NEW: The Ultimate Beginner Banting Challenge

Challenge starts on Friday 25th August 2017. 
This is the BEST way to start banting.
Minimal side effects which makes it easier for you to hack this lifestyle!


1. Clean out cupboards.
Have a look at the Red list and the ingredients on the stuff you currently have.

Give the red list stuff away, or if you're the only banter in your house - put the non-banting stuff one side.
2. Make up your shopping list from the meals below and buy your necessities only. Stick to a cooking oil - choose one or two, or if you can, invest in one of each. They all last longer that way and you can use them for different applications.
3. Make a list of reasons why YOU want this.
Not anyone else, for this to work YOU must want it to work.
Write it all down, even the trivial reasons. Fold that up and keep it in your bag or wallet - when the temptation arises, before doing anything, re-read your list. Think about why you started this in the first place and if that tempting food is really worth it...
4. Make Seed Crackers this will be for certain meals - and will be great when you are feeling a tad hungry.
6. Make Amasi Cream Cheese
(You can do this by straining amasi through a kitchen cloth in the fridge for atleast 24 hours).


WHY?

So you will see that there are some orange list items in the first week below. Experience from so many members shows that to minimise the effects of carb flu - its best to ease into low carb by still incorporating orange list - but ONLY for the first week. What this does is take you from a previous high carb lifestyle to a low carb one - but not necessarily a ketogenic one (under 25g of net carbs is optimally ketosis) - but also remember that you don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight.

 

THE MEAL PLANS




Monday


Breakfast:

Lunch:

 

Dinner:

 

 Succulent Stuffed Chicken

with a side of Caulimash for green-listers or Butternut Mash for Beginners or those maintaining. 




Tuesday:


Breakfast:


Egg Rolls with filling of choice

Lunch:

 

 Succulent Stuffed Chicken

with a side of Caulimash for green-listers or Butternut Mash for Beginners or those maintaining.


Dinner:


Banting Barbeque Chicken Bake
added butternut in the bake for beginners


Wednesday:


Breakfast:

Lunch:

 

Banting Barbeque Chicken Bake
added butternut in the bake for beginners

Dinner:

 

Thursday:


Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

Leftover Cheesy Wrap-Ups served with 3 Cheese Bake


Dinner:

Friday:


Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

 

Dinner:


Saturday:


Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

 

 Supper:

 


Sunday:


Breakfast:

 

Falooda Porridge (Can be replaced with Chia)

Lunch:

 

Seed Crackers served with cream cheese
Include a small apple for beginners

Dinner:

 


Monday


Breakfast:

 

Simple Scramble with Avocado, fried tomato and Mushroom

Lunch:

 

Dinner:

Banting Lasagne - served with a portion of Coleslaw


Tuesday:


Breakfast:

 

Banting Omelette with fillings of your choice

Lunch:

 

Leftover Banting Lasagne

Dinner:

 


Wednesday:


Breakfast:

 

Affordable Omelette base with stuffing of your choice

Lunch:

 

Dinner:

 Sunflower fathead pizza with toppings of your choice
(make two if you can finish a whole one by yourself)


Thursday:


Breakfast:

 

Leftover Sunflower flathead pizza with toppings of your choice

Lunch:

  


Dinner:

 

Chicken coated with a Moroccan Spice Rub served with the braai salad


Friday:


Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

 

Dinner:

 

Banting Bolognese Sauce served on Zoodles


Saturday:


Breakfast:

 

Fried eggs served with leftover Banting Pepper Steak Pie
.

Lunch:

 

Leftover Banting Bolognese Sauce served on Zoodles

Supper:

 



Sunday:


Breakfast:

 

Lunch:

 

Seed Crackers served with cream cheese and salami

Dinner:

 

Chicken Curry with Cauliflower rice.




The meal plans with the portions of foods in the recipes above may seem a little excessive, but the idea is to build a stock of ready-meals you can just take out the freezer the night before for lunch the next day or that morning for dinner - so you're prepared for whatever life throws at you. IF you want to make smaller portions though, half or quarter the recipes to make smaller portions.

That's probably one of the hardest things about Banting - not having the real option of LEGAL ready meals - but if you make extra portions like above  - you will never have a problem again!


The rules are:

  1. If you can, download the Carb Wise App - insert your meals, that way you will get to know how to use it, and how you should start tweaking what you eat when you're done with the challenge. Its the best and only Banting themed weight loss tool!
  2. You can change the meals in the above plans to suit you - have a look at others from this list - but beginners must still have the orange list items suggested and green listing banters must have the green list counterparts. Also remember that the shopping list is made for the meals suggested, so go through the meal you're crossing off YOUR list and omit those items from the shopping list for you.
  3. If you're a beginner, for the first week, you can add one small apple per day, or some blueberries - but only for the first week. If you're wondering WHY this is, that's quite simple. You minimise the effects of carb flu symptoms which in turn, eases you into Banting - making your change to this life style easier. As simple as that!
  4. You can skip anyone of the meals (I'd suggest either breakfast or lunch as you need the supper for the leftovers for lunch the next day!) - if its lunch, 
  5. If you MUST snack, go for fatty biltong, a boiled egg, cucumber with cream cheese on top - those types of things. Snacking is strongly discouraged though...
  6. If the sweet craving attacks, have a glass of water. If its still there after 5 minutes - have a tablespoon of cream cheese...if STILL there, make one of these LEGAL desserts - but please don't do it too often - we are trying to wean ourselves off the need for regular sweetened goods altogether: Banting Chocolate Mousse OR Dairy Free Banting Chocolate Mousse OR Mini Lemon or Lime Cheesecakes 
  7. Do not cheat at all. Rather have a legal item from the many recipes available - the results of your progress are up to you...
  8. The most important rule is:
READ THE BEGINNERS GUIDE (PINNED POST) on
Banting 7 Day Meal Plans Facebook Group
this document has a wealth of information on what to expect when Banting

If you have any questions - Please don't hesitate to post it on the Banting Group in the link above!

QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE:

1. Can I drink Alcohol while Banting?

Well, yes and no. When you drink alcohol, your body treats it as a toxin and will burn the alcohol before it burns the food you eat or your stored fat. That means your weightloss could stall. See how it affects you though. To find out about the friendlier alcohols, have a look at our Low Carb Alcohol Low Down post.

2. How often can I have orange list?

That is an individual thing. Some incorporate orange list weekly and have no problem with their weight loss stalling, others find their weight loss better if they green list only. As explained above though, incorporating orange list in your first week does minimise the effects of carb flu. See what works for you with this one. Remember its a lifestyle - not just another diet.

3. Do I need to take supplements?

If you keep your food nutritious - most people don't need to take any type of supplement.
Magnesium is sometimes beneficial though - it helps for insomnia and apparently keeps some "regular". There is plenty Vitamin C, for instance in Broccoli and Peppers - so include them in your meals. Avo is a great source of potassium, and you can get your sodium requirements from adding Salt to your food. Salt isn't solely sodium, but it is around 40% sodium.