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.

People on those [keto] sites would be desperate to get to the dark purple band on the pee-on sticks... Also to get into that state they were eating fewer and fewer carbs, lots of bullet-proof coffees with added MCT, lots of eggs, mayo, nut butters and almost no carbs at all. How could that be healthy?

I think there are several issues here. The first is that this sounds like orthorexia where people become obsessed with a healthy diet to the point that it actually becomes unhealthy. For example someone reasoning that five-a-day is healthy therefore if they only eat fruit and veg they'll be even healthier.

Then there is the damage that the diet industry has done to the way we view food and what we expect of weight loss. I saw a post on Facebook today by someone complaining that they lost five pounds last week but haven't lost anything for four days now, what am I doing wrong? Their expectations are completely unrealistic. Or people in a low carb group that are using low calorie salad dressing because they just can't get over the "fat makes you fat" mindset. Spoiler alert: it doesn't! I got to a BMI of 22 eating around 1800 calories a day, 70% of them from fat. Completely impossible according to conventional dieting wisdom but perfectly normal on low carb.

Finally there is currently a lot of confusion on the Internet about keto diets and keto has become conflated with LCHF (low carb high fat.) Whereas the ketogenic diet is actually a medical diet for the treatment of conditions such as epilepsy and type 1 diabetes. It's ultra low in carbohydrates and limits protein. There's really no need to go keto unless you have a medical condition that it can help with. On low carb you can fill up on veg and there's no need to restrict your protein intake - have a huge steak if you like!

Thanks for that idea stuntnun I might try that next time. Dh didn't want me getting in his way in the kitchen, so he did some roasted veg (aubergine, courgette, a small amount of onion, mushrooms) and I had the spag bol with that. I possibly haven't been clear enough about which veg I can eat in plenty as he put quite a bit of carrot and peas into the bol. I sort of picked around them but didn't want to be obviously picking things out when he's gone to so much trouble and I don't want to take over the cooking as that's currently his job

Hey Brassica, you're on.

As are you, Yabadee - I added you initially (as I remember having a bit of a meltdown about how Y looks like it should be before X in the alphabet ) so apologies you disappeared somewhere!

Hi All

An exciting new BC!

Long time LC'er here. But half to 3/4 of a stone has snuck on. And I'm not at all happy about it. Feel yucky. The culprit? Wine I think!

So I am in Germany for work today until Wednesday. This work started in March last year and I think contributed to the gain. So I've packed LC!! It might work. It might not!

Breakfast: celeriac crisps done in butter. Odd I know but there you go.
Lunch; home made coleslaw. Well, coleslaw is a bit of a stretch. It's cabbage, mayo, some grated cheese and coriander to mix it up a bit.
Dinner: this isn't going to win any nutritional prizes but my hotel picnic was...pepperami, 2 babybel, snack size bag of pork scratchings and 3 Edam crisps with black mustard seeds.

Everything survived the flight.
I've got 2 boxes of home made coleslaw with me. That's lunch for Tuesday and Wednesday if it survives the night in my hotel enough to get to the fridge at work tomorrow.

Thanks @AthelstaneTheUnready 😘

Please can someone add my initial weigh in 203 pounds. Can't wait to see the back off.

Reporting in and saying hello to my fellow boot campers after a decent first day. Please could someone add my weight to the spreadsheet so I don’t muck it up via my phone. A mortifying 244lbs for me Not for long though eh?

Not a bad day, probably not enough veg. Had an attack of the ravenous 15 minutes after eating dinner, so had to have more. Not sure what that was about.

B: x2 creamy coffees
L: beef shin stew (lots of mushrooms, small amount of onion and carrot)
D: roast ham, brussel sprouts, then gherkins, boiled egg, butter on cheese slices, more ham

All the water.

Dinner was the rest of the pâté, big plate of watercress/rocket/spinach with avocado oil and a spray of sherry vinegar, chicken, Emmenthal slices, water and some Bang Bang cauliflower it has been a bit of a day!

My first day, please point out any rookie mistakes!

B = 2 egg scrambled eggs with single cream
Coffee with s cream

L = ham lettuce wraps, cherry tomatoes, small amount of cheese,

Snack = cooked chicken

D = Chicken breast, broccoli and greens, mayo (aldi)

2 litres of water and 2 black coffees.

Planning on a coffee and cream tonight unless that is baaaaaaaaaad.

