2021 Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Welcome to the last Bootcamp of 2021!

This Bootcamp will last for 8 weeks, which will take us up to Monday 13 December.

It's slightly different from other Bootcamps - firstly because it only lasts for 8 weeks (rather than 10), but also because there are going to be different stages.

So ...

Weeks 1 and 2 will be, as ever, strict Bootcamp.

Weeks 3-6 will be strict Bootcamp during the week, but relaxing into Bootcamp Light at weekends

In weeks 7-8 you will have a choice - either back to strict Bootcamp or full-on Bootcamp Light for the last fortnight

On the subject of @ShagMeRiggins and water, a very strange thing has happened to me on the last few nights. I've been drinking much more than usual but instead of my usual annoying two wees a night I am weeing much less at night. This morning I made it from 10is to nearly 6am.

My theory is that I am drinking more water earlier in the say instead of feeling thirsty at bedtime and drinking then.

Anyone else surprised?

Doing ok with food. I find it hard to avoid dairy.

Aldi Champagne is brilliant @ShagMeRiggins. Regularly wins awards and is such a great price.

So too is their gin - their basic one is also award-winning and much cheaper than standard brands.

Aldi basic gin is pretty much Hendricks but costs about £12 a bottle! It is lovely over ice with elderflower tonic!

@Pleaseandthankyou - 'twas me with the shoogled sprouts Not so much a recipe as a way of cooking them.

And yes, I am north of the Border

I'm delighted that we are back into sprout season and I can enjoy them regularly again

But I wish that my Lidl would start stocking celeriac again hasn't done got over a year - I have to make a special trip to Sainsbury's or a local greengrocer

I got my celeriac from the local farm shop. By God, she's got a face for radio

Currently craving Ragz' Dirty Fries (well worth seeking out on the recipe threads) and at least I know that by the time I've prepared the celeraic, I've used a week's worth of calories!

@ShagMeRiggins dh loves all the lchf food I make and yes, usually I just add rice / pasta / fajita wraps / potatoes for him. But I'm eating up the lovely left-overs that I deliberately kept from yesterday and a rummage in the freezer showed a distinct lack of carby options. I've lots of yummy single portions in there, but they are MINE!!! hands off my chicken alfredo Anyway, dh has gone off to buy his own pasta for dinner. And don't worry I'll not be cooking 2 meals, he is perfectly capable of dealing with his own pasta!

This thread is great! I never knew that about bacon. Great news for me because my slightly fussy 11yo loves it & I was trying& failing to confine him 1 portion per week. Thanks Stunt & Miles.
I also second the 'not a great cook' thing. Luckily I love every food, ever & am allergic to nothing. I had also read that non-ruminant (ffs autocorrect changed that to in-flight! And ffs to for - my posts make no sense!) meat is easier on climate than beef - anyway I'm happy to see pork recipes, though they do make me hungry.

My kids has stopped stocking celeriac also @prettybird - maybe it’s a supply issue? It was a weekly thing for me and always guaranteed..

I have bought the citrus seedlip non alcoholic drink and excited to try it tonight with a good book!

Today was coffee and cream for breakfast
Tuna Mayo salad for lunch
Tonight will be part two of the pork fillet as posted by @BIWI

Oh and also 1lb down after birthday weekend fizz and chips!!

It’s auto correct central here today. Not kids, but Lidl with celeriac stocking issues!!!

One of the things I love about low carbing, and the Bootcamp threads in particular, is that there's such a strong sense of appreciation for good food (if not cooking as well!)

A read of any of the calorie-counting threads in the Weight Loss topic is such a different experience - lots of moaning about being hungry, and filling up on low fat/Lite nasty stuff. And then the inevitable falling off the wagon within a few days because it's just not enjoyable.

I'd signed up to this bootcamp but somehow missed the start of this thread!

I'll try to weigh in and start tomorrow morning. I've already got houmous and veggie crudites (me) and beans on toast (husband) in for tea and not many other options in the house! We're all laid up with various nursery illnesses that our little one kindly brings home with her

Good luck to everyone!

@BIWI
You mean we shouldn't be piling into the Rivita? I've a recipe based on Amazon packaging.

I have a question please. In previous bootcamps how long did they run for and how many people followed it strictly and didn't waver all the way to the end?

@pinknsparkly - Welcome

Why not got started tonight? Swap your humous for some mayonnaise to have with your veg crudités (hope not too many carrots but cucumber, broccoli and cauliflower all good) and have an omelette before/after.

