Jan ’20 – Week 1 Low Carb Bootcamp – Here we go!

[StuntNun]

Welcome to the January 2020 Low Carb Bootcamp. I know some of you have already started eating low carb so please share your good experiences to give the rest of us some inspiration as we begin our weight loss journey.

Make sure you’ve read the ten Low Carb Bootcamp rules. There are some shopping list and meal plan suggestions on the preparation thread.

If you need recipe inspirations then there we have hundreds on the meat recipes thread, the poultry recipes thread, and the vegetarian recipes thread. Note that vegetarians may include small quantities of legumes, nuts and Quorn right from the start to make sure they’re getting enough protein. There is also thread of low carb products people have found in the shops.

We weigh in every Monday so add your starting weight to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness. If you’re on a mobile or tablet and can’t get the spreadsheet to work then please post your entry on this thread and someone will add it for you. Some people choose to record their starting weight as 100 if they don’t want to share their actual weight. I also urge you to make a note of your waist measurement as sometimes we can lose inches without losing pounds on this way of eating. Some people like to have a goal pair of jeans or a dress that they can try on throughout Bootcamp so see how the fit improves over time. Others like to take ‘before’ photos that they can use for comparison later on.

If you have any questions or concerns then please do ask. Bootcamp has been running for nearly ten years so we have lots of expertise to share with you.

I know exactly what you mean Nell. I was lucky enough to only have one miscarriage but in my head I have five children not four. My DS4 is always talking about his "sister" who is his imaginary friend but it gives me a pang every time he mentions her that one of my children didn't make it. But I'd rather own my grief and wear my loss proudly, than hide it away and pretend she never happened.

Some failure to avoid carbs in the last 24 hours after a stressful day and then not planning properly this morning but I'm putting it behind me and moving on.
L - roasted chicken thighs with skin on, cauliflower cheese and green beans
D - will be the fish curry and roasted broccoli that I should have had last night
Doing well on water though

@waspfig I like sausages with a creamy mushroom or garlic sauce mixed with the veg - make with cream or with boursin or both.

Day three going well here. Took my before pics last night which are motivating me to stick to the plan. I only want to lose 9 lbs to be at my ideal weight (147lbs at 5 foot 8) but normally lose a few lbs then self-sabotage so never normally get there. The pics suggest I need to lose more!
B - coffee and double cream, 2 cheddar sticks
L - 3 veggie egg muffins and green salad at my desk
D - TBC - possibly just ff greek yogurt and a sprinkling of nuts
S - almonds

Vegetarian so the recipe thread will get a good trawl this evening for inspiration.

Nell, Stuntnun I also know what you mean about miscarriages. I had a missed miscarriage at 12.5 weeks nearly three years ago (tears welling up just typing this) and I think of the child who was never born every year around the due date.

What makes it harder is that, although we are very blessed that we have a son, my husband told me a couple of months after the miscarriage, when I was wanted to try to get pregnant again that he actually didn't want any more children. Always very hard when our now 6 year old asks (me, never daddy!) for a baby brother or sister 😢

Meant to ask, are herbal/fruit teas ok during BC?

Having said that, I did own my grief and talk openly about the miscarriage after with friends and got a huge amount of love and support for which I'm very grateful.

Can i be ADDED please? (technophobe, not sure how?)

Starting weight: 160lbs
aiming for 20lbs + off this year (28 is my dream)

2 Qus:

can i drink my coffee black (I cant do cream!)

can I have a single square of dark chocolate (my only treat)
later in the Camp or is it 'off the menu' completely?

I went Tesco and stocked up on some vegetables and they had purple cauliflower!
I’m now well prepared and managed to make a really tasty lunch. Salad, cherry tomato, avocado , grilled tender stem broccoli with home made Gorgonzola & cream dressing!

