Mark Story: Farewell to the sweet stuff

The writer has decided to forgo sugar.

Moderation is for cowards.

Excess leads to wisdom. And, apparently, the only way to beat temptation is to yield to it.

They're handy quotes to roll out during the silly season, but they're rather dangerous to live by.

I mention this only because all talk is of new year resolutions.

Perhaps it's a tad mean on the second day of the year to wade into how we're faring with freshly set goals. But quite honestly, until this year I was always critical of the annual January 31st habit of self-imposed self-improvement.

About this time every year, I'm inclined to scoff at the unfamiliar faces jogging or cycling past my house in new Spandex purposely purchased for a better life in 2016.

Generally the faces last about three to four days before the stretchy stuff spends the rest of its natural life in the bottom of a drawer.

Indeed, we're a strange animal. However, this year this strange animal is giving it a whirl. And being in the position to do so publicly, it's a tad more binding.

Specifically, I've decided to forgo sugar.

Apparently we consume on average about 40 teaspoons of sugar a day - about 60kg a year - each. That's about 40-fold what our ancestors (who weren't sedentary like we are) took on board.

Romantic poet and painter William Blake penned the full version of this editorial's second line, which read: "The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."

So do debauchery and wisdom go hand-in-glove?

Like many well-worn lines, the second half of Blake's quote (which adds much-needed perspective) is often forgotten: "You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough."

The start of the year may be an arbitrary time to embark on a more temperate lifestyle.

But as the wise have been heard to say, the best way to get something done is to start.

Here's to a great 2016 - and a fond farewell to the sweet stuff.