Tag: #nosugar

2/19/23. Weird dreams with carbohydrates.

I have been eating low carb/keto for the past 5-7 weeks and I was trying the technique in the book “Carb Nite Solution” where you eat what you want one day a week. Well, two things. The first being, I dont think I am really losing much weight so that is disappointing. However, its the second reason that I need to stop/modify what I am doing.

After I eat carbs and dessert (on Saturday nights), I have the WEIRDEST dreams that night while I sleep. Last night, my two cats were in the parking lot of a furniture store. I kept picking them up to bring them home and they werent my cats. They looked similar to my cats but they werent my actual cats. Then, my husband was wandering around the parking lot with no sock on one foot. When I would ask him what he was doing, he would reply with “just trying to get comfortable.” It was sooooooooo weird. Also, I slept 10 hours last night AND fell asleep on the couch watching TV before bed.

I believe this blog should be honest so I am being honest. I am not sure if I am going to continue to follow this program. Here are the things I do know for sure.

  1. I feel better with lower carb eating.
  2. I think it is weird (and unhealthy) that you cant eat fruit on Keto.
  3. I am not sure how sustainable a really strict diet is for me.
  4. If this carb nite is causing weird dreams, what else is it doing to me?
  5. However, It is nice to feel like I have a treat at the end of the week to look forward to.

So where do I go from here? Well, I made low carb lasagna with egg wraps (my new discovery!), I ate eggs for breakfast and I will eat a salad for lunch tomorrow and yogurt for breakfast. So, at this point, I am continuing to eat a lower carb diet. I am also “upping my steps” which I will post about next week.

To my 105 subscribers and 335 social followers…THANK YOU! You give me a reason to keep writing and for that, I am thankful.

Keto week 3 update-“Carb night solution”

I have been eating a lower carb diet for about 3 weeks now and I feel a lot better. I read a book called the Carb Nite Solution and his whole idea is to eat low carb all week and then have a “high carb” meal on one of the weekend nights. Then you get right back to eating low carb on Sunday morning.

I picked Saturday night and have done this 3 times so far. Results?

Wow.

First, I have eaten some REALLY good food on these Saturday nights.

Second, the food tastes super rich and delicious (much more so than it used to taste)

Third, it is starting to become fun to pick out my “Saturday night indulgence.” Last night was Steak Frites and Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream. Super yummy.

I will continue with this because I feel go0d and it is kind of fun right now. One disclaimer-I don’t eat as low carb as he recommends during the week. (He says to stay under 30). I stay under 50.

So what do I eat? Cheese sticks, nuts, caesar salads, Egg burritos with low carb tortillas, chicken, avocados. (Not a ton of variety but I feel pretty good and that was one of my goals for this)

Is it always easy? No. Some nights I am tired and would like to just eat something easy. It is especially hard when you are on the road. I had an Unwich from Jimmy Johns (a sandwich wrapped in lettuce leaves.). It was fine, not great.

However, my body doesn’t hurt as bad as normal so I am hoping that fewer carbs leads to less inflammation. We will continue to see.

To my 102 followers-I AM OVER 100! WOW! THANK YOU!. So which mode are you in right now? Burst mode (like I am with Keto) or tiny action mode? (going to talk about that in my next post.)

Have a great week!

1/7/23 Keto/low carb-one week down (how is it going???)

So, I hate to even mention this on this on my blog because this diet is more of a “burst” than tiny steps. Yes, leading up to starting the new way of eating was all tiny steps (more water, cut down on sugar, more steps, cut out chips, etc…) but the actual low carb diet itself is a maj0r “burst.” You have to go all the way to get into ketosis, and so you cant really tiny step your way there (there are other diets like weight watchers that are more conducive to tiny changes) but Keto/low carb is not one of them.

Why do I like a low carb diet? 1. It is easy as far as what you can/ can not eat. 2. It REALLY curbs my hunger. 3. It seems to provide me with more energy than other diets. 4. It brings down my cholesterol, sugar, and triglyceride numbers. (I have been able to avoid medications by eating this way)

Why don’t I like a low carb diet? IT IS NOT FUN-It is boring and repetitive and strict. It is difficult to eat with others (like if everyone is ordering pizza)

So…in order to make it more fun and hopefully stick to it long term, I am trying a technique called the carb nite solution. It is a book that professes you can eat low carb for 6.5 days and have what ever you want for dinner at the end of the week and it wont derail your progress. (I am picking Saturday night.) Tonight will be my first try at this. I will let you know how it goes.

Also, I am taking part in a lot of other bursts today such as deep cleaning the house (need to reset before school starts again Monday), taking down and putting away Christmas decor (including tree), washing all the laundry, towels, and bedding, washing the carpets (our cats like to dribble their food).

Today isnt really a tiny action day. It is a day of many bursts but it is a day I feel needs to happen every once in a while in order to have tiny actions work the other 99 percent of the time.

