Week 1 - Back-to-school Bootcamp!

[BIWI]

Morning all. I hereby declare this Bootcamp open

Here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

... with many thanks to the lovely @FinallyHere for creating (and managing)

I know you're all keen to get going, so will post this now and then come back with some important housekeeping notes

Thanks BIWI and FinallyHere. I'm looking forward to this bootcamp despite the horrifying numbers on the scales just now. I'm restarting yoga this morning. I thought I may as well get into all the good habits at once. And I expect being faced with the reality of my overhang in Downward dog will help keep me on track. Good luck to everyone starting today.

Thank you for the thread (and Bootcamp as a whole) @BIWI and for the SoF @FinallyHere

Im really excited to get started. I'm actually almost 2 weeks in as I started straight after the bank holiday but I don't tend to stray too far into BC light anyway apart from wine so will pretty much carry on as I have been. I didn't weigh when I first started but have lost 2lbs that I know of which is fine for me. I have an underactive thyroid and am a really slow loser so any movement downwards will do for me.

Today's plan:

B: Greek yog and cream - yog is from the co-op and has a grainy texture which I'm not loving but I have 2 tubs so I'll have to persevere
L: big mushrooms stuffed with cheese and bacon, salad with olive oil dressing
B: chicken curry, roasted broccoli

Wishing everyone good luck, and I'll check back in later

<clears throat>

Here's the usual disclaimer. This is very important:

Low Carb Bootcamp is run by Mumsnetters. Those who run the threads are not medics and are not qualified in nutrition or dietetics. Recommendations and support are based on our experiences and understanding of low carbing. Before starting, if you are on any kind of long-term medication (especially for hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol), please check with your GP, as the results of low carbing can mean you may need to reduce your dosage. And if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding, we suggest you follow Bootcamp Light.

Thank you @BIWI and @FinallyHere
I was on the last bootcamp and have been continuing on the lite version. Am down 3lb since the end of the last one, but have had a bit of carb creep, so looking forward to doing the strict 2 weeks again, but having company and support. It's much harder to do it on your own.
Will log weight later. Can't seem to open the spreadsheet properly. Weight tray is 171.5 lbs today and I'm aiming to lose a stone this bootcamp.

Good luck everyone, hope today goes well

Good morning all, and good luck! I'm really excited to get going.

I've used this way of eating in the past, and know that once the first few days are over it's the easiest way in the world for me to lose weight... as long as I don't get complacent and start taking short cuts, or allowing in lots of 'little' cheats.
I've lurked on a number of bootcamp threads but have decided to officially take the plunge this time, I'm really looking forward to it. On that note, off to fill a massive jug of water...

Here, and after a very bad weekend looking forward to getting back to BC properly! I've had two huge cups of herbal tea and about to start on the water. Food planned for today is crustless quiche for breakfast with mushrooms, spinach and chorizo, crudites and yoghurt for lunch and slow-cooked pork shoulder with roast veg at dinner. I have 21lb to lose to get into the healthy BMI category and I'm hoping to lose that by Christmas...................

Re the spreadsheet @LadyBird1973 (and everyone else), we use Google Sheets. If you're using your mobile to access Mumsnet, then you'll need to download the app

Google Play
Apple store

... and while we're on the subject of the spreadsheet, please have a good look around it, using the tabs at the bottom. There's so much more there than just the weigh-in sheet.

Re the spreadsheet - j can't edit it to o add my weight! Can you please advise thanks x

Ah yes - there seems to be a problem entering anything. We need @FinallyHere!

please try this link to the spreadsheet of fabulousness SofF

Morning all

Back from holiday and raring to get started. My daughter's first day at school today (gulp) so I ran out the door without weighing, but will update the spreadsheet when I'm back. I do hope it will work for me. My largest concern is what happens when I'm busy and/or tired and the lure of a bowl of pasta or a hasty lunch sandwich is just too hard to avoid. However, with some accountability and support I hope to overcome!

Plan for today

• Ham w cream cheese
• Tuna mayo in lettuce wraps and cucumber
• BBQ sea bass with green beans and broccoli

@FinallyHere the spreadsheet opens for me but the column to add weight is dated 25 September, week 3. Also I can see someone's real name in a red box.

While we're waiting, a quick post about weighing.

We use the spreadsheet to weigh-in as that's the most common and easiest way for us all to monitor our progress. However, you don't have to be on it if you'd prefer not to. And if you'd rather not enter your actual weight, you can use an indexing system - so your start weight is recorded as 100, and then you subtract 1 for each pound that you use.

There are two other ways that we recommend you use, as well as (or instead of) weighing - firstly, by taking your measurements (bust/waist/hips/thighs/upper arms), and second, by finding an item of clothing that's currently a bit too small/tight, and trying that on each week. Seeing your progress like that is much more rewarding than a number on the scales!

When to weigh

If you are going to weigh, then weigh first thing in the morning, naked and after you've been to the loo (ideally!). If you weigh later in the day, all you're doing is weighing yourself plus whatever you've eaten or drunk.

Some people like to weigh daily, as this helps to keep them focused and on track - but if you're doing to do this, then you need to be able to cope with the fact that the scales might go up as well as down. It's quite natural for our weight to fluctuate on a daily basis - especially as you get near your period - but it can be quite hard, psychologically.

