Week 1 - May '24 Low Carb Bootcamp. And off we go!

[BIWI]

Evening everyone!

I'm starting the first week's chat thread this evening as I know everyone will be chomping at the bit to get going tomorrow!

First, and most importantly, here's the link to the spreadsheet

You'll see that it's now got a bit of colour coding going on. There are several posters who have said that they don't want to be on the spreadsheet, so they are on there, but greyed out - so I know who is/isn't wanting to talk about their weight.

If you're said you're a vegetarian, your row will be coloured green; this is important, so that we know how to advise you about foods (or rather, not to tell you off if you're eating nuts/fruit/seeds when you're allowed to, as a veggie!)

If you haven't seen the spreadsheet before - or even if you have! - have a good look around it. As well as Bootcamp rules, there's loads of helpful information on there (look at the tabs at the bottom). I've revised the vegetable carb count, which now includes some more veg.

If there's anything that isn't clear

Oh it's an absolute delight @UnOeufIsEnough ! The recent research re low carb is fascinating isn't it, after years of believing diet has no effect. I'm the same with the effect on pain. After 4 days of starting low carb, pain I'd had for 30 years was decreased; it's incredible!

Yes, exactly! It's amazing how much research there is still to do on it. I'm happy to have found something that works for me though!

@somanylights when I first started the Low Carb Bootcamp back in 2013, the arthritic pain in my fingers and wrists completely disappeared. Almost eleven years later I'm just starting to experience some very minor symptoms creeping back in again. But it's still a far lower level from where I was before I started this WoE. So I've bought myself a 15-20 year delay in the development of arthritis. And yet not many doctors would prescribe a low carb diet for pain relief.

I have to say that it's the benefits beyond weight loss that have kept me on the low carb path (for most of the time!) over the last 20 odd years. For me, it was realising that my IBS symptoms had disappeared that was the real revelation.

I'm still in! Did last boot camp in Jan and lost 17lbs. Just checking in to keep myself accountable. I'm more on maintenance now, so won't share much of what I'm eating as I can be a bit more lenient now ( only in terms of nuts and berries and using almond flour to create delicious cakes ), but just wanted to say, stick with it, it really does work!

And I think summer is a bit easier to do it, as you can have lots of lovely salads, which aren't quite so appealing in the winter months!

Also, is there a maintenance thread?

That's wonderful to hear @StuntNun.

hello lovely bootcampers, I think I've now caught up with the spreadsheet requests, if I've missed you out, or heavens forbid but it has definitely been known, made whatever was wrong worse for you, please ask me again.

Shall remember to keep a record of the requests in future so i can @ you all as the very lovely BIWI does ...

Another first time Bootcamper here. Thanks for providing this resource!

I'd normally have FFGY for breakfast, with a sprinkling of mixed of nuts, and fruit piled on top, but this morning it was just the FFGY, and a few ounces from a chicken I'd roasted yesterday evening. I was surprised how long that sustained me.

Lunch was a salad of radishes, celery and cucumber, and hard boiled egg, mixed with mayo and sprinkled with parmesan.

I was surprised I wasn't really hungry by dinner time, but there's always that fear that if I don't eat I'll regret it later, so I made dinner: chicken leg with tomato, green beans and a few mushrooms, and halfway through I was full. I confess I continued eating because it's hard to throw away good food :(

Notes to self: only eat when hungry, smaller portions, and stop when full.

@valsh - someone in the Pre-Christmas 2022 Boot Camp made the point that we are not human trash cans somehow it's mire effective in "American"

If you're no longer hungry, why eat it? Food once you're full is just as much "empty calories" as pure sugar.

Sloping in quietly, have low carbed in past and on these threads, saw it started this morning and apart from an orange have stuck to LC foods today.

FFGY & creamy coffee
Mixed salad with salmon, olive oil and lemon dressing
Chicken curry - very spicy, & Kale - hence the orange (last nights leftovers).
Another coffee and plenty of water today.
Probably same menu tomorrow.

Big thanks from me for everyone's help.

Today I skipped breakfast (have not had breakfast for 5 months now and I'm no longer hungry until 1pm) had 2 egg omelette and small amount of veg, and trout and roasted veg and home made mayo for dinner. Drinks were water or black rooibos tea.

There's only me in the house that's doing this so I'm surrounded by foods I'm avoiding and often having to cook them too. But I'm feeling determined not to waver.

Nothing tastes as good as skinny (a bit thinner!) feels has been my mantra today.

Evening campers!
DH has messed with my scales so I’m in kg not lbs. It’s saying 72kg which converts to 159lbs. I had abdominal surgery on Fri & haven’t had a poo since so hoping when I do that’ll knock it back to my usual 156lbs. I’m also incredibly swollen and sore so zero exercise for me. I want to be 140lbs so a good 16lb / stone to lose.
Today I had…
B- coffee with almond milk x3
L-Stir fry roast chicken, cabbage, cauli & broc
D-chilli con carne in lettuce wraps with cheese, creme fraiche and smashed avocado
Not as much water as I should. Herbal teas.

