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

@0DAAT

I've time to read everything slowly! In bed here, waiting for the family to wake. Such are holidays. I am missing cream in my coffee. I'll try again today to buy some.

Could I ask you about low carb exercise @FusionChefGeoff? I exercise regularly, walk, swim, yoga. Most take about an hour & fasting is fine, my default really. Cycling is my problem. It is usually 2-3 hrs, and occasionally in Summer longer. I can't imagine cycling after my usual breakfast of 3 egg veg omlette. I usually have this late morning after creamy coffee earlier. What I had been doing was having a protein bar with coffee after 90 mins, then cycle home 60 mins ( roughly). this is fine too, though not strictly low carb.

On the long cycles, there's food on offer . I stay away, mostly, from junk - confectionery, sweets - but I do eat sandwiches and tea. And more carbs after. My body actually feels weak, low carb. I feel the need to lie down I'm so weak.

I'm happy enough to abandon low carb for a day, but wonder how I'd manage with my proper breakfast - I'm just musing, and I wonder what is your experience?

@0DAAT it takes several weeks to fully adapt to eating low carb so in that time you may well find that your performance is temporarily reduced on longer bike rides. If you're not competing then you may be happy to wait it out. If you need to keep up with your usual performance or you're feeling very weak then it's fine to increase your carbs immediately before the ride. Bananas are a good choice because they won't leave you craving more carbs. Since you're going on a 2-3 hour ride then you will easily use burn the carbs during that time. Once you're a few weeks in then you could switch to taking a couple of gels with you in case you need them. It won't be long before you don't need them at all and you're fully capable of completing long bike rides without carbs and even in a fasted state.

*See now I'm fine with savoury carbs - only white bread cheese or ham sandwiches make me a bit wistful

But I definitely haven't had my sweet tooth turned off yet and can't imagine a time when that's a thing so I take heart from the stories of others who have*.

This is me too, can very happily leave pasta, spuds and rice to the others and not feel at all envious. Toast and sweet things are another matter altogether but I know the longer i go without them the easier it gets.

Which is why I'm NOT going to cave and have a glass of wine tonight. Even though I really want one. It's quite depressing how much I want one, but it's only a fortnight.

Fizzy water with lime it is. Takeaway (Lebanese so BC friendly) is on the way, have a good weekend all

@ouchmyfeet

*See now I'm fine with savoury carbs - only white bread cheese or ham sandwiches make me a bit wistful

But I definitely haven't had my sweet tooth turned off yet and can't imagine a time when that's a thing so I take heart from the stories of others who have*.

This is me too, can very happily leave pasta, spuds and rice to the others and not feel at all envious. Toast and sweet things are another matter altogether but I know the longer i go without them the easier it gets.

Which is why I'm NOT going to cave and have a glass of wine tonight. Even though I really want one. It's quite depressing how much I want one, but it's only a fortnight.

Fizzy water with lime it is. Takeaway (Lebanese so BC friendly) is on the way, have a good weekend all

It's only my opinion but if you want a glass of wine why don't you have one? I read way back in this thread that this WOE was not about feeling deprived - surely this is the very definition? This isn't a criticism btw - I am just eager to see how different people navigate the changes they are making.

It's only my opinion but if you want a glass of wine why don't you have one? I read way back in this thread that this WOE was not about feeling deprived - surely this is the very definition? This isn't a criticism btw - I am just eager to see how different people navigate the changes they are making.

I think it’s more about not feeling hungry. But this is not a woe where you can have what you fancy just because you fancy it. It’s also about recognising why we crave stuff. It’s usually due to insulin spikes. It’s not because your body needs wine or sugar or chocolate. And the longer you eat like this, the less frequent the cravings are and the fruit you can eat (berries) start to taste much sweeter than usual.

Oooh careful, BIWI will have had an alert and will be here any minute brandishing The Big Stick...

The only reason I'm not having wine tonight is that we start with 2 weeks of proper strict bootcamp (rather than the light version) as a reset, and there a few things we shouldn't have in this first fortnight: nuts, berries, chocolate and alcohol are the things which spring to mind initially.

When I'm into the swing of things I tend to do strict bootcamp during the week but it's very rare for me to have a Friday evening without a glass of wine (and it is just one glass). It's part of my ritual and the way i decompress after a week at work, so part of me is missing it because it's my routine, and part of it is because I've had a particularly stressful work week so I'm craving the wine.

