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Sign up for Little Black Dress Low Carb Bootcamp! Week 1 starts on Monday ...

266 replies

BIWI · 27/09/2012 10:46

Lots of people have already said they're up for this, so come and sign in on this thread, so we know who we all are! The wonderful WilleWaggleDagger has taken over the job of Spreadsheet Management, and you may find that your name is already on the Spreadsheet of Wonderfulness:

link to the spreadsheet

You will also find the rules and some important info about allowed veg on the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet.

But to give you a brief summary of things:

We start on Monday, with two strict weeks of low carbing. It's important that you are strict about it, to get your body used to it and for maximum weight loss. We are also, in these two weeks, getting our bodies to switch from burning carbohydrates to burning fat - which means you will become ketogenically adapted.

There are only 10 rules to follow, and the idea behind these is to keep Bootcamp as simple as possible. There is no need to count carbs or weigh your food (unless you particularly want to). In summary, these are:


  1. Eat three, proper meals a day


  1. Avoid processed food


  1. Eat lots of fat


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


  1. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited)


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


  1. No alcohol (Sorry - I did say it was strict!)


  1. No fruit


  1. No nuts/seeds


10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners

Here are the rules, with the reasons/explanations as well


One of the most important things about low carbing is preparation.

This is not an easy diet to follow if you leave you food choices until you're starving, or if you are out and about. You will quickly find that the world of on-the-go food and snacks is all about the carbohydrates! Think about what you're going to cook next week, and plan your food choices and shopping accordingly. There is no need to cook anything different for you from that which your family will be eating, although carbohydrate-centred meals (e.g. lasagne or risotto) are obviously out of the question. Focus on meals that are based around meat/fish and vegetables/salad - your family can always have potatoes with theirs, or some other form of carb.

If you're out and about, buying low carb food can be difficult. However, places like M&S Food are getting better - you can buy pre-packed cheese in individual portions, or packets of ham/chicken/prawns, for example. Olives make a great snack, and they are very low in carbs.

It's really helpful to know something about the thinking/science behind low carbing

If you can, try and do some reading up about it. Good books are:

Dr Atkins "The New Diet Revolution"
Dr Charles Clark "The New High Protein Diet"
India Knight/Neris Thomas "The Idiot Proof Diet" (there is also an IPD recipe book, which has some great recipes in it)
Dr John Briffa "Escape the Diet Trap"
Gary Taubes "The Diet Delusion"/"Why We Get Fat"

There's loads of information online, and this site is really useful

.... and obviously there will the LBD threads. We will have one weigh-in thread, and I will start a week-by-week chat thread.

DISCLAIMER

I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I AM NOT A MEDIC. I AM NOT A SCIENTIST. I AM NOT A NUTRITIONIST NOR A DIETICIAN. THE ADVICE I AM GIVING HERE IS BASED ON MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF LOW CARBING, GLEANED FROM MY OWN READING AND EXPERIENCES OF LOW CARBING. IF YOU ARE IN ANY DOUBT AS TO WHETHER LOW CARBING IS SUITABLE FOR YOU, OR IF YOU SUFFER FROM ANY MEDICAL CONDITION OR TAKE LONG TERM MEDICATION, PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR GP BEFORE YOU START.
OP posts:
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WillieWaggledagger · 28/09/2012 08:39

cakeme, i agree i find it easy to get into bad eating habits with sweeteners

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CakeMeIAmYours · 28/09/2012 08:42

Unfortunately BoiledEggMeIAmYours doesn't quite have the same ring to it Grin

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BIWI · 28/09/2012 08:46

Grin

Shagmund - the theory that sweeteners can also spike an insulin 'rush' is difficult - if you google it there are just as many people who say that's true as there are those who say it's not true!

The reason for avoiding them on Bootcamp is two-fold:

  • we're trying to break the addiction to sweet things
  • we're trying to avoid eating artificial ingredients


However, everyone is different. If you're only having 1-2 cups of coffee with sweetener a day, it's not quite the same as drinking bottles of Diet Coke all day. As long as you're strict with everything else, I can't see that it would be an issue - but give it a go and see what happens.
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RatherBeOnThePiste · 28/09/2012 08:49

Just how many threads have you got going on BIWI love?

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BIWI · 28/09/2012 08:59

Millions. I am taking Mumsnet over by stealth.

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 09:05

For those who need inspiration re low carb meals, the recipe thread is fab.

WineGless is also doing a sterling job transferring these on to the Low Carb section of the Recipes board.

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butterfliesinmytummy · 28/09/2012 09:08

Been thinking about recipes for next week..... I an not vegetarian but don't each huge amounts of meat, wondering where you stand on tofu (well, not standing on tofu obviously, that would be silly).... It's not on the boot camp list and having done some searches online, it's pretty low carb (2-3g per 100g) but some low carb forums don't seem to like it.....

I'm also really into cooking Indian food which seems to work on a low carb scale as long as you cook from scratch, don't use pulses, ground almonds etc and no rice, breads etc but as coconut oil is allowed, can I cook with small amounts of unsweetened coconut milk?

Justr trying to make bootcamp as painless as possible and dreaming of homemade chicken tikka masala and Indian salads....

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Jacaqueen · 28/09/2012 09:16

I have come to realise that sweetners make me hungry. I think in me they do trigger an insulin response and lead me to have cravings. I try to avoid them now and feel much better. If I do have a large glass of diet drink I feel slightly spaced out.

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 09:17

Coconut milk and coconut cream are reasonably low in carbs, I think - but check the carb counts on the pack as different makes do vary.

