January '25 - Low Carb Bootcamp (Dry!) - week 1 (of 4ish)

[BIWI]

Good morning all, and a very happy new year

So today sees the start of the first low carb Bootcamp of 2025, and to get us off to the best start, this one is short and sharp. Only 4 weeks (ish, depending on when you actually start!), but also a dry one.

As with all Bootcamps, our first two weeks will be the strictest but with the option after this of moving on to Bootcamp Light for the remaining two weeks. The only difference being that we're aiming to be alcohol-free for the whole time.

Many thanks, as always, to the very lovely @FinallyHere, who is womanning the spreadsheet for us; you'll see that it allows for different start dates. Some of us are starting today, those in Scotland get an extra bank holiday so might be starting tomorrow - and several people are on holiday until 6 January. Exactly when you choose to weigh-in is entirely up to you!

Please have a good read of the spreadsheet!. Not only are the rules on there, there's also a huge amount of really useful information, along with a veg carb counter, helpfully traffic light colour-coded, to show you which are the best (and worst) options. You'll also find plenty of resources about low carbing, which will give you a good understanding of the science behind this WOE (way of eating).

As ever, any questions please post them here - or send me a PM if you prefer - as well as any meal suggestions and just general observations about how things are going for you.

Good luck to us all!

I'm starting Monday because so much Christmas food left and like PunksVersusBrats I cannot abide food waste plus technically on holiday from work until then. However, i am checking in for suggestions and support (both ways) and to get into the right mindset. Intriguing ideas so far (eggs!) and I have weighed myself also to sharpen focus!

@ColouringPencils I usually find when low carbing that the problem with a stirfry is that it's hard to get enough fat into it and so it's unsatisfying. Lots of coconut oil for frying, fatty meat in it, make it unto a curry with coconut cream, perhaps 1/2 avocado on the side/as a starter? Ultimately though, it's a low fat dish that I'd kick to the kerb in favour of creamy sauces if possible.

Thank you @AlbertCamusflage for the Yoga with Adriene tip - I'm going to give that a go tomorrow, such a good idea.

Just hopped on to say I'm doing well so far today food wise

Huge bowl of roasted onions, red peppers and mushrooms with left over gammon

No exercise whatsoever though

I've been signed off work due to an illness which limits my exercise so I've ballooned in weight so I need to get on top of both; WOE and exercise

I do eat healthily on the whole but it's the carbs I must cut out and then down on

Nothing like Christmas photos shoved in your face to wake you up to the sad fact that I've put far on more weight than I'd realised

I've found @StuntNun 's electrolyte powder recommentdation on shpreadsheets.
So much for my "she'll be right" response to the prep thread.

Did ok yesterday. Coffee with cream in morning, then:

Mid-morning breakfast: two scrambled eggs
Late lunch: Sardine fishcakes from the 'economy recipes' on the spreadshhet.
DinnerP: Roasted belly pork with cauliflower.

Had quite a lot of bellypork, and of course it was dripping with fat. Am worried that it is prob quite a 'bad fat' but at least it will have helped me to feel full during the transitional period from christmas carbing to a healthy regime.

This morning I am cooking breakfast at what is for me an ungodly time to eat! Leftover sardine fishcake ingriedients -- v v challenging for someone who is not normally a breakfaster !! But I will be out all day with no chance for a healthy lunch and I know that I must get out of the habit of eating nothing until the evening.

Good enough first day yesterday but had indigestion all day (IBS related I think) in spite of not eating much, hoping to manage better today.

@colouringpencils I always follow a stir fry with a high fat pudding of clotted cream and berries, nuts or melted very dark chocolate (but I think all are off the cards until after the first 2 weeks, except for vegetarians who can have the nuts).

@FinallyHere spreadsheet all working for me too. For ref I am using the sheets app on an iPhone.

Sorry @colouringpencils I read that back and it wasn't very helpful to you. A pinch of cinnamon in some FFGY, mixed FFGY/cream, or even just swirled through some clotted cream is nice too, (and strict BC friendly).

Thanks @BIWI and all. Think I am on the spreadsheet and will update my weight when home from work as on the phone just now.

