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

I skipped breakfast today because I find it hard to face food first thing and I had to start work at 8.30. If I had planned properly, I could have taken a packed lunch to the office (which is a short commute of thirty feet from my kitchen), but I hadn't planned and didn't have time to pop downstairs to brunch.

The result was that I was too hungry at lunchtime and nearly blew it with too many add-ons. As it was, I had the following quite heavy lunch , which I think was just about ok??

Cheese omlette (with cheddar and two large eggs) plus tinned mackrel in oil, with mixed salad leaves
Followed by: double gloop of mascarpone with cinnamon. According to my very rough clculation, a double gloop is about 60 grammes.

I meant 'packed brunch' not 'packed lunch'

Way to go @HalfShrunkMoreToGo! Great progress

Re chat about DC, I'm so glad we don't have school-aged children in these current times. TBH, it's been hard enough with adult DS1, who is suffering mentally (as well as having lost his job).

Thanks @BIWI and everyone who made suggestions! I think i’ll have a look on amazon or the like for an insulated lunch box etc
I’m out of the house all day today and made up a tuna in oil & cheese salad and took it with me. I just know I would get a bit bored of that every day eventually.... hopefully the kitchens will be open before long in the office.

Making a chilli tonight, rice for DH and i’ll be having broccoli with mine, with cheese and sour cream. If i pass a supermarket I may get some avocadoes and make guacamole again. DH loved it but I had no sense of taste when I made it so still not made my mind up about avocados yet 🙈

Hello everyone. @ListenLinda I have chilli with cauliflower rice (Tesco do a frozen one). Tastes a bit like hot water, but has a rice texture so works for me (hopefully cauliflower isn’t on the ‘don’t do it’ list!)

Quick q pls. How many carbs per day is considered acceptable on this boot camp. I am tracking these, but not sure what I should aim for other than zero, which is tricky when I have had a rather lovely lunch of tuna, eggs, green beans and asparagus with a tonne of butter and pepper and then was a bit agog at the carb content in the green veg. (I should prob step away from the tracker tbh)

We don’t count carbs @hotgot, if you read the notes on the spreadsheet and follow that guidance you’ll be fine.

(I am now sipping on a chocolate and mint herbal tea. Thank you the genius who recommended this - it is almost (not quite, obvs) the same as a cup of builders tea and a mint club.

Thanks all, no not really had a chance to show off yet @50FootWave although have a couple of work meetings that look like they may be face to face in a couple of weeks so hopefully they'll happen!

I impulse bought some rosewater today (in the absence of being able to impulse buy nice clothes) and then worried that I won't be able use it. It has no nutritional info on the bottle but there's no sugar in the ingredients, just water and rose petal extracts. OK, do we think? Was planning adding it to yoghurt or even water to jazz it up a bit.

@Hotgotthetrots Step away from the tracker!

First, we don't count carbs on Bootcamp.

Second, it's definitely not zero carbs! This is a low carb WOE. And your carbs should be coming mainly from veg and salad (see rule 4)

I'm also surprised that your tracker is telling you there are a lot of carbs there, as both asparagus and green beans are low in carbs - especially asparagus. What carb count did they give you, for what weight - just out of interest?

@Hotgotthetrots this is a low carb way of eating, not no-carb. What you ate sounded perfect, and delicious.

Low-carb can be anything from 100g carbs downwards and we all tolerate carbs in our diet to a different extent. Some keto-diets aim for less than 20g carb, but that means the food is mostly meat, eggs, fish and fats (plus a heap of 'supplements' because there's a lack of other nutrients). That might achieve a short term result but I don't think it's either healthy or sustainable in the long term.

As you said best to step away from the tracker.

be careful with the liquorice ones. I believe they can have a negative impact on your blood pressure if you drink too much.
Interesting.I have been using up the peppermint and liquorice tea I found in the cupboard (use by dates from 2917-2018 ) to avoid having milky tea) but did recall hearing something about liquorice and pressure

Eeeeek! Reduces potassium and increases water retention - not what I want!
Maybe since they all at least 3years out of date anyway I should just bin!

