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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.

'Soft' warm-up approach to next week's Low Carb Bootcamp!

895 replies

BIWI · 05/01/2014 21:13

Official Bootcamp starts next Monday - here's the sign-up thread

But I know that lots of people want to ease themselves into it.

If you've never low carbed before, it can be quite a good idea to do this, and it can help minimise the chances of getting 'carb flu' - the withdrawal symptoms when you cut down on your carbohydrates.

So if you're interested, this where it starts!

My advice:

  • make sure you've got rid of all your Christmas treats
  • ... as well as other carb-heavy stuff like biscuits, cakes, etc
  • start thinking about the meals that you're going to eat in w/c 13 Jan - write yourself a meal plan (and think about all your meals, including your lunches as well as family meals, etc), and then make sure you write yourself a proper shopping list
  • have a look at hat you're eating on a 'typical' day, and see where you cut down/out on the carbs -breakfast is likely to be your most carb-heavy meal, so think about how you're going to cut the carbs here (clue that will mean ditching toast, cereals, fruit and fruit juice!)
  • if your diet is heavily reliant on pasta and rice-based meals, start thinking now about what you're going to cook instead
  • make sure you are planning meals for the whole family to eat - try as much as possible to make sure that you're all eating the same food, rather than having to cook separate stuff for you - the idea is that this is a WOE - way of eating - and not a diet. So for example, if you're planning on having meat and two veg, plus potatoes - have meat and three veg instead. No-one will die if they don't have potatoes on their plate!
  • look at how much tea/coffee you're drinking; if you drink them white, you will be consuming a lot of carbs in the milk. See if you can cut the number of cups down per day. Try and drink them black or use cream instead of milk
  • think about the fact that you will be starting to eat a high fat diet; if you have anything that's low fat in your fridge/cupboard, get rid of it! Butter, cheese and cream as well as olive oil are all now going to be key parts of your diet
  • similarly, think about all the artificial sweeteners you're eating/drinking and get shot of them. Diet drinks are not allowed on Bootcamp, so cut them down/out as much as you can
  • fruit will not be allowed on Bootcamp (for the first two weeks); if you like to snack on fruit, consider replacing it with veg, e.g. slices of cucumber and peppers

But above all, come and post on here with any of your questions, concerns and suggestions!

Good luck.

OP posts:
Ruprekt · 11/01/2014 10:09

I have lost 6.5lbs since Monday!! SmileSmileSmileSmileSmile

Cauliflower Cheese

I use frozen as it is lovely and much cheaper!

Cauliflower
Bacon
Leeks
Dbl cream
Grated cheese....I often use leftover mixed pieces of cheese

Fry chopped bacon and leeks. Add cream and cheese til melted. Pour over cooked cauli. Sprinkle over cheese and bake.

CrabbyWinterBottom · 11/01/2014 10:10

ElBombero...
feastwithoutregret.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/low-carb-cauliflower-cheese/

Flowers fluckety and chester well done!

CrabbyWinterBottom · 11/01/2014 10:10

And well done Rup too!

CalamityKate · 11/01/2014 10:15

Thank you for the kind words re: my blip yesterday chipping and helium!

Lucy that's amazing! Well done!

Well I weighed this morning. I was 11st 13 on Monday. I'm now 11st 10.5 :)

Not much loss but it IS loss. I know I need to drink more and eat more veg. Even if yesterday's blip stalls me for a day or two at least I know the LCing is working. I feel more relaxed now because until this morning I couldn't see how the hell such a yummy and filling diet COULD work!

flucketycluck · 11/01/2014 10:15

Thanks Crabby Smile

CrabbyWinterBottom · 11/01/2014 10:20

Plonky the big losses in week 1 and 2 are mainly glycogen and water. They're inspiring and cheering but a little false in terms of actual fat loss. If you've been low carbing for weeks then you aren't going to get a sudden dramatic glycogen loss, even if you're suddenly being strict. 2lbs a week is exactly the loss you want to be seeing - significant but sustainable, and the right speed to let your skin catch up with your shrinking form! Wink

