2023 Low Carb Bootcamp - THE PREP THREAD

[BIWI]

Happy New Year everyone! So far, we have 119 people signed up, so I think it's going to be a busy one.

As ever, I'm starting the prep thread a week in advance, to give you all the information you'll need to get started. If low carbing/Bootcamp is new to you, it's really important that you read all this. Even if you've done it before, it's a good idea to re-read!

I'm going to tag everyone, to ensure that people get good notice to come over to this thread. Previous experience tells me that trying to tag everyone in one go just won't work, so I'm doing it in groups of 20.

Here we go:

@Janieread
@Skiphopbump
@Henowner
@ZiggZagg
@TidyDancer
@Comfortablylesslumpy
@Cleanthatup
@Passtheturkey
@Lucienandjean
@Smorgs
@FinallyHere
@EmergentThoughts
@pinknsparkly
@baystard
@SpottyBumPony
@Eanair23
@Potas
@ThistlyPerf
@ListenLinda

Thank you @BIWI

I'm looking forward to this 2023 Boot Camp, and not having the responsibility of running the pre-Christmas Boot Camp although it did help keep me focussed

Thanks for the thread and all the info @BIWI. Just as a side note, does this have to become a way of life? If I stop the diet will I pile on weight again? I have 4 stone to lose, 3 from a previous pregnancy and an additional 1 from this pregnancy. I'm almost 6 weeks post partum so thinking of ways to diet while breastfeeding and also introducing moderate walks again. I never shifted my first pregnancy's weight and I'm terrified of being stuck this heavy. I just don't want to stick to a low carb diet forever or pile it on if I stop. I also worry about milk supply issues as I exclusively breastfeed.

@Jenasaurus I think @StuntNun is probably better placed to advise you, rather than me, as she knows much more about cholesterol than I do. Familial hypercholesterolemia is different from 'normal' high(er) cholesterol.

Re the constipation, one of the key rules of Bootcamp is that you get your carbs from vegetables and salad and this, along with the requirement to drink lots of water, should help in this regard. However, if you have had medical advice to take laxatives, then I'm not going to suggest you should ignore that advice. Why not see how you get on?

@greenerfingers well, just think about it. What made you gain weight in the first place? If it was a high carbohydrate diet, then it's logical that if you go back to a high carbohydrate diet, the weight will just go back on again!

Think of Bootcamp as a way of re-setting things for you. Once you've reached the weight that you're happy with, it's all about finding out just how much carbohydrate you can tolerate. Unfortunately there's no 'one rule fits all' with carbs, as everyone varies in terms of how much they can tolerate.

Some people can get away with a relatively high carb diet before the weight goes back on - others have to stay at a much lower level. The only way you'll know this is by gradually increasing your carbs, until the weight starts to go back on again. But one thing I can guarantee is that, if you just revert to eating the amount of carbs you've been eating so far, you will gain the weight back again.

If you follow Bootcamp rules properly, you'll be eating a very nutritious and satisfying diet so there really should be no need to worry about your milk supply being impacted.

... plus the fact that you really will be able to eat lovely, tasty food! The way you've posted sounds like you think you're going to be deprived of this - I can reassure you that you won't

Thanks for the new thread BIWI, I'm looking forward to getting cracking.

I've recently signed up for the Zoe trial and now have some individual listed food scores that I may try to combine with bootcamp. The Zoe way is basically low carb (although not as low as BC) and low meat. I'm struggling a bit with the amount of beans/legumes etc as I don't really like them so I may go a bit less veggie to stick to bootcamp principles.

I won't post my food if it's outside the rules but I do want to try a bit of a hybrid approach

I had success on BC a few years ago but have name changed and put the 3 stone I lost back on 😢

Thank you for the detailed reply! And yes I love carbs 🤣, pasta/rice and bread are my go tos. Sadly the reason I added weight was due to breastfeeding. Even with eating well and clean it made me cling to weight. I only started losing it when I weaned my baby but then I fell pregnant again and the cycle restarted. I'm kind of going into this a bit hopeless as my attempts at weight loss while breastfeeding previously failed. I really hope this time the weight shifts and stays off. Pre-kids I was ok on a high carb diet but I ate low calories and was very active (and younger).

