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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.

Week 2 - May '19 LC Bootcamp - my favourite week!

594 replies

BIWI · 19/05/2019 22:01

Starting tomorrow's thread early as I'm not around in the morning

Here's the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

So far there seem to be some great results already, so I'm hoping they've continued over the weekend.

I love this week because the first weigh-ins are often spectacular, but also all those who were less than convinced are amazed how much they've lost!

It really sounds to me like people have really got to grips with this WOE, which is fantastic.

Here's to you all, and wishing you a good result on the scales tomorrow. (Or with the tape measure or the clothes you're trying on, if that's your preferred method of monitoring progress!)

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19
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 26/05/2019 12:54

Thanks @BIWI . Any chance you could help me pick my best option from this menu? Obviously I'm happy to forgo chips, but not sure what else is likely to have hidden carbs:

craftcleaver.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Main-Menu-SS19.jpg

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 26/05/2019 12:56

Just to be awkward, I don't really like ribs or chicken wings!

ShagMeRiggins · 26/05/2019 13:38

*I'll have a proper read of the thread ...

Gah! I feel like that horrible snitch at school Blush

Sorry everyone, I realise lots of people are doing really well with this WOE, but I do see lots of references to going off plan, and I’m wondering why. We’re not even through two full weeks of a 10 week programme.

I know some of you are making mistakes while you adjust to what you should and shouldn’t have, I know some of you are having difficult times and eating crap is a classic crutch for many of us, I know some of you had special occasions, etc. It just seems there’s a lot of cheating going on and if that translates into no loss (or a gain) at weigh-in, it will incredibly de-motivating and people might give up. And that’s not good!

That said, I fully understand that getting right back in plan is what most of you are doing, so great job KOKO.

Mostly I was wondering why this is happening now— and I’ve decided to blame the lovely weather!

Heartyhooker · 26/05/2019 13:42

@Greebo I think your best bet might be burgers and undressed side salad. I'd be willing to bet all the BBQ sauce and glazes have a lot of brown sugar in. Might be worth checking the Hallumi fries though

BIWI · 26/05/2019 13:46

Right. Brace yourselves for a mega post Smile

And apologies if any questions have already been answered, but I'm taking the thread from the top and answering as I go.

@DrBuckles thrush is caused by an overgrowth of candida. We all have candida in our gut, but it's when it gets out of balance. Often, if you have antibiotics, as well as killing the bad bacteria it kills good bacteria too, creating conditions for candida to grow - this is why your GP prescribed medication for thrush along with your antibiotics (and which is a really good thing for him/her to do.) A low carb diet should help, because it is much lower in sugar, and sugar is one of the key 'nutrients' that feeds the candida. Hopefully by now you're feeling a bit better, but as I read the thread, no doubt I'll find out more!

@ChippingInLowCarbing and @MrsBertBibby (and others!) the carb counts for things are difficult to be exact about and different sources give different amounts! Sorry if there's an inconsistency on the spreadsheet - I'll have a look at that later. But in the great scheme of things, eating broccoli can hardly be seen as a bad thing! (Along with any other green, leafy veg)

@Nameusernameuser if you're thirsty despite drinking more water, this is a sign that you need more salt.

@NigellaAwesome I didn't realise you were Beryl before! (Bloody name changers ... Grin

@IStillMissBlockbuster

So I feel a bit shit because I went to my in laws for dinner and I managed to turn down the pasta and just had the meat without raising eyebrows, but then, you know how some people insist? I felt in a corner and had a small cupcake for dessert. I am a bit gutted because it wasn't because I really wanted it, I just felt like I had to and I really wanted to do this two weeks faithfully, because it's only bloody two weeks!!! But there's no point dwelling on it I suppose.

Well what's done is done, but why did you feel that you couldn't refuse? Presumably you explained why you didn't want the pasta, so why couldn't you explain why you didn't want the cupcake? Being able to stand your ground and stand up for what you're trying to do for your own health is really important - because otherwise all you're doing is allowing other people to sabotage your best efforts. Hopefully the damage hasn't been too great - but think about how you're going to deal with this in the future.

Similarly @TheWaiting - no need to have even one bite! But I'm glad you felt it was too sweet - shows that your taste buds are changing!

@blackteaplease Star on hitting your first target! It feels great, doesn't it?

And good to hear that things are moving for you as well @MrsBertBibby, and great NSV @Almahart!

Welcome @Notwatchingtvtoday! There's no limit on tea or coffee, but what is or should be limited is the amount of milk you use. If you like it (I don't!) try it with double cream. Or use something like unsweetened almond milk. Re Greek yoghurt, the portion size is entirely up to you. We eat till we're satisfied on this WOE. That said, take a look at the carb count on the back of the pack (and beware that different brands can have very different carb counts) for 100g.

