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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.

2020 Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp. The first week!

906 replies

BIWI · 11/10/2020 22:17

Welcome all.

Well what a strange year this has been! If you're anything like me, food, meals and eating have been all over the place. And that's before we think about the booze.

I found lockdown an odd mix of feeling like I was on holiday but it was also the end of the world. So what was the point of worrying about my diet?

I am lucky, relatively, in that we don't have small children to worry about educating. We also have a nice house and garden, and as me and DH have recently retired, don't have to worry about work. So we were very much advantaged over many people.

But still, the diet/drinking was all to pot. And with the inevitable result.

So we're now in the run up to Christmas - traditionally a time when diets go out of the window, and we start to indulge ourselves. Who knows what's going to happen this year though?!

So with that in mind, it's a good time to try and be focused and aim to have a bit of discipline! This Bootcamp, as with most others, will last for 10 weeks, which will take us right up to Christmas week.

(I truly hope that we'll all be able to spend Christmas with our loved ones, but who knows?)

With grateful thanks to @AthelstaneTheUnready, here is the Spreadsheet of Exceptional Fabulousness .

You should find that you're on the spreadsheet. A couple of things:

  • if you don't want to record your weight every week, that's absolutely fine. Just don't do it!
  • if you're not on it, just add your name to the bottom - don't try and re-alphabatize it - we'll sort it out later

The spreadsheet isn't just a place to record your weight though - have a good look at it, and the tabs - there's loads of information on there, including a veg carb counter and lots of stuff about low carbing in general. You'll also find Bootcamp rules there.

OP posts:
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prettybird · 13/10/2020 19:13

I've made it with both red and white cabbage in the past - but never thought of using walnut oil Smile

20bloodypounds · 13/10/2020 19:28

I often make celeriac remoulade rather than coleslaw: mayonnaise, grated celeriac (you need to do it quickly and get it into the mayonnaise so it doesn't start to discolour), a dod of horseradish and/or whole grain mustard, a sprinkling of capers. Chopped parsley or corriander.

To either the remoulade, or to coleslaw, I often add grated cheese. Delicious and a meal in itself rather than an accompaniment.

My favourite soup is 'velvet spinach':
Gently fry chopped onion, garlic, celery. When softened add spinach and wilt. Season with s&p and grated nutmeg. Add chicken stock and blitz. I often add a small handful of frozen peas and blitz again (don't tell BIWI) it adds a really great texture. THEN... the important thing. Add butter, lots of butter, and blend. It makes a bowl of vibrant, green, thick, rich, velvety deliciousness. Serve with a swirl of cream or ff yogurt and a garnish of crispy bacon.

TeddyIsaHe · 13/10/2020 19:30

Just got home after insane day. Starting to feel fluey so have had a water with lo-salt in (truly, truly vile) but it seems to have done the trick.

Keto taco bowl (again!) for dinner tonight. I’m drinking my sparkling water out of a wine glass to trick myself into thinking it’s Prosecco. I’d usually order takeout and drink wine after a day like today, so a definite step in the right direction.

2020 Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp.  The first week!
Rayna37 · 13/10/2020 19:39

Decent day though I have a headache too which is unusual for me but might be more the stressy day complete with mid afternoon cry about some sad news more than related to how far off plan I'd been wandering before bootcamp! Taken a high 5 tablet.

Dinner was liver- if you've not eaten it in years and/or think you hate it, it's worth another go, DH and I are quite into now after not eating it for most of our adult lives! V healthy and cheap too! Served tonight with steamed Brussels, sautéed cavolo nero plus shallots and mushrooms.

ZiggZagg · 13/10/2020 19:44

Ended up making my own beef burgers from mince with paprika, salt and pepper in, served with slices of cheese and a lovely side salad. Delicious!

Rayna37 · 13/10/2020 19:56

For those who do intermittent fasting or those who struggle not to pick in the evening I've got an app called Zero which I like. You just click to start your fast when you finish eating for the day then click again when you break your fast. I think mainly it's just good because once I've clicked it, it stops me picking up random bits of food in the evening and means I can try to have at least 12 hours clear even on days I'm not actively trying to fast.

poorbuthappy · 13/10/2020 20:02

Have just had the most lovely (almost sickly) cauliflower cheese made with cream and cheese.
My ratio of cream and cheese was a little bit off but I good first effort!

