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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:
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ShagMeRiggins · 09/01/2018 16:02

Looking forward to your 3-month photos, prettybird.

Last Bootcamp I kept promising to upload some Before/After, but that Bootcamp wasn't hugely successful for me so it never felt right. I want to display a bit more obvious change.

I have a feeling this Bootcamp will be better.

prettybird · 09/01/2018 16:08

@SayrraT - I think there is a wee problem with the spreadsheet. The weekly loss for 15th January is calculating the "wrong" way around, so everyone is showing a 100% loss already Shock (Except for Mrsreynolds who has a random number in the weekly loss column Confused)

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Rshard · 09/01/2018 16:11

Prompted by the size/weight/height chat, I remeasured this morning. I’ve lost, all in inches 2.5 from chest, 3 from waist and hips and 2.5 from each thigh. That’s since 9 October. I’ve also started measuring under boob as of today as I’ve realised my chest is changing in a similar way to pretty’s. I was measured in bravissimo, went in a 38c and came out a 34e! I also need to re-do a photo, not as brave as prettythough!

prettybird · 09/01/2018 16:11

Ignore that @SayrraT Blush - I was trying to edit it when it posted Angry - I meant just to say that Mrsreynolds had an extraneous number. I worked out that in Week 1 you do inevitably show 100% losses until you are able to put in the "new" weight at the next weigh-in Blush

OP posts:
SayrraT · 09/01/2018 16:31

Fixed it!

BerylStreep · 09/01/2018 17:00

I'm size 18 pretty much regardless of what I weigh! Confused I think I am 5'6" (although not altogether sure).

I usually work in kgs, but have just realised I am on the cusp of moving into 14 stone something!

re all the questions on carb counts of veg - I know people are motivated in different ways, and some like to count carbs etc, but it really isn't necessary. If you just trust that if you are eating vegetables with some form of protein and fat this will work for you. If you stall then you can look more closely to see if there is something that might be causing it.

MasterFlamingo · 09/01/2018 17:03

ShagMeRiggins
Hahahaha! That made me chortle like a loon.

So pleased to discover our mutual appreciation of the Riggins and all things East Dillon.

You have made my day!

BadlyParkedRangeRover · 09/01/2018 17:08

Well, I've also missed lunch (asleep, sorry!)
Ive just recovered from tonsillitis and now have another temp. Sadly through being on call all the bloody time i missed flu jabs at work, and ended up treating someone with flu over new year. Hope it's not but i feel rotten!
Im going to try and shower, frankly it's been 48 hours and i am disgusting right now (TMI, but too febrile to care.) Then mackerel pate with cucumber.
Also looking forward to your 3 month photos pretty bird!

intelligentPutty · 09/01/2018 17:08

Pesto ok? Can't see it. Thinking not because of pine nuts...

prettybird · 09/01/2018 17:17

Not just now IntelligentPutty - but it will be a good way to add flavour after the first 2 weeks.

Now feeling under a lot of pressure to ensure I've made good progress before the middle of February Shock which is when I would be due to take the 3 month photos - still, it will keep me motivated every time I think of lapsing Grin Running this Boot Camp and wielding BIWI's Big Stick even on myself is also helping keep me focussed. Wink

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Gammeldragz · 09/01/2018 17:17

Pesto is 4% carb and 35% fat, also usually eaten in small amounts so should be fine.

Gammeldragz · 09/01/2018 17:18

Oh, cross posted. Ignore my advice!

intelligentPutty · 09/01/2018 17:24

Thanks. Maybe just have my salmon with butter tonight then.

Twoo · 09/01/2018 17:34

Sounds like you’re making great progress Pretty’ ! I intend to get the tape measure out and measure myself when I get ready for bed. Then I will try to summon up courage to take a nelfie. Which the thought of gives me the heebie geebies. What if I lost my phone Shock

How often do you get on the scales? I got on today and the scales are showing a 2 lb gain.

Rshard · 09/01/2018 17:36

Today’s food
B - buttery scrambled eggs avo
L - cauliflower brussels nuked in butter, Parmesan
D - chicken cauliflower swede

Half litre water to go. Off to yoga shortly

IAmSamSamlAm · 09/01/2018 17:38

I have got so much more energy than usual - even with a chest infection which usually wipes me out.

Is this Ketosis? Or too early? I started on Sunday.

My appetite's gone down too though I am battling the wine witch at this time every night.

abbey44 · 09/01/2018 17:47

Good day today - took dogs out for five-mile walk with the dog-walking group I'm with and despite the weather being a bit gloomy, we enjoyed the walk. I thought I might just rest my eyes a little when we got back though, and crashed out, fast asleep, for two hours. Guess I'm not at the limitless energy stage just yet then Grin

B: omelette with Gruyere
L: asleep
D: cream of celeriac soup

Trying to up the water as well, especially earlier in the day. Had to glug loads yesterday evening to make the total and was up and down all night. Maybe that was why I was tired today...?

ilovecherries · 09/01/2018 18:04

I've got sticky lemon chicken in the oven, which I'm having with buttered asparagus, long stem broccoli and kale. I've also got six eggs hardboiling, and a tray of low carb sausages along with mousakka in the oven. Once there is room in the oven, I've got Parmesan and celeriac crisps ready to go in, and I have courgette ribbons marinating in lemon juice, olive oil and chilli. Have also made a vat of olive, chilli and feta. #BePrepared #DomesticGoddess. Grin

It's good to be back to making low carb food that I really want to eat, rather than simply making traditional food for veryone else, and eating mine without the carbs, which I was doing over the holidays. It feels more like I'm always saying yes now, rather than constantly saying 'I'll pass'.

Pumpkintopf · 09/01/2018 18:11

I'm making creamy chicken with spinach and mushrooms tonight, I'll give the kids pasta with it - anyone got any ideas what I could have it with as obviously pots, rice pasta and noodles are out...

Thanks!

ilovecherries · 09/01/2018 18:15

Have you any courgette? Courgette ribbons are nice. As is shredded spinach.

BadlyParkedRangeRover · 09/01/2018 18:15

I'm craving sugar with every fibre of my being. Hate being poorly

prettybird · 09/01/2018 18:17

IamSam - that may or may not be ketosis but extra/more stable energy levels is indeed one of the benefits of this WoE Smile. Even if it is just psychological at this stage - go with it! Grin

Twoo - I weigh on a daily basis, first thing - and sometimes again an hour or so later if I've done The Shred and not drunk too much water at that point in the day . I can cope with the daily fluctuations - in my case, rises are normal an indicator of not enough water the day before - but you need to be careful of falling foul of an "Oh Fuck It" attitude if there is an unexplained increase. I definitely don't weigh late in day as that really would be de-motivating as you can fluctuate as much as 3lb upwards with water and food intake during the day Shock

Others stick to weekly weighing, some fortnightly and a few just monthly or not at all, preferring to focus on NSVs.

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Pumpkintopf · 09/01/2018 18:23

@ilovecherries brilliant idea!! I do have courgettes - bought them to make a low carb lasagna.

I need a spiralizer don't I?!

prettybird · 09/01/2018 18:27

BadlyParkedRangeRover - can you drink some herb tea to keep you warm/cheer you up? (Rooibos, peppermint & liquorice - maybe with a teaspoon of coconut oil in it). Extra fluid might make you feel better - and the coconut oil will give you energy).

Trust me, you won't feel better for the sugar if you give in. You'll just be annoyed at yourself.

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TheSeasonOfTheWitch · 09/01/2018 18:29

Great idea for the courgette! Has anyone made cauliflower rice?

Is it normal to be very cold?! I've been absolutely freezing since I started.