I gave up sugar for one hour today. That hour went so well, I gave it up for another hour and then another, and now I have been refined-sugar free for twelve hours.

Let me back up and explain.

I was listening to Episode 97 of the How Do You Write podcast. Host Rachael Herron was interviewing author Rose Lerner, and during the interview, Rose mentioned the book Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results by Stephen Guise. Just from the title of the book, I knew this was something exciting and immediately added it to my Amazon Wishlist.

Rose explained that instead of tackling big daunting mega-goals, mini-habits are so tiny, they are funny. She gave the example of flossing. She wants to get into the habit of flossing regularly. Instead of making a big resolution like “floss twice daily for an entire year,” she decided to floss ONE TOOTH every day. Just one tooth. That’s such a small habit, it’s ridiculous. How can you not take the time to floss one tooth?? And if you are going to floss one canine, you might as well tackle a few molars… and before you know it, all your teeth are polished and pretty.

I knew this was something I had to apply to sugar.

My relationship with sugar is long, complicated and tortured. Some people have epic disastrous on-again, off-again love affairs. I have sugar. (And caffeine. But I’m not ready to talk about that today.)

I gave up sugar earlier this year and felt fantastic. But I did too much too soon. Shortly after quitting sugar, I quit dairy, red meat, peanuts, gluten, and holy shit, my anxiety freaked the eff out, insomnia kicked in, and I discovered I have been numbing my anxiety for decades with my food addictions.

This is a problem. A problem I want to resolve. But giving up sugar, gluten, red meat, peanuts and dairy within a few short weeks… way too much. So of course I ate a little sugar and then a lot and now, I find myself devouring way too much sugar again.

I have been thinking for a couple of weeks that I need to wean myself off the refined sugar beast again. But I felt repulsed by the idea of another Major Dietary Overhaul. I’ve done that before. Many times. It doesn’t work. So why should I keep torturing myself?

But I could not get the idea of mini habits and flossing one tooth out of my head. What if I gave up sugar for one hour? Just one hour? That’s such a tiny commitment, it’s almost funny.

I was journaling about the idea of a sugar mini-fast this morning and when I looked at the time, it was exactly 7:00 a.m. The timing could not be better.

And so, at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 5, 2018, I went on a one hour sugar fast. That went well, so I extended it for another hour and then another. Now I’m twelve hours into this sugar fast, but unlike prior diets, this does not feel so daunting or extreme. It’s more of a game. How many mini-fasts can I string together? And after I break a streak, whenever that may be, can I beat the original streak with something longer?

I have no idea how this will go, but I’m curious to see!