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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.

Two Week Low Carb Bootcamp Bonanza Challenge! All welcome.

969 replies

BIWI · 16/07/2012 08:11

For those of us who have been here since the beginning, these are the last two weeks. And it seems like a good idea to finish with a couple of strict weeks, seeing as there has been a fair amount of slippage!

For anyone who wants to join - you are more than welcome! These two weeks will get you off to a great start if you are wanting to lose some weight.

So. Who wants to sign up for two weeks of strict Bootcamp? If you want to join/continue, put your name on the list and we can see who is there. We have a fabulous Spreadsheet of Marvellousness to track weight/weight loss, which I will also post a link to.

Here are the rules - for carnivores and then the veggie version:

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 (there is some debate about this - carb counts seem to vary according to variety and where you buy from - check the packet to be sure)
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

OP posts:
BIWI · 22/07/2012 21:58

Wow! I can't believe we have still got new starters! Welcome everyone.

OP posts:
BIWI · 22/07/2012 21:59

emma - you really need to get your head round what is and isn't low carb! Anything with rice/pasta/bread/potato/sugar/fruit is definitely not allowed.

OP posts:
BIWI · 22/07/2012 22:03

Welcome, cryhavoc ;)

OP posts:
emmak86 · 22/07/2012 22:11

I know BIWI i thought i was getting there as well! Have u got any suggestions for snacks? X

MissBeehivingUnderTheMistletoe · 22/07/2012 22:12

Rice cakes are the work of the divvil. They taste like shit. Wink

NigellasGuest · 22/07/2012 22:17

Em do you like BabyBels? They are good handy snacks. almost as good as percy pigs

emmak86 · 22/07/2012 22:19

Theyre edible enough lol a bit better than ricecakes i suppose Smile x

teaandthorazine · 22/07/2012 22:22

Emma - you might need to get into the habit of reading food labels now and again Wink. Snackwise, how about hardboiled eggs, ham, celery sticks with cream cheese, pepperamis, pate on cucumber slices?

Lunch was prawn, smoked salmon and avocado salad. I know this is a terrible thing to say, but I'm getting rather bored of smoked salmon!

teaandthorazine · 22/07/2012 22:30

Sorry, just read my post back and it sounds a bit patronising Blush.

I just mean that in the early days of low-carbing you need to be quite vigilant and read labels etc to get your head around carb levels, otherwise you run the risk of eating stuff that will completely derail your efforts. If you're used to a low-fat, low-cal WOE it definitely can be a bit confusing at first.

BIWI · 22/07/2012 22:44

The thing is, emma, if you're low carbing properly you should find that you're not hungry and so you don't need to snack!

But, should you find yourself in a situation where you need to eat something, tea's suggestions are very good. You could also add cheese and nuts to that list - but careful about nuts, as the carbs in them can quickly add up.

OP posts:
emmak86 · 22/07/2012 22:50

Perhaps im not eating enough at meal times.. Other than the slip ups im obviously eating whats allowed but im worried about piling it on my plate as i dont want to eat too much!
Im going to try moussaka for dinner tomorrow (low carb- gourmet) so that shud be fine..
As for snacks i dont like pate or nuts.. Im sure ill find some recipes online
X

BIWI · 22/07/2012 22:53

You don't need to worry about eating too much if you're eating low carb. Eat the right kind of foods, and eat until you're satisfied. If you're eating fat/protein, then this will be naturally satiating - and if you're keeping your carbs low, then the insulin released by your body will be sufficiently low as well - which will mean that your blood sugars are stable and therefore that you won't feel hungry in the same way that you will have experenced if you've tried low calorie eating.

OP posts:
mummyduff · 22/07/2012 23:02

Hi to all the newbies, great to see you.

Have had a fab day in the sun which was ended with a great BBQ, hope everyone has had great weekends x

SharonGless · 22/07/2012 23:26

Ok had too much to drink due to my expected day off.dh took us out for breakfast had fry up Bacon sausage egg and mushroom
No lunch but packet of macadamia nuts and some salami and crem cheese
D BBQ burger lamb steak and chicken wing with Greek salad and Coleslaw

sassytheFIRST · 22/07/2012 23:27

Weeeelll, just got to end of day 2. Tummy looks bloated - not normal for me! And weight is at the upper limit of what I can weigh. Hmmm. Putting it down to my period and hoping things will improve fairly swiftly next week.

Not been hungry really. Funding nuts a vg filler when I need a snack. Dr Biffa says that's ok. Opinions?

SharonGless · 23/07/2012 07:26

Morning 2lbs off for me this week so am chuffed with that in light of the alcohol ( swigging water as I type)
Sassy nuts are ok if low carbing but you need to check the carb content as some such as peanuts are surprisingly high. Macadamia and brazil nuts seem to be ok so I stick to them

SharonGless · 23/07/2012 07:27

Sassy perhaps you have water retention? Keep drinking lots of water

sybilfaulty · 23/07/2012 07:40

Morning all. 2lb off for me too today so I am pleased. I attribute this to the water, the gin and the mushrooms! Am aiming for a brill week as I am going to Scotland at the weekend to see one of my thirstiest friends so dont want to unravel it all.

Sassy, agree with what Sharon says re nuts. I find that I can eat quite a lot of them, filling though they are, as they are so more ish.then before you know it I have troughed 100g in any evening. I discovered pork scrathings this week which have been a revelation as I find it impossible to eat so many. Is this something you could try as a snack? Babybels are also good. It oes sound like a trite thing to say but the water thing is really true. My tummy is so much flatter after a lot of water in a day so perhaps that might help. My period can also make me look about five months gone, though strangely that was much better after a month on the diet. Hope it goes well for you today.

First proper day of school holidays and we are doing jobs. Hurray! 2 elder kids want to go swimming or to Asda. Hm. Easy choice for me.

Finbar · 23/07/2012 07:53

Two questions please - nothing directly to do with food!

  1. Where is the link to BIWI's spreadsheet ? I have lost it
  2. How do you 'book mark' a page so this doesn't happen again? I know how to register threads I'm on or watching , but I've seen posters talk about marking their place and I guess this must be something more specific

Help - I need to record some weight loss!!!

Finbar · 23/07/2012 08:07

Found it!
But still am wondering about the 'marking my place' ting - or is it just saving Threads I'm On?

Thegoddessblossom · 23/07/2012 08:29

Sorry finbar can't help with that, I just post so it appears on threads I am on.

Tea I have rediscovered smoked salmon Grin

B: e egg omelette with smoked salmon

Am determined not to drink tonight. Or snack on nuts.

Thegoddessblossom · 23/07/2012 08:30

3 egg

Jins · 23/07/2012 08:40

Just a pound for me. It was nearly 2lbs on Friday but it's been a tricky weekend

mummyduff · 23/07/2012 09:19

Good Morning loosers

8st 10lbs today which a loss of 4lbs this week wohooGrin and a total of 19lbs since the beginning.

This is the least I have weighed in roughly 11 years, so thank you so much to everyone(especially BIWI) for your support and this wonderful threadSmile

BIWI · 23/07/2012 09:33
Grin

Finbar - are you using Mumsnet classic or Mumsnet new? If you switch to the latter you can bookmark your place on a thread. Hover your cursor over the bottom right of a post and a little box will come up saying 'bookmark' - click on that and it will tell you it's saved your place on the thread.

I'm not weighing until the end of week 2.

sassy Bootcamp isn't about what Briffa says/doesn't say! And nuts aren't allowed in Bootcamp. Whilst they are a useful snack, they are very carby if you eat too many - and it's very easy to eat too many of them.

OP posts: