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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.

January 2019 Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 1

812 replies

BIWI · 14/01/2019 00:59

Well happy new year!

Here's a sparkling, brand new, Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for us all to get this new Bootcamp off to a good start.

Remember, you don't have to be on the spreadsheet if you don't want to - and if you don't want to declare your actual weight, you can index it - which means that your starting 'weight' is 100. Then for every pound you lose, you take off one. So if you lose 4lbs in week 1, then your 'weight' starting for week 2 will be 96.

There are over 170 people signed up, so the thread will move very quickly - but please, please, please read all the posts. Don't just jump on and post your own stuff without reading what other people have posted. That's especially the case if you're posting with a question - read the thread to make sure it hasn't already been asked.

Have a good look at the spreadsheet and all the tabs at the bottom, as there's a huge amount of information there - not just the rules, but also the list of vegetable carb counts, and some really interesting reading/videos too.

I hope everything there is clear, but if not - just shout.

Looking forward to getting going!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
AthelstaneTheUnready · 16/01/2019 09:25

Ach, my scales went up on Monday, having had the last glass of wine in the house on Sunday, prior to start of BC. And they've wretchedly stayed up that extra 1lb.

A good reminder to me that I cannot drink alcohol and hope to lose weight. And that it takes me some days to bounce back from a poor choice. No more for me for the rest of BC, never mind the two weeks!

bella1426 · 16/01/2019 09:30

@BIWI - noted! Writing up my shopping list for next weeks meals to incorporate more tuna, mince, steak, salmon fillets, prawns etc..I could probably eat bacon three meals a day quite happily so need to curb it!

I have a question - I love how this doesn't involved weighing, calorie counting etc but I'm assuming like any weightloss plan there has to be a calorie deficit for it to work? And if so how much fat is too much on this plan? Just not sure if I'm being a bit heavy handed with the cream, cheese and butter....or is that not how we should be thinking about things?? (very programmed over the years by calorie counting here!)

Threeminis · 16/01/2019 09:38

My scales have decided this is the week to decide not to work. I swear they were fine last week Angry

Food today
B -fried egg and asparagus
L - courgette, kale and spinach soup with double cream
D - chicken thighs (skin on, cooked in butter) with salad

Have drunk 1.5l water already

bibliomania · 16/01/2019 09:42

For ripe avocados, my mother buys them unripe and wraps them individually in a sheet of newspaper, and she swears they are perfect in a day or two.

I tried an asparagus-based dish yesterday but was missing half the ingredients so it was just a bit weird and unsatisfying. I panicked about being hungry and ate 5 eggs, 3 scrambled and 2 fried. Could be worse.

I think someone mentioned getting rid of their microwave - I did that after noticing some rust spots. I was going to replace it but have now decided I won't bother - it's reduced my reliance on processed food a lot. Obviously that doesn't apply to someone who lovingly home-cooks good food and just needs to reheat it.

B - yoghurt with rosewater and cardamom; coffee with cream
L - salad with smoked mackerel and olive oil dressing
D - roast tenderstem broccoli and shallots. If still hungry, I'll have sardines on lettuce leaves.

I need to buy some mushrooms and Boursin, garlic if I can get it. I read about it on here and it sounds good.

Lost5stone · 16/01/2019 09:44

Morning all,

I am also a daily weigh-er. My scales are kept next to the sink but I have to be careful not to go on them in the evening when I brush teeth because I am about 3lbs heavier in the evening Blush

I love a good visualisation too, I have a 2.5 year old DD (and she's a big 90th centile child) and I sometimes lift her and think "I've lost over 2 of her since Sept 17", really amazing!

For me today:
B: 3 eggs mashed with butter
L: Tuna Mayo Salad
D: Bolognese, will do DD and DP pasta and I'll have it on cauliflower mash (because I LOVE cauli mash)
E: (I'm adding exercise as I need to be accountable for it!) Buggy run for as long as DD will allow!

Haworthia · 16/01/2019 09:58

Weighed myself this morning and I’m 3lb down. But then I was quite surprised on Monday, because apparently I’d gained 2lb since the weekend! Oh well, down is down so I don’t mind.

Haven’t had breakfast yet because I’m not that hungry, but I’m going to have something small in a minute.

Cheeseandapple · 16/01/2019 10:00

@bibliomania 😂 at the panic egg eating. Reminds of a scene in Cool Hand Luke where he eats 50 eggs.

It's good to hear of 'daily weighers'. I've been a closet daily weigher because we're always told to do weekly / monthly. I'm too impatient for that and if @BIWI does it so can I! I'm 5lbs down but also coming to the end of my period 🙌🏻

MrsKoala · 16/01/2019 10:02

@Venus i'm laughing that you even know that your scales are different in different rooms and have even tried them out in the garage. I have visions of you walking round the house till you get the result you want Grin

Feeling really hungry and tired today, but that may be more to do with my bastarding children than bootcamp. (They didn't go to sleep till 11pm then were up twice in the night and then were all up at 5.30am ) I had 3 soufflé muffins at 6.30am and then 2 more at 9.30 because I felt ravenous.

