25/7/22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the preparation thread

[BIWI]

This Bootcamp will start on 25 July, 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
LOTS of vegetables and salad
(after the first two weeks) some fruit, mainly berries
(after the first two weeks) some nuts/seeds
(after the first two weeks) some chocolate - high %age cocoa though

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:

Eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Avoid processed foods as much as possible - ideally none
Eat lots of fat
Make sure your carbs are coming mainly from vegetables and salad
Be careful how much dairy you're consuming - especially milk (butter is unlimited)
You must drink at least 2 litres of water a day
No alcohol
No fruit
No nuts/seeds
No sugar/artificial sweeteners

The rules, in full, are on a tab on The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness, and I'll post a link to the new spreadsheet next Monday. In the meantime, here's a link to the spreadsheet from the last Bootcamp Spreadsheet

Make sure you're familiar with the rules before we start. Also, check out the resources on the spreadsheet - there's loads of information about low carbing as well as lots of different recipes and shopping lists.

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 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 be 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.

Green vegetables have lots of fibre. You can't have 'too many' eggs but the idea is to eat until you're satisfied - you may find your appetite gradually reduces over the course of bootcamp, as you realise that you're satisfied by less quantity of food because the fat level has increased. I eat so much less now than I did and I'm not hungry.

Hi @Lougle good spot, thank you.

I'll have 'another' look.

@cupcakedaisy your fibre will come from all the veg/salad that you will be eating! That's why it's so important that your main source of carbs is veg/salad.

Eating plenty of water will also help to ensure that you don't suffer from constipation.

There's no such thing as too many eggs! The advice to limit eggs because of cholesterol is outdated, if that's what you're worried about. Just don't eat so many that you get bored.

@merryraspberry don't get hung up on the macros though - we don't count them on Bootcamp - deliberately so, as it makes it easier (and stops the obsessive amongst us from obsessing too much!)

@Lougle and @FinallyHere that's a good point. My scales show my weight in quarters of a pound, e.g. 150.25 - so it would be good if the spreadsheet could show that.

Ooh and @FinallyHere while you're there, we've got a situation where the original start date is either hidden, or acts as a scrolling column, so you can't see it unless you're on it. (I'll duck for cover and namechange if necessary!)

Thanks @Lougle and @BIWI . I was ricing cauliflower/brocolli raw. I had no idea there was such a thing as a grater attachment so I'll dig out the box from under the stairs and see if it's in there! Other wise, it sounds from BIWI that I might just be being a bit too impatient!!