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Low-carb diets

Share advice and experiences of following a low-carb diet.Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Ongoing Low Carb Bootcamp Chat Thread

999 replies

BIWI · 08/07/2013 08:52

Well done everyone who completed the Summer Bootcamp!

here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness if you want to continue adding to it

Obviously there are many of us who want to continue, either to lose more weight or just for general support to help with this WOE, so here is a brand new, shiny chat thread.

As for me, having slipped a lot a little when I was away, I'm firmly back on the wagon today.

And can I remind you, that if you haven't completed the survey we would be very grateful for your views/thoughts on how we can improve Bootcamp.

OP posts:
Cherrypi · 18/07/2013 09:18

3 pounds on this morning :-( I probably shouldn't weigh daily but I did make some mistakes yesterday. I didn't drink enough water. I didn't have enough fat with my tea so wanted to snack in the evening. Then toddler wouldn't sleep so did some emotional eating. I did stick to low carb snacks apart from two seafood sticks which I assumed would be low carb (Lidl ones with no nutritional info on) and then I looked them up and they were high carb and had sugar in. Oh well trying harder today. Had nutmeg in my yoghurt this morning. Toddler turned his nose up at the weetabix my husband gave him and wanted yoghurt like me.

daisychicken · 18/07/2013 09:21

Fell off wagon yesterday... was making cakes for school fayre & the kids... and I just had to test that piece that fell to pieces when sliced.... [embarrassed]

Have to say I was so peckish for the rest of the day.... BUT I was good!

back on wagon properly today Smile

BIWI · 18/07/2013 09:24

Lewis

well, mostly I need cheap meals (no money til pay day) so I'm thinking meats with frozen veggies for dinners and eggs for lunches at work with things in such as omlettes with added meats / things

These meals sound fine - as long as you are using/adding plenty of fat, and keeping the veg low carb

should I make the omlette in butter instead of oil?

Yes - it will be tastier, and also better - unless you're using coconut oil, cooking with oil isn't great, as the heat changes its nature. (Don't worry too much about this for now - but if you can use butter instead of oil it's always going to be better!)

I can't bring myself to eat breakfasts - any ideas what to have? It will need to be at work (fully functioning kitchen but no time to make anything until lunch hour)

I think to start with you are going to have to get your head around this. The key thing that you're looking to achieve on this WOE (way of eating) is to stabilise your blood sugars and therefore to control your appetite. You won't achieve this if you are skipping breakfast. Eggs are brilliant as they are perfect low carb food, and take no time at all to cook. If you can't face cooking first thing, or really don't have the time - less than 10 minutes! - to boil a couple of eggs, then hard-boil some, and keep them in the fridge. You can just grab one and eat it first thing. BUT BREAKFAST IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET YOU STARTED PROPERLY!

how about tuna salad (cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes (3 baby ones), mushrooms, spring onions) with tuna over the top and some salad dressing - which dressing are we allowed? is caesar too carby?

Sounds perfect. Salad dressing really should be a homemade dressing - all the shop-bought ones I've seen add sugar. Make your own vinaigrette dressing:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon wine vinegar (red or white, or cider vinegar)
salt/pepper

Couldn't be easier!

one problem I forsee - I don't like fatty meat... I HATE the skin of chicken etc and find it slimy. Is this going to be an enormous issue?

If you roast a chicken, or a chicken piece, the skin will be crisp not slimy! It is lovely! It isn't the end of the world if you don't like fatty meat, but you will have to get used to eating more fat in your diet. That said, the danger of only eating lean protein is that you eat a disproportionately high amount of protein, and it becomes a high protein diet instead of a high fat diet. I suspect, though, that this is in your head rather than a real preference - and once you get going on low carbing your tastes will change!

I have eaten "low fat" diets for ever (well, when I diet, I mean... if I ate low fat forever I'd not be 21st!) - it's a really difficult thing to get into my head; where to "add" the fat?!

Well, eating a low fat diet clearly doesn't work, does it?! Grin We have been conned over the last 30 years or so, being told to drop the fat. It's not the fat that makes you fat, it's the carbs. It's one of the most difficult things for everyone when they start following a low carb (and therefore high fat) diet - and it feels like a real leap of faith to start with. But trust us - it really does work! Most importantly, the fat will make you feel full and will keep you feeling full for longer.

I don't really like crisp skin either but it's all right... I think it's more changing my mind about it; since I was a tiny child, my mother removed the skin on roasts etc because it's "bad" for you... that's a good 25 years of input to reverse!

Well exactly!

