So I’m on a no-carb, no-sugar diet (except for weekends when I eat whatever). The first week was brutal. I had a headache every day, either from sugar withdrawal or carb withdrawal. Or both.

I’d wheedle myself into thinking it just wasn’t worth it. Bread is natural and is meant to be a part of my daily diet!!

But then I got over the hump. And since The Hub is such an amazing cook, I don’t even miss carbs (much). The last few nights we had chicken chili with lettuce and hummus. I’m stuffed. The meal definitely didn’t need a piece of bread.

So why are we so addicted to carbs? It’s sad really. They’re what make us gain weight, and they seem to produce a serotonin pleasure effect that makes them hard to cut out. Addictive. Why does every meal at a restaurant center around a carb?

Now, this isn’t to say I don’t try to wake up early to eat as many carbs as possible on the weekend. But I do notice when I eat more carbs I feel lousy. So I’m hoping that this diet will retrain my brain to be happy without carbs. Wine? Now that’s a different story.

So the really big news is:

The family is going to Paris!

Just the three of us. At an indeterminate time, because my mom doesn’t want me to say in case I get robbed while I’m gone. But I have big guard dogs and round the clock surveillance, so you don’t want to rob me.

It’s been 10 years since we went to Europe, just the two of us. A million things have been more important than going again, and that’s a shame. Now that Max speaks French, we thought it was time to introduce him to the country we love so much.

We’re going an entire month. I cannot wait. We’re also making side trips to see old friends in Barcelona and Amsterdam. Facebook has really helped connect us to old buddies we met the first trips.

Things I Most Want to Do in Paris

• Eat copious amounts of fresh bread and cheese and pastries
• Visit lots of farmer’s markets. See first bullet
• Visit flea markets
• Shop. Last time we were broke college students, so it’ll be nice to actually have some money.
• Show Max the Eiffel Tower. We’ve never been up to the top.
• Get into the groove of speaking French 24/7 again.
• Reminisce with my lover about how we fell in love in Europe 10 years ago.
• Buy clothes. Chic Parisian ones everyone will envy.

Everyone has a diet and exercise routine that works for them. I don’t happen to be able to stick to watching exercise videos, having a personal trainer at the gym or eating less. But I’ve got my own system that I started last year and it works for me.

So maybe I’ll do this annually. Especially since I gained 7 of the 10 pounds I lost last year. And am about to head into holiday season, where I refuse to not enjoy all the baked treats.

And 2 weeks in to my 6 week program, the Hub got me a Wii Fit Plus for my birthday! I adore it. It’s fun enough to keep me engaged, and goal oriented enough for me not to want the animated Wii Fit platform to sound disappointed in me. So instead of walking 5 miles every day, I’ll aim to work out 1.5 hours (in total; not at same time) on the Fit.

So I’ll check in from time to time and let you know how it’s going. I’m a little sore after 1.5 days, but in a good exercisey kind of way.