But yes, you can have fruit teas.

@Rshard hope your tummy troubles have cleared up by now

@prettybird I admire your willpower going to a wine fair and not swallowing the wine!

@Eatenalltheeastereggs
Accidentally cocked up yesterday by troughing my way through three Quarters of a pack of Iceland Frozen cauliflower cheese with pork belly strips. Wow it was tasty - I grated some extra cheese in it too! This morning I looked at the nutritional info (I threw away the packet too hastily at the time) and see it’s 9.3g carbs per quarter so I had 28g of carb in one meal!!

Well, this wasn't really an accidental cock up though! You should have checked the nutritional info before you bought it! An important lesson here. Even things that sound a if they should be low carb often aren't, because of other ingredients that the manufacturer has used..

@m0therofdragons - is it wise to have ice-cream in the house if this is what you're going to do?!!! Hope your cold is better now.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal I'm dying to know who you are and what you're rehearsing ... Wink

@IStillMissBlockbuster

I don't really understand keto, how do you know if you are in it?

On Bootcamp you really don't need to worry about being in ketosis. The Keto diet is different anyway, and it is about very low levels of carbs. Rest assured that you will lose weight by cutting your carbs down, as you will be/should be doing on Bootcamp. As far as we're concerned, it's all about switching from our bodies burning carbs to burning fat. And the key sign that you have reached that stage is when you're no longer hungry between meals.

@Summery1 - sorry you were feeling rough, but if it was only one day it is unlikely to have been to do with low carbing.

However, I noted your comment about a milky coffee - be really careful here as you could be drinking a lot of carbs this way. And on Bootcamp you should be getting the bulk of your carbs from vegetables and salad.

@Notlostjustexploring Sorry you've been poorly too! The best way I've found to keep focused is to make sure that I understand the broader benefits of low carbing beyond weight loss. Have you looked at or read any of the resources that are linked on the spreadsheet. It's invaluable stuff.

@TheWaiting - if your ketostix are turning dark purple, it's a sign you're not drinking enough water ...

And again, @anewdispensation, if you're thirsty despite drinking water, you need more salt. Are you cooking with it and adding it to your food? It's really important that you make sure you get enough. (I know, this is totally different to what we're normally told! )

@Youwanapizzame what is 'sheet chicken' ? It sounds good - can you put the recipe on the recipe thread please?

@Nyon Sorry to hear of your work woes. Is it all sorted now? Well done for resisting the lure of the carbs!

@Turnedouttoes Welcome! Hopefully you're on the spreadsheet now?

@Summery1 I hope you've addressed the lack of veg in your diet? It's really important that this is where you're getting your carbs from, to make sure that you're getting the right nutrition

@venusandmars - Wow that sounds an interesting challenge! Will quite understand if you're absent in week 6, and hope it goes well for you

@VeryLittleOwl great news on the lack of snoring. If you could get my DH to stop too I'd be very grateful Grin

@Ninkaninus Happy belated birthday! Flowers . I'm very impressed that you celebrated with fizzy water.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal your 8lb loss will not have been all water. The first place you lose fat is the fat that's around your internal organs, called visceral fat, so that may be the reason why the scales aren't changing.

@chocolateavocado99

Well this started off really positively:

Woke up this morning to find my pj pants kept falling down. I weighed myself and was 149.8...yay for getting out of the 150s! MFP also tells me that I am halfway to my goal!
Got dressed and needed a belt for my trousers. Dd2 kept laughing saying they looked funny...so of to the charity shop they will go. I really don't suit the clown bunched up trouser look!

But why did you 'celebrate' this success by sabotaging things?

And then my day got worse. Ended up with breaded chicken for lunch as the canteen switched from grilled chicken...picked it off best I could, but as I only go there once a week, I was annoyed

OK this wasn't necessarily your fault, but couldn't you have ordered something else?

Multiple computer problems tonight led to tears and some 90% dark chocolate. It was either that or vodka

Well at least it was 90% dark chocolate! Emotional eating, though, is something that's really important to address. Reaching for food like this may be an immediate comfort, but only sabotage in the long run.

@AthelstaneTheUnready so sorry to hear about your car. But did I also notice that you snuck into your post that you're smoking again? Hmm

@StrumpersPlunkett Welcome! I'm sure others will already have jumped in to say this, but Bootcamp is not just low carb - it is a specific plan, so make sure you read the rules (all in the link to the spreadsheet in my OP). We're also not about counting calories.

@SuckingDieselFella

Fell off the wagon badly last night with pasta and fizzy drinks

Why? Did someone tie you down and force you to do this?

