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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.

Summer 2023 Boot Camp, Week 1: Here we go!

487 replies

prettybird · 18/06/2023 22:54

19 June is just about upon us and here we are at Week 1 of a 8 week Boot Camp. Are you ready? Smile I'm posting this on the Sunday so that those of you who are early risers can get stuck right in Grin

I'll start a new thread every week.

It will take me a few posts as I blatantly copy across from @BIWI ‘s excellent introductory posts and I’m doing this on the app which makes it more award.

First off the major caveat: I am not a doctor, nor a dietican. This Way of Eating works for me and has done for many others. I’ve followed BIWI on these Boot Camps for many years and there is a lot of support but if you have any medical issues or concerns, you need to make your own choices. You need to be particularly careful if you are pregnant or breastfeeding (in which case follow Boot Camp Light), diabetic or if you are taking any medication, as you may need to liaise with your doctor regarding dosage. I'll post a follow up post with more details.

The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness is here @FinallyHere is Spreadsheet Monitor and most weeks will post the link in one of the following posts after my OP as I usually post via the App and links can be a bit hit or miss. I'll do a link but it might not work for everyone Confused also, if you experience any problems with the Spreadsheet, tag @FinallyHere and she will work her magic on it! Grin

And so to the rules. These are the rules for the first two weeks. After that, we do relax things a little:

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!)

Experienced Boot Campers may follow intermittent fasting (IF) (16:8 or similar) and therefore not have breakfast or another meal but if you’re new to this Way of Eating, wait until you’ve got used to it before starting on IF.

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, which you'll find on the spreadsheet.

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 originally came from www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/ but although the site is now defunct, there are other sources which advise similar quantities of water.

It does of course go without saying not to drink the entire amount in one go: you should spread it out over the day.

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.

The water is really important - any time I’ve noticed myself stalling, I’ve noticed that my water consumption had dipped. I like to think of it as helping to pee the fat away Wink

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. On the spreadsheet, you'll find a nut carb counter, which illustrates just how much they vary in terms of their carb counts.

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 us off and running. I'll follow up with a few Housekeeping posts but I think that's plenty to get started with. Grin

OP posts:
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28
venusandmars · 21/06/2023 09:28

@prettybird In my early 20s had one impacted wisdom tooth out at the BRUTAL dental hospital, local anaesthetic only. It was so awful and traumatic that I refused to go back to get the other one out, hence the problem now. Fortunately it was an oral surgeon who did it, under sedation.

LittleMy77 · 21/06/2023 09:37

Random789 · 21/06/2023 08:54

I used to buy jammy dodgers and haribos for the kids because they are among the (very few) sweet things that I could not bring myself to eat even when the cravings were upon me.Grin

Haribo are my downfall! Well, that and all sweets, cakes etc generally

DS is like dh - they can open a bag of sweets, chocolate etc and then leave half for days and come back to it. I on the other hand cannot - once it’s opened it’s gone, same goes for crisps. I’ve had to try very hard not to finish Ds sweets on more than one occasion as a result (the shame, lol!)

similar to a pp, weight loss and eating properly was much easier when I was single / no kids as I just didn’t buy stuff in. Dh is a proper gym fiend and annoyingly burns what he eats (and I suspect isn’t that much heavier than me atm, his is muscle, mine is cake..) but is also rigorous about what he eats / doesn’t eat

we’re constantly bemused by each others habits tbh!

prettybird · 21/06/2023 09:38

@venusandmars - I had mine out in Stobhill Dental Hospital (even though I'd started my job down in Welwyn Garden City - but the waiting list in England was something like 2 years but very short if you went private Hmm and I was still on my dentist's list in Glasgow where the waiting list was minimal Wink). I offered to let them do it under local, as I'd never been under GA, but fortunately they said that because they were doing all 4, it had to be under general. I was fortunate there was minimal swelling too Smile

OP posts:
HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 10:28

@prettybird we also have a weird ongoing leak in our Victorian house. Had the roof and guttering fixed by a decent and trusted roofer. It's infuriating.

