April Leaving Lockdown Low Carb Bootcamp - week 1

[BIWI]

Welcome everyone!

Here, as ever, is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness created and lovingly managed by the wonderful @AthelstaneTheUnready

Hopefully you should find that you're already on the spreadsheet - but if not, just add your name to the bottom of the list. Don't try to insert it in the right alphabetical place - Athelstane will do that for you. And don't touch the blue cells or try to enter any other data or comments!

For those that are new, each week I'll start a new chat thread, on Monday, and we'll start off with recording our weight.

However

You don't have to use your weight to measure your progress - and you don't have to be on the spreadsheet if you don't want to be. Instead, take your measurements each week (bust/upper arms/waist/hips/thighs), or find an item of clothing that's just too tight/small right now, and keep trying it on each week.

The rules of Bootcamp are on the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet - but here's a quick summary of the rules for the first two weeks:

1. Eat three meals a day
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Make sure you're eating vegetables and salad with your food
5. Be careful about dairy, apart from butter which is unlimited
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water a day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds

10. No sugar/artificial sweeteners

Make sure you have a really good read of the spreadsheet for the full detail of the rules. Also, check out the tabs at the bottom - there's a huge amount of information that will really help you, especially if you're new to low carbing/Bootcamp.

There's also a thread here of FAQs which should be helpful.

Some thread etiquette

The thread will move really quickly - especially at the beginning.

But please take the time to read everyone's posts, rather than just plopping on with your own comments/thoughts/questions. It's very frustrating when someone comes on to the thread to ask a question that's been posed and answered already!

Don't lurk!

I know that not everyone is confident about posting - and also that there are a lot of posters who are regular Bootcampers, and who know other Bootcampers. Please don't think this is a cliquey thread. It couldn't be further from the truth!

Everyone's views and experiences are welcome and valid, so jump in and post.

Any questions, please just post. Or PM me. There's always someone here who can help - and if I or they can't, then we can always find someone who can!

Above all, very good luck to everyone.

I very much hope that by the time we come to the end of these ten weeks, that we really are (as a country) completely ready to leave Lockdown well behind.

Wishing everyone all the luck

Thank you to whoever suggested a fruit teabag in a 2l bottle of sparkling water!!!
That was me MrsOmelette!

I hope your day goes okay BuffyTheBuffetSlayer sleep deprivation is the worst. It always makes me extra hungry so fill up on good low carb food. I keep a couple of boiled eggs in the fridge for emergencies. They're lovely with mayo mixed with a little bit of curry powder for a quick cheat devilled egg. For your 2yo check out Ellen Satler's Division of Responsibility Model for child feeding. I've been following it with my 18yo DS1 who has autism and it works really well at getting them to eat. Another thing I've noticed with my 6yo DS4 is that he can't deal with decisions on what to eat. If you ask him what he wants for breakfast or lunch then he won't eat anything at all. Instead I leave a plate of picky bits such as fruit and a deconstructed sandwich (open slice of bread cut into triangles, ham rolled up, cucumber or pepper sticks) near to him and he'll often eat all of that. Whereas asking him, "Do you want a sandwich for lunch?" would end in disaster. Finally I love Penelope Leach's advice on child feeding which is that food only has to be balanced over the week not each day. So if one of mine has a no veg day I don't worry about it and try and get more into them the next day. In my opinion it's more important for them to be eating than exactly what they eat. My DS1 only had three safe foods as a toddler but now he's an adult you would hardly even call him fussy. The one thing he still can't eat is pie for some reason; he can't deal with the way the pastry touches the filling.

Oh yes good call Ouchmyfeet. This courgette, feta and mint salad uses courgette ribbons and is utterly lush when it barbecue weather.

I don't know if this has been suggested before, but I just tried stirring a bit of my coffee-with-cream into my Greek yoghurt, as I was slightly bored with it plain. It was quite nice for a change!

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner you need lots of fat though. It’s a necessary component of efficient fat burning so you’ll only make this WOE less effective by not having plenty of it. That’s why we have to remind people over and over that they must work hard to have enough fat rather than worrying about having too much and ending up taking it down too low, either on purpose or by accident.

