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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

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FinallyHere · 18/06/2023 23:00

Thank you very kindly @prettybird

Onwards and downwards 😁

prettybird · 18/06/2023 23:08

There are a few bits of admin that I need to post before we get going. The first of which is the usual disclaimer:

I am not a medic, a scientist, a dietician or a nutritionist. Everything that posted here is based on reading around the subject, especially by @BIWI and her experiences of low carbing gained over the last 20 years and the experience of the other BootCampers. You follow the guidance here at your own risk - although I very much hope that there are no risks!

There are a lot of resources on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness - use them to understand more.

Very importantly, though, if you are on any kind of long-term medication, please talk to your GP/nurse about low carbing. This is especially important if you're on drugs for hypertension, cholesterol and/or diabetes, as a low carb diet should have a positive impact on all of those conditions, which would mean that your dosage may need to be decreased, if not removed altogether.

The second is about etiquette:

Please, please, please read all the posts on the thread before you make your own post. These threads work so much better when we're all here interacting with each other, as that means we can offer help and support when it's needed. Don't just jump on the thread to plop down your meals for the day, your weight that day and then just fuck off. That doesn't help anyone.

More than anything else, it's incredibly irritating when someone posts a question which has already been answered early in the thread. I, and lots of other Bootcampers, spend a considerable amount of time responding to people's questions and concerns, and it's pretty insulting when it's obvious that these haven't been read.

(Oh, and it's very obvious if you haven't read the thread, so take that as a warning Wink)

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Rogue1001MNer · 18/06/2023 23:09

Got it!👍

Thank you 🙏 😊

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prettybird · 18/06/2023 23:20

I'll do the rest of the "Housekeeping" posts in the morning Smile

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SummerSazz · 18/06/2023 23:49

Thanks @prettybird and @FinallyHere for the sparkly new camp!

I've been LC for a few months but will try to follow stricter boot camp. Also ensure that I am IF properly and not spilling out of my 8 hour food window.

I don't expect huge losses but am hoping others do in the early weeks 🤞

💦 💦 💦

coolpineapple1 · 19/06/2023 06:35

Thanks @prettybird Ive weighed when I'm raring to go!!

Sunseed · 19/06/2023 07:00

Thanks @prettybird
I'm determined to stay the Bootcamp course this time. I turn 50 next month and I am as heavy and unfit as I was when I turned 30, which is not good.

ListenLinda · 19/06/2023 07:05

Thank you @prettybird & @FinallyHere , weighed myself, logged on to the spreadsheet & i’m ready to go! 😊

First cup of coffee of the day, added a splash of double cream. Just waiting to get the kids ready for school and nursery, will have breakfast when I get back.

My 1L water bottle (very handy for this BC!) is already filled and is chilling in the fridge. Getting used to drinking that amount of water again is going to be interesting 😁

Happy first day of BC to all, let’s all smash this!

wantmorenow · 19/06/2023 07:13

Morning - is it too late to join? @FinallyHere am I allowed to add myself to the spread sheet or do you do it? Many thanks.

FinallyHere · 19/06/2023 07:15

Hello & welcome @wantmorenow

You are very welcome if you are ok to do that. I'm 'spreadsheet monitor' for anyone who prefers me to 'make it so'

ItsAsIfWeWereThere · 19/06/2023 07:48

Good morning. Big thank you to @prettybird and @FinallyHere for organising and running this bootcamp.
I’ve been low carbing just over a month, although bootcamp has come at the right time to keep me in check… My current bad habits are artificial sweetener, not drinking enough water and mindless snacking, so the strict initial 2 weeks are much needed for me. And Im determined to avoid any big sticks!
This morning I weighed 11st6.5 which is a 9lb loss since I stated low carb in early May. (I’ve actually lost over 3 stone since January through various lifestyle changes). I’m on the cusp of being a healthy BMI for the first time in years so my aim for bootcamp is to get comfortably into that zone.
Im going to a festival in 5 weeks so now idea how realistic LCHF will be there. Will be asking for advice nearer the time…

Good luck everybody!

Skiphopbump · 19/06/2023 07:58

I’m in!

I’ve added my start weight but won’t weigh again until the end of bootcamp as I’ve been doing this a while so the losses are only small and not every week. This can be a bit demotivating when others are losing large amounts.
I need to dig out an item of clothing that nearly fits and try that on every week.
Last bootcamp I started regularly exercising and have managed to keep that up. I feel so much fitter.

Good luck everyone!

ListenLinda · 19/06/2023 08:04

@Skiphopbump that’s a really good idea re the clothing. I have a pair of jean shorts i’d love to wear without having a muffin top! Maybe trying them on every week could be good motivation!

prettybird · 19/06/2023 08:13

Good morning Smile I hope you're all raring to go!

