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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:
Thread gallery
28
prettybird · 19/06/2023 20:47

@Pleaseandthankyou - another mantra to consider, which someone came up with on the Pre-Christmas Boot Camp and which ran on into the January Boot Camp (sorry, I can't remember who it was Blush) is: "I am not a human trash can" somehow the American term works better Wink

It was particularly relevant at Christmas time with all its excesses and in the aftermath of all the leftover goodies.

It's a sentiment that has really stayed with me. Halo

It works for functions to. Just because you're served the food up doesn't mean you have to finish everything. Plus asking for water is easy! Nowadays, no one really bats an eyelid. Smile

OP posts:
dimples76 · 19/06/2023 21:16

Day one done. I have had:

B: 2 boiled eggs with butter
L: BLT - romaine lettuce leaves spread with mayo and then sprinkled on fried bacon lardons and chopped up tomatoes
T: Chicken thighs roasted with courgettes, peppers and asparagus (the children had oven chips with theirs which I managed to resist stealing)

Lots of water and 1 cup of tea with a splash of milk.

It was my son's birthday party yesterday and there is too much leftover cake in the house. Fortunately the kids have been selfless and made serious inroads into the cake after school so that I am saved from temptation.

Thanks for sharing the photos and success stories.

Eanair23 · 19/06/2023 21:21

Hi <waves> great to see a new BC. I was away on a cycle challenge last week - 640KM over 5 days. Traing for and doing, I stayed stubbornly above 170lbs. Anyway it's great that it's done and to reset to healthier eating. I actually started Saturday, as I had been fuelling with instant carbs for weeks, and I was resting anyway.
I weigh very similar to you @prettybird but I count it in lbs. I was 171lb Saturday, but I'm 168 this evening. I just realised that is 12st exactly. I'd love to get close to 11st - (154lbs). I am 5ft 8. Perhaps that is not realistic as I haven't been below 164 in decades. So, I'll set 164 as my first mini target.

My weakness is food boredom, so I am going to plan more and give more energy to food prep, and shopping this BC.

Today:
B. Omlette withveg and side of spinach (extra butter).
L: A rather unpleasant Ceaser salad without croutons
D, Chicken wrap, with low carb wrap. A bit meh as well.
S. Greek yogurt.

@ilovecherries you are an inspiration

ItsAsIfWeWereThere · 19/06/2023 21:32

I've enjoyed reading everything posted today (and think I’ve managed not to miss anything!). Before and after photos are always so inspiring so thanks for sharing.

My menu was uninspired today.
B cheese and ham and a coffee with cream
L tuna mayo, asparagus, cauliflower mash left overs.
D salmon, broccoli with olive oil, FFGR and cream

I’ve got a Green chef box coming tomorrow - all Keto meals with carbs under 15g (mainly from the veg). I think one of the meals has a small amount of peanut butter but other than that they’re all bootcamp friendly, so hopefully my meals will be a bit more interesting for the rest of the week.

HedgehogHill · 19/06/2023 21:45

Hi again everyone. What inspiring photos @prettybird & @ilovecherries !

B: FFGY + double cream
L: Feta cheese salad with cider vinegar + xv olive oil
D: ratatouille (courgette, aubergine, shallott, tinned toms, xv olive oil, herbs, salt)

2.5 litres of water

prettybird · 19/06/2023 22:06

Wasn't hungry when I got in from pre-season training so just had a picky supper of some cold chicken, a few cherry tomatoes and some green beans plus 2 slices of Emmental to up the fat.

600ml of water at training plus I'd already had about 2.5l. Currently having a mug of rooibos. Smile

OP posts:
HappiDaze · 19/06/2023 22:06

B 2 x coffee and milk

L - salad of lettuce, tomato, avocado, cucumber, 3 boiled eggs, spring onion, baby potatoes, tablespoon of pizza express house dressing

Snack - a carrot and a teaspoon of hummus

D - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, spring onion, a baby potato, dressing.

venusandmars · 19/06/2023 22:08

@Pleaseandthankyou when the time is closer let us know what kind of function you are going to and we can all chip in with ideas of what has been successful in the past. It will vary for each of us, and vary depending on whether it's a workplace sandwich and crisp lunch, a catered event such as a wedding, or a meal out with a limited menu.

Also to anyone who is new on here, if you're going out to a restaurant you can post the menu here and we can help you find the best options.

Gingerwarthog · 19/06/2023 22:32

Good day today.
Very pleased with the amount of water I'm drinking - 2.5 litres - have really cut down on caffeine and feel much more relaxed as a result.

