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Low-carb diets

Autumn Low Carb Bootcamp - The Questions Thread

338 replies

BIWI · 08/09/2013 14:12

Welcome everybody!

As there are lots of us signed up for the next Bootcamp, you will find that the chat thread moves very quickly! It can be the case, therefore, that questions get missed - hence starting this thread. If you have a specific question or issue, please post it here to make sure that it gets answered. I will do my best to check this thread as often as I can - and if others can answer your question then they will do so as well.

I thought it might be a good idea to start off with some FAQs that often get asked, just to help save a bit of time! So here goes:

How many carbs should I be eating per day to make sure that I lose weight?

There are a couple of points to make here. First, Bootcamp is designed to make low carbing as easy as possible. One of the things that I believe puts people off diets is having to weigh, measure and count everything that they are eating - and of course, this is impossible if you are eating out/on the go. If you make sure that you are following Bootcamp rules, then you should lose weight.

Second, we are different in terms of our ability to cope with carbohydrate. Some people can eat more carbs without gaining weight whereas others have to keep their carbs at quite a low level.

The initial 2 weeks of Bootcamp are designed to be sufficiently low carb for the vast majority of people to lose weight by following it. Although Bootcamp Light (for the remaining 8 weeks of Bootcamp) allows more carbs, it is still supposed to be relatively low carb.

Once you have completed Bootcamp and/or you have reached your target weight, then it's time to start to explore how many carbs you can tolerate before the weight goes back on. And the only way to do this is to experiment by re-introducing carbs. A gradual introduction, along with a vigilant eye on the scales/your waistband will soon tell you if you have overdone it!

Will I ever be able to eat carbs again?!

Absolutely you will - see the answer to the above question! However, if once you reach your target weight you revert back to eating the same level of carbs as you were before you started, then you will put all the weight back on. Carbs make you fat!

The best thing to do is to work out a WOE (way of eating) that keeps the carbs at a sufficiently low level such that you maintain your weight.

By the time you reach your target weight, you will also be ketogenically-adapted, i.e. your body has switched from carb-burning to fat-burning, so the odd night off will not do you too much harm.

How hard is it to eat out when you are low carbing?

It's easier to eat out when you are low carbing than if you are trying to count calories or eat a low fat diet. (As long as you don't find yourself in a restaurant that only serves pizza or pasta!)

The majority of restaurants will have something on their menu that is easily adapted for low carb eating. And it's always possible to ask them to substitute something high carb for something lower carb - so if something is on the menu being served with chips, or rice - ask if they will switch those for a salad, or extra veg. I have never been refused when I have asked this, and it is never an issue.

Some types of restaurants are harder to navigate - Thai is very difficult, not only because of the rice/noodles, but because many of their meals use sugar in the sauces as well as thickeners. At an Indian restaurant, poppadoms, rice, chappattis and naan breads are all (obviously!) out. Aim for a dry curry (so a tandoori or tikka dish), and have that with a side curry such as cauliflower, spinach or mushroom.

The best thing is to be prepared - if the restaurant has a website, have a look to see if they have posted their menu, so you have a chance to see what's available, what you can eat. And you could always ring them in advance to see if they can accommodate any particular needs that you have - mostly restaurants are happy to try and accommodate their customers.

Is it really possible to eat so much fat and still lose weight?

Oh yes! Grin Just ask anyone else who has done Bootcamp! Fat doesn't make you fat. When you eat fat, your body does not produce an insulin spike - unlike when you eat carbs. It is the insulin production that causes your body to lay down fat.

We need fat. It is good for our brains and for our skin.

Also, very importantly, eating fat is very satiating. It is what will help to stop you getting hungry. It's actually quite difficult to eat masses of fat, whereas it's very easy to eat masses of carbs.

Here's a very good piece from a site that's well worth following, all about fat and why it's good for us/isn't going to harm us

Do I have to do any exercise on Bootcamp to lose weight?

Not if you don't want to. Exercise, as a means of losing weight, is way over-rated. You have to exercise a lot and frequently to lose a significant amount of weight. For example, I have recently taken up running. My last run saw me burn 390 calories. That's quite a lot - but that was after running for 30 minutes, and for 5km.

On my plan (and on the advice of my osteopath) I am only supposed to run three times a week. That would mean that in the course of a week I have burnt off 1,170 calories. Not that much in the grand scheme of things - but that's a lot of running!

Exercise can help you, but it's not essential.

I do a lot of regular exercise, and I'm advised by my trainer/the gym to eat plenty of carbs and/or to carb load before I run/cycle/train - what should I do if I'm low carbing?

Once you are ketogenically-adapted, you will be able to train quite happily whilst following a low carb diet. Your body will be using fat as its fuel source - and let's face it, most of us have plenty of fat readily available for that. Whereas with carbs, our bodies actually only store a limited amount in our muscles and our liver. Once these have gone, and we have emptied our glycogen stores, that's when you will find yourself 'hitting the wall' or 'bonking'. This is why serious athletes often have to carry various gels and drinks - so that they can replenish their carbs/glycogen very quickly. This won't happen if you are burning fat.