THANK YOU to my 99 followers-got a new one this morning so thank you to that person! Stay tiny my friends!

1/1/23. Happy New Year! Easing into Keto in a tiny action way.

I feel better when I dont eat a lot of carbohydrates. I just do. I also know that my “health numbers” are better when I eat a lower carbohydrate diet. Sooooooo…back to Keto I go. However, instead of jumping in with both feet (which is a real burst that burns out quickly), I am easing into it this time. Here are the steps I have taken or will be taking.

  1. From Dec 10-28 I drank more water and got more steps in. That is all. Very tiny.
  2. On Dec 27 I bought a magazine with a lot of good looking keto recipes.
  3. On Dec 28, I went to the grocery store and bought eggs, cheese, meat, avocados, vegetables, nuts and seeds, etc…
  4. On Dec 29 and 30, I made egg burritos with low carb tortilla shells in my sister’s air fryer (it is on loan from her to see if I want to purchase my own) and cut out the chips and cookies I had been eating a few days prior. I still ate some popcorn.
  5. On Dec 31 I ordered a steak and asparagus for dinner. I had a glass of red wine and about 3 bites of peanut butter pie.

Today is Jan 1, 2023 and I KNOW that a ton of people start diets today and a ton of people burn out by February. I had an omelette for breakfast (no toast or potato) and am heading to the treadmill after writing this post. We are eating chicken for dinner. I have already had 3 glasses of water on top of my morning coffee. As you can see, I have been “starting this diet” for about 21 days now. Little tiny actions. I am ready for the next step of cutting out carbs.

I challenge you today to try something new-DONT start the new diet today. Start the tiny steps that will prepare you to start the new diet in a few weeks. Get yourself ready. Think of it like an adventure. Take the pressure off of today and of trying to be perfect. What are all the little itty bitty things you can do to get you ready for the better eating plan? I believe it will help you to not burn out and to stay the course. You cant go from 0 to 100 in 24 hours which is what almost everyone tries to do. You will flame out. Make this year different! Make this year a “tiny action year” and keep chugging along slowly.

To my 98 followers-THANK YOU! I hope you have a restful and inspiring start to the new year! Stay tiny!

December 23,2022. Update on “Declutter December” and a few holiday tiny actions leading into a big burst.

Declutter December started out great. I was able to get rid of/give away/recycle about 35 items before I started to fizzle out. This might have been a super aggressive task considering the upcoming holidays. I didn’t follow through with the whole month, but the stuff I did get rid of, I feel really good about. Maybe I was being too ambitious? Maybe I don’t have as much clutter as I thought?

What am I most proud of? The tea that I wasn’t drinking and took into school and someone who loves tea took all of it and it is making her happy!

What am I most disappointed by? The fact that I kind of fizzled out mid month.

So what is next?

Well, tiny actions to get through the holidays are drinking more water and trying to get more steps in any way I can (we are currently experiencing a blizzard in Michigan so walking outside is not an option).

A burst after the holidays? I am going Keto again. I have a LOT of plans for this summer and I need to be in better shape. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Keto works well (in my opinion) if you have total control over your own food at all times. You may be asking…well when dont you have control over your own food? Well, get togethers where there are carbs, pizza dinners with friends, traveling (fast food usually has carbs), etc… I am going to embark upon “modified keto” and see if that is effective. I also dont love that true Keto cuts out a lot of fruit so I may try to figure out how to incorporate that.

To my 96 followers-thank you! May you incorporate one tiny little action that keeps you happy and healthy!

August 10-10 days without social media

On August 1, 2022, I challenged myself to stay off Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for 30 days. I had many reasons for doing this which included feeling frazzled (it is summer and I am not teaching-I shouldn’t feel frazzled), feeling un productive, and probably the worst one-I felt like I couldn’t keep up (no matter how much I scrolled or read, there was always more!)

So, I stopped.

If you have been following this blog for a little while, you know that I believe in tiny little steps to get you toward your goal. However, sometimes you need a “burst” to get you farther ahead. A 30 day fast of social media is one of those “bursts.” So here are some of the results after 9 full days-today is day 10.

  1. The days feel calmer and slower.
  2. I have read 5 books already (2 were audio in the car but still).
  3. I miss it a little.
  4. I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.
  5. It makes me sad to think of all the time I had been wasting.
  6. I wonder if any of my friends have noticed.
  7. Yesterday was a stressful day and I just wanted to scroll Facebook to make myself feel better (I didn’t but it was a weird feeling of needing/wanting something to distract myself from the day I was having)
  8. I am safer on the road because I am not checking my phone.
  9. I definitely stay out of “the drama” of the lives of others.
  10. I am not exposed to so many ads and the desire to buy stuff.
  11. I woke up one night and read a book instead of Facebook-fell right back to sleep.
  12. I am curious how the next 10 days will go.