Indian food is great for low carbing (with the caveats you mention), and it's often a very satisfying way to eat because of the fat and also the chilli.

According to Carblife, tofu is 2g carbs per 100g so it's fine to use - although obviously you will need to keep a close eye on how much you're using as that could quickly add up - along with the coconut cream/milk - to being a pretty carby meal.

What's the argument against tofu, by the way?

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PortiaPony · 28/09/2012 09:36

I'm in. Have two stone of baby weight to lose. Will weigh myself properly on Monday. Not looking forward to missing out on my weekend wine next weekend

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 09:43

Copying over from the earlier thread - here is a 'starter for ten' list of what you can eat on Bootcamp:


Any fresh/unprocessed meat and fish. (Anything processed, like crab sticks or pre-prepared burgers are likely to have carbs - always check the back of the packet)

Processed meats/fish - bacon, ham, smoked salmon, etc - in moderation (not just because they have carbs but also because they often contain artificial ingredients, which we are also trying to avoid)

Eggs - no limit on these

Veg/salad from the allowed veg list (and focusing on those that are 3g carbs per 100g or less)

Lemon/limes - you can use a little juice in marinades/dressings - just don't go mad and use a bucket-load.

Frozen veg can be brilliant and is often surprisingly good - whole leaf spinach is especially good; cauliflower and broccoli are good standbys.

Tinned fish like tuna (if you're buying things like sardines/pilchards/mackerel in sauces, check the carb count first)

Tinned tomatoes - for soups/sauces; although they are quite carby, a little can go a long way. Sainsbury's Basics chopped tomatoes in a carton are lower in carbs

Olive oil for salad dressings (ideally you shouldn't cook with olive oil but should use something like coconut oil instead - but coconut oil is very expensive, so this one is up to you)

Sesame oil for stir fries and marinades

Vinegar for salad dressings - not balsamic vinegar, which is very high in carbs, compared with ordinary vinegar which is zero carbs

Soy sauce - for marinades or adding to stir fries, but beware it does contain carbs - check the labels first

Mayonnaise - again, check the labels as the carb counts vary tremendously (and always full fat)

Butter - as much as you like for either cooking or putting on veg

Cheese/cream - in moderation; dairy can stall some people so go easy on this until you know if it affects you or not

Yoghurt tends to be better tolerated - always, always, always full fat though and always plain! (Vanilla extract in yoghurt is lovely - Waitrose make one which is sugar-free)

Olives - these are very low in carbs and make a useful snack as well as an addition to salads/sauces

Water. If you find still/tap water boring, then sparkling water is fine. You should be aiming to drink at least two litres of water a day.

The moral of this story - if it's packaged food or processed in any way - *always check the label for the carb count.

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caramelwaffle · 28/09/2012 11:00

WWd We are all sweet by name, sweet by nature

Quite frankly I am Shocked by how much weight I have put back on (lost two stone in past year).

Have had boiled eggs for breakfast. Should we be eating the yolks from all of them, or limiting it to mainly the egg whites?

Which are the different threads for this Bootcamp i.e. Recipes, Chat, Sign in, Weigh-ins? Need to put them in some sort of order (thanks)

BTW BIWI this is one of the best parts of MN. Just saying loik Thanks

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PrincessSparkle86 · 28/09/2012 11:05

Loving the name change BIWI Grin

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caramelwaffle · 28/09/2012 11:07

Yes Grin

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WillieWaggledagger · 28/09/2012 11:14

butterflies ground almonds would be ok for bootcamp light if you didn't overdo it

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 11:25

caramel - no need to worry about eggs/egg yolks.

This is the key chat thread, and we'll keep the weighing in on this thread as well, I think. I or Willie will post a link to the Spreadsheet Of Wonderfulness every Monday.

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SingingTunelessly · 28/09/2012 11:31

Caramel, eat the yolks as well. Remember eggs are good and natural fat is our friend when low carbing!

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TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 28/09/2012 11:38

I'm in. Have been somewhat half on, half off the wagon for the last week or two porridge for breakfast, wholemeal toast yesterday, Magners, stollen etc but somehow have lost another lb and a half so am now 9 stone 9.5, yippee! I'm a healthy BMI!

Goal: 9 stone or less, but an exercised, toned 9 stone. I will be Shredding for the month of October.

Caveat: It's my birthday smack in the middle of Bootcamp (the 7th) and I will be having croissants and jam for breakfast. Blush

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 11:45
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TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 28/09/2012 11:47

Aiming, I've been low-carbing while bf. I started when DD was about 14 weeks, I think, on the Bootcamp Lite rules (ie, ate berries, lots of cheese etc), and she has piled on the pounds and moved up the growth charts from about the 50th centile to the 85th Shock. She's now 6.5 months and I've lost 23 lbs! I'll see how weaning affects me too - so far she's not eating enough real food to make much difference to the amount of bm she's drinking, but as she gets to grips with actually eating food rather than playing with it sodding BLW that'll change. She was ebf until 6 months.

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TooImmatureTurtleDoves · 28/09/2012 11:48
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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 11:49
Grin
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caramelwaffle · 28/09/2012 12:02

The Stick works Shock

Thank you for info. on eggs/yolks.

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BigStickBIWI · 28/09/2012 12:09

TooImmature - have it with Champagne as well!

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caramelwaffle · 28/09/2012 12:21

Can we use Oat Bran or Porridge oats - no more than one tablespoon, during first two weeks? (I use it to change consistency of homemade soups)

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