Week 1 - May 22 Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Just getting the opening of the thread started, as there's a lot I want to post before we get into tomorrow!

Firstly, here's the all-important disclaimer:

I'm not a medic. I'm not a scientist, nutritionist or dietician. Everything that I write here is based on the reading I've done over the last 15 or so years. You sign up and take part in Bootcamp at your own risk - although I fervently hope there are no risks!

Please note, if you're taking any long-term medication, especially for hypertension or diabetes or high cholesterol, you should consult your GP; low carbing (for most people) will bring high blood pressure and cholesterol levels down, and will help regulate your blood sugar levels - so the dosage of your medication may need to be reviewed, if not reduced
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A note about weighing

Each Monday I'll re-post the spreadsheet for you to add your weight. Weight is the most conventional way that we monitor progress, but it isn't the only way, and actually isn't always the most accurate way. It's not unknown for people to see no change on the scales, yet to know that they've lost weight as their clothes are fitting better.

You don't have to weigh (and nor do you need to be on the spreadsheet), but it is always helpful to know how you're progressing, as this helps to keep you focused. There are two other important ways to do this:

1 - take your measurements. Hips, waist and bust, as well as upper thigh and upper arms.

2 - find an article of clothing that currently just a little too tight - a pair of jeans, or a blouse - and try them on each week. This is the most tangible way to see how things are working for you.

You can do these as well as weighing of course!

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Also, before we really get going, a plea for good thread etiquette!

The threads will move very quickly (especially in the first couple of weeks). But please, please, please read everything that's been posted. Use the bookmark facility so that you don't lose your place. Don't just jump on the thread to post your own stuff without bothering to read what others have posted

It is very wearing when we have to keep answering the same questions, because posters haven't bothered to read what's gone before!

I went to my church home group today and when I was offered tea, I whispered 'Do you happen to have almond milk?' The host said 'I do because i have it on my breakfast but I only have the unsweetened stuff, is that ok?' I refrained from expressing undying love for her preferences and said 'Great, thanks!' 😄😄

I actually managed to get through all my water today!

Today's food:
B: Greek yogurt with a spoonful of cream
L: salad, rollitos, a cold cooked sausage, pepper strips and some chilli mayonnaise.
S: hard boiled egg mashed with butter
D: leftover low carb chilli, avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, lettuce.

I've had a good day

2 boiled eggs

Greek salad with feta and tzatziki and a big drizzle of olive oil

Tuna mayo with spring onions, tomato, celery and cucumber and big green leafy salad topped with a good handful of grated cheese - delicious.

Sounds like everyone is off to a flying start, inspiring me to add some different things to my Tesco shop to try and get out of a rut.

Loving everyone’s meal ideas … !

oh boy I seem to have eaten a lot again today…

B: scrambled eggs with cream and mushrooms
L: chicken & leeks in a coconut milk sauce

S: Hard boiled egg & olive oil
D: small leftover braising steak with peppers kale & cauliflower cheese
S: 5 mozzarella balls…

copious water & tea… and a fat coffee

Hi! Thanks for sharing those recipes Pretty. I know there are recipe threads, but I am inspired by the shared ones and goujons are popular chez moi.

B. Creamy coffee.
Brunch. Omelette with mushroom and cheese and green salad.
Early D. 3 chicken thighs reheats, with mushroom cabbage and green beans. Creamy sauce.
S. Rashers.

I went swimming tonight and thought I'd have yogurt after but I wasn't hungry. 2 meals with 2 snacks is like 3 meals

I got pork belly in a restaurant over the weekend. Divine! So I'm off to the butcher in the morning.
I also have wraps that are 4g carb each. I'll post a picture of anyone wants.

Water drank!

@bella1426 I have a Twinings Buttermint tea or a Teapigs Chocolate and Mint tea when I fancy something sweet. They're low carb but give you that sweet hit. Or another thing to try is having a piece of cheese which usually satisfies that "need something else" craving.

