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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.

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prettybird · 13/01/2018 20:16

ecplodingkittens - Star for resisting all the chocolate. I have a friend who is following Boot Camp who is deliberate leaving out bowls of Lindt balls in his living room to prove he can do this Shock And he went to a party last night and the worst he fell off Boot Camp was by drinking a diet coke Grin if you knew him, that is a major achievement Wink

Now, if he can get through his rugby day trip to Ireland without a Guiness that will really deserve a Star Throwing down the gauntlet here Wink

I'm going to have celeriac chips and creamy leeks with the roast shoulder of pork (with fennel crackling). My bastard dh has got out a bottle of Viognier from a vineyard that no longer exists Hmm I. Will. Resist. Grin

OP posts:
prettybird · 13/01/2018 20:28

Getting close to the thread limit, so Week 1 Spillover thread here

don't think I have ever started a thread that has got to 1,000 or even close Shock

OP posts:
TheWayOfTheWorld · 13/01/2018 20:41

prettybird when you say "prepare Brussels" do you leave them whole (but trimmed) or do you slice them up?

abbey44 · 13/01/2018 20:41

twoo let's hope so Grin

I have a bit of a dilemma right now - just done a blood sugar test and it's low (3.4) so I need to eat something to get it up, quickly. Celeriac mash? There's some in the fridge. Bloody nuisance, it's been fine all week - think it must be catching up with me.

abbey44 · 13/01/2018 20:48

I think I. Just need to adjust my insulin down a bit - that's a good sign something's happening, even if I'm not seeing it yet.

prettybird · 13/01/2018 21:05

TheWayOfTheWorld - just trim the ends off (and any scabby outer leaves).

Seemplz Grin

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prettybird · 13/01/2018 21:08

Abbey - hope you're sorted now, but I'd have tried the celeriac mash and seem if that had an effect. But not being diabetic, I don't know how quickly you need to get an effect. Would raw mange tout or even carrots help? I know carrots should only be eaten in very small amounts in Boot Camp, but needs must.

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TheWayOfTheWorld · 13/01/2018 21:12

Thank you!

Celeriac risotto was a success! Sauted 2 bacon rashers and a load of asparagus in butter; removed from pan and softened shallots (frozen pre-chopped ones Grin) and then added half the packet of celeriac rice, some more butter and 25ml water. Cooked it for another 5 minutes, added back in the bacon and asparagus plus a small slug of cream and voila! Will definitely be making it again.

prettybird · 13/01/2018 21:20

Sounds good! Must try it myself.

Here is my roast pork supper, including a lovely big slab of crackling all of which I've eaten Blush Quite a few of the celeriac chips were eaten before dh carved the meat Grin We ended up having to have it on trays because I mistimed how long the pork would take to roast Blush and dh and ds were wanting to watch the Ospreys v Saracens game.

New Year, New Start Boot Camp: Week 1, Now we get down to it in earnest
OP posts:
abbey44 · 13/01/2018 21:35

prettybird the celeriac mash has done what's needed (I'm 4.2 now) but I'll have to see whether it goes up a bit more as that's not quite enough to go to bed on. (Normal doctors advice is 30g carbs - 6 jelly babies - but that's more than I'm having a day in total, so I need to figure out an alternative. Carrots might do it, plus some cheese as the fat stops the sugar spike.)

I do get this when I'm losing weight - often when I've not seen any loss, then I adjust my insulin dosage down and it all gets going again, so it's a pain in some ways, but a good sign. A couple of rocky days and then everything settles down again.

prettybird · 13/01/2018 21:39

Glad you're getting sorted Smile

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AveAtqueVale · 13/01/2018 21:59

Gosh this thread moves fast! Thanks so much to everyone who answered my plea for a talking to last night - the sympathy helped and so did the suggestions about identifying triggers etc. Feeling much more focused and motivated! Today we had my mum and dsis and her wife over and I cooked a giant roast lunch for mum’s birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed my roast pork with loads of crackling and cauliflower cheese and broccoli, and watched the rest of them dig into crisps, roast potatoes, bread and butter pudding and birthday cake without so much as a pang!

Twoo · 13/01/2018 22:03

Abbey I’m pleased you got your blood sugars improved!

Pretty’ that pork dinner looks bang on 😋

TheWay’ I think I just might give celeriac risotto a whirl. Sounds lovely.

AveAtqueVale · 13/01/2018 22:03

Oooh celeriac chips would have been a good idea as a potato alternative prettybird. I wish I’d thought of that! Though I’m not sure the oven could have taken anything else...

BIWI · 13/01/2018 23:45

@abbey44 I’m a bit worried about you following Bootcamp if you’re diabetic. I assume you’re T1 if you’re using insulin. And have you discussed it with your GP?

JumpingintoLCHF · 13/01/2018 23:50

Fundamentally LCHF is a brilliant woe for a T1 but I guess you will just have to keep doing finger pricks as your insulin ratios adapt to new weight. It's because of dh T1 that we first started exploring LCHF. He went on a pump and was having too much carb and therefore too much insulin for his pump.

abbey44 · 13/01/2018 23:58

BIWI thanks, but don't worry - I've been low-carbing for a while now, and my diabetic consultant is right behind me. In fact, it was him that suggested I try it three years ago - he's one of the more enlightened doctors I've had. I saw him last month and we talked about doing this and he was all for it. I do keep very close track of my blood sugars while I'm doing this, though, so I can sort any blips before they go too far.

BIWI · 13/01/2018 23:59

Phew! Good to hear.

abbey44 · 14/01/2018 00:03

jumping it is, as you say, an ideal woe for T1 - my HbA1c last month was the best I've had for a long time (just under 7) and I don't have many highs & lows with it on a daily basis. I do the finger pricks, but I've also got a Freestyle Libre sensor which gives me a more constant monitoring, so it gives me the confidence to deal with stuff like tonight. Like you say, it's just adjusting ratios and doses.

JumpingintoLCHF · 14/01/2018 05:54

Abbey that's fantastic. The sensors are wonderful. Your consultant sounds great. Out of interest did you do DAFNE? That fits v well with this.

Twoo · 14/01/2018 07:55

Thank you for the link to the Spill Over Thread Grin. I was beginning to panic!

abbey44 · 14/01/2018 09:21

jumping yes, I did the DAFNE course about four years ago - it was a game-changer, even after 20 years of being diabetic. Made so much sense of stuff I'd been trying to work out through trial and error.

thedayismine · 14/01/2018 09:46

Hi all am looking for some food ideas for next week am thinking of making a big vat of something that DH can take to work for lunches in a food flask. ( he keeps reverting to sandwiches !)
Apart from soups what else should I do - chilli ?
Anyone got any more inspiring ideas ?

JumpingintoLCHF · 14/01/2018 10:08

Abbey I thought you might have! Changed dh's life!

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