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

@BIWI I just used a bit of olive oil to grease the sides of the slow cooker. I thought DH wouldn't like it as much as a normal roast chicken because the skin wasn't crispy, but he loved it.
I'm currently making a stock from the bones, but it has turned a slightly scary orange colour from the marinade. I might try to make a spicy soup with it.

@BestIsWest as far as I'm aware, herb/fruit teas are all OK - but do check on the packet, or on their website. I don't drink them, so I'm not too sure.

As others have pointed out though, be careful with the liquorice ones. I believe they can have a negative impact on your blood pressure if you drink too much.

@nowlook @VeryLittleOwl 140-160lbs = 2.5 litres of water per day.

So many lovely ideas !
I used to make watercress soup with leeks and potatoes , so I’m going to experiment with leeks , celariac and watercress
Courgette is my favourite vegetable , I like the pan fried and slightly ( 😀) brown , though DH thinks they’re burnt

I don’t even like fruit much ( except tinned peaches ) so why do I fancy a ruddy apple ! I won’t have one though
Plan for today is eggs for breakfast
Salad for lunch ( I’ll take a photo , we’ve found a lovely pack of shredded ham hock in Tesco ) with avo and olive oil
Dinner , pork shoulder steaks with mushrooms ( Delia recipe, that needs adapting as it starts with trim the chops of any fat ... )
Lots of water , 3 glasses down already
Blue sky here !
Gloaty photo of view from slightly longer than planned walk on Sunday

Oh that's interesting.

So I had 150g of fat yesterday, but for this WOE you think that's not enough?

Forgot I had two large mugs of homemade chicken stock with fat.

@ListenLinda get yourself a good insulated lunch box (M&S often do little ones in the spring/summer) and some ice packs. Then you can create your own 'fridge'.

Top tip - instead of an ice pack, fill a little bottle with water and freeze that. By the time you want to eat, you will have lovely, chilled water to drink as well.

Good things to have:

hard-boiled eggs
pot of tuna mayo
cooked low carb sausages
sliced cucumber and/or celery
slices or chunks of cheese
pot of olives

Also get yourself a little plastic, sealable pot that you can use for salad dressing and then take a little bag of salad leaves as well

Alternatively, if you have a wide-necked thermos flask, you could take soup or leftover stews/casseroles etc from the night before.

@Random789

I planned to post what I have eaten today but I'm wary of rabbiting on into megaposts. I have this nagging feeling that I've eaten too much, just because I've had three square meals. But I'm pretty sure that is an illusion - the endless snacking that I usually resort too is probably more calorific

Never, ever worry about rabbiting on on these threads - that's what we all do!

The illusion about eating too much is exactly that! This WOE is not about deprivation, so eating three meals a day and not snacking is a much better way to eat. Constant snacking has the result of constantly stimulating the release of insulin, so your blood sugar is getting spikes of glucose.

After the first two weeks of Bootcamp, if you like (and if you're not hungry) you can drop one meal a day - most likely breakfast. But cutting out the snacking is a definite positive.

Thanks bestbees, good suggestion for binding. I made some lamb mince balls and they held quite nicely with just an egg

Courgette, feta and mint salad also sounds lovely

@JimmyJabs the recipe I posted upthread should help you with the texture - I think it's a lot thinner than the claggy, shop-bought stuff tends to be.

And of course, if you're making your own, you can thin it down anyway - try adding a bit of lemon juice or reducing the amount of oil.

@Nateismine - sounds like carb flu kicking in!

This is a good thing, obviously, but make sure that you're getting your electrolytes to help counteract it. And especially make sure that you're getting enough salt.

@venusandmars thanks for that post about water - that's really helpful.

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner

Oh that's interesting.

So I had 150g of fat yesterday, but for this WOE you think that's not enough?

Forgot I had two large mugs of homemade chicken stock with fat.

Not saying it wasn’t enough! 🙂 just saying that a lot of people hear us saying ‘you need to eat a lot of fat for this WOE to work’ but it’s almost as if they don’t really hear it. Understandable after so much dieting rubbish having been crammed down our throats for so long, of course...but it’s actually an absolutely integral piece in the fat burning puzzle. We say it over and over because it is essential.

Hughbert if you have PCOS this is definitely the right way of eating for you to help reverse the insulin resistance. When the time is right I would also look into introducing 16:8 intermittent fasting which will stabilise your insulin levels further. One big issue with PCOS is that it can take a long time for weight loss to get going which is often discouraging. I advise you to take measurements and/or find a piece of clothing that's just a little too tight or won't do up. You may well find you drop dress sizes even without losing weight. At the end of the day, weight is a really poor way to assess fat loss. When I was losing weight I would lose an inch from my waist one week then an inch from my hips the next week and then a week after that the scales would seemingly drop overnight. Measurements definitely helped to keep me on track. I even lost half an inch from my wrists and I didn't even know I had "fat" wrists beforehand!

