May Low Carb Bootcamp: the preparation thread

[BIWI]

The next Bootcamp starts on Monday 14 May.

In advance of this, here are some things to start to think about.

THE RULES

First, make sure you know the rules! I'll put those in a separate post, but it's a good idea to print them out, so that you have them to hand for each reference.

You do need to follow the rules to the letter. Low carbing isn't a very forgiving WOE. It's not like calorie counting, where one 'bad' day can be overcome by a 'good' day the next. And it's especially important in the first two weeks because we're ensuring that we switch our bodies away from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat.

After the first two weeks there is the option to move onto a slightly more relaxed approach, Bootcamp Light. It's entirely up to you whether or not you do this. But it's critical that you are strict in the first two weeks.

PLANNING AHEAD

Do what you can to get rid of as many of the carby things in your fridge/freezer/cupboards - especially things that you know are likely to tempt you.

Start planning your week in terms of meals and food. Make sure you have plenty of low carb ingredients available. Meal planning may be a bit of a chore, but in the early stages of low carbing, especially if it's a new WOE (way of eating) for you, it's vital.

In the initial few days, you may also like to have things available to snack on. Within a week or so of low carbing, you should find that you're not hungry at all between meals, so you won't need to snack, but while you're adjusting, it's good to have something you know you can grab.

Good low carb snacks:

hard boiled eggs (always a good idea to keep a few in the fridge)
cooked low carb sausages (The Black Farmer is a good brand, but all the supermarkets premium sausages tend to be lower carb. Avoid ones with extra ingredients, and check the back of the packet to see how many carbs they contain. As an example, Sainsbury's So Organic pork sausages are only 0.9g carbs per 100g, The Black Farmer ones are 1.0g carbs. Avoid like the plague 'ordinary' sausages, as they are very carby - Richmond Thick Pork sausages are 16g carbs per 100g!
olives
cheese
cucumber/celery

If you're at work but have a canteen, check out what they're offering that is low carb. If they have a salad bar that's usually an OK option, but make sure that you're getting plenty of fat with your salad, and not just adding low fat dressings. You may need to take your own lunch with you if their menu is - as is highly likely - heavily focused around carbs. And if they do a 'healthy' option beware! This is going to be low fat, which is not what we're doing here.

If your job means you're out and about a lot, this is hard and something you'll have to prepare carefully for. On-the-go food options are always very carby - sandwiches, crisps, chocolate bars. Even if presented as 'healthy', like cereal bars or Graze boxes, these will invariably be too high in carbs as well, because there's often a lot of sugar as well as higher carb ingredients like nuts and seeds.

M&S do some good things - individually wrapped pieces of cheese, they also do pork crackling strips and rounds, which are a good standby. Most of their salads have pasta or rice or noodles as a basis, but there are one two that don't - and along with some cooked meats or fish you can usually put together a reasonable low carb meal.

READ UP ON LOW CARBING

The more you know about it, and the science behind it, the more likely you are to be able to stick to it.

You'll find that a lot of people around you will dismiss low carbing as a fad. People will tell you that eating so much fat is bad for you - despite the fact that this simply isn't true.

But it can be very undermining when people do this to you, and you may find your resolve wavering.

When I post the first thread next Monday there will be a link to the spreadsheet where we all enter our weight. On the tabs on the spreadsheet you'll find links to all kinds of different resources that will help you.

But in the meantime, if you want to do some reading, have a look at The Diet Doctor's website.

Escape the Diet Trap by Dr John Briffa is also a book that's really worth getting hold of - it's very easy to read and explains low carbing really well.

LEARN TO LOVE FAT!

Olive oil, butter, cream, cheese. What's not to love?!

But you'll find it hard, if you've always been told that fat is bad, to fully embrace it. But it's essential. A low carb diet is a high fat one - which is often why it's abbreviated to LCHF.

Fat helps to keep you full. It's also good for you (apart from transfats). Importantly, it makes things taste lovely!

CONSIDER HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MONITOR YOUR WEIGHT

We have a spreadsheet to enter our weight every week, but this is by no means compulsory. There are a couple of other ways to monitor your progress - first, take your measurements, and repeat these each week. Second, take an item of clothing which its currently too tight, and try that on each week.

