Week 1 - Autumn Low Carb Bootcamp

[BIWI]

So here we are! Over 160 of us signed up!

Here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness for you to enter your first weight

If you aren't on the list for any reason, just go to the bottom of the list and add your name - the lovely Willie will sort out the alphabetisation later.

From experience of previous Bootcamps, the chat thread can move very quickly! So, if you have a specific or particular question, please post it on the questions thread I will do my best to check it as often as I can, as will other seasoned Bootcampers.

If you have a really burning issue, please feel free to PM me and I will do my very best to help you as soon as possible.

And if you're looking for inspiration for things to cook, here's the recipe thread

Here is a brief reminder of the rules:

We do not eat any of the following during Bootcamp:

bread
rice
pasta/noodles
potatoes
flour
pastry
sugar
chocolate/sweets
biscuits/cookies
crisps

And here are the ten rules of Bootcamp:

1. You must eat breakfast.
2. Avoid processed food
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited)
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nuts/seeds

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners

More detail/explanation of these rules is on the spreadsheet ? look at the tabs at the bottom.

One final word from me ? the disclaimer! I am not a doctor, a scientist, a dietician nor a nutritionist. The advice that is given here is based on my own experience of low carbing, as well as the reading I have been doing over the last few years.

If you have a medical condition, or you are taking long term medication, please take advice from your GP/consultant before starting to low carb.

Good luck everyone!

I'm feeling pretty rough - is this the low carb flu? Sore throat, total brain fog, no energy and feeling down and sorry for myself. Not ideal as I've just started a new job! Hope it clears soon.

Demented I wouldn't force the water if it is making you feel that way.

Just try to have lots of small glasses throughout the day without making it feel like a chore. (Although I never have enough water, so perhaps I am not the best person to listen to).

It's worth sticking at it. I have been LC since 27 March this year, and I can honestly say it is second nature now (apart from the alcohol, and not enough water). I have gone off piste a couple of times (and I mean I could count on one hand the number of times I have had a processed carb), but nothing major, and I much prefer food on this WOE and how it makes me feel.

There are days where I am like a human dynamo in work, and the amount I achieve is incredible.

Anyhow, non egg or yoghurt suggestions:

Slice of ham and cheese rolled up together for snacks / breakfast? (staple of mine)

Homemade tuna or mackerel pate with celery sticks?

Poach chicken breasts with a stock cube, then when cold slice them and serve with green leaves and a wasabi and mayo dressing? Or make a coronation chicken dressing with curry paste and mayo (and sneak in a tiny amount of sliced almonds and chopped apricot) -

More Lidl provisions: Scottish smoked salmon, dry cure bacon (back or streaky - streaky is best on this WoE), peperami snacks (great for snacks on the go), cheese triangles, smoked mackerel.....

Good evening everyone!

B yogurt and black coffee
L left over chicken with homemade coleslaw
S cheese and chorizo
D a small meat ball with 2 cauliflower florets and French beans fried in butter. It was a small portion but I snacked on chorizo and cheese while cooking.

And a lot of water :)

Sorry, holmessweetholmes, to hear you're feeling rough. If you have a sore throat I think that's a cold/virus, rather than carb flu. Hope you're feeling better soon.

kotinka - we only started on Monday so you are in time! Hopefully low carbing will give you the results that you want/need

It started off as the IPD moussaka and then my phone died so I had to wing it. Was aubergines softened in olive oil (and some cocnut oil cos I ran out of olive oil), then shallots, garlic, half an onion and lamb mince with a little of the sainsbury's chopped toms. Layered that with the aubergine, and then topped off with a cheese sauce I made with ff cream cheese melted with double cream and a little cheddar grated in. Yum.
I might print out the IPD recipe for next time!

Dementedma, instead of drinking water could you have some fruit teas instead? They should be carb free and as long as they don't have black tea in them they are caffeine free.

