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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

At last - here it is! BIWI's 2 week Low Carb Bootcamp - starts tomorrow - sign in here

999 replies

BIWI · 15/04/2012 22:36

Lots of you have said you want to do this - now it's time to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak.

Oh, alright, it's free. Grin

The plan is that we have two very strict weeks of low carbing. Which is why, doh, it's called a bootcamp.

There are 'rules of engagement' for the fortnight - but they're different if you're carnivore or a vegetarian. I shall post the rules for us carnivores, and flipflopflap will post the rules for those of you that are vegetarians.

Sign in with your starting weight - in pounds, stones and pounds, kilos or - if you don't want to reveal your weight, with 100 as an index - and what you're wanting to achieve in the two weeks. I know that not everyone is doing this for the purpose of weight loss, so you don't have to do this if you don't want to - but tell us what you want this fortnight to help you achieve.

The Carnivore Rules

1.Eat three, proper meals a day.
You must eat breakfast. It doesn?t have to be a lot, but you must have something. For the rest of the day, if you?re eating enough food and you are in ketosis then you shouldn?t be hungry. But if you are hungry, eat something. (Hard boiled eggs make a great snack)

2.Avoid processed food
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs. Things like sausages, ham, bacon, pre-prepared burgers etc should be avoided as much as possible. You can have them, but just not every day. Avoid foods marketed as low carb, e.g. Atkins Daybreak bars.

3.Eat lots of fat.

Eating fat helps you to burn fat. Honestly! Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat ? e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4.Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food ?
This is where your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat

*5.Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited). It can impede weight loss for some people. If you are still drinking tea/coffee with milk or cream, try to restrict yourself to max 2 cups per day. You may eat cheese, but don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best.

6.You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day.
The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink

7.No alcohol
If you really can't do this - at least try and restrict it to the weekend. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine.

8.No fruit
Really. Seriously. Honestly. None at all. Zilch. Nada.

9.No nuts/seeds
Whilst these are really good to snack on later - it can be too easy to start snacking on these - and before you know it, all your carbs have gone on nuts. Seriously - in bootcamp - don't do it to yourself.

10.No sugar or artificial sweeteners

OP posts:
FourThousandHoles · 19/04/2012 14:13

I always thought I had a sweet tooth, but as it happens I'm missing savoury carbs more. I want something crunchy, like toast or crisps or scampi in breadcrumbs deep fried. Sigh.

I will try and get some lettuce & cucumber down, I think I've been eating too many eggs and too much meat. Need to cut down on the processed meat too, I've had smoked salmon, pepperami etc and I'm sure BIWI doesn't approve of such things.

Twit · 19/04/2012 14:18

I don't think I'd realised just how much I was eating porridge and sweet stuff to keep me awake is all. And I haven't even cheated with the caffeine despite feeling so shite

But I am very very very very tired (BabyTwit's fault, mostly although BIWI has a share in the responsibility Wink )

I haven't been scrimping on the salad with mayo & oil, and have added 1/2 a bit of tomato (beef) to my breakfast. I can't add toast though (no wheat). If I don't feel any better perahps a wee bit of porridge and a cookie ?

slowlyburningcalories · 19/04/2012 14:18

4,000 holes - I have had quite a bit of bacon/smoked salmon/salami because I can't get to teh proper shops until tonight.

Think the cheese at lunch disagreed with me - feeling queasy

BettyBathroom · 19/04/2012 14:19

I felt rough as hell yesterday and I had been doing moderate low carbing before starting boot camp so didn't really expect it to hit me that hard. Fine today though...get to bed early.

TheGoddessBlossom · 19/04/2012 14:21

Is smoked salmon a no no then? Hmm

MrsNouveauRichards · 19/04/2012 14:23

I'm struggling with drinking all the water. Any tips? It feels it wants to make a return jourey aif I try drinking more than a small glass in an hour.

FauxFox · 19/04/2012 14:24

Is it weird that I know exactly what i'll be eating for the next 48 hrs Confused

I warn you all I will be cheating by drinking wine on sat night though!! Out with a friend for dinner and can stick to steak or whatever so no food carbs but vino will be compulsory!

WizzyBizzy · 19/04/2012 14:25

Brew and sympathy 4000 and others - I'm in the same camp. I'm craving toast (wholemeal) and peanut butter. Massively. But not chocolate or booze, which I really thought I would. Gave in to a tiny yogurt after lunch so if this doesn't work for me I shall know it is the dairy's fault.

BIWI, oh worshipful and wise one, can I use creme fraiche for sauces please?

alienreflux · 19/04/2012 14:33

had the best meal so far last night, home made lamb kebabs, (oopsie rolls) with tzakiki sauce and loads of lettuce...... omg totally ass kickingly yum!"!"! (did have couple of cheeky vodkas last night, as oh came home from working away) why i feel lthe need to confess to you all i'm not sure, but there you go!! eggs this morning and philly on oopsie rolls for lunch, chicken tonight with stir fry veg..... just loving this WOE!! :o

Jacaqueen · 19/04/2012 14:40

Just back from supermarket. I spent £140 and it took me nearly 2 hours.