I'll attempt to start making changes this week to ease in.

Hello everyone. I was on a bootcamp about 4 years (and three housemoves!) ago and have managed to put all the weight back on and then some. I actually started 1 Jan as I didn't want another week, so currently battling sugar withdrawal. I haven't dared step on the scales yet but will do so for the proper start.

Question, when we aim for veg with every meal, does that include mushrooms? I've been having mushrooms and eggs for breakfast.

This looks great @BIWI - not seen it before but did Atkinson back in the day with huge success and this is almost identical. I'm going to give it a go from tomorrow when I return home, can I ask where the spreadsheet for veg is please? I think I missed that?

Thanks for doing this again @BIWI

I have had varying levels of success on previous BCs. I’ve only once got down to a healthy bmi on LC tho and I am now heavier than I’ve ever been following an injury that stopped me exercising (and increased the comfort eating). 2023 is the year I’m sorting my shit out, so am starting today.

Good luck everyone - BC works like a dream if you just trust in the rules.

Thanks @BIWI starting today. Need to food prep and get my head in the game.

Missed saying thank you to BIWI for setting this up! Thank you 😃

Thanks for the new Bootcamp, @BIWI. I joined my first Bootcamp in June 2013 so I'll be completing my tenth year of following this Way of Eating (WoE) this summer. I have maintained a healthy BMI all that time, including through one pregnancy and over a year of breastfeeding. I dread to think what weight I would be by now if I hadn't stumbled across Bootcamp back then. I still feel ten years younger than when I started thanks to some chronic health conditions that a low carb-high fat diet has cured. No more IBS, no more joint pains, no more period pains, and you wouldn't believe the difference cutting out sugar makes to your teeth and gum health.

The other aspect has been the preventative benefits of this WoE. Both my parents had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and borderline blood glucose by my age - mine are all still in the healthy range... and I eat a lot of saturated fat! Bootcamp really works and the benefits go way beyond weight loss.

If you're just starting out then I encourage you to really give it your all over the next eight weeks. It really does work, and you will lose weight without needing to count calories or feel hungry. And if you're coming back to Bootcamp then refresh in your mind how much better you feel when you eat this way. And most important, keep posting on here and keep asking questions. We have a lot of experienced Bootcampers on here and any question you have, we will have seen before. We're here to help you get the most out of this Way of Eating. But also, do read through the threads before asking questions as they may have already been answered for someone else!

@Lalalalalaaaa mushrooms are a fantastic choice for low carb as they're very low carb and they're best cooked in butter so they're good for getting your fat intake up as well. Remember that we're replacing some of our carb calorie intake with fat calories. Mushrooms are essentially unlimited on this way of eating so eat them as often as you like!

@greenerfingers I started my first Bootcamp while breastfeeding as well. We suggest starting straight on to Bootcamp Light when pregnant or breastfeeding. However, there's absolutely no reason not to start on full Bootcamp if you prefer to. Bootcamp Light means that berries, dark chocolate and nuts can be consumed in moderation. (Also alcohol but you'll probably be avoiding alcohol at this stage of breastfeeding.) They need to be small quantities, i.e. 50-100g berries, 10-20g dark chocolate, max. 50g low carb nuts (not cashews!) and you shouldn't be having all three every day since the carbs (and in the case of nuts, the calories) will mount up quickly.

I recommend taking a breastfeeding vitamin and mineral supplement. I used Pregnacare Breastfeeding with the omega-3 capsules to make sure my micronutrient requirements were being met since the baby gets first dibs which can potentially be at your expense. I also suggest taking having a snack ready on your bedside table if your baby is still feeding though the night. It takes a few days for your body to switch over from carb-burning to fat-burning and I found at first that if my baby breastfed several times at night that I was starving by morning! After the first week you shouldn't need that snack any more.

As with all medical matters, neither @BIWI nor I are health professionals so make sure you follow your doctor's advice.

With regard to after you've reached your goal weight, there are different approaches to weight maintenance. I personally continue to follow Bootcamp Light but I don't worry about, e.g. thickened gravies and sauces, or the carb counts of sausages, or higher carb vegetables such as beetroot. Some people choose to reintroduce limited carby foods that they've missed such as a slice of toast a day. Others have a high carb day once a week / fortnight / month.

