Sorry for absence yesterday. The whole suspension/reinstatement thing quite discombobulated me, and frankly, rather put me off posting.
Anyway, I'm over that, so here we go. Again, a mega post to reply to lots of people!
@Xiaohei/小黑 I've been learning Mandarin for a while now, so I realised it must be something Chinese! But why did you choose that as a name? What's the story?
@Mistywillow17 welcome! I'm pretty sure that you're not the only one who had a dreadful lockdown (or two)! Thank goodness my DC are adults now and we didn't have to endure home schooling. This Bootcamp has been timed to end precisely at the time (hopefully) that we see all restrictions end in June, so stick with it and you should be able to lose a good chunk of that weight
@gillyweed it's really hard to eat too much fat! And certainly you shouldn't be thinking of trying to cut it down on this WOE. Remember - it's the carbs that make us fat, not the fat. Make sure you're really following Bootcamp rules - really scrutinise the foods that you're buying/eating and consider how much carbohydrate you're eating. If you're concerned, or weight loss remains slow, post your meals over a 3-4 day period and let's see if we can identify anything
@Timetobuckup
Any tips for a newbie with 4 stone to lose?
Yes! Follow Bootcamp rules. To the letter! You won't lose 4 stones in the next ten weeks (I'd be a millionaire if I could help you do that!), but you can expect to see a good proportion of that go. If you follow the rules/don't cheat, I'd be confident that you could lose at least a stone.
@Oneborneverydecade 
you and @debka can keep each other going then - great to have a bit of competition! Seriously though, you did so well last time I'm sure you'll hit your target this time around too.
I'm ignoring, this time, the apple crumble but will be keeping my beady eyes out for further indiscretions
@oscarandelliesdad how do you feel about your future life in Dubai though? I can quite understand you want your family to be together, but will your life not be subject to a lot of restrictions? Not jealous of the sunshine at all
@Hotgotthetrots welcome! I'm a fan of the Fast800. But remember, it's an approach that's more about calories than carbs - and we don't count calories on Bootcamp. Looking at your menu it does look as if you're not eating very much/you're still thinking about calories.
Also, although they talk about being low carb, the plan is really lower rather than low carb - so things that are allowed there aren't allowed on Bootcamp, e.g. pulses in particular. That said, there are some lovely recipes in their two cookbooks which can work well on Bootcamp, especially if you add a bit more fat. Both of your main protein choices are pretty low in fat, so bear this in mind.
I have already posted about tomatoes, so go back up the thread and have a read about that. Generally they're fine.
( at natural wee!)
@Random789
To answer your specific questions:
How to cope without vats of milky coffee
I'm afraid from a carb point of view, these really aren't allowed. So your alternatives are:
- black coffee, if you can stand it - you may find you get used to it after a while
- try using double cream instead - you don't need very much to make the coffee super creamy
- try almond milk or another plant-based milk (not oat milk though, as that's way too carby) and see if that works (it doesn't do it for me, but it's always worth a try!)
- limit yourself to one milky coffee a day - probably the first one you have, as that's always the best coffee of the day!
Not understanding dairy. I don't have a grasp of whether/when/which dairy is ok
This one is more difficult to be prescriptive about. You may find that you're fine with dairy - it doesn't affect everyone, so it's a bit trial and error.
There are two issues with dairy - the first is that it can add quite a lot of carbs, especially milk and yoghurt. Second, although it's very good for us from a fat point of view, you can easily get a lot/too many calories from it. And having said that we don't count calories on Bootcamp, we still need to be mindful that this doesn't mean we can gorge ourselves! This is the reason, I think, that Atkins restricts cheese to no more than 4oz per day.
That said, just see what happens. Often, when people complain that they're not losing, or their rate of loss has slowed right down, it seems to be because they're eating dairy at every meal - so be aware that this can be a problem for some
How perfectionist to be about the little things. Eg I sneaked a spoonful of factory-made bearnaise sauce into my salad to liven it up, but it probably has sugar and other nasties in it. Is it best to be full-on puritan or to make little compromises that offer consolation and ease the path?
To start with, and especially in these first two weeks, I'd be super vigilant. Check the labels on anything manufactured that you're buying. You're looking in particular for sugar, but also processed/unnecessary ingredients. Remember that this WOE is about fresh, natural foods as much as is practically possible.
A lot of this is also about opening our eyes to what's actually in our food. You'll be amazed at how many foods have sugar in them, where it would seem totally unnecessary. (And of course, for us, it is worse than unnecessary, as it will be adding carbs into our day that we simply don't want!). I was horrified to discover that my jar of Chinese Five Spice had sugar in it, for example! Not all brands are the same, so that's why you need to be hyper-vigilant.
@JimmyJabs yes, if you're hungry mid-afternoon, that would suggest that a) you're not eating enough and/or b) you haven't had enough fat. That said, in these first two weeks while we're adjusting to a new WOE there will be times when you may find yourself hungry, in which case cheese is a perfect low carb snack (as long as it's not the whole pack, obviously 
)
The headache also sounds like it could be carb flu - look out for a post from me later about that.
@Chunkymonkey123 you make a great point about eating out of habit. Because of our 'recommended' high carb diets, we're used to being hungry at certain points of the day - typically around 11am and 3pm - and so snacking has become something we expect to do, and plan for. But when you move to low carbing, you'll find that your appetite is naturally reduced - this is because your blood sugar levels will be much more balanced. So snacking isn't necessary. But because it's become a habit, we still want to do it!
@blackbettybramblejam I'm sorry, but I'm not so sure you've had a great first day! Sorry to get The Big Stick out so early, but a couple of things:
- where is your breakfast? First two weeks of Bootcamp you need to have something other than coffee
- that onion soup really wasn't a good idea; half of it would have been OK, but not all of it
I hear what you say about 'intuitive eating' - for me, that means all manner of things which I know aren't doing me any good and which will only lead to weight gain!
@AWryGiraffe
Sounds like carb creep is definitely a problem - 'a few creamy coffees' could easily be adding too many carbs to your day. Go back to basics - really read Bootcamp rules and plan some strict days to get you back on track.
Right. That's dealt with yesterday's posts, now to move on to this morning's!