NorthOfAmazing · 13/10/2020 20:09

Hi everyone,

I havent had a chance to post but Im here and I`m making my way through the thread ( moves fast !)

Just wanted to add if any of you have a food processor/mini chopper its actually really easy to make your own cauliflower rice and much nicer and fresher than shop bought. I make a batch of half a cauliflower and half a broccoli, pulsed together in the processor until its the right size bits ( youll see it become smaller and smaller - pulsing is important otherwise on ON youll just end up with dust pretty fast) and then cook off(steam or saute in butter) and have in the fridge to reheat over a couple of days.

I eat at weird times due to work shifts ( lunch at 10:30am today!) so it`s important to me to have stuff ready to reheat or easy to grab.

Saying that, the menu so far has been...

Day 1
B- creamy coffee
L - rocket salad with two slices of ham and feta
D- 2 sausages and naked cabbage slaw - sweetheart cabbage in white vinegar vinaigrette with cucumber

Day 2
B - creamy coffee
L - 2 hard boiled eggs and cucumber sticks
D - chilli con carne and sweetheart cabbage slaw ( I eat this a lot) , FF greek yoghurt for afters

Trying hard with the water but have failed to achieve 2 liters. I`ll have better luck towards the end of the week once I have a couple of days to myself.

Take care everyone and gl with the carb flu!

Benvolio · 13/10/2020 20:13

Loving these recipe ideas. Yes to celeriac remoulade, yes to liver and yes to the spinachy one too!

Im going to try Raynas whole meal with liver tomorrow if I can get to shop. Calf's liver?

I make chicken liver pate sometimes, which I'd forgotten about too.

Benvolio · 13/10/2020 20:17

Loving these recipe ideas. Yes to celeriac remoulade, yes to liver and yes to the spinachy one too!

Im going to try Raynas whole meal with liver tomorrow if I can get to shop. Calf's liver?

I make chicken liver pate sometimes, which I'd forgotten about too.

ToastCosILoveIt · 13/10/2020 20:20

Hello fellow Bootcampers, calling in to say hello although I have been avidly reading this thread and some of the last bootcamp thread.

i started my own form of boot camp on 6 August. I lost 8lb in the first two weeks and then it took me until now to lose another 7lb. I am doing 16:8 (or sometimes up to 18:6) and I have been counting calories otherwise I know I would overeat. I know I shouldn't count calories BiWi and will try to wean myself off of My Fitness Pal.

I'm also doing weights three times a week, yoga once a week and spinning once a week plus a couple of good walks (at least 6 months). I find you really get into this WOE and the current Covid climate meaning socialising is signifcantly reduced all helps to keep on track.

I love reading all of your threads and hearing about what you have eaten. today i have had:

Brunch: a gammon steak with rocket, a tomato, cucumber and onion plus an oil dressing.
Dinner: diced chicken fried in oil with chilli flakes, aubergine and an orange peper plus a dollop of full fat greek yougurt.
Snack: a 40g packet of pork scratchings and double cream in a coffee.

I find I am thinking a lot about food for the first two thirds of the day and then I eat dinner by 4pm during the week, do exercise after work and don't really think about food after that. I am sitting here watching Bake Off and not feeling peckish at all. I have also managed 5 pints of water today which is good for me: thank goodness for working from home and close proximty to the loo!

Benvolio · 13/10/2020 20:20

Sorry, am an arse!

RitaEllen · 13/10/2020 20:24

Very disappointed as went all the way to big Tesco this evening in the hope of finding Celeriac but they had none! I love celeriac and big Tesco is the only place I usually find it.

Still struggling with water only managed 500mLs so far today! Blush I find it hard to get the time to drink at work.

How important is breakfast? I very rarely eat breakfast.
Lunch was good I had chicken salad and about to make Taco salad bowls for dinner.

Doilooklikeatourist · 13/10/2020 20:28

Not a bad day , had a change of plan as it was too cold for egg mayo salad at lunch time , so I made a creamy veg soup
In Tesco this afternoon , bought celariac and cauliflower especially for making more soup tomorrow
Now torturing myself by watching bake-off ....

Margaritawithlime · 13/10/2020 20:47

@NorthOfAmazing ooh do you know I hadn’t even thought about using my food processor?! Just had visions of grating cauliflower crazily. I managed to switch meal plans round so I will try that tomorrow! Thanks

Midlifemission · 13/10/2020 20:56

@Totalshambles this is the electrolyte drink I ordered based on BIWIs advice.

highfive.co.uk/products/zero

I ordered mine from Amazon (along with Cheesios and Pork Scratchings !)