Starting Bootcamp again , been very successful ( once ) and fannying about losing a lb , gaining a lb ( 3 times )

B 3 scrambled eggs with butter
L tuna in sunflower oil , Hellman’s Mayo , salad leaves , cucumber and avocado
D turkey steak with mushrooms , bit of onion and broccoli and cheese in LC cheese sauce
Lots of water. Water , water

Holiday in April , no pressure 👍

Haven't had time to catch up with the full thread as monday is our busiest day at work but I'm in a much better place than last year, but so upset I've put on all the weight I'd lost last summer and more I'm doing BC light as I've got a chest infection but glad to be feeling in control. I've got a glorious holiday planned in the Virgin Islands for Easter so that's a great goal. Huge thanks to
@stuntnun @BIWI @athelstane and @ShagMeRiggins for running this boot camp.

Food today

• scrambled eggs with feta and avocado
• miso broth, and lemongrass and finger chicken
• protein box from Chilango
• many milky teas for my poor throat ! Need to get some Lactofree
• 3 sq dark chocolate
• salted almonds

I know the latter 2 aren't BC but I'm doing Bc light. I hope it's still ok to post my food during this time?

Good luck all

@MsAwesomeDragon broccoli rice works well too. I'm not keen on cauliflower rice either.

Evenings straight after dinner are a dangerous time for me as I tidy the kitchen the temptation is to dive for sugary snacks in the cupboard.

I tidied my bedroom instead

I like broccoli with bolognaise *mrsawesomedragon. I normally stick it in a colander to steam on top of dh and dd’s spaghetti.

Have loved reading the day 1 updates, so much positivity and inspiration!

B scrambled eggs and salmon
L hm coleslaw, Greek salad, chicken mayo
D fish in cheese sauce, broccoli and Brussels

2 litre water, 2 small coffees and 1 massive one after a very wet run this evening.

Looking forward to day 2

Thank you so much for your ideas for what to have with spag bol. I shall try them all and see which I like best. I have a feeling broccoli will be a good one as I do love broccoli, and the guinea pigs can eat the stalks that I don't eat.

@ShagMeRiggins I also laughed at the bare bum story.

B: 4 scrambled eggs with snipped chives and parsley, parmesan& cheddar, spinach & kale fried. Creamy coffee.
L: Chicken Caesar no croutons.
D: salmon, coleslaw & roasted veg.
Snack: Homemade chicken stock with cream, parmesan. Basil parsley & chives snipped in.

All tasty and off to bed shortly.

I'm currently working, writing reports. I would normally have a big bag of crisps or a box of chocolates to keep me company while working, so I'm really struggling with not doing that. I'm determined not to give in, but I've got another couple of hours work to do tonight. What could I eat that's incredibly quick to prepare and nice and picky?

@awesome
Eggs with mayo. Boiled fried or scrambled.
Cold meat.
Cup of stock with cream.
Cheese

Getting very hungry is a disaster for me, so eat something to keep carb cravings under control.

Thanks for the explanation Stuntnun and all. So much to learn and it really does turn on it head everything that's kind of tattooed onto my brain about eating.

Having said that for IBS and gut health before I have done largely meat and vegetable low carb-based diet with success (but no weight loss). I've got PMT coming up the next day or two so that will be interesting. I'm going to the office tomorrow which I don't do very often and I've packed lunch to take with me

It's 10:15 and I'm in bed which is feeling unheard of for me but I feel really for a nice early night and a bright start tomorrow. great day one!

I'm not entirely sure whether I'm actually hungry or whether it's just a habit to have something snacky as a bit of "reward" for doing some work so late in the evening. I've so far eaten celery sticks dipped in cheese, but they really did not hit the spot.

I'm going to go and have some ham now as that's readily available in the fridge.

In desperation I might do a spoon of nut butter, or Aldi 85% chocolate with a mug of mint tea. But you really need to prepare, sadly.

@MsAwesomeDragon
Evenings are my downfall too. That 'reward' thing. I agree, it's not really hunger.
Maybe brush your teeth and get a glass of water.

I'm in

Lionsleeps could be a bit low in fat but it's difficult to tell from your description. Watch out for the frequency of dairy as you have it on three occasions during the day which can be too much for some people. It's a suck it and see test though - everyone has a different tolerance for dairy. The best check is the scales. If they stop moving for more than a couple of weeks then try reducing your dairy consumption.

Yes Mimosa keep posting but just keep flagging up that you're on Bootcamp Light is your eating non-Bootcamp foods. There are a few starting straight on to Bootcamp Light for various reasons.

MsAwesome I love broccoli stalks. I slice them into stars and roast them in olive oil and salt. They're amazing. For an evening snack I love celery sticks with a mix of blue cheese and sour cream or in Philadelphia or in one of those garlic roulade cheese things.

I am here and hoping for a small miracle.