If you're in doubt, there's a very good book called "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" by Drs Jeff S Volek and Stephen D Phinney. Here is a description of the book from the Amazon website:

"A Revolutionary Program to Extend Your Physical and Mental Performance Envelope. Our recent book 'The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living' was written for health care professionals, championing the benefits of carbohydrate restriction to manage insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type-2 diabetes. In response, our athlete friends asked "What about us?" This companion book is our answer, and it could be titled: 'The Art and Science of Avoiding the BONK'. But actually, it is much much more than that. The keto-adapted athlete benefits from superior fuel flow not only when nearing glycogen depletion, but also during training, recovery, and in response to resistance exercise as well."

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BIWI · 10/09/2013 17:50
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whodunnit · 10/09/2013 19:16

Thanks BIWI

I am just too curious as to the reasons why is eating fat good? Is it better than protein, or do we just need both? And if I eat lots of fat or protein, does my body use these up before it starts burning up my own body fat? Should I be eating less as my body fat gets used up sooner? Sorry I should get a book and read it up. But BIWI you seem to have all the answers and I don't have a book.....

I know you said somewhere that exercise is less use than this diet as your 3 running sessions only burn up 1500 calories. But surely that helps, or have we switched over to such a different system here? I am confused (and wondering whether to pack in my new habit of walking to work)

Thanks

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whodunnit · 10/09/2013 19:17

And I checked my herbal tea packets and found they had 0.5g carb for 100ml.....sob....plain water for me then

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pixiegumboot · 10/09/2013 19:17

thanks. now ham as processed food I get. what about a piece of gammon, or gammon steak? is that viewed in the same eat but go easy way?

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Roobot · 10/09/2013 19:32

Hi BIWI and other knowledgable peeps...
Is coconut milk/ cream allowed at this stage. I was thinking abt making a curry!
Thanks v much :)

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Lifeisontheup · 10/09/2013 20:59

Whodunnit I checked my herbal tea (fennel) and it's 0.1g carbs per serving which I take to mean one teabag.
What sort are you drinking?

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halfthesize · 10/09/2013 21:28

Roobot

coconut cream

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halfthesize · 10/09/2013 21:28

link has carb content, but always check back of packet as they vary.

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BIWI · 10/09/2013 21:51

Blue Dragon Coconut Milk - 3.4g carbs per 100ml
Blue Dragon Cocnut Cream - 1.8g carbs per 100ml

They're pretty low in carbs - but avoid Creamed Coconut. I can't find the carb count for that at the moment, but it's really high.

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feelinlucky · 11/09/2013 08:46

Hi all, I started last Monday and lost 4 pounds in the first 5 days but I've stalled now. I did have a relapse on Saturday but even based on the number if calories I ate and the amount of exercise I did I should have still lost a little. I'm wondering if I should just try a low calorie diet. I'm still struggling to get my head round how all this fat can helpe lose weight. Can I just list what I aye yesterday to get an idea if I'm doing the right thing? B: full fat Greek yogurt with a little double cream. One coffee with cream. L: tiny bowl of veg chilli and matchbox bit of cheese. Snack: teaspoon peanut butter and small handful of plain cashew , D: 3 egg omelette cooked in butter with mushrooms and small amount of grated cheese. Supper: cup of cabbage soup. I drank at least 2.5 maybe 3 litres of water. I recorded everything on mfp and the calories are quite low, carbs under 50 and fat content high. I wonder if because the cals are so low it's slowing down my metabolism? I absolutely feel as if I have a flatter stomach and feel less bloated, so there are definite benefits. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. It feels like a big commitment right now for very little gain.

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feelinlucky · 11/09/2013 08:47

Oh, and I never feel hungry. Yay :)

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BIWI · 11/09/2013 08:55

NO, NO, NO AND NO!

You have been doing this for only a week, and you have lost 4 pounds already - that is fantastic. You haven't stalled. You can't expect to continue losing weight at that rate all the time. Weight loss isn't linear.

When you say you 'had a relapse' I presume this means that you ate too many carbs? If you did, then you will have undone the work that you did in the previous week.

B: full fat Greek yogurt with a little double cream. One coffee with cream. L: tiny bowl of veg chilli and matchbox bit of cheese. Snack: teaspoon peanut butter and small handful of plain cashew , D: 3 egg omelette cooked in butter with mushrooms and small amount of grated cheese. Supper: cup of cabbage soup. I drank at least 2.5 maybe 3 litres of water

Breakfast is fine - although keep an eye on the amount of dairy you're consuming - it can be an issue for some of us

Lunch - Why 'tiny'? There is no need on this WOE to deprive yourself. We are not calorie counting!

