Week 3 - Jan 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - Bootcamp Light or not?

[BIWI]

So now you have several choices:

• move on to Bootcamp Light for the next 6 weeks, which means allowing nuts/seeds, fruit and alcohol all in moderation!

• a hybrid, where you do Bootcamp during the week, but relax and follow Bootcamp Light at the weekend

• stay on Bootcamp, if it's suiting you

Bear in mind that weeks 3 and 4 (and sometimes 5) are infamous for seeing little or no weight loss - indeed sometimes you may see a gain.

Whatever you decide, here's the spreadsheet for you to declare all!

I hope very much that you will see good results from the last two weeks (or the last 3 or 4 weeks, depending on when you started!)

And now this week's challenge!

Like me I'm betting you all have several cookbooks that you rarely use. Go and find one that you haven't used for ages and choose a recipe that is or could be low carb and post it here.

You may have to change some of the ingredients, but that's fine! Let's all look for something that inspires us to cook something new/different.

Here's to a successful week 3

Just wanted to say hello.. still very bad at tagging people and not wanting to mix up usernames, but reading most posts, and glad I joined BC.Managed to get 2Ls of water (lime and salty) for past three days, after my last post and good two meals a day. I have a loong 3 hrs each way journey coming up on Sunday, planning to take some fried chicken with me, if I get hungry in car and kids eat popcornOther than McD(leaving bread) what would be my best option.We will be looking for a good pub for Lunch, is sunday roast going to be good, I would obviosuly avoid any carby drinks/potatoes/yorkshire pudding and anything obvious. But how do I know about the gravy they serve.. Can you guys suggest anything else that is acceptable/better than Sunday Roast? It would be a country-side normal pub, so guessing mostly similar menu as everywhere else. Anything else that I can take with me that helps me stay on track., This would be end of week 4 for me, so don't want to ruin it and ruin the weigh in on Monday.

Thanks @AThroneOfLies - hope you get back to the 11's soon 🤞

@NigellaAwesome I have the 0% tanqueray gin which has kept me on the straight and narrow. Having a glass tonight after a brutal day, we'll week 🤔 at work. You can order it from Amazon so is probably too easy

Hope those feeling poorly are on the mend.

Can I ask a couple of questions of those who have done boot camp before?

Firstly, how did it affect your cholesterol levels?

Then secondly, I’m really interested in how long the wait stays off when you go back to eating carbs in moderation?

I’m three weeks in and have had good results so far but a bit worried about saturated fat intake.

Sorry that should say how long the weight stays off

@ferntwist last time I had a BUPA medical and was on LCHF I had excellent cholesterol levels. I'm having another on 1 March so I'll keep you posted if I remember

Thank you @SummerSazz. Do you know what they’d been like before LCHF? I know some people are lucky and always have good levels. Will look forward to hearing how it goes on 1st

No I don't unfortunately. I may ask if BUPA have the past records but I think it was my first one.

I also told them I was 6lbs lighter than I am on my pre questionnaire so I have to KOKO till then 🤣

I went to my first yoga class today! It was good, I struggle with the compact poses because my tummy is in the way but I did everything after a fashion.

B Greek Yoghurt and Cream
L Leftover sausage, and cheesy leeks. Cherry toms and celery
S Celery with peanut butter
D Small avocado smashed with harissa, spring onion and cherry toms. Two boiled eggs, two parmesan crisps

Hi 👋

Finally, got rid of Covid and have my appetite back

Fell off for a week or two and now I'm back!

I was at the Rheumatologist yesterday and finally got my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, what did he recommend me? Lose weight

So doubly motivated to get fit and healthy/ lose weight.

Preparation is key, so I have steak salad and eggs for lunch tomorrow.

Cheeseburger pie for dinner with shoogled sprouts ( have read the thread and got a seriously craving for the buttery bastards!)

KOKO everyone and drink all your WATER!!!

@ferntwist

Can I ask a couple of questions of those who have done boot camp before?

