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

@Newlease - thanks for sharing your success at maintaining, with the occasional bootcamp to keep you on track. That is my vague plan so it's good to know it works for you!

@ferntwist - on a previous bootcamp, either the August mini bootcamp or the pre Christmas bootcamp, I asked a very similar question. My annual post baby blood check for diabetes came back as pre diabetic. My GP sent me to speak to a dietician and pretty much everything she recommended went against the bootcamp WOE! There were a lot of very helpful responses on the chat about it. If you search my username on those two bootcamps then it should come up. I'm pretty sure it was the August mini bootcamp so I'd start there. I've stuck with the bootcamp WOE and my most recent bloods (I'm paying to do them privately every few months to keep a more regular eye on them) came back as non diabetic and my cholesterol was perfect.

@ferntwist if you have a cardiologist you're seeing, this would suggest that you have some kind of medical issue going on - you've also referenced high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Are you on medication for any or all of these conditions?

What is your weight/BMI now?

What is it that you're hoping Bootcamp can help you with?

Sorry for all the questions, but it's important that if you have a medical issue that we don't give you the wrong advice!

And I can really appreciate that you wouldn't want to go against the word of your consultant.

@prettybird I also had a couple of slices of pizza yesterday. It was a very very thin base. I know that isn’t mitigation but joining you on the guilty bench.

Today I am planning soup for lunch and a Dishoom Ruby curry for dinner. The recipe has a tablespoon of honey but I’m going to leave it out and see how it works.

@ferntwist, I posted that before seeing your post about your consultation with doctors. I have no experience of any such, my post was about eating fat and red meat in general and boarder line Cholesterol level and doing LCHF
Hoping you would get the answers you need, there was a post from Guardian BIWI linked on the first bootcamp post, which were written by GP/ consultants. Most of them still go with the traditional way.. I wouldn’t risk doing this without medical advice x sorry about the other post, I was no way encouraging you to take this up with your health issues.

Hello Bootcampers! Just wanted to chip in with my own experience of getting the weight off and keeping it off.

My first Bootcamp started in May 2010, I was a stone above my maximum healthy weight at 12.10 stone. I wanted to get down to about 11 stone - that felt realistic to me.

Over that and the following Bootcamp I lost three stone. This WOE worked so well for me because:

• I didn't get hungry (childhood neglect means I really struggle with feeling hungry, it makes me panicky, so fasting doesn't work for me, although I'm now comfortable with occasional 16:8 days)
• I still enjoyed my food. I've always been a "foodie" and this way I can still eat delicious food and not feel I'm missing out.
• I find it easy to alter our usual family plan for myself by just substituting the carb element for veg.
• it just works for me. I look great and feel better than I've ever done as an adult.

I've maintained by staying "Bootcamp Light" pretty much permanently, plus the occasional potato - I love spuds, though I don't have them often, and when I do it's usually new potatoes cooked in their skins. Plus the occasional roastie with Sunday lunch - but only ever one or two.

Like a PP I have a weight range I keep within, and I will occasionally go completely "off piste" for special occasions. At Christmas I had about 10 days when I ate whatever I wanted - I gained 6 pounds, 3 of which have come off since getting back to BCL eating (I'd like to get the other three off by the spring, but I'm not stressed about it).

On my birthday I eat what I want. On holidays I stay mostly low-carb, but if I fancy fish and chips or an ice cream, I'll have them - I'm on holiday. I still drink wine.

Someone asked about eating out. I find some restaurants are better than others. Italian, Greek and Turkish are usually pretty good as they have lots of meat, fish and veg options, provided you swerve the pasta, pizza and breads on offer.

Nando's is decent for fast food options. Wagamamas is pretty much a non-starter. Thai restaurants can actually be ok, if you go for a stir fry option with veg rather than rice or noodles. Itame now has a low-carb chicken dish which is quite nice. Sashimi is a great option for sushi lovers. And most places won't mind substituting the carb element of a meal for extra veg, serve burgers with extra salad instead of a bun, that kind of thing.

It's rare that I've found absolutely nothing I can eat and stay low-carb (or at least LC-ish) in most places.

Hope this is useful for someone. I can't recommend this WOE enough, it's been life-changing for me.