Thanks for the celery ideas. I printed a few receipts off the internet to try.
www.fatsoflife.co.uk/keto-celeriac-dauphinoise/

www.greedygourmet.com/recipes-for-diets/vegetarian/celeriac-remoulade/

@pinboard no dark choc (or any other!) in the first 2 weeks at least

truelove herbal / fruit teas are fine (and count towards you water intake) but watch out because some varieties e.g. apple tea have sugar in them - I discovered this when an aunt made be a cup, she was so delighted about having bought it for me too! In the summer time I like some of the herbal / fruit teas with sparking water and ice

pinboard after the fist two weeks you can have chocolate - the darker the better. I like Lindt 90% cocoa, and I really don't want more than a square of it. It has 14g carb per 100g, so one square has 1.4g By comparison the 70% cocoa bar has 34g carb of which 29g are sugar and themilk chocolate has 51g of which 50g is sugar.

Thanks @Venus!

I forgot who said they struggled on planes but I feel you! I've not been perfect but done the best I can and havent treated the airport like an excuse to visit Burger King and eat all the chocolate / haribo like I normally would. I can't wait to go home though!

Some of you have been talking about not having that ravenous feeling all the time and it's so interesting. I've put on 2.5x stone over the last 9m and a few times lately I've caught myself feeling that I'd be embarrassed if someone caught me eating like I have been - not quite binge eating but just so bloody hungry and not making great food choices. I remember that on this wow, the anxiety of Will I have enough to eat goes away. I think something about the fat reprogram makes satiety.

My order of these just arrived from Amazon - they should definitely help

Late lunch has been 2 x pheasant breast cooked in a mixture of coconut oil, walnut oil and butter (for taste) with fried brussel sprouts, baby spinach, mixed mushrooms, fresh garlic stalk, double cream and parmesan cheese.

Should only have eaten half however.

Water up to 3l so far.

Tasty but will cut down on cream, cheese and portion sizes going forward for Bootcamp.

Mary Are they the 'puffed up' type of crackling pieces that are being sold more and more, or the smaller, more solid 'Mr Porky' type pieces?

Really dont like the puffy type.

B scrambled eggs (3) with butter
L veg soup ( cream and butter added )
D salmon fillet with mushrooms , broccoli , courgettes and cauli rice , probably a creamy butter sauce on too

No cheese today , which is unlike me !

Have a sore throat , ear and head ache , took some paracetamol and really want some Strepsils , I’m trying hot water and lemon instead
Haven’t lost my appetite though 🤢

Pinboard black coffee is perfect. Small amounts of dark chocolate are allowed after the first two weeks when we're in Bootcamp Light.

I saw the purple and orange cauliflowers too Hagbeth but I am sceptical that it's possible to improve on cauliflower.

Those Awfully Posh pork scratchings are the bomb MaryThorne they're the best ones on the market. They're the conventional type of pork scratching like you get down the pub Silver and with no rubbish in like dextrose. You wouldn't believe the number of brands that have sugar of some form in, especially the flavoured varieties.

You're on, pinboard!

I'm pooped today. Ridiculously early child's bedtime for me tonight I think.

Hi there
Just lurking on this thread. Have done low carb before and more or less maintained, but recently exams and stress and Xmas sent me 4kg up (struggle to do stones and lbs!)
So have been doing this for a week or so again and worked to the extent have lost 1.2kg.

Questions

Is cardio exercise harder on low carb? Felt very tough trying to go for a run today.

The restriction on sweeteners, is this about purifying or are there actually carbs in say Splenda? I need one cup of tea a day minimum which I have with tea and Splenda. I can't manage without it!

Planning a glass or two of wine for my birthday this weekend. Hoping this doesn't see me back!

Otherwise managing ok although had my first sweet craving today after a week...

Silver as Stuntnun says, they are proper, yummy pork scratchy with no weird ingredients. They also do chilli flavoured ones which are nice.

Hmmm
before I asked any more dopey questions I decided to read the thread
I'd thought my day today was not too bad:
2 boiled eggs on a slice of sourdough (fail)
soup with leftover carrots and sprouts in (fail)
tonight's veggie curry (with peppers etc) and prawns (fail)

I need to start again (the sourdough should have been obvious!)
so I'll be a bit behind you all now, but better late than never!!!

Athelstane and StuntNun - thank you both! x

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