And now, to finish, two key questions:

HAVE YOU READ THE RULES OF BOOTCAMP? DO YOU KNOW WHAT VEG YOU ARE ALLOWED TO EAT?

This is really important to help you get off to the best possible start. I would also suggest that you have a really good read of all the resources on the spreadsheet - there's some great stuff there (especially some of the videos) about low carb eating. Everything you need to know is here - just look at the tabs at the bottom

OP posts:
BIWI · 18/07/2013 09:27

Cherrypi - daily weighing is a difficult one, because our bodies do fluctuate wildly on a daily basis. And at the moment, with this heat, it's likely that there is a degree of water retention going on there.

However, it does also illustrate that this WOE isn't a forgiving one, and you can't hide a cheat from the scales!

If you find it's too upsetting, then I'd suggest that you revert to weekly weighing.

OP posts:
Cherrypi · 18/07/2013 09:44

Thanks BIWI. I think I'll keep daily weighing if the feedback is so quick it can only be helpful.

Mouseface · 18/07/2013 10:22

Morning,

So, I've weighed in and I'm 10st 6lbs. I'm 5ft 6in.

Not happy with the way I feel currently, I'm sluggish (heat not helping, nor a none sleeping boy) and eating at odd times. I was actually sick when I ate last night (cheese and oat thins) so went straight to bed with a pint of water.

I have had a Muller greek style fat free yog for breakfast in lemon, not the single ones, the multipack ones that are smaller.

No idea re lunch and dinner or snacks.

Thanks for the beer info BIWI - it's more the alcohol to be honest at the time, being a Brave Babe and all that Grin

Well done to those who have lost so much, I'm loving the fat and water idea whoever posted that, I can do that. Cheese and water!!! Grin

So, I'm stuck, wobbly around the middle and want to do something in the next couple of weeks to shift 5/6 pounds.

Help please. xxx

prettybird · 18/07/2013 10:29

Why did you have a fat free yoghurt? Hmm

prettybird · 18/07/2013 10:34

Sorry - posted too soon.

Lidl full fat Greek Yoghurt (10%) is good and you can get it in big tubs. So is Total full fat. I have it for breakfast with a wee smidgeon of extra double cream and some cinnamon and a few raspberries, but I'm allowed 'cos I'm no longer on the first two weeks of strict Boot Camp

Have you read the Boot Camp rules? Fat is not to be feared, it is to be embraced. Smile

Negroni · 18/07/2013 10:34

Lewis One thing I like having for breakfast (often eaten when making DP and DD1's packed lunches) are slices of ham, spread with mayonnaise (check carb counts but many are lowish) and sometimes with a piece of lettuce on top. Roll it up and just put in mouth. Can do the same with cream cheese - though I am trying to avoid dairy. You could have a few slices of these - obv. the less processed the meat the better, but i think it fulfills the criteria of 1) quick to make 2) easy to travel with/ keep in office 3) has fat in.

Down another 1/2 pound since my 6th July week long detour. Only another pound to go till I get back to that weight. Am sticking religiously to the 3l of water and I think it really helps ( though working from home fits in with regular trips to the loo!). A friend I haven't seen for 6 months is visiting in a week and a half so would like to keep this up till then so I am properly a good bit slimmer than when she last saw me.

Negroni · 18/07/2013 10:37

pretty and others who have yoghurt and cream - quick question (even though I am off dairy for now) - when you add cream to yoghurt are you just adding double cream directly from tub ie in pouring consistency or are you whipping it first? I like the idea of it whipped but clearly that would take time and could not whip it in v small quantities and large quantities of whipped cream - well, bit dangerous for someone who thinks dairy stalls her weightlosss

LilyAmaryllis · 18/07/2013 10:48

Mouseface look at the carb count on the side of your low-fat yoghurt. Its probably quite high. Total Greek Yoghurt - my pot says 3.8g per 100g. Given we should only be eating veg with carb count of 3g/100g or lower, I don't think you'd want to eat yogurts with carb counts much higher than that. Not all Greek Yoghurts are low-carb enough (eg, the Co-op one is not.)

Also, on the famous fabulous spreadsheet there is a tab called Ubercamp. That gives menu ideas for 3 days. Its a very strict and non-dairy form of bootcamp but it might give you some ideas you can use as a basis and adjust to your tastes.

Negroni I've just poured a small amount of cream into the yoghurt. Really delicious mix but you are right - dangerous if dairy affects you!

Negroni · 18/07/2013 10:50

Crabby the almond butter is meridian! I really like it ! In the local health food shop they also had a similar cashew butter (sadly only for when I am maintaining - too many carbs) and a peanut butter.

