Summer Low Carb mini-Bootcamp - week 1

[StuntNun]

Welcome to the 2021 Summer Low Carb mini-Bootcamp lasting for the next six weeks and run by myself and @Oneborneverydecade. If you're an old hand at eating low carb then please do chip in with your experiences to help motivate our newbies. Every Monday is weigh-in day and you can log your weight on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness to keep track of your progress. If you can't add your weight for any reason then please post it on here and someone will add you to the spreadsheet.

Make sure you've read the ten Low Carb Bootcamp rules on the preparation thread either for strict Bootcamp or Bootcamp Light depending on which one you choose. There are also some meal ideas and shopping suggestions on the preparation thread if you need some tips. As always, if you have any questions or concerns then please do ask. We have lots of experience between us.

A quick reminder of the rules for strict Bootcamp (first two weeks):

1. Eat three meals a day (plus snacks if hungry)
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Eat plenty of vegetables and salad
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter which is unlimited)
6. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nut/seeds

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners

And for Bootcamp Light:

1. Eat when you are hungry
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Eat plenty of vegetables and salad
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter which is unlimited)
6. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
7. Alcohol is allowed occasionally
8. Up to one portion of (low carb) fruit per day
9. Nut and seeds in small quantities

10. No sugar except dark chocolate, and limit artificial sweeteners

Oh no @Bryonyshcmyony, how awful. I hope you and DD get the information and support you need.

Meal plan for today:

B - coffee (ALL the coffee - terrible night's sleep!)
L - mackerel and salad with mayonnaise
D - beanless chilli, salad, avocado, soured cream, jalapeños.

@Bryonyshcmyony what an awful day and your poor dd. Hope you get some support offered with the diagnosis. You did really well not to fall into the comfort food but your right you need to look after yourself to look after others.

I didn't find anything to eat at the seaside so I had a nibble of DHs fish and then made a big dinner when I got home.
I loved going to the beach but it made me realise I'm actually really glad we didn't get a proper holiday as dd2 was a right grump all day.

@Bryonyshcmyony so sorry to hear this, poor dd. I hope you both get some clarity and a supportive team xxx (sorry, I know this is a total mn no no)
@StuntNun
Thanks for those yogurt instructions, am off to look up instant pots
B- bacon and scrambled eggs with tomatoes and cucumber
L-smoked salmon salad with goats cheese
D- friend is making me halloumi and tomato stew. Little worried about all those tomatoes....

Hanging my head in shame this morning...

Was looking after dgc yesterday (always exhausting) and the drive to take them home was awful. There had been various accidents and breakdowns and a 20 minute journey took an hour and 20 minutes. With 2 hot, tired, hungry kids who were squabbling and asking every 5 minutes when they'd see their Mum.

Waved them off, then in order to avoid a similar trip home (and wait till the traffic was less busy), I dropped in to see a friend. They had just ordered Chinese. "Got some extra for you Venus".

Of course there was nothing that suited bootcamp but I tucked in anyway It would normally be everything that I would avoid, and I honestly don't think I've had Chinese food for about 6 years!!

My only saving grace was that my portions were smallish.

Drawing a line under yesterday, and back on it today.

B - coffee with cream, boiled egg
L - picnic lunch brought by my fired, but she knows this way of eating well so it will all be compliant
D - cheesy spinach

Thanks, @elasticfirecracker for posting the courgettes and parmesan soup recipe. I will try that. I put a wodge of stilton in my last courgette soup and that worked well. As another very strong cheese, parmesan will prob work even better.

I also put sage in the soup. That was good. As a flavour that often goes with meat it somehow gave the soup the quality of being meaty, just by association.

@Bryonyshcmyony, so sorry to hear of your daughter's diagnosis and your stressful day. Take care of yourself.

I don't know if it's useful information Bryonyschmyony but I have osteoarthritis and I'm still very fit and active. If anything, more than I would be without the joint issues because I need to maintain my muscular strength to support my bones. My problems started in my teens too.

ElasticFirecracker I'm sorry to hear you had bad news. Comfort food is a natural response; now climb back on the wagon today. If you feel up to it then try and go over your reactions yesterday to see how you might manage better in the future. Sometimes we can divert to different choices. My DH always wants chips and curry sauce when he's stressed but he's managed to switch that over to airfried bratwurst and curry sauce which produces the same stress relief but isn't carby. It might be a bit strange but it works for him! On the yogurt front I use these starters from Amazon. They can be serially cultured so a pack of three will keep you going for months. I strain off the whey and store it in several tubs in the freezer as the starter for the next few batches rather than having to keep some aside from every batch.

FusionChefGeoff weight loss is so unpredictable: you can do everything right and gain weight, you can have a carby blowout and lose weight. Take a step back and look at the big picture. You are losing weight and it will keep coming off... just maybe not by Friday!

You don't need an Instant Pot to make yogurt Oscarandelliesdad you can use a yogurt maker, slow cooker or thermos flask. I'm a bit of a gadget queen though so I have ALL the cool kitchen toys!

Did you at least enjoy your Chinese meal Venusandmars? There's nothing worse than obligatory carbs and then you don't even enjoy it. Well done for getting straight back on track.

@StuntNun dh is a gadget fiend too

@StuntNun thanks I know I feel and look much better than I did in February!!

Any tips for the best way to prep up some cauli rice pls? Am taking it camping so was thinking to freeze it so it lasted longer but don't know if that might make it worse and it might be better kept cold instead - any advice??

You can buy it frozen in individual serving bags at tesco @FusionChefGeoff . I've taken it places before and stir fried it from a defrosted state and it was fine. Or you could buy the horrible preserved stuff. I always think that ropey tinned/packaged food is part of the camping experience!

