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Low-carb bootcamp

Join discussions about low-carb bootcamp plans, meals and progress. Consider speaking to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Pre-Christmas BootCamp 2022: Week 1

491 replies

prettybird · 17/10/2022 01:02

While @BIWI takes a well-earned break from running BootCamp after many, many years of supporting people in this Way of Eating I have, for my sins, volunteered to run the Pre-Christmans BootCamp Shock. I'll admit to only doing so for selfish reasons: I needed the BootCamp in the run up to Christmas and the accountability of running it would in turn help me to be more accountable Grin

My Big Stick might not be as big as @BIWI's but I will do my best to channel her Wink. And with the support of all the other experienced BootCampers and @FinallyHere's help with the Spreadsheet, I am sure we will see a lot of success in the run up to Christmas.Smile

Here is the link to the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness You don't need to log your weight if you don't need to but within the various tabs of the Spreadsheet are The Rules ( very important), Vegetarian Rules links to resources that outline how and why this Way of Eating works, menu plans, veg carb counters and many other resources.

I'd strongly recommend that even if you don't weigh yourself (and even if you do), you should measure yourself at the start, especially your waist. That way, if your weight loss stalls, you may still see progress in other ways. BootCamp is very effective at reducing visceral fat, which will manifest itself in a smaller waist measurement.

Anyway, on to the important stuff: here are The Rules

1. Eat three proper meals a day.
You must eat breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a lot, and it doesn’t have to be absolutely first thing, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you’re eating enough food and especially enough fat, you shouldn’t be hungry between meals. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack). After the first two weeks of Bootcamp we will relax this, but these two weeks are critical in terms of helping you switch easily to a low carb way of eating - and if you start to feel hungry, it makes things much harder! Eating this way will ensure that your blood sugar levels are kept stable, which will mean that you are much less likely to experience hunger. A typical high carbohydrate diet can mean that snacking is a routine part of your day. Once your blood sugar levels are stable, by eating low carb, you should find that you no longer want to snack. But the rule of thumb here is ‘if you are hungry, eat!’. (Just make sure you are only choosing low carb snacks, of course!)"

2. Avoid processed foods.
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals - meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. You can have them, but just not at every meal, every day.

3. Eat lots of fat.
Eating fat will not make you fat. Honestly! But it will keep your appetite satisfied, and it sustains your body’s energy requirements perfectly. Fat does not provoke an insulin spike, unlike carbs which do (a lot) and protein (a little). Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat – e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light/’Lite’ foods of any kind!

4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food.
"This is where your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. Make sure that you focus on eating those vegetables that are under 5g carb per 100g, and this will ensure that your carb counts are kept low. You don’t have to weigh/count carbs – this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you’re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat.

The vegetable carb counter is helpfully colour-coded into green (eat freely), amber (go easy) and red (best avoided as much as possible), which will help you to make your choices."

5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited).
Dairy can impede weight loss for some people. If you are drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. There are a lot of carbs in milk, so if you are having several cups of tea/coffee per day, you will quickly rack up your daily carb count (e.g. 1 medium latte contains more than 12g carbs!) You may eat cheese but again, don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. You should choose one that’s 10% fat – most of the supermarkets have a Greek yoghurt in their premium ranges with this amount of fat.

6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink.

This is from www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/:

Water is essential to weight loss for those who follow a low carb way of eating. The minimum consumed in a day should be:
Your Weight.........Litres
140lbs............2.5
160lbs............3.0
180lbs............3.0
200lbs............3.5
220lbs............3.5
240lbs............4.0
260lbs............4.5
280lbs............4.5
300lbs............5.0
320lbs............5.5
340lbs............5.5
360lbs............6.0
380lbs............6.5
400lbs............6.5
"High levels of ketones in the blood stream can lead to a reduction in ketone production, therefore being well hydrated could aid in keeping the levels low and ketone production ongoing. Consuming enough water can have many other positive side effects, e.g. it aids your kidneys with the processing of protein, reduces the retention of water, helps with preventing constipation, and reduces the levels of ketones released by your breath, which in turn will reduce breath odour.