I’ve not eaten out much since starting LC but the only place I’ve found so far with absolutely no options was Pizza Hut. Thankfully the friend I was with was happy to change plans and go to Nando’s instead, where I happily scoffed chicken, halloumi and broccoli.

I was feeling really hungry yesterday afternoon (probably not actual hunger but really wanted to eat everything). Was very well behaved and just had a handful of almonds. Had been on 16:8 fasting for a week so thought I’d give myself a break today and swap to 12:12 to avoid the hunger. However, I have failed at the first hurdle, no breakfast yet as it’s been a busy morning and not had time to cook.

Pre LCHF breakfast was always very carb heavy convenient foods (cereal, toast, biscuit etc) and I haven’t really found a convenient LC alternative. I’ve had some success with egg muffins / waffles etc but they never taste as good the next day as they do fresh, so I’m left feeling a bit uninspired. What do all of you busy people have for quick breakfast?

@Newlease Wow, that’s brilliant news about your husband. Great to hear and that it just took three weeks.

@ferntwist, but that was only between two blood tests, which GP sent him to ( can’t remember whatbit was for but he warned that the Cholesterol is getting on boarder line- from that point to get it down to normal shouldn’t be that bad) Staying on LC and keeping it down is another story. He miss his chips so much ☹️ So instead concentrating on physical activities. He is one of those people would loose weight even if he eats a table spoon less than he normally eats! Majority of us on the other hand have to go through loops to get this down!

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal that is really helpful, thanks for taking the time to explain. Staying on the wagon is my challenge, I get on well for so long then something happens (not always within my control, like the time I was put on medication that is notorious for weight gain) and I fall off, but I'm getting more experienced at spotting the triggers for loss of control. Until about 6 years ago I was always a traditional yo-yo/starvation dieter, with about 90:10 of the time fat:slim. Then I discovered intermittent fasting and lowish carb and whilst I've still not worked out how to stay on the wagon permanently and my weight can still fluctuate, I'd say it's more like 10:90 now, I.e. I'm at goal weight for most of the time, but with some ballooning periods when I lose control for a few months. I'm in perimenopause and I think hormone fluctuations have contributed to some lapses but I'm on HRT now so hoping that I can keep better control in future.

Morning campers.

I love hearing about all the NSVs especially improvements in long standing conditions.

I've struggled with hunger and snacking these last couple of days which is weird for me at 5 weeks in. Not due on, not stress, so... don't know? I've had three decent meals but keep rifling through cupboards for pork scratchings and the like @GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal I empathise with finding hunger difficult and for a similar reason (hugs)

I've got a Harvester dinner to contend with later. I've not been there in years but IIRC it's potentially quite BC-friendly.

@BaconOmelette I've not routinely eaten before noon for about 6 years now and it makes mornings so much easier (the ultimate quick breakfast!). Sometimes at weekends I'll have a cooked breakfast/brunch if I have time or were having breakfast out somewhere, but generally I don't miss it. It's not for everyone but it is an option to consider. The oft-quoted 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' is nonsense cooked up by the breakfast cereal industry.

What do all of you busy people have for quick breakfast?

Two poached eggs cooked in the microwave

Scrambled eggs in microwave. If you keep some things already prepared you can throw then in eg grated cheese, chopped spring onions , smoked salmon.

Ham ( or other cold meat ) or cheese with lots of cucumber and a couple of baby tomatoes

I agree with you about the breakfast muffins, I don’t like them reheated.

If I eat breakfast, and I need it to be quick, then my go to is full fat Greek yoghurt. It's absolutely delicious with clotted cream stirred through it as well.

(Although I have to be careful with this, as I've realised that cream especially does tend to impact my weight loss)

I love slices of cold frittata for breakfast although I find it hard not to eat it all at once. Or leftover green veg heated up in a small frying pan with a fried egg on top.

Our dinner went really well last night. The stuffed mushrooms were amazing! I'll add the recipe to the vegetarian thread, but briefly:

4 portobello mushrooms, stalks removed.
2 rashers streaky bacon
1 shallot finely chopped
2 fat cloves of garlic finally chopped
2 tbs ground almonds
2 tbs mayo
1 or 2 tsp hot sauce depending on taste (1 is enough for me)
Bag of baby spinach roughly chopped

Place mushrooms open side down on a lined baking tray. Cool in oven for 8 minutes. Drain off liquid.

