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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:
toysoldiers · 17/07/2012 14:08

Mrs Hannigan, that sounds lovely Grin

BIWI · 17/07/2012 14:09

You need to get him reading about it as well then - Escape the Diet Trap by Dr John Briffa is a really good book about dieting in general; it explains why counting calories doesn't work, and why low carbing is a much better way to eat for overall health, as well as weight loss.

OP posts:
toysoldiers · 17/07/2012 14:10

Also, I'm a real pudding person.

I don't feel like I've finished eating until I've had something sweet. It's almost like I don't like the savoury taste left in my mouth.

Does anybody else suffer from this? What does one do?

toysoldiers · 17/07/2012 14:11

He's not a dieting sort at all. He thinks a cheese toastie is a healthy snack Grin

Jins · 17/07/2012 14:13

We probably all did Grin That's what made us all overweight in the first place.

You do lose your sweet tooth eventually.

BIWI · 17/07/2012 14:13

Well - that isn't going to be easy for you if you're moving to low carbing!

Sugar is addictive - and all easily accessible carbohydrates are just that - sugar. The idea of a strict two week phase (such as Bootcamp) is to break that addiction.

You need to be really convinced that this is a WOE (way of eating) for you, as it isn't easy to start with, and requires an ongoing commitment. If you read more about it, and understand what carbs actually do to the body this could make it easier for you to commit.

OP posts:
toysoldiers · 17/07/2012 14:16

I guess so.

I must admit, I tried it for a few days a couple of months ago and it was not good.

I was as bad as giving up smoking for twitchiness and restlessness.

I couldn't do it. But I suppose that's the problem isn't it Sad.

toysoldiers · 17/07/2012 14:17

Come to think of it, a cigarette used to 'finish my meal' too Blush

Shimbo · 17/07/2012 14:20

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with butter
Lunch: Salad with smoked mackerel and tuna pate
Snacks: handful of walnuts (I know they are not allowed, but only 3.2g/100g and I needed a snack between breakfast and lunch Blush)
Dinner: roast chicken and cauliflower mash I think followed by a little greek yoghurt.

Welcome to all the newbs! toysoldiers my DH is similar, and is lamenting how my 'diet' is turning out to be expensive (which it probably is to be fair). But he hasn't been as bad as I thought he'd be and has been joining me in a couple of LC dinners.

I also have the horrible savoury taste in my mouth after eating that you do normally get rid of with something sweet. I am struggling with that too even 7 weeks or so in to this WOE so I am not sure what to suggest apart from drinking more water, or having a creamy coffee. Full fat Greek yoghurt mixed with a bit of plain cocoa normally gets rid of it for me too.

TheRealMrsHannigan · 17/07/2012 14:25

For dinner I am planning on chicken breast with roast courgette, broccoli and maybe cauliflower mash (made with a dollop of philadelphia).

My DH moaned about the expense last time, but I started gettign some of my meats from Aldi and amy frozen veg from there, works out much cheaper!

Thegoddessblossom · 17/07/2012 14:40

Toy Soliders - I took over cooking some of the evening meals once I started this (as DH usually does alll the cooking) and managed to win DH over that way. BIWI's celeriac shepherds pie (on the recipe thread) went down a treat ("Well you can cook me that any time you like MrsGoddess!!") and also chicken breasts smothered in cream cheese mixed with pesto wrapped in prosciutto ham served with buttery courgettes and mushrooms was another favourite.

mummyduff · 17/07/2012 15:02

Hello all and welcome newbies,

I have had boiled eggs x 2 for breakfast
Lamb steak(on offer at sainsbury's) with green salad

Feeling hungry so just had a coffee and a pint of water, sorted!!

Toy solider my husband did not even realise, I just said I wanted to spice up our evening meals and he was happy with that.Smile

BonDepart · 17/07/2012 15:22

Right, I've read the older threads. I'm probably not doing this exactly right, I need to shop properly. But here's today's food

B- two hard boiled eggs and an overgenerous dollop of mayonnaise

L- salmon steak, asparagus, some hollandaise and eek baby new potatoes (I'm sorry but they're Jersey Royals and cost ££££ and I only had 4 very teeny ones)

D- chicken tikka, no rice will have salad instead.

