Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - The Questions Thread

[BIWI]

If you have any questions, just ask them here. From experience, the chat thread moves so quickly, posters' questions often get missed.

Picking up on some that have already been asked today:

Can we eat dairy in Bootcamp?

Yes you can, but be aware that for some people dairy can impede weight loss. Butter is fine - you don't have to worry about that, and yoghurt is apparently better tolerated than milk, cream or cheese.

Cheese is a great low carb food and it's lovely to not have to worry about being able to eat it on the basis of it being a fat.

Milk can become quite carby quite quickly, so if you're having several cups of tea/coffee a day, you need to keep an eye on this. If you can, it's best to have your tea/coffee black - or to substitute cream (double) for the milk.

Cream can be used in cooking (always double, as it has a higher fat content), but again be aware that it might be an issue for you.

The best way to find out if it's a problem for you is to keep a food diary, and then you will be able to see the impact of dairy on your weight loss.

I usually add some vanilla extract to mine. Be careful though, as lots of these have sugar added. I buy one from Waitrose that has no sugar.

Ndali is the brand I buy

They make vanilla powder too, which is also good in yoghurt.

i have a question my nail are breaking they are awful is this normal ?

have been low carbing for 2 weeks now (one bad day and a few not so low carb)

but my clothes are not feeling so tight

I don't know, FreudiansSlipper - haven't heard of that before. Weak nails indicate a shortage of zinc, don't they? I will see what I can find out for you ...

Well Googling reveals that whilst some people report better nail health when low carbing, others suffer like you.

Suggestions I've seen include making sure you're eating enough protein, and that it could also be due to a lack of iron, zinc and/or magnesium in your diet.

What have you been eating? If you can list out for me your meals over the last 3 or 4 days, let's see if there's anything we can spot that might help.

thank you

wednesday

breakfast 3 oatcakes with butter and a tiny bit of honey
snack a few nuts and salami (good salami)
lunch tuna with stir friend peppers and mange tout
snack few nuts
dinner lamb with grilled peppers and courgettes and a little tomato sauce (home made)

a mint aero

thursday

breakfast 3 oatcakes with boiled egg
snack a few nuts and salami (good salami)
lunch tuna with salad
snack few nuts
dinner burger (low in carb) with grilled peppers and courgettes and a little tomato sauce (home made)

friday

breakfast 2 oatcakes with butter and 2 rich tea (oh dear)
picked all day on bits of cheese, hard boiled egg and nuts
snack few nu
dinner chicken with butter and lemon juice

i drink 4 cups of tea a day, odd coffee. i use lactose free milk lower in carbs and have reduced amount of milk i have in drinks but still adds up the carb intake for the day

so not strictly low carb, i struggle not having something a little sweet in the morning. find cutting right down on carbs i am less hungry its hard when i am out and on the go

Hi everyone :) hope you don't mind me butting in here!
I started low carbing following a thread of yours, BIWI, back in May - it went amazingly well until my holiday in June. I had lost 1st in the month and a bit that I had been eating low-carb, and I found it amazingly easy.

I went on holiday :o and ate icecream and carbs as if my life depended on it! Unfortunately I've still been eating the ice cream and carbs since I got back - but I'm still losing weight (and I'm consuming more cals over my TDEE). I'm wondering how low carb is low carb? Could I still be burning fat in ketosis even though I've been guzzling ice cream and booze?
Thanks for any help answering this, 'cos it's puzzling me :)

Blimey, Freudians - you're not really eating low carb if you're eating that many oatcakes! How many carbs are in those?

Plus, carbs in your nuts, honey and milk ...

Have you worked out how many carbs you're eating a day? I think that would be a good thing to do.

It looks like you should be getting enough iron from that food (although possibly you should think about adding in some green leafy veg). Avocado, yoghurt, meat and fish - along with green leafy veg - would all be good for you, and give you zinc and magnesium.

It also looks as if you're not really eating much fat - most of your protein choices sound like they are low fat. Can you try eating (full fat) yoghurt for breakfast? You could always add some berries if you want something sweet. Would be a lot better than the oatcakes and honey!

Hi Snapes! Well lucky you

Have you worked out how many carbs you're eating a day? Dr John Briffa says that we need around 100g carbs per day, and other advice my trainer gave me was to try not to go over 30g carbs at any one meal.