Fry streaky bacon in small pan until crisp. Remove from pan, and add shallot and garlic to fry in the bacon fat. After 3 mins, add the spinach and allow to wilt in.

In a large bowl mix together the almond flour, mayo and hot sauce. Add the shallot, garlic & spinach and mix together.

Spoon on top of the mushrooms. Finally chop or crumble the bacon and sprinkle on top. Cook in the oven for a further 8 to 10 minutes.

I meant to say, courtesy of the Whole30 Cookbook

@BaconOmelette your username would be a good quick breakfast! Or scrambled eggs would be even quicker.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal I've found Wagamama's okay because everything is cooked to order so it's easy to make changes. They do look at you a bit funny when you order ramen with no noodles but they will make it for you!

@Newlease for eating out, I recommend posting a link to the menu on here for us to make suggestions. In general you'll need to avoid things in sauces/gravies or ask for it to be brought in a separate container. Most places will make you a bunless burger. Just about everywhere will swap chips or mash for a salad. And sometimes you're somewhere completely terrible for low carbing and you just have to make the least worst choice you can and leave anything super carby or sugary. If you know you're going to be in that boat them you can always eat before you go or have a snack with you so you won't eat the carby stuff just because your starving. But don't be afraid to be creative, e.g. ordering two starters instead of one main course.

It would never have occurred to me to do that @StuntNun! What's your usual order then? DH and the DC love Wagamama's but hardly ever get to go if we're eating together.

With the exception of the green pepper

Ah @ferntwist the Diet-Heart hypothesis - the key word here being hypothesis. I suggest reading Jason Fung's The Obesity Code for a thorough debunking of the outdated, yet somehow still mainstream, belief that eating saturated fat raises cholesterol and that's what causes heart disease. Nina Teicholz's Big Fat Surprise: why butter, meat, and cheese belong in a healthy diet is another great book on the subject.

One thing that it's really important to note about the Diet-Heart hypothesis is that it only linked saturated fat to raising LDL cholesterol. Total dietary fat was not correlated to heart disease. So if you do want to minimise your saturated fat intake you can still follow a low carb-high fat way of eating, as I said earlier, by increasing your intake of monounsaturated fats (olive oil, avocado oil, nut oils) and oily fish rather than by chucking butter and lard on everything. Another huge issue with the Diet-Heart hypothesis is that, while high LDL cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, there is no convincing evidence of a direct association between saturated fat intake and heart disease. This is why there were a plethora of new reports a couple of years ago that butter was back on the menu, it even made the front cover of Time magazine.

My suggestion would be to keep following Bootcamp. Choose whether to focus on monounsaturated fats rather than saturated fats while you read up on the subject. Then see how your blood test results have changed when they are next tested before deciding whether Bootcamp is for you or not. Some people on previous Bootcamps have even bought online blood tests from companies such as Thriva so they can check for themselves.

You should definitely check up on your blood pressure though. A low carb diet rapidly lowers blood pressure so if you're on any medication for it then it might need to be adjusted.

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal

It would never have occurred to me to do that *@StuntNun*! What's your usual order then? DH and the DC love Wagamama's but hardly ever get to go if we're eating together.

I have ramen without the noodles, I can't remember which one, it's the one with an egg in it! I also love the bowl of pickles which are lowish carb. The bang bang cauliflower is my favourite but unfortunately it's really carby.

I'm not a breakfast eater, unless I'm on holiday, in which case it isn't quick! Coffee coffee coffee until about 11am tho.

Think I'll do these lamb and feta meatballs from ottolenghi rather than moussaka and go easy on the pomegranate molasses. Scroll down. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/25/autumn-main-course-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi-squash-chicken-fish-prawns-duck-beef-pasta

Oh damn, ignore the meatballs- they've got bread in them.

@Benvolio - I've found in most recipes you just leave out the breadcrumbs. In most cases they're just there to pad out the meat. If you're really worried, you can substitute them with ground almonds and/or Parmesan.

Thanks so much @StuntNun, lots for me to find out about. I really appreciate it

@prettybird, thanks. Yes I think I will just play about with the recipe. Almonds good idea. Maybe an egg.