Snacks - if required got some cheese to gnaw on as and when.

May not be perfect but is much better than yesterday when I scarfed a pile of toast and jam for breakfast, nothing for lunch even though I was ravenous and a pile of cherry bakewells and jelly babies for supper...

BIWI · 17/07/2012 15:25

There's nothing wrong with an overgenerous dollop of mayonnaise! Grin

Fat is good when eating low carb.

And definitely better than yesterday!

OP posts:
Thegoddessblossom · 17/07/2012 15:29

Bondepart - i was moaning that I could'n't find any low carb mayo, then discovered that Hellman's full fat mayo is only 1.3g per 100g which is fine! And you can have 2 overgenerous dollops if you want!!

In fact ToySoldiers your salad would probably have been more palatable if you had had more mayo on it.....

NigellasGuest · 17/07/2012 16:05

Hello Bondepart!

I don't think there's any limit at all on mayo but it must be full fat, and some brands have higher carb counts than others. But Hellmans is absolutely fine.

BonDepart · 17/07/2012 16:08

Thanks Biwi. I thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast and suspect it will be the same tomorrow Grin.

Goddess I do use Hellman's full fat so that's a big 'phew' from me that it's ok. I hate the light/low fat mayo

I'm going food shoppping on Thursday so it will be a bit hit and miss between now and then, just using up what's already in the house, but definitely nothing wheaty or sugary.

HumphreyCobbler · 17/07/2012 16:14

hello everyone

am still low carbing, but doing maintenance as we have an epic raspberry harvest that I refuse to miss. Still loving this WOE, and still thinnish

good luck with the challenge

vnmum · 17/07/2012 16:26

Hello all. Glad to see we have some newbies Smile.

Gym again this morning, weights and intervals, I'm desperately trying to get rid of the weekends excesses.

After the discussion over the weekend about electrolytes I got some lo salt and had some bovril. Still felt the same so went and got some electrolyte tablets from the bike shop, they are called High 5, Zero Cal and have 0g carbs per tablet. I had one tablet last night and started to feel a bit better then had 2 tablets in my drink at the gym and felt like I had so much more energy and felt stronger. So I think I was low on electrolytes and maybe not just sodium and potassium (tabs contain calcium and magnesium).
I would definately reccomend people think about using a specific electrolyte supplement, not necessarily every day but once feeling better then maybe a few times a week.

Finbar · 17/07/2012 16:39

Ok I'm in. 4lbs to shed.
Also need to applaud myself for avoiding not only the open tin of chocolate biscuits at work ( usually my total downfall), but also the numerous cakes someone had brought in as part of a birthday celebration. I walked away so I did!

LeB0F · 17/07/2012 18:48

I'm in- I need to lose about three stone, I reckon, or 3-4 dress sizes. I won't weigh myself though, as I've never owned scales, I just want to go by how I feel and what I fit into. I've never dieted in my life, but I can see how I've slipped into bad habits the last few years, like drinking too much, snacking on crap, and becoming a couch potato.

Oh no, I said potato. Now I want one Sad

tartiflette · 17/07/2012 19:25

B 2 boiled eggs with mayo
L ham and coleslaw
D roasted aubergine with chorizo and feta.

Need to go shopping hence the lack of veg, Aaargh I just want the last half stone to GOOOOO! I really really need to buy a ton of new clothes as even my 'thin' stuff and things I bought years ago and have always meant to slim into, are all now looking shapeless. But am not quite there yet so don't want to splurge until I get to goal (although still a bit hazy on what that exactly will be...). Does anyone else have problems settling on a final target? I've had mini milestones all the way down from my heaviest weight but now the end's in sight I don't really know when to stop!

tartiflette · 17/07/2012 19:26

That's interesting about the electrolytes vnmum

BIWI · 17/07/2012 19:37

Well my target is going to have to be lower than I thought [glum]

Went out shopping today, and even though I am fitting into size 10s with ease, there are still far too many flabby bits - exposed by brutal lighting in M&S changing rooms.

Saying I have another stone to go just seems such a lot, especially as recently things have really slowed down for me.

OP posts:
Jins · 17/07/2012 20:08

Tartiflette you'll probably find that weightloss will stop naturally. When it starts to be struggle to lose anything you're pretty much there Grin