HOUSTON, WE HAVE KETOSIS

Credit: Alex De Fina

Like any recovering addict going cold turkey on the drug of choice, I've been through the wringer real good the past 2 weeks. But I think the worst period of sugar withdrawals is finally behind me.

Hi, my name is Celest and I ... had no idea I was consuming THAT much sugar for the last 32 years of my life.

You can all say Hi Celest because I'd wager my last dollar on the fact that 98% of the people I know are like me - totally unaware of just how much sugar has crept its way into almost EVERYTHING we consume, sending us into a glycogen-fueled tizzy every time we choose to have a 4-apple fruit juice instead of just eating 1 straight up, or every time we do a stirfry with oyster sauce and light soy. Oh yes, that little bugger is even in the saltiest of soy sauces. And in all those dubious "Only 2% fat" little yogurt pots any dieting individual is so likely to pick up.

By cutting out sugar and limiting carbs to a mere 6.5% of my daily intake of food, my body went BATSHIT CRAZY from days 3-8 (the duration and period varies for everyone). I was running so low on energy, breathless and nauseated at every single fitness class I took (even boxing, which I almost never gas out in). I had these dull headaches that would occasionally stretch out into periods of throbbing pain. I was getting cold sweats from doing all the normal things I'd do in my everyday life - climbing stairs, walking up Hong Kong's hilly streets, running after the tram... All I wanted to do was crawl under the covers, sleep my way through the whole program and magically wake up at Day 84. 

In a nutshell, I was pretty insufferable (sorry, husband) before ketosis finally kicked in, after both my liver and muscle glycogen stores were depleted. Bless those fat stores that are now getting burned up, transitioning my body toward the state of metabolic flexibility for the very first time.  

Essentially, as the definition goes, metabolic flexibility is the body's ability to switch back and forth between using both glucose and fat as fuel, based on respective availability and needs. Most of us are not metabolically flexible and our bodies are only tuned toward burning glycogen (or alcohol, if that's present) as fuel. Which is why the first Blitz phase of the program is the hardest - it's getting us to the state of metabolic flexibility for the very first time. 

Anyhoo, back to that sugar thang. 

It's pretty significant. Physically, I've dropped 9 lbs so far in 2 weeks, along with a heck of a ton of chunk from my face, arms and abs. Even my hips and thighs are definitely showing obvious signs of trimming down. All this, just from the loss of bloat from sugar inflammation.  

Oh, and my skin is thanking me for this sugar detox too. My frequent eczema outbreaks haven't plagued me in a while and there's this apparent glow from my face that more than 3 of my most (brutally) honest girlfriends have pointed out.

Mentally, I'm more alert than ever. My taste buds are also hyper sensitive now and I can taste any form of sweetness more acutely than ever. (Oh that turkey ham - I know what you did in there, turbinado sugar or not.)

Emotionally, after a couple of internal meltdowns brought about by those sugar withdrawals, I'm definitely feeling this sense of euphoric triumph that I can't quite explain. It's quite an achievement to be able to cut such a processed toxin out, especially when it quite literally is in EVERYTHING we eat.

Credit: Diabetes UK

Fun fact: If you strip away everything that has some form of processed sugar from the supermarket aisles, you'd be left with only 20% of the products. And I'm guessing these would be purely fresh produce. Even "sugar free" and "no added sugar" labels are insanely misleading because hello Stevia? Aspartame? Agave? 

Watching That Sugar Film over the weekend (it was set as homework for us last week) was also a very sobering experience. I'm not saying I'll be banning all smoothies, milkshakes, cookies and cakes from my life forever (uhhh nice try, but no), but it definitely drove home the need to be a lot more conscious of what I put into my mouth, simply because that fuels my life.

I'm not saying it's easy. It definitely isn't! You have no idea how many times I've walked past the fruit aisle in the supermarket (we can't have any in the first 4 weeks of the program) and longingly eyed up that juicy pomelo and luscious sliced pineapples in the most summery, inviting hue of yellow. 

Strolling past bakeries and noodle shops is also particularly arduous, especially with the unmistakable fragrance of freshly-baked butter croissants. I've had to question my sanity in deciding to do this multiple times when I found myself so immensely envious of anyone able to just eat 'normally' with wild abandon. 

But persist, I shall. We're officially over the halfway mark of the Blitz phase at Day 15, which means we're midway through the toughest part of the program. Ain't no focaccia gonna be worth it f*king all this hard work up.