May 22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the preparation thread

[BIWI]

This Bootcamp will start on 2 May, and will last for 8 weeks

The first two weeks will be strict, but after that you can move on (if you wish) to Bootcamp Light, which is a little more relaxed.

These are the things that we don't eat, throughout the whole of Bootcamp:

• bread (of any kind)
• pasta/rice (of any kind)
• potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, beetroot
• sugar/honey/syrup
• flour (and anything thickened with flour)
• cake
• biscuits/crackers/pastries
• crisps (of any kind)
• fruit juice
• full sugar fizzy drinks/squash
• balsamic vinegar (all other vinegars are fine)
• grains/pulses/legumes (which includes peas)
• sweets

What can I eat then?!

Things you will be able to eat are things you generally can't eat on any other diet! Low carb means high fat, so you will be able to enjoy things like:

• butter
• cream
• cheese
• mayonnaise

No light/lite or low fat anything!

• all meat/fish/seafood (although keep processed options to a minimum)
• eggs
• oily dressings (especially using extra virgin olive oil/avocado oil)
• lard/coconut oil (as well as butter) for frying food
• plenty of vegetables and salad
• (after the first two weeks) some fruit, mainly berries
• (after the first two weeks) some nuts/seeds

There are just ten rules, and as long as you follow these you should lose weight. In brief, the rules for the first two weeks are:

1. Eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
2. Avoid processed foods as much as possible
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Make sure your carbs are coming mainly from vegetables and salad
5. Be careful how much dairy you're consuming - especially milk (butter is unlimited)
6. You must drink at least 2 litres of water a day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds
10. No sugar/artificial sweeteners

The rules, in full, are on a tab on The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Make sure you're familiar with those.

Planning and preparation is key to success on this WOE (way of eating)

Which means you need to think about all the meals you need to prepare for the next week - which includes what you're going to have for lunch if you're out of the home at work, and thinking about any likely social occasions.

So - make sure your cupboards/fridges/freezers are emptied (as far as practically possible) of anything really carby that you know is likely to tempt you.

Make a meal plan for the week (or the next two weeks if you can that organised!) and then make sure you buy everything you need in your next shop.

Cooking a couple of meals ahead is a really good idea - so you know you have something Bootcamp-friendly easily to hand.

For the first week or so, while you're adjusting to a low carb WOE, especially if you're new to it, it's a good idea to have some low carb snacks to hand. As you adapt to it, you'll find that you really aren't hungry between meals, but in the beginning you may need something. Great low carb snacks include:

• chunks of cheese
• olives
• cucumber/celery
• hard-boiled eggs
• cooked (low carb) sausages

If you're planning on using anything pre-prepared/packaged in your cooking, make sure you've checked the carb count on the back of the packet. It's amazing how something that seems like it should be low in carbs is anything but - because the manufacturers have added sugar, or potato starch, etc.

Make sure that you have read, re-read and read again Bootcamp rules. Ideally save them on to your phone, or print them out and stick them on the fridge. Especially make sure that you've worked out - from Rule 6 - how much water you are going to need to drink each day. The more you weigh, the more water you're going to need to drink.

It can also be a really good idea to keep a food diary - it can be very easy to start with a huge burst of enthusiasm, and then gradually let things start to slip, and then ending up eating stuff you shouldn't, and wonder why the weight isn't shifting. Just reading back through entries from the early weeks can be really helpful here.

You can "thicken" gravies with blitzed low carb veg to make them more substantial.

Re white sauces, it depends what you're wanting it for. If it's for (say) cauliflower cheese, you can just boil up some cream, add loads of grated cheese and a squoosh of lemon juice.

If it's for, say, a low carb lasagne (using sliced courgettes instead of pasta sheets) or for a moussaka, then you can use a beaten egg mixed with some cottage/ricotta cheese.

Have a look at the recipe threads for inspiration. I've posted a recipe for a lasagne which uses that (and mozzarella and Parmesan) that is lush

Marking my place 😁

Good things...........I've made a batch of egg muffins today with mushrooms, chorizo and cheese for the fridge for breakfasts and also enough chicken enchilada soup for the whole week (sounds v boring and I know there will be other things for lunches but my theory is if it's there ready I don't have the opportunity to be distracted and eat toast!) and also had a stern word with DH about how things are going to be for the next few weeks. He seems on board so let's see where we're at.
Bad thing - MIL is staying at the moment (she's lovely) and insisting on taking us for dinner on Monday night, my thought at the moment is either the pork loin and leave the flatbread and hummus, lamb shank and leave the potatoes or salad without potatoes and chicken/halloumi
www.duckwortharms.co.uk/eat?menu=521661 Thoughts?

That menu looks nice. Agree with your choice. The salad with seabass might be nice as well, or the steak without the chips/onion rings.

Eating out is definitey hard. I'm at a house party next week and expecting all the usual beige, so just planning to eat before I go and be the designated driver.

