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

Thanks everyone for the breakfast suggestions, luckily I'm only in the office 2 days per week, so will find some portable options for those days, at home it's pretty easy

Hi everyone, i have been lurking for a long time on these threads and the one thing that really worries me about following is that I hate water. My fluids come from tea/coffee and Coke Zero.. 😂 I have tried all the various ways of getting it in and i just end up drinking nothing. Is the artificial sweeteners in the carbonated drinks a definite no or are they better than nothing?

(I will also add I won't be using the weigh in sheet etc as I have also had gastric surgery and I would feel like an imposter recording losses alongside the rest of you when my journey is very different in a lot of ways.)

@Opensesame1 - don't have the links to hand but there has been research that suggests that the artificial sweeteners still have a negative effect on insulin (so maintaining our addiction to sweet things), thus lessening the positive effect of this WoE (gaining control of our hunger, stopping being driven by the need to eat)

Have you tried flavouring sparkling water with, eg, cucumber (surprisingly refreshing), mint or raspberries/sliced strawberries (although for the first two weeks you'd need to resist eating the fruit ) - or even all of the above?

I'd like to join you all too please!
I tried the fast 800 a while ago - lost loads but found it a bit soul-less.
I'm keen to try it with some MN support!

@Opensesame1 I'm afraid artificial sweeteners are not allowed in the first two weeks of Bootcamp - and definitely discouraged for the rest of the 8 weeks.

Apart from the fact that we're trying to avoid artificial/processed things, we're also trying to break the hold that sweet things have over us.

There's also recent research that suggests that artificial sweeteners have a negative impact on our gut biome which, in turn, has an impact on blood sugars and, possibly, the release of insulin.

This is all fairly recent science, though, and there's evidently more work to be done here. (It also seems to depend on which sweetener you're consuming - although sucralose does seem to be more problematic).

Have a read of this paper for a bit more info

If you really don't like water, you can continue to drink tea and coffee (just be careful about how much milk you're using). You can also use fruit tea bags and/or (as prettybird suggests) add slices of fruit/cucumber to water. If you use sparkling water, it will feel/taste more like you're drinking a fizzy drink.

The other thing to try is drinking water hot, with a slice of lemon in it. It's surprisingly comforting, and somehow doesn't feel like drinking water at all.

I should also add, @Opensesame1, that it's really important that you do drink enough fluid - which should come primarily from fluid. It really does help with weight loss.

Thanks @BIWI & @prettybird !

I will try it hot with lemon and I think that might be the most promising! I will forget about the tea and coffee as I can't drink those without the pesky sweeteners.. 😂 I suppose it's just another one of those habits that it's better to break instead of skirting around it!

@Opensesame1 - try rooibos (redbush tea). It's one of the tes I can tolerate without milk, so is good for increasing water consumption without the carbs.

Twinnings Buttermint tea or any of the various peppermint and/or liquorice teas are also nice - and actually taste quite sweet

I mostly drink chamomile and mint tea for hot drinks and limit the teas and coffees to 2 or 3 (due to the milk and caffeine).

I like any old chamomile, and the posh pyramid peppermint bags (Aldi) or Buttermint like Prettybird (Waitrose have this).

Hello All
Well iv started today x Not sure how to join or record but I'll be following along.

Just dropping in and saying hello, I'm going to meal plan Fri / Saturday.

As well as the obvious benefits of BC I'm looking forward to giving up wheat, I've not got any diagnosis or anything but I'm sure I don't feel good when I eat it and it'll be interesting to see what 8 weeks of not eating it does for my health.

Re nice tea, dd gave us some lemon and ginger TeaPigs for Xmas, they're really nice and comforting for a winter drink.

@Opensesame1 is it all water or just tap water? I can't drink tap water (and I don't mean that in a snobbish way, I genuinely can't stomach it where I live) but I'm fine with bottled water. Asda own brand does the job and is a massive step up from bottled water

Well thanks to @BIWI for starting this thread as I've done my LC shop and will start tomorrow morning!

Tonight I've finished off the potatoes with deep fried chips and fried eggs with bread and butter. Will have a bit of choc orange later then it all get locked away. Fruit loaves etc are all in the freezer already.

Excited to start but I don't have scales 😡 and I need to renew my gym membership so not sure what to do! Do supermarkets have scales you can pay to weigh still!? Otherwise I'm getting on at the vets tomorrow after work and that will have to do 😂

@Nugg you don't have to weigh yourself if you don't have scales!

Instead you can take measurements - hips/waist/bust/upper arms/upper thighs

... and/or find a couple of items of clothing - a blouse or a pair of trousers - that are currently a bit too tight, and try those on once a week.

@BergamotMouse do you have the menu as we can help with choices. If it’s traditional Xmas dinner then just ask for no potatoes and more veg instead. I do this a LOT at restaurants and it’s never a problem. I try to choose starters like snaked salmon but if it’s pate & toast I just eat the pate. It’s helpful if there’s a bit of a side salad with it then I can pop the pate on lettuce and pretend it’s toast. You’ll likely need to swerve the pud but cheese (without the biscuits or grapes) is a good option. Fizzy water in a champagne or wine glass helps to fit in without the alcohol too. But if you post the menu we can help with choices.

