Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
SINGAPORE – My keto journey began 15 years ago, when I read about a new way of losing weight. Some fans made the method sound like a biohack out of a science-fiction novel. Others talked about it as if it were a game cheat code for the human body. As you can guess, among gamers and the chronically online, it became a viral hit.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
Because the forums that I lurked in were mainly populated by Americans, in my head I called keto the Cult Of The Holy Bacon Strip. Its adherents grasp a fundamental contradiction – to lose fat, you have to eat fat. Another paradoxical truth – eat scraps of fat and you will gain weight, but inhale butter and cream by the cupful and, each morning, you will weigh a little less.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
The biological mechanism by which this magic happens is complicated and not without controversy. Some mainstream doctors and dietitians call it delusional. Others call it dangerous.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
That the National University Hospital has given keto a stamp of approval and offered its own version of it is a move I never thought I would see. In my mind, keto still belongs to the realm of “things I got from a sketchy website”.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
Keto’s other prime directive – next to “eat more bacon” – is “zero carbs or sugars”. For an Asian like me, it means a significant life change – no more rice, noodles, kueh and biscuits. In other words, eliminate from life everything that makes life worth living. No more laksa, chicken rice or kopi with condensed milk.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
When I was a baby keto-er, I tried the recommended substitutes as a way to avoid going cold turkey.
Keto Journey Of 15 Years: My Greasy, Deep-fried, Carb-free Life
I baked almond flour cookies and visited shops catering to diabetics to buy sweets made with substitutes called “alcohol sugars” and found they had explosively gassy side effects. Shirataki noodles, which are made from jelly, were used in a ramen recipe and their flavour and texture made me gag. Cauliflower was processed into “rice” and the fried rice that resulted was as dry and bitter as my carb-deprived soul.
After a while, the carb cravings will diminish, though they will never go away. For me, for what the carb substitutes offer, they are not worth the trouble or expense. With more fried chicken on…