--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing I did was give up sweet…" description: "\"The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png" --- # The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I… ![“The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven't had a glass of sweet tea in three years.” quote by Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png) > “The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven't had a glass of sweet tea in three years.” [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She eliminated a habit that contributed excessive empty calories and sugar, improving health. **In simple terms:** Quit sweet tea to cut sugar and empty calories. Key Takeaway Remove harmful habits for better health. Themes health self‑control nutrition Mood determined reflective Type personal health When to use this quote - weight loss - diabetes prevention - energy management - mindful eating Key Concepts habit formation calorie awareness Questions to Reflect On - What habit could you replace for health? - How will you handle cravings? A Different Perspective Changing a habit may be socially challenging and requires alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tea/) ## Related quotes > [Just because it says 'zero calories' or 'sugar free' or 'fat free' doesn't mean it actually is good for you. It's a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-gasol/just-because-it-says-zero-calories-or-sugar-free-or-fat-free-doesn-t/) [Marc Gasol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-gasol/) > [When I learned that flour pound for pound has as many calories as sugar, and that when eating pasta you're basically eating cake, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/when-i-learned-that-flour-pound-for-pound-has-as-many-calories-as/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [My mobile rang around lunchtime one day, and it was George Michael. He wanted to come in on Friday. We were like, 'okay, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-norton/my-mobile-rang-around-lunchtime-one-day-and-it-was-george-michael-he/) [Graham Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-norton/) > [ They \[Throne; legacy costumes\] are made out of foam latex, which is basically what prosthetic makeup is made out of. So it's very delicate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-bieselin-clark/they-throne-legacy-costumes-are-made-out-of-foam-latex-which-is/) [Christine Bieselin Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-bieselin-clark/) > [“It's pretty hard hiding the fact that you're on your own at lunchtime, when you're on your own at lunchtime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-fitzpatrick/it-s-pretty-hard-hiding-the-fact-that-you-re-on-your-own-at-lunchtime/) Deb Fitzpatrick > [In high school, during lunchtime I would go in the room where the wrestling mats were and try different flips and different moves. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caity-lotz/in-high-school-during-lunchtime-i-would-go-in-the-room-where-the/) [Caity Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caity-lotz/) > [I spent lunchtime in a grave during the filming of 'Bloody Mama.' When you're younger, you feel that's what you need to do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/i-spent-lunchtime-in-a-grave-during-the-filming-of-bloody-mama-when/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [I do, in fact, have a book club. I meet with a couple of guys once a month of a lunchtime discussion of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-liss/i-do-in-fact-have-a-book-club-i-meet-with-a-couple-of-guys-once-a/) [David Liss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-liss/) > [ In fact, one of the funny stories from that set \[of Hail, Caesar!\] is we were shooting my scene, and around lunchtime, Terrence Malick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krumholtz/in-fact-one-of-the-funny-stories-from-that-set-of-hail-caesar-is-we/) [David Krumholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krumholtz/) > [Nobody wants to hear Metallica at lunchtime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fassbender/nobody-wants-to-hear-metallica-at-lunchtime/) [Michael Fassbender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fassbender/) > [Lunchtime is hard when you don't have a lot of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-cyrus/lunchtime-is-hard-when-you-don-t-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Noah Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-cyrus/) > [Every meal is so important and colours the rest of your day - my whole day can go into a spin if I make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-miller/every-meal-is-so-important-and-colours-the-rest-of-your-day-my-whole/) [Ben Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-miller/) > [Working in the entertainment industry, there's no nighttime, there's no holiday, there's no vacation, there's no Monday, there's no Sunday. There's no specific time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-wang/working-in-the-entertainment-industry-there-s-no-nighttime-there-s-no/) [Jackson Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-wang/) > [Robert Morley is a legend in his own lunchtime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-harrison/robert-morley-is-a-legend-in-his-own-lunchtime/) [Rex Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-harrison/) > [Raven-haired writer Emer Martin is giving a lunchtime reading from her fabulous new novel, Baby Zero. Emer Martin is a brilliant writer, very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-tyaransen/raven-haired-writer-emer-martin-is-giving-a-lunchtime-reading-from/) Olaf Tyaransen ## More by Paula Deen > [I have a lot of secret uses for sour cream, which is the magic ingredient in my mac and cheese. It's an old-timey, Southern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-have-a-lot-of-secret-uses-for-sour-cream-which-is-the-magic/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [If you've got a good idea and you're willing to do whatever it takes to pursue it, keep your head up and eyes open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/if-you-ve-got-a-good-idea-and-you-re-willing-to-do-whatever-it-takes/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I don't want to spend my life not having good food going into my pie hole. That hole was made for pies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-don-t-want-to-spend-my-life-not-having-good-food-going-into-my-pie/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [It’s just what they are — they’re jokes…most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/it-s-just-what-they-are-they-re-jokes-most-jokes-are-about-jewish/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [When it's said and done, the one thing I want to leave on this earth is hope. I have felt hopelessness, and it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/when-it-s-said-and-done-the-one-thing-i-want-to-leave-on-this-earth/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [Life is too short to wonder where you hid your waffle maker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/life-is-too-short-to-wonder-where-you-hid-your-waffle-maker/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I can't, myself determine what offends another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-can-t-myself-determine-what-offends-another-person/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I pay people very, very well - probably more than I have to. But that costs me less money in the long run because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-pay-people-very-very-well-probably-more-than-i-have-to-but-that/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I think if you've been invited to someone's house, you eat what they serve you. Even if you leave hungry, you be gracious enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-think-if-you-ve-been-invited-to-someone-s-house-you-eat-what-they/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I'm making little changes in my life to take care of myself, like putting in a mile or two on my treadmill every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-m-making-little-changes-in-my-life-to-take-care-of-myself-like/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [Growing up, I had a very busy social life. It wasn't until I was a sophomore in high school that I asked Mama if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/growing-up-i-had-a-very-busy-social-life-it-wasn-t-until-i-was-a/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I am proud to be a Southerner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-am-proud-to-be-a-southerner/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [I'm so thankful. God has been so good and generous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-m-so-thankful-god-has-been-so-good-and-generous/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/love-is-blind-but-marriage-is-a-real-eye-opener/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) > [“Loneliness is not the worst emotion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/loneliness-is-not-the-worst-emotion/) [Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) [Explore all 84 Paula Deen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and wouldn't set it down until I went to bed. When you calculate how much empty calories and how much sugar I was consuming, it was staggering. So I haven't had a glass of sweet tea in three years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula Deen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet-tea-because-i-drank-so-much-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet-tea-because-i-drank-so-much-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c19/paula-deen-8030_bed_the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet_1587781.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The first thing I did was give up sweet tea because I drank so much. I'd start drinking at lunchtime and…” — Paula Deen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paula Deen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The first thing I did was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet-tea-because-i-drank-so-much-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/the-first-thing-i-did-was-give-up-sweet-tea-because-i-drank-so-much-i/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```