Low Carb Bootcamp challenge - lose half a stone before Christmas

[BIWI]

If we start next Monday, there are 6 weeks leading up to Christmas.

Hopefully that means that we can drop 7lbs in those weeks - but only if we're properly strict.

It's entirely up to you if you want to do strict Bootcamp, or Bootcamp Light across those 6 weeks, although I'd suggest that if you haven't got too much to lose, you veer towards a stricter approach.

It's also, we need to bear in mind, a more difficult time of the year to think about losing weight as there are likely to be more social occasions, so a stricter approach around all of those events is probably a good one!

Who's in?!

@BIWI mega busy week sorry will update asap sorry!

@BIWI hi sorry im still here but my iPad has decided I can't access the spreadsheet so I'll be doing without.

Hi guys,

So i'm finding the water intake very difficult. I just can't stomach so much plain water unless it's summer time or I'm working out and even then I sometimes add a good splash of dilute for flavour.

Due to my weight the recommended intake is 4l but I haven't even got to 2 since Monday :/
I've tried adding a squeeze of lemon and lime, rooibos tea with milk, sparkling water and it's not really helped. Sooo I just bought a bottle of sugar free lemon and lime water and some smaller 500ml strawberry flavour sugar free waters. I did a quick Google and it said it shouldn't knock you out of ketosis but I wanted to check here first before I guzzled a bottle down.

Please say its OK 😭plain water and hot drinks without even a teaspoon of honey is killing me plus I'm on strict bootcamp so there's no joy on either front lol

@N2022 It sounds like you might just be craving sweet things, and you should find that this passes over the next week or so. Your existing population of gut bugs will be carb and sugar lovers. Right now they're not happy and are sending your brain signals telling it to send more sugar. They'll start to be replaced by gut bugs that love lower carb things who, whilst they might be small in number right now, are about to get a huge boost and will begin to take charge. Once they really get going you'll find joy in the low carb foods and it'll get much easier.

Personally I'd avoid artificially sweetened waters, the sweeteners aren't good for you (especially aspartame) and they're chemically closer to diet fizzy drinks than they are to water IMHO. I certainly wouldn't consume large volumes of sweetener just to get fluid uptake up, I'd think the benefit of the fluid would be cancelled out by the sweeteners.

Give it a bit more time, it does get much easier and you'll start finding some joy soon!

Ok!! I'll hang in there and stash the drinks away. Thanks for responding @Baystard 🙂

1 more question. Can I have carrots on strict bootcamp? I was really looking forward to carrot noodles but read here that it's high in carbs ??

@N2022 - the main problem with sugar free flavoured water is that the artificial sweeteners don't educate your taste buds away from sweet things and (as I understand it) can even still generate an insulin response or at the very least, continue the very cravings that we are trying to stop

If you are looking for more flavour, why not try slices of strawberry or a few raspberries in the water? They're surprisingly effective in imparting flavour - and you don't need to eat them and can keep them for the next glass/jug. Sliced Cucumber is also amazingly refreshing.

I've even on occasion done a Pimm's style mix of raspberries, strawberries, cucumber, sliced oranges and mint in sparkling water and I don't normally drink sparkling water

I do remember (long ago) reading research that showed diet drinks (those with sweeteners in) do provoke the appetite. (The sweetness seems to get the body ready to digest food and then none arrives.)

Occasional sweet tasting things - once you are really low-carbing probably don't throw you (most things taste too sweet then anyway) but drinking pints of it early on might well do so. It is a risk!

@Baystard I love that description of gut bugs!!! Sweet things aren't my kryptonite, it's crisps and crackers but guessing that some of the logic is the same

Have you downloaded the Google Sheets app? If you have and it's still not working, do you want to stay on the spreadsheet? You could always post your weight and ask one of us to enter it for you.

@N2022 if you check the veg carb counter (on the spreadsheet) you'll see that carrots are on the amber list - i.e. try to avoid where possible.

That's not to say they're verboten - but it obviously depends how much you're planning on using.

Re the water. As others have said, you will get used to unsweetened drinks! It's really important not to include sweet stuff, as well as avoid artificial sweeteners. As well as potentially triggering an insulin response (as you body thinks you're drinking something sweet), the artificial sweeteners can really mess with your gut biome, which isn't good for you.

Don't worry about being in ketosis by the way - you don't need to be in ketosis to lose weight.

An interesting piece here on artificial sweeteners

I have filled in the spreadsheet now. I thought I had already done it!

Thanks for all the info about artificial sweeteners @prettybird @BIWI. Full disclosure I've been glugging sugar free tonic and a splash of 0% Gordon's pink gin every night to break my glass of wine (+) a night habit! I've just broken the news to DH who has become a Zeto Fanta fiend since he started LC. So I'm celebrating two weeks of absolutely no alcohol tonight and pondering what next re the artificial sweetener. It makes complete sense, just so hard to go completely 🥶 🦃 ! Cooking lamb with frozen spinach and lots of spices tonight but I'm going to try freezing a bag of fresh spinach and see if it makes a difference to omelettes etc. The appearance of frozen spinach is not always very appealing. Keep going everyone, we've got this 👏.

I still tend to allow myself one diet coke a week (in the pub, I get sick of soda water) but I don’t have any other sweeteners at all as far as I know.

The frozen spinach thing - frozen fresh spinach is even easier than the bought type because it thaws instantly in the pan, no more pushing the blocks around with a wooden spoon till they thaw. It can make a mess when you are getting it out of its bag though.

BIWI please could you take me off the spreadsheet. My scales are not working and I can't find the tape measure either

Have done @dimples76!

I've been so tired today. Is this the dreaded carb flu?

Had a coffee with cream for breakfast. Lunch was chicken waldorf salad, dinner was a low carb version of Delia's pork and mustard stroganoff with grated garlic courgettes and cauli rice. Am very full.

I weighed myself this morning, I know it's only 2 days in, and it's definitely water weight, but I've lost 3lb, so I'm well chuffed. Stomach is also looking a lot flatter. This point is where I always go off the rails on any kind of diet - I have a decent start and something in my brain goes "yay, you can relax!" and it all goes to pot. So the next few days will be interesting!

So, today, leftover aubergine lasagne for lunch (no breakfast), cheese and ham snack, then a fried halloumi salad for tea. I am also down 3lb which I expect is a water whoosh but is encouraging.

hello! I have bootcamped before but not for a while and over some years carby eating has taken over again. I've had a very stressful couple of years and put weight on, am drinking too much, not doing any exercise - you name it. This week, a blood pressure reading was high and I think I need to get a grip. I know that reducing drinking and losing weight will make a huge health benefit quickly so I searched out the boot camp board and grateful to found you, and with a current challenge just started too - it's a sign! I will weigh in tomorrow and get going.

I don't mind about the spreadsheet either way, my start weight is 159lbs. Thanks.

I have been struggling like you wouldn't believe with it this week. I, cold and hungry for the most part. I need to get more organised as it's so easy to reach for whatever is in the fridge. Also there needs to be less danger foods in my house.
I'm at work today so should be much easier as I only have what I take in with me.
I need to read up a bit around exercise, I've always been ok with gym/pt and low carb as the protein is amazing for that but I don't know much about running which is currently my life. My goals are to run further and faster 😂 I figure if I can get a few pounds more off it won't hurt that goal.

@ditavonteesed I can really recommend The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Drs Volek and Phinny. They do a lot of their own, original research into athletic performance and how low carbing works with that.

@ditavonteesed do keep going, it's so worth it. If I've been eating full-on carbs before a low carb phase I find it takes me about 6 days before I can really say I'm not struggling any more. For others it can be less. But you do get through it and it feels great once you do.

Water challenge going well, managed 3L yesterday and well into my 2nd litre today. Adding some hot water to the bottle definitely helps glug it down. I've been bc lite for a while so no weight whooshes for me but happy with any loss.