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

@BestIsWest

*@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.

It’s tough, isn’t it. My parents - well my mum now - are a three hour drive away, and she seems to be really struggling to do anything for herself, from getting the oven fixed to getting her car MOT done. I seem to spend the entire time driving there and back in crisis management mode. It’s exhausting. I didn’t realise how much my dad was doing for her before.

@ilovecherries hi and I remember you from when I was lurking around BC a few years ago. Sorry to hear about your tough year.

Another day of trying to comfort Dd3 who is distraught about her leg injury and keeps remembering things she was planning to do and now can't. I'm going to let her wallow for today then it's buck up time from tomorrow reminding her that she can still have friends over etc and although she isn't going to be able to play football in September things hopefully will be much improved by Christmas. Her whole identity is tied up with sport so I really feel for her.
Also dd2 has her A level results next Tuesday and is super anxious.

Anyhoo, absolutely no idea what I'm going to eat today 🙄

Coffee with almond milk then something eggy for lunch.

Going to take crippled dd for a drive later so will probably stop off at the shop and buy stuff for dinner then.

@Random789 hope you enjoy the courgette soup - even my courgette-hating DS loved it.

@ouchmyfeet am interested in low carb meal boxes. I recently tried Hello Fresh and the low carb option on is not at all low carb. I think it was worse than Gusto. Interested to hear about Mindful chef.

@ilovecherries well done for losing 6 stone, that's amazing!

Yesterday's food:

lunch Parma ham & yoghurt
Dinner 2 small fathead pizza base with cream cheese grated cheese a smear of Tom purée & Parma ham.

Plenty water.

Lacking in veg, but will try to rectify that today.

Planning ahead.

Lunch: meeting a friend. If it's not raining we can buy some bits and sit in the park. If it's raining it will probably be a cafe, so will be a bit more if a challenge.

Dinner will be Duck, salad & veg.

@StuntNun I have ordered the culture. And have yoghurt incubating made with the whey of my last batch.

I use UHT milk because I am lazy and it means I don't have to heat the milk.

Heating the milk is Less is less of a problem with the instant pot. I know that the best yoghurt is made by heating the milk slowly and stirring with a whisk ALL THE TIME to prevent the skin from forming. Then stirring ALL the time while it cools to prevent the skin forming again.

But I really cannot ba to do this.

Really looking forward to trying the cultures.

💐 to everyone having a tough time. Losing 6 stone is a massive achievement. I am outside walking most of today and I am going to get soaked. Taking a couple of the not cross buns from the seriously low carb co to keep me going. Their bread and rolls are brilliant for working lunches. As soon as your order arrives stick it in the freezer as it doesn’t keep.

Good morning all and for all those having a tough time of it.

Hoping to finish the decorating today and reclaim my home from the mess and disruption.

I did a sneaky jump on the scales this morning and they've gone up a few pounds instead of down. I don't think I'm drinking enough water so will focus on that today. I'm also wondering if the constant (unaccustomed) exercise of sanding floors and painting is having an impact. I am aching a lot this week!

Today's menu plan:

B - Coffee and water
L - Probably egg mayonnaise and salad
D - Roast pork, FLGV with lots of butter

Is oat milk allowed on this woe - I can’t drink black tea & am missing my morning cuppa

@Kerplunkk

Is oat milk allowed on this woe - I can’t drink black tea & am missing my morning cuppa

I don't think so it's really carby?

Plenty of unsweetened almond milk is fine for me and tea

I have missed a few days sorry! Hope everyone who’s having a rough time is ok.

I’ve not been eating very much as it’s very hot where I live (I’m overseas), so drinking the water is not a problem! I have been eating things like salmon fillet with loads of green salad, cucumber and a little bit of beetroot with a lemon olive oil dressing.
Also for dinner I’ve been having a little roasting tray of veg (some mix of lettuce, mushroom, cherry tomato, asparagus, courgette, fennel etc) with feta cheese and then a baked egg (add for the last 5/6 mins). It’s addictive, delicious and filling!

Tonight the family is having pizza and I’m not sure what I’ll have….maybe fried sea bass from the freezer with a load of veg.

I see a lot of talk about non-dairy milk on here, Kerplunk just reminded me, so here's my perspective:

Unless you're intolerant, just use whole cows milk! Assuming you're only having a couple of teas a day, it really isn't a problem. If you're drinking more than this I'd suggest trying to find something else to drink anyway that isn't caffeinated so that it counts towards your water intake (and more generally so that you're not drinking more than a couple of caffeinated drinks a day which isn't great anyway). The 4.7g carbs in milk are lactose which I believe are less of a problem than fructose etc health wise not a scientist and yes they're still carbs but it's not that high a number anyway; just not worth going without, in my opinion. Just don't drink glasses of it!