I admit to the baby potatoes in my salad 🥗 as I'd already pre cooked them prior to BC Blush they've all gone now

B - coffee
L - I'll be having chicken salad for lunch same as yesterday pretty much

Not sure re dinner yet. I have steak so maybe that or stir fry or goulash. Will need to ask the DC their preference as I don't mind.

Kidney beans are off the table yes ??

Skiphopbump · 21/06/2023 10:48

@prettybird fingers crossed for a dry spell until your issue is sorted!

I had suspected gallbladder attacks on Friday and last night. My GP has advised me to avoid fat. Diet doctor advises not to avoid fat as working the gallbladder is better in the long term than leaving it stagnant. Wondered if anyone else has been through this?

prettybird · 21/06/2023 10:59

Unfortunately, it's just started chucking it down again Sad Dh is back off to crawl into the eaves with his dodgy hip for which he is wait a replacement Hmm to check whether his "damming" is working.

@Skiphopbump - I'm not a doctor so can't advise but @StuntNun might know more and I do recall that there have been other BCers with gall bladder issues that may be able to answer you.

And yes, @HappiDaze , kidney beans are indeed off the menu Shock

OP posts:
StuntNun · 21/06/2023 11:29

@Skiphopbump it is possible to follow a low carb high fat way of eating with gall bladder issues, even with no gall bladder at all. For medical issues you need to be guided by health professionals; is there a specialist you can be referred to for help with your condition? If you have suddenly increased your fat consumption then this could have triggered a gallbladder attack. If you decide you want to continue with low carb high fat then you could lower your fat consumption to pre-Bootcamp levels and then try increasing it more gradually, perhaps start with Bootcamp Light instead of strict Bootcamp. But it's impossible to say without being able to compare your diet before Bootcamp to now. The most important thing is that your health has to come first.

Random789 · 21/06/2023 11:43

venusandmars · 21/06/2023 09:15

@Random789 I sometmes think I'm hungry when it's just that my mouth is a bit bored - too used to having something in it - or that I'm trying to satisfy some other need.
So am I thirsty? Drink water, herbal tea etc. Spend ages making an iced lowcarb drink (hot herbal tea with ice cubes and fizzy water)
Is there some mood that can be changed? Listen to an uplifting podcast. Chat with a positive friend. Meditate.
Is it something physical? Exercise, go for a walk, do some housework, empty your wordrobe and sort out your clothes.
Or if it's bored mouth? Do some dental hygiene - floss your teeth, clean them for a long time. Or do face yoga, sing or whistle.

By the time you've been through all of that list, either your hungry feeling will have gone, or at least time will have moved on and you might be closer to an actual meal time. Or maybe you did need something after all - olives, pate on cucumber, a boiled egg, a small bit of cheese?

That checklist of questions is a good way to occupy the 15 min pause that prettybird recommended (between feeling an urge to eat more at the end of a meal and deciding whther to act on it). I will try it.

Mouth boredom is a good expression. I realised recently that evenings in which I graze miserably are also likely to be evenings on which I attack my poor bitten nails with a viciously high level of frenzy. A panicky need to fill my mouth I suppose. Sad

EvenmoreDisorganised · 21/06/2023 11:49

I'm finding a water bottle helps with mouth boredom, I have one on my desk at work and use one at home, the type with a straw in them that you suck from a nozzle at the top, which means you can drink from them without tipping your head back eg carry on reading on your computer screen or watching telly as you sip. I sip at mine all day long at work.

Flishflashfresh · 21/06/2023 11:50

@MilsonandJim one (or two! Or…three!) teaspoons of pure cocoa, sprinkle of salt, mix with about an inch of hot water as it’s quite lumpy and splashy at first. Then top up with hot water and a dash of cream.

lidl does the best cocoa, in baking section in red and white paper box.

a lot of the cocoa seems to end at the bottom of the cup no matter how well stirred so don’t think entire carb content of the cocoa is necessarily consumed.

Flishflashfresh · 21/06/2023 11:51

Oh, and it is the one thing that seems to stop me falling off the wagon for a sweet thing.

