Question Thread for New Year Bootcampers

[BigStickBIWI]

As there are so many of us doing this, the chat thread is moving pretty quickly - and it means that lots of questions are being missed.

So here is a specific thread you to post any questions you might have about Bootcamp or low carbing.

If the stick changed colour at all you are in ketosis. It usually ranges from very pale pink to very dark purple. Even the slightest hint of pink is good. If it goes very dark you need to drink more water.

DangerousMouse: far be it from me to contradict BIWI, but if you are veggie then I think you can allow yourself some nuts, even in Bootcamp.

I am being very strict this week because I have extra Christmas related poundage to get rid of, but I am over 9 months in to this WOE and have been eating the almond muffins from the Celia Brooks Brown book throughout, to no detrimental effect. I have them for breakfast though, not as pudding or an extra snack.

Hi only just seen this thread for questions so have copied my post on the other thread for some advice re breakfast.

Thanks for the new thread I couldn't keep up with the last one as been working. Well day 4 for me and I can feel I've lost weight from my clothes - yay! I've gone from a diet of prob 80% carbs, too much vino, high sugar and bucketfuls of caffeine and zero water to zero alcohol, 1 coffee a day, 2 ltrs water, lots of salad, veg, meat and cheese. I am shocked at how not hungry I am but my body does seem to have gone into shock. Quite shaky and achey. Mornings are a real prob for me though. On day 2 I had bacon, egg and black coffee plus glass of water and within minutes threw the whole lot up, but was fine after and for the rest of the day. Yesterday day3 I just had a baby bel and water and the same thing chucked it all up (sorry tmi). This morning I just couldn't eat so had black coffee and even then felt dodgy but just had chicken Caesar salad and was fine. Do you all think I should just skip breakfast or try again. I've got an active job so although I don't feel hungry I do kind of think I should have. My poor body is missing the round of toast with butter and jam I used to breakfast on. Thanks and looking forward to my weigh in on Monday

Thank you MsRinky - you are quite right! DangerousMouse, I had overlooked the fact that you are a veggie. My apologies

gloria - if you are chucking up I'd be worried that you are ill rather than having carb flu. Sorry to hear that you're feeling so shit .

The general advice for carb flu - keep drinking the water, make sure you're eating plenty of fat, but also make sure you're getting enough sodium, magnesium and potassium - salmon, avocado and spinach (and salt) are all important.

Not sure about missing breakfast - could you try a small portion of full fat yoghurt?

Turnip recipe - and bloody gorgeous!

Slice turnips thinly and layer in a gratin dish. Season - i use garlic too. Dob butter about. Cover with cream. Cook in a med oven until turnips are soft.

Not kidding - this is much much better than potato dauphinoise.

turnips are great when peeled and added to casseroles & slow cooker things. They absorb all the flavours without turning to mush.

^^ and captainmummy's gratin is tremendous, people.

Thanks jaca stick changed to the lightest colour on the bottle (very pale creamy pinky) lol. Woo!

Two more turnip recipes:

Buttered Turnips

Peel turnips and cut into slices or 1cm cubes
Blanch them in boiling, salted water for 4-5 minutes until they are half-cooked
Drain well
Finish them with butter in a frying pan, so that they become juicy and yellow, rather than brown
Keep turning them so that they colour evenly
Make a good chopping of green herbs (parsley, chives, tarragon) with a tiny clove of garlic and stir this into the turnips before serving
You could also add some double cream and a few drops of lemon to bring out the flavour

From Jane Grigson's "Vegetable Book"

And one for Pistey!

Turnips with Hot Gin Vinaigrette

Use the smallest baby turnips you can find

500g turnips
Chopped parsley

Vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons gin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Make the vinaigrette first - put all ingredients into a small bowl and whisk, or into a screw-top jar and shake together
Trim any turnip stalks to 1 cm. Halve larger turnips but leave the rest whole
Cook the turnips in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, they should still be crisp; drain well
Stir or shake the vinaigrette and add to pan and heat quickly - taking care as the gin may ignite.
Return the turnips to the pan, cover and shake gently to glaze
Serve immediately, garnished with chopped parsley

Taken from "Delicious Vegetables" by Lyn Rutherford

Do you mind if I ask a question?

I've been trying to lose most of the processed meat from our food shop but my (usually v. supportive) DH is grumbling at the cost a bit.

Does anyone know of any good reading material on nitrates / nitrites etc and the other nasties that I can absorb and spout back at him?

Yaayyy!!!

I must try it Huzzah!

Loving the line....

.....taking care as the gin may ignite.

Yes, I did think of you as I typed that out!

Ewan - is he complaining about not having them, do you mean? Or the cost of buying stuff without nitrates?

Interesting post about bacon here

Sorry Ewan I don't but I am trying to reduce our food bill.

Today I went into the coop to buy mustard that I had forgotten in Lidl and I managed to fill the freezer with reduced items. Salmon, steak, mince, pork chops etc. Also bought some frozen fish fillets to try.

That should keep us going for a while.

I have been starving the past few days and have eaten loads. Today I am not so bad. Hopefully in a while my appetite will decrease and I won't have to spend so much. Trouble is I just love trying out all these new low carb recipes and the ingredients can be costly.

If I'm not hungry at a mealtime, do I have to eat?

Both, really. He is a big fan of ham, bacon, salami, corned beef etc and is mildly miffed that I'm phasing them out. This is the man who bought me chorizo for Christmas, remember The cost is a bit of a thing, too. Thanks for the link, I shall have a gander now :)

sorry, that was answering BIWI. Cheers Jac too - I do love a reduced shelf!

Thanks BIWI I'm going to try a little yogurt and see if I can tolerate that first thing.

Just wanted to say a big thank you for setting up the boot camp and willy (hope thats right) for doing the ex spreadsheet. It really is a huge incentive knowing there are so many of us in it together and a huge learning curve for me.

I get all confused with the turnip/swede recipes on here, because in Scotland they are the oppisate way round! Up here, a turnip (a neep) is the big purple thing thats yellow inside. A swede is a small white thing, and not as common.

Are we not allowed cinnamon?

Cinnamon in small quantities is fine and infact studies show it is very beneficial when losing weight. Also very good at balancing blood sugar.

However I would say that recipe was not suitable for Bootcamp. You could use shallot instead of onion, but it has flour milk and wine in it. 3 large aubergines would be fairly carby I think.

Bandersnatch - NO! That will be full of carbs. However, there is a recipe for low carb moussaka on the recipe thread that is lovely (from the Idiot Proof Diet Cookbook)

Ewan - you won't have to phase it out altogether though. As long as you're not having it at every meal, every day, some of it is fine!

gloria - you are very welcome! The support on these threads really does make it all worthwhile and also much easier for me to lose the weight as well. I would have achieved what I have done already without the rest of the Bootcampers

BlackAffronted - when I say a turnip, I mean what the Southerners call a turnip - a little white and purple thing. And a swede is a big yellow and purple thing, aka neeps! My Scottish mother would be turning in her grave if I dared say anything else