To whoever asked if they could put last week's weight as their starting weight... No that's cheating and I've been saving myself for Monday so that I can log a big dramatic loss on the spreadsheet the first week! Grin

CrabbyWinterBottom · 11/01/2014 10:23

And Lucy Flowers! Blimey the florists are going to be bare if you all keep doing so well! Grin

BIWI · 11/01/2014 10:24

Sorry this was asked so far up the thread, but DH and I went out last night and I got home too pissed too late.

ziggie Here's my diagnosis Grin

B: 1 small pot ff plain yoghurt

Absolutely fine, as long as you know how many carbs were in this - some can be pretty high for the amount you will have eaten. Also, don't forget, it's dairy. Some of us are less tolerant to dairy than others. Although Briffa says that yoghurt is better than milk/cheese (can't remember why, but I'll find out), it's still dairy

Snack: 2 babybels

OK - but more dairy ...

L: 2 skin on chicken breasts chopped over a salad with ranch dressing and bacon.

The chicken and salad is perfect, especially with the skin on. But what was in the dressing? Was it home-made or from a bottle? Did you check the ingredients? Most pre-prepared dressings have sugar in them and can be quite carby - as well as artificial ingredients. Bacon is fine, but as it's a processed meat we try not to eat this too often/at too many meals.

Snack: ff latte

Shock No way! Way too much milk in a latte. There will have been a huge amount of carbs in this

D: scrambled eggs in butter with bacon, mushrooms fried in garlic butter and 1/2 tsp encona hot sauce.

Perfect - just keep and eye on the bacon, and just double check how many carbs in that sauce. With only half a teaspoon I doubt it will really matter, but it's still something you need to know

Snack: hogbites pork scratchings, chunk of cheddar

Better than a packet of crisps, but the pork scratchings are a bit processed - and just double check the carb count on the back of the pack. If you made your own they would be zero carbs, but I wonder if these have sugar in them at all, as an extra flavouring - which so many snacks do. The cheese is a perfect low carb snack - as long as you don't have a problem with dairy

Drinks: 4 pints water, 5 cups strong tea with dash semi skimmed milk, 1 can diet coke.

Water is good - I don't know how much you weigh so how much you should be drinking a day. Tea is OK, but again, watch the milk. Only a dash is fine, but in combination with the latte that's adding up to a lot - and again, it's dairy. BUT A BIG FAT NO TO THE DIET COKE!

We're aiming to cut artificial ingredients out of our diet as much as possible, so that we're eating 'clean' foods. However, the additional issue with diet drinks is that there is some suggestion/evidence that even though they haven't got sugar in them, our bodies respond to the sweetness of the taste as if they do - therefore they can actually impede weight loss/encourage weight gain. Have a read of this experiment that The Diet Doctor did whilst drinking Pepsi Max

The other reason for avoiding diet drinks is that we're trying to break our addiction to sweet things. If you keep drinking Diet Coke, you're not going to help yourself achieve this.

I know just switching to plain water can seem dull. And if someone could develop/launch a drink that was suitable for low carbers without us having to consume artificial sweeteners, they would make a fortune! Try different brands of sparkling water. They do all have a slightly different taste (Badoit, for example, is quite salty), and they all have different levels of effervescence. Perrier is very fizzy, so it can be more satisfying organoleptically - i.e. the whole mouth experience. If you serve it really, really cold, with ice, lime or lemon slices, it is surprisingly tasty and satisfying.

OP posts:
BIWI · 11/01/2014 10:26

Interesting piece about yoghurt (and dairy) by Dr Briffa

OP posts:
MrsHughJarse · 11/01/2014 10:34

Soy latte ?? Allowed or no ?Shock

BIWI · 11/01/2014 10:40

Do you know how many carbs?

OP posts:
moreyear · 11/01/2014 10:41

BIWI I was wondering if you could cast your discerning gaze over this product for me.

I have a one and a 3 year old. Breakfast is a real problem for me because I just can't seem to find to cook/clean up afterwards then eat it. How do you think this Paleo 'cereal' looks if I were to have it with almond milk? I'm guessing not ok for the first two strict weeks but after that?

www.clean-paleo.com/collections/cereal/products/original-crunch-cereal

The ingredients are almonds/pecans/pinenuts/coconut/flaxseeds/hazelnuts

It says 7 serves per pack at 2.6grams of carbs per serve but I would get closer to 10 so not high in carbs but I just wanted to check your opinion?

