Yup, I’ve been up to that lately. The 21st century diet fad. It’s bascially a very restrictive low-carb diet whereby one limits the intake of refined carbs and increase intake of proteins. Maximum carb intake in 1 day is 20gms!! Figure mean nothing to you? Well it soon will.
Oh my goodness.
I’m day 2 into it and I am already dying! Ok actually not Day 2, I started last week but I got it all wrong and consumed too many fruits.
Wah damn heart pain. Everything also cannot eat.
Just imagine, I walk into a food centre, I am limited to erm, Fish soup, Yong Tau Hu, Western Food (steaks et al) and erm, maybe (maybe because vegetables have carbs too! ohgodhelpme) mixed chinese rice (without the rice).
I can’t eat processed food – which means goodbye to sausages (which are oh-so-easy to cook), fishballs etc etc.
And chocolate cakes and biscuits and chicken rice, and pasta (=(!!) and fried rice, and the yummy fried bee hoon (that I love having for breakfast) and all the god damn fruits I bought over the past week (as a show of commitment to dieting).
I started reading product labels and realised that, seriously, every single damn edible thing has carbs in it. Did you know vegetables contain carbs? Did you know yoghurt contains carbs? Did you know fruits contain carbs (and I am not even referring to Durians)?
Even eggs. Eggs are high in protein and are well recommended for eating during my journey of losing weight the Atkins Way. The only thing is, I was at the supermarket yesterday and the amount of carbs in each egg for each brand is WAY different!!! It ranges from 0.8gms to 0.02gms per egg. No prizes for guessing which I bought but the thing is, it’s quite a huge range isn’t it? I was so happy to find 0.2gms eggs then I saw 0.02gms. I took both and read thrice closely to make sure I wasn’t losing my eye sight.
And all those yummy low fat/0% fat drinkable yoghurts? Each serving had like 28gms of carbs. That already exceeds my daily limit.
It’s very difficult to count carbs in the hawker food I consumer so I try to cut down on those I can count, cross my fingers and hope it’s not beyond 20gms a day.
And over the last week I thought I was doing well – Hungry? Stuff myself with fruits and yoghurt! Then I went on the internet to see if there were any kind souls out there who will share how they survived not eating rice/noodles in Singapore… and I realised, DAMN. I am already enjoying luxury. Those on the REAL Atkins Diet are, not even eating all that many fruits, which are high in refined sugar, giving me the short energy span and then make me feel hungry very soon after (don’t even get me started on this!).
So after my intensive research on Sunday, I am now officially in the Induction Phase – the first and most difficult phase to get through (especially in Asia where the only food known to us is rice/noodle based).
I am counting the number of grapes I eat now. What the hell right?! But for health I must.
I don’t know man. I’ve heard so much about this diet plan and I’ve never really paid attention. I hope it works! Even for a few kgs.
My colleague has been going round with this little packet of biscuits and touting is as “unbelievably good”, “best biscuits ever”. She came round my table twice and my eyes lit up a little at the thought of sinking a good, healthy bite into the little shiny sugar sprinkled sin but I said no.
I THINK it’s getting easier with every “NO”. Already, I have said no to Xiao Long Baos, Tim Tams, a massive amount of Longans, a mountain of Grapes, Minced Meat Noodles (suddenly the world seems to be eating it), Mixed Rice, Maggi Mee, Sandwiches, Doughnuts (ouch!), Milo Powder and Breadtalk bread (DAMMIT they having their $1.10 bread sale now).
So how, steady right!
Okay, back to this Induction Phase. It is intended to cause the body to quickly enter a state of ketosis, which I pray will be successful. I need to lose 10kg. That’s my aim. That’s madness if you look at it as a number. But it won’t be if you consider the fact that I put on 7kg in the last 4 years. Don’t. Please don’t ask me how or why. It’s painful to even mention it.
So well, wish me luck. I will emerge this a stronger woman for sure – just think of all the biscuits, chocolates, and yummy food I said no to.
Above all, I must lose 10kg!!! I must! Surely going for Yoga classes 3 times a week will help (pleading look)?
And if anything, I found out, hot chinese tea curbs my bingeing.
**On a separate weird matter**
Today I was walking down the stairs and there was this man going up. When he passed by me, he let out a REALLY loud burp.
Huh?
I was “burped” awake. What the hell?
Why did he do that to me?! Gosh!!! WEIRDO!!!
Luckily I didn’t smell anything. Not that I was trying to! Eek!!!