Evening,
If anyone worries about how much water they are drinking, here's what works for me. I bought a 2.2 litre water bottle from Tesco's and keep it at work. First thing in the morning I fill the kettle at home to the 1.5 litre mark. That is for my drinks before and after work and evening. At work I fill my 2.2 litre bottle every morning and know that I have to drink it before I come home. So with them both combined, I'm getting all the water. 🤗(I work 6.5 hours - 8.30-3pm)

What a wash out today was! Tried to work in the garden and the heavens opened at lunchtime and haven't stopped. Anyhow, a reasonable day for food:
B: 2 x coffee with almond milk and cream (I really can't do breakfast)
L: 3 slices of ham roll ups, 1 filled with homemade coleslaw, 2 filled with Greek salad
D: pork kheema
Water, another coffee, more water.
I did slip up and have some nuts, mindlessly, until I remembered no nuts for the first 2 weeks.

I plan to make some red pepper soup tomorrow and go for a swim.

Weighed in this morning at 168lbs. Definitely not ideal but still better than I feared. Reaffirming my goal to reach 150lbs at the end of boot camp.

Yesterday went to plan, although I had forgotten how hungry I get in the early days so had to nip out to buy an emergency pack of babybels! Plan for today is
L: scrambled eggs, cucumber and tomatoes
D: pork chops and salad
S: babybel

Good morning, starting today as wasn’t able To yesterday.
b - Greek yoghurt
l - shredded chicken & veg
d - probably some kind of chicken with veg as that’s what we have in

For anyone wanting snack cheese (I find babybel can be expensive if you don’t get it on offer)
Asda are doing the little snack packs of cathedral cheese for £1.50 (I think there’s 6 in there)

For some reasons classed as a sensitive image but it’s just a screenshot taken from a book about Mongolian soldiers and their low carb diet

I've been tracking my weight every day for the last 3 months and it's interesting to start seeing patterns. On Day 4 of my cycle, I regularly put on 3lb, which is then lost over the course of 2-3 days and then I go back to losing weight again,

That 3lb has been enough to have me leaping off the wagon in the past so it's good to recognise that I just need to try to to worry about it and that it's just my body doing what my body does.

Well, yesterday went OK.
Drinks - 3x600mL water bottle at work, 3x herbal tea, 1x coffee with a bit of milk (I know but I can't drink it any other way, cream is not the same), couple more glasses of water at home.
Breakfast - fried egg with guacamole
Lunch - salad with French dressing, hummus and chickpeas (again I know but they needed using up)
Dinner - didn't feel like anything much despite being hungry, this is an ongoing problem for me, ate some cheese and pickled onions plus some FFGY and a green smoothy (no fruit, just green veg).

I was pleased to find that when I got my summer clothes out over the weekend some linen trousers that had been a bit snug last year fit really well now. I need these external motivators as unlike some of you I don't notice any health benefits other than weight loss with the WOE, I am fortunate not to have any aches, pains, loss of energy, poor skin, poor sleep or similar even when I eat carbily. So it's all about the weight and long term health benefits.

Goodness, @Kettlebellend such an interesting article about ways of eating.

I'm intrigued to know why it might be considered of a 'sensitive' nature :-)

Hello!

Breakfast - ffgy with a splash of double cream
I know I should have had more but eating in the morning is a shock to the system
Lunch - shallot, mushroom and bacon omelette with some cheese and lidl deluxe coleslaw
Haven't decided on dinner yet but probably gammon steak with salad

Day one successfully completed, I drank all the water, I did not drink any wine and ate only LCHF food. 😁One day at a time.
I've had a lot of fun using up all the vegetables in the fridge today: for lunch I made a frittata with a ropey looking courgette, served with some elderly mushrooms fried in butter and hm coleslaw. I've also prepared a cheesy leek gratin and an aubergine bake to cook later (will go with some leftover chicken in the fridge) - if either are any good I'll post a recipe on the threads.

Long time low carber here. I had indulged a little over the weekend, but back on track starting yesterday.
I feel so much better on this WOE. I have been sticking to it properly since the last bootcamp and my goal weight is in sight. Yesterday's weigh in showed a jump up for me, due to the weekend, but that's just water weight that I've already started to lose (daily weigher here).
These bootcamps help keep me going, I really appreciate them!

I'm guilty of sliding into really unimaginative recipes and getting a bit bored. Tried asking chatGPT to plan my lunch today and it was reasonably successful.

I specified it should be low carb and involve halloumi and not need an oven. I got a fried halloumi and Mediterranean veg and lots of garlic, herbs and evoo.

Did eat most of a block of halloumi though so might not manage anything else today, still very full.