Week 1 - 2026 Pre-Christmas Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

Morning all!

A definite autumnal chill in the air this morning, so feels like a good 'back to school' time.

Shortly I'll post a link to the shiny, new spreadsheet, and you can (if you wish - it's not mandatory) add your weight. You can add your actual weight or index it, if you prefer - i.e. your starting weight is 100 and for every pound you lose, you subtract one point.

A few notes about weighing:

• it's up to you how frequently you weigh; some people prefer to weigh only once a week, whereas others feel that daily weighing helps them to stay on track
• if you weigh daily, it's up to you which weight you record on the spreadsheet. You can record the weight you start with each Monday (or which ever weekly day you've chosen), or you can record the lowest weight for that week, or you average your weight and record that. Which ever option you choose, keep that consistent so that you can track your progress
• always weigh first thing in the morning, naked and after you've been to the loo. There's no point weighing later in the day as all you will be doing is weighing yourself plus whatever you've eaten/drunk

: Hopefully you've all had a chance to think about meals/cooking for the week, and your fridge/freezer/cupboards are now stocked with stuff you can make into low carb meals.

If you need some inspiration, go and check out the recipe threads:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/low-carb-recipes

There's also a thread where posters have uploaded pictures and nutritional info about low carb products they have found:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/low_carb_bootcamp/3583325-Useful-low-carb-products-with-photos?reply=146128585

(Beware that this thread was started 7 years ago, so not everything may still be available!). And if you find something, please try and upload a picture as well as any nutritional info.

And just a reminder, or for those who haven't seen this on the prep thread:

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.

And here is the shiny, new Spreadsheet of Fabulousness:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gsWvWpGzTSJld1avBi9-uLJveFZes9Qa2ORKthPMl8E/edit?gid=352445486#gid=352445486

with many thanks to @FinallyHere <3

BTW - if you're using your phone to access MN, you'll need to download the Google Sheets app for the spreadsheet.

When you're putting your weight in, please only enter that data. Don't try and add any comments, and to prevent @FinallyHere having to say it, don't touch the blue cells!

That said, when you're in the spreadsheet, please check out all the information on the tabs at the bottom. There is all manner of helpful stuff there.

If you want to join in, and you're not already on the spreadsheet - just add your name to the last row. We'll alphabetize it later.

Thanks BIWI this is just what I need. My weight is 10lbs heavier than I was at this time last year. It was a very honest, and slightly shocking, step on to the scales this morning. I know that BMI is not a perfect tool but my current weight has me in the overweight category. 4lbs off will take me back into healthy. I have a routine medical assessment coming up next month and being in the healthy category makes a difference to how they view my issues.

Yesterday we had our annual neighbourhood gathering - food was baked potatoes, veggie chill (lots of bean and lentils) and various deserts. And wine. Everything that I won't be having for the next 8 weeks, but I'm hoping that after that carb fest this week will see some good changes on the scales.

Today I'm having avocado for breakfast, cheese salad for lunch, salmon and buttery veg for dinner. Let bootcamp commence!

Another one that was shocked by the scales this morning. Five pounds heavier than I expected to be. It’s been an indulgent weekend of saying a fond farewell to pasta, spuds, rice, bread, wine and desserts however so I’m hoping for a decent loss in the first week of my new regime 🤞

I’m having Greek yogurt for breakfast, tuna salad or frittata for lunch and buttery veg and salmon for dinner sounds like an excellent idea @venusandmars so I think I’ll copy you.

Do you want to be added to the spreadsheet @DesdamonasHandkerchief?

Im actually almost a stone down so far this year after an unexpected - and rather scary - weigh in at my GP surgery when having a blood test back in January. But my eating habits have got very poor over the last couple of months and a kick up the arse is needed.

Greek yogurt for breakfast
Scrambled eggs and mushrooms for lunch with a couple of rashers of bacon (nitrate free)
Chicken marinated in olive oil, lemon zest and juice, oregano and garlic for dinner with spinach, cucumber and avocado

Good luck everyone and many thanks to @BIWI and @FinallyHere for taking the time to pull all the amazingly useful information together.

I need to join…I’m in a real pickle with a huge menopausal weight gain that I’m so embarrassed about! I’ve never been this heavy in my life. It’s been a mixture of menopause and mental health (teacher stress related that ultimately ended with me being signed off with WRS and Grade 4 hypertension). I’ve just not had the band width to manage the ‘weight creep’. I’m in a much better place now and feel I can tackle it. I did it before @BIWIa few years ago with you, and lost 2 stone (different user name). I’m all in this time again to give it my best shot.

I was delighted today to have dropped a pound, so starting off at 199lbs this bootcamp. That’s about 2st lighter than I finished the last bootcamp on 2 March. I’ve been mostly doing bootcamp light since then but weight loss has been slow as I’m now in peri and my body wants to grow not shrink. So I’m pleased with my loss, even though it’s at the speed of a sloth.