If you do decide to weigh, then weigh yourself first thing in the morning, naked, after you've been to the loo.

It's up to you whether you weigh weekly or daily. Some people find that weighing daily keeps them focused on what they're doing - others find it too hard, as natural daily fluctuations aren't always helpful!

DO YOU NEED TO SEE YOUR GP?

If you have a medical condition, particularly diabetes or high or low blood pressure, you should talk to your doctor or nurse about low carbing. Low carbing will reduce high blood pressure, and help improve your blood sugar levels, such that the level of medication you're taking may become inappropriate.

If you're in any way worried about a medical condition or medication that you have, and how this might interact with low carbing, then please take medical advice. I am not a GP or medically trained in any way. I'm not a dietician or a nutritionist, either. The advice given on Bootcamp is based on my own experiences, and the (considerable) reading that I have done/continue to do.

GET A JOURNAL TO KEEP A RECORD OF YOUR DAILY MENU

Writing down what you've eaten and drunk is incredibly useful, and can help to keep you focused. If, for any reason, you aren't seeing success one week, going back to what you've been eating and drinking can help you identify any possible issues.

It also helps to keep you honest with yourself! If you know you have to write it down, it can stop you cheating.

READ AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHAT THREADS

The help, support and general camaraderie on the chat threads is the most valuable thing about Bootcamp.

Please don't just jump on the thread to post your own progress or menus, but take the time to read what other people have written

The threads move very quickly - especially in the first couple of weeks - so make sure you bookmark them so you don't lose your place. But also take the time to help others out with any questions or issues that they have.

And if you have a question, please make sure you read the thread to see if anyone else has asked that before you. It's very, very wearing being asked to explain something that's already been talked about.

READ THE BOOTCAMP RECIPE THREADS

There are several of these, all stickied at the top of the Bootcamp topic. There are some fabulous recipes on those threads, and so you should have absolutely no excuse not to eat lovely food. And please feel free to add to them!

A FINAL REMINDER - THE 'BLACKLIST'

These are foods that you shouldn't be eating at all on Bootcamp:

pasta/couscous/polenta/noodles
rice
flour/cornflour (so be careful of things that come in sauces, as they are usually thickened with flour or cornflour, and absolutely nothing that's in batter of any kind)
cakes/biscuits/muffins/bagels/doughnuts (should be obvious, but just in case ...)
legumes/pulses/grains
potatoes/sweet potatoes/sweetcorn/peas (these are the carbiest veg; on the spreadsheet you'll also find a list of carb counts for veg)
sugar/honey/syrup/chocolate
balsamic vinegar (wine vinegar/ordinary vinegars are fine, at around 0.5g/0.6g carbs per 100ml, but balsamic is very high in carbs at around 22g carbs per 100ml)

BEWARE THE BIG STICK!

I think that's all for now! I look forward to getting going next week

That’s a fabulous result ‘Bert’ !

@AmIbeingTreasonable - here's some info copied from another thread:

It lasts for ten weeks, and during that period you won't eat any of the following:

bread (of any kind - including bagels, pitta, flat bread, naan, etc)
rice
pasta/couscous
flour (so no thickened sauces or gravy, or anything with batter)
potatoes
grains/legumes/pulses
sugar (including syrup, agave syrup, maple syrup, honey)
fruit juice/sweetened squash/full-sugar fizzy drinks

The first two weeks are the strictest, and during that period you can't eat/drink:

any fruit
chocolate
alcohol
nuts/seeds

We also try to avoid consuming any artificial sweeteners, so that means also avoiding diet drinks and any desserts/yoghurts that use artificial sweeteners.

There are ten rules. Bootcamp is designed to be simple to follow - you don't have to weigh or count anything, just follow the rules.

The ten rules are:

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!)"

1. 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.

1. 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!

1. 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.

1. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited).

Dairy can impede weight loss for some people. If you are 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

1. 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."

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. No nuts/seeds.

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.

Re carb flu, it should really only last for 2-3 days. Things you can do to make it easier/go away:

• drink plenty of water
• make sure you're keeping your fat levels high
• make sure your electrolyte balances are optimised, which means getting plenty of sodium, magnesium and potassium. Salt, in particular, is really important. Cook with it and add it to your food. You can make a hot drink with and Oxo cube, or Bovril or Marmite.

Salmon, spinach, avocado and full fat natural yoghurt are all good foods here too.

Laska the magic solution for constipation is magnesium citrate tablets. Be warned though, it can be a bit too magic so maybe don't take the full dose right away. If you want a gentler solution then lactulose is good. ThePink it isn't the fibre. Low fibre diets can actually be used for the treatment of constipation. The issue is that when you go low carb you lose a lot of water weight initially and, since insulin causes the kidneys to retain water, reducing your insulin intake means your kidneys release much more water into the urine. You will notice you need to pee much more than usual and that isn't just because you are drinking more water. Since you are losing more water through the urine your body will reclaim water from the bowel to balance your water levels... resulting in constipation. I'm starting to think that we should recommend some electrolyte replacement at the start of Bootcamp to deal with the fluctuations in water levels. A glass of water with a big pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice is a quick and easy way to replenish sodium and potassium levels to combat water loss. If you're also taking a small dose of magnesium and eating dairy products then that would cover the key electrolytes. Note that this isn't necessary if you aren't prone to constipation, it does seem to be more of a problem for some people than others.

3stonedown try a fancy fruit tea in fizzy water. I put a Sour Cherry teabag in a 2-litre bottle of cheap fizzy water and have it in a tall glass with lots of ice and a paper straw. You get the flavour of squash but no carbs, sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Is no nuts the rule for vegetarians too?

On the "allowed veg list", does that mean only the stuff coloured green on the spreadsheet list? Or is there a list I have missed?

@MrsBertBibby - no, the rules are different for vegetarians - have a look on the spreadsheet for those.

Allowed veg is the green stuff (I think - I don't have the spreadsheet open right now) but generally, as a rule of thumb, anything that's around 4g carbs per 100g or lower is allowed/encouraged.

Cool, thanks!

Stuntnun Thanks this is really helpful and a good explanation I have always wondered why when I am chugging the water on LC i am still completed bunged up with dry hard (and painful) stools . (sorry TMI)

I am definitely going to try the lemon juice salt combo and magnesium..

i am starting today ! ( even though I have reles coming this weekend and it may be hard to avoid eating out at some point .. it will be a good way to ease in )

2 eggs omelette in butter for breakfast ..
I am going to have spinach /avo salad lunchtime with some sardines in olive oil

and go shopping.. luckily the cupboard is bare

I've had a v satisfying fridge clean out in preparation for starting (it was embarrassingly manly in there) and lots of lovely food to come my next online order.
I've done the last 2 boot camps and lost 10kg. I couldn't have done it without everyone's support and excited to start again as I've another 5-10kg to go. My DH has now joined the bandwagon so hope it will make a difference even though he loses weight much faster than me grrr

Eating out is usually pretty easy if you're low carbing - unless you've gone to a pizza or pasta-only place!

Don't be afraid to ask for things to be substituted - so if the menu says steak with chips, ask for a salad or other veg instead. I've never been refused with this kind of request.

My story isn't the most dramatic wrt weight loss, but my overall physique has changed dramatically.

It started last Feb. I decided I really wanted to buy a dress for my birthday (nothing special, just one I could wear to the office, but as I'm always in jeans this was a Big Thing), so went shopping the day before, taking advantage of the fact that, for once, I was near some shops. A few years ago I'd slimmed down to an 8, but had since put it back on though was in denial, and was therefore really depressed when I realised the only dresses which fit, in any shop, were a size 14. At 5' 4 and with a really small frame this was not good. Not that I did anything about it for a while, I simply wallowed. Then I met up with an old school friend for the first time in a few years, and, therefore many photos were taken. I looked horrendous, especially next to her. So I signed up for the May bootcamp.

I started at 11 stone 1, I'm now about 8 stone 8, dress size 6/8. I still have a tummy which I'd really like to see go, and am aiming to get down to 8 stone nothing. One huge benefit of this woe for me is that my mornings are no longer spent sat on the loo, and I can think in the afternoons: the daily diarrhoea and brain fog, which I'd never linked, were both caused by eating carbs.

I also started C25K in November, finished it in Feb, continued to run and have signed up for a half in September. This is not something I'd have contemplated before BC.