I am a third of a way through this challenge, and so far, am really happy with the results. I don’t know if I will stay off it after one month. I don’t know how the next 10 days will go, but I will take notes and keep you posted. I am still in the clutches of my “no potato chip” challenge and I am also not really eating sugar. All of these things seem to be improving my life so I will stick with them.

To my 87 followers-THANK YOU! Happy Wednesday!

August 7-Week 4 of no sugar went pretty well

I had a bite of a chocolate dessert and macaroon. I also had a cookie at a graduation party. However, this is WAY better than before. I also started a “no potato chip” month and week 1 of that was easy!

I have snacked on nuts instead. It feels a ton healthier.

I gave up social media on August 1. I will write a whole post about that later but so far, it is amazing and a friend has joined me on the journey!

I am sad about all the time I seem to have wasted on social media. I have already finished 3 books and I feel a lot more relaxed.

To my 86 followers-thank you!

July 21-week 2 update of no sugar

It is going better. I feel better. I had a couple of “slip ups” but for the most part, I am not eating sugar. No cookies, cakes, candy, pop, etc…

I don’t know if I have lost weight but I feel better.

I have more energy.

I feel like I have more control over my hunger.

I do still miss having “treats.”

I will continue.

I wish I had more insight for you right now but I don’t. As far as “diet” my breakfasts and lunches are manly low/no carb and then dinner is sometimes low carb and sometimes not.

Like Superman, sugar is my kryptonite. I have to stay away from it if I want to be my best self and have the energy needed for my life.

To my 86 followers, keep on keeping on! If you are in the part of the world that is having a heat wave right now, do as little as possible and survive. I mean it. Just do everything you can to get through it and think about working on yourself and your goals after the heat has passed.

July 12-starting another 30 day sugar fast

I have indulged. A lot. It started when my grandma got sick and continued until July 5 (so almost a month). Unfortunately you can do a lot of damage in a month. I was tired and worn out and eating everything I could get my hands on. So I decided to do a 30 day NO SUGAR challenge. Here are the questions and observations after week 1

  1. Why isn’t all the weight just falling right off?
  2. I do think I have more energy.
  3. I do think my body is less stiff and sore from general life tasks.
  4. I have taken a walk most of the last 7 days and it feels pretty good.
  5. I haven’t really missed sugar too badly ( I am allowing myself fruit-blueberries)
  6. I also am letting myself have ONE SMORE if I find myself around a fire (we don’t get a ton of great campfire nights in Michigan)
  7. Sugar is my kryptonite (just like Superman-the minute I am around it, it weakens me)
  8. Why haven’t I lost any weight yet?
  9. I think my body feels better.
  10. Why haven’t I lost any weight yet?

So as you can see, I am frustrated that I haven’t lost any weight yet. IN fact, I have gained. There are days when the human body amazes me and times like right now when it just ticks me off. I am not quitting but I am not happy. Hopefully week 2 will produce more positive results.

To my 86 followers-thank you! This sugar fast is a “burst” and NOT in the tiny step family in case you have been reading my other posts.

May 22-we don’t like to talk about failure.

Failure. The reason I started this blog was because I believe in the tiny habits and tiny steps toward a goal. However, I also wanted to “see failure.” So many books and stories tell you “I just did one or two things and now I’m successful.” And I KNOW that there are more ups and downs than that.

So I wanted to start this blog to document everything. And guess what? I know why people don’t want to document failures. Because it’s embarrassing. I didn’t want to fail this week and as I got ready to write his post, I didn’t want to write it because I feel as though I have failed at some things.

However, failure is a good time to regroup and scale back. I have come to believe that if you find yourself unable to make progress, then your actions/steps/habits are “too big.” You can NOT compare yourself to others at this point. Instead you need to scale back to what YOU can accomplish.

Here. is an example. Two weeks ago I went all week with no sugar, without chewing on ice. This week I have eaten sugar and have been chewing on ice. Each day I start again and I can’t help but think about “30 days of no sugar or even 1 week of no sugar.” and I immediately think it will be impossible. It is because I am thinking too big. I am imagining a place where I am not. A place that feels unattainable. And so I must change something and try again. Therefore…

I need to scale back. I will try to just eat one meal without sugar. Then two meals. Then three. Then a whole day. Then two days. Same with the ice chewing. If I am awake for 15 hours a day, I will try to go one hour without chewing it, then two, then three and so on.

Failure makes us vulnerable. It makes us feel weak. It doesn’t have to. Instead it can make us reevaluate and try again. We only fail when we stop and don’t keep striving to improve. I will let you know how it goes!

To my 83 followers…THANK YOU! And stay tiny! Scale back your actions so far that you are successful. Even if it feels silly. It will work. Save $1.00. Floss one tooth. Eat one healthy meal. Wash one dish. Do one load of laundry. Get to work early one day this week. You can do it! See you next week!