July '22 Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Welcome everybody!

Here, thinks to @FinallyHere, is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

This Bootcamp will last for eight weeks, with (as ever) the first two weeks being the most strict.

I'll post again tomorrow, but just wanted to get things underway for now

I can't wait to get started. I've finished up the nuts and strawberries on Sunday evening so the house is "safe" for the first two weeks of Bootcamp!

It took a good few goes, thank you everyone for your patience, here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Morning all, starting the day with a little Greek yoghurt and a cup of Earl Grey with almond milk.

Just to encourage you all (especially if it's your first bootcamp) do stick with it. I was moaning and groaning at first, last bootcamp. I could see that it would work for heavier ladies with more to lose, but I only wanted to lose a bit and I was convinced that it just wasn't going to work for me. @BIWI and the rest of the lovely ladies were very gracious!

I didn't really move off bootcamp after the May camp finished. I couldn't really see the point in going back to a way of eating (WOE) that made me feel bloated and lethargic. Today I've weighed in and I've lost 23.6 lbs since 2nd May this year.

I can't recall a day when I felt deprived or hungry. It was a bit awkward at a ladies garden party at the weekend, but only because I should have taken some raspberries (only a bootcamp light thing!!) so that I could have raspberries and cream instead of the carby things there.

The main thing is not to look at the big picture, I think. Look at the next week. Aim to follow the rules and see what happens. Take the water rule seriously (because when you don't, and are disappointed at your progress, people will say 'are you drinking enough?' 😁). The big picture will happen all by itself.

Thank you BIWI and Finally. And what a lovely, inspirational Day 1 post, Lougle 😊

Morning all! I'm starting the day with coffee and double cream, lunch will be left over bolognaise and mixed veg, with creamy mushroomy garlic stuffed chicken for tea. I've got a chunk of cucumber and a small pot of full fat greek yogurt packed for any snack attacks :-)

After deliberately allowing myself to go off piste in terms of my eating after the last bootcamp thanks to a miscarriage, I am pleased to see that I'm only a couple of pounds up from the last bootcamp. The last bootcamp wasn't very successful for me as I lost a grand total of 0.6lb but it's better than a gain! Onwards and downwards!!

Greetings from bed with a cup of black coffee! I’m so glad to be starting at last and am really looking forward to feeling less creaky and more energised, as well as being less fat. Am not weighing for this bootcamp. I always get too obsessed with the numbers, so am
going to try a bootcamp without.

Morning everyone I can't get on to the spreadsheet at the moment (that's a me problem, not a spreadsheet problem - will try a different device later!) but I am here! Looking forward to my Greek yoghurt for breakfast.

Morning all, I'm about to go make myself a nice big omelette with some veg for breakfast. I'm geared up for this as really want to make a big dent in my much needed weight loss!

Morning, feeling rotten (wondering if it might be covid, though test was negative yesterday), but dragged myself out of bed, and hoping that a large coffee with a splash of cream will give me some go soon!

@pinknsparkly I'm sorry to hear you had a miscarriage ❤️

I'm going to get up in a minute and have some Greek yoghurt with clotted cream mixed in to boost the fat content.

Lunch will be a salad. Dinner not planned yet.

Morning all. And thank you for your lovely post @Lougle . I have to say, I've been very impressed by your fortitude! But you're absolutely right - it really is important to see the bigger picture here. What we often see on Bootcamp is a short period of time (which feels much longer when you're in it) with no weight loss, and then suddenly you'll drop 3lbs. We call it the whoosh.

A couple of really important points from me, before I get going with other stuff.

Firstly, the 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, as well as contributions from others with more knowledge than me, as well as my own experience of low carbing over the last 20 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

And second, 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. (And it's very obvious when people haven't RTFT!)

A quick reminder of the rules - which are written in full on the spreadsheet. Make sure you really do know these.

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
• 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 should aim to 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

@pinknsparkly so sorry to hear that you had a miscarriage. Sending lots of hugs your way.
I'm here and ready for it. Food choices were terrible at the festival over the weekend but I managed to avoid, however I did drink a fair bit which will account for the 2lbs up from Friday.

Really looking forward to embracing something that makes me feel good physically and emotionally.
1st day posts are supposed to inspire so here's my attempt. I started boot camp January last year, I've been overweight my whole adult life and was about a size 18/20 at the time. I never thought for a minute I would ever get to where I am now. By May last year I was a size 12 and I have maintained that for over a year. My weight has fluctuated a bit and after a stressful few months I am about half a stone up from my target but by daily weighing I have been able to set limits and know where I have to stop and be strict again. I threw all my clothes away so I have no choice but to stay in range.
I would like to lose a stone from where I am today. I am a totally different person for a year and a half ago, I love clothes shopping, I go to the gym several times a week and generally I love my body.