However, drinking a lot of water can mean that you also need to keep an eye on your electrolyte balance. You need to make sure that you are consuming sufficient sodium and potassium. On a low carb way of eating, we should eat more salt, so make sure that you are cooking with salt and adding salt to food, if you like it.

Good, low carb, sources of potassium are spinach (raw), avocado, mushrooms, courgettes and asparagus, as well as salmon and yoghurt."

7. No alcohol.
Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for the body to burn, so it will always use this first before it starts to burn any fat - which is why you need to restrict it, especially in the first two weeks of Bootcamp, when we are encouraging the body to stop using carbs for its source of fuel and turn to fat-burning instead. If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8. No fruit.
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada. After the first two weeks of Bootcamp you will be able to introduce certain fruits, in moderation, but at this stage fruit is simply too carby. We are also trying to break the addiction to sweet things, so cutting fruit out is part of this process. If you are getting all your carbs from vegetables and salad, you will be getting all the nutrients and fibre that you need.

9. No nuts/seeds.
Although they are a good source of nutrition and contain lots of fat – which is great for us – they also contain carbohydrate and, because they’re so moreish, you can quickly end up eating a lot of carbs. When we move to Bootcamp Light, after the first two weeks, you can re-introduce these, but be careful and go easy.

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Sugar is an obvious ‘no no’, but artificial sweeteners are also an issue. One of the aims of this way of eating is to eat pure and natural foods, so including sweeteners is not recommended. Some people find that artificial sweeteners can impede their weight loss, and there is some suggestion that your body can respond to sweeteners as if they were sugar, by releasing more insulin - and therefore laying down fat. Given that the aim of Bootcamp is to help us lose our sweet tooth and addiction to sweet things, then it is a good idea to avoid sweeteners altogether in this first two weeks.

That's enough for now. I'll post more in the morning: in particular the disclaimer that I am not a medical professional and that if you have any concerns, you should check with a medical professional.

OP posts:
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ZiggZagg · 18/10/2022 18:09

And my bloody steak is still in the freezer so just FLGV with cheese sauce for me tonight Confused

FinallyHere · 18/10/2022 18:33

Hope it all goes well @ZiggZagg

Mmm, cheese sauce. 😀

ZiggZagg · 18/10/2022 18:34

I know, to be fair, that's all I really wanted anyway Blush

ditavonteesed · 18/10/2022 18:35

Fingers crossed ziggzagg

LesLavandes · 18/10/2022 18:49

Finallyhere - thank you!

ZiggZagg · 18/10/2022 19:26

So I've got Type 2 diabetes Sad

Positives being that the dr thinks it's completely reversible with some tablets and diet changes and then looked so happy when I told him about bootcamp, he said that it was a great way of eating! I felt like a smug schoolgirl Halloween Grin

StuntNun · 18/10/2022 19:33

That's a difficult thing to here, ZiggZagg. Low carb and intermittent fasting will make the biggest difference if you can get a continuous glucose meter, that can be really helpful for identifying any problem foods that disturb your blood glucose.

Backstreets · 18/10/2022 19:33

Bad news @ZiggZagg but at least you're already rectifying the situation!

I'm going to have to figure out some kind of snack to put in my purse, the trains were delayed half an hour (I'd normally just go buy some junk to tide me over) and I was so hungry when I got home I nearly kicked the door in. Might try making my own kale chips!

Chocasaurus · 18/10/2022 19:54

@Skiphopbump sorry to hear of your abdominal pain, glad to hear the ct was clear but I know how frustrating it can be to be stuck in limbo with no diagnosis or treatment. Hope they get to the bottom of it soon

@ZiggZagg as others have said, how great is it that you're already doing something that will help get your diabetes under control. You've got this.

