The BR Experience

"I have a proposal for you," BR announced over the phone. "But I'm not going to tell you what it is unless you say yes. All I'll say is that it will be an interesting experience."

I was in the middle of lunch at Ise, probably enjoying a heart-warming bowl of beef udon, when the call came. BR was calling to thank me for the copy of World Changing I gave him over a year ago (he had thought I had lent it to him and wanted to buy me a replacement copy, but I've learnt early on not to loan out books unless they're books I never want to see again.). "I have nothing else to offer you in return, except for an experience."

I've known BR for years and he's an all-around great guy -- do-gooder, yogi and chef. He's the one I turned to for inspiration when I made a resolution to do yoga 6 days a week for a month. So I was sure the experience he was proposing could not be anything bad. And of course, being the Chief Experience Officer of my company, I was naturally baited to accept.

And what was the BR experience? It turned out to be a 10-day detox (actually, it's 11 days. the program starts counting from Day 0)! Now if BR had just asked me to go on an 11-day detox that included 2-days of fasting and drinking a disgusting meal replacement shake, I would have immediately said no. I would have come up with a million and one excuses not to do it. Afterall, over the years, I had made several half-hearted attempts. In fact, last year, I even spent a weekend in Phuket trying to kick-start a detox. I came back thinking that I enjoy food (whether it be a ham & cheese sandwich from Robuchon, a hearty breakfast of crisp waffles or french toast with strawberries and sausages or crisy bacon from Pressroom, Vietnamese pho bo, Korean bulgogi or bibimbap, Peking duck, all manner of Shanghainese...you get the idea, it's a very long list) and coffee a little too much to ever get through a whole week without them, let alone 11 days!

So before the BR Experience even started, here was lesson 1: The secret to convincing someone to do something you know they don't want to do is to spin or package it in a way that makes it seem appealing or at least intriguing, which involves a bit more ingenuity than mere sugar-coating.

BR had managed to convince two others to join in on his little experience. After comparing travel schedules, we settled on 8 June as Day 0. In between agreeing to embark on the detox and the start date, I had trips to Japan and Seoul, where I indulged in and ingested all manner of "toxic" foods:

My favourite artery-clogging, fat-filled salted caramel eclair from Fauchon in Takashimaya. Note the elaborate packaging just for the one eclair -- in the center are two ice packs positioned to keep the eclair cool and from moving around in the box. Japanese really know how to package.

I returned from Seoul three days before Day 0 (It was a Sunday, but I would actually suggest starting on a Friday. The toughest days are the first few, so they should fall on a weekend. The fasting days actually aren't that tough, because the body is already feeling much better and used to the reduced food-intake.). Despite my attempt to reign in my unhealthy eating habits so that my system wouldn't go into shock on Day 0, I ended up having at least half a box of popcorn while watching SATC on Thursday, a scrumptious Chinese feast on Friday at the newly-opened Ovologue and a salted caramel tart at the Robuchon tea salon on Saturday. I did manage to prepare for the detox though. Braving torrential rainstorms, I made my way to IMI (Integrated Medicine Institute, founder Graeme Stuart-Bradshaw designed the detox program.) and ThreeSixty to pick up all the things I needed for the next 11 days:
- Fast & Be Clear meal replacement
- Omega 3, 6, 9 oil
- Supplements: Spirulina, Fiberblend and Kyodophilis
- Ginger Honey tonic (tastes great as a hot tea)
- organic blueberries (a low-sugar fruit)
- Biotta Breuss juice (predominantly beetroot juice, definitely an acquired taste even for someone who normally likes to eat beetroot)
- organic carrot, apple, celery juice
- organic lemons
- lots and lots of water

At first glance, the program looks a bit complicated to follow. But basically, there are four phases -- pre-cleanse (day 0), initial cleanse (days 1-4), liver flush (day 5), intense cleanse (days 6 & 7), re-orientation (days 8-10). Through each phase, you substitute one more meal with the rice protein shake until you get to the intense cleanse phase where all you're drinking is the rice protein shake. Meals consist mainly of vegetables with a small serving of chicken, fish or brown rice. No other meat or poultry or shellfish allowed, no carbs (except brown rice), no coffee, sugar, alcohol, drugs (even Tylenol), tobacco etc. Over the course of the detox, I had most of my meals at Ise or Harakan where I would have either grilled silver cod or mackerel served with a large green or seaweed salad. I drank lots of hot lemon water whenever I had to meet someone at a coffee place.

Unfortunately, the rice protein shake is disgusting, especially if you get the cherry flavour (pineapple, i was told, is more neutral tasting). In fact, I was so disgusted with the shake that I ended up substituting the Master Cleanse lemonade (7 tbs lemon juice, 7 tbs Grade B maple syrup and 1 tsp cayenne pepper to a litre of water. You're supposed to drink 2 litres of this a day with unlimited water and zero solid foods) for days 6 and 7. The Master Cleanse drink, as you might imagine, is quite delicious. I got a little less protein and a few more calories from the Master Cleanse drink (7-800 for the day as opposed to 500 for the three servings of the rice protein shake), but I think the overall effect was the same, which was to give the digestive system a rest and allow it to rid the body of toxins.

The first 2.5 days were the hardest. I felt groggy and sluggish and got a headache on Day 1. But on the morning of Day 3, I woke up feeling much fresher. I found that even on the groggy days, the fog would lift if I did some cardio like swimming, running or kickboxing. For me, kickboxing was a most effective substitute for the caffeine/sugar buzz. From Day 3 onwards, the experience took a turn for the better. I would wake up earlier feeling refreshed and alert. I no longer felt sleepy or lethargic after lunch or in late afternoon. By Day 5, I noticed I could concentrate better. At no point during the detox did I feel hungry. That is not to say that I didn't crave food. When I got an email about an event at El Taco Loco, I wanted tacos. When I was posting pictures from my Seoul trip, I wanted to go eat at Iroha or Kaya. And of course I still missed my morning ritual of having coffee, even though I wasn't actually craving its taste.

What I missed the most, though, was the enjoyment of sharing meals with friends. So much of socializing in Hong Kong revolves around eating (gossipy Sunday brunches, brainstorming lunches, long chatty dinners) and drinking (whether it be an afternoon coffee or evening Champagne cocktail). I had a couple of dinners with understanding friends where I would watch them eat, but it's definitely a lot less fun. The upside is that I feel much more energetic, with more mental clarity. And of course, I lost 2.6kg (the program says that most women lose 2.5kg, while men can expect to lose 3.5kg).

I'm not sure I would have been able to get through the whole experience, resisting all temptations, without the support of friends. I had a huge amount of support from BL & AW, who ate similarly healthy lunches with me even though they weren't on detox. It's much easier eating healthy when everyone else at the table is eating healthy. PT kept me motivated and my mind off food during the two fasting days by supplying me with Seasons 1 and 2 of ALIAS on dvd. Everyone had to put up with my incessant "I wish I could have..." whining and whinging. Most importantly though, I have BR to thank for this "interesting (and instructive) experience". He checked up on me with daily pep calls.

I'm not sure that I'm about to give up coffee, cupcakes or my other culinary indulgences, but I'm certainly going to be more thoughtful about what I eat, striving, for example, to balance each portion of protein or carb with double the portion of veggies and fruits. And now I know that sleepiness or a lack of focus and concentration isn't necessarily about a lack of sleep or over exertion. So when I next feel like my mind and body are under-performing, I can always come back to the BR experience and do an 11-day system reboot.