Day one - pointers please

[desperatehousewife2]

I’ve decided to try the whole LCHF way of eating. I’ve done everything else in the past, some have worked better than others. Just can’t seem to get on track since I had my baby 5 months ago and want to lose about 2.5 stone.

Anyway I’m following the bootcamp spreadsheet but the whole thing seems to go against my instincts. Low carb I can get, but ive never dieted having high fat before so it’s going to take me some time to get used to this.

Please, someone reassure me it will definitely work and work quickly! Does it work for everyone?

So I’ve got a couple of questions. Firstly, what are macros and do I need to use/track/ whatever them? I don’t have a huge amount of time (who does) to go counting grams of carbs, fat intake etc daily, do I need to do this?

This is what I’ve had so far today, does it look ok?

B- mushrooms fried in butter with 2 scrambled eggs and a dash of cream also done in butter

L - leftover roast chicken, 1 avocado and salad leaves with olive oil drizzledvover them

Dinner will probably be something like pork chops or lamb chops with spinach and broccoli with butter.

Also drinking lots of water

Does this look ok?

I’m a bit of a weighing scales addict when dieting. How long till I go into Ketosis and I see weight loss?

Thanks so much to anyone who gets through this essay and offers some advice/reassurance.

Well I’ve had about 5 small lamb chops, asparagus, kale and shit loads and I mean it must have been about 2oz of butter!!! Is butter reeeeallly unlimited? How can I lose weight like this?

Honestly, you don't need to check macros or count calories. Have confidence that if you follow the Rules - which includes all that fat and the required amount of water (very important), you will see results.

Come and join us on the Week 10 Boot Camp. We might be coming up the end of the current Boot Camp but there's loads of support and we'll continue the thread (and a new one, if it fills up) up until the next Boot Camp in October.

That menu looks ok - and yes, you can have as much butter as you want

Personally I hate mushrooms You're doing better than I usually manage with the amount of veg

It's usually a few days until you become ketogenically adapted. Ketostix don't usually work as the amount of water you should be drinking (and you will be waking up during the night for a while until your kidneys and brain adapt ) means that your pee will be too dilute.

Over time, you'll notice that you're not hungry as often any more and that you can go into petrol stations and not even look at the rows of confectionary or is that just me?

My major problem has been breaking the habit of snacking even when I'm not actually hungry - although I do make sure that the snacks are HFLC.

Thanks so much for replying Prettybird!

My downfall will probably be red wine but am going to knock it on the head for at least a few weeks to give this a chance.
Also a chocolate fiend but I know that’s out for the foreseeable!

Was going to get Keto sticks in next few days but maybe I won’t bother then

Good thing I adore butter and could neatly eat it with just a spoon!

*nearly

Well I came on to answer your questions, but @prettybird has done a great job already!

If you want to follow Bootcamp, it is as simple as following the ten rules. No need to weigh or count anything, honestly!

And yes, high fat is important. And it definitely works! Just read through the current chat thread, and you'll see posters saying how much they've lost in the ten weeks.

Good luck!

Thank you BIWI! I can see you’re a bit of a guru at this.

How regularly do the 10 week boot camps happen?

I generally run about 3 a year. The next one will start in mid-October.

One of the things I think has made a difference this Boot Camp and kept the weight continuing to come off is starting to have slices of good salted butter as a snack, before going and having a slice of salami or Emmenthal (or, because I'm beyond the 1st 2 weeks, some Macadamia nuts or occasionally a square of 90% Lindt chocolate).

Keep off the wine for the 1st 2 weeks - it really is worth it

Slices of butter as a snack??? Thanks Prettybird, I’m definitely on for snacks of butter FOLLOWED BY CHEESE!!! That’s like a dream come true

Slices of cheddar spread with butter and then Bovril or Marmite (good for electrolytes rather than drinking it) is a good snack that someone recommended on one of these threads.

Enabler, moi?!

Don't ask about brussels microwaved in butter as I've introduced lots of people to that particular addiction

Also did my first day today desparatehousewife! I must loose a stone to get to the edge of a healthy bmi (and look better!)

B Greek yog and 5 strawbs
L several slices ham, yellow pepper, avocado, leafy salad
D fillet smoked mackerel, 2 boiled eggs, big pile broccoli with butter on.

I really want something to drink that isn't water tonight though.
Any suggestions?
Still looking for the rules and famous spreadsheet...

The famous spreadsheet is in the OP! And the rules are on one of the tabs on the spreadsheet.

Herb tea. Water flavoured with slices of cucumber (surprisingly tasty) or strawberries (but you can't eat the strawberries in the first 2 weeks).

Black coffee or coffee with cream.

2 cups of tea is ok I have more but really shouldn't

Thanks v much.

Is it worth starting this knowing I'm going on hols in a week and won't be able to stick exactly to rules, or wait to start til I'm back?

Oh - and the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness (which includes the Rules) are in the OP of the current Week 10 Boot Camp thread.

They're actually in the OP of every week of Boot Camp - but there were a few weeks when there were problems with the spreadsheet which were only sorted later in the thread - but I know the current week's one works

Thanks prettybird

Fizzy water with slice of lemon or lime?

That would be fine.

I actually make every second pint of water that I drink an electrolyte version with a squoosh of lemon juice and a shake of Lo-Salt, which seems to help especially on hot days when I'm sweating a lot

Fortunately it's been cooler the last couple of days in Scotland.

Thought I’d give you a quick update! Weighed in at 11-5 on Monday morning and am delighted to report this morning I’m 11-0. I’m pretty astounded. I know this is mostly water weight but I was stuck for so long not being able to get below 11-2 and kept putting on and losing the same few pounds.

I’m 44 (yes, with a 5 month old and 3 year old) so find it much harder now to lose weight.

Could I possibly ask for some more tips for tomorrow? We are going to be out for quite a lot of the day including a couple of hours at a party. Any tips to keep me on the straight and narrow? Was thinking of bringing a couple of boiled eggs, any other ideas?

Thanks for the tips so far prettybird and BIWI!

First thing I'd say is make sure you have a good breakfast - fried bacon, eggs, low carb sausages and mushrooms should do the trick! Then you're less likely to get ravenously hungry later on.

Make sure you have a bottle of water with you, so you can keep drinking that.

If there's food at the party, then it's a bit difficult to know what to suggest, but I'm afraid it's one of the things we all have to learn to navigate around when we're low carbing.

If you can take a little cool bag with you, the other things that would make good snacks are chunks of cheese, cooked low carb sausages, eggs (as you suggest) and maybe a little pot of tuna mayo?

Well done on the weight loss so far!

Many thanks BIWI! Babybels seem ok by my reckoning, would you agree?

That's brilliant desperatehousewife . I was stuck for a snack while stuck in traffic today, best thing I could find were dry roasted peanuts. Not too many, so think I got away with it! No change on the scales for me this morning, but fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Babybels, cheese triangles, salami and pepperamis are what I used to take to all-day cycling events with ds.

was never organised enough to do boiled eggs in advance

If I'm out all day, I call in to a supermarket and pick up a pack of cooked meet and babybel. Maybe some nuts. And another bottle of water!!!

It's an expensive lunch Worth it though - and could be cheaper if I got more organised.

M & S do some lovely deli snacks - cheese cubes wrapped in ham etc. Always pleased when I can buy these - not all stores have them.