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.

@SprinklesofRain

Just beware - an airfryer is designed (as far as I understand them!) to cook without fat. Remember that this is a high fat WOE.

I did manage to get to a shop so I had a lovely dinner of salmon fillet with cauliflower rice (bought from Tesco freezer section) and stir fried broccoli, green beans and sugar snap peas. Yummy.

It's ok, it does do for example chips without deep frying but it's also good for things like roasted veg coated in olive oil which is how I did the cauli leaves. The chicken wings were fatty too with skin on. Really it's just a tiny, fast oven.

Hello! So pleased to be here, I’ve had some abortive attempts on my own recently, and really need to do better. I have meal planned for the week as I know my weak point is not being able to think what to make for dinner and resorting to easy carbs. Roasted a chicken this morning so there’s cold chicken on hand which I put into a low carb wrap with avocado, rocket, mayo and parmesan for lunch and then butcher sausages, sprouts and mashed swede for dinner. Didn’t start drinking water early enough so lagging behind target, just topping up with a herbal tea before bed.

Yes I didn't drink enough water today, but did replace most of my normal tea with herbal.

Day 1 done and all good on food. I also managed 3l of water. WFH today so can prep some meals for the next few days too.

Weighing in a day late , and because I’m not good on spread sheets ( they weren’t invented when I was in school ) I can’t work out how to add my weight
I’m a bit more than I thought , 165lb , could someone cleverer than me please add me on

I was in two minds about starting as we’re going on holiday next week , but I thought go for it , be mindful on holiday ( it’s not all inclusive or a cruise , at least I’ll have to think about what to eat and not be surrounded by food all the time )

Big shop planned for today , there’s a list in the go , and let the celariac hunt begin

@Castlerigg and @staytoxic Where's the veg?! Remember rule 4 - you are still eating carbs, and they will/should come in the form of veg and salad.

You can still cook with fat in it or cook foods that are naturally high in fat. I did a lamb shank in mine a couple of days ago and it was beautiful. It's also great for crisping up pork belly slices or cooking chicken wings from frozen.

@SemmaLina have added you

A good day for me yesterday. Starting with a much-better-than-expected weigh-in. A lot of carb creep had been going on for some time, so I was not expecting the number on the scales. And this morning, down another pound, so I feel I'm on to a good start.

Yesterday was

• black coffee, instead of my usual white (no breakfast for me, as a long-term low carber I'm happy/easily able to fast until lunchtime)
• corned beef, cottage cheese mixed with a few chopped cherry tomatoes, hard boiled egg and spoon of mayo, for lunch
• Spanish tomato salad - tomatoes, tuna, garlic and pickled chillies, with a good drizzle of Spanish extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, with a spring green, Boursin and goats' cheese frittata (recipe from the Fast800 Keto recipe book)

Today we're off to visit my sister-in-law, and will be there till Thursday - so no idea what I'll be eating. But I'll maintain the black coffee/no food till lunch and will have to eat/avoid what I can.

Posting from me might be a bit more sporadic, but I'll try and check in when I can.

Oh yes don’t worry! I had spinach in my breakfast omelette and then both lunch and dinner were chicken and chorizo traybakes including courgette, mushrooms, peppers, spinach, olives and tomatoes plus mozzarella. I know for very strict keto some veg is totally off limits but I’m going with all veg is ok for this.

Just check out the veg carb counter on the spreadsheet @staytoxic - a very helpful traffic light system to guide as to which veg are the ones to focus on. Not all veg is OK!

Not sure if recipe books are on the spreadsheet (I'll go and check), but I have a few that I do use regularly as inspiration.

All the Fast800 ones are useful - they're not all very low carb, but as they give the carb counts you can pick and choose the ones that will work.

I also have all four books written by Monya Kilian Palmer - a chef who has worked with both Heston Blumenthal and Tom Kerridge

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=monya+kilian+palmer&i=stripbooks&crid=11CGRY1W4HMQ2&sprefix=monya+kilian+palmer%2Cstripbooks%2C205&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

I like the fact that her recipes are simple, and don't rely on lots of unusual ingredients.

With apologies for the delay , @FortnamsTea

ive added you now

There was onion, yellow pepper, and green beans in with the chicken satay, it was a curry style one rather than on skewers.

Hello, checking in a bit late. I’m not sure whether to partake as I’ve recently come up with a theory that dairy doesn’t agree with me. I am already a vegetarian but recently had a week on holiday where I ate vegan food all week, and I felt so much better for it. Eggs are still ok but I’m a bit weird with eggs, I have to be in the mood for them which isn’t often. So I’m not sure how feasible LCing will be while I test this out 🤔

Good day yesterday
Breakfast scrambled eggs, cooked in butter, and mushrooms
Lunch avocado, cucumber, celery, small amount of cheese and ham, mayo
Dinner Steak and green salad

Didn't feel starving this morning which was good - Greek yoghurt for work this morning - first time I took breakfast into work and it was fine

All dairy @Antisocial81? It might be worth an experiment to work out if it's specifically milk, cream, yoghurt or cheese. I know, for example, that cream is not my friend, in that it can impede weight loss. But I seem to be OK with the rest.

What symptoms do you have @Antisocial81? I can only tolerate milk occasionally and cream and yogurt are a bit suspect but cheese doesn’t give me any issues.

Enjoying days 1 and 2. Meals have included poached eggs with leaves, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber; ratatouille with chicken; salmon tray bake with broccoli, mushrooms and shallots; and steak.

@BIWI and @StuntNun. I don’t really ever drink milk, but I do use double cream quite a lot, and also eat various cheeses. Symptoms are acne and also a very sudden urge to 💩. I think I’ll have to cut it all out for now and then if it helps, experiment with what I can and can’t tolerate. It could have just been a coincidence and down to other factors that things got better when I was away, but I think it’s worth a try.

Try cutting one out first, so you can identify which is the culprit.

I’m sorry to hear that @Antisocial81 dairy intolerance can cause a huge variety of symptoms. I get a blocked up nose and a tummy ache but my DS gets unbearable leg pains. Definitely cut out dairy entirely for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce gradually. Just be careful as it can take up to a week of daily consumption before symptoms return. Also, when you cut out dairy, you may find you’re even more sensitive to it when you try to reintroduce it, because you have lost your tolerance.

been in a bit of a rut menu wise recently so really enjoyed yesterday’s inaugural bootcamp more effort meal: duck breast, rhubarb, spinach and mushrooms. It makes me so happy to be comfortable eating roast rhubarb as a vegetable with no though of adding sugar.

Oh wow @FinallyHere roast rhubarb sounds fab. Do you feed it salt and butter and shove it in the oven? Or something else? Roasted radishes are nice too.

went for omelette // green veg soup // veg curry with some roast chicken and grilled halloumi on the side. Feeling so much better already :-)