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.

Ooh, I have all of that in the fridge right now. That’s tomorrow’s dinner sorted then!

I had Americano with double cream this morning, it actually felt quite luxurious!

I had some celery that I chucked in as well @TeamToeBeans!

Easy traybake recipe - first brown your sausages, then chuck everything except the halloumi, tomatoes and pesto, into an oven tray, cut into chunks/slices. (Leave the sausages whole). Garlic cloves go in whole and unpeeled.

Season well and give it all a good drizzle with olive oil, then roast for 20-30 minutes in a hot oven till it’s starting to char.

Mix the tomatoes, halloumi and a good tablespoon or two of pesto. Season (go easy on the salt as the halloumi is quite salty) and add another tablespoon of olive oil, then add this to the oven tray, stir everything round, then roast for another 20 minutes or so till the cheese and tomatoes are starting to char.

Nice meals today, thanks to an early Sainsbury’s delivery.

B: cheesy omelette
L: had two large flat mushrooms needing using up, so stuffed them with spinach/ham/cream cheese, topped with grated cheddar, into air fryer for 10 minutes
D: traybake, chicken legs smeared with harissa on a bed of veggies - courgette, pepper, olives and shallots. Mmmm.

On the subject of shallots - can anyone explain why they are so much lower in carbs than onions?? Makes no sense, as they are virtually the same, and possibly taste sweeter.... I've always puzzled over that one.

Slightly random day food wise. I went to a yoga class at lunchtime so wanted to eat lightly before - salmon and salad - then messed up my plans for dinner (moussaka) by failing to order aubergines! Had a plate of pate with cucumber, boiled egg, avocado, olives and cheese… it did the job though and no resorting to ‘quick’ carbs instead. So glad to hear the creamy coffee was a win for TeamToeBeans

Not going too badly here, I made a weird aubergine lasagna last night and froze several portions, made veg curry the night before but I think the usual of butternut squash is probably too carby?

Still trying to drink more water, I keep waking up with achey restless legs but in my arms...makes no sense but that's the only way I can describe it... however after three nights with no booze I guess it's to be expected.

Had a rough few days at work and with stress around divorce and sorting my kids send provision, id normally reach for a drink, I needed something so had a tiny tin of CBD drink instead, sweetened with stevia, I know it's bad (waiting for the big stick) but it's only 12 calories so hopefully ok. Going to switch to magnesium glycinate powder with lemon slices tonight, it helps me sleep and I feel like I'm having something special at least.

Managing lunches ok, but a warning to those that need it, make sure your hard boiled eggs are actually solid before trying to eat them in the car on the drive home at lunchtime...that was a messy option!

Breakfast today is full fat yoghurt with cinnamon, lunch is more pie filling with spinach and dinner is leftovers. Or an omelette, not sure yet.

Need the end if the week to come but eating at DPs Friday night and then out to the pub...not sure what to eat or drink but I'll manage somehow.

@Clomid1do keep trying tea and coffee without sugar, maybe weekly? It’s rarely an easy transition but your tastebuds change all the time and Bootcamp will definitely help with an adjustment to liking things less sweet.

I grew up with sugar in tea, switched to sweeteners but in my late teens eventually stopped as all my mates were big tea drinkers but none of them took sugar or seemed to know where it might even be kept, and soon enough it was fine. Coffee took longer but in my early 20s I worked on an office with a coffee machine where it was either no sugar or loads of sugar as standard and I just gave up instantly.

Some of the bootcamp benefits can be small swaps that stay with us- enjoying black coffee came all of a sudden to me one year.

I woke up today with that "hungry but there is literally nothing I fancy eating" feeling. This is quite common for me on HFLC, the richness of what I'm eating compared to usual makes me feel a bit greased out after a while. Last night I was out to exercise class straight after work, got in and made scrambled eggs with mushroom, spinach, ham and cheese, it was nice but I spent the rest of the evening feeling a bit nauseous from all the grease (I used butter to sweat the spinach, fry the mushrooms and then scramble the eggs). So I'm going to just have greek yogurt this morning (haven't eaten yet, just hot water). Then have fat in the form of mayo at lunchtime and olive oil this evening, cannot face any more butter.

