Summer Low Carb Bootcamp - The Questions Thread

(507 Posts)
BIWI Mon 29-Apr-13 16:18:52


Picking up on some that have already been asked today:

Can we eat dairy in Bootcamp?






BIWI Fri 06-Sep-13 21:49:59


Purple2012 Fri 06-Sep-13 09:17:09



Purple2012 Thu 05-Sep-13 21:01:57



loopyloou Thu 05-Sep-13 19:50:16



ImATotJeSuisUneTot Thu 05-Sep-13 19:04:19


Purple2012 Wed 04-Sep-13 21:35:18

I do eat eggs. That sounds lovely thanks.

captainmummy Wed 04-Sep-13 13:27:54

That sounds fine Purple.


Purple2012 Tue 03-Sep-13 22:36:56

I am trying to think of something different to salad and chicken before my recipe books arrive.

Would asparagus and spring onion cooked in cream cheese poured over chicken be a good low carb meal?

Thanks Captainmummy! I like the idea of frittata. We have chickens, so using eggs is good (although I'm using most of them for breakfasts atm!)

captainmummy Tue 03-Sep-13 19:45:33

Holmes - my dp takes salad with meat (sausages/bacon bits/cheese/fish) every day in summer with coleslaw and lots of mayo. In winter he tends to take a flask of creamy soup. I've also done him a cream-cheese/egg 'wrap' with ham or cheese inside, before. There is a recipe on the recipe thread for crustless quiches, and mini muffin/frittata-type things.

colette Tue 03-Sep-13 19:40:18

Any recipes for spare ribs and pork chops please - Dh brought enough for about 8 mealshmmSainsburys had reduced the chops to 70 p for 2 chops and £1.50 for spare ribs for whole family.

Ooh- not sure. Probably. I haven't fully investigated the kitchen area yet! I have ice packs anyway though.

ImATotJeSuisUneTot Tue 03-Sep-13 16:51:42

Will you have access to a fridge?

Does anyone have any fab, easy low carb packed lunch ideas? I started my new job today and was seriously unimpressed with the canteen food! I'll check out the recipes thread too - maybe there are some cold lunch ideas there...

yy to slow cooker - i do curries and stews and joints all the time. i tend to do the same recipe but without the flour or root veg, and substitute shallots for onions. to thicken any sauce i reduce on the hob once it's cooked, so instead of gravy you end up with a slightly thinner jus, but I like that anyway

DwightFry Tue 03-Sep-13 11:36:15

Willie thank you for your answer.

1. The difficulty with dairy I think is that I find cheese really easy to reach for and nice to eat. But yesterday, that meant mozzarella in the scrambled egg and feta in the salad, with some tzatziki (? spelling) and it all adds up. Also two coffees with cream. And then watercress sauce with the salmon at tea time, which had cream in. I do need to rein it in, not use low-carbing as a reason to stuff myself with dairy! I have bought some chicken thighs just now to try pan fried and cold for lunch today and tomorrow - but I'm also trying to balance feeding me, DH and 4 children, not cooking all the ruddy time and not exploding the grocery budget, which is terrifying as it is! We do eat cheaper cuts of beef and pork, but not as weekday meals and maybe that is the problem.

2. I find I can get from 7am to 12.30 (toddler's lunch) without a problem, and I eat with DS3. However, by 4.30pm I'm starving and usually need something to keep me going until tea at 5.30(ish). Otherwise I start making bad decisions and getting things wrong - perhaps I haven't kicked the sugar rush as well as I thought I had?

3. It hadn't occurred to me to swap avocado for spinach or mushrooms - I'm obviously too close to the problem! Thanks, I will try that.

I am drinking at least 2l of water a day (I slosh).

Yes, I am enjoying the food (mostly) although there is still the occasional 'but what I really want right now is bread and butter'.

I do feel better for what I'm doing, I'd just like to see this excess stone drop off. It's medication induced anyway, I was a comfortable 9st 7 until May and then it all went to pot.