And as @ShagMeRiggins hasn't posted in a while: WATER WATER WATER

Which reminds me....

Woops! I hate this. Hummus is not low carb, neither are carrots. I think Pink you'll have to make tomorrow your day 1.

@Allycott - they usually run for 10 weeks (and I'll be doing this one for just about the full 10 weeks: only stopping on Christmas Eve when we have our "big" Christmas Dinner - Danish custom).

There are some who stay very strict for the whole time but most of us go on to Boot Camp Light as least at the weekends.

I might do an egg fast and/or an extended fast at some point to accelerate things - but only once I'm sure I'm back to being ketogenically adapted. The egg fasts (with a bit of extra protein as per Stuntnun's advice) work for me as I like eggs and the extended fasts also help me to break the habit of snacking as they prove that I'm not truly hungry even when I persuade myself that I am

I stay on strict BC for the full 10 weeks @Allycott. Simply because I have no interest in berries or nuts!

No idea of the stats though.

Why do you ask? Are you worried it might not be sustainable for you? I think the key it to make sure you have enough fat and, also, that this isn't a deprivation-based way of eating.

Prettybird - thank you. What happens when the camp is over - I am assuming some return to their "normal" eating habits and regain lost weight? Or does the new approach need to be followed for life so to speak

....and, also, that this isn't a deprivation-based way of eating.

As is evidenced by all the talk of delicious recipes, food and meals that we are allowed to eat

I was just wondering how this diet would work for me personally as I am very active in, swim 2x week, circuit train/weights 3x week. Would I have enough energy to do this?

@Allycott - closer to Christmas you'll read more about people's plans and strategies for coping with both Christmas and ongoing.

Once you reach your target weight, you can go onto maintenance. That will be different for each of us as we each have different tolerances to carbs both physiologically and mentally. But yes, to a greater or lesser extent, this WoE is for life.

Some of us are Moderators and can cope with going off-piste mindfully for a single meal. I'm usually a Moderator but only for a specific event: the extended eating spree that is Christmas is difficult as resistance wear down . Interestingly, I'm usually good for two or three days (eg just a single potato on Christmas Eve, some Danish Christmas rice pudding and then a Christmas muffin & home made sourdough croissant on Christmas morning and that's enough - but the temptation hits a day or so later ) Or if I go off the wagon for more than a couple of days, I end up face planting in carbs and putting on a stone and a half in c4 weeks as I've just done

Others of us are Abstainers and essentially can't risk any off-piste eating as they immediately revert to bad habits. It's useful to remember in that context that sugar/carbs are addictive

I've never quite reached my target weight. I've now recognised that I tend to self-sabotage when I'm about half a stone from it I need to work on addressing that

Once I do get to maintenance, I'll need to work out what I can and can't do re carbs. My current thoughts that I would "allow" one "off-piste" meal a week if I wanted/needed to. But I don't know yet

This is very interesting. Thank you for responding

@Allycott

I was just wondering how this diet would work for me personally as I am very active in, swim 2x week, circuit train/weights 3x week. Would I have enough energy to do this?

No problem once you're ketogenically adapted . You'll even find it easy do while intermittent fasting as you've taught your body to use its fat for fuel

I've done The Shred or Ripped DVD and then home for a 5km run, all "fasted", when doing a 16:8 fast. Energy was fine.

I've even occasionally done the above and then gone to rugby training, still not having eaten as I was doing an extended fast and been fine (although I do now try to time an extended fast so that either rugby training is on the first day or I'm breaking the fast before I go).

BIWI recommends a book called something like "The Art and Science of Low Carb Performance" (can't remember the exact name but it was mentioned earlier in this thread - or was it the preparation thread?).

Good news about the bacon as I am having a thick bacon tomohawk chop for dinner. Basically a thick bacon chop on the bone. Serving with some celairiac chips and slow roasted tomatoes. It's cooking at the moment and smells amazing.

I live in Ireland and our local Lidl (small rural town) always has celairiac. Must be a regional supply issue. I must check where they are from when I'm in next.

Thanks for the info. The psychology of eating is fascinating (not always for the right reasons). I recognise what you said about falling off the wagon - do you think this is because not eating xxxx for a while and then thinking "oh I'll just have one" suddenly triggers something and you can't stop no matter knowing you are blowing all your good work? I am like this but sadly do not have the controls.