Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - the prep thread

[BIWI]

There's a week to go before we start our 5-week Low Carb Bootcamp.

So it's time to get ready and prepare ourselves - planning is critical to the success of Bootcamp - and hopefully this thread should give you all the info that you'll need.

First, a reminder of the programme.

There are 5 weeks

Week 1 is a super-strict week, where we count our calories as well as our carbs (not a usual approach for Bootcamp)

Weeks 2-3 are the normal first part of Bootcamp

Weeks 4-5 are Bootcamp Light, which is slightly more relaxed.

Bootcamp was devised initially as an easy-to-do programme (mainly because I'm a lazy arse and can't be faffed with counting carbs or calories).

But the times we're in now are exceptional, and I know that lots of us have found it really difficult to keep a focus on our weight and what we're eating, hence the idea of having a super-strict first week. The idea is that the first week will really help us to get our heads back into the right space and, ideally, trigger a satisfying amount of weight loss.

I think I've got the basics down but it's all the incidentals that I'm unsure about. Like marinades, condiments etc.

I know balsamic vinegar is out, but can I use other vinegars? Or lemon juice? Or full-fat yoghurt for marinades?

What condiments can I have? I know ketchup and bbq sauce will be out due to sugar, but can I have mustard? Mayo? Tamari?

If cucumber is ok, can I have gherkins if no added sugar?

Any other vinegar is fine, @Hopeislost. As is lemon juice and full-fat yoghurt. Mustard is fine, mayo is almost essential! Soy/tamari are all OK too.

And yes to gherkins.
HTH!

At a push @Hopeislost - because we try not to have artificial sweeteners - you could use Heinz no added sugar tomato ketchup here if you really have to have ketchup!

I actually prefer this to the full sugar version.

So what can I eat?!

There's a long list of things we can't eat - but we can eat:

• any unprocessed meat/fish/seafood
• processed meats/fish/seafood in moderation
• eggs - no need to restrict the number you eat
• butter
• cream and cheese
• most vegetables (there's a list on the spreadsheet showing the carb counts, and it's also colour-coded showing you which are best kept to occasional use)
• olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, lard

and after the initial two weeks of Bootcamp:

• some fruit (mainly berries)
• nuts and seeds (in moderation)
• alcohol (in moderation, and limited to clear spirits and dry wines)

Oh, and add full-fat natural yoghurt to that list too!

This thread might be helpful as well - low carb products that we've found, with all the nutritional info too.

Thanks @BIWI that's really helpful 👍

Really looking forward to it! Both IF and low carb have worked really well for me before but I fell off the wagon and now have 6 kilos to lose.

@BIWI A quick question about mayonnaise, as I’m preparing to have things in the house. What type is the lowest carb? You said it can be almost essential but to watch the carbs on it.

The best mayo is your own - then you can guarantee that it's carb-free!

Hellmann's is 1.3g per 100ml
Sainsbury's Basics (now named Hubbard's) is 12.1g per 100ml!
Sainsbury's Mayonnaise (By Sainsbury's) is 3.5g
Sainsbury's So Organic is 6.7g
Sainsbury's French Style is 3.3g
Heinz Seriously Good is 3.0g

Yikes I’m not sure my culinary skills would stretch to making my own. Looks like Hellman’s it is. Thanks!

There is another brand, DeLouis I think it is, which is 0 or very low carb, but not sure where you can buy that (plus it's really expensive!)

Oh yes - it's available in Waitrose

Only 0.6g carbs. It's delicious, but very expensive!

And making your own is actually easy if you have a blender.

Can someone critique my menu for me please? It's my first time low carbing. I'm working and home-schooling at the moment so I know it's not ideal to have the same breakfast and lunch every day but I'm going to need to keep it easy! Planning to snack on veggies.

That looks great @Stepharoo78 - but remember next we're also incorporating fasting - could you try and drop the yoghurt on a couple of days, to extend your fast from 12:12 (which it looks like you're planning) to 16:8?

But overall a really good plan that illustrates just how well we can eat on this WOE (way of eating) without racking up the carbs!

Thanks for pulling all this together BIWI, I’m really looking forward to Monday. I have downloaded my fitness pal to track for that first week.

Hi I'm very new to this after binge eating my way through PND and gaining four stone (cry face)

Anyway I'm vegetarian but also cant eat eggs.

I'm planning on doing the usual bootcamp instead of the lockdown one, but starting on the same day as everyone else.

Can anyone tell me if I have this completly wrong as I have no one to ask and find all the info on Google massively overwhelming with my brain fog....

Breakfast:
Banana whey protein shake
Chia seeds

Lunch:
Busy day: protein shake w/ omega oil & linseeds
Not so busy day: homemade LCHF soup recipe

Dinner ideas:

Quorn sausages with Mediterranean veg cooked in coconut oil

Vegetarian "steak" with creamy garlic mushrooms cooked in oil with green beans

Keto recipe (online) quorn chicken style Quorn korma curry with cauliflower rice

I would like to know should include snacks in-between the meals or not?
If so I was thinking full fat Greek yoghurt/ nuts/ celery with peanut butter etc ??