Snack - nuts aren't allowed on Bootcamp. Peanut butter squeaks in as allowable, but the cashews certainly aren't - and a handful of cashews will have been very carby

Dinner looks fine, although you could have done with some veg to go with that - a salad dressed with an oily dressing would have been perfect

Supper - well, if you're having to snack and eat supper, this suggest that you're not eating enough during the day - and if your lunch portion was tiny, this would be why!

I recorded everything on mfp and the calories are quite low, carbs under 50 and fat content high. I wonder if because the cals are so low it's slowing down my metabolism?

You aren't eating enough! And please - stop counting the calories Low carbing is not about counting calories, nor is about depriving yourself or going hungry.

I absolutely feel as if I have a flatter stomach and feel less bloated, so there are definite benefits. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. It feels like a big commitment right now for very little gain

You really need to do some reading to help you get head around this way of eating. It's hard, because it runs so counter to everything that we have been told over the last 30 years or so. But you've started really well. Go to the spreadsheet and find the resources tab at the bottom and have a read of some of the stuff linked to there. If you can, buy/borrow a copy of "Escape the Diet Trap" by Dr John Briffa - this will give you a really good grounding in low carbing and why it is so much better for us (from a health perspective as well as for lowing weight) than going low calorie.

You do, however, need to be patient. Sadly, the weight will not magically drop off you and you do need to follow Bootcamp rules.

Stick with it! And good luck. Flowers

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feelinlucky · 11/09/2013 09:13

Haha, that made me laugh. Ok, sorry, forgot to mention I had a big rocket and spinach salad with 4 baby plum tomatoes with my omelette. Someone earlier said as I'm a vege I can have a little nuts, so now I know that's not the case I won't have them. I only had supper because I made a big pot of creamy cabbage soup and wanted a bowl but never usually eat supper. I only had a small lunch because that was all that was left and didn't get time to make the scrambled egg I planned. I have very little appetite right now, it's a very strange feeling because I'm normally scoffing biscuits and nuts. There's been no scoffing at all. I'm cracking on and constantly learning. I have been reading honest. I haven't managed to get on my laptop to check our the spreadsheet and unlikely to get on until tomorrow. Someone recommended planning, so that's my next task :) thanks for that great post :)

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NorkyButNice · 11/09/2013 09:26

Hello fellow LC-ers.

Is there anyone here who has had their gall-bladder removed? Mine was taken out last year and I've not had any troubles since so I didn't consider it something I needed to consult my GP about before starting the new WOE.

But last night just after going to bed, I had the most unbelievable pains in my back/stomach area that went on for hours, the only reason I didn't call an ambulance was because it felt so similar to the pains I'd had with the gall stones and they do say that you can very occasionally have the pain again after the operation.

Does anyone have any experience?

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stinkerfromhove · 11/09/2013 09:27

struggling with cold snacks & brekkers- trying to keep dairy and processed meats low. Nuts and seeds out. ??!!

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Ohfuckohfuckofuck · 11/09/2013 09:31

No time to read through, please tell me avocados are ok?

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stinkerfromhove · 11/09/2013 09:32

"Go to the spreadsheet and find the resources tab at the bottom and have a read of some of the stuff linked to there." BIWI or Willy

Afraid I can't find the resources tab. Can you help please?

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WillieWaggledagger · 11/09/2013 09:37

norky, no personal experience but this mentions low carbing with gall bladder removed (at the very bottom) - it suggests perhaps easing into eating higher fat, to get the body used to processing it.

if i'm right you can still process fat without a gall bladder as bile is made in the liver, it just doesn't have the gall bladder to store the bile in (correct me if i've got this wrong!)? so perhaps it was liver pain you experienced. so maybe adjusting your diet in a slightly slower way might be more comfortable for you?

i'm not a doctor though so if you are worried and it keeps happening do seek medical advice!

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WillieWaggledagger · 11/09/2013 09:42

stinker you might need to scroll right to find the tab with the resources on - there should be left/right arrows on the bottom right of your screen. if you click the right-hand one the tabs will scroll across and you should see the 'low carb resources' one

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WillieWaggledagger · 11/09/2013 09:43

ohfuck - according to this they are 1.9g per 100g so definitely ok. and full of lovely fat and potassium and other goodies so go right ahead!

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stinkerfromhove · 11/09/2013 09:45

WillieWD - I'm at cell BS:206 - can't see resource tab????

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stinkerfromhove · 11/09/2013 09:46

WWD - ooh got them - very pale on my screen! Sorry.

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BIWI · 11/09/2013 09:48

feelinlucky - sorry Blush I had forgotten that you are a veggie! You can, of course, have nuts and seeds if you are a veggie. Just keep an eye on the carbs - cashews are quite carby. If you can, get some macadamias and/or almonds.

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Ohfuckohfuckofuck · 11/09/2013 09:49

Thank you! Phew, I ate half a big one anyway!

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stinkerfromhove · 11/09/2013 09:51

Wille WD Thank you - brilliant resource tabs - just what I needed!

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