January ’26 Low Carb Bootcamp - getting us started!

[BIWI]

Welcome to the first Low Carb Bootcamp of 2026 - and Happy New Year to us all

Each week, every Monday, I’ll start a new chat thread, with a link to the spreadsheet. But I wanted to start this one a little bit earlier, so that I could post some prep stuff - either as a reminder, if you’ve Bootcamped before, or as key information if you haven’t.

If you haven’t Bootcamped before, and things aren’t very clear, then the FAQ thread should be helpful:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/low_carb_bootcamp/4049535-Low-Carb-Bootcamp-FAQs?reply=118903269

But please ask any questions on the threads - or PM me if you’d prefer.

The very lovely @FinallyHere is working on the spreadsheet in preparation for Monday. You don’t have to be on it, so either message me/her to ask to be removed, or simply ignore your row!

To make sure everyone who has signed up has seen this thread, I’m going to tag you all - in batches of 10 because sometimes it doesn’t work if you try to do everyone at the same time.

You’ll have to change that username then!

So thinking about recording our progress - the most obvious way is weighing (which is indeed why we have the spreadsheet!), but there are different ways to weigh/record your weight on the spreadsheet.

If you’re a daily weigher, you can:

• enter your starting weight each Monday, or
• enter the lowest weight for that week, every following Monday,
• enter the average weight for that week, every following Monday.

Daily weighing has the advantage of keeping you focused and disciplined - it also helps you to recognise the natural fluctuations in your weight, as well as identify any foods/meals/drinks that might have had a negative impact on your weight. However, you need to recognise that your weight will fluctuate quite naturally, so you have to be prepared to see it go up from time to time, regardless of how well you’ve been following Bootcamp rules.

If such upwards fluctuations throw you off course, then it’s better to weigh less frequently - say once a week.

Whichever way you choose, always weigh first thing in the morning, after you’ve been to the loo, naked and before you eat/drink anything. And always use the same set of scales - everyone’s scales seem to be calibrated differently. And really, it’s the change we’re measuring more than the actual weight.

There are, of course, other ways to record your progress. Taking your measurements is a good one - thighs, hips, waist, bust, upper arms - as it’s possible for the scales to show no movement whereas your body shape has changed.

Similarly, find a piece of clothing that’s currently just a little too tight, or is the size down from the one you’re wearing, and try this on each week. Seeing your clothes fit/fit better is a much more realistic way to measure how things are going, and is really motivating.

Indexing

I understand that some of us might not want to record our actual weight on the spreadsheet, which is fine. In this case, you can index it, which means that you start off with 100 as your weight, and then for each pound you lose you lose a point. So if in your first week you’ve lost 3lbs, then your next weight will be recorded as 97.

Thank you @venusandmarssome really good suggestions 🤗

@KellyWithABigBelly or participating naked!

I’m not sure the world’s ready for that.

The Lindors have gone, DS just ate the last mince pie, I’ve wrapped a chunk of fruitcake in foil to revisit in March, there’s no wine in the fridge, and I’ve bought crap white bread to please DS that won’t tempt me.

Inset day tomorrow for DS and DH is away for a few days: time to focus on getting bootcamp off the ground. I haven’t been this big since about 4 months after having DS, which is when I first found BIWI and co eight years ago. Time to reign in the puddings! I want 10 lbs off this bootcamp and a stone overall.

I ate my last potato for (at least 8 weeks). It was delicious, I enjoyed it, but I don't need any more. I can survive.

I went out with a baked potato.

I've made some celeriac soup and some tomato sauce for aubergine parmigiana tomorrow.

All stocked up with FF yoghurt and cheese too plus loads of veggies.

Mince pies finished off here too @Rayna37 but not the last of the Christmas cake. I've not done anything with it yet as I'm not sure how well it'll keep wrapped up (it was a cake I was given and I don't detect much brandy!) and I'm swithering about just chucking it as nobody else will eat it and I am not a dustbin.

Taking a 2 litre bottle of sparkling water to the office tomorrow and my goal is to drink it all before I return home.

May I join? I don't have a sweet tooth but do love a potato. But this December I look like a size 14 potato in a too small dress - your story is me too!

I'll be late to the game tomorrow. In-service day for my dd so I'm up and off at 6.30am to look after dgc. But it is all planned. A veg and cheese omelette to take with me for breakfast; a complicated lunch some of it out, some of it supplemented (dgc are lactose intolerant so there are home-made sausage rolls to supplement whatever baked potato options are available in the venue), some food just for me (a sort of salmon waldorf salad). Then chicken and veg curry for dinner.