I have pcos and hypothyroid and though I could never lose weight. If anyone starting out has hypothyroid hydroid and they want to chat about it there are a couple of things I have found work for me that slightly differ from the basic but it's not medical advice just what I have found works for me (disclaimer).
So here we go. Thanks @BIWI for this and thanks @FinallyHere for doing the spreadsheet.

And final reminder WATER.

Glad to be starting again and thanks @BIWI For getting us going!

@pinknsparkly I am really sorry to hear about your miscarriage - I hope you are ok. X

I got back very late last night from holiday so whilst I have weighed myself today, a lot of the extra weight will be water and booting from travelling and not being able to drink much water. As a double whammy I am also on my period so expecting a few lbs of water weight to come off this week! (At least I’m hoping so because otherwise I really have piled on the lbs in a couple of weeks….).

Good luck to everyone!

Morning all

@BIWI thanks for guiding us through this and @FinallyHere for the spreadsheet. I've weighed in this morning and the damage is as bad as I've feared, but its confirmed my resolve to get on top of my emotional eating and sugar dependency.

Thank you @Lougle and @ditavonteesed for sharing your stories, very inspiring and hoping to have even just a little bit of your success :)

@pinknsparkly so sorry to hear about your miscarriage, so impressed you're committing to bootcamp again.

This morning has started positively, with poached eggs and avocado for breakfast, washed down with a lemon and ginger 'tea'. Water bottle in the fridge as a constant reminder to keep drinking. Lunch is leftover crustless quiche and salad, and dinner is salmon and veggies.

Right, better start some work.....

Hi Everyone. I’m hoping this is one of these serendipitous moments for me where the stars align. I have been doing The Hate on myself all weekend about why I’ve let myself get in this state (I do really know why - I was miserable and punished myself with food and pretended it was making me feel better). Anyway, didn’t sleep well at all, picked up the iPad at 3am (something else I need to stop!) and there in trending was the prep thread for today. Clicked to see what it was about, and here I am.

im obviously not prepped at all, but a quick mental inventory of the fridge and I know there is a tub of FF Greek yog in there which will keep me going this morning and I can pick up a salad to eat with a can of oily tuna for lunch till I can hit the supermarket for some decent shopping this evening. If I can lose a stone over the next two months I’ll be delighted. Won’t be NEAR enough, will probably still need to be here next year at this time, but it will be a very motivating start.

Here’s to new beginnings!

While I remember, a couple of things to note:

1. If you're using your mobile to access the spreadsheet, you'll have to download the Google Sheets app
2. There are some amazing recipes in the Low Carb Bootcamp topic - which are stickied so they're easy to find. They're grouped by food type, so meat or chicken or vegetarian, for example. However, if you have an adblocker installed, the stickies don't work, so you'll have to scroll through the list of threads

@Chocasaurus and @WhoAteTheChips I think you're going to have to change your usernames!!!

@FatToFitPart3 sorry you're feeling rotten. Are you going to be having breakfast after that coffee?

@ditavonteesed that's an amazing story! 3 to 4 dress sizes!! You must feel so good.

I forgot to add that when I first started, I found the water intake quite stressful. I'd lose track of how much I'd had and worry that I wasn't having enough (I'm a bit of a one for following rules!). I started using the Water Tracker app (Android). I just use the free version, so it logs everything as water, but that's fine for me.

When I started bootcamp I was having 8 or 9 cups of tea per day. I now have 2 cups of tea most days. One first thing and one with my parents. Other than that, I stick to water. I used the High 5 Zero electrolyte tabs in the first little while. Now, I tend to squirt a touch of lemon/lime juice into the water, just to take the 'water' taste away because I don't do too well with drinking plain water, but don't want artificial sweeteners either.

I used to struggle to even get 1 litre of water in. Now I drink 4-5 litres per day, depending on how warm it is.

Ready for day 1! Thanks @BIWI and @FinallyHere

And to @Lougle and @ditavonteesed for their messages. I’ve been doing this for a while and after loads of success initially and losing loads, I’ve been a bit crap and not seen a bootcamp through. That changes today. I was on holiday last week and felt, well fat and I didn’t like it.

Good luck everyone.

@Lougle makes a good point about water.

We have been debating the water rule recently, because @StuntNun isn't sure that we need to drink as much as the rules state. That rule comes originally from a low carb site that I used to use, many years ago, which is now defunct - and I can't find the source of the table that's quoted.

There are sites which state, for example, that you should drink (in American ounces) half an ounce of water for every pound that you weigh - so if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink 80 ounces of water, which is 2.27304 litres (so a bit less than the table in the rules), but no-one seems to give a source for this advice!

Ultimately, I know from the various Bootcamps over the last ten years, that water does make a big difference. So drink as much as you can manage - but if the rules say you should be drinking what seems to be an overwhelming amount, don't panic.