot so you don’t snack or eat less and have a snack in between meals?

Yesterday I was snacking as I think that may be a habit from the bad old carb days when I would be permanently grazing - but could also be because I am not adding enough fat to my meals

TheSeasonOfTheWitch · 09/01/2018 11:03

Hi everyone,
First time at boot camp! I've been trying to do it for the last week, mainly following the blood sugar diet rules. I've been logging everything on 'FatSecret' as I find it easier than MyFitnessPal and it feels like it has a larger range of foods in its database. So far I've managed to stick to 800 calories for 3 out of the last 6 days. It's been quite a mind shift to low carb / high fat. Some foods have really caught me by surprise- like kale and tomatoes being pretty high in carbs. I've switched to spinach.
I'm finding it an effort to stick to 50g of carbs, how on earth do I manage to get to nearer 20?! I was just going to take it slowly to get used to it but any tips or veg that are v low carb?

My starting stats are 241 lbs, I'm being a numpty and can't work out where to put them on the sheet, can anyone help me out?!

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