This is not an ordinary tea. It is my tea—prepared across two days, transformed by patience, and consumed as both nourishment and meditation. What begins as leaves in water becomes, through time and ritual, a fasting assurance blend: steadying hunger, sharpening clarity, and sustaining the discipline of fasting.
Why Not the Pills?
Pharmaceutical appetite suppressants like Ozempic and Mounjaro promise easy hunger control. Yet their story is shadowed by side effects—nausea, digestive distress, fatigue—and long-term safety remains uncertain. Worse, they create dependency: discipline outsourced to a prescription.
My blend chooses another path. It is not about reliance; it is about resilience. Rooted in tradition, powered by compounds proven safe over centuries, it cultivates autonomy instead of dependency.
The Two-Day Steep (The Science of Preparation)
Each morning, I boil water in my Cosori kettle and pour it over a green tea bag. I cover the cup and let it steep for hours. Around noon, I transfer the tea into a metal container, seal it, and let it rest overnight. By the next morning, the liquid has transformed—mellow, rounded, and enriched with active compounds.
What the Long Steep Unlocks
Catechins (e.g., EGCG): Tea antioxidants that support fat metabolism, reduce oxidative stress, and soften hunger signals.
Flavonoids: Plant compounds that regulate inflammation, strengthen circulation, and stabilize metabolism.
Theanine (L-theanine): Tea’s unique amino acid; it crosses the blood-brain barrier and promotes alpha brain waves—calm, focused alertness.
Polyphenols: The broad family of plant antioxidants (including catechins and flavonoids) that defend cells, metabolