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

@MsAwesomeDragon - if you look at the Desserts recipe thread, there is a recipe for a low carb meringue roulade that is very nice. You need erythritol though.

It makes a big roulade though - and then you need to work out what to do with 6 (iirc) egg yolks

@prettybird that sounds lush. I'll have to save that til next time though cos I've just made the low carb cheesecake. It's BC light rather than proper BC, as it uses almonds for the base, and I've put dark chocolate drops on the top. It's also dairy free so my dairy free sister can have some too.

We have tickets for a rock festival with the kids tomorrow. The chances of me finding low carb and vegan food are virtually zero. The website says absolutely no food or drinks to be taken in with us 😩 I am going to try to smuggle some nuts in and then hope there is something like a veg curry that I can have without rice or similar. Very frustrating because I have been good all week!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I’m absolutely shattered again, having done very little, and I’m already fantasising about bed.

Brunch was chicken strips and green salad, and dinner is home made burgers and salad. Not very inspiring but trying to run the fridge down as we are going away for a few days. Haven’t had any snacks, and have drunk all the water. It’s very hot and sticky here.

Breakfast - scramled eggs, spinach, low carb toast. Lots of butter.
Lunch - smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Dinner - huge steak, green beans and portobello mushroom with peppercorn sauce.
Not nearly enough water.

Scrambled!

Evening, I stepped on the scales this morning and it looked like 7lbs off, just hoping it sticks!

I've been a bit eggy today as Saturday is quite a busy day for me.

L 3 boiled eggs on a SLCR
D 3 boiled eggs with loads of salad and mayo

Some cream whipped up with a smidgen of sweetener and a couple of raspberries

Just bathing DS in swathes of lavender so that I can dream of an early night myself! The first few weeks really takes it out of me also @ilovecherries .

I have had lots of stiffness and pain in my feet, ankles, legs, shoulders and wrists- almost as if I have done a full body HIIT workout (which I definitely haven't!). Zero hasn't worked neither has added salt etc so I think I may be coming down with something other than carb flu!

Apologies for the late post. Hugely busy day, so I inadvertently fasted until dinner time, as I was too busy rushing about. I haven't drunk nearly enough water either. Not a great day!

B - coffee
L -
D - Steak fajitas - filling only - (stir fried steak, peppers, shallots, jalapeños, sprinkled with grated cheese) with a large green salad.

Congrats on the loss ZiggZagg! Hope you aren't getting ill x

I forgot to have lunch today. That never happens!!!
B Greek yogurt
L -
D Portobello mushroom pizza (really, really good, this will become a staple I think) with celeriac chips. This is my favourite meal of bootcamp so far.

Tomorrow will be a difficult day eating and drinking wise. Family gathering, lots of food, not allowed our own drinks so I'll have to investigate the least worst options from the bar. I'll drink loads before I go, and eat a decent lunch so I'm not too tempted by all the goodies at the BBQ.

I'm getting lots of new ideas for meals from this thread, it's great.

B scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, mushrooms and spinach
L chicken, bacon, mayo and salad
D roast belly of pork, cauliflower cheese, buttered green beans
Yogurt, cream and raspberries

Thanks @cheeseisthebest . I feel ok I'm myself just whole body in pain and stuff, I'm only bloody 37! Feel like I'm 90!

That cheesecake looks good @MsAwesomeDragon - hope your bbq goes well.

My plan worked okay yesterday, nibbled at the buffet, didn't touch the dessert section. Went out for tea and ordered a halloumi salad which I thought would be okay. It turned out that the halloumi was battered and deep fried although this was definitely not mentioned on the menu . It was nice though and still probably one of the lower carb options on the menu as most came with both chips and bread .

Home today and back on plan!

Hi there, please could someone Dd my name to spread sheet. Thanks

Drawing a veil over last night's food at the pizza party. Suffice to say that all there was to eat was pizza, cake and chocolates. I didn't drink though and didn't eat much at all.

Morning all. I joined yesterday but have been low carbing since Wednesday. I had insulin controlled GD in my last pregnancy but my HbA1C was down to 40 on Monday so I’m pleased about that.

Have dropped about 12kg since giving birth and am BF’ing my 13 week old so will be doing Boot Camp Light. I still have 7kg to lose to get back to where I was before marriage / children / getting too comfortable!

Today’s food is:

B: Berries, Greek yog and keto granola
L: not sure yet. My toddler DS has just suggested a cafe lunch, charmed life that he leads, so maybe that. Lots of low carb options there, will probably have burrata salad.
D: steak and FLGV. I also have a load of radishes to use up - anyone got a great ‘fauxtato’ radish recipe?

@recreationalcalpol just roast the radishes in olive oil with salt and pepper - delicious!

dd was at home overnight so we've just had a big brunch spread (before she leaves again to go home to another country - it's been so lovely to see her over the last month, but who knows when we'll be together next - can't take anything for granted these days )

Brunch - boiled eggs, avocado, smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber, greek yogurt and a few raspberries; coffee with cream
D - sausages, cabbage, broccoli, courgetti

Made a roast for the family today & couldn’t resist a small portion of cauliflower cheese!
Didn’t have any roasties, mash or Yorkshire’s though & only a small amount of gravy.

B - nothing, I know this is not the done thing on strict bootcamp but I knew we’d be having an early lunch and wasn’t hungry.
L - Roast dinner FLGV
D - probably tuna/sardines with green beans

@Kerplunkk - you do know that you can bake a fully Boot Camp compatible Cauliflower Cheese, don't you?

Various recipes but the simplest is: cook the cauliflower until al dente, heat some cream and add as much strong grated cheese as you can/want/the cream can absorb, spoon over the cauliflower, top with yet more grated cheese and grill. Yummy.

I like to add some grated nutmeg but you can amend to your taste

Morning (afternoon) all
The scales are still being unkind to me this morning so it's looking like it's going to be a 'stay the same' week unless some overnight miracle occurs. Trying to focus on the fact that weight loss isn't linear and it isn't a race, but it's hard.

B - coffee
L - pâté and lettuce leaves
D - pork and veg stir fry (no noodles - couldn't get the zero carb ones so will just bulk it out with extra bean sprouts instead. Family can have normal noodles.)

B: hard boiled egg
L: roast pork w crackling, celeriac chips, spinach, roast peppers and courgettes, buttered cabbage
D: possibly Greek yog and strawbs

5 hour drive for me today, so took a coffee with cream for breakfast and have just eaten two M&S sausages for lunch. Can’t manage FLGV in the car, but will make up for it at dinner time. I’m not weighing at all this time as I’m expecting to actually gain a little weight but I was 3cm smaller on my waist this morning after only 5 days. Dead chuffed with the fact my carb yum is going already.

Tum. Not yum.

Was up all night with DD (2yo), think she finally fell asleep at 4am! So DP got up with both DC this morning. I woke at 1pm to find DP made me a cooked breakfast (all LC) which he was keeping warm in the oven. I knew there was a reason I keep him around 🥰

I'm still trying to find a good food processor. I really want one with an attachment that can make zoodles.

Well done @ilovecherries! Such a good feeling when you see the benefits. I haven't noticed any weight loss yet but I have rosacea and all the water I'm drinking has helped calm it down so much!

B. Nothing
L. My cooked breakfast and 2 creamy coffees
D. Probably chicken I batch cooked yesterday with cauli rice and FLGV buttered.

PrettyBird thanks for that tip! Will on my next roast.
I did just have a sneaky check on the scales and it looks like I haven’t lost this week but I always seems to weigh less in the mornings so will check tomorrow morning and hope for the best!