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.

Why Thankyou Jacaqueen

thekitchenfairy I know, but at least there's a Waitrose coming to Truro at the end of the year. Don't even get me started on boys' clothes

I totally get how this WOE can make you lose weight in bootcamp. What I don't get -yet- is how you keep it up. No rice, pasta, bread, crackers, cereal etc. I cant imagine just having eggs or meat for breakfast forever and I'm not going to start cooking bacon or sausage. I don't each much red meat, my OH eats none, and have two kids to feed too.

I can't see how I keep up this way of eating in family life though. No quick and easy pasta bake after long day at work, or curry and rice. Salads are ok once or twice a week, but not more. Mac cheese couldn't be taken away from DS either. He'd leave home!

Me and OH both work full time and with one child nursery and one at school we both have pick ups and drops off. Getting kids fed quickly when we get in late in general is a struggle and I don't want me or OH to have to think about one meal for them and another for me.

So what I'm worried about already is putting back on any weight loss and ending up on usual cycle of up down weight yo-yo.

I will definitely cut down on carbs now and increase different types of veg low in carb but how is this in any way sustainable?

Any suggestions, books, websites good for low carb working households that anyone can reccomend?

Thanks everyone.

Bandersnatch - it doesn't look like you're eating very much, especially at dinner time.

Don't worry about quantities of food - eat what you want until you're not hungry. And you don't have to worry about the fat!

And why are you worried about not eating enough veg? You can eat plenty of veg, as long as you focus on those that are 3g carbs per 100g - see the list of allowed veg on the spreadsheet.

As Jac has said, your lunch was potentially quite carby, and you are eating too much bacon - we're trying to avoid processed meats if we can. They are alright occasionally but not every day/at every meal.

Generally speaking, if you're buying something with a label on it, keep it under 5g carbs per 100g. With yoghurt, the best brand to buy is Total full fat. Others recommend Lidl, but I've never bought that one - it's equally low carb I believe.

And you really do need to try to drink the water!

WhendoIgetadayoff - low carbing is like any other diet, in that it's teaching you about a particular way of eating. If, once you've lost your weight, you just go straight back to eating how you used to, then you will put weight back on.

That said, the purpose of low carbing - weight loss and health benefits to one side - is to work out how many carbs you can tolerate per day. Everyone is different.

Your life won't be without rice/pasta/potatoes/bread. Once you've lost your weight, you gradually start to introduce carbs back into your diet. As long as your diet is mostly high fat/lower carb, then you will be able to have the odd indulgence.

You will find, presuming that you enjoy eating this way, that it does become a habit. I never cook anything different for the rest of the family. I do, though, plan my meals and use the slow cooker/pressure cooker so that I can have things ready when we come home, or can cook things like stews quickly.

It's up to you, ultimately though. If you want it to work, you have to work at it!

chicken - I would echo what Jac has said. This diet is good for diabetes because it keeps your blood sugar levels stable. Ketones are different from ketoacidosis.

However, if you are a diabetic and especially if you are taking insulin, please check with your GP that this is going to be OK for you.

I have a youngish family too

Our favourites include

Cottage pie with mashed swede instead of potato

Roast chicken and roast veg

Chicken fajitas with lettuce wraps

Chicken korma with cauliflower rice

Pan fried salmon

I have Greek yoghurt for breakfast.

My boys have pasta, rice, bread if they want.

Thanks BIWI. when's your book coming out through MN?! They should snap you up!

That sounds like too much hard work!

Hi.Thanks for this fabulous informative thread. I started bootcamp yesterday, but I fear I may have made a mistake already!

I made this "Vanilla almond sponge bread" from "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfillipo cookbook. Despite having nuts in it ( I now know they are out for bootcamp) I thought it would be low carb. But then I read the label of the coconut flour I used and it seemed to be high in carbohydrates. But reading the nutritional information in the link I posted, it says 4 g per serve.

Is that too high?

It was really nice to have something that is kind of a bread substitute.

I usually have a vegetable and meat stir fry for breakfast. I recently did a "whole 30" which is very much like low carb, but it allows sweet potatoes and nuts. It eliminates dairy completely and I had great success on that. I think that dairy may impede weightloss for me because before the whole 30 I was doing primal for about a year and only managed about 4 kilo weight loss. In the 30 days of the whole 30 I lost a total of 6 kilos, but I've stalled and need to drop another 10 kilo, so I thought bootcamp low carb might just help.

Has anyone else experimented with coconut flour? Is shredded coconut okay? It is really nice toasted and sprinkled on a salad. I know nuts are out, but are seeds,like sunflower seeds okay? Also really nice toasted and sprinkled on a salad. And I have a jar of sunbutter but not sure if that's ok to eat?

I have been eating Paleo for a while, which is usually low carb, and there are some great websites and blogs out there. If you are interested the "Nom Nom Paleo" blog has great food ideas.

Hello. I have another wee question. Sorry.

I have felt a bit spaced out all day but that could be due to DS being up in the night insisting that I find his toy lamb.