I guess, rather than give up on low carbing all together, just drink what water you can manage for now and eat low carb. When I first started low carbing I didn't know about the amounts you were supposed to drink, but I still lost weight. It's just a thought ...

Sounds lovely anyway, Roobot!

loopylou, that's a really good idea about the fruit teas

Dementedma

A tip that someone gave me when I started trying to drink water was to use a sports cap bottle. There is something scientific in how it fools your mouth into drinking more.

I truly believes it works and can down 2 litres a day no probs plus decaf/peppermint tea.

Are you drinking out of glasses as this might be worth a try for you

nigella glad to hear you're feeling better :)

BIWI could well be something I ate. Working away is really messing with my weight loss. I have just arrived at the hotel :(

I have just been eyeing up the raspberry jam (eyeing not eating!) and i have decided to get some frozen berries type stuff to cook up and freeze in tiny portions (ice cube tray) for adding to yoghurt and cream and stuff for when I come off bootcamp and head into bootcamp light. Hoping this will keep me on track longer term.
Apart from the type of berries I use, is there anything else that i need to be mindful of?

I've been doing the lc woe for 3 1/2 weeks now and apart from a load of 'anniversary dinner' wine I've been very good. I've lost 7 lbs and started boot camp proper on Monday.

Sooo, can anyone explain why I binged on half a large bag of delicious bubble chip crisps in the middle of the day? I have been feeling unwell and extremely guilty & disappointed since. Can't believe I was so weak

Otherwise it's been
B: 3 eggs scrambled mixed with mayo (tastes amazing)
L: crispy salad with half an avocado & 3 slices of Serrano ham plus mayo & olive oil
S: 3 macadamia nuts (which I beat myself up about) then Tesco delivery arrived & I scoffed half a bag of carby crunch
D: Homemade lamb/mutton kofte with roasted leeks, broccoli and onion with pan fried aubergine.

Probably only 2-2.5l of water when I should drink 3.5l.

I feel so fat. How much damage have I done?

dear all
B : an avocado, some grated cheese, mushrooms
L : 2 chicken thighs, coleslaw, babybel
S : babybel, olives
D: chilli, aubergine, coleslaw and broccoli in butter
1 tea and 2 coffees (duh)
too much?
have drunk plenty of water. however my jeans are still disappointingly tight ..grr

am i going wrong?

Hi all, just checking in .
I had fish pie yesterday (from the recipe thread) and kept some for today which I wrapped on lettuce leaves and it was really nice, so yay! It would also be nice for breakfast.
Breakfast was egg with a bit of mayo and water
Lunch was cold fish pie in lettuce leaves and left over courgette wedges and water
Tea was bolognese with (more courgette wedges) and some sneaky spinach mixed in.
I won't weigh myself until the next weigh in but I feel better in my stomach already which is one of the main reasons I do this.
I'm lucky in that I already don't eat bread and cake etc, it is ds3s birthday tomorrow and I'm making him his cake. but the chocolate fudge icing could be a trouble I asked him what he wanted for tea and he said chicken korma- he'll be six

Evening all, just rushing in to shout encouragement to everyone, once you get past the first few days it does get easier. Promise!!

Your carb flu will pass, your taste buds will adapt and you should get a big energy boost. Drinking the water flushes out toxins as well as ketones so look forward in a couple of weeks to plump glowing skin and swooshy healthy hair. You will have a flatter, de bloated tummy and you will see your shape change. Many people also report reduced PMS symptoms (I definitely have a much better pre-period phase!) and lift in mood (after 3 months of low carbing my doctor reduced my dose of ADs - in the middle of winter which is the toughest time for me!)

I lost 20lbs in 10 weeks on my first Bootcamp Oct-Dec last year and have easily maintained my weight around that level for the whole of this year, with no major yo-yos like "traditional" diets, eating delicious filling nutrient rich food and enjoying the occasional treat without worrying. Stick with it and you will find it easier. Try Lidl or Aldi for great range of LC food, read the rules and the recipe thread, go online for inspiring blogs or recipes. Is a mind adjust, yes, but totally worth it, really is.