Firstly, how did it affect your cholesterol levels?

Then secondly, I’m really interested in how long the wait stays off when you go back to eating carbs in moderation?

I’m three weeks in and have had good results so far but a bit worried about saturated fat intake.

I think it depends on 'moderation'. I tend to fall off the wagon big time (I'm veggie though so not easy to eat out low carb) and I have a sweet tooth.

But after losing 2+ stone I've been able to maintain with just a couple of booster boot camps.

@ferntwist

Can I ask a couple of questions of those who have done boot camp before?

Firstly, how did it affect your cholesterol levels?

Then secondly, I’m really interested in how long the wait stays off when you go back to eating carbs in moderation?

I’m three weeks in and have had good results so far but a bit worried about saturated fat intake.

@ferntwist assuming you don't have a familial cholesterol condition, you should find that all your cholesterol levels improve on Bootcamp. Do you have a specific concern here?

Whether the weight goes back on, after you have reached your target, depends entirely on how much carbohydrate your body can tolerate. Unfortunately we're all different, so it's impossible to say how many carbs you should be eating on a daily basis, so it's a bit of a guessing game. Once you've reached your target, gradually increase your carbs until you find the point at which you realise you're gaining again, and then cut back till you reach a level which allows you to maintain your weight.

Why are you worried about saturated fat? Have you not read any of the resources on the spreadsheet?! There really isn't a problem about eating saturated fat.

Newlease if you're eating out, look for meals that can easily be swapped out for low carb such as steak and chips or chicken and chips but ask for a salad instead of chips.

Early start to the day so I've already had breakfast muffins which were delicious.

Eggs, Parmesan, leftover sausages, shallot, green pepper, 1 tomato, black pepper and oregano. In loads of butter in my Yorkshire tin.

I made 2 batches so I have enough for snacks/breakfast tomorrow. Not sure they will last as everyone else seems to be enjoying them.....

L - think buttery cabbage, maybe with lardons
D- chicken wings, blue cheese coleslaw and an avocado salad with loads of leaves

@ferntwist

Can I ask a couple of questions of those who have done boot camp before?

Firstly, how did it affect your cholesterol levels?

Then secondly, I’m really interested in how long the wait stays off when you go back to eating carbs in moderation?

I’m three weeks in and have had good results so far but a bit worried about saturated fat intake.

Most people see a slight increase in LDL cholesterol when they first go low carb however your HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and the ratios should all improve so your lipid profile is better overall. In my last blood test, my triglycerides (the amount of fat in your blood) was lower than the test could accurately detect! In a small group of people LDL remains higher than recommended. If it's something that you're worried about then you can emphasise monounsaturated fats over saturated fats for cooking with. These are olive oil, avocado oil and nut oils. Fish oils from fatty fish such as salmon and tuna are also excellent for your health and for your blood test results.

I started Bootcamp in 2013 and I'll never go back to eating carbs in moderation. Carbs (and polyunsaturated vegetable oils) were what made me gain weight in the first place. I pretty much follow Bootcamp Light all the time although I'm more relaxed about e.g. sauces in takeaways, meat content of sausages, etc. I will occasionally have a higher carb food such as a roast potato or a small smoothie but sweet foods like doughnuts aren't as nice for me now because they're too sweet. Also, once you've broken the sugar addiction, carbs don't light up your dopamine receptors any more so foods that you used to like aren't as enjoyable. On the other hand, a kiwi fruit (10g carbs) tastes unbelievably delicious because I'm that much more sensitive to sweetness than I used to be. The other aspect is that I've seen so many health benefits from this way of eating that I would keep eating this way even if it wasn't for weight maintenance.

For those that do plan to reintroduce more carbs when they reach their goal weight there are two ways to do this. The first is to reintroduce some healthy carbs on a regular basis, for example medium-carb fruits such as apples and oranges, pulses, maybe a small amount of potatoes, rice or bread. The second way is to have a cheat meal or cheat day once a week/fortnight/month if there are high carb foods that you really want to have. With both methods you should set a target weight range that you want to stay within. If your weight gets to the top of the range then you either reduce your carb intake/frequency of cheat meals or you go back to Bootcamp or Bootcamp Light until you're back to your target weight.