Am wiped after a day at work, this cough really needs to do one. Food today has been
B - greek yoghurt and cinnamon with a coffee
L - chicken salad with lashings of mayo and veggies
D - 'naked' (quorn) fajitas on a bed of spinach with cheddar on top
W - 3 litres (although barely any in the office)

Too busy today to even think about a snack! My day 'off' tomorrow (looking after toddler DD) which I find easier from a water perspective but more tempting to snack on picky bits when I don't actually need it.

Really enjoying reading people's meals, giving lots of inspiration. Loving the sound of the chorizo 'crisps'.

DurhamDurham · 18/10/2022 20:01

I worked a long day today, didn't have breakfast because I cope better missing it out. I had two boiled eggs and salad for lunch. Then I somehow forgot this as I was cooking dinner just now and it was a blooming omelette. So that's four eggs in one day. How many eggs are too many?! Shock

FinallyHere · 18/10/2022 20:04

You have so got this @ZiggZagg

DH started low carbing after a T2 diagnosis. He lost loads of weight esp from visceral fat.

As PP mentioned, the NHS (around here anyway) no longer prescribe test strips for T2 diabetics. As part of a trial, I got to use a continuous glucose meter for a fortnight. I found it fascinating and have bought a couple more (each lasts a fortnight) so I can re-test my reactions a year or so apart.

I'd recommend the kind I use https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/

ZiggZagg · 18/10/2022 20:45

Thanks everyone and @FinallyHere for the recommendation.

Also @StuntNun ! When I had gestational diabetes, I was clueless but I've learned so much from these boot camps that I will be confident to challenge the "diet" advice I get!

Ended up having some corned beef, cheese, silverskin onions, olives and celery for dinner. Quick, easy and delicious 🤤

ditavonteesed · 18/10/2022 20:56

@ZiggZagg what a shock. As the others have already said you have got this, you already know so much more than most people about how to control your blood sugar. Let yourself feel the feelings though you need to process it.

RuLu · 18/10/2022 21:13

Lots of eggs yesterday & a chicken salad.
Today, lunch was Keto cabbage soup (which was so good!) & cottage pie with a cauliflower mash top for dinner. I'm feeling less bloated!

ShineOnYouLikeMorningStar · 18/10/2022 21:21

@Skiphopbump have you tried tracking the painful episodes to see if they sync up with your hormonal cycle at all?

ShineOnYouLikeMorningStar · 18/10/2022 21:36

Sorry to hear your news @ZiggZagg, hopefully you'll be able to reverse it soon. I suppose it's better to know now, & know you're already doing all you can to improve it.

@ditavonteesed an electric egg cooker similar to this one except ours is a cheap one from Amazon, purchased because we had no functioning oven or hob for several months after we moved house at the start of lockdown, & were struggling for cooking appliances. Ours (the super cheap model) is actually great but it's no longer listed, I can (until today) get a perfect soft boiled egg every time. You do have to measure the water out perfectly though, I think this is where I went wrong today. DH can't work it properly because he perpetually CBA to pay attention to what he's doing I will never hear the end of it if I admit it failed me today.

ListenLinda · 18/10/2022 21:55

Hugs to @ZiggZagg

Tuesdayis my busiest day of the week, as it is the day I go into the office and the kids have swimming lessons in the evening, so everything is a mad rush.
but food wise, everything fab today. I’ve had plenty of water, I actually could have done with more but I was up so many times to pee I had to reign it in and felt like I couldn’t get anymore down.

Pizza in the oven for DHs tea and I hsd chicken thighs and salad with cubes of cheese.

I have got a FLGV in the fridge, so I will be having that tomorrow instead of a salad (my default when i’m only preparing a meal for me!)

agnesmartin · 18/10/2022 22:00

DurhamDurham - Am pretty sure the only thing limiting the No. of eggs on this WOE is how many you can eat! Think there is such a thing as an egg fast, but I've not looked into it.

ditavonteesed - Sorry to hear your news, that must've been a shock, but sounds like your doctor is a sensible one who appreciates low carb! 😅

FinallyHere - intrigued by your experience with the glucose monitor. Did you notice much change each time you tried it? Were there any surprise insulin spiking / non-spiking foods? Ignore me if too personal!

prettybird - shall try some lemon tomorrow morning. Also have some of the electrolyte powder so had a bit tonight in water as I felt a headache coming on.