If that's you, then weigh only once a week. Although I start a new chat thread, and link to the spreadsheet every Monday, it doesn't have to be a Monday if there's a day that works better for you.

What weight to enter

The simplest is to enter the weight you see on the scales on your chosen weigh-in day.

But if you're a daily weigher, and you're seeing fluctuations, then there are two different options:

• record the lowest weight you've seen that week

or

• record your average weight for that week

Thank you. I decided not to log on the spreadsheet last time as I thought I'd probably keep forgetting and I log it elsewhere anyway. So I never clicked on it and didn't realise it had all that other info, doh!

I've had egg mayo with bacon bits for breakfast just now, I will probably stick with this for the next two weeks and then go back to the 16:8 fast and miss breakfast as I struggle with low carb breakfasts, they mostly feel too rich for that time of day and I don't want to get in the habit of eating bacon all the time. On the last bootcamp I was definitely relying too much on processed meat but as a family we are actively trying to cut meat consumption.

So we add our own figures to the sheet? I’m almost certainly just being dim but how do we add the sheet to google sheets? I downloaded the app, but when I click on the sheet it doesn’t take me to the app, it just suggests I download the app, which I already have 😵‍💫

@VeryGoodVeryNice this is why I don't go anywhere near the spreadsheet, and leave it to @FinallyHere !

@RooRooCooChoo

My largest concern is what happens when I'm busy and/or tired and the lure of a bowl of pasta or a hasty lunch sandwich is just too hard to avoid

This is why it's so important to make sure that you have planned ahead, and have food to hand that's low carb. Meal planning - for evening meals, lunches, and breakfast (in the first two weeks of Bootcamp but also making sure that you have stuff to snack on, as while you're adjusting to the new WOE you may still be hungry between meals.

Morning! Feeling a bit drained and tired after a long bike ride in the heat yesterday so taking it easy today and drinking loads. I had my usual boiled egg for breakfast but after 9 months of a daily egg, I'm suddenly bored of it so looking for new suggestions. Lunch will be chicken salad and dinner, Salmon with veg (roast aubergine slices and buttery savoy cabbage). I have rollitos and baby bel cheeses on hand if hunger strikes and re-introducing my own mantra of "I'm not someone who snacks in the evenings" as I've been slipping up in that department! Have a good day, everyone.

Mumsnet bootcamp postings

Morning everyone!

Really looking forward to this bootcamp - thanks @BIWI and @finallyhere.

Weighed myself last Friday so will keep using that day as my weigh in day.

Have a few health issues going on in the family so need to make sure I’m as fit as I can be to support them - this bootcamp with definitely help, then also going to gym a bit more and learning how to relax (am not great at that!). Also perimenopausal so can’t get away with as much as I used to.

This morning for breakfast I had 100% beef burger (20% fat), a couple of slices of cheese, one tomato and some cucumber slices.
Lunch will be cheese, ham, cucumber and olives.
Supper will be a bolognaise or chilli mince thing on a mammoth courgette that I discovered in the veg patch yesterday.

Thanks for the reminders on water!!

weighed in first thing. Enjoying my buttery mushrooms and bacon for breakfadt

I didn't know there was a boot camp & just ate some sourdough. Never mind, that can be my Sole Slip Up. Off to join spreadsheet. Looking forward to it.

A quick reminder about how Bootcamp works

The first two weeks (of our total eight weeks) will be strict, but after that you can move on (if you wish) to Bootcamp Light, which is a little more relaxed.

These are the things that we don't eat, throughout the whole of Bootcamp:

bread (of any kind or colour)
pasta/rice (of any kind or colour)
potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, beetroot
sugar/honey/syrup
flour (and anything thickened with flour)
cake
biscuits/crackers/pastries
crisps (of any kind)
fruit juice
full sugar fizzy drinks/squash
balsamic vinegar (all other vinegars are fine)
grains/pulses/legumes (which includes peas)
sweets

What can I eat then?!

Things you will be able to eat are things you generally can't eat on any other diet! Low carb means high fat, so you will be able to enjoy things like:

butter
cream
cheese
mayonnaise

No light/lite or low fat anything!
all meat/fish/seafood (although keep processed options to a minimum)
eggs
oily dressings (especially using extra virgin olive oil/avocado oil)
lard/coconut oil (as well as butter) for frying food
plenty of vegetables and salad - this is really, really important
(after the first two weeks) some fruit, mainly berries
(after the first two weeks) some nuts/seeds

There are just ten rules, and as long as you follow these you should lose weight. In brief, the rules for the first two weeks are:

Eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Avoid processed foods as much as possible
Eat lots of fat
Make sure your carbs are coming mainly from vegetables and salad
Be careful how much dairy you're consuming - especially milk (butter is unlimited)
You must drink at least 2 litres of water a day
No alcohol
No fruit
No nuts/seeds
No sugar/artificial sweeteners

The rules, in full, are on a tab on The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

Make sure you're familiar with those - print them out or save them on your phone.

@EquallyDeterminedand @LucyLatimer just remember that we're trying to avoid processed foods as much as possible, so try not to have bacon every day (and if possible, buy nitrate-free bacon)