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

TidyDancer when I first went low carb I kept a pack of Peperamis in my car for emergencies! It gets easier once you've been eating this way for a while and you won't need to snack as much or at all. The reason for the limit on cheese is that dairy protein is hyperinsulinogenic in some people which means your insulin levels go too high when you eat it. This then causes a drop in blood glucose that leads to hunger, cravings or feeling "hangry." Note that not everyone is affected this way so there may be no reason for you specifically to limit cheese. But, on Bootcamps we have had lots of people struggling to lose weight and when they limit dairy the scales start moving again. Cream seems to be the worst culprit for this. We get people having multiple creamy coffees through the day or, worse still, drinking cream straight from the pot and their weight loss stalls. So, if you think dairy might be a problem for you then I recommend having it no more than twice a day. Some people may need to cut dairy out entirely to keep losing weight but I suspect they are very few. I was dairy free for over a year while breastfeeding my DS4 who's allergic and it made no difference to my weight loss at all. And of course, some people don't have that extreme reaction to dairy protein so they don't need to limit it at all. But still don't drink cream straight out of the pot; if you want to lose weight you shouldn't be drinking your calories.

Hello @StuntNun I was so delighted to see this today.

Please can you add me to the spreadsheet and I'll put in my weight etc.

I've just caught up, so sorry for the slight delay...
@bettybigballs I basically make a cauliflower soup in the same way as you describe and then just melt in blue cheese and wholegrain mustard to taste, so it's ultra simple.
And on the celeriac discussion - it makes an amazing mash for the top of a cottage or fish pie. We prefer it to mashed potato as it's much lighter. I'm going to try the dauphinoise and fries too as they sound amazing. Do you just make the dauphinoise as normal, substituting the celeriac for potato?

FusionChefGeoff I'm exactly the same with flaxseed and also coconut flour, it makes me really bloated and uncomfortable. I think it's the excessive amount of fibre.

On the celeriac fries topic, I make celeriac dirty fries which someone created on a previous Bootcamp. You make the fries in the oven or deep fryer and while they're cooking fry up some onion and bacon. Once the fries are cooked, top them with the onion and bacon mix, Cajun seasoning and a handful of cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted. They're absolutely divine and so filling you only need a small portion. HarrietDVane they never really go crispy I'm afraid.

I love my air fryer Okaygreatthanks it's so versatile. It's great for pork chops as they get nice and browned but stay juicy rather than drying out like they do when you grill them. I cook all kinds of things in it such as roasted broccoli, sausages, chicken wings.

MsAwesomeDragon you can make courgetti less soggy by leaving out the seed part when you're slicing it up and/or leaving it on a few pieces of kitchen towel in the fridge for a few hours to dry out a little. I would fry it in butter rather than microwave it though. I don't usually bother making courgetti, I fry slices or batons of courgette in butter for bolognese. Having said that, I think mushrooms, particularly chestnut mushrooms, are a much better replacement for spaghetti with bolognese or meatballs. Or sometimes I roast courgette, red onion and pepper chunks (with lots of courgette compared to the other two as it's least carby) in olive oil for 20 minutes which goes really week with meatballs.

Kerplunkk check labels as some vanilla extracts (usually the more expensive ones) don't contain sugar. I like the vanilla powder that Waitrose sell. Adding some double cream to your yogurt will sweeten it but your palate will adapt over time until you don't need it any more.

Oh wow - those dirty fries sounds amazing!

Thank you so much @StuntNun! That makes perfect sense! I'll try to monitor and keep an eye on it. I'm not eating masses of cheese but it's a handy thing for me!

Hi @Stuntnun, thanks for starting this. I had a failure of nerve when it came to adding my own name to the spreadsheet -- I'm too afraid of breaking it. Could you add it for me?

I've been eating like a (low-carb) horse since the last bootcamp but I don't seem to have put on weight. I think that is a testimony to the soundness of the low-carb approach: the weight I lost was a 'real' weight loss, not a temporary artifice of short-term starvation.

However, although I haven't put on weight, I've not lost anything more and I have lost the sense of wellbeing that comes from eating in a mindful, creative and moderate way. So I think I really need the companionship of a bootcamp thread, and the two-week discipline of strict bootcamp, to get me back on track.

Also, is there any way I can upload actual courgettes onto the thread for all of you lot to eat. I have a glut in my garden, and although they are a low-carb veg that I am glad to have readily available, they are getting out of control. They hide until they are marrow-sized and then leap out at me, at which point my only defence is to wrestle them immediately into soup form. I never get to eat the nice delicate tiny ones because I am busy taming the monsters.

