Low Carb Bootcamp - Week 13, a Baker's Dozen

[BIWItheBold]

... low carb baked goods, of course!

Welcome everyone and good luck for the forthcoming week.

As before, here are the rules for Bootcamp and Bootcamp Light, and the list of allowed veg:

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

Allowed veg

Don?t eat any veg unless it?s on this list, and try and focus on eating those that are under 3g carbs per 100g:

Veg (raw)Carbs per 100g
Mushrooms0.4
Watercress0.4
Spinach0.8
Celery0.9
Broccoli1.1
Asparagus 1.4
Cucumber1.5
Lettuce1.7
Fennel1.8
Courgettes1.8
Cauliflower1.9
Avocado flesh1.9
Turnip2
Pumpkin2.2
Runner beans2.3
Swede2.3
Celeriac2.3
Bean sprouts2.5
Green pepper2.6
Baby sweetcorn2.7
Aubergine2.8
Leeks2.9
Okra3
Tomato3.1
Mangetout3.3
Shallots3.3
Brussels sprouts3.5
French beans4.7
Cabbage5
Yellow pepper5.3
Carrots6
Orange or red pepper6.4
Ginger (peeled)7.2
Butternut squash7.5
Onions7.9

Veggie Rules

Only slightly adapted from BIWI's but best to take notice of the changes if you're vegetarian.

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 ingredients as the basis for your meals. Vegetarian Sausages and Burgers are ok in small quantities, but check the carb count as some can be very high. Avoid foods marketed as 'Low Carb' such as Atkins Daybreak Bars, etc.

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). Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!

4.Make sure you are eating plenty of vegetables and salads with your food ?
This is where most of 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.Beware of Nuts and Seeds.
Nuts are a very good way to include more fat and protein in your diet, however some are very high carb (e.g. Cashews). Stick to small amounts of Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Dried Coconut, Walnuts, Seeds and Peanut Butter, but check the ingredients, many supermarket brands have sugar added.

10.No sugar or artificial sweeteners

And here are the rules for Bootcamp Light:

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)

1. Avoid processed food

Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs. You may include processed meats like bacon or (low carb) sausages, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, gammon - but please don?t have these at every meal or every day. As well as being highly processed they often contain undesirable ingredients, can add unnecessary extra carbs into your diet, and often include sugar.

1. Eat lots of fat

Eating fat helps you to burn fat. Honestly! It will also keep you feeling fuller for longer. 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!

1. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food

This is where the bulk of 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.

Beware that some of the veg on the allowed list can be surprisingly high in carbs once you make up a portion of it ? this is because they are denser, and therefore you tend to use more ? compare, for example, 100g of onion with 100g lettuce! Keep your focus on those veg which contain 3g carbs per 100g and use these as the focus of your meals. Use those over 3g per 100g sparingly.

1. You may eat some dairy

You should aim to include plenty of butter on this WOE. Fry with it and add it to your vegetables. And if you know that dairy doesn?t impede your weight loss 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.

If you?ve been cutting out tea/coffee, you can re-introduce this ? but just be careful how much milk you end up drinking. You can end up adding a lot of extra carbs this way.

1. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day

Even if you?re drinking more tea/coffee than in Bootcamp, this is still a non-negotiable part of this WOE. And the more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. Water helps to flush out the ketones that your body will product ? so flushing out the fat.

1. You may drink some alcohol

But restrict this to once or twice a week max. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine. Absolutely no beer/lager, cider, liqueurs, cocktails or full sugar mixers. You can drink spirits with artificial sweeteners, but bear in mind that we are attempting to avoid all things artificial!

Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for your body, and it will use this over and above anything else that is available to it. Therefore, even if you?re following the diet absolutely to the letter, including alcohol can prevent weight loss.

1. You may eat some fruit

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb are all fine. But please ? only once a day at the very most, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. Just for information ? these are the carb counts:

Rhubarb ? 0.8g carbs per 100g (but don?t forget you will need to sweeten this ? and not with sugar!)
Blackberries ? 4.4g carbs per 100g
Raspberries ? 4.6g carbs per 100g
Strawberries ? 6g carbs per 100g
Blueberries - 6.4g carbs per 100g (although this is a bit controversial - I have had differing carb counts from various sources - some saying as much as 12g carbs per 100g)

1. You may eat some nuts/seeds

Nuts/seeds can make a good snack. BUT it is incredibly easy to overdo it, and you can end up eating your bodyweight in carbs. Also, if you prefer salted nuts, it is very easy to eat too much salt via nuts/seeds. As an occasional snack they are great. As well as being bad for you, too much salt can result in fluid retention - which will mean a higher weight on the scales.

Macadamias are not only luscious, but they are very low in carbs. Sainsbury?s sell little bags of roasted, salted Macadamias that work out at around 4g per bag.