Thanks for the cholesterol advice @StuntNun and @FarTooFat . I do like oily fish so will try to increase that as it doesn't work with creamy sauces anyway. Tinned fish is a staple already here, but may switch from sardines in spicy tomato to oil

Think I will just have to get used to the taste of veg fried in oil rather than butter

Did ok yesterday, have to say I'm not loving the enchilada chicken soup as it feels quite watery but now it's made it needs to be eaten so heyho!!!!
Dinner was derailed by the teen who didn't want fish so ended up being chicken goujon wraps with chops for her and DH (also shop bought from Asda @Baystard !!!) with roast veg and feta for me.
2l sparkling water, 5 cups herbal tea and a large glass of tonic without the G whilst watching tv.......not nearly enough steps either so will try to make up for it today 😊

*chips not chops bloody autocorrect 😡

@FancyFelix I don't think the cholesterol research is as conclusive as it appears (and I'm suspicious of the relationship between the cholesterol research and statin-selling big pharma). In the same way that approved NHS dietitian thinking says fatty is bad and carbs are good.

Eating lots of seed oil isn't necessarily great either though as it is thought to increase inflammation because it's high in Omega 6. (Omega 3 oils are anti inflammatory whereas Omega 6 oils are thought to be pro inflammatory).

As a compromise I'd stick to olive oil (the best of the oils for its Omega ratio) for drizzling/pouring. It's not stable at frying temp though so a small amount of seed oil needed there.

Still away in lovely hotel, food is delicious and really possible to do low carb. Haven’t completely managed the first two week bootcamp rules, (some nuts and champagne snuck in) but it’s been absolutely freeing to say an unequivocal no to bread, crisps, chips, puddings - and I feel so much better for it 😊

B - Eggs, mushrooms and spinach
L - Olives and nuts
D - Pork chop with spring greens followed by delicious cheese board

Some lovely sounding food on this thread @APerfectlyGoodName do post pictures, I am always inspired by other peoples meals.

Morning women! Lovely and sunny here and feeling full of the joys. I'm in the office today so usually succumb to something awful like a tesco meal deal.

Instead I have 2 boiled eggs and some cucumber and tomato in sesame oil and cider vinegar for brekkie. I'll treat myself to a nice salad bowl with chicken or avocado for lunch.
Dinner will be chicken curry with cauliflower rice.

Is coconut milk ok in a curry?
Have a great day everyone 😀

I don't actually think there's a problem with using olive oil for frying (although assume we're talking about shallow frying here?). In his podcast - admittedly in the up front bit about Filippo Berio, who sponsor some editions - he dismisses this and says that frying in oil is a staple in Italian countries.

I'd far rather use this than seed oils, given the inflammation they can apparently cause!

(Or, use lard or avocado oil)

I'm also very wary of the stuff we're told about cholesterol and heart disease. (I'm not talking about Familial Hypercholesterolaemia, which is a genetic disorder).

Dr Malcolm Kendrick wrote a book called The Great Cholesterol Con, which is worth a read. And Zoe Harcombe writes a lot about how cholesterol is a healing agent, produced by our own body. The analogy she has made is that when you come upon the scene of an emergency, and see lots of police or fire fighters, you don't blame them for the emergency! Cholesterol is present 'at the scene' as it's part of our body's healing.

Here's an extract from a piece Zoe Harcombe wrote in 2021:

Dr Ancel Keys
Heart disease, dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol

^The next significant era in the development of the cholesterol/fat hypothesis was when Dr Ancel Keys came on the scene. He had published The Minnesota Starvation Experiment in 1950 and was the man of the moment and keen to stay that way (Ref 1). He turned his attention from the possibility of food shortages due to world war to why men (particularly) were dying from heart disease.
He was aware of the work of the Russian pathologists and picked up their theory that dietary cholesterol increased the levels of blood cholesterol^

Keys undertook several experiments on human beings (ethics were not an issue back then). He increased their intake of foods containing cholesterol dramatically and discovered that this had no impact on blood cholesterol levels. In my review of the literature, the most definitive statement that I came across from Keys on his findings was recorded in a 1954 Symposium on Atherosclerosis: “The evidence – both from experiments and from field surveys – indicates that cholesterol content, per se, of all natural diets has no significant effect on either the cholesterol level or the development of atherosclerosis in man” (Ref 2)

Keys thus abandoned research into dietary cholesterol and turned his attention to dietary fat. This premise had a logical flaw. The only foods that contain cholesterol are animal foods: meat; fish; eggs and dairy products. Keys was aware of this: “Cholesterol occurs only in foods of animal origin” (Ref 3). This was reinforced in the 1952 publication, The Cholesterol Problem: “cholesterol is not contained in plants or plant products but it is present in all animal tissues” (Ref 4)^