@TheHoundsofLove for the dauphinois I’ve tried numerous ways over the years, but the best I’d to everything exactly the same as normal dauphinois but I now slightly pre cook the celeriac slices in a bowl for a few minutes in the microwave beforehand.

@StuntNun I found the sign up thread and added myself there. I'm still in the habit of weighing myself on a Monday, so will be able to add Monday's weight.

I will also be taking measurements as I'm going to the gym.

I'm off for a swim now and then low carb shopping.

I'm making a beef stew in my new Instant Pot tonight. I know it's not very summery, but I'm learning how to use the pot. There will be, celery leeks and mushrooms in it and maybe a turnip if I can find one. I will omit the carrots and onion.

Oh I wish I could have your courgettes random! I love them.

Courgetti people, I just grate mine roughly, sauté in olive oil and add various pesto/sour cream/cheese combos depending on what I have.

100% making celeriac dirty fries perhaps tonight!

B today will be smoked salmon and mushroom.
L stir fried broccoli and cauliflower rice with two fried eggs on top.
D will be whatever I can find in the freezer - possibly sausages if I lift them out on time. Plus maybe some salad with homemade Caesar dressing.

@Dellabob123 Thanks - I'll give that a go. I think I'm going to have to start bulk buying celeriacs!

I have a couple of potentially difficult days, we are going to the sea side today as I can't go another year without seeing the sea. Taking 2 dogs and 2 teenagers and they are definitely expecting fish and chips. I may try picking the fish out of the batter.
Tomorrow dh and I are going out for dinner. I just looked at the menu and there doesn't look like a lot of options. I'll post the menu see if you clever guys can see anything I'm missing.
I had forgotten how quickly weight comes off me when I do this properly, I'm a daily weighed and back to original target, so 2lbs down from Monday. I love that feeling.

B: coffees with almond milk and water (I've been bootcamp lite for 8 weeks)

L: tuna salad (lettuce celery cucumber couple cherry tomatoes) with mayo although I've gone off mayo
Greek yogurt - 10%, think its Lidl actually and a few strwbs
Probably a spoonful of almond butter, wish I'd never bought it as its completely addictive

D: dh has requested gammon with chips and a fried egg, so easy just to miss the chips. I'll probably just have two fried eggs and a bit of gammon. Feels wrong not eating veg though so will probably stir fry spinach with garlic, in fact might leave out the gammon and have stir fried spinach with a fried egg on top plus lots of EVOO

Maybe that's not enough food??

See if you can spot anything I can eat, otherwise what's the least bad option?

I think grating might help me, Okaygreatthanks. It might make it easier to fry a vast quantity at once. I usually fry them as discs, but that makes it hard to get them all in the pan.

I will try grated monster courgette fry-up with cheese tonight.
The other day I baked some courgettes and french beans with a keto cheese sauce (which was basically just cheese, plus cheese, plus cream cheese as I remember). That was nice.

@ditavonteesed it's too blurry, is it me?

I'll try a different way
Link to the menu thebotanist.uk.com/locations/sheffield/menus/main-menu hope that works

Hi @Bryonyshcmyony , im almost the same - ’m on week 7 now but did strict bc for first 2 weeks. ooking at your food, I’d say there wasn’t enough fat ....but the experts here need to clarify. I would need a homemade dressing on my salad of oils, mustard etc, and maybe avo or olives.

We’re you hungry after the days food?

More veg with butter.

@Bryonyshcmyony that looks ok to me, if I'm hungry I add more fat, if not I don't worry about it.

@ditavonteesed

I'll try a different way Link to the menu thebotanist.uk.com/locations/sheffield/menus/main-menu hope that works

Pork cracklings Sea bass Tender stem broccoli

Ask for a side of butter

Yum!! I'd have the chicken burger with no bun or chips and broccoli with almonds. I don't much like steak unless it's super expensive and good quality but you could have that?

Or the hot board without the potatoes

Thanks for all the yoghurt recommendations, I will try the Lidl version.
I did see the recommendation about cream but I cannot be trusted yet with a pot of cream in my fridge!

Had a quick measure out of curiosity today & it appears I’ve lost 1/2-1inch in some places.
I definitely feel less inflated! I know it’s early days but this is the kickstart I need, I’ve tried to many other diets and the loss was practically non existent so its really encouraging to see small changes with LC

@Kerplunkk that’s amazing- well done.
It really is a woe that has the highest impact. Keep going.

I did strict LC for two weeks and lost 6 inches in total all over. Wearing my old clothes felt wonderful again. I really really want to stay this way now..