Managed to make the chilli. No beans. Light on the tomatoes. Stuffed.

DurhamDurham · 18/10/2022 22:11

Thanks @agnesmartin I wouldn't usually have four eggs a week so four in a day has shocked me (despite it being me who actually made both meals 😆)

Think I'm more worried about nay after effects now!

Probs haven't eaten enough fat today and had too much protein so I'll address that tomorrow.

JudyBlumesBlubber · 18/10/2022 22:32

Sorry to read of your diabetes @ZiggZagg but I agree with everyone else that you’re on your way to nailing this already. Consider it extra motivation.

I had a chicken salad for tea and a Greek yogurt. Not a bad day but slightly exceeded my 2 white coffees.

FinallyHere · 18/10/2022 22:34

@agnesmartin

any surprise insulin spiking / non-spiking foods

Not so far, no surprises at all. Pretty much anything non bootcamp compliant spiked me. I did the experiment to help me feel better and less lethargic. However, by sticking to the things that don't spike me, essentially bootcamp, I have had a very, very slow but reasonably steady weight loss.

My plan is to do another set of tests once I am at a 'normal' weight. I've been tracking monthly using fancy scales at the gym at work which monitor amongst other things visceral fat, which so far has been going down faster than overall weight, which I think will be good for reducing insulin resistance.

Shall report back. Please don't anyone hold your breath, it really is taking years rather than weeks but really does seem to be working. Having seen the spikes and felt not great when they happen seems to give me a completely different attitude to bootcamping. There is no feeling of deprivation, I'm eating this way because I like how I feel when doing it. The weight loss is a genuine of welcome side effect. I'm interested to see whether this remains if/when I am at or around target weight.

UnOeufIsEnough · 18/10/2022 22:42

That's so good you've got a supportive GP, @ZiggZagg Flowers

So interesting to read about the health benefits of low carbing.

Decent day today, I think. Lots of 💦💦 = 🚽🚽🚽 but I'm hoping by only using the upstairs loo that this will help my step count Grin

B: boiled eggs mashed with butter and a Heck sausage
L: low carb veg soup with butter melted in, some slices of pastrami and mayo
D: low carb moussaka with salad on the side and a drizzle of olive oil.

JudyBlumesBlubber · 18/10/2022 23:00

Apologies if this is the spreadsheet but what is the recommendation around weighing oneself?

prettybird · 18/10/2022 23:17

@JudyBlumesBlubber - no specific recommendations re weighing.

We do suggest weighing yourself first thing in the morning, naked, so that all the water you of course are drinking doesn't skew the results Wink

Whether you weight daily, weekly (or even less frequently) depends on your character. If you choose to weigh daily (as many of us do) you need to be able to cope with daily fluctuations and not to be disheartened by them. Personally I find fluctuations upwards just remind me to drink more water. And if I avoid stop weighing daily, it's because I'm in denial and in the process of falling off the wagon Blush I believe there are apps that can help smooth the weight curve so that you can see the trajectory rather than the spikes and troughs.

But there are many of us who only weigh weekly (or less) as the anticipation helps keep them focussed.

Some of us don't weigh at all and just use measurements or the fit of clothes to guide them.

OP posts:
prettybird · 18/10/2022 23:25

Sorry about the news @ZiggZagg but it sounds like you have a good and supportive GP. Flowers

However, this seems an appropriate time to post the full medical disclaimer (C&Ped with minor adjustmens from one that BIWI had posted at the start of an earlier boot Camp) that I had meant to post yesterday:

I'm not a medic. I'm not a scientist, nutritionist or dietician. Everything that I write here is based on the reading that BIWI and others have 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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