I was planning on doing Joe wicks 'absolute beginners' workout 6 mornings a week

4 litres of water every day (according to the chart you posted)

Thankyou so much in advance and I'm.sorry if I have this all wrong.

Welcome @etherealbeauty!

As a non-egg eating vegetarian you may find it a bit harder than us carnivores! But you're also allowed to include nuts and seeds in your diet from the start, unlike us, which will help you.

I'd steer clear of the shakes, if I were you, as they're usually very processed and contain artificial ingredients/sweeteners, which we're trying to avoid as much as possible. We're also aiming to eat as much fresh and unprocessed food as we can.

However, I know that sometimes a busy day does make 'proper' eating very hard - but can you tell me what brand of shake you're planning on using? Can you tell me the carb count, and list out the ingredients?

You shouldn't be planning on snacking - eating should ideally be confined to mealtimes only. The reality of low carbing, however, is that you'll find that you simply aren't hungry between meals any more. By low carbing we're keeping our blood sugar levels stable, which means you won't feel those hunger spikes around 11.00am and 3.00pm.

In the first few days, you may still feel hungry, as your body adjusts to it - - in which case we'd always tell you to eat. This WOE (way of eating) isn't about deprivation! The snacks you suggest are fine - you could also add cheese, and olives too.

Joe Wicks work out sounds great as your form of exercise too!

Any questions or concerns, just shout! Lots of people will be new to this, but there are plenty of us here to answer questions and generally offer support.

So one more weekend before we start - and I realise it's a challenge starting this over a bank holiday weekend too! (Sorry about that )

If you're doing any shopping this weekend, in anticipation, it's really, really, REALLY good idea to do some meal planning. Especially for week one, when we're counting carbs and calories. Get those cook books out, or have a look at the recipes I've posted on Google Docs and work out what you're going to need to buy.

Preparation and planning are key to the success of this WOE.

I can recommend the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet recipe book and The Fast 800 recipe book - all the recipes are both calorie and carb counted; some of them are a bit too high in carbs, but generally they mostly work for Bootcamp too. Certainly the things I've cooked from there have been very successful - and also enjoyed by other members of the household too. So no need to cook anything special/separate for you.

COUNTING CARBS AND CALORIES

We normally don't do this on Bootcamp, and it's true it does make life a bit more of a hassle.

However, it's only for a week.

There are a couple of really important things to say here:

1. Don't get hung up on exact counts.

Calorie and carb counts can vary enormously - often it depends on what brand you're buying. Take almond milk (unsweetened), for example. These are the counts for 4 different brands, for a 300ml glass:

Alpro 39 calories/0g carbs
Sainsbury's own 54 calories/3.3g carbs
Plenish 102 calories/1.2g carbs
Innocent 114 calories/0.9g carbs

I found it very frustrating when I was trying to adapt some of the recipes I referenced in the Google Docs, because the calories and/or carbs seemed to be so different.

So, make sure you know the counts of the things you're buying - but if a recipe doesn't specify a brand, don't fuss too much about it - it will all even itself out in the end!

2. Don't guess!

This may seem to contradict point 1 - but it's important that you do weigh and count your food, rather than guessing. It's very easy to underestimate the weight (or volume) of ingredients, so it's a good discipline - certainly at the beginning - to weigh and measure things.

Most importantly though, don't obsess about the counting. And if you have ANY kind of history of disordered eating, then please don't do this first week, but go straight to Bootcamp

Hi it's bulk powders pure whey
I shall attach a photo of the nutrition info.

And here is the ingredients

Thanks @BIWI that's really helpful :-)

@BIWI sorry to be a pest but do we have access to the traffic light list of do and don’t veg yet? I’ve been telling DP about boot camp and he’s already LCing so would be handy for him to know which veg are ok so we’re on the same page. Thank you!

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

here's a link to the last Bootcamp

The spreadsheet is linked to in the OP - look at the tabs and you'll find all the veg info there.

(I think there's a traffic light bit, but if not there's definitely a list showing carb counts from lowest to highest)

VEG ON THE GREEN LIST:
Mushrooms 0.4
Watercress 0.4
Spinach 0.8
Celery 0.9
Broccoli 1.1
Asparagus 1.4
Kale 1.4
Cavalo Nero 1.4
Samphire 1.5
Cucumber 1.5
Spinach 1.6
Lettuce 1.7
Fennel 1.8
Courgettes 1.8
Lettuce 1.9
Avocado flesh 1.9
Cauliflower 1.9
Radish 1.9
Turnip (white inside) 2
Pumpkin 2.2
Celeriac 2.3
Runner beans 2.3
Swede (orange inside) 2.3
Bean sprouts 2.5
Green pepper 2.6
Spring Greens 2.6
Baby sweetcorn 2.7
Aubergine 2.8
Leeks 2.9
Okra 3