MilsonandJim · 21/06/2023 11:53

Thanks @Flishflashfresh that sounds worth a try.

Skiphopbump · 21/06/2023 12:12

Thanks for the reply @StuntNun . I’ve been doing this since October, it was my high blood sugar and intense stomach pains that prompted me to start. My stomach pains were investigated (ultrasound and CT) at the time and thought to be gallstones or kidney stones. No cause was found and I had been fine from November until last week.

This time feels a little different and does seem to fit exactly with gallstones, will see what the blood test shows.

HedgehogHill · 21/06/2023 12:22

Wow this thread has moved fast since last night! No time to catch up, but here is a link to some of the veggie recipe's i stole from the recipe thread and put in a word document if anyone would find useful to print off:

LCBC Veggie Recipes.docx

LCBC Veggie Recipes.docx

Microsoft Word Document

https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ahr0TewJXwv_hgh4vs4VGQDvrrdN?e=UCmbd7

prettybird · 21/06/2023 12:23

@Suxeed - I know you've managed to find the working spreadsheet but I thought I'd still welcome you over here Flowers

OP posts:
prettybird · 21/06/2023 12:29

Thanks for that @HedgehogHill Flowers

It will be particularly useful for me as ds' vegetarian girlfriend is coming to live with us on Saturday (while they look for a flat to buy) and while I won't cook veggie for her every night and she'll have to come up with some ideas of her own (or just eat extra of the FLGV that I prepare) for the other nights.

Looking at the recipes, I think I'll pop on to the thread to post my tzatziki recipe. It has to have loads of garlic in it Wink

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 21/06/2023 12:29

All of you who are managing to do this with children and teens in the house that you need to shop for have my massive admiration.

What @Random789 said

I have mentioned how much I value the peace i experience around food, once I 'got though' the first few days of eating low carb high fat, when all I could think of, was sugar. Once through that, i don't really have those serious cravings any more. There are still boxes of chocolates sitting around since Christmas. I love being one of the people who can take or leave sweet stuff, it really feels like the best bit of adulting to me.

DH insists on not being restricted on what he can buy and eat, although he did loose weight on LCHF and reversed a diagnoses of diabetes. Before i found bootcamp, where the issue just goes, it was a constant source of friction about what we had 'in the house' Years later, it now just isn't and issue any more. I'm no longer scared of the power food can exercise over me

Worth hanging on in there for :-)

HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 12:32

The great thing about the weather being this warm and humid is that I want to drink more water and eat less.

I've just had to bin a couple of items from the fridge now I can't eat them so they've gone off - hummus and a fruit yogurt

I've added cream to my shopping list which I actually love with coffee so that's a win

I'm waiting for by green beans and broccoli to cool down to have in my salad. I'll cook some later to keep in the fridge to add to future salads.

I'll roast some veggies too to add to salads

HedgehogHill · 21/06/2023 12:33

@prettybird I'm not very technical but feel free to add recipes on to the word doc if useful, think it works the same as google docs but not sure.

HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 12:39

Can we eat tinned green lentils ?

prettybird · 21/06/2023 12:42

I love that we are such a lovely supportive group of people Flowers - all pitching in with ideas, information and support.

I don't have the expertise and experience of BIWI (deliberately not tagging her as I know she's on holiday Wink) but with everyone's constructive contributions, we will have a successful Boot Camp! HaloSmileFlowers

OP posts:
prettybird · 21/06/2023 12:43

HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 12:39

Can we eat tinned green lentils ?

No. It's a pulse: on the Rules as a definite no, even after the 1st 2 weeks.

OP posts:
LittleMy77 · 21/06/2023 12:44

HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 12:39

Can we eat tinned green lentils ?

I think it’s no pulses at all for entirety of BC!

HedgehogHill · 21/06/2023 12:46

Bit sad about the pulses, I am a lentil fan !

HappiDaze · 21/06/2023 12:48

I think I realised the second I pressed post it was a silly question re lentils Blush

My DC are happy to eat more eggs when I cook them so off to buy more later along with veggies to roast for salads

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