@Jenasaurus yes definitely take your fibre supplement if you're already suffering from constipation. Psyllium husk contains carbs in an indigestible form (it's to feed your gut bacteria not you!) so it's an excellent choice for Bootcamp. Also, as @BIWI says, make sure you're drinking a lot of water and also eating plenty of fat as these will all help with constipation. Porridge is definitely not a low carb food but you may want to continue it, at least for now, since it's for medical reasons. You can limit your carb intake elsewhere if you like, and/or accept that your rate of weight loss will be slower than if you cut it out entirely. You could also consider having it every other day instead of every day. You need to put your health first and work out what is best for you. I suggest making gradual changes so that you can be sure what is having the best effect on your health. There is certainly plenty of evidence that a low carb diet improves cardiovascular risk markets when compared with a conventional low fat diet, and that's what you have already seen with your progress so far.

We don't count macros on Bootcamp but don't worry about your protein intake as this is flexible and anywhere from 20-35% is absolutely fine, perhaps even higher although I personally wouldn't go lower. Protein can depend on your exercise activity as well; a recent study has shown that long distance runners need a much higher protein intake than was previously thought. If you're interested in discussing macros in more detail then feel free to direct message me about it as I have a lot of information but I don't want to derail the thread since it's irrelevant to most Bootcampers. We have had people on previous Bootcamps that were tracking their calories and macros on My Fitness Pal or similar and wanted to continue doing so. In general, protein intake should remain similar to before Bootcamp, it's the carb and fat intake that we want to change.

@Nugg
Here's a link to an earlier spreadsheet - the carb counter is on one of the tabs at the bottom

I'd like to point out that although Bootcamp is low carb, it isn't like Atkins - Atkins done properly is very specific and controlled. The first phase of the diet (induction) allows only 20g carbs per day.

There's a similarity with Bootcamp in that we also have a phased approach - but we only have two phases and we don't aim to control or count carbs in anything like the same way. That's one of the whole points of Bootcamp - to make it much easier to follow!

And also, picking up on @AllTheBlackCoffee's post - you really don't need to worry about doing/not doing any exercise. Weight loss (on any diet) comes primarily from what you eat. You have to do a lot of exercise to lose weight. That's not to say that exercise isn't good for us, but as a primary method of losing weight it's nowhere near as effective as diet.

Thank you @StuntNun!

And yes, it's a point I will be making on the first week's chat thread - my usual disclaimed - I am not a medic, a scientist, a nutritionist or a dietician. All the advice given here is based on my own reading around the subject, as well as 20 years' worth of low carbing except at Christmas

Very importantly:

If you are currently on any long-term medication - especially for hypertension, diabetes and/or high cholesterol - please talk to your doctor/nurse about low carbing. A low carb diet should reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as help with diabetes, so you may need your medication levels reviewed/reduced.

@AlwaysClockwise
@Kleptronic
@Witsend101
@LittleMy77
@JustAPony
@Nevertoomanyfluffies

Welcome to Bootcamp, and to the prep thread

Thanks for doing this @BIWI

I did the pre-Christmas bootcamp and lost over 30lbs, went from a size 22 to 16/18 and generally feel so much better as I don’t feel sluggish or have so much joint pain. I lost control a bit over Christmas so am very pleased to be back on it. I’m having my HBa1c tested early March and hoping for a better reading than I had in October which is what really spurred me on to start this way of eating.
Good luck everyone!

You were a model BootCamper @Skiphopbump - just shows that this WoE does work

I'm sure your HBa1c results will be good if you continue to stick with it.

And you were a fabulous host @prettybird , the support of everyone involved really helped.

That's what I love about BootCamp: we all support each other with our knowledge, our experiences, our victories (both SV scale victory and NSV non scale victory ) and our challenges - whether that be falling off the wagon or just in life in general

There is no judgement - just support

And that even includes those times the Big Stick had to come out. It's only there to help us achieve our goals

Sorry I didn't mean exactly the same but similar and easier! Really appreciate this post as I was wondering whether to try low
carb and this will be a huge help!