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:
- Eat three, proper meals a day
- Avoid processed food
- Eat lots of fat
- Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food
- Be careful about dairy (apart from butter, which is unlimited)
- You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
- No alcohol (Sorry - I did say it was strict!)
- No fruit
- No nuts/seeds
- 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.