Febfast update - Day 12

Howdy folks – I have made it to Day 12 of Febfast, and can safely say I am feeling slightly less yukky than I was two days ago thank you for asking.

I don't really adhere to the whole 'detox' ethos/philosophy/trend (frankly, if you poo and wee, you are already 'detoxing' thank you 'Doctor' Woo-woo), but going cold turkey on sucrose, fructose and sugar substitutes (both natural and chemical) has seriously messed with my energy levels.

Up until two days ago I was utterly knackered, bushed, stuffed and plain flat-out exhausted 24 hours a day, as well as nauseous, head-achey and listless. Add some weird hallucinatory dreams, sharp neck pains and painful stomach cramps to the mix and it's not unlike being knocked over by the ‘flu. It was just too hard to get dressed, wear make-up, fix my hair and tap on a keyboard.

Is this real? Could there be something in this? Is sugar really so-called ‘white poison’?

I have been assured by friends and colleagues who have given up sugar that the symptoms are to be expected and will go away once my body adjusts to the combined lack of stimulant and drastic drop in calories. I keep getting told I will feel ‘marvellous’ in a few days. I certainly hope so.

In the meantime, a few observations I’d like to share:

• There’s nothing like a fast to make you crave other stuff – like cheese, cheese, cheese, cream, salt, smoked salmon(!), cheese, and more cheese. I have rediscovered my love affair for Danish Havarti, Greek Kaseri, Dutch Gouda and Swiss Gruyere. Yum.
  

• Avocado tastes good on ANYTHING. Especially when smashed up with fetta and lemon juice.
  

• Health food shop breads are bloody expensive but if you get a good brand, bloody delicious! Wupperthaler is still the best, and makes great toast – and cheese toasties. Mmm…cheese.
  

• Check the labels on EVERYTHING. AVOID anything that has ‘sugar’ in the ‘added ingredients’ but don’t fret if you see ‘sugar’ in the nutritional values table.
  

• Rice crackers are delicious with a good-quality deli, sugar-free (or better, yet – home-made) hummous.
  

Meanwhile, I’ve hardly noticed the lack of alcohol. Bizarre.