Smelling the children's toast and porridge was torturous this morning and last night I made them pizzas and I had to run the leftover crusts to the recycling caddy as I thought I might snaffle one.

I can't find who asked how you make the soufflé muffins but it's just a recipe I made up as I had leftover egg whites from custard at the weekend, but if you want to try it by separating the eggs and using equal amounts of whites and yolks it would probably work, if that makes sense (so 5 whites and 5 yolks). Anyway it goes a bit like this:

5 egg white
3 whole eggs
Half a tub of cream cheese
6 frozen nuggets of spinach

Defrost the spinach and mix with cream cheese and whole eggs (add salt and pepper to taste). In another bowl whisk the egg whites till like a big cloud. Fold the whites into the rest of the ingredients and add to a well buttered 12 hole muffin tin (I use a silicone one so they just pop out) and bake in an oven on 200 for about 10 mins or until puffed up and golden. They will look amazing and then disappointingly sink down, but the texture is still quite light – more like a squishy Yorkshire pudding than an omelette.

WhatTheFronti · 16/01/2019 10:05

Yes BIWI my scales hate me! I weight twice in a morning - first time is always slightly terrifying. Step off then back on and take that reading or the lowest 😆 - they are old and dodgy and I should buy new ones but I just can't be bothered!!
And yes in Aus. Currently sweating buckets 😂

Methemummy · 16/01/2019 10:10

Ok so I need some help, have just been told we are eating out for a family birthday at the weekend so need to plan what to eat. We are going to pizza express. Looked through the menu and have narrowed options down to the following, anything i need to be aware of;

From googling looks like house dressing is herbs & olive oil. Looked on mfp and its high fat low carb. Hidden sugars?

Starter
Lemon & Herb Chicken Wings: Six chicken wings, marinated in lemon and herbs, served with our light house dressing dip and fresh parsley
or
Buffalo Mozzarella & Tomato Salad: Creamy buffalo mozzarella served with fresh tomatoes, pesto, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil

Main
Grand Chicken Çaesar: Our Classic Çaesar salad, with chicken, white anchovies, croutons, Gran Milano cheese, free-range egg (and dough sticks)
or
Pollo: Chicken, goat’s cheese, red Roquito pearls, fresh tomatoes, black olives and croutons, with seasonal mixed leaves, house dressing (and dough sticks)

Darkbaptism · 16/01/2019 10:16

Methe ypu can see the carb counts here www.pizzaexpress.com/~/media/files/pdfs/nutritionals/pex_our_food_nutritionals_v4.ashx?la=en.
I would be careful with the dressings of the salads and ask for either olive oil or mayo.

Darkbaptism · 16/01/2019 10:16

And obviously leave the dough sticks and croutons.

NearlySchoolTimeAgain · 16/01/2019 10:18

bella1426

Writing up my shopping list for next weeks meals to incorporate more tuna

I often see a gain after eating tuna in brine. Not so much after the spring water type. It goes again a day later. It’s the same with gammon and bacon so don’t panic if that happens to you.

bibliomania · 16/01/2019 10:21

Just call me Cool Hand Biblio, Cheese!

Hefzi · 16/01/2019 10:21

If you are headachey, more salt and water usually helps (coffee will make it worse) plus a squeeze of lemon juice in the water if it's really vile.

Despite spending 14 hours sitting next to the fridge yesterday, I didn't eat enough (I was in The Zone) or drink enough yesterday so back in the game today!

So-
B will be Total 5%
L - I'll be in the office by then, so I think some cheese and celery
D- veggie stir fry in coconut oil

I can't weigh daily - it pisses me off too much when it's recording day and I'm 3lb heavier than two days before Grin

BIWI · 16/01/2019 10:45

@Laska2Meryls
if you weigh after a pee on getting up it's one thing and one cup of tea later it's up again!!

Well of course! Because you're weighing yourself + cup of tea!

Always weigh first thing, ideally after you've been to the loo, and naked!

@KiteMarked glad to see you're already making progress! It's so rewarding when you start seeing the results

@Methemummy

I feel awful very bad headache and feeling sick plus craving carbs. Pain killers not doing anything. At home alone today (attempting to work).....Must have will power! 😁🤢

Yes, will power is one thing - electrolytes are the more important other! Salt is really important and will help you. Have a hot drink made with Oxo or Bovril or Marmite (or a stock cube if you have one in the house). If you haven't make yourself a glass of water and add some salt and a squeeze of lemon. That should help you as well as the painkillers and the will power!