Thanks @NotDonna. It's not a traditional Christmas dinner so quite a lot of choice.

Sorry, that's really blurry. Here's a link to the menu.

atlas-cms.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/arc/production/media/banyan/pdf-menus/d08e2fb5-28fa-424b-92c7-6dcf251e3866.pdf

I'm guessing any steak / meat but I feel they're drizzled in al sorts of sweet sauces.

Thanks @BIWI!

I've just noticed honey isn't allowed in the first 2 weeks. I take a honey and orange flavoured iron supplement daily (specifically vitabiotics feroglobin plus). I can't get through the day without it but worried it will hinder me cutting with sugar. Should I take some fat/protein with it to reduce the sugar spike?

I'd go for the chicken or halloumi skewers from that lot, with salad. Not clear if they are covered in sweet chilli but you could always ask for it without the sauce.

I'd probably eat the sweet chilli sauce and not worry about it but that's why I'm obese

QQ as I can't find the veg carb counter for reference - its a link to a document that my brain won't compute on the spreadsheet I have...

tomatoes - yay or nay? I love them with mushrooms and eggs, but cant see anywhere if they are ok - thank you!

@BergamotMouse lots of choices but a lot are carb heavy. however I notice on the Thai Red Curry that there’s an option of cauliflower rice. Very unusual! It’s a butternut squash curry so it’ll be carby but certainly within the rules as a one off BUT there’s a Salmon Teriyaki below it, (in a different colour) so you could ask that to be served with the cauli rice. Or any other meat/fish based dish where the rice won’t be mixed in. Obvs avoid any chapati etc. Enjoy!

@BergamotMouse if you’re having starters the calamari will probs be least carby (breadcrumb if tends to be light) & aioli is ok or the bang bang chicken (despite cashews!). It’s a one off but try and stay as strict as you can. Really really watch your drinks and aim to stick to water. I find that drinks are the killer including non alcoholic. Enjoy your lunch!

@Nugg as I said upthread, tomatoes are fine.

Not quite sure why you can't access the spreadsheet - are you using your phone? If so, you'll need to download the Google Sheets app

@BergamotMouse that's a terrible menu! It's very unusual for a menu to have nothing for low carb options, but everything there is either with bread/rice/pasta and/or with some kind of sugary sauce or glaze!

I'd go for the padron peppers, from the nibbles section, and then would ask for a steak without the onion rings/fries, and ask for a salad instead (but with a vinaigrette dressing on the side - make sure it's not balsamic vinegar), or go for a burger, without the bun/fries and again, extra salad.

@WannabeSlimSally why do you feel/think (or know!) that you can't get through the day without that supplement? Look at the ingredients list:

Purified Water, Raw Cane Sugar, Malt Extract (from Barley), Glucose Liquid (Sulphites), Honey, Glycerin, Lysine HCl, Ferric Ammonium Citrate, Flaxseed Oil, Zinc Sulphate, Acidity Regulators: Citric Acid & Sodium Citrate, Beetroot Extract, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Thickener: Xanthan Gum, Calcium Glycerophosphate, L-Carnitine Tartrate, Corn Oil, Natural Source Colour (Mixed Carotenes [Polysorbate 80, Sunflower Oil, Mono & Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Antioxidants: Ascorbyl Palmitate, DL-Alpha Tocopherol]), Niacin (Nicotinamide), Thiamin (Vitamin B1 as HCl), Natural Flavouring (Orange Ext.), Preservative: Potassium Sorbate, Siberian Ginseng Extract, Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCl), Pantothenic Acid (D-Panthenol), Co-Enzyme Q10, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2 as 5-Phosphate Sodium), Green Tea Extract, Copper Sulphate, Manganese Sulphate, Folic Acid (as Pteroylmonoglutamic Acid), Sodium Hydroxide, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin).

Sugar, in some form, is 3 out of the 5 top ingredients, so it really isn't going to help you (from a low carb perspective, that is).

Is there another iron supplement that you could choose instead?

@greenerfingers
@AlwaysClockwise
@Kleptronic
@Witsend101
@LittleMy77
@JustAPony
@Nevertoomanyfluffies
@coffeeginandkindness
@Brassbumblebee
@Rayna37
@OverSteel
@FestivePinkFairy
@katesbushh
@Desperatelyseekinganame
@Linnet
@elliott2603
@PennyPinkPineapple
@CapybaraFightClub
@Nugg
@earlyraisin
@Mercedesbenz2022
@FancyFelix
@Bagatella
@TangledWebOfDeception
@motherbuckets
@BonnieBairn
@WannabeSlimSally
@AlhambraQueen
@SnailonaWhale
@Bigteamug
@MuthaHubbard
@UnfinishedBusiness
@rachwinkles

You're all on the list now - I've tagged you just in case you haven't discovered this prep thread already!

@Nugg's post has raised an important issue:

If you're using your phone to access MN, when we start the first chat thread on Monday, you'll need to download the Google Sheets app to be able to use the spreadsheet

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