My goal is to lose 6lb this bootcamp. That will take my total weight loss over three years to 100lb. I’m not expecting a rapid loss because I’m already eating in a bootcamp ish way.

Thank you @biwifor the new challenge and new thread! I’m

Oh don’t worry I’m on there just forgot to change to my other user name!

I’m a long-term low carber so sticking with my usual Bootcamp Light rather than strict Bootcamp. I don’t tend to eat nuts or chocolate anyway so there’s not much difference for me. I’ve been on this way of eating since one of BIWI’s Bootcamps many moons ago in June 2013 including through one pregnancy and breastfeeding. It isn’t a weight loss diet for me any more, just the way I eat now. I had Greek yogurt with raspberries for breakfast and lunch will be an omelette with whatever I can scrounge from the fridge! I’m not sure about dinner yet, maybe salmon fillets if I can get to a shop after work.

Please may I be added to the spreadsheet? (234lbs) Apart from hypertension issues, I'm going on 1st holiday abroad for 25 years in Feb, so will be doing this Bootcamp & the next one too! Thank you.

Checking in, feeling a bit un-prepared as I have been unwell over the weekend but will go shopping tonight. Meanwhile I had a glass of kefir and a portion of cottage cheese for breakfast and have salad with mayo, cheese and ham for lunch.

I must admit to having fallen off the bandwagon completely over the summer so it is going to be a bit of a shock to the system, but here we go.

Checking in. Have had a strange breakfast of salad, smoked salmon, a little bit of cubed Brie and smashed avocado. Was nice. I need to add my weight to the spreadsheet - am going to do the 100 thing and count pounds down (hopefully). If I can't get my phone to co operate, would someone mind adding 100 to this weeks starting point for me?

Good luck everyone

Thank you @BIWI and @FinallyHere. Looking forward to it.

Hi all, excited and over ready for this one. Life has chucked lots of curve balls the last year so a bit of a focus on health and feeling good will be excellent. I’m aiming to loose 10lbs which will take me back to where I was a couple of years ago after loosing two stone on a LCBC.

ffgy and cream for breakfast. Omelette and salad for lunch and making a bolognaise and courgetti for dinner.

had a carb heavy weekend so drinking lots of water and herbals tea to flush it through.

Place marking for a catch up later today!

Checking in, I'm a long term low carber, but carbs have been creeping in lately. Dealing with peri (and a change in birth control pill recently), my weightloss is so slow, I'm also close to my goal weight. As of this morning I have just over 2lbs to lose to reach my 1st goal weight, and just over 7lbs to lose to reach my ultimate goal weight.
I still have to go to the store (I'm in the US, 7 hours behind the UK), and salmon is sounding so good for dinner, so I'm adding that to my list. Will serve with lots of buttery veggies.

Thanks for the spreadsheet and the thread.

Today has gone well so far - 3 egg omelette for breakfast and a Chinese flavoured broth green vegetable soup for lunch with some roasted grouse (not my favourite but it was free and needed eating). I’m planning to have high meat content Sausages with TSB and spinach sautéed in truffle butter for tea. I have several part time jobs and today I’m down for an evening milking shift so it’s a late finish. I might take a little nibble of cheese to eat in the parlour cos my big downfall is coming home ravenous and inhaling a meals worth of calories while I cook dinner ..

I'm so happy to be back on this way of eating. I always feel better on it but getting back into it is rough. Having support and accountability makes a big difference. Hope everyone else has had a good first day :-)

Not bad considering I was winging it with what was in the fridge, I went shopping after work.

Breakfast - kefir and cottage cheese (not together)
Lunch - green salad with mayo and cheddar/ham, hard-boiled egg
Snack (afternoon) - babybel
Snack (after work) - pate and celery
Dinner - air fried chicken wings and cauliflower leaves

We didn’t have the air fryer last time I did BC I can see it’s going to be handy.

Shopping - cauli, broccolli, mushrooms, lettuce, cream, sour cream, pate. Also chicken and beef mince.

Ah @KellyOnAHeliI remember you from last Bootcamp, I had a different username then. That’s an amazing loss, well done!

I generally eat fairly low carb, but I’m cracking down as I am maintaining a steady weight, but about 10lbs heavier than I’d like to be. I had a nice bit of rhubarb crumble last night, to put a lid on the carb consumption for now.

I’ve had homemade natural yoghurt for breakfast. Lunch was a hard boiled egg, a peperami, and a babybel. Dinner was chicken satay, no rice. For drinks I’ve mostly had rooibos with no milk.

Started strong, not really missing the sugar as yet. Eggs, chicken, chorizo and cheese mostly today! However now the kids are settled this is usually the time my mind would start wandering to the treats we might have in. I’ve started with a cold so will just focus on ignoring temptation and tucking myself into bed early!

Dinner was delicious 😋