Baystard · 19/06/2023 22:41

I don't have such brilliantly inspirational photos to share. However in case it helps anyone, I've lost exactly 4st on this WOE but the thing that I think is most valuable to share is that it wasn't a single linear journey but rather a bit of a yo-yo (albeit a downward trajectory). I'd lose weight, fall off the wagon and put much of it back on, get back on the wagon and lose again, and repeat. This went on for about 3 years. However it did get easier and here I am 4st and 4 dress sizes smaller. It's been 7 months tomorrow since I last fell off the wagon for more than an isolated day or two but I'm sure I learnt a little bit more about myself every time I did.

The point about not being a bin was useful to me, thanks for the reminder @prettybird . I hate waste so spent years eating things rather than throwing them away. It's also made me realise that DH isn't a bin either Grin and so I've stopped saving any carby crap for him to hoover up (though he would gladly eat carby UPF junk). I must also thank @FinallyHere for the excellent advice to think "how will I feel after I've eaten this" which has helped me to curb my mindless eating.

B- nothing- experienced faster
L- omlette with fried cabbage
D- lamb rendang, salad, sour cream followed by clotted cream and cinnamon.

MilsonandJim · 19/06/2023 22:41

Pleased with my first day.
B cheese and egg
L at a cafe - haloumi, mushrooms and spinach on sour dough bread except I remembered just one bit in not to eat the bread!
D fajita meat and veg without the wrap
S tomatoes
About 2.5l water and about 0.5l tea. Hopefully can drink a bit more tomorrow.

FinallyHere · 19/06/2023 22:51

Thank you @Baystard for your kind words.

I hope it's OK to give credit for the 'choose what to eat according to how you will feel after you have eaten it ' to the originator, Gillian Riley of 'Eating Less' and 'Overcoming Overeating'

https://eatingless.com

prettybird · 19/06/2023 22:52

@FinallyHere - resources that help our mindset are always welcome Flowers

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 19/06/2023 23:14

Thank you @prettybird

Would not want see to the doors to the 'big stick' cupboard being opened. 😁

Andi2020 · 19/06/2023 23:38

@prettybird @FinallyHere thanks for new bootcamp
I started bootcamp originally on 12/4/21
Would like to loose at least a stone.
I like the booto motivate me.
Things I have kept going with are no milk
I drink mostly Ginger tea and Greek yogurt for breakfast
I love reading what other people eat to get ideas for other days.
I also take Hrt, my middle area is heaviest so really need motivation and help.
Good luck everyone on bootcamp

Andi2020 · 19/06/2023 23:39

@FinallyHere I added my name at bottom 8f you could sort onto alpha for me thanks

Rogue1001MNer · 20/06/2023 00:51

Hello everyone.
I won't normally post this late... its been a bit of a day.
I THINK I've put my weight onto the spreadsheet 🤞🤞🤞

Thank you to @prettybird @FinallyHere and @BIWI

Loved the photos and @ilovecherries what an inspiration!!!!!

Stunningly, for a VERY committed mner of over 10 years, all of this and previous threads have completely passed me by.

I was overweight before covid. Then put on a shed load of weight over lockdowns.
Saw a Dr last may as was starting to get health related issues. Managed to lose a couple of stone, but then got stuck. Away from mn, came to hear about LCBC, and started just following it in March, and that 'unstuck' me.

I got down to a the weight with, for the first time in 15? 20? yrs, put me as an overweight bmi, not obese (and I was very obese).

And then... I dunno. Self sabotage? It's all been going a bit Pete Tong. So now I need to lose 1.5lbs to get back to just being overweight again. And, obviously that's not enough. I've got a couple of stone to lose.
Hopefully the support of being in a group will help.

Like @LittleMy77, I'm on holiday in 5 weeks, when the schools break up. I'd like to lose 1/2 a stone by then, and have a bmi of 27 or 28. Just to be comfortably within that category

Sorry this is so long!!!

I couldn't get the link to recipes to work??? Was that just me?

I'll post less and at a more reasonable time tomorrow later on today!

BloomingHazel · 20/06/2023 04:26

I just got back from camping and had gained 5lbs while gone 😱(almost a week). Too much food and alcohol in general, as well as too many carbs.
I'm trying to remind myself that I'm not a trash can, as prettybird mentioned upthread. I honestly believe through planning, the right mind set and trusting the process, this WOE works.
I have been eating this way since 2018, I have got to my goal weight previously, back in 2019, but let a few things slip here and there, so have to lose again.
Onwards and downwards and don't forget the water, it really does make a difference!

ditavonteesed · 20/06/2023 04:38

Great starts all round by the sounds of it.