I've thought of another question: are there slow cooker recipes that work with this WOE? All the ones I've found have masses of carby root veg in, which I'm keen to avoid. And how do you get round the gravy thickening problem?

dwightfry - well done so far

1. do you need to cut out dairy entirely or can you just cut down? you mention the cost of chicken and fish - are you eating fillets or have you tried cheaper cuts like chicken thighs, cheaper whole fish etc? tinned tuna in olive oil is pretty good value (though prob not to be eaten every day). do you eat red meat and pork? you can get some good cheap cuts, like non-lean mince (often hidden on the bottom shelf in the supermarket), shin beef, breast of lamb, pork belly etc (though i realise these are less suitable for eating cold in salads)

2. are you still finding you need to snack between meals? perhaps you should add more fat to your main meals - olive oil, butter, mayonnaise etc

3. does it have to be something that doesn't require cooking? otherwise you could have spinach/other green veg/mushrooms cooked with butter, add mayonnaise (homemade if you can if you are keen to avoid artificial ingredients). salad with plenty of homemade oily dressing (i mix olive oil, white wine vinegar and dijon mustard)?

are you drinking enough water?

it's great that you're experiencing benefits other than weight loss. exercise is good for overall health but won't really have an impact on weight loss, so i wouldn't worry about that too much. tbh, the weight IS coming off - you have lost nearly 3lb in nearly 3 weeks, which while it's not a dramatic loss is actually a good, sustainable rate. low-carbing isn't a quick fix, though you do often see high (and highly-motivating) losses in the first week due often to the reduction of glycogen stores.

you don't have a lot to lose really which may also account for a slower rate of loss than some people report.

are you enjoying what you are eating?

DwightFry Tue 03-Sep-13 09:38:08

Ok. So, I have been lowcarbing for 2.5 weeks. Started at 10st 7.5lbs (high for me - normal weight is 9st 5). Lost 5.25lbs in the first week and was very pleased with myself. Have now put back on 3lbs. I know what some of the problems are:

1. Too much cheese. I know it stalls me, so I just have to stop eating cheese and cream for a bit. The difficulty is what to eat instead (see below re: eggs), particularly in salads etc if I'm not eating processed meats. The sheer cost of endless chicken and fish also makes this difficult.

2. I cannot abide the taste of egg unless it is disguised as something else, so I usually put cheese and spinach in scrambled egg. Too many eggs in a day also make me feel really sick, which rules out hard-boiled eggs as snacks if I've had them at another meal. How do I get out of this?

3. I can't eat avocados. They give me terrible stomach ache for 24 hours after and it's just not worth it. What else can I put with salmon for uber-bootcamp lunches?

On the positive side, I've broken the sugar cravings, and don't eat sweet things at all, I've come off caffeine and stopped drinking alcohol, but the weight still isn't coming off. This is making me very miserable and I have surgery in 6 weeks that will prevent me moving, never mind exercising, for a period afterwards. I do not want to spend my 40th birthday (January) being The Fat One.

I will start exercising again once the children are back in school, but that's Thursday. Can't do it until then, they are too small to be left and a walk with a 3 year old is never brisk!

Please help. TIA.

corrie yea it refers to weight loss stalling - although tbh many of us use it too often eg when we've been losing evey day then don't for 24 hours!!

msinga well done that's fab!

Finished my first week and have lost 6.5lbs shock

CorrieDale Mon 02-Sep-13 21:42:01

This is probably a really stupid question but when people refer to dairy making them stall they mean their weight loss stalls, yes? And not that they become constipated?

imatot I think so, I think sometimes some people experience that, and then their skin clears up and they are glowing. I wonder if it is toxins getting out before the clear healthiness!

ImATotJeSuisUneTot Mon 02-Sep-13 21:13:02

My skin is really bad - zitty. Is this normal, something I just have to work through?

Purple2012 Mon 02-Sep-13 16:04:57

Thank you. I will do all that.

ok, here they are

1. Eat three proper meals a day.

2. Avoid processed food.

3. Eat lots of fat.



The more weight you have to lose, the more water you should drink. This is from Water is essential to weight loss for those who eat low-carb. The minimum consumed in a day should be:
Your Weight--------Litres

7. No alcohol.

8. No fruit.

9. No nuts/seeds.

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners.

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