Come and chat round the Low Carb Bootcamp Fire!

[TeamGBIWI]

Well, week 15 of Bootcamp has just ended. But the support and banter will continue! I, for one, am carrying on for the next couple of weeks until my holiday, in the hope that I can drop another pound or so before I go.

There have been some brilliant losses in the last two weeks, so I'm hoping that you'll all be sticking with it too!

Morning all weighing in at 88.6 this morning :) wohooos!

Goddess- i hope ur tooths feeling better soon! X

Wow, emma, you are doing so well. That is fab!

hello everyone

just wanted to say that after a four week stall I have finally started losing weight again. You told me to have faith, so I did and I am fitting into my smallest trousers Don't know how much weight because I stopped weighing as I was finding it depressing not losing anything, but I can really tell the difference in the last few days.

I wondered if the fat cells are finally giving up the water they were hanging on to and that was the reason my breath smelled so obnoxious?

I was also surprised that I didn't experience a massive bout of water retention after having a carby weekend and wondered if my body has started processing food more efficiently?

Just to offer encouragement to anyone who experiences a massive stall

Thanks BIWI

And wow HUMPHREYS thats great! I have the odd stall for a few days and then it all goes back to normal. I agree with you, you just have to keep going :) x

Back in the days when I was far more technical about low carbing (and a lot more evangelical!) I hit a stall. I read about a reversal diet as a stall breaker which is basically doing the opposite of low carb for a short time. It's a low fat, medium carb, low calorie burst of misery that is supposed to kick start weightloss when you revert to low carb. There's some evidence that 'carb up' works in the same way which is an even shorter version of a reversal diet.

I have to say that in some people it can make a difference and seems to trick your body into weightloss when you switch back to a ketogenic diet. Maybe this was what happened in your case Humphrey???

I don't recommend this for people on this thread by the way. There seems to be too much carbing up already

gosh, that really could have been it, couldn't it?

It was your story particularly Jin that gave me the confidence just to keep at it all, so thanks

I ate fish and chips on the beach and it was lovely

Aw, I'm pleased it helped.

Sticking with it really does work

Emma - I just need to point out to you that a few days of not losing is not a stall - it is completely normal! A stall is defined as 4 weeks (I think - Jins will correct me if I'm wrong, I hope!) without losing either weight or inches.

Please don't expect to see weight loss every day, as you won't!

And well done for sticking with it, Humph

Yes 4 weeks is a stall. I have to say that when you are in one it feels dreadful but the only cure is sticking to it

Agree. At the time, it feels like its going on forever. The temptation to self-sabotage can be immense. But you have to stick with it.

Consider myself corrected BIWI.. What would you say is the right amount to lose a week? And i weigh myself every morning.. Should i do it every week or carry on as i am? X

That feels more comfortable. My sports clothes were chafing

Emma you'd be looking at a rapid initial loss in the first two weeks followed by a stay the same in week 3 if you follow the common pattern

Weightloss generally settles down to a pound or maybe two a week depending on how strict you are and how much you have to lose. If you have a BMI within the normal range then weightloss will usually be much slower. Looking back at my old records I lost 3.5lbs in week 1, 1.5 in week 2 and stayed the same in weeks 3 and 4. When I reached a BMI of under 25 it was usually half a pound a week with the occasional whoosh where I lost more.

A pound a week is great - it allows the skin to shrink back better

Thanks for that jins!
Last time i checked before i started dieting my BMI wasnt good!
I think im in my third week now so ill be expecting it to slow a little then
X

You can weigh every day if it's a positive thing for you. For me, it keeps me focused on what I'm doing. But you have to be able to cope with the fact that on some days the scales will show a gain rather than a loss. This is perfectly normal - the body fluctuates all the time.

