Welcome! This Bootcamp will start on Monday 5 October, and will run for 8 weeks.
I know some of you have done Bootcamp before, some of you have low carbed before, but a few haven’t done either, so here’s a load of information which should give you a good idea of what to expect:
First, a bit about Bootcamp generally:
Bootcamp is a Low Carb way of eating
It’s important to recognise that it’s not a zero carb diet. You aren’t cutting out a whole macronutrient. You will still be eating carbs, except far fewer than you would have been before. Your carbs will come mainly from vegetables, salad and (some) fruits.
A ‘conventional’ UK diet is one that is high in carbohydrates, has a medium amount of protein and is low in fat. What we do when we’re low carbing is to turn that on its head. So it’s low in carbs, still has a medium amount of protein, but is high in fat.
How does Bootcamp work?
Bootcamp is designed to be easy to follow. We don’t count carbs (or calories), and we don’t set a daily limit for carbs. There are just ten rules that we apply.
However. Easy to follow doesn’t mean easy to do. The clue is in the word ‘Bootcamp’! The first two weeks are strict, and the most restrictive. They’re also the weeks where you’re most likely to see pretty significant weight loss. After these first two weeks, you can move on to Bootcamp Light (if you wish).
Low carbing isn’t a very forgiving way of eating. It’s not like calorie counting, where you can compensate for one high calorie meal by having a very low one next time. You need to keep your carbs low at all meals, all day, for it to work optimally for you.
Bootcamp is, though, designed to be nutritionally positive. You will be eating plenty of fresh, unprocessed foods, along with lots of vegetables and salads.
As it’s a Bootcamp, you’ll find (and many of you will know (!) that I’m pretty strict. If you’re not following the rules, I will pick you up on that. Because I know that if you are cheating, then it won’t work for you. Which ultimately means you’ll be disappointed when it comes to weighing-in.
The ten rules
Here is a summary of the rules - the full explanation of these is on the spreadsheet
- (In the first two weeks) eat three proper meals a day
- Avoid processed foods
- Eat lots of fat
- Make sure you’re eating vegetables and salad with your meals
- Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited)
- You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
- (In the first two weeks) no alcohol
- (In the first two weeks) no fruit
- (In the first two weeks ) no nuts or seeds
- No sugar or artificial sweeteners
NB if you’re a vegetarian, you are allowed to include nuts and seeds, and some more processed foods like Quorn, tofu or soya-based products.
As well as following the rules, you need to know which foods you won't be eating during Bootcamp. These are:
- pasta/noodles/rice (of any colour or type)
- bread, in any form
- pastry
- sweet and savoury biscuits/crackers
- cereals
- sugar (which also includes honey, agave syrup and fruit sugar)
- flour (and sauces/gravy thickened with flour)
- cakes
- full sugar fizzy drinks, and squash/cordial
- fruit juice
- potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, beetroot
- balsamic vinegar (all other vinegars are fine)
- grains/pulses/legumes (which includes peas)
- sweets
-
... and alcohol, of course!
For the first two weeks of Bootcamp, you must also exclude:
- all fruit
- nuts/seeds*
- all chocolate
-
After the first two weeks of Bootcamp, if you wish, you can move to
Bootcamp Light, which means you can add in:
- some fruit - berries are the best
- some nuts/seeds - in moderation, and choosing them carefully as the carb counts can vary dramatically
- some chocolate - dark, high cocoa-content chocolate only
Foods you CAN eat and enjoy:
In the main, things you generally can't eat on any other diet! Low carb means high fat, so you will be able to enjoy things like:
- butter
- lard
- cream
- cheese
- mayonnaise
- olive oil
- full fat yoghurt
- No light/lite or low fat anything!
- all meat/fish/seafood (although keep processed options to a minimum); fattier cuts/types of fish are encouraged
- eggs (no restriction on how many per day/week)
- oily dressings (especially using extra virgin olive oil/avocado oil)
- lard/coconut oil (as well as butter) for frying food
- LOTS of vegetables and salad
The very lovely @FinallyHere will be running the spreadsheet, where we record our progress each week - and which has loads of other information and resources for you. I'll post a link when we get going.
Very importantly:
THE DISCLAIMER
I, and any of the other MNetters who give advice here, are not medics and we are not qualified in nutrition or dietetics. Recommendations and support are based on our experiences and understanding of low carbing. Before starting, if you are on any kind of long-term medication (especially for hypertension, diabetes or high cholesterol), please check with your GP, as the results of low carbing can mean you may need to reduce your dosage. And if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding, we suggest you follow Bootcamp Light. If you have a history of disordered eating, please consider whether or not this is something that you should be doing.