Sorry to those who've had bad days, very impressed with @Bryonyshcmyony for staying on the wagon though and @venusandmars I really hope you enjoyed your Chinese too! I bloody love Chinese food and consider it one of the few meals worth breaking the rules for.

Has anyone found a decent low carb meal box service? I used to get the odd hello fresh or mindful chef box, just one every couple of months to liven up our food and give me ideas for new meals to cook. None of them are really low enough carb for bootcamp. Just wondered if there's anything else that comes with a recommendation....?

This weeks mindful chef looks tempting, I suppose I can just download the recipes and try to lower the carb count myself

@ouchmyfeet I've already got a half chopped up cauliflower so will be making my own. Just wondering if I should cook then freeze it, just freeze it raw or just leave it raw in the cool box

How long before you'll be cooking it? I'd blitz it and then freeze it and keep it in the cool bag to defrost slowly and then cook it (with plenty of butter ).

Shattered. Bought the dds sushi for lunch and I made myself a plate of avocado wrapped in smoked salmon with some mayo as a dip.
Gammon and mash tonight, gammon and a fried egg for me

Low on green veg but I'll get back there after these few stressful days are over and we've all settled into dd being on crutches and hopefully her pain will have dissapated a bit

Hope you & Dd are both ok as can be Bryony

A tough day for me today, busy day yesterday so I’m tired and a bit emotional & my thoughts have naturally been wandering to junk food!
Resisted so far but it’s been a battle of the wills!

Managed to side step some amazing food on the outdoor market today on a rare day out with my husband. I even resisted vegan cake while my hubby ate some delicious looking lemon scones. The only vegan food that wasn’t carby that I could find was a subway salad minus the carby bits. Filled a gap but lacking in fat. Will make up for it at tea time tonight. Very proud of myself for having some will power for once 😂 but need to be better prepared next time!

I feel like I've had a good day today. I took the kids and the dog to the beach, with a packed lunch rather than heading for the chippy. And I bought them ice creams without having one myself!!!

So today's food has been:
B: Greek yogurt
L: mushroom, pepper and cheese breakfast muffins, with cucumber and pepper sticks and a tuna mayo dip
D: (will be) roasted veg with peri peri chicken

Felt the junk cravings today, have therefore eaten more than I planned but stayed within the rules!

B: pesto omelette
L: mackerel with lettuce and two babybels
D: stuffed mushroom and stir fry

Good food day for me too today:

L: veggie omelette with "salad" of raw courgette and tomatoes
T: Pork Loin fillet with fried leeks and @Rayna37's cauliflower/cabbage/onion spicy roast. Was delicious!

I'm finishing day 2 now and losing the queasy feeling I often get the first couple of days of low carbing. Irritatingly, I have to go to my in-laws for 2 nights tomorrow, where the food is largely bread and cake based. I already have a reputation as awkward because I don't eat the soggy chewy fat on meat. Everything warm will be boiled to within an inch of its soft, grey existence. Hey ho, luckily the portions are tiny so I may not do too much damage

B: 2x creamy coffee

L: Stilton and courgette soup with lots of chorizo sausage on the side. Half a bar of 100% Montezuma choc with orange and cocoa nibs (I know this was too much choc. I failed to stop myself.)

D: courgette fried in ricotta, egg and parmesan with garlic parsley and lemon.

Real yearning now for a 'pudding' of mascarpone sprinked with cocoa. Not sure that I should allow this.

Evening all, I'm not a fan of the Montezuma Chocolate

L was 2 SLCR with chicken ham on.
D was chicken breast with FLGV sprinkled with olive oil and chili and a big blob of mayo on the side.

Craving sweets so rather than raid the sweet drawer (for the DC), I whipped some double cream up and had a few raspberries on top so not too bad and it hit the spot!

Just 1/2 liter of water to go.

Forgot about the lack of bowel movements on this WOE so will majorly up the fat tomorrow!

Hi, I’m just going to jump in :). Lost 6 stone on BC in 2017, and did BC lite ever since, never deviated for 4 years until unexpectedly shielding DD from March - August last year, and eating mainly from whatever farm shop deliveries we could get - ‘artisan’ sourdough and local honey may have featured heavily!. Recovering from that when my dad became very ill just as we moved back into level 3 here in September and I moved in with him for end of life care till he died in March. My own needs were pretty much bottom of the pile, I was exhausted and homesick and my diet became very carb heavy. I’ve actually lost a bit more weight, but I don’t really feel well. IBS has returned with a vengeance, bloating, headachy, food cravings, bit of comfort eating, achey joints. I did join the spring bootcamp but my head wasn’t in it, still felt too distressed to really take care of myself. Anyway, the mini bootcamp popped up in actives and I feel more able to cope with the low carb transition this time - so here I am :)

@ilovecherries, that sounds tough. I lost my own Dad last year although very suddenly, so you have all my sympathies.

I am supposedly cutting down on dairy but had to spend the day working from my Mums as she is having work done on the house and isn’t up to coping with tradesmen. That meant a rushed breakfast of Greek yog and a lunch that consisted solely of a lump of cheddar and a lump of cambozola as she had no veg or anything much BC friendly in the house. Plus several cups of tea with milk as I’d forgotten to take the almond milk with me.
I did redeem myself with salmon, broccoli and French beans for dinner once I’d done DMs shopping and made sure she had some proper food in.

B: smoked salmon and eggs
L: roast cauliflower with cheddar melted on
D: celery and anchovy dip, sausages and broccoli.

Black coffee, black tea, water and cocoa made with unsweetened cocoa powder, a dash of salt, hot water and a dash of cream. Def an acquired taste but kills my choc cravings!