I like my tea strong but milky but I only have maybe one or two a day plus one coffee with milk or with cream if we have it. Otherwise I drink water, chamomile, mint tea etc. If you're close to goal and not moving maybe consider cutting it but otherwise, I say just stick with it.

@ilovecherries a 3 hour drive makes it even tougher. My DM is a 5 minute drive away and I find it exhausting enough. Like you I’ve found that my dad did almost everything and she doesn’t have a clue about anything admin wise so it’s all fallen to me. She’s not computer literate either and doesn’t drive any more so is very reliant on us.

@Onelittlepiglet I sometimes use a huge Portobello mushroom as a pizza base - then I can have the same toppings as everyone else. It's really delicious.

Food today:
B - avocado
L - crispy pancetta, fried mushrooms, fried egg
D - salmon with buttered cabbage, broccoli, spinach

My unsweetened soya milk is 0.7g carb per 100ml.
I checked my sons Oat no sugar and it is 5.8g per 100ml so quite a lot higher.
I noticed that the cheaper the soya milk, the lower the carbs, probably because it’s diluted with water more. You have to make sure you pick up unsweetened too.

Kerplunkk oat milk is allowed but you'll probably find it's just as carby as cows milk. I have Alpro No Sugars Almond Milk and it's listed as 0g carbs on the carton. It's not the same as cows milk though but you do get used to it eventually! I see your point Rayna37 but before I gave up caffeine I liked being able to have unlimited cups of tea a day so almond milk was preferable to cows milk. I'm mildly dairy intolerant anyway but I didn't realise that until I gave up dairy entirely and my lifelong nasal congestion disappeared.

I am the same really. I switch to decaf tea and coffee after lunch but probably drink about 6 or 7 cups over the day so it all adds up and when I’ve struggled in the past with this WOE it’s been down to not being able to have tea or coffee. So the dairy free milks have been a godsend. I find there are several other benefits - milk makes me fart and my sinuses are better.

I have one (pint sized ) mug of very weak black tea first thing, and one small coffee with cream mid afternoon, but the rest of the time I drink mint tea. Never tried tea without milk, coffee with cream or mint tea till I went LC. Can’t believe how nice all three of these things are!

Cows milk def disagrees with my gut - it’s been horrifically noisy recently while I was eating breakfast cereal again.

Every time I restart LC I'm surprised by how much less windy I am. Although I don't appreciate all the effects the LC diet has on my gut in the first week. Wednesday evening was a few hours of not being able to leave the bathroom, which was not fun. Completely fine by Thursday morning though, and I'm feeling much more generally well than I had been.

Lovely to "see" you @ilovecherries - sorry you've had such a tough time. You're amongst friends here Are you still one of Hush's best customers?

In good news, I'm now under 11 and a half stone again - I was 11st 6lb today after doing Level 1 of the JM Ripped DVD and then going out for a very slow 3.7km run

That's 3.5lb this week

Thanks all for the milk advice.
I’m fine with non dairy milks in my tea as I’m used to drinking oat milk, didn’t think about almond milk but bought some today and it was a lovely cuppa
I already use decaf teabags anyway.

Shop day for me tomorrow so trying to use up last of veg.

B - 2 fried eggs, mushrooms & spinach
L - egg mayo, spinach & avocado
D - sardines, celery, buttered cabbage, boiled egg.
Lots of water drank & a very satisfying cup of tea!
(Also boiled the celery in stock water and then drank it after - v.salty!)

Does anyone know if bean sprouts are ok? Thanks

I "think" I may have found recipe for very low carb semolina pudding! I've not tasted it yet as I'm sure someone will tell me I am completely crap at maths but I do love it and it smells divine

1 l of alpro almond milk 4g
100g semolina (says 2g per 100g on the packet)
2 tsp of cinnamon

Boiled the milk and 1tsp cinnamon then added the semolina and whisked for 2 mins. Once taken off heat, transferred to bowls and used remaining cinnamon to garnish.

I make that at 6g for the whole thing and 1.5 per serving (serves 4). Please tell me I'm right 🤣

[quote venusandmars]@Onelittlepiglet I sometimes use a huge Portobello mushroom as a pizza base - then I can have the same toppings as everyone else. It's really delicious.[/quote]
That is a good idea! I’ll t try that next time if I can find the mushrooms.

They changed our minds about pizza and we all had Turkish take away instead so lots of lovely chicken shish for me with a huge salad in olive oil. I managed to resist the bread….

@ZiggZagg every kind of semolina I look at is about 68-77g carb per 100g??? It is essentially duram wheat - like pasta. Sorry.