I don't normally breakfast! But have enjoyed 2 slices Heylo seeded bread (toasted) at 0.3g carb per slice, with leftover Brussels pate. Delicious! Having tea with almond milk and I use a spoon of erythritol - I know no sweetener is recommended for boot camp but I really dislike tea without it and it's too cold and icy to go without my tea
Don't want to set myself up to fail!

I will get meat for lunch and just have with coleslaw which I already have in the work fridge. Dinner should be ribeye with broccoli or a cauliflower with low carb cheese sauce (I just melt a seriously strong cheese spread tub with a bit of cream)

Thanks @FinallyHere that should have said but thanks to everyone really for the inspiration

@BitOutOfPractice Added your name to the spreadsheet

#HopingToScoreaNessaVoice'Tidy'

Encouraging @Everyone to have a look at the different tabs of the spreadsheet. There really is so.much.useful background gathered together there by the lovely BIWI et al

Day 1 for me and I'm off the mark with a fairly substantial breakfast of yoghurt and cream, and a plate of cold meats, cheeses, pickles, etc. I'm trying to think back to what I struggled with last time and not eating enough per mealtime was a problem, especially lunchtimes at work. I'm a teacher, so 15 minutes max (on a good, rare, incident-free day!) to heat and eat. I plan to make lots of curry and stew this weekend, so that I have something 'shovel-able' and need to plan in a snack for when the children leave. I'll worry about the amount of food later when, hopefully, I'm more in the swing of it.

Generally, if I eat enough earlier in the day I can take or leave an evening meal, but if I don't then I'm a stroppy mare who fills her face with toast or noodles before I've even started cooking a proper tea 🙁

And water, must drink enough water!

Oh! @FinallyHere i don’t mind telling you, that’s tidy!

Thank you! I feel I’ve arrived!

Please don't fall into the trap of thinking that you have to restrict food on this WOE! What we always say is that if you're hungry, you should eat - although obviously choosing low carb options.

You will find, once you're fat-adapted, that you really aren't hungry between meals. Sometimes you will find that even at meal times you aren't very hungry.

@AlbertCamusflage the only 'bad' fat is a transfat. The fat from belly pork - as well as being delicious - is perfectly fine.

@KittenPause your food sounds delicious - but just a heads up, onions are actually pretty carby (7.9g per 100g) so roasted shallots (3.3g per 100g) are a better option. Buy echalion (also called banana) shallots, as they are much easier to peel the the small, round ones.

Don't stress about not being able to exercise. Exercise is very good for our general health and wellbeing, but when it comes to weight loss you need to do a lot of it, regularly, for it to make much of an impact. So don't put yourself under too much pressure about that.

@ColouringPencils you may still feel hungry at this stage, as your body is adapting to this WOE, so snacking on something like cheese is fine. Biscuits and chocolate are obviously a no-no! But as PP have remarked, one thing you need to be careful with if you're having a stir-fry is that typically they are low in fat (and sometimes protein), and it's the absence of this which will contribute to the hunger. So as well as using plenty of fat to fry in, it's also work using toasted sesame oil to 'dress' your plate, rather like a seasoning. Make sure you're using a fattier form of protein, so e.g. using chicken thighs rather than breast.

@BitOutOfPractice hopefully well-organised here - although it can be chaotic in the early days of each Bootcamp
Just wanted to comment on this though:

I’ve done ok today. 10% fage yogurt with berries, flax seeds and walnuts For brunch. early dinner for DSD’s birthday (Turkish restaurant) I had a smidge of halloumi and turkish Sausage for starter and lamb Chops for mains with maybe a tablespoon of rice plus salad. I drank water. And had A tea while everyone else had dessert. So I’m calling that a win!

Great restraint in avoiding any alcohol and dessert! However, the things I've put in bold are not Bootcamp-compliant; the berries and nuts are OK in the second fortnight, but rice (I'm afraid) isn't.

@PunksVersusBrats there's a lovely recipe somewhere on one of the recipe threads for low carb savoury muffins, that might work for your lunch - I'll see if I can find the recipe.