Here are some carb counts ? BUT ? check the back of your packets as I don?t know if these are for raw or roasted nuts:

Pistachios 4.6g carbs per 100g
Macadamias 4.8g carbs per 100g
Pecans 5.8g carbs per 100g
Almonds 6.9g carbs per 100g
Peanuts 7.1 g carbs per 100g
Cashews 18.1g carbs per 100g

10. Avoid artificial sweeteners The aim of Bootcamp was to help reduce the stranglehold that sugar has on us ? and to curb your sweet tooth. But it does make some things difficult, e.g. desserts at a dinner party, and it is undeniable that it can be enjoyable ? occasionally ? to eat something sweet. However, restrict such goodies. For some people, artificial sweeteners can impede weight loss.

Thanks for your thoughts, Singing. I know yellow pepper is a bit higher in carbs. I used about three quarters of one and it will stretch over at least thee meals, so it's quite a small amount per day. Chicken was roasted using lots of oil, I ate the skin, and if I don't include oil in cooking I use butter.
I can't say I'm not losing. I had excellent results in the first two weeks, then on Saturday was treated to many cakes for my birthday, but got straight back on this WOE the next day. I'm probably worrying over nothing, just slightly curious about why I don't have that 'forget to eat' feeling.

Amax I try to stick to the lower carb veggies but I don't limit my intake- in fact I eat more veg on this WOE than I have ever eaten before in my life. Proving that there's not much I can't eat if it's swimming in cream or has the arse fried off it in butter

I don't count calories and I eat when I want to eat- what I don't do though is eat for the sake of it.

If you're losing weight, feeling good and not starving hungry I'd say you're doing just fine

amax it's possible you haven't been doing it long enough for the 'forget to eat' thing for the woe to have become habit?

i don't get it all the time - i've been doing this since feb and sometimes if it's a boring day at work i have to actively stop myself getting something to eat at 11am because i know the only reason i fancy something is because i'm bored

also if you're thinking about forgetting to eat you're not forgetting to eat

Your diet looks fine to me Amax. I don't get the funny taste in my mouth, probably because I drink gallons of water. My sweat smells different though.

Amax I think what you're doing looks fine. Out of interest how do you feel in the morning after the egg breakfast?

SpringGoddess I found maintenance very hard to begin with and undershot my goal weight by quite a bit

Once I'd settled at where I wanted to be I aimed for a zero carb breakfast, what I normally had for lunch and increased my range of veg. It just seems to settle down and become second nature

Thanks for the reassurances. Once I read that back, I did sort of tell myself that I need to chill out because it really hasn't been that long. I think it's just that I've been trying various diets for about three years now, so expect results. I think dieting is my hobby, though I'm hoping this one sticks.

Jins, this probably isn't promising, but after the egg breakfast I sometimes get stomach cramps mid morning and have...well, an urgent need to use the toilet. But that doesn't always happen, and it does fill me up. I usually start feeling properly hungry about a half an hour before lunch. Plus, I like the convenience of boiling lots of eggs at once to be used over a few days.

Marking place

That's what I'd expect from a three egg breakfast with extra mayo. Not so much the cramps but the fact that your metabolism is jump started and you don't feel much hunger for a few hours.

That's the sort of feeling you're aiming for all day. You need to be ready for your next meal but not starving for it. So possibly you are a bit carb heavy at lunch and dinner or possibly you need more far and protein.

But in all honesty there doesn't look to be much wrong

Morning!! So this is the morning of day 5 for me and wondered if someone could help me although I think I know the answer anyway.

I started of 10st 6lb, I very quickly lost 4lb so yesterday I was 10st2lb.

But this morning I get on the scales and Im 10st 5lb! Ive stuck to it rigidly. Im really stricked when on diets so I havent been bad.

I did eat 3 small strawberries but that cant be it? Ive eaten a lot if meat but surely that cant be it? Ive got AF could that have something to do with it - water retention?

Thanks.

forduckssake it'll be your AF, don't worry - I get gains of up to 5lbs sometimes more. Some people just don't weigh themselves around that time because it's demotivating and completely pointless. Stick with it you'll see the result you want but you need to be patient.

I have a confession - while I had a cake-free birthday I ended up eating some B&J Baked Alaska ice cream and then if that wasn't bad enough 3 triple choc cookies that ds made last Sunday. Feel less bad that my sugary cheats were sublime and in no way a disappointment - I did feel slightly sick though . And in predictable fashion I have gained this morning but will attend a punitive hard core exercise session to work off the excess glycogen caused by my sugar crimes and base thankful that birthdays only come around once a year.

OhforDuckscake - you are only on day 5! Please step back from the scales and get a bit more perspective on things.

Firstly - you say you're being strict. But you also admit to eating strawberries, which are forbidden on Bootcamp.

You're eating a lot of meat. Hurrah! That's absolutely perfect for Bootcamp. Meat (as long as it isn't processed in any way) is zero carbs.

What else have you been eating? Have you been following Bootcamp rules properly?

And as SpringGoddess says, if it's your period then this will definitely have an effect on your weight. A lot of it is due to water retention, so the other question is how much water have you been drinking? You should be drinking at least 2.5 litres a day.