If you can cope with it, I think it's actually a good thing to do this, and to keep a record of your daily weight (without getting overly obsessive!), because then you can understand how your body does fluctuate - e.g. around your period things can be a bit different - and you can also see the downward movement over time. When you're in the initial phase, as you are, and losses are significant, you may not see the point of this. But when you're in the longer-term weight loss phase, where it might only be half a pound a week, it is a psychological boost to be able to see the line still trending downwards.

And as Jins has pointed out, prepare yourself for the fact that in weeks 3 and 4 you may not lose anything at all. What's happening at this point is that your body has jettisoned a lot of water, and is shifting from burning carbs to burning fat - once you start losing again, this will be fat that you are losing, which is what we're aiming to achieve. (This is important - we don't want to be eating away at anything other than fat!)

It does seem to be a good thing for me to weigh every day as it does seem to keep me focused

Thanks again for the words of wisdom BIWI!

What would i do without you all to answer my questions?!

Just don't ask anything difficult.

L: salad leaves with added mushrooms and a tin of salmon with full fat hellmans.

Thanks for the advice about the eggs et al for breakfast. I think it might be time to become a chicken keeper :) Tomorrow is the start of proper low carbing. No more semolina.

Really interesting about staying the same at weeks 3 and 4. I'm pleased I know that now so I can prepare for those weeks.

One thing I've started doing is photographing my food. As with a diary i tend to not put down things like veggies and things. It's also helping me make sure i have a good variety of veggies as I can see quickly if the meal looks a little dull from a photography point of view. Also helping break the mindless snacking on fruit habit I picked up from WW. Thinking I might compile them week by week or something.

Afternoon loosers, just back from the cinema where I resisted the popcorn!!!

Breakfast - bacon and eggs
lunch - burger and salad
dinner - need to decide???

well done everyone on your weight loss, I sts today.

Hi I am a bit of a novice at this,I have been low carbing for about 10 days and have lost about 3lb so am really pleased.
Can I ask about nuts please ? Just brought a pack of mixed nuts - hazel nuts, cashew , peanuts and almonds to snack on and now can't stop eating them!
How much should I be eating and should I be avoiding peanuts.I have eaten about 100g so far...and they are still calling

Thanks

Hi Colette. Nuts are best avoided in Bootcamp for precisely the reason you gave - it's very easy to eat lots of them and that can add up to alot of carbs.

If you are desparate for a nut snack, sainbos do packets of salted roasted macadamias which are 4g for the packet. But avoid peanuts and most other nuts altogether. If in doubt, avoid full stop. Eating nuts stalled me completely so I don't eat them any more (sob - I love 'em).

Just used shirataki noodles for the first time :D
They were a good buy! Yum!

X

evening all. Had a busy few days doing the school uniform thing etc. Also went to the cash and carry and cgot loads of meat cheaper than supermarkets, so the freezer is well stocked.

appley some trainers suggest a cheat day so that you don't fall off the diet because you are missing things I think, but that is usually a cheat meal not a cheat day! In the bodybuilding world, cheat meals are also used as a way to keep leptin levels and metabolism up when on such a strict diet but this is usually done over a number of hours.

In the paleo world there is also some people who talk about doing carb refeeds. It was actually discussed on mark's daily apple blog the other day. It is to boost leptin levels which can drop after a long while on a low carb diet. It is only advised for people who have had a plataeu and can't break it or who are trying to get very lean (ie less than 10% body fat), it is also only recommended you do it if your body fat % is 20% or less otherwise it won't have the desired effect.

I have done this to break a stall and it did get me losing again BUT it does set off the cravings for sugar and crap and you have to go through the withdrawal to get back in ketosis. I would only recommend people who are experienced low carbers and have got control over their cravings think about trying it and only as a last resort as it does make you feel crap. You also have to hit the gym hard the next day for weights and interval sprints to get the glycogen out of your muscles quicker to get back into ketosis quicker.

I personally don't understand why your trainer would be suggesting it to you and wonder if they have a full understanding of low carb nutrition

Peanuts aren't nuts, they're legumes, so fall into the same category as peas