As I explained last week in this post, I gave up refined sugar for one hour on August 5, 2018. You read that right. Just one hour.

I know, it seems absurd to give up sugar for one lousy hour. That’s the point. If I gave up sugar for a month or even a week, that commitment would seem too daunting. I’d get overwhelmed, crack, eat all the Red Vines, and decide life is not worth living without sugar.

Believe me, I know this from prior experience. I have tried breaking up with sugar many times in the past. Always with grandiose resolutions to get clean and pure. And sometimes, I could last for a month or two, but always, the idea of an eternity without sugar made me crack.

But one hour? I can give up sugar for one hour!

So that’s what I have been doing for the past nine days. Or, more accurately, for the past 204 hours. Every hour, I give up sugar. And every hour, I decide to give it up for one more. I don’t actually think about sugar that much. The sugar fast automatically renews on the hour, so if I get a hankering, I just check the time and remind myself that I can have sugar when the current hour is up. By the time the hour is over, the craving has passed.

I have felt pretty lousy the past few days: congested, headache, low energy… It might be a summer cold, but according to Dr. Google, I might be experiencing sugar withdrawal symptoms. My intuition tells me I’m hurting from sugar detox.

Sugar withdrawal symptoms do not make me reach for the chocolate. On the contrary. I just feel more determined to renew my one-hour sugar fast when the big hand on the clock reaches twelve. If sugar withdrawal is making me feel this shit lousy, then it’s better to renew the fast a few more times.

Bonus: I’ve lost just over three pounds in nine days. I have not made any other dietary changes. Also, I spent two days in bed, feeling sick as a dog, walking less than 2,500 steps in a 24 hour period. Which is to say, I’m exercising way less than usual but losing weight. Sweet!

But I mean sweet in a totally natural way, of course. Not in a waffle/Snickers/cupcake sort of way.