I didn't even buy much carb crap for the rest of the family. They will just have to slum it with rib eye steak, smoked salmon and Brittany butter.

Is there a better sight than a fridge fully stocked with fresh fish and meat and other low carb goodies?

I resisted the clotted cream but did buy a small piece of blue cheese to have with my steak.

Only just had my lunch. Thinking of doing a Thai green curry with the chicken later, if I can get the carbs low enough.

Twit · 19/04/2012 14:49

I'm hoping to make a massive cottage pie a la BIWI so I can eat it for a few meals, it sounds quite very tasty.

BettyBathroom · 19/04/2012 14:51

If you need to eat carbs for social purposes - try to exercise hard the next day to burn them off....you should slide back into ketosis fairly quickly without feeling it too much.

BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed · 19/04/2012 15:05

Smoked salmon etc is all OK - just in moderate amounts, given the stuff that's used in its processing, as well as the salt content. It's not about the carbs, just about the inherent goodness of it.

If you're finding drinking the water difficult, try drinking with a straw, or drinking hot water - both tips other people have passed on.

Creme fraiche - don't know the carb count - make sure you check - but it's dairy, which is something else you may need to keep an eye on.

Sorry you're tired, Twit! Porridge - if you absolute, absolutely have to - but no sugar/syrup on it and no cookie!

And as for all of you talking about alcohol ...

ShirtyKnot · 19/04/2012 15:17

How about fizzy water? WIll that help you water sufferers?

I like mine with lots of ice and one slice of lemon which will last me all evening - I drank a whole 75cl bottle last night! Blush

So, had my nando's and fizzy water to drink. It was very nice. I only ate half of the leaves in my salad, avoided the red pepper completely and ate 4 cherry tomatoes.

RadioSilence · 19/04/2012 15:33

I started a thread on this but then realised I should have come straight to those in the know. I am out for dinner at a Thai restaurant next week and need to ensure I don't blow all my hard work so close to the final weigh in.

I was thinking of chicken satay for starter and leaving the sauce which seems likely to have sugar in. All the delicious rice and noodles would be off limits obviously but it would help to know which of the sauces is the best choice - yellow , red or green curry or massaman - or if anything else would be an even better choice?

BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed · 19/04/2012 16:01

God - Thai is really hard!

Satay is a good idea, as you say.

For mains most things have sugar in them. See if they have Crying Tiger on the menu - this is a griddled/flame-grilled steak; it will come with a sauce on the side rather than all over the meat, so it should be OK.

I usually order a dish of stir-fried mixed vegetables, which seems to have only soy sauce on it - but it's a thin sauce so doesn't coat the veg as much as a thickened sauce would.

BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed · 19/04/2012 16:03

By the way, whatever you do, do not Google 'Crying Tiger' and then read the Urban Dictionary definition ...

RadioSilence · 19/04/2012 16:10

Thanks BIWI .You do realise that now I have to do that don't you? Maybe it will put me off my dinner :) .

This is the first night out my husband and I have had in about 6 months (lots of children and too few babysitters) so I may end up treating it as a night to loosen the rules a bit, but not abandon them entirely. Do you now have to beat me with the naughty stick and sack me from the thread?

RadioSilence · 19/04/2012 16:11

I have now googled.The world is full of strange people... I may cancel my night out and never leave the house again.

ohforfoxsake · 19/04/2012 16:15

I never google anything someone on MN says 'dont google'. I did once. Not been right since.

BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed · 19/04/2012 16:37

I would go and enjoy it - just be mindful of what you're eating if you can. These occasions don't come along often enough!

As, I presume, you will be doing it longer than just the two weeks ... ?

RadioSilence · 19/04/2012 16:44

Abso-bloomin-lutely! In the long term I plan to reintroduce carbs gradually but not processed ones, and low GI seems to make sense. I am really hoping that my sweet tooth will be satisfied with less sugar now I have been off it for a while but I am looking forward to raspberries so please tell me they will be allowed in the next phase or my may have to inject Dairy Milk into a vein cry

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 19/04/2012 16:45

I am off out for dinner tonight and I have no idea what we are eating. A friend is cooking - she does know that I am low carbing, so fingers crossed its not pasta! She is a fab cook, so I expect meat/fish of some sort and veggies.

I cant be rude and not eat anything, oh lordy, what if it is pasta... would it be rude to ask whats for supper?

Maybe I can ask one of the other girls if they know...

TheGoddessBlossom · 19/04/2012 16:50

Raspberries allowed after bootcamp - aren't they BIWI?

mummyduff · 19/04/2012 16:54

DH has just informed me that my bum looks smaller Grin