Thank you.

BIWI · 11/01/2014 10:42

Here is a link to the carbs in Starbucks coffees

Look at all the carbs in just their standard coffees!

OP posts:
BIWI · 11/01/2014 10:43

So whilst soy is lower in carbs, it's still going to be very costly and all lattes are very, very much better avoided.

OP posts:
projectbabyweight · 11/01/2014 10:59

Shock Shock Shock I've lost weight!!!

This is despite: only been going for 5 days, coming up to period, not having much to lose to start with, no exercise, and eating mountains of food!

Have lost 1.5lbs and 1/4 inch from my (very stubborn) hips. Am on target for goal weight by the end of the 10 weeks.

I am over the moon Grin Best of luck to everyone, and loads of Thanks to BIWI

CalamityKate · 11/01/2014 11:05

That's amazing PBW!! Grin

Well done!

Little things keep striking me about this WOE.

I was really quite hungry this morning but did the kids' breakfasts first. One had porridge and one had toast and marmalade.

I love both. Normally on a diet I'd have been smelling the porridge and toast and YEARNING to have a spoonful/bite.

But it was different this morning. The smell was indeed making me hungrier - but for my OWN breakfast. I wasn't tempted by theirs at all.

I was quite happy with my smoked salmon, disgustingly buttery scrambled eggs and coffee with cream. It's a hard life....sigh.... Wink

SteeleyeStan · 11/01/2014 11:06

Well done to all of you with such great losses already! Even 2lb is great in a just a few days!

Well, I had my carby day yesterday. Experimental pizza base worked fine; it was a mix of grated cheese, yoghurt, an egg, coconut flower and unfortunately some plain gluten free flower. I just couldn't get it "right" without. Will need to experiment with better recipes after Bootcamp.

I do feel pretty twatty though. The cappucino I had during the day was huuuuge and the chocolate wasn't even that nice. I ate my fill of pizza and felt satisfied, but then went on to eat choccy nuts, some more chocolate and drink the cider just because it was there. Blush My stomach's not happy. At least that's over and done with now.

Onwards and upwards! (Or weightwise downwards, please). Today's plan:

Late B: Total with some seeds (that need eating before Monday) and coffee with coconut oil.
S: Avocado and/or boiled egg with sliver of butter.
D: Fatty ribeye steak (drool!) with fresh spinach and steamed broccoli with butter.

LucyVFood · 11/01/2014 11:08

Thanks everyone, and well done to us all! I'm a bit giddy with it so must be prepared for a slow down in weight loss this week.

I've also remembered the loveliness of cauliflower rice and celeriac chips. And I bought some mayonnaise (normally a diet no-no for me) from Sainsbury's - Thick and Creamy - which has 2.6g carbs per 100ml. Does that sound okay?

SteeleyeStan · 11/01/2014 11:08

Flour obviously... not flower... wtf brain?! Hmm

LucyVFood · 11/01/2014 11:08

SteeleyeStan Your dinner sounds beaut. I must buy steak!

BIWI · 11/01/2014 11:11

moreyear - that sounds fine, for Bootcamp Light - but how many carbs will the milk add to it?

projectbabyweight - good going!

OP posts:
blizy · 11/01/2014 11:11

Oh my goodness I have list 4lbs since Monday! I have been cheating a little and drinking a smoothie or fruit juice each morning as i was constipated and it helps me go. I love this WOE! No more fruit/smoothies from Monday though.

BIWI · 11/01/2014 11:12

Steeleyespan - there's a recipe somewhere that uses cauliflower as a pizza base. Have you tried that one?

Or - I made myself a 'pizza' one day, when I had a real craving for it, using a flattened chicken breast as the base, and it was lovely!

OP posts:
projectbabyweight · 11/01/2014 11:14

I'm actually stunned that this WOE really works. And to think I felt sick on Tuesday night from too much roast duck and cream, unbelievable!

Grin