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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
29
Rshard · 08/01/2018 19:28

Walk away from the mince pie star! This day 1. You can’t cheat on day 1.

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:34

@star don't do it. It's not worth it. It's only a mince pie, how nice can it really be? And it'll undo all the work you've put in today. Step away.

SayrraT · 08/01/2018 19:35

Bin it, it's more of a waste for you to eat it. It's day 1,come on! Don't cheat today!!

Star2018 · 08/01/2018 19:37

I have walked away from the mince pie!!!!

But oh my... my body is crying out for sugar!

I’m going to resist because as you say I have done really well all bloody day. Not going to undo that. Angry

SayrraT · 08/01/2018 19:39

Go and do something else to distract you, paint your nails, read a book, have a cup of tea?

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:40

Dinner was amazing. I'm stuffed and have only eaten half of it (will have the rest for lunch tomorrow). Fried up garlic, streaky bacon and brussels sprouts until caramelised and delicious, then ate with cauliflower that had been roasted with nutmeg, garlic salt and paprika, then grated some parmesan over the top and let that melt. Bloody gorgeous.

Also - sprouts? Who knew? I used to think they were evil balls of noxious gas, now I know they're little spheres of divine deliciousness, thanks to LCHF Wink

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:42

@star - it'll get better, honestly. But only if you hang on in there for these first couple of weeks. You need to go cold turkey from sugar, it's the only way.

Star2018 · 08/01/2018 19:43

I will KOKO!

Thank you all for being there Smile

Singadream · 08/01/2018 19:46

I have been so cold since restarting low carb. I know the weather is cold but my house is not and I just can’t warm up.

Twoo · 08/01/2018 19:48

I’ve a question for all you seasoned LCHF peeps. How do you know when you’re in ketosis? Thanks in advance.

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:48

I have had the oddest dreams - I'd forgotten about that as a side effect! I sleep really well but have incredibly vivid dreams when I low-carb. No idea why.

SayrraT · 08/01/2018 19:49

Dinner is currently cooking. I'm having pork shoulder steak with buttery leeks and green beans (4.4g/100g for those that remember beangate Grin)

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:52

@twoo - the main things for me in ketosis are loads of energy, all day. No mid-afternoon slump, just feel steady and 'awake' all day long. Plus a restricted appetite. Also, the sweet, pear-drop taste in my mouth (good reminder to drink more water). Add odd dreams Grin

SayrraT · 08/01/2018 19:52

twoo if you follow the rules you'll be burning fat so don't worry about it. Don't bother with ketosticks because if you are drinking enough they should be too dilute to measure.

exploding I love lc dreams...want to place a bet on who will have the first cake eating nightmare Grin

explodingkittens · 08/01/2018 19:53

Do we know why the odd dreams happen?

SayrraT · 08/01/2018 20:00

I don't but maybe someone else will?

littleladylawyer · 08/01/2018 20:13

singadream I have definitely found I'm colder since low carbing, especially if I've not eaten enough fat. I don't like hot drinks either so do struggle to keep warm in winter, have taken to wearing m & s thermals!

ilovecherries · 08/01/2018 20:16

I've been bloody freezing this winter. So much so that when I had my routine endocrinologist visit before Xmas I said to him that I was sure I was on the wrong dose of thyroxine (lost my thyroid years ago). Of course, it was fine, and he suggested that maybe taking the fat coat off was the reason Grin. Cheeky bugger.

TheIllaminati · 08/01/2018 20:20

Rashard, other than the salad, where are your vegetables?

Not picking on you, it's just good to remind everyone at the beginning of Bootcamp that a) our bodies do need carbohydrates, even on a weight loss program, and b) those carbohydrates ought to come from vegetables.

So Up The Veg, Everyone!

PrincessPeaPod · 08/01/2018 20:23

Good start today on the food front. However, the water front is not good at all. I definitely know I DID NOT drink enough. Would a black tea or coffee count towards water intake?

AveAtqueVale · 08/01/2018 20:25

Hooray and hello everyone! Keen to get started again. I haven’t properly started today as I was waiting for the Tesco order to arrive and needed to mop up the last Christmas chocolate but I’m having a lovely bootcamp-friendly dinner of fried cabbage and mince bake. I’m 3lbs up since the end of last bootcamp (but 4lbs down since just after Christmas Blush). Aiming to lose 11lbs by my birthday towards the end of February which would take me down to the next stone, but realise that may be a tall order... Anyway good luck everyone - will now go back and rtft!

BerylStreep · 08/01/2018 20:32

Evening all. What a busy thread!

Twoo I use keto sticks which you pee on once a day. They show up varying shades of beige (zero), peach (trace), pale pink (medium), through to dark pink and deep purple. Having more ketones does not equal better, and probably indicates dehydration. So long as your body is producing even some, it is sufficient. In fact there is a theory that if your body has too many ketones it goes into a negative feedback loop and slows fat burning down - I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I do remember reading it a long time ago.

TMI, but I can always tell I'm in ketosis because my wee smells different. People also produce ketones on their breath, which smells a bit like pear drops, but it's not something I have ever been aware of (I'm sure I do, I just can't smell it). Having lots of water dilutes the smell, although I am the world's worst water drinker.

Stunt and Cherries I'm glad to see your posts about providing details of slips. I remember a boot camp a few years ago where there were lots of posters who would post things like 'whoops, I fell over and a donut went into my mouth', and it was really difficult because I was trying really hard to stay committed. People do fall off the wagon from time to time, but I think asking for help rather than the gleeful 'naughty me' comments is much better in general for the rest of the bootcamp community.

Rshard · 08/01/2018 20:35

thellaminati have I spelled that right? The salad had lettuce, rocket, spinach, cucumber, radish, 4 cherry tomatoes in it so plenty of vegetables?

Rshard · 08/01/2018 20:44

Actually perhaps a bit less than I would usually would have. I’ll get more green stuff down me tomorrow!

mrsglowglow · 08/01/2018 20:46

Two,

I'm afraid I bought prepared pack of spiral corgette from waitrose (2 mins in microwave. I'm going to try and do my own when I have more time. It was delicious with my usual bolognese mince. Lots of my meals will be the usual family ones but substituting the carbs for my own.

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