@MrsOmelette @margaritasbythesea Watercress Soup
I sweated a chopped shallot and celery stick in butter then added a chopped courgette and cooked for another few mins. Added stock (enough to cover veg plus a bit so that when watercress added it would also be covered) and simmered til veg cooked. Handful of frozen peas (obvs these are red on the list and you could omit, but there are very few in it and it makes a huge difference to the taste). Added watercress to the boiling stock and let it wilt for a few mins, then whizzed on the blender with sprigs of mint. Return to the pan and add lemon juice, double cream and butter. It was delish 
@Makegoodchoices I bought a Sodastream on my first boot camp- sparking water available everyday made a big difference.

The tweens are also twins so the exasperation is complex! The pandemic has been very damaging for them. It's so hard to get them to interact with anything and they often don't sleep well, which doesn't help any of us. I try so hard to be patient because of this but sometimes I get so fed up that I can't help because they just ignore everything I say! DTD1's gymnastics class will start again this week. She used to LOVE it but doesn't want to go back and I can't persuade her to try - I think it's the anxiety of starting again. I'm heartbroken that they've lost so much. Sorry, just have to offload that sadness from time to time and it's weighing heavily on me today.

Your lovely menus had made me realise o haven't planned for today yet. Lunch will be leftovers of the soup and frittata and I'll go and raid the freezer for dinner in a bit. Ocado coming tomorrow so I'll also do some thread trawling today for some ideas for next weeks. Have a good day!

Morning all, child induced sleep deprivation is just the worst thing ever, never mind throwing equally sleep deprived children into the mix.

Meals today

B - Greek yoghurt with a touch of cream and cinnamon
L - SLC sandwich with salad
D - spicy prawn fritters with stir fry veggies and a dipping sauce with chilli oil and soy sauce

Last day of DH holidays today so we’re going to get the kids out for a run about, hence the sandwich lunch

@Jellycatspyjamas would love the prawn fritter and dipping sauce recipe!

@nowlook @Ninkanink @TeddingtonTrashbag LOL re low cal tonic!

Yes, you're quite right. You shouldn't be drinking low cal tonic in these first two weeks because of the artificial sweeteners. Sorry - I was just so taken with the idea of drinking 100ml of Tabasco I completely overlooked the tonic!

Much better to try it with fizzy water, alongwith/instead of Angostura bitters.

@BuffyTheBuffetSlayer you have my sympathy. I have definitely got the t-shirt from that particular trip to hell. It’s why I didn’t really shift the last 1-2stone of baby weight till my youngest was 3. When there’s more than one conspiring against you it is crushing - no ‘nap when they nap!’ Like people like to say in a jolly way and you have to smile weakly while crying inside.

We are going to the park at 11.30 to meet friends and I’m just debating having a big brunch at 10.30 or having a smaller breakfast now and packing a salad. I think dinner will be some kind of sausage tray bake although I am aware I’m have a lot of processed pig products.

@DreamQueen re bookmarking, are you using your phone or the desktop site? If the former, then when you get to the end of the thread, swipe the last post to the left and you'll see an option to bookmark

On the desktop, move your cursor to the bottom righthand side of the last post and a box saying 'bookmark' will show.

Delurking briefly, as directed... this thread is very fast moving! Another one who has learned something new re necking pints of water. Shall try to sip today.
I struggle massively with food. I have a tiny appetite but am very overweight - I can go a whole day without eating and not be remotely hungry but when I do eat, I eat crap. And I'm vegetarian. And I have PCOS. I found 3 meals on Monday really awful, so two was much more manageable yesterday.

Lunch: FLG salad with mozzarella.
Dinner: tofu buddha bowl 3 coffees, 3l water, 2 mint teas. I felt v sick after dinner, like I am literally force feeding myself but clearly my way wasn't working either, so trusting the system and eating a proper size meal. As I said, no smugness attached to that, I've got over 50lb to lose, so a long way to go! Thank you to the organisers for organising and all the really helpful info. It's off to lurk I go.

@Chunkymonkey123 crème fraîche is a great choice as it's low in carbs but high in fat. Just make sure you don't buy light or no fat!

With pleasure @Bestbees

The fritters are prawns, spring onions, about a thumb of ginger, a garlic clove, a red chilli and an egg whizzed together in a food processor, not too far so they still have a bit of texture but the mixture binds together. I usually use a pack of frozen kind prawns defrosted so about 200g. Use a table spoon to drop into hot oil to fry til they go pink.