Fizzy water didn't do it but I've gone for slimline tonic (probably also not allowed in strict bootcamp ) and I'm now catching up on Corrie in front of the fire, happily decompressed!

Och, don't worry about @ouchmyfeet. She's a seasoned camper and is following rule 7, safe in the knowledge that it's only for a couple of weeks.

How are you getting on @Allycott? I think you were going to have a read through all the resources before making a call, but it would be lovely to have you on board

Allycott your post makes sense (re not depriving etc) but the focus here is on real food and science.

Yes, have a glass of wine, but the person needs to know that alcohol will be burned before fat. Which most here are trying to lose.

It’s not a calorie in, calorie out.

If anyone wants to have a glass of wine tonight, so be it. But they don’t get to blame Bootcamp way of eating.

Does that make sense? It’s very important to understand how and why this works, and also decide if it works for you.

I like real food, I don’t like counting calories or carbs, I like to drink WATER WATER WATER!

@ShagMeRiggins right on cue!! I was tempted by the wine in my fridge, however have reached for an ice cold bottle of WATER!!!

Ended up fasting all day (last day at work for 10 days, so front loading all next weeks work too!) and ordered a mixed grill from my local Lebanese, lamb chops, chicken and lamb with salad and hot chili! Was delicious 😋

Up early tomorrow to take the little one to MMA, usually have to join in so will get a bit of exercise then haha!

Last day of the school holidays here today and they wanted KFC for lunch. I’m generally not all that bothered for other fast food but I love KFC. I almost caved but had a SLC roll spread with guacamole and filled with chicken and salad. It was honestly every bit as good and I only needed some Greek yogurt for dinner and I’m full!

Those craving a glass of wine. Dh and I always shared a bottle (or two) on a Friday and Saturday night but since I started the mini bootcamp in August if only had one glass and I don’t even think about it any more.

This was a great lunch last week. Not cheap but half a tub was very filling and it was so tasty. I bought it in Sainsbury’s but I’m sure I’ve also seen it in Morrison.

Thanks for that @StuntNun
I rarely exercise beyond an hour, except in Summer, with the odd long event. I can do 1-2 hrs comfortably, but beyond them it's almost unwell. But I'll plan better for next year, and like you say, work up a bit.
In a way it's obvious. I go out fasting as I'm not hungry, first thing. I was just musing but the solution might be obvious.

I usually weigh regularly. While the number fluctuates, it does go down. I can't weigh this week. I'm dependent on restaurants. I watched my DCs eating home made chocolate mousse this evening. I sure hope my weight is going down!
B. Coffee with milk. Sausage, egg, bacon tomato.
L. Pork in creamy mushroom sauce. (?flour content), lettuce, tomato onion.
S. Greek yogurt.
D. Salmon kebab with green veg

@Allycott

It's only my opinion but if you want a glass of wine why don't you have one? I read way back in this thread that this WOE was not about feeling deprived - surely this is the very definition? This isn't a criticism btw - I am just eager to see how different people navigate the changes they are making

Because this is Bootcamp, and in the first two weeks of Bootcamp alcohol is not allowed!

Have you read the rules?

@BIWI , I have a gift for you 😊

I think this was the first outing ...

Yes I have read the rules - they were on the thread - didn't see them written in stone tho.

Morning campers!

It's one of those drizzly days here in the Peaks.

I didn't get to the green shakshuka yesterday because DH had already snaffled the Brussels. Ended up with a tapas style plate of prosciutto and cheese roll-ups; asparagus; courgette and parmesan crisps; homemade scotch egg (parmesan not breadcrumbs) and homemade hollandaise. As you can tell, DH was in charge of preparation owing to Brussels disappointment All lovely!

Morning @nowlook
Drizzling in Wales too
Plan for today is
Eggs for breakfast ,
Homemade whatever veg is in the fridge soup for lunch
And dinner …. Hmmmm Saturday night is usually pizza and wine watching Strictly.. this week however will be roast chicken , , tons of greens and water water water watching Strictly

@Allycott

Yes I have read the rules - they were on the thread - didn't see them written in stone tho.

