BLITZ: CHECK!

And just like that, 4 whole weeks have passed us by and we've got Blitz — the toughest part of the FFL program — squarely in the bag.

I won't say time has flown by because there were so many times during the Blitz phase when it felt more like I was trying to soldier on and hunker down through grit teeth, and the days seemed to crawl by. I mean, when you suddenly take away sugar, processed foods and almost all carbs from your diet, your system does go through periods of shock waves, like the sneaky sugar addicts we never knew we were. 

But the sense of achievement at having accomplished this and kicked ass (if I may say so myself) at something so challenging is nothing short of stellar. 

Credit: YouTube

Together with the other 29 brave souls who are attempting this nutrition overhaul with me, I battled through (at times) debilitating sugar withdrawals, a very rigid meal plan that left me with severe food envy at people who could do normal things like, you know, down a comforting bowl of noodles or choose any sandwich from the counter, while I was giving my jaw a solid workout with chicken breast and a mountain of broccoli. 

I also traveled during the third week of Blitz and besides having to resist temptations of amazing. carby. Cambodian. temptations., the amount of prep work I had to do to avoid straying probably took up more time than planning the whole itinerary itself. To add insult to injury, I wound up with a bad bout of food poisoning from trying to consume as much protein as I could (whatever they say about it being the best restaurant in town, beef tartare in Phnom Penh is just... no. Don't do it.)

I even had several people tell me I should have just gone straight to Carb Land if I'd known it would all come out down south eventually. (Peepholes, are you actually my friends???)

And the cooking and meal prep. Gawd. 

Credit: Pinterest

I could definitely use an extra 4 pairs of hands and a clone to help me with the copious amount of food prep I had (and still have) to do for the program. Have you ever come home from work at 9pm and realize that dang, I still have to chop vegetables, cook using multiple pots and pans, sous vide this and flametorch that, weigh and measure everything, and then portion it all out in a tricky situation of Tupperware optimization? And then only be done at 1am and have to get up at 6am for your morning workout, but holy moly, look at that load of washing up still left to be done. Well, I have. And it ain't pretty.

But was it worth it? Heck to the yeah to infinity. 

Credit: Quickmeme

I got rid of a full 13 lbs worth of bloat in the last 28 days. I've leaned out visibly, gotten less sluggish and more importantly, I've realized that balance is within reach and it is something I can attain. I used to be this all-or-nothing extremist — I was either super restrictive and 'good' with clean foods or I threw everything out the window and just binged my eyeballs out. 

By getting myself to the point of metabolic flexibility and training my body to efficiently burn fat stores in place of the missing glycogen, I've realized I get so much more out of loving my body with nutrient-dense, whole foods. All without starving myself or going on one of those dumb crash diets or juice cleanses that I used to see as my saving grace after a binge-filled month. 

And most of all, I've realized that I can do this. If I can get through this and be kickass at a program that is so much more mental than it is physical, then it only reaffirms the fact that I am one strong, determined woman who is going to fight for her own health and happiness. Ain't nothing gonna stop me now. 

Burn phase day numero uno, here we go!