The amount of raw veg I'm eating has kicked off my IBS. Is anybody else getting this? Anything I can do about it? I can't keep on with low carb if I'm in pain all the time

Why raw veg?! It's not part of Bootcamp really! Before Bootcamp were you eating much veg or have you increased what you're eating now? It could be that your diet is now higher in fibre, which can sometimes trigger IBS. Share for me what you've been eating and drinking and let me see if I can help. Generally a low carb diet should be better for IBS

@MrsFionaCharming and @NigellaAwesome well done! Star

@Waswittyonce sorry to hear about your woes Sad. Why don't you list out for me what you've been eating and drinking and I'll see if there's anything I can spot.

@readyforsunshine welcome! Great progress so far! Flowers . Just one thing - if you're hungry, please make sure that you eat! Low carb stuff, obviously, but this isn't a way of eating that's about deprivation.

@ChippingInLowCarbing sorry progress is slow for you too - but you have such a PMA that is great to read. It will be your turn soon! But in a way, more importantly, great news about your blood sugar reading Flowers

@VeryLittleOwl can't help with your digestive issues really - sorry! I'd guess that it will take a while to settle down. If it's a real problem, why not try upping your carbs/reducing the amount of veg just for a few days to see if that helps?

Brilliant graph @m0therofdragons. Also shows the impact of cheating!

Right. I think I've answered everything Grin

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GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 26/05/2019 13:55

Thanks Heartyhooker. I had the combo platter of beef brisket and jalepeno sausages with padron peppers instead of fries. No sticky sauces on any of them - I know the sausages might be carby, but they tasted fairly meaty, and like** you I suspected the other options would come in BBQ sauce. Drank my second litre of water with lunch too.

BIWI, I'm in a production of Much Ado About Nothing, and sadly I'm no one you would have ever heard of - yet, anyway!

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 26/05/2019 13:56

No idea what happened to the bolding there. Blush

MrsBertBibby · 26/05/2019 14:46

Blimey Greebol that menu looks like hell on wheels!

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 26/05/2019 14:48

DH and DC's choice, not mine!

MrsBertBibby · 26/05/2019 14:53

They are bad choosers!

FizzyPink · 26/05/2019 14:56

Out of interest, what do you all typically go for if eating out during boot camp? My job involves a lot of client entertaining and some restaurants a minefield in what to choose!

FizzyPink · 26/05/2019 15:07

Also has anyone come across any relatively safe options in any of the chain restaurants? Going away with family next weekend and I know there will be at least one Wagamama/Nando’s type meal

MasterFlamingo · 26/05/2019 15:13

I tend to find good choices are possible in most restaurants. I do my homework before going out, looking at the menu online and seeing what the options are. Most restaurants will switch a side of chips to salad for example if you ask.
If I get a choice in where we eat out I prefer an Indian as there are generally always safe choices (saag paneer, tandoori chicken etc).
There's some useful tips on diet doctor website:
www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/dining-out

VeryLittleOwl · 26/05/2019 15:19

If it's a real problem, why not try upping your carbs/reducing the amount of veg just for a few days to see if that helps?

BIWI - thank you, coincidentally I sort of did this at lunch today, so will see if it helps or not. We went out for a carvery, which I thought I could negotiate reasonably easily as they offer you a choice of 2 soups to start and have about 15 different vegetables on self-serve. Unfortunately today's soups were either carrot & courgette or lentil and I absolutely hate courgettes, so went for the lentil and then had a few parsnips and carrots as well as broccoli, sprouts and cabbage with the main course, so definitely a higher carb count today than the two weeks to date. Parsnips taste REALLY sweet when you haven't had sugar for a fortnight!

TheWaiting · 26/05/2019 15:23

Right, despite falling apart on Friday, I’ve been back in plan yesterday and today. Yesterday was very difficult as all those cravings that had subsided, went into overdrive but somehow I found the willpower to resist. Feel a bit better today. New resolve I think. I’m looking at it a bit philosophically. If it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have realised just how crap that crap makes my body feel if that makes sense. Not just the emotional frustration at breaking my diet but the actual pain and bloating in my tummy. I think this gave me the resolve to resist the cravings yesterday. Miraculously, I’m still 1lb down but it likely stalled my loss. Onwards and upwards (or downwards hopefully Wink)

IStillMissBlockbuster · 26/05/2019 15:51

Hi BIWI. I didn't actually tell my inlaws why I didn't want pasta and they didn't ask. I haven't really wanted to admit that i'm "on a diet". I just didn't want to draw attention to myself. I said i'm eating healthily but they weren't having it. My fault I know.

BIWI · 26/05/2019 16:08

@Turnedouttoes It's much easier to eat low carb in restaurants than it is to eat low calorie or low fat! But it does mean that you have to read the menu carefully, and be prepared to avoid things as well as to ask for things to be left off or substituted.