On the downing water debate, you can drink it a lot faster if you add electrolyte powder or High5 Zero electrolyte tablets. So if you have limited opportunities to drink water throughout the day these are a good option. The electrolytes mean you'll absorb more of the water so you also won't need to pee as often.

MistyWillow my childminder used to cook a whole chicken from frozen in the slow cooker for an easy dinner. Her house smelled amazing when I went to pick up my DCs.

@Random789 cocoa is OK, as I'm assuming you're only using a teaspoon or so? ... but be careful about the carb count as they do vary quite a lot.

If you're happy drinking it with water that's fine - but you could also try adding some double cream to add a bit more fat/make it taste a bit more indulgent.

I forgot why I actually came on to the thread mind like a sieve. I recommend the Sistema tubs for packed lunches. They have all different designs depending on what you're looking for. This is a salad and sandwich box plus a dressing pot but you can get bento boxes, ones with cutlery included, etc.

@1stMrsF thank you, sounds delicious and I’m definitely adding it to family repertoire.
Never apologise for bringing your feelings about your children out when you need to - especially right now with pandemic repercussions taking their toll. Maybe the warmer weather will get them both sleeping better which will have a knock-on effect on mood/anxieties etc.

Re courgettes, btw, there's a lovely recipe on the chicken/turkey thread for an adapted Yottam Ottolenghi recipe, which uses grated courgettes mixed with turkey mince and formed into patties (mixed with egg yolk and cumin, from memory), which you serve with an avocado/wasabi paste.

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner

I just fell down a long rabbit hole of celeriac Googling where it turns out that different countries rate its carb content differently and therefore it swings from being great to actually quite carby?

Well, other countries are just weird!

Sainsbury's website is my go-to for carb counts, and they give celeriac as 2.2g carbs per 100g.

The reason some carb counts vary is that countries like the US include fibre in their carb count - hence why you'll often see the phrase 'net carbs' in American recipes.

@BIWI Thanks. Realistically won't be able to bootcamp for a few weeks after, but 8 werks is a good chunk of time. Have only managed 4 weeks on my own before, before I fizzle out!

Really tired here too from stressful couple of days. Off work today, had planned a lie in, but some bloke came to check meters st 8am! I know its not early, early but I was not amused!

Headache last 24 hours, need to check I'm drinking enough water and get some more salt in I think
B greek yog
L chicken, leafy salad, ranch dressing
D ???

... but also @Thinnerlikeachickendinner

Am making completely separate meal for DH and kids (lentils pasta etc) and so couldn’t be bothered making anything big for me

Two questions here:

1. Why are you making separate meals? What's wrong with making one low(er) carb meal that you can all eat?

1. Why not cook properly for you? Are you not worth it?

Seriously. This WOE is about eating good, healthy, natural foods that include plenty of fresh veg and salad.

Why not make a meal that you want to eat, and then serving that to the family as well? If you have to/want to, you could always add an extra, carby component to theirs.

*cocoa is OK, as I'm assuming you're only using a teaspoon or so? ... but be careful about the carb count as they do vary quite a lot.

If you're happy drinking it with water that's fine - but you could also try adding some double cream to add a bit more fat/make it taste a bit more indulgent*

So could I experiment with my Green & Blacks 70% cocoa powder, water and some double cream?

@Hughbert welcome, and thank you for coming out of lurkdom!

Sounds like you have some tough issues to overcome with food, so well done for having the two meals you did. I'm assuming that they were both high in fat? The salad should have had an oily dressing, and/or mayo - what about the buddha bowl? (I have no idea what might be in that!)

Have you checked out the Bootcamp vegetarian recipe thread? Lots of lovely things here that should inspire you!

@nowlook yes, I've got over myself

(I did realise that in my communication with MNHQ I was in danger of sounding like do you not know who I am? so I did have to pull back from that )

@Thinnerlikeachickendinner I do what BIWI is talking about 80% of dinners.

Eg spag bol sauce, serve theirs with pasta and leafy salad, serve mine with courgette/roasted veg (butter) and leafy salad (dressing/oil)

Big omlette with veg in. Chips and veg for kids, FLGV with butter/oil for me.

Just need to think about swapping out the normal carbs for veg mainly!

@colouringindoors

*cocoa is OK, as I'm assuming you're only using a teaspoon or so? ... but be careful about the carb count as they do vary quite a lot.

If you're happy drinking it with water that's fine - but you could also try adding some double cream to add a bit more fat/make it taste a bit more indulgent*

So could I experiment with my Green & Blacks 70% cocoa powder, water and some double cream?

Yes, absolutely experiment! Just be careful how many carbs you're taking in though - be mindful of how much cocoa powder and also remember that there are carbs in the cream too. So not several cups a day, every day!