Early snack (damn dog) small bowl Lidl yoghurt
B 2 sausages, fried egg, mushrooms, couple of small tomatoes.
L salad with oil and feta, half an avocado, egg and bacon sandwich filler stuff from a pot
D fish with creamed leeks and spinach

I also gave blood tonight and just had a coffee afterwards. The nurse tried to get me to have a biscuit, I said I was fine, she tried again, I explained I am a low carber and didn't eat those, thanks. We then had a very nice chat about my experiences low carbing and she said I did look very well for my age but I'm ignoring that bit she was a young strip of a lass

Checking in again. 2 day headache seems to have passed and I'm feeling more human today! Managing to drink a lot more water, about 2.5L but I do feel more thirsty so it is easier.

B: scrambled eggs done in butter and a bulletproof coffee
L: small bowl of veg soup plus green salad with olive oil dressing and piece of brie
D: pork belly slices and roast veg (aubergine, courgette, green pepper and mushrooms)
snack: slice of ham with philly and some lidl greek yogurt

Sounds quite a lot now I come to write it down. The lack of appetite thing doesn't seem to have happened to me yet. Made a fruit loaf for the kids today and didn't even lick any of the mixture off my fingers when putting it in the tin.

tenementfunster

B : an avocado, some grated cheese, mushrooms
L : 2 chicken thighs, coleslaw, babybel
S : babybel, olives
D: chilli, aubergine, coleslaw and broccoli in butter
1 tea and 2 coffees (duh)

There's quite a lot of dairy here. And also coleslaw - is this home-made? Do you know the carb count? How did you make your chilli? Did it have beans in it? And did you have milk in your tea/coffee? If so, would be more dairy. And how much water, exactly?

waitrose coleslaw, chilli no beans, milk in drinks...ah i am beginning to answer my own question. water pretty much 2 litres

oh blimey i am buggering it up!

Talk to me BiWi !!!

Evenin' all

Glad we are all still here and just about getting through. My day went like this....

B - cheese omelette
L - stick celery, cucmber, ham, cheese & cream
D - beef bolognese sauce with celery and shallots, plus a wee bit of broccoli and butter, then yoghurt with cinamon on

S- turkey, 2 macademia nuts, one green bean, celery, cream, fruit tea & two cups normal tea, lotsof water.

Tonight was the first time I felt like snacking - guess I did not eat enough dinner. I am so wary of eating the wrong veg and blowing the ketosis.

Maybe I'll boil an egg or two for easy safe filling snacks.

The scales went down another notch today....

tenementfunster - you aren't buggering up. Just learning.
Its turning upside down everything you have been indoctrinated with about nutrition

Keep with it and ask questions. A food diary is really important for the first few weeks to work out when hidden carbs might be and the wise ones can point you in the right direction

Ohfuckohfuckofuck

B: 3 eggs scrambled mixed with mayo (tastes amazing)

lovely - perfect LC food, assuming it's low carb mayo. You do know the carb count, don't you?

L: crispy salad with half an avocado & 3 slices of Serrano ham plus mayo & olive oil

Sounds lovely - see comments above re mayo!

S: 3 macadamia nuts (which I beat myself up about) only three?!

then Tesco delivery arrived & I scoffed half a bag of carby crunch I don't know what this is - but how many carbs did you eat?

D: Homemade lamb/mutton kofte with roasted leeks, broccoli and onion with pan fried aubergine.

Lovely - but you would have been a lot better off using shallots instead of onion

Probably only 2-2.5l of water when I should drink 3.5l.

Well why aren't you drinking more?!

First thing to say is that you have already lost half a stone, which is fantastic.

Second thing, is that a lot of people experience a point - usually during weeks 3, 4 or 5 - where weight loss stops. After a week or so, it will start again.

Third thing - I have no idea why you allowed yourself to be tempted! But were you hungry? If so, you need to make sure that you're eating enough fat and drinking enough water.