Glad to hear you've got rid of the Covid, @ZiggZagg!

@ferntwist

Sorry that should say how long the weight stays off

Didn't even spot that last night!

Have we answered your concerns? I know it's hard to embrace a high fat way of eating, because it runs so counter to everything we've been told over the last 30-40 years, but it is honestly true that there is no issue with saturated fat.

Zoe Harcombe writes about it here

At work til 2pm today, so B coffee with dash milk, then water only til late lunch.

L: smoked mackerel smashed up with greek yogurt, maybe some cream and salad.

D: will probably be moussaka or roast poussin with greens depending on what I decide to cook.

I made some improvised 'bread' with psyllium, ground flax, almonds and eggs yesterday. It's not that nice, but if I get a stodge craving, it'll do with a cup of tea and lots of butter.

Really interesting about LC and candida - it’s really good to hear about the other benefits of KC eating as well as weight loss.

Pleased to hear folk with covid and other illness on the mend.

Encouraged after weigh in yesterday that I’m losing again. Food all on track, again skipped lunch for a coffee as wasn’t hungry. Did loads of walking yesterday so feel better for that. One walk did involve pub & wine 😳 Also picked at a couple of the kids nachos for dinner…..Wouldn’t have done that if I’d stayed off the wine 😩
We’ll done to those with that resolve to abstain and good luck to those entertaining/socialising this weekend.

I’m going to do some baking today - crackers & muffins. I think including nuts will help me so going to start that this week, in moderation of course.

Hello @BIWI I’ve read all of the spreadsheets I promise. I’ve been told twice by my cardiologist to reduce saturated fat because my cholesterol is too high. I’ve never really been overweight but I have high blood pressure too, had it since I was 35 (and BMI 19, running half marathons too). That’s why I’m interested in other members’ experience of this way of eating on their cholesterol levels. As you know the received medical advice is to lower saturated fat. I’m open minded and want to find out what happens in real life to Boot Campers cholesterol levels.

Thank you very much for the link, will look forward to reading that

Thank you @StuntNun, it’s very interesting to read your post and find out about how it has worked for you

Jumped on the scale, just because I felt a little lighter, 65.3, almost 1kg down from Monday. I am one of those people who get discouraged when I see the scale goes up some days, so normally stay away from weighing in between. This one is to keep me in check for tomorrows outing, and hoping to completely sticking to plan..

@ferntwist I had this doubt when I started Keto some years ago, and felt like I am going against everything people do in general and would die of heart attack(over thinker here, but still :P ), this was following Diet Doctor and with all the evidence there. I didn't have high cholesterol, so didn't make much difference in my blood levels. DH on the other hand, had high BP and Cholesterol on boarder, cheekily did Keto for 3 weeks and got his blood results came back absolutely fine. I think its "the going against real world" feeling also everyone discouraged me in 2018, but its more common these days and acceptable now

So, any pointers to eating out- a proper meal please, when you can't pack anything. I think we need a thread to list out all the good Eat Outs, along with the other useful food items/recipes thread.
any ideas would be greatly appreciated x

Thanks too @ThinkAboutItTomorrow!!

I’m in awe of you all on this board and @BIWI for creating this ... but also frightened of going against my doctor’s advice as this is literally life and death for me. She’s very switched on and seems young and up to date with all the latest research

Posting for accountability Ds is down from Aberdeen for the Calcutta Cup match today and he wanted takeaway pizzas from Sarti's. I had two pieces In my defence, three pizzas were ordered and the rest of mine was left for ds to have cold on the way to/from Murrayfield.

It was supper after having been to rugby training in the mud and cold - these were my legging steeping after dh's bath (which he had while I went to pick up the pizzas). I'd already rinsed through the jacket and top I'd been wearing separately