I'm close for the end of my third night with no nasty bloat which is so nice.

I've been very basic with my food but managed to stick well, I started Friday.

My before and after, although it's not actually after as I'm about half a stone lighter than that now.

YappyCamper · 20/06/2023 06:18

Great inspirational pictures and stories, thanks to those who have shared. I have been overweight my entire life and rarely managed to diet myself from the obese category even in to overweight. I don't even look at the healthy weight category for my height as I'm so far away from it but I've done this before and I know it works. Like ilovecherries I have come home from a holiday lighter and feeling great by sticking to BC rules, I can do this so just need to make sure I stick to it. I feel so much better when I'm on plan.

Good start yesterday with all the water. Had a stressful experience with one of my kids which reminded me how easily I turn to sweet food for comfort, I wasn't hungry but I was craving sugar so badly! Had some cheese and a mug of green tea but I really need to train myself not to comfort with food. I think that will need to be my bit of self care, find another comfort mechanism.

Busy day today work wise and we've got builders in so food is planned already:

B: buttery boiled eggs mashed in a cup
L: tuna mayo salad (will have half an avocado for extra fat and a vinaigrette dressing)
D: Nigella's golden egg curry. The rest will have with rice and parathas and I'll have mine on a bed of chopped leeks. Won't have too much sauce as it's made with coconut milk.

Random789 · 20/06/2023 07:03

Morning everyone. I think I will copy your breakfast, yappycamper. Buttery boiled eggs mashed up sounds so much lovelier than the sliced boiled eggs with mayo that I had yesterday. Everything sounds nicer when you put the word 'butter' in front of it. Like JK Rowling's butterbeer in the village pub near Hogwarts. Really really wanted to try that.

And someone mntioned ginter tea, which reminded me that it is less uncomforting and sad than most herbal teas so I might give it a go.

All went well yesterday, and I have been eating well for about a week before bootcamp started so I feel like a slenderer me at the moment, which is nice, especially in this hot weather.

I easily managed my 2.5l yesterday and feel good about that -- but I am also wodering whether the hot weather means that I should really have managed another litre or so on top of that?

Porridgeislife · 20/06/2023 07:09

Happy with my first day. We got in at 1am the night before due to delays at Heathrow so with an 11 month old I wasn’t feeling fantastic! Weighed in at the same weight I was post birth… a year ago 😞

B - scrambled eggs with some grated cheese, hot smoked salmon
L - had to take my daughter into London for an appointment so had a late lunch at a Turkish restaurant - lamb shish and salad. No bread or rice although my daughter enjoyed the bread!
D - we waved off friends to the other side of the world so had a long planned Nando’s. I think I did okay with thighs, rainbow slaw and long stemmed broccoli.

Back at work today and realised last night I’m at a breakfast conference so scarfing down eggs & salmon at home so I don’t succumb to the fruit, croissants and bacon rolls 🤞

Okaygoahead · 20/06/2023 07:41

Morning! To keep myself going I decided to set lots of mini-goals and am feeling pleased as I’ve already hit my first! Like a PP, I’m doing this in kilos, so dropping below each kilo mark is a win (and I’m throwing in the 81.6 kg/180 lb mark as an extra win!). So I’ve had a little happy dance.

I began a light version of bc a week ago and then went strict on Sunday and have been very diligent the last few days with water, so it’s a bit of an early mini-whoosh, but I’ll take it!

SummerSazz · 20/06/2023 07:54

2lb off this morning, although this just reversed the weekend gain (had 2 nights out so not bothered about that)

On holiday in a week and a half and would like to get to 11st (4 lbs to lose)

I first started boot camp at 13.8 a few years ago and fluctuate a fair bit Blush. Getting harder now in peri menopause to lose mind you <sigh>

ItsAsIfWeWereThere · 20/06/2023 08:09

Well done @Okaygoahead! it’s so motivating to see the scales moving.

My bootcamp task for today is to find myself an item of clothing to use as a non scale victory piece. I’m also going to M&S to pick up something for Dd so will buy myself some chorizo crisps. Yum.

On Thursday we’ve been invited out for a meal with a relative I’ve not seen in years. My aunt suggest Wagamama. Any suggestions for what I can eat? I’m thinking maybe a ramen (pork belly or beef brisket) but with extra broth and no ramen noodles. And maybe share a portion of wok fried greens? How does that sound?

Not sorted my menu for today yet but as it’s my day off work and I’m at home I’m going to have a boiled egg for breakfast.

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