But my wee has smelt a bit odd all day. I just tested it with a ketostix and it was dark pink. What should I do. I've been trying to drink water all day, but also had coffee earlier in the day.

Should I drink lots of water before i go to bed. I was up in the night twice last night in addition to the hour I spent with DS.

Is it ok if I just drink more tomorrow or do I need to sort it now.

Thanks so much.

chicken google dr Bernstein the diabetic diet. I have found it really useful and he has loads of stuff in his website too. I am diabetic I am having bloods done Thursday and prob again in three months as most GPs / diabetic nurses are trained to give out the 'eat lots of carb advice'. I am hoping that by showing my bloods / weight general health has improved they will continue to support this woe but it will initially mean for me being reviewed three monthly instead of 9 monthly.

hopeful I've never used coconut flour sorry. Is it possible that yours was a different type than the one used in your recipe? (sweetened?)

Tbh although I do make and enjoy bread substitutes, the Bootcamp phase for me is all about breaking associations and getting back to basics so I don't eat them during this phase.

mumat drink lots more today and see how you go. The strange smelling wee can be quite normal but keep an eye on it just in case! Dark pink on your stix means you need to drink more anyway

Bandersnatch for soups I often tend to just do a generic 'veg' soup, ie chuck everything in and blend. But what about cauliflower soup (can spice it up), or broccoli and Stilton perhaps?

Cheese is allowed, you just have to be careful not to go ott. For broccoli/ cauli cheese sauce I just use cheese and a touch of cream -or cheat and use cheese spread

Re diabetes, my mum is diabetic and is doing 'lite' version of this WOE (keeping a very careful eye on her blood sugars under advice from her GP)

She's lost weight, her BP is down and her cholesterol is fine. She's also reduced her amount of insulin. Although it goes against all the advice originally given to her, the Dr said she'd be mad not to continue.

Bandersnatch - soups i make are
celeriac
leek
cauliflower
broccoli/stilton

I even saw a recipe for celeriac and brussels sprout soup (HFW) the other day which looked nice. Add cream to make them velvety, and chunks ofmeat/chicken to bulk them up.

Cheese sauce = cream cheese/cream/grated cheese, (if dairy doesn't derail you)

More Questions!
Are Knorr and Oxo stock cubes ok? What about tomato puree?

I'm a bit of a lurker but have never joined however I came across this thread on a google search and it made low carbing sound like the solution I've been looking for. I've done WW in the past but I got pretty disillusioned with it. Tbh I got a bit worried about the amount of sugar in foods.

I started LC yesterday - can someone give yesterdays menu a quick once over and see if I'm on the right track? I have around 3 stone to lose, I'm a bridesmaid for my sister in October and would love to have lost the weight.

Breakfast - total greek yogurt and omelette with mushroom and green pepper cooked in butter
Lunch - smoked salmon, green leaf salad and avocado
Dinner - beef escalopes, brocolli, cauliflower and a bit of blue cheese melted down into a sauce
Snack - cucumber, hard boiled egg.

I also drank 3 litres of water, had 2 cups of sugarless black coffee and 1 cup of tea with the tiniest dash of milk (which I am trying to give up!).

Apologies this has turned into a mammoth first post!

Bander I make a veg soup base which I keep in a large jug in the fridge. Most days I heat a portion up for lunch and add other ingredients to it. A touch of cream, Stilton, cooked bacon, chicken prawns etc. just whatever I have to hand. Favourite at the moment is broccoli and cauliflower with Stilton and walnuts. I use frozen cauliflower and broccoli and it tastes fine in soup once it has been blended with cream.

You can still have veg sticks but make a dip with cream cheese and sour cream. Add chilli, garlic etc for flavour. Peppers and tomatoes are ok in limited quantities.

Once you are In Ketosis your appetite will decrease and you won't need to bulk out soups, stews, stir fry with beans and pulses.

As captain mummy has said you don't need flour to make a cheese sauce. And as for missing fruit, well it really isn't that good for you in large quantities. After Bootcamp you can have berries but you are better getting your nutrients and fibre from veg.

Don't worry about it all. It is a big change and you will get there.

Mumat39 I never drink any water after about 8pm at night otherwise I would never be able to get to sleep.

The smelly pee will be the ketones and fat you are getting rid of. That is a good sign. Ideally the ketosticks would not be that dark but if you are drinking all the water throughout the day you should be fine.

Perfectly normal to feel spaced out for a few days at the start. If you feel really dizzy then eat something.

What is carb count for knorr cubes?

I use Kallo which come out at 0.6g per 100ml of made up stock for the vegetable ones.

I also sometimes use oxo cubes. One cube in a pot of mince or whatever isn't going to do too much damage.

Penny that looks like a perfect menu to me.

The only tiny little comment I would make is to watch the amount of green pepper. Don't be afraid to add mayo or oily dressing to your salad if you like it.

I have a question

How do I get my ipad to write the names in BOLD?

I dont seem to have the little star key.

Thanks Jac I had about half a green pepper with my omelette, too much? I will try some salad dressing. I need to get out of the WW mindset of oily dressing being bad for you!