Re the Pizza Express menu:

Starter
Lemon & Herb Chicken Wings: Six chicken wings, marinated in lemon and herbs, served with our light house dressing dip and fresh parsley
or
Buffalo Mozzarella & Tomato Salad: Creamy buffalo mozzarella served with fresh tomatoes, pesto, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil

I'd go with the mozzarella as the only dressing is the oil. I know pesto has (or should have) pine nuts in it, but we'll ignore those for now! The danger with the chicken wings is that you don't know how much sugar is in the dressing

Main
Grand Chicken Çaesar: Our Classic Çaesar salad, with chicken, white anchovies, croutons, Gran Milano cheese, free-range egg (and dough sticks)
or
Pollo: Chicken, goat’s cheese, red Roquito pearls, fresh tomatoes, black olives and croutons, with seasonal mixed leaves, house dressing (and dough sticks)

Here I'd go for the chicken rather than the salad, as again you won't know what's really in the salad dressing. However, Roquito pearls (I had to google these as I've never heard of them!) could be surprisingly carby. Here's a description I came across:

"The hot and sweet chilli peppers from Peru, offer a distinct flavour, great crunch and vibrant red colour. Marinated in natural sugar cane brine, Roquito Chilli Peppers have an enjoyable combination of heat and sweetness that is very different from anything else that is currently on the market."

And it goes without saying that you will avoid the dough sticks!

@venusandmars I now have a great picture of you wandering around the house, starkers, trying to find the best place to weigh yourself!

But you're right, consistency is the key. Also, most scales don't work well on carpet as it's not consistently flat enough. Remember, though, it's the loss we're measuring, not actually the weight. So in some senses it doesn't really matter if you weigh 6 stones or 60 - it's the pounds that are gone that are key.

@bella1426

I have a question - I love how this doesn't involved weighing, calorie counting etc but I'm assuming like any weightloss plan there has to be a calorie deficit for it to work? And if so how much fat is too much on this plan? Just not sure if I'm being a bit heavy handed with the cream, cheese and butter....or is that not how we should be thinking about things?? (very programmed over the years by calorie counting here!)

At this stage, while you're getting used to things, and while you have (presumably) a reasonable amount to lose, really don't worry about calorie counting. And also don't worry about too much fat. You should find this self-limiting anyway, as there's only a certain amount of cream and/or cheese you can eat without making yourself feel sick!

One thing to be wary of with dairy, though, is that some people find that dairy impedes your weight loss, so you may need to cut right back (or out) on this anyway - but se how you get on.

Calories definitely do come into play at some point, but generally this is only the case as you get nearer your target weight, when the rate of loss slows down.

But at this stage of Bootcamp we're aiming to a) get you used to low carbing and b) get you fat-adapted, rather burning carbs for fuel and (most importantly!) c) start shifting the weight.

Also, it's important to understand that this WOE is not about deprivation or hunger. It's about establishing good and easy-to-continue-and-maintain eating habits, so we don't want you sitting looking mournfully at a saucer full of shredded lettuce!

This is not carte blanche for stuffing your face with mounds of food, however - you still need to keep an eye on your portion sizes and be sensible about what you're eating.

Once you have established regular weight loss, and you're used to low carbing - and you're approaching your target, that's when you can start to consider calories. When the rate of loss slows down. But not before!

@bibliomania is there any reason why you're not eating much protein? In fact it doesn't look like you're eating much at all! By focusing more on veg you're actually going to be making the proportion of your menus carbs rather than anything else.

We should be eating high fat:medium protein:low carbs

@Cheeseandapple - wow! 5lbs only on day 3 is very impressive! (But don't be downhearted, as a daily weigher, if it's not that much tomorrow, or Thursday ... !)

@WhatTheFronti Keep that heat going till April - that's when we're coming to Sydney!!

OP posts:
bibliomania · 16/01/2019 10:53

bibliomania is there any reason why you're not eating much protein?

Just trying to balance out last week, when I ate an entire leg of lamb on my own, plus 500g lamb mince, plus a packet of sausages! Veganuary has not been a success.

tootstastic · 16/01/2019 10:55

@Notlostjustexploring chuckling at your elephants penis...good luck with that!

@venusandmars it's hard to believe you can be carrying the equivalent of a 2 year old (or another adult in my case Blush) isn't it?! Well done on your loss!

@BIWI another daily weigher here and I always, always, always take the lowest reading when they start fucking with me Grin

BIWI · 16/01/2019 11:14

@bibliomania it doesn't work like that though!

Make sure you're getting enough protein at least daily, if not at each meal.

Veganism is probably diametrically the opposite of low carbing!

OP posts:
bibliomania · 16/01/2019 11:27

Okay, thanks for the advice BIWI. I do appreciate your taking the time to help us get it right.

bandit34 · 16/01/2019 11:51

Thank you for advice on Pizza Express, the timing of that could not be more perfect !!!

MrsFionaCharming · 16/01/2019 12:08

Monday was a fail for me, I did really well all day, including managing 3L of water, but then we did a food based activity at Guides, and I ruined all my efforts with some badly decorated biscuits.

Yesterday was better, except when I defrosted my curry for lunch at uni, I realised it contained peas and carrots, so could have been better.

ChangoMutney · 16/01/2019 12:27

It's 12.30 and I haven't eaten anything yet, but only because I'm just not hungry - that's ok isn't it?

I'll eat when the hunger returns.

BIWI · 16/01/2019 12:30

No it's not OK! Not in the first 2 week of Bootcamp

OP posts:
MrsKoala · 16/01/2019 12:32

I can't remember if we are allowed olives? Also I have a duck breast recipe with walnut oil in - is that allowed after the second week?

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