Eating out usually works pretty well for me on low carb @TheOnlyMrsW but is not usually cheap compared to pizza or pasta

I'm in the habit of asking for any bread to be removed so that I don't eat it absent minded oh

That menu looks promising, I'd start with the potted salmon and crayfish tails, mushrooms in Stilton sauce or the pate. Just ignore that ever bread etc appears

Market fish of the day, ask for no potatoes and extra greens

Burger with no bun and no fries, extra salad

Chicken burger no bun so long as it isn't battered or breaded

Steak no fries and extra greens

Pretty much all the most expensive stuff 😀

Am usually pretty full at that point so can easily skip dessert. Otherwise enjoy cheese with no crackers.

Hope you have a lovely time.

@TheOnlyMrsW that menu sounds lovely, but why does everything have to come with bread?! I'd go for one of the salads, with some protein element or something from the grill (minus chips, obviously!)

Usually eating out - even if you have to ask for things to be left off your plate or substituted for something - is generally much easier when you're low carbing than when you're calorie counting or trying to be low fat. You only have to look at the calorie counts on that menu to see how hard calorie counting is. At least two of those main courses are over 2000 calories!

Thanks for all the help so far, I started early with an egg fast last week and BC light this weekend - just need to cut out the nuts & seeds & berries now! I feel so much better than I did this time last week after a week off work and 'relaxing' my eating.

I am running a polling station on Thursday and need to be there 6am-10.30pm and have to take all my meals with me/can't leave the premises/don't know what heating facilities there will be (random community centre). Please may I have some help/ideas on what to take to quickly munch on? So far, I've got low carb sausages, olives and cubed cheese but not sure that will be enough! Maybe some rollitos or cold meat?

I had a BLT wrap today without the wrap.

Lay lettuce leaves down on some clingfilm or greaseproof paper, spread with mayo, layer in bacon, tomato and boiled egg. Roll up like a burrito, yummy 😋

@heliosfountain i ran a station last year. Breakfast was greek yoghurt. I then took hard boiled eggs, crispy bacon, olives, sausages, cheese, some of the cheesy almond muffins from the recipe thread, and a tuna salad (which is where most of the fat came from that day). It was way too much! But I was so worried about being hungry and caught out that I am glad I took that much.

I'm all prepped and ready to go, not holding out much hope for weight, I started last week, lost 2kg and have put it back on since personal trainer session on Friday (also pub crawl on Thursday probably didn't help), I assume it's water retention trying to heal my poor very sore muscles. On measurements though I'm half an inch down on my waist and an inch on my hips in a week. As well as daily weighing I am also doing weekly measuring now.

@SpottyBumPony that looks delicious!

I'm planning on experimenting with sweetheart cabbage leaves for chicken mayo wraps. I often have cabbage instead of lettuce these days (a 60p cabbage goes much further plus much easier to store - lasts for ages in the fridge). I've never tried making LC wraps and that's my goal this BC.

@heliosfountain what about a salad with cold roast chicken and crispy bacon and a creamy dressing? Personally, I never feel great if I feel like i've snacked all day, so a couple of proper meals could be nice too.

Daily weighing is honestly the only way i stay on track. I fluctuate a lot day to day so I find it better to monitor the overall trend and not get too hung up on the number on one particular day.

Hi all, thanks to @BIWI and the gang for setting up 😀
I won’t be joining until the end of next week as it’s Eid tomorrow so will be enjoying the celebrations!
I was in one of the boot camps last year and managed to lose 1/2 a stone, I put it back on over December but have slowly managed to lose it again since Jan (but without putting lots of effort in, still eating treats sometimes especially during the evenings of Ramadan)

Hoping to get to the bottom of the stone bracket I’m currently in during this bootcamp.

Hard boiled eggs
Chopped cucumber
Chopped celery

@Baystard have a look at these

@heliosfountain Thank you for your work running a polling station, is it interesting to do or just something to be got through?

As for meals, have you any idea how many times you will be able to eat? I would prepare a range of meals/snacks so that you could have something different each time.

I'd go for a serious salad for each of the main meals, with lots of crunchy salad veg plus bacon bits / other protein such as chicken, salmon, prawns etc. Leave avocado in its skin to add at the last minute. Then take something else such as hard boiled eggs / cold sausages as snacks 'just in case'.

I enjoy company so like to have some extra to offer others taking their break at the same time. Lots of water, too How often can you visit a loo ? If that is very restricted I might cut back a bit on water.

Hope it goes well

Hello all! I'm just getting myself sorted ready for tomorrow, reading everything I can. I have a few questions if that's okay!

I really don't like full fat mayo. For some reason I find it's a bit too watery for me and puts me off. Can I use light mayo (dependent on carb count obviously!) or is that a huge no-no for any reason?

Is there an ideal limit for cheese (such as how many times a week at most) and any types to be generally avoided?

I like Greek yoghurt but need some flavouring with it. Is there anything anyone recommends? I was thinking a couple of squares of 90% dark chocolate but is that a no (particularly during the first two weeks)?