@BIWI that sounds lovely and I also have all of those things in the fridge so that's tomorrow night's dinner sorted, we've had a few days of spicy things so need something a littler gentler!

Remembered my lunch for the office and my herbal tea so won't be tempted by the office coffee machine (I'm a bugger for a latte but only when not at home!)

I have lost 0.9lb so far this week which I'll take.....I'm a daily weigher mainly because I like to see how the smaller things affect loss, plus relatively new to this so quite intrigued by how it comes off! Didn't have time to measure this morning but will try to remember tomorrow.

Did a whole freezer and fridge audit last night (before passing out before 10pm) and have an interesting mix of raw things like a pork shoulder, pork steaks, chicken thighs alongside lots of things which have been cooked already - vats of 7-veg sauce (6-veg really as I missed out the squash), a couple of chillis, curries, pie fillings so need to pull them into a coherent and bc-compliant meal-plan. Luckily the things which are already cooked definitely don't include potatoes/pasta/rice so should be reasonably ok to use up for us both, and I'm not a fan of chilli so that can be used up for DH's lunches rather than me have to pick out the beans! Alongside restarting BC I'm trying to be a lot more frugal so being more mindful about meal-planning and cutting out/down alcohol as BC goes on will also help with that.

Hope everyone has a good day!

@CointreauVersial

On the subject of shallots - can anyone explain why they are so much lower in carbs than onions?? Makes no sense, as they are virtually the same, and possibly taste sweeter.... I've always puzzled over that one.

Me too! So I googled, and discovered that they have more fibre and protein than onions - they also have fewer calories.

@InMyLowCarbEra good job for avoiding the ‘quick fix’ of carbs!

@Theghostofchristmasarse yes, butternut squash is in the red zone, at 8.3g carbs per 100g. The achey ‘restless legs’ feeling you’re experiencing is likely to do with a need for more electrolytes - so the magnesium should help with that. Are you also making sure that you’re using salt in/on your food?

Re the pub - if you don’t fancy sticking to water all evening (!) then many pubs stock alcohol-free alternatives these days. I’ve made a list of the carb counts of alcohol-free beers/lagers, which is on the spreadsheet - beware, though, that many of them are actually pretty high in carbs. Look out for alcohol-free spirits, which you could have with a sugar-free mixer. Tanqueray and Tanqueray Sevilla both do very good alcohol-free options, as does Captain Morgan, with a Spiced Rum equivalent. The advantage of the latter is that you can drink it with sparkling water rather than an artificially-sweetened mixer.

My pub drink is sugar free tonic with ice and lemon. Not the most exciting but better than endless fizzy water.

Three pounds down, which I know will be water weight but is still pleasing to see

Just had the most amazing school dinner of roast pork , green beans, salad and loads of crackling!!! CRACKLING!!!!

@Almahart that must be such a boost! I LCHF most of the time so there is rarely such a dramatic change, plus I don't have too much to lose. I am also a daily weighter, but often have to look over a 2/3 week period to see anything consistent.

I did a pilates class yesterday, and goodness I am starting to feel it. Also did an online 30 minute yoga (before the pilates pain really kicked in). It was a beginner's class so there was a lot of lengthy explanation - while I was in a increasingly shaky plank!!

Brucnh was left over smoked salmon and veg crustless quiche - mmm. And tonight will be slow cooked ham shank with roasted peppers, shoogled red cabbage (thank you @prettybird ) romanesco and kale. Maybe some oven roasted tomato.

I find it interesting that WLIs, and their consequential impact on how people are eating, is starting to have an effect on the food industry. M&S have brought out a 'Nutrient Dense' range, allegedly targeted at people on WLI or other similar diets who need 'more nutrients per calorie'

It's not perfect for us, most dishes contain a lot of grains and beans, but it is a small step in a better direction for those times when we get stuck. Most of their meals are between 7 and 11g of carb/100g, but a damn sight better than grabbing an emergency sandwich at 25g carb/100g. And there are some good options in there too: Super seeded crackers at 1.8g; a katsu chicken dish at 3.3g; tanddori chicken at 3.5g; prawn paella at 4g. There's a plain chia pudding at 5.4g - into the amber zone for us, but still better than a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar!