There's going to be a good test as to whether everyone really has read all the thread as we discovered the glitch in the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness last night while we were getting prepared Hmm - and therefore seen @FinallyHere 's corrected link with a spreadsheet that actually allows us to put in info! Grin

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mimosa1 · 19/06/2023 08:15

Hi everyone,

I'm looking forward to a proper push just before a long awaited summer holiday!

I've got a pair of trousers I can't do up so I'm ready (ha!).

Im trying to eat less red meat so it's going to be an interesting one.

Really appreciate the organisers stepping in for the lovely BIWI.

prettybird · 19/06/2023 08:18

As there are so many of us, please be prepared for the first week's chat thread to move very quickly!

Use the bookmark facility to keep your place, but please try and read everyone's posts - you can learn so much more, and be so much more supportive if you do that.

And please don't lurk! Don't be intimidated if people seem to know each other. We all had to start somewhere Smile

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TheOnlyMrsW · 19/06/2023 08:20

Thanks @prettybird and @FinallyHere, up and at it with peppermint tea, omelette & anti-histamines for breakfast!!! I'm hoping to lose at least 1/2 stone in the first 6 weeks (exercise has gone out of the window due to a festival-related injury last weekend!) and then we have another festival and a long weekend in Ibiza before the end of BC.

Random789 · 19/06/2023 08:21

Morning everyone, and thank you very much to prettybird, finallyhere and all the other people providing info and support.

Just doing some intention-setting for the day. I've already had creamy coffeee, but will have breakfast proper (two boiled eggs) at about 10 am.

Lunch will be tinned salmon with stirfried veg, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Dinner is keto tuna burgers.

If needed, snack options are olives and pre-sliced emmenthal, but will try to avoid.

I have some stupidly expensive mineral water to help me glug at least 2.5l

Dog is lying down with his nose pressed to my workroom door, which is his way of telling me I should be starting work now.

LadyBiker · 19/06/2023 08:24

Thank you for doing this! Been LC since Christmas and had lost 13lbs but have been off piste a bit lately so this will be good to get back on track.
Wishing you all a successful bootcamp!

LadyBird1973 · 19/06/2023 08:25

Good morning everyone. Thank you @prettybird for starting this as it's much needed. And thank you to @FinallyHere for the spreadsheet and @BIWI for creating the bootcamp.

I've been doing this for a few weeks now (dh had a health scare which prompted both of us to make some changes). Have massively cut down on sugar/carbs but have been doing more of a lite bootcamp. Am going back to strict bootcamp now, to try and finally kill off the desire to eat chocolate!
I've added my weight to the spreadsheet as it is today - I don't know my original starting weight. I was too scared to find out. But it's still pretty awful at this point and I think I have lost some weight already, so a bootcamp clearly needs to be done!

Worst thing for me will be ditching the artificial sweetener - it's helped me massively with giving up sugar, so I will very much miss it, but determined to do a reset.

Has anyone read the Davinia Taylor book on hacking hormones? I found it fascinating reading about the effects of various things on the body and how addiction works. I'm on HRT and wondering how perimenopause affects weight loss. Am a bit worried that my hormones are making it so much harder to lose weight. Hence the need for bootcamp!

Sorry, that was a massive post.
Hope today goes well for you all.

FinallyHere · 19/06/2023 08:28

@Random789

Dog is lying down with his nose pressed to my workroom door, which is his way of telling me I should be starting work now.

Impossibly cute image 😍

LittleMy77 · 19/06/2023 08:33

Morning all! back for my third BC; first one worked well, second was great til i fell off the wagon at week 5, and here i am again

Holiday in 5 weeks and i’d like to lose some bloat so i can fit into my nice summer dresses and possibly so my thighs can look less like cottage cheese 🙈

Have started hrt since the last BC so interested to see if there’s any differences, esp if it’ll help deflate the boob shelf i seem to have gained since starting it

prettybird · 19/06/2023 08:34

More housekeeping: those of you on a mobile will need to download the Google Sheets app to access the Spreadsheet (I'll admit I haven't done that as my phone's memory is creaking/non-existent, which is why I often say I can't access the spreadsheet as I need to make a special effort to go on my laptop).

Also, there are some fabulous recipes on the various recipe threads which can be found here:

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/lowcarbbootcamp/4676617-links-to-the-boot-camp-low-carb-recipe-threads
(If it doesn't work, can someone please post the link via a laptop as I'm back on my phone). They're grouped by type: chicken, veggie, fish etc - there's even a "Desserts and other sweet things" thread but that should only be used after the 1st 2 weeks Grin

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