And one last one, I have bread rolls and hot cross buns (both from the seriously low carb website) in the freezer, would these be okay to have or should I avoid for the first two weeks (or avoid completely)?

Thanks BIWI and others as always for all your hard work setting this up!

Have you tried making your own mayo? It's really very easy with a stick blender. A low fat version won't be helpful in getting the required amount of fat in your diet - and if you look at its ingredients it's often got additives to make up for the lack of fat (again, something we're trying to avoid).

In terms of flavouring the Greek yoghurt: try adding a pinch of cinnamon. Vanilla powder is apparently good too - although I've never bought any. Also, a pinch of cocoa would work well (again, I've not tried it, mainly because I like cinnamon so much ). If it's because you find the yoghurt too tart, try a different brand (I like the Lidl authentic Greek yoghurt as opposed to the "Greek style" stuff ) or add some double cream (or clotted cream ) and stir together.

Thanks @prettybird. 🙂

I've never tried making mayo, no. Is it reasonably easy to do? I'm not the greatest chef in the world tbh and the simpler the better is my general theme!

Cinnamon is a really good shout, I didn't think of that! I think I'll try to get the cocoa as well. And definitely clotted cream! I'm salivating at that already! 😂

@TidyDancer making mayonnaise is really easy if you have a stick blender.

There's a recipe here

However, don't use extra virgin olive oil as it's too bitter. You need to use a flavourless oil.

The other thing about light mayonnaise is that it's very processed, and we're trying to keep our food as unprocessed as possible on Bootcamp. This is the ingredients list for Hellman's Light Mayonnaise:

Water, rapeseed oil (25%), spirit vinegar, modified starch, sugar, salt, pasteurised EGG yolk (1.5%), cream powder (contains MILK), citrus fibre, natural MUSTARD flavouring, thickeners (guar gum, xanthan gum), MUSTARD flour, lemon juice concentrate, antioxidant (calcium disodium EDTA), paprika extract

It's also 6g carbs per serving (although they don't specify how much a serving is!)

Re cheese, we generally don't give a limit for it - other than to say 'don't go mad'! Most hard cheeses have negligible carbs; it's really only processed cheeses that you need to be careful with. (e.g. one single Dairylea cheese slice has 2.1g carbs, whereas 100g cheddar has 0.1g carbs)

I'm a big fan of stick blender mayo though it has only worked for me when the eggs are absolutely fresh. A week or so later and the mayo just splits on me. I've tried starting again from scratch with a fresh egg and again and again ended up with a mess. Fresh eggs, on the other hand, seem to work every time.

When I'm using bought mayo also prefer a 50:50 blend of mayo (Delouis usually) and Greek yoghurt.

Hi there,

As my username suggests, I’m a long-time lurker, first time poster on mumsnet. But I am really struggling to lose weight and would love the support.

I have 3 young children, the youngest is 1 year old. I found breast-feeding helped lose weight with my eldest 2 but didn’t make a difference with the third, I suppose cos I’m older. I went to an online nutritionist who seems to focus a lot on helping mums and had a diet plan made out in August last year, as I thought it was the ‘right’ thing to do.

The diet was essentially to stick to 1700kcals a day, 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat. I stuck to it religiously from August to Jan even over Christmas. I had to sent her weekly weigh ins and measurements along with photos. I didn’t lose a pound or cm in the 5 months and she had no advice for me, I’m sure she thought I was cheating. I defo wasn’t.. if anything I was under the cals most days.

It really got me down, as I think before you diet you feel hope that if only you would stick to it it would work, but it was very depressing sticking to it and seeing no change. I ended up not taking the photos as it used to make me feel so annoyed with myself.

Since then, I joined SW for 12 weeks and again, I really stuck to it but again lost nothing. Although I have to say my heart wasn’t in it, it didn’t feel right to be eating so much pasta/rice / potatoes.

I had been trying to lose weight for the holiday I am currently on, but am still the same weight as August of last year when I started dieting. So once I get home, I’d love to join you all, although won’t be able to start until Monday the 9th.

I actually don’t put on much weight when I am not on a diet, I just can’t seem to lose the extra stone I’m carrying. Have been to GP for blood tests as DH was convinced something must be off as he was losing loads of weight eating what I was, but all was normal (thank God); would just love to get to the bottom of why I can’t shift it. GP did say I defo need to lose weight though as I carry it all around my stomach and it is the ‘dangerous’ type.

Have read a lot on keto/ low-carb in the last month or so and half started before holiday although there wasn’t much point as am enjoying my wine here 😝But once I’m home, I am really on for this. I’m sick of trying so hard and no seeing any (I really mean any results, not even a cm off waist).

Sorry for the long essay, it’s been nice getting it written down and out of my system as I have to say I am really frustrated at this point and keen to try anything. I am on holiday in Spain at a really ‘family-forward’ resort and it seems like all the mums here are bikini models (how do they do it, one has the best abs I have ever seen.. I would just be happy to be a dress size smaller) but it has spurred me on after feeling a bit despondent.

Good luck to everyone else starting.