I’m absolutely craving sweetness today. Help!

I’ve gone for almonds and creamy coffee..hope this passes!

Sounds like a good solution @mumsandaunties! Try and do something that will distract you from thoughts of food.

Re WLIs, I thought this was interesting:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c050ljnrv2qo

Like any other way of losing weight, if you don’t change your behaviour once you stop, then it stands to reason that the weight will go back on. So interesting that M&S are launching appropriate solutions.

Not only M&S, I read that Greggs are expanding their range to cater for smaller portion sizes and higher protein and fibre.

Chicken fajitas this evening which are readily adaptable for LC. Will serve with grated cheddar and soured cream. I won't have a wrap and I make my own spice mix as the packets of ready made seem to have quite alot of sugar.

I'm very impressed with a school providing crackling! @DryWhiteagainW

I had cooked a couple of cardamom pods into my food. They taste sweet like vanilla. Hope they're ok @BIWI?

Yes absolutely fine!

WFH today and managed to keep up with the water. Lunch was tuna mayo on dressed mixed leaves, with avocado and a hard boiled egg. I cooked two eggs and one made a good snack just now as I felt a bit peckish. Dinner tonight is roast chicken with cauliflower cheese and spouts. I’m sipping mint and liquorice tea as a way to break the end of the day glass of wine association.

I feel like I’m sleeping better already and starting to dream more vividly, bizarrely, which I remember from other LC periods.

Spanish chicken with cauliflower rice for dinner. Loads of olives. Lush

I'm doing well so far this week, managing 3 LC meals with no cheating and, surprisingly, no snacking, but the weekend will be the test there. I find that I only get my water in if I stick to a routine and get most of it on board early.

So:
Glass of water when I wake up.
Glass of water and a herbal tea with breakfast.
Another glass of water and a herbal tea before lunch. Can be dicey hanging on until morning break for a wee! 😬
Nothing then before school ends as we don't have an afternoon break and I don't have a TA to watch the class.
A herbal tea at 3.30pm, a glass of water with my tea and a herbal tea whenI finally sit down in the evening.

So 250ml+500ml+500ml+250ml+250ml+250ml= 2L. If I deviate at from this at all I really struggle to drink more than 1500ml, sometimes less 🙈

Thanks @BIWI I'll avoid the butternut squash in future, I froze three portions of it but DD will eat it.

I'll look at what they have at the pub, it's a tiny microbrewery type place, not sure they'll have much of a range and I can't drink beer, the gluten sets off my IBS. If not it's soda water or maybe slimline tonic, but I thought we should avoid sweetener? I think some of them also make my stomach really bad, it has been better the last few days, I don't know if it's sweetener, sugar, gluten, lactose...I've avoided all of them at some point in the last 10 years or so, but never really got clear results, or it gets better then comes back with something new..

I've dug out my electrolyte tablets, I use them in the summer for POTS, but yes, I use a good amount of salt, I did drink more water yesterday, and again today I did quite well. Very headachey today too though.

I need to sit down and look at the spreadsheet tabs properly at the weekend when I haven't got the kids, plan meals that we can all eat, as cooking three dinners will finish me off.

Today has been a bit of a muddle through day, we have got a sausage traybake in the oven as suggested earlier but DH has piled the veg a bit high and it’s steaming rather than roasting, also our oven isn’t super hot and he’s used the lowest shelf. And, it turns out he didn’t put any oil on so they are just a pile of steaming shrivelling veg, he’s taken his out and I’ve oiled mine and put it on the hottest shelf for a bit longer.

So, breakfast - Greek yogurt and pumpkin spice, but it wasn’t at all satisfying. Lunch a bag of pork scratchings and prawn mayo with green salad. Snack a couple of slices of cheese. Evening meal - soggy traybake. If I’m honest I have not enjoyed today, I am still in that weird never either starving or full state that takes a bit of getting used to.

Tomorrow is slightly more challenging as I’m giving blood, so I need to make sure I have plenty of salt and water. A little bit nervous about not having carby food but we’ll see.