I have had a really good day today . No more headache and haven’t needed to snack.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel immediately thinner just for taking control of their diet ? I need to be careful not to get impatient!

B - 2 boiled eggs and crispy bacon
L - A burger with a slice of blue cheese and a giant salad
D- gammon and assorted veg ( not quite eaten yet !)
It’s probably too much processed meat but I will work on that after the first few
Days.
Loving the coleslaw recipes and interested to experiment with soups. My Dh makes a chicken soup that I am sure most be low carb.
Thanks all for the motivation and ideas .

BIWI · 13/10/2020 20:59

@RitaEllen

Very disappointed as went all the way to big Tesco this evening in the hope of finding Celeriac but they had none! I love celeriac and big Tesco is the only place I usually find it.

Still struggling with water only managed 500mLs so far today! Blush I find it hard to get the time to drink at work.

How important is breakfast? I very rarely eat breakfast.
Lunch was good I had chicken salad and about to make Taco salad bowls for dinner.

You really, really need to get to grips with the water - honestly! And 500ml is just one glass! Surely you could have found the time for more?!

If you're new to low carbing, it's a good idea to have breakfast, but I get it if you don't usually have it. Just keep an eye on your hunger levels - if you find yourself getting too hungry (and then tempted to eat the 'wrong' things!) then try and eat something first thing.

OP posts:
Totalshambles · 13/10/2020 21:05

@Midlifemission fab thanks so much! Definitely buying!

RitaEllen · 13/10/2020 21:33

Yeah, my fluid intake is really poor! I work on a hospital ward and we are so busy at the moment it goes right out my head. I’m gonna get a bigger bottle!

Superspecs · 13/10/2020 21:35

So today I ate
B omelette 3eggs,cheese and cucumber
L broccolli and halloumi
D burgers and salad
Snack FF yog.

Okay day I think, also drinking lots.

Doing the Asda shop tomorrow so definitely getting stuff for coleslaw, thanks for all the recipes!

MsAwesomeDragon · 13/10/2020 21:38

Water is the thing I'm best at 😇. I constantly have a water bottle on the go. Mine holds 750ml and I drink one during the morning, refill at break and drink another by the end of lunch, then refill for the afternoon. So that's 2.25litres before I even think about what I drink at breakfast and in the evenings. I'm quite lucky to be in that habit already, so one less thing to change (although a couple of years ago is have told you I don't like water, I used to drink diet soft drinks or sugar free squash)

Paisleycountry1985 · 13/10/2020 21:52

Have had 2.5ltr water and 3 peppermint teas.

Dinner was chicken from the menu's - chicken breast with mayo, garlic and parmesan topping - was lush! Pile of fine runner beans cooked in butter, cucumber and a sliced tomato.

EastofEdna · 13/10/2020 22:00

Day 2 done.

brunch: cheese and veggie omelette
tea: prawn stir fry + crunchy veg salad

W: 2l.

Did an hour's weight session at the gym - but need to work out alternative methods of exercise as gym will be closed from tomorrow, godamm you C-19.

BalloonSlayer · 13/10/2020 22:01

Hello everyone.

I am checking in in the hope of getting back on the straight and narrow, I am not going to enter myself into the spreadsheet but I am hoping to cure my "carb creep" with all the great ideas on these threads.

Already I am reminded that I don't drink enough water . . . that's the no 1 thing I need to start doing again, it really made a difference!

Good luck everyone!

Summery1 · 13/10/2020 22:21

Lots of great food tips. I'm off tomorrow so I will do a big veg shop, and pate... lots of good ideas here,

B:Coffee with cream
L: Omlette with mushrooms and cheese, and side salad.
S: Cheese and a pepper dipped in my 'failed but delicious mayo'.
D: left over piece of steak flash fried, FLGV and last of the mayo as dressing. Greek yogurt (180g - I weighed what was left in a500g tub)

I also exercise pretty regularly - I've done 15,000 stepd today and yesterday. I park MILES from the door at work (and park in 2 spaces because it's easier Blush , I walk the dog 5k in the evening. BUT I've always exercised and still can put weight on!!!

I daren't watch the Bake Off! Yikes

Well done to all who had a good day, and if you haven't don't dream of quitting. Start again tomorrow.