^All foods that contain cholesterol contain dietary fat. They all contain all three types of dietary fat: saturated; monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Only the proportions of each fat vary (Ref 5). To increase the dietary cholesterol in his human subjects, Keys needed to feed them foods of animal origin. This had no impact on blood cholesterol levels, or the development of atherosclerosis in man (Ref 6). Animal foods, per se, had been simultaneously exonerated.
The macronutrient that is largely absent from the foods that contain cholesterol is carbohydrate. Meat and fish have no carbohydrate content (with liver, offal, being an exception for any glycogen stored by the animal at the time of death). Eggs have a trace of carbohydrate. Dairy products approximate to five per cent carbohydrate content. Animal foods are either entirely, or in the main, water, protein and fat (Ref 5)^

The logical macronutrient for Keys to have studied was therefore carbohydrate, but attention was turned to fat

This is from her website (unfortunately I don't think you'll be able to read the piece without subscribing)

(and apologies that my formatting went awry there)

Thanks both. I'm very conscious that I know nothing about the science and need to do some reading to inform myself so this is a great start, thank you!

I do fry in olive oil rather than vegetable oil, so will continue to do so. Haven't really been frying much at all lately as I've finally worked out how to use the steam oven in the house we moved into last year so that's this month's novelty. Have been steam cooking things and drizzling some oil/dressing on later which is working well too. Just need to stay away from the steamed puddings but summer is approaching now so hopefully that temptation will be gone!

Morning all, thanks for some of the sweet suggestions, going to try some of those water tabs and flavoured teas. Had a couple of fails last night..was feeling poorly so had a lemsip and while making my son peanut butter toast a couple of spoons of it 'fell' into my mouth 🫢 nut butter along with chocolate is my weakness. It's banned from the house for the next two weeks, lesson learned! I have some turkey mince to use today - any ideas? There is a lasagna I make with slices of Edam instead of pasta sheets but it's pretty heavy on the dairy. Was also thinking a Courgetti bolognaise with Parmesan or some sort of stirfry (heavy on the sesame oil to get the fats in) any other suggestions??

Turkey mince is quite low in fat, so whatever you make will need to add some in.

Unless you know you are dairy sensitive, don't worry about a dish being dairy heavy. (I make a lasagne with courgette slices, mozzarella, cottage cheese (mixed with beaten egg and Parmesan ).

Another suggestion is burgers: mince, egg, finely chopped shallots, olive oil, seasoning and a generous slug of Worcestershire sauce. Shape and leave in the fridge to firm up. I make these with pork mince but I'm sure that it would work with turkey mince. I fry them - they're quite delicate to turn so let the one side cook for a bit before turning.

First, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well. But you would be far better off taking ordinary paracetamol, as Lemsip will have had either sugar and/or sweeteners in it.

Second, in the great scheme of things, peanut butter isn't really that bad - it could have been a lot worse!

As @prettybird says, turkey mince is likely to be low in fat, so make sure you add plenty - in which case, I can't see a problem with the dairy element. Unless you know you can't tolerate dairy, then I'd go with plenty of cream and cheese (as well as butter to fry the veg/meat to start with.

@FancyFelix

I've finally worked out how to use the steam oven in the house we moved into last year so that's this month's novelty. Have been steam cooking things and drizzling some oil/dressing on later

Steaming and 'drizzling' is very, very likely to mean that you're not getting enough fat. Remember, low carb is a high fat diet.

@Baystard could you please add 67kg for me (72kg for January's weigh in) I dare not mess with the spreadsheet!

As an aside re cholesterol mine absolutely rocketed post Covid in March 20 which according to the specialist was the body drawing it in to repair arterial damage. It dropped nine months later to my normal of slightly raised which corresponded to the myocarditis healing.

I think of cholesterol with a great deal more affection now.

@Baystard could you please add 67kg for me (72kg for January's weigh in) I dare not mess with the spreadsheet!

As an aside re cholesterol mine absolutely rocketed post Covid in March 20 which according to the specialist was the body drawing it in to repair arterial damage. It dropped nine months later to my normal of slightly raised which corresponded to the myocarditis healing.

I think of cholesterol with a great deal more affection now.

DS is home from nursery today feeling ill so trying to WFH, keep up with Alison Bailey and watch him.

He barely eats on a good day so got him a McD's hash brown for breakfast. I love their black coffee anyway but oh my gosh, adding double cream at home made it delicious

I was looking on ebay last night for a water jug and realised that I have become my mother and now like 'antiques' 😬😂