The dipping sauce is one part olive oil, one part chilli oil and 3 parts soy sauce, grate in some ginger, garlic and a splash of fish sauce if you have it. In my carby days I’d also add some honey or brown sugars but it’s fine left out.

I usually stir fry some mangetout, bean sprouts, pak Choi/shredded Savoy cabbage to go with, with a tiny sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds in sesame oil, chilli flakes and garlic.

You can also use chicken for the fritters if you prefer. Makes a nice, fresh tasting dinner - I love this way of eating but find the richness of the food too much sometimes so this breaks up the butter, cheese and cream cycle.

@TheHoover (and others worried about necking water!) you can if you're really thirsty - it would be a real chore if we had to spend all day taking dainty little sips of the stuff!

Just don't use chugging as a way of getting through your daily quota, for the reasons given up thread.

@BSky

Yep, a sudden intake of sugar can cause digestive distress. Coming back from a trip somewhere, with a car full of people, all sharing a huge bag of Haribo, cause me to suffer from explosive diarrhoea! Thankfully I was able to wait till we had exited the car ...

@1stMrsF that’s so sad about your daughter. I can empathise mine are younger than yours but ds2 (6) in particular now refuses to go out for walks, go to the toilet on his own or go upstairs unless we are with him. He used to do Lego and Art clubs after school but now anxiously tells me he doesn’t want to go back to doing any clubs. Doesn’t want his swimming lessons either. His world has just gotten so much smaller. I think we are facing a tragic loss of confidence in our children and this generation will all be affected. I hope when things go back your dd feels able to take the first step and remember the enjoyment. Does she have friends she can go with?

@ChangingFi the list of allowed veg is on the veg counter, on one of the tabs on the spreadsheet (although I see others have already alerted you!)

Actually, green beans/fine beans/runner beans are all OK on Bootcamp as they're 4g carbs per 100g or under. I think that's because actually you're eating the pod rather than the bean - a bit like mangetout being better than peas. Or rather, Man Get Outs

[quote BIWI]**@nowlook* @Ninkanink* @TeddingtonTrashbag LOL re low cal tonic!

Yes, you're quite right. You shouldn't be drinking low cal tonic in these first two weeks because of the artificial sweeteners. Sorry - I was just so taken with the idea of drinking 100ml of Tabasco I completely overlooked the tonic!

Much better to try it with fizzy water, alongwith/instead of Angostura bitters.[/quote]
I reckon my mother would have tried the Tabasco Diet in the early 80's. Particularly if there was a pull-out in the Sunday papers

Are you feeling better generally about the whole MN thing? I'd be raging, but I can hold a grudge very well indeed Weren't you tempted even for a moment to do your own thing, as it were?

@Chunkymonkey123 there's an even easier way to make mayo if you have a stick blender recipe here

From memory, because you use a whole egg, it's also a slightly thinner texture, which you might prefer anyway.

Don't use extra virgin olive oil as the flavour is too strong - use something like groundnut.

@surprisedbyjoy love the idea of The Trousers of Truth. Please let us see pictures of your progress!

@mistywillow17 whole chicken in the slow cooker sounds fantastic. Did you add any water or fat or just put the chicken in as is?

@colouringindoors good to hear that you have a date for your surgery - that's a real incentive to stay on track! You should easily be able to lose a good chunk of the two stones you want to shed.

Welcome @LockdownLard and great progress so far! Just remember that Bootcamp rules are a bit different, and probably lower carb, than the BSD.

Welcome back @FinallyHere! You're certainly not the only one who let lockdown scupper them. For me, the first lockdown coincided with my retirement, which led to a combination of thinking "I'm on holiday" with "We're all going to die" - so I ate and drank almost everything in sight!

Fortunately I managed to rein that in but the aftermath is all too plain to see on the scales

However - these ten weeks will take us nicely up to June when we should all be freeeeeeeeeeeee!

@nowlook I was raging and also really quite upset/sad when I was threatened (unfairly!) with a ban a few years ago - I actually left altogether and didn’t darken MN’s steps for at least 6 months.

It was BC that tempted me back...

@BIWI I hope you’re ok.