The carbs given were (in hindsight) quite small, but was 2g for 5 asparagus tips and 2.4g for green beans (all steamed). I just wondered whether this bc was below 20g for the day etc. But is far more gentle and user friendly than that, so I shall step away from the tracker and add all the green veg to the next shopping delivery.
I am also planning a shopping trip on Friday with two children who have grown like weeds - my sons shorts now look like hot pants and my daughter towers above me - any tips on what to get for lunch whilst out and about from the likes of Boots / M&S that isn’t a boiled egg and spinach pot?

Loads of options in M&S! A Bootcamp favourite is one of their rollitos - cheese wrapped in salami or chorizo. Look at their deli range - a little pot of artichokes in oil, or cherry tomatoes with mozzarella, or even just a pack of ham, or olives, or the smoked poached salmon that they do, or individually wrapped sticks of cheese.

Boots I think you'll have less joy with, but I'm not so sure - don't generally use them for food.

Ooh, thanks @BIWI I had visions of having to take a little Tupperware container of chicken pieces and cheese and nibble on like a bodybuilder in training as my daughter perused New Look et al. I am quite looking forward to getting something that someone else has prepared. Just think - soon we might actually be able to sit down inside and have something to eat! (Dreams).

To put the carb calculations in context (I am a bit of a numbers geek) a 1inch slice of crusty French stick has almost 13g of carbs and I was able to eat those without a care in the world previously. Tracker apps are plainly bad for you!

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo that is really amazing and so inspiring! Well done and send some of your positively and dedication this way please!

Came to place mark on the week 1 thread and saw how fecking long it is already! Will try to catch up.

I have been bookmarking enthusiastically, but really struggling to work out how I then find the place I had bookmarked. Help!

@BIWI

“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...”

Poor you. Glad you made it out the car!!! I’ll have to stagger my carb treats next time as the combination I had was not good, my stomach was just so sore and out of sorts. Shame as the cake was sooooooo delicious but couldn’t face another slice on Sunday despite allowing myself another day of carbs twatness before Bootcamp started up. Still means my weight has dropped back to end of last Bootcamp quicker than I expected!

Today’s menu:
B: Coffee
L: Chicken & avocado salad
D: Low carb sausages with Biwi’s cauliflower cheese & whatever other veg is in the fridge.
Lots more water.....

Cauli cheese is my ultimate fave with cream, cheese & lemon. 😋 OH v taken with it too. Thanks for that Biwi! 👏

Off to get courgettes for tomorrow after hearing lovely ideas here...

@Hotgotthetrots i’ve tried a few brands of cauli rice and if i’m honest, I just don’t like it. It never tastes right, even though the texture if fine. I’d rather just roast broccoli florets, i love the way they go crunchy and chewy

[quote BIWI]@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.[/quote]
Thank you Biwi I've done a screenshot so I won't forget.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo and @50FootWave those are amazing losses!

@Hotgotthetrots I opened the thread to ask about eating on the go so thank you for being ahead of me!

I have a few hours without children tomorrow, apart from the odd quick trip to Tesco it’ll be the first time in at least 8 months I’ve actually had some time to myself. So I’m going to the shops to return some clothes I bought before lockdown...

Afternoon all!

My very fancy reheating lunch box arrived today. I'll be in Wales on 28th April until 7th May, so will get cracking on testing her.

I know I'll be able to reheat fresh and frozen stuff, but I'm going to also try an ambitious bit of sous vide. Will report back because I tend not to wait for the invitation

M&S really does do far better than most when it comes to low carb on the road. That said, I've eaten my fair share of cheese savoury (sandwich fillings only) and bunless McDonalds over the years

And great stuff HalfShrunk and 50footWave. I was on a zoom call for about two hours this afternoon. Not a word about my cheekbones. Nada. By contrast, mother thought I looked "less puffy" but not as slim as my sister etc

Congrats @HalfShrunkMoreToGo and @50FootWave - fantastic losses and very inspirational.

Sorry for folk with struggling DC