Here's the recipe for cheese muffins - although because it uses ground almonds, it's only appropriate from week 3 onwards:

Cheese muffins
Makes approximately 9

Ingredients
100g ground almonds
30g very cold butter
3 medium eggs, chilled
1 generous tsp baking powder
90g grated cheese
Oregano or chives, either fresh or dried, to taste
Black pepper
Smoked paprika

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C. (N.B. it’s the shock of cold ingredients going into the hot oven that makes the muffins rise well.)
2. Grease a silicone muffin tray and/or use paper muffin cases in a metal tin.
3. Mix the almond flour and butter either by hand, as if you were making pastry, or in the food processor. Work quickly so that the butter stays cold.
4. Add the eggs, baking powder, herbs, pepper and paprika then mix in the cheese
5. Spoon into the muffin tray/cases.
6. Bake for 14 minutes.
7. Wait until cooled to remove from paper cases or they’ll come out of a silicone muffin tray straight away.

Perfect on their own, or you can cut them in half and spread with butter too.

I sometimes make mini ones as well, and they're great as a quick snack.

I've also added some information to the spreadsheet about no/low alcohol beers, showing the carbs for various brands I've come across.

Big Drop Citra is by far the best - not just in terms of carbs, but also in terms of flavour. Unfortunately it looks like only Waitrose sell it - although you can buy on Amazon as well, via their

Oh crikey is low carbing not allowed here @BIWI ? I’m sorry I didn’t realise!(though I’m surprised walnuts aren’t allowed) I’m trying hard to really limit carbs but I’m training quite hard and find I can’t manage without any carbs at all. Should I sheepishly retire?

@BitOutOfPractice This is definitely low carbing! And no, please don't retire. But on Bootcamp rice isn't allowed. Berries and nuts are allowed, but only from week 3 onwards.

You will/should be eating carbs, but only in the form of vegetables (not including potatoes/sweetcorn/beetroot) and salad.

You will find - honestly, I promise you - that once you're fat-adapted, that you will have all the energy you need to train hard.

If you can get hold of a copy, it's really worth reading this book

There's a newer book, which I haven't read yet, which sounds like it could be helpful, called

I’m surprised walnuts aren’t allowed

They are - but only from week 3 onwards. Check out Bootcamp rules.

Yum! Saving that for work lunches in a few weeks.

I found yesterday surprisingly easy in terms of food and wasn’t particularly hungry at any point. Also managed 2.5l water but please tell me the endless trips to the loo will eventually stop! It was relentless.

Didn’t realise how having some honey on my Greek yogurt in the morning kick started my sugar cravings every day. And it’s actually pretty nice on its own, especially with a bit of double cream stirred through.

Today will be crustless quiche and salad for lunch and chicken thighs roasted with veggies and halloumi for dinner.

I still use the electrolyte powder after many years of low carbing. I find it helps me absorb water better so I don't need to get up in the night to pee! I have a big mug of hot water with electrolytes every morning and another pint of cold water with electrolytes if it's hot or I feel dehydrated. They're also absolutely brilliant when hungover but obviously that won't be happening this month!

Thanks for the recipe link @PunksVersusBrats I usually steam my eggs but it's always good to try new things.

@semmalina it's amazing how removing alcohol makes such a difference to the food shop!!!!

Quick catch up!

I weighed in this morning and sitting at 12st 2lbs which is actually not as bad as I feared (I’m 5ft 11ins). Before I low carbed for the first time in 2020 I was 13st and I want to get to 11st 7lbs ish this time (was down to 10st previously which was too low to happily maintain).

Food yesterday was fine (I am familiar with this WOE!):

• 3 eggs scrambled with plenty of butter and fresh herbs
• grilled turkey breasts (marinated in full fat yoghurt and paprika first) plus lettuce with olive oil
• bolognese mince (only used half the normal tinned tomatoes when cooking as they are a bit carby) plus avocado plus salad plus grated cheese (kids had with rice in wraps)

2l water done (my tip is to pop mint and lime in the water bottle and keep topping that up).

Today I’m going to batch cook a baked omelette / flourless quiche as I love that as an easy go to.