Seafour - I'm glad Smokey and Lola are friends again! That's great news!

Thanks stuntnun I will try that tomorrow.

Is Soya milk better than dairy? Unsweetened of course. I'm wondering if it would be better to have the odd soya latte than regular milk.

I make milk Kefir .. looking it up it seems its ok for low carb..Will it be acceptable for the first two week period on boot camp?.. I usually have a small glass most days .. ( about half a small wineglass measurement)

StuntNun great idea with the fancy fizzy cold fruit tea!

All the success stories are very inspirational.

Hi all, especially the runners. I find my running is much better when I'm properly fat-adapted - my half-marathon PB came two years ago while low-carbing.

Now I'm running more than ever but stubbornly stuck about 15 minutes off that PB. I think it's mostly due to the crap that I'm eating. That and the extra stone...

Roll on Monday...

This is my first Bootcamp, even though I have been watching this board for a while. I had great results with low carbing when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at my highest ever weight (BMI of 40) some 3-odd years ago. LC helped me reverse my diabetes, and I got my weight into "only overweight" BMI of 26-27. Then, last September, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (cancer-free now), had a lumpectomy, and in January this year, month of radiotherapy. Since the beginning of this year, I put 2 st back on, which I want to get rid of, plus another bonus one which would put me into the "normal" BMI.

The reason I put weight back on is comfort eating - adding high carb, processed crap to my high fat, meat & veg. Sadly, that also resulted in an increased appetite and a feeling of helplessness about my weight. I'm hoping that following Bootcamp rules will help with that.

Laska, I've also recently restarted making kefir - I think that a small amount daily should be fine, as the lactose should be digested by the bacteria. I look at it as Greek yogurt. However, I realised I might have a problem with casein so should trial a dairy-free diet... but I cannot face it yet.

It’s great to be hearing positive stories and tips on here... so much so that I decided to make a start today so had 2 boiled eggs for breakfast with extra thick double cream and some mayo. For lunch having hot dog sausages ( wilkinger ones are low carb... are they allowed? ... being highly processed) and green salad. I am feeling quite full but have that weird feeling that ‘ something is missing’(sugar /carbs )
Will give the fizzy tea a go too...

I'm on my 4th week of pre-Bootcamp low carbing and am currently 7lb down, which I'm very happy with. The scales have been a bit up and down, which is probably because I've been eating a handful of berries or a few nuts occasionally and am probably having a bit too much dairy. I intend to follow BC rules to the letter once we start though.

I meant to ask - any tips on which are the lowest carb mayonnaise brands? I've currently got Stokes mayonnaise, which does have sugar in, but is 2.7g carbs per 100g.

Hellman’s is a good one eolian and also Delouis which I think is a French brand, available from Ocado and Waitrose.

Eolian Hellmans real mayo has less than that, 1.3g per 100g (unless I'm reading the label wrong which is possible as I've never read labels before!)

Huh - I kind of assumed Hellman's would be higher in carbs. Will look out for Delouis, but no Waitrose up here in Cumbria! Thanks all.

Just checking in from my holidays in Scotland. Looking forward to getting properly back on the wagon from Monday though daunted to see the damage when I get home and weigh in on Sunday. I had about half a stone left to lose after last bootcamp which got me back into my pre-baby clothes but with plenty of wobble on my small frame. We've been cooking and eating fairly low carb in our camper van though with quite a few holiday cheats too!
Running is going well with a new post-baby parkrun PB last weekend and two big trail races entered for September before I go back to work to keep me motivated.
I've been LCHF loosely for a few years more for health and as a WoE than weight loss but the stricter bootcamp rules and threads have really helped shift a stubborn stone of baby weight. Last stretch to get to goal now.

I've been going for a fortnight so far: somehow "gained" 6lb the first week, and "lost" 4 last week - I can only put it down to some mind-blowingly stressful life events, as I have been spot on with everything, except only managing 4 instead of 4.5l of water. I am koko - ing though, and hoping for a nice whoosh sooner or later.

I've asked on the chat thread too, but can anyone tell me if Skyr is acceptable yoghurt-wise? I bought it instead of Total because of the protein/carb ratio, but haven't dared try any yet as I hadn't seen it's low fat - anyone have any idea?