Can I join please BIWI?

@Minicarz and @Gingerwarthog you’re both very welcome!

I’ll be posting the link to the spreadsheet tomorrow - if you find you’re not on it, just add your name to the bottom of the list (don’t try to alphabetize it!)

Hi @BIWI - thanks for sorting out - I’m vegetarian.

Can I ask about breakfast? I don’t usually have any, I’ve never been a breakfast person. I’m anticipating my lunches being centred around eggs, but I’ll soon be sick of them if I have them for breakfast too. Are protein shakes ok? They’re a bit more processed than I’d like, but if I must have something, might they be a suitable option?

You should really try to avoid the shakes if you can. You don’t need to eat much but it’s a good idea to have something for breakfast in the first two weeks. How about a small bowl of full fat Greek yoghurt?

@PunksVersusBrats I’ve tried most of the low carb breads and the best by far in my opinion is Keto chef , I get it from Amazon , it’s not cheap at £19 for 3 loves ( sliced white ) and it doesn’t toast well but does make a nice sandwich . I freeze 2 and keep the open one in the fridge and it lasts well that way .

Thanks @tinyspiny!

Thanks @BIWI, that’s exactly what I had this morning, I can manage a bit of Greek yogurt.

I've got 2 poached eggs, gammon and baby spinach for breakfast, but it's too much, I'm full. Got a day out at the farm park. Packed for the kids sandwiches, crisps, biscuits, fruit. For all of us boiled eggs, olives (my kids love them, they have posh taste, 3 year old has discovered he loves smoked salmon over Christmas too), for me a salad of mixed leaves, baby spinach, red pepper, gammon, maybe I'll add olive oil and white wine vinegar and a bit of grated carrot. I know carrot is not on the green list but it's my first time doing this bootcamp. In excited. My mantra will be: I must not eat my childrens snacks.

Morning all!

Here’s The Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for its first 2026 outing:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gsWvWpGzTSJld1avBi9-uLJveFZes9Qa2ORKthPMl8E/edit?gid=1415293539#gid=1415293539

As well as using it to record your weight (if you wish) please have a read of the resources on it - there’s some great stuff on there.

If you find your name isn’t on it, don’t panic - just add your name to the bottom of the list.

We also like to colour code it so we know who the vegetarians are, so if you are a veggie, but you aren’t in green, please shout. (This means that we give you the right advice and don’t wield The Big Stick if we see you eating stuff we think you shouldn’t be )

My day is mainly going to revolve around eggs today, as I’ll be doing my shopping tomorrow. So breakfast is going to be FFGY (full fat Greek Yoghurt), a couple of hard-boiled eggs for lunch, with mayo and salad, and an omelette of some kind for dinner, with either broccoli or leeks (possibly both) in butter.

Recording your food/drinks

Something that can really help is to keep a daily record of what you’ve eaten and drunk. Not only does it encourage compliance, and make you accountable, but it also allows you to spot any patterns that emerge based on your diet. I discovered, doing this, that cream can have an impact on weight loss, which means that although I do use it, I use it sparingly now, and only occasionally.

It’s also helpful to record your water intake; I’m pretty bad at remembering to drink the water, but knowing that I should be recording it does help to keep me more focused.

I create myself a spreadsheet where I list day-by-day my meals and any snacks, as well as what I’ve drunk. I also record my weight for that day, as I’m a daily weigher.

If I’ve done any exercise, I also keep a note of that too - note, exercise isn’t a part of Bootcamp, it’s entirely up to you if you do any or how much you do, but I record it again with a view to seeing if it makes any difference!

I’m also going to start recording my blood pressure, as I have to give an up-to-date reading to my GP - can’t do it at the surgery as I suffer from White Coat Syndrome. It occurred to me that it would be interesting to see the impact of Bootcamp on the readings. (Obviously you don’t have to do this unless a) you think you need to or b) you like collecting nerdy readings!)

Oh, and re The Spreadsheet - please only enter your weight - don’t add data to any of the other cells, and especially don’t touch the blue cells!

I'd like to be highlighted green please, although technically I'm a pescatarian my diet is around 90% vegetarian.
I might be a late starter, I've been away for the weekend and caught a rotten cold.
On the plus side my appetite is low, but the negative is that I haven't done a bootcamp shop, and DP will be in charge of cooking for a little while.