Am a bit Blush to discover I went to health food shop to source coconut oil and low carb peanut butter and then discover 1) everyone buys much cheaper coconut oil over internet/ in asian shops - already dispatched my dad to an asian shop to do this and 2) the same almond butter is in sainsbury's!

I will just try to style this out and feel good about supporting local independent shops.

StuntNun · 18/07/2013 11:02

Crabby I was at McDonalds with the kids the other day (flame grilled chicken salad is the only low carb option and I take my own dressing in a jar I bought specially from BM Bargains Blush) and took one of DS2's French fries to try. I couldn't actually eat it (spat out discretely into a napkin) as it was a horrible soggy tasteless thing. So why did I used to hoover them down before this WOE?

prettybird · 18/07/2013 11:16

I just pour a teeny bit of cream onto the yoghurt and stir it through. It gives it a nice wee bit of extra richness.

Lidl yoghurt is 3.2g carbs per 100g :)

Cherrypi · 18/07/2013 11:39

Are the little pots different from the big ones prettybird? Just double checked my Lidl one and it's 5g

prettybird · 18/07/2013 12:12

Never looked at the little ones - have only ever bought the big tub.

The Lidl Muller corner look-alike that I have (for ds) doesn't have nutritional information on it but does have ingredients - peach (9.1%), sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, passion fruit juice from concentrate (2.3%), dextrose, thickeners: pectin, guar gum, xanthan gum, modified maize startch, concetrated carrot juice, pumpkin concetrate, acidity regulators: citric acid, sodium citrate, calcaium citrate;flavouring complete the with disclaimer "No artificial preservatives or colours Hmm Hate to think what the carb count is! Wink

Ingredient list for the Eridanous Greek Yoghurt: creamy yoghurt 10% fat Grin

Mouseface · 18/07/2013 12:34

Sorry Pretty Blush Blush - I clearly need to read the rules before posting, I'm new to this, it's what I had in the fridge.

Thank you Lily for your help. I'll take myself off and have a good read before daring to eat lunch :)

Mouseface · 18/07/2013 12:47

I'm going to have a good read and think, I have no idea how to enter my details on the spreadsheet. TBH, I might have to start on Sat as Nemo leaves preschool tomorrow after a really rough ride and my emotions are all over the place.

I can't even think straight at the mo...

I will come back later and ask for help if that's okay on how to fill in the spread sheet etc. I DO WANT THIS but I need to be not crying every few flaming minutes so that I can see to add my weight etc.....

Plus, I'm in the early stages of menopause (38.5 yrs) so my hormones are fluctuating wildly as it is.

I need a Boot Buddy please if anyone is willing to hold my mousey paw for a day or two until I get my head around fat is good, low fat is bad..... it's upside down to me, I thought I knew what low carbing was, I was wrong looking at the Rules.

Be back later when I can get a flaming grip! Grin

prettybird · 18/07/2013 12:54

This Way of Thinking Eating does take some getting used to after years of indroctrination Grin

I felt positively wicked when I picked up the blue top milk in Lidl rather than green top milk! Wink. It does mean I put less milk in my tea now though! Smile

Mouseface · 18/07/2013 13:02

Also, I've just bought all low fat stuff and have NONE of the foods in on the list that I can eat so I think I'm going to have to start next week, go to Aldi/Sainsburys and start label reading again but for all the other reasons, as in fat! Grin

Mouseface · 18/07/2013 13:04

It's all diet this and zero fat that in this house, well for me. Nemo is tube fed so has his own feed, DD eats what she likes, as does DH, I'm really going to have to rummage around for something, or start next week.

BerylStreep · 18/07/2013 13:14

Oh Bugger!

My electrician has just asked if I have put on weight. I said no, and he then asked if I was pregnant.

BlushAngrySad

I said no, and it's now a bit awkward as we are both mortified.

WillieWaggledagger · 18/07/2013 13:22

good grief beryl, i'm surprised he's survived long enough to be qualified as an electrician with those lines!

MrsHerculePoirot · 18/07/2013 13:23

lewis I would say try to keep an open mind. Before this WoE I didn't like asparagus or avocado amongst many biter things. My taste buds have changed though and I love both of these now!!! I am not saying you are going to love everything tomorrow, but you might find in a while it worth trying different things!

MrsHerculePoirot · 18/07/2013 13:24

beryl WTAF! Who in their right mind ever asks anyone if they have put on weight. Perhaps he has confused you with someone else...

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