Basically this is a diet that won’t work if you don’t follow it closely. The reason for this is that it relies on the body going into ketosis to burn fat as fuel. With calorie counting diet plans, it doesn’t matter much if you have the odd treat here and there. With this, it’s likely to throw you out of ketosis and therefore, you will undo progress and it will take you a while to get back to ketosis. While the bootcamp rules themselves aren’t necessarily written in stone (you’ll still get great results if you just keep below 50g carbs so you stay in ketosis) the low carb bit actually is. You can’t be on a low carb diet if you’re not eating low carb food consistently. I appreciate that it can be a bit of a shock to realise this when so many other diets are all about having treats.

I fancy having a go at soup @H1Drangea

Lots of leeks that are distinctly past their best in the fridge. Trouble is, I'm a "use every pan in the kitchen" cook. Add in a stick blender and there could be carnage.

Still, everyone else is playing or managing sport this morning, so might keep me out of mischief

Haha ! @nowlook , I’m a shove everything in one pan and go for it cook !
Hence my love of oven roast veg and salmon fillet , or chicken thighs , or pork chop…

Do it @nowlook ! Make the soup! Throw caution to the wind!

Speaking of which...

I'm not going to tell you what I did last night. Suffice to say, a culmination of a nasty cold, DH being out, kids wanting a treat on the first day of half term, and my first-week cravings...

I crumbled.

I'm drawing a line here⬇️⬇️

___

Fine. I'll make the bloody soup!!

If it's a disaster, I'm going round Fusion's house for chicken, salmon and all the mince.

I'll do the washing up @FusionChefGeoff

I didn't realise you could draw your own line @MilesJuppIsMyBitch. Shouldn't it be a vote?

Hi @Allycott, I think many of us have met le grand stick. I have too in the past.
A few thoughts,
Bootcamp is a choice.
It is a fixed time period.
There are rules, that WORK.
It is free, and supported generously by moderators.
There is some deprivation as some lovely foods and drinks are not allowed. Indulging in these, as explained, will change your metabolism (ie produce insulin) and sabotage yourself.

@Allycott thread moves so fast I can't find your original post, but as somebody who's been through the lose weight gain weight process a few times now (and on keto and low carb) I know that I need to train myself to not see rules. It's very personal I know and I'm not posting to talk anybody in to having a g&t! I want to see results myself, but as somebody who slips in to obeying the rules with willing and disordered rigidity, I want to check myself from coming too dependent on the rules, like they're propping me and my efforts up.

Within the same framework of no white carbs, no fruit, no alcohol, no processed food, I am trying to nurture a more internal and self-compassionate compass of abstinence and moderation. I need to be able to cope with breaking a rule at some point.

This time last year I was keto and obsessed with the science. Checking my urine for ketones!

If I miscounted in an extra cherry tomato I'd feel anxiety that I'd knocked myself out of ketosis. But, the rules work, I was two stone lighter than I am now because I'm so good at following rules.

Then I fall off the wagon hard. And then I follow the rules hard Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat.

So my own personal bootcamp is to follow the rules for as long as it's easy (and it is still easy) but then, to be able to break a rule and not be derailed by it. I need to learn to relegate the rules and trust myself to operate within the framework 92% of the time!

I like reading the questions and answers and the ideas and recipes.

I start LC again 4 weeks ago and I've lost 5lbs in four weeks. Not as fast as Keto but I feel like my head as been less taken up with it, which is good for me.

@Allycott no the rules are not set in stone (you have a choice whether to follow them or not) but they work! The first 2 weeks of bootcamp are used as a reset to get ourselves back into the swing of low carb and to kick our bodies into burning fat for energy. That means giving our bodies the most appropriate fuel to do what it needs to do!

We are eating good, nutritious food (and lots of delicious foods too) and then we experiment with what works for our own bodies.

Some may be able to have a glass of wine and still lose, some will see it stalls a weight loss but ultimately it is that persons choice.

I want to lose weight and this WOE works well for me and my health, that means I choose not to drink very much- I still sometimes "feel" like a glass of wine and do have the occasional glass in bootcamp lite but weight loss is just more important to me right now- everyone has that choice.

The rules are there for a reason and trust me if you get fully on board, you will lose weight and feel great. Have a glass of wine if you wish, but then please don't complain that this WOE is not working for you.

Oh and the hangovers are terrible

I've got special dispensation from BIWI to draw my own line, @nowlook.

(Maybe don't mention that to her. She might have forgotten).