My addictive personality first showed up in candy, juice, and cereal. Sugar was the best thing going for me until I learned about [ 8:::UUUU::::::> ~o ~o] (not to scale) in the 7th grade. I still love sweets, but conscious eating and a health-first mindset is knowing that sugar culture is excessive and destructive. Minimalism needs to show up in what you eat and drink.
I loved juice as a kid. On weekends I'd walk to Pathmark on Albany and 40th to buy groceries. Minute Maid. Hawaiian Punch Power Packets or the Half Gallon. Tropical Fantasy. Big Gulp. Quarter Waters. 2 for $5 Mott's Apple Juice. Tropicana Orange Juice. Tropicana Strawberry Orange Banana carton. Even chocolate milk is juice-esque. In the 11th grade, I ate 48 Snickers bars over one weekend. 😏
I'm off the sugar now. And what I learned throughout all of my addictive manifestations is that it's not about withdrawal; it's about conditioning your palate.
Water Everywhere, But Not A Drop I Wanna Drink
I'm proud when my pee is a light yellow. I'm worried when it's dark yellow. And I know my water intake is excessive when it's clear. Water in a hug, from a thermos, or in a glass. Water with lemon, a cinnamon stick, cayenne pepper, vanilla honey, or with a tea bag. Water is all any of us really need to survive. The rest is just flavor excess.
I drink juice once or twice a week and sometimes once every two to three weeks. I treat it like a neat glass of Hennessy. I grab one of my Sake glasses, pour 4/5, and that's my portion of juice for the day. Minimalism is not counting oz, but just visualizing what's enough. I look at sugar and ethanol the same way—alluring, enticing, delicious, and destructive. Juice doesn't alter your state of mind, but sugar can lead to heart disease, obesity, diabetes, poor oral health, etc.
I'm off the juice. I just need a shot to excite my tastebuds and break down the steak, rice, or veggies for the night. And then I'm done. I just need a hit of juice. A hit of sugar. A hit of disassociation. Minimize your sugar intake. Minimize all the excess. Less juice, less money spent, less plastic, glass, and cartons produced. This is my contribution to minimalism. Less consumerism.