Just remember that weight loss is not linear and your body naturally fluctuates up and down. You need to either weigh daily, so you get a better feel for your natural patterns, especially around the time of your period, or you stick to once a week weighing.

And you should weigh in the morning, first thing, naked and after you've been to the loo. Not at any other time of the day or after you've eaten/drunk anything.

But above all, remember - you're still lighter than when you started!!!

Morning all, just need a little advice,

I started 13 weeks ago and lost big to begin within then it slowed down, which was fine. I managed to STS on 2 holidays so was pleased, however since I've been back from Turkey 2 weeks ago my weight has not budged

I know to start with my water intake had dropped but I increased that at the weekend and I have not been cheating honest well bar a bit of booze here and there

The only other thing is I have been missing the odd breakfast - could that be doing it???

SG - glad you enjoyed your birthday treats. That's the whole point about cheating, that it's mindful and it's worth it!

I'm glad to report that things seem to be moving a bit for me at last - despite my weekend away, and despite a Chinese meal out with friends on Wednesday. Although I avoided the rice and anything obviously sugary, I did end up eating some stuff that was too carby, simply because there wasn't anything else!

Down to 9.13 this morning, which is my lowest weight so far since I started and hopefully the beginning of greater losses! I am out tonight which will mean wine, but I am going to make a Herculean effort to keep this to a minimum by alternating drinks with water. As well as needing to get shot of at least another half stone before my holiday, I also discovered on Tuesday at the GP that my blood pressure is a bit high, (143/95), so I really do need to curb the alcohol and lose the weight.

good morning al of you - well done to everyone for keeping going and keeping us all inspired. thats brill Biwi reaching your lowest weight yet.

im doing ok but i have a problem of snacking when i am not hungry as dh always buys these massive bags of nuts cos he knows i eat them and at night i have an awful habit of eating tons of nuts when im not hungry. any ideas how to stop myself apart from just not putting the damn things in my mouth!?

You need to impress upon your DH that he isn't actually being very kind to you by buying them. Seriously. Nuts quickly add far too many carbs to your daily diet if you're not careful, as it's so easy to eat so many of them.

Well done BIWI. Odd that your blood pressure was high as most people find it drops. Was it white coat syndrome?

Morning all
I did well yesterday apart from 3gin and tonics which was planned though.

B cheese and mushroom omlette

Thanks for your replies.

I think I must have got confused somewhere, I thought Id read you can eat a bit of fruit as long as its a small amount if berries no more than once a day. And yet as I write that I remember the bootcamp rules say no fruit, zilch. Nada. So I have no idea where I got that idea??

However, Ive only done that once. Other than that Ive been eating chicken, beef, debbie and andrew sausages no processed meats and lots of vegetables. Lots of water but I havent been measuring it. Ive been running to the toilet constantly though so it must be a fair amount.

BIWI Nice one on weighing 9.13, Im looking forward to seeing a 9 again!

Weight or not, I'll be doing this diet for a month at the very very least to see if it helps next months pmt.

Ooh last question, since monday my muscles are getting tired after less than a minutes walking (seriously!) they're getting that tired feeling you get toward the end of a work out. Yesterday I was getting it just walking round the house. Im also shattered at night, if this is because of carb with drawl when might it end?
Thanks again.

You're right in the middle of carbflu but it won't last much longer. Keep your fats up and keep hydrated. Make sure you're getting enough salt.

You need fat for energy nowadays - if you don't put it in you won't get it out :)

I did tell someone who was a complete fruit addict that they could eat a few berries if they really couldn't live without fruit because that's better than crashing off the diet because it's too hard - three strawberries won't have done you any harm. Aching legs is normally low potassium - get yourself some lo-salt to put on your food and try to incorporate avocados into your diet.

maybe weighing yourself often is not the best way to track what is happening to your body. I would say: look at yourself in the mirror, note how your clothes fit, you'll see if your body is changing, forget the scales for a month and then weigh yourself.

Well today I have a sundress on (ha ha I know but I like it) and it looks good on, so things are happening. This is towards the end of week 2 but I have a funny taste in my mouth now or a dryness. Feel like I need to drink constantly. Is this the weird taste people mentioned or something else?

having creamed spinach (frozen stuff cooked up with onion in a pile of butter) with fried eggs for lunch. Still get hungry but I think I am getting used to it slowly now

That's it! Welcome to ketosis!

Jins - I think it was partly white coat syndrome - I tested again twice on my business partner's home BP monitor. The top measurement dropped (which I believe is the one that reflects immediate stress) but the bottom one (the most critical one I think) didn't really change. I went from 130/91 to 132/94 in the course of about an hour.

So - either my BP was really high when I started this WOE/gym going, back in February, or something is going on at the moment which is impacting on my BP. The reason for the GP visit was suspected cystitis/UTI, as I had a couple of episodes of blood in my urine - no idea if that would be part of it.

I'm going to get myself a monitor and just keep an eye on it.

My trainer was shocked as well, which was interesting.

I get the results of the urine sample tests today, so will see what GP says.

thanks Jins!

Hope it is alright BIWI, worrying to not know what is happening with your health