So we've completed the hardest part of Bootcamp. Now is the time, if you wish, to relax things a little, and to move on to Bootcamp Light.
On the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness you will - after weighing in, of course - find the rules for Bootcamp Light. However, as I know some people can't access the spreadsheet easily, here they are:
Bootcamp Light
1. Eat when you?re hungry - if you?re not hungry, don?t eat
In Bootcamp, you should have been eating three meals a day. The point of this being to ensure that you got used to eating proper meals, and so that your blood sugar is regulated and stable. Having achieved that, you can now relax this a little bit. If you find you?re not hungry - which often happens, because ketosis suppresses your appetite - then don?t force yourself to eat. But don?t let yourself get so hungry that you make inappropriate choices! Always make sure you have plenty of low carb food to access quickly, if you need to.
2. Avoid processed food
Focus on pure, natural protein as the basis for your meals ? meat/fish/eggs.
You may include processed meats like bacon or (low carb) sausages, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, gammon - but please don?t have these at every meal or every day. As well as being highly processed they often contain undesirable ingredients, can add unnecessary extra carbs into your diet, and often include sugar.
3. Eat lots of fat
Eating fat helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer. Fry in butter, add butter to vegetables, eat salad with a home-made vinaigrette dressing (not made with balsamic vinegar though, as this is too sweet and has too many carbs), add mayonnaise where you can (just check the carb count on your mayo first). Eat fattier cuts of meat ? e.g. pork belly, roast chicken with the skin on and/or eat the fat off your lamb chops. Absolutely no low fat/light foods of any kind!
4. Make sure you are eating vegetables and salads with your food
This is where the bulk of your carbs should come from, and this is non-negotiable. But choose only those vegetables that are on the allowed list. You don?t have to weigh/count carbs ? this is one of the great joys of this WOE (way of eating), but if you?re new to low carbing it can be helpful to weigh your portions of veg in the early days, just so that you know how many carbs are in the sort of portions that you like to eat.
Beware that some of the veg on the allowed list can be surprisingly high in carbs once you make up a portion of it ? this is because they are denser, and therefore you tend to use more ? compare, for example, 100g of onion with 100g lettuce! Keep your focus on those veg which contain 3g carbs per 100g and use these as the focus of your meals. Use those over 3g per 100g sparingly.
5. You may eat some dairy
You should aim to include plenty of butter on this WOE. Fry with it and add it to your vegetables. And if you know that dairy doesn?t impede your weight loss you may eat cheese, but don't overdo it. Full fat yoghurt is the best way to include dairy in your diet - but beware, it does contain carbs. Total Full Fat is the best.
If you?ve been cutting out tea/coffee, you can re-introduce this ? but just be careful how much milk you end up drinking. You can end up adding a lot of extra carbs this way.
6. You must drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
Even if you?re drinking more tea/coffee than in Bootcamp, this is still a non-negotiable part of this WOE. And the more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. Water helps to flush out the ketones that your body will product ? so flushing out the fat. However, drinking this amount of water can affect your electrolyte balance; you need to make sure that you get plenty of sodium, magnesium and potassium. There is less need to worry about restricting salt if you?re eating a low carb diet. Good sources of potassium are salmon and avocado and spinach is a good source of magnesium. You could also consider supplements if you have an issue with this.
7. You may drink some alcohol
But restrict this to once or twice a week max. Vodka with soda is the best thing to drink. Or Champagne, red wine or dry white wine. Absolutely no beer/lager, cider, liqueurs, cocktails or full sugar mixers. You can drink spirits with artificial sweeteners, but bear in mind that we are attempting to avoid all things artificial!
Alcohol is the easiest source of fuel for your body, and it will use this over and above anything else that is available to it. Therefore, even if you?re following the diet absolutely to the letter, including alcohol can prevent weight loss.
8. You may eat some fruit
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb are all fine. But please ? only once a day at the very most, and keep an eye on your portion sizes. Just for information ? these are the carb counts:
Rhubarb ? 0.8g carbs per 100g (but don?t forget you will need to sweeten this ? and not with sugar!)
Blackberries ? 4.4g carbs per 100g
Raspberries ? 4.6g carbs per 100g
Strawberries ? 6g carbs per 100g
Blueberries - 6.4g carbs per 100g (although this is a bit controversial - I have had differing carb counts from various sources - some saying as much as 12g carbs per 100g)
9. You may eat some nuts/seeds
Nuts/seeds can make a good snack. BUT it is incredibly easy to overdo it, and you can end up eating your bodyweight in carbs. As an occasional snack they are great, but keep it occasional and keep the portions to a small handful at most.
Macadamias are not only luscious, but they are very low in carbs.
Here are some carb counts ? BUT ? check the back of your packets as I don?t know if these are for raw or roasted nuts:
Pistachios 4.6g carbs per 100g
Macadamias 4.8g carbs per 100g
Pecans 5.8g carbs per 100g
Almonds 6.9g carbs per 100g
Peanuts 7.1 g carbs per 100g
Cashews 18.1g carbs per 100g
10. Avoid artificial sweeteners
The aim of Bootcamp was to help reduce the stranglehold that sugar has on us ? and to curb your sweet tooth. But it does make some things difficult, e.g. desserts at a dinner party, and it is undeniable that it can be enjoyable ? occasionally ? to eat something sweet. However, restrict such goodies. For some people, artificial sweeteners can impede weight loss.