In my readings on fitness, I’ve come across the term “ketosis” quite a lot. But it was only recently that I actually tried – and I use the word loosely – to understand it. (My eyes glaze over at scientific terms and strange concepts.)

At the risk of incurring the ire of those who have written scholarly volumes on it, I would like to reduce ketosis to its most simplistic meaning, according to the simpleton that is me, which is this: Ketosis is the state when the body uses fat for energy.

To achieve it, one must:

A – drastically reduce – to the point of almost eliminating – all carbs from the diet (because the body will only seek out its stores of fat when its carb stores, the body’s main source of energy, is depleted),

and

B – step up physical activity (so that there is an actual need to consume fat, the alterative source of energy).

I could be wrong but, so far, that is what I understand ketosis to be. And, seriously, the more I read about stuff like this, the more convinced I am that the fitness community nurtures , and highly encourages, eating disorders. Someone told me recently, “You’ll never be fat because you have an eating disorder, and your eating disorder won’t allow you to ever get fat”.

Will you be having the chicken or the egg, mamsir?

Anyway, so you can imagine, given my propensity for extremes, coupled with my alleged eating disorder, I’ve gotten it into my head that I would like to achieve ketosis. I wasn’t planning on doing it any time soon. I was thinking – maybe some time in June or July – when I’ve had more time to read about it and truly understand it, when I’m back in Siargao, in an environment that could easily be controlled… But, oops, I started yesterday.

If Step A in “How to Achieve Ketosis” sounds familiar, it’s because, yes, it is the Atkins Diet. Like everyone who has been on a diet, I have tried Atkins before. It was difficult but it helped me achieve what I wanted at that time, which was to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. But, even then, it was clear to me that it wasn’t the healthiest thing for me.

This time around, I am better prepared. Sort of. I’ve found a really good website which I am now using as my Ketosis Bible. It’s Joseph Arcita’s Guide to Ketosis which, of course, I haven’t read. (Did you see all those big words on it???) I only use it for section 3M: A List of Ketogenic Food. I know, I know. I should read the whole thing so that I know what I am doing, etc., etc, and I will! When I get my focus back. Now that I’ve made a decision to stop drinking – only while I am on this ketosis project – that means I will have a lot more time on my hands to do things, like read blogs with big words. (Unless I can come up with something better to do which, I’m pretty sure, I will.)

So, yeah, the list of ketogenic food…

My body is screaming for sugar. I’m obsessed with the bananas on the dining room table and the cranberries in the freezer. I’m cranky and I feel restless. I know this is normal and these are just sugar withdrawals. And I did have an obscene amount of cake last week…

I realize I’ve entered into this experiment rather haphazardly. I’m buying Ketostix for when the real experiments begin in Siargao, so that I can determine if and when I’ve achieved ketosis. Hopefully, then, I would have read my Ketosis Bible back to front – and understood it. For now, I would just like to see how long I can stay off sugar and stay sane – another very loose term when used in reference to myself. My goal is three weeks. But let’s take it one day at a time, shall we?