This is an installment of Suzette Andujar’s weekly opinion column “As I Was Saying”
Ever give up something to be healthier? Social media apps are crawling with “I did it” stories. Weight loss is the common theme. I’m not here for a weight loss story (I gave up on losing those pesky 10 pounds), but I do try to help myself in other areas.
You see, I love green tea. I am British underneath. I run on three cups of the steamy goodness per day and I had a serious problem with sugar. Gasp! Pure, white, cane sugar? Yep, in this organic and gluten free world I loaded my tea with bountiful spoons (uh huh, plural) of sugar. I was running strong for two years until I noticed how hyper I had become. I’d stay up late to do homework and when I was done, at around midnight, I was wide awake. I’d wake up with terrible bags under my eyes and then I’d go on YouTube to watch ‘DIY ways to get rid of bags under your eyes.’
I like to think I’m a nice person. Well, I had turned into mean Willy Wonka at the end of the movie. A family member or friend would ask me a question and I’d turn around and shout, “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!” I binge-watched episodes of “The Office.” The turning point was when I realized that I’d watched two seasons in one week.
I knew I had a problem.
I cut back on the five or so spoons of, what was in my mind, the elixir of life and soon made it down to two. I drank my tea that way for a month and though I was still up at night I wasn’t barking at people like they owed me money. I was ready for one spoon of sugar but the sleep wasn’t getting better and I wasn’t going to cut off my tea supply (I am Augustus Gloop in that way). I decided to switch my sugar from white to coconut. It was nasty. I put too much at first, but then I put too little and never got the amount just right (I am Goldilocks in that way).
Now for those of you reading this and saying to yourselves, “Why didn’t you just try it without any sugar?” Well, I gave that a few days and it never took. The tea was too bitter without anything sweetening it. Speaking of sweet, I tried sweeteners and I went on sweet overload. Hashtag myteethalmostfellout.
I finally found the perfect balance for my tea in raw sugar. The packets are tiny and I was able to use half of it to love my tea again. I took away the third cup and I was magically able to fall asleep again. I made a small change and even though it’s not a big deal like weight loss, I’m proud of myself. Wonka said it himself, “Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There’s nothing to it.”