Briffa also advises that as long as you eat 'properly' for 80% of the time, then you should be fine.

What kind of carbs are you eating?

around 50-60 some days less

3 oatcakes 18 carbs (i did buy atkins rye crackers hey were awful i try to stay away from atkins food as it does not taste like food coconut bars are delicious though )

honey around 5 carbs very little

milk 12-15 odd carbs a day

not cutting carbs right out cutting down. when i have cut them right out i am miserable and can not stick to it. this way i am not eating wheat and weight slowing coming off and i am not hungry all the time which for me is the big thing as soon as i start eat bread/pasta/rice i am hungry all the time

i love spinach, kale and broccoli i have a low thyroid and these are food to avoid but information is conflicting

also drunk peach juice the other day looked at carb content :( that is off the list

ok more fat, less nuts and have to cut down on oatcakes

i love yoghurt but for breakfast not sure why but it is something i just can not eat in the morning

What about the carbs in your veg though? (Which is actually where your carbs should be coming from!)

And if you have a low thyroid, this is much more likely to be the cause of your nail problem

And, BTW, low carbing is exactly that - LOW carb. It definitely isn't about cutting them out! Although it is about cutting out the worst kinds of carbs, i.e. bread/pasta/rice/flour/sugar.

Oh! I posted a link which didn't show up! here you go

thank you

thyroid is being tested monthly as it is dropping so not medicated at the moment. i have more energy, less bloated and hungry since cutting out wheat etc but in the last week or so my nails are breaking and are paper
thin like baby nails maybe is thyroid related though i really feel good at the moment

yes i have not really counted in the peppers and tomatoes i need too

breakfast is what i struggle with the most

eggs (any which way) / bacon / mushrooms
omelette with mushrooms / cheese...
Would that appeal more than yoghurt?

Oops, just read my post back and it does sound a bit braggy sorry about that.
I'm still eating mostly the same low carb dinners as when properly low-carbing, with the addition of ice cream and buttery toast in the morning.
113g of carbs yesterday from that and lunch/dinner, though when I was lowcarbing I rarely went over 30 net carbs.

Should have mentioned I only said I found it easy was because I intended to say 'I'm struggling to get back on the wagon!' when I found it so easy before :o.
The science of it all is a v confusing, it's the only diet I've ever been on that's worked though.

QueenQueenie i occasionally have an omelette for breakfast. i just prefer something plan and it is when i want something a little sweet a piece of toast with honey is the perfect breakfast

sorry sound a bit of a moaning minnie the thought of eating bacon, ham or even worse smoked fish for breakfast turns my stomach, brunch fine but first thing no no no

I'm doing a proper shop tomorrow. When I finish nights I like to treat myself. By drinking and catching up on the telly. How am I going to avoid this? And if I don't what can I drink? I've been so good.

Water? Sparkling with lemon / lime / cucumber? Herbal tea (Liqourice tea is a revelation to me)?

Hi all, longtime lurker here, just wanted to ask I've been using pizza express full fat house dressing on salads and its quick and delish. It's only 4 carbs per 100 mls and as the bottle is only 250 mil I'm thinking poss only 1 per serving? Also mayo? I love it, heinz, any lower carb ones? Also tonight, had pesto stuffed chicken, aubergine one from Scalia? Again seems low ish per serving used a spoon full so 1/8 th of the jar. Any advice ?

Well - measure it out and make sure you know how many carbs you're getting from it. And be mindful that you should be getting the majority of your carbs from vegetables and salad!

Thanks today I had streaky bacon and duck egg cooked/griddled in butter with little gem and avocado with mayo for breakfast and water

I had mixed salad with ham and salmon mayo mix with pizza express dressing for lunch

Dinner was white cabbage carrotts broccoli steamed with added butter and chicken stuffed pesto and Parma ham wrapped with mayo

Snacks macadamia nuts,

Two squares super dark choc

Two coffees with double cream

2 lts water, sparking?

Is this ok? I'm loving the woe

Forgot the full fat Greek yog 75ml with 8 raspberries for snack

That's fine if you're doing Bootcamp Light! If you are doing Bootcamp, you need to avoid the carrot, chocolate, nuts and fruit ...

God, I saw cucumber gin on my way home

I read this somewhere and it stuck im my head.. I always remember the aying if I feel like having a big piece of cake..

you either eat what you want of look how you want :)