The menu that @GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal posted is unusual in that it posts 'no substitutions' - and I think that's a terrible thing, which also suggests that all the food they're serving is somehow pre-prepared. Whenever I've asked for a substitution I've never been refused. (Although sometimes, irritatingly, you may get charge extra for the thing you're giving you in place of the carby element)

Chain restaurants or restaurants who don't change their menu very often usually have their menu online, so you can do your research before you go.

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MrsTerryPratchett · 26/05/2019 16:34

I find there are certain places that are very difficult to choose low carb. Chain American-, Chinese- and Korean-style I find difficult because of the batter/sauces. I don't like sashimi so Japanese is out. And anyway it's too low fat. Italian can be tricky if it's cheap. Expensive Italian and they have lots of choices.

Other than that, there's normally something. I'm always tempted to say, "can you bring some butter and mayonnaise, I'm on a diet". Grin

BIWI · 26/05/2019 16:45
Grin
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Rayna37 · 26/05/2019 16:50

Eating out- I often go for steak with a side of nice veg like tender stem broccoli or whatever the best option is. Chicken can be great with veg salad, Cote Brasserie has an amazing chicken thing that come with skin and lots of butter! Nando's is a good choice, read up online first. Wagamamas best avoided. For a starter, seafood be good: scallops or a prawn cocktail type dish. Drink lots of water and don't fret what you can't control (assuming you're not eating out very regularly); instead of worrying about a bit of flour that might have crept in, think about the bread you left, the booze you refused and the sweet you swerved!

MrsBertBibby · 26/05/2019 16:56

As a vegetarian, eating out is really hard, I find. Salads are so often full of things like beetroot, or drenched in balsamic stuff. And a lot of places now just seem to offer vegan in stead of vegetarian as a catch-all, and assume such people want a plateful of joyless beans and quinoa, so the salad options have got a lot worse over the last year or so. Full of carbs, and not even enjoyable!

It's lovely that people are going vegan but it's really encroached on choice for us vegetarians!

SittingontheSidelines · 26/05/2019 17:47

Breakfast yogurt
Lunch picnic lunch of LC sausages, boiled eggs, cucumber, celery and Cherry tomato.
Dinner will be something with eggs and probably some more sausages (something easy as out all day)

I broke a boot camp rule this morning and had a Diet Coke. However this is something I only drink very very rarely, and I did enjoy it. (I've also never noticed it causing any cravings, but generally do avoid it because it contains such rubbish.)

This afternoon I sat amid a table full of (it has to be said delicious looking, huge, specialty) ice cream eaters and wasn't a bit bothered that I didn't have one.

Hope you're all enjoying this lovely sunny (so far) bank holiday).

RocketPockets · 26/05/2019 18:50

Had a great day, stuck completely to my plan. This evening i'm making my sons birthday cake and icing is probably one of my favourite sweet things. My willpower is ready!!

BIWI · 26/05/2019 20:26

@ShagMeRiggins

Gah! I feel like that horrible snitch at school

Please don't!

It's really important that people on Bootcamp understand that this really isn't a very forgiving way of eating. And other, seasoned Bootcampers, can really help to spread this message.

And, you are absolutely right. There has been a lot of falling off the wagon, which to say we're only in week 2 isn't great.

A lot of what I've been reading about is emotional eating.

We all use food (or alcohol) to some extent as an emotional crutch - it's a bad day, or we're having a bad period, or it's been a great day. And the kind of foods that we associate with these moods and occasions are the absolute worst ones for us. If you don't believe me, just ask yourself how many times do you reward or treat or comfort yourself with kale?!

The simple fact is that we don't need sugar or carbs but they are addictive, because they trigger the reward response in our brains. It's really hard to turn this off.

But ask yourself: was it worth it? If you can, hand on heart, say that you enjoyed every mouthful, and you're prepared to take the hit on the scales, then be my guest. But know that your rate of loss will be much slower than if you had stuck to the plan.

Often, though, even though it might taste great and be thoroughly enjoyable at the time, we're left with a slightly sick and guilty feeling afterwards. Is that really worth it?

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Heartyhooker · 26/05/2019 21:06

@BIWI I can echo that it isn't worth it. . To quote DrBerg from diet doctor weight loss is a side effect of getting healthy. And from personal experience I have had a couple of shit through the eye of a needle episodes after eating pork scratching with dextrose in them. The carb amount was low so I didn't check the ingredients properly.

I know from past experience of slimming world that once it starts being about tweaks and what you can get away with everyone starts enabling everyone else and I really appreciate that that doesn't happen here

B/L leftover cauliflower pizza
T moussaka ish - layered mince with courgette and made a sauce of Greek yoghurt and a eaten egg topped with a little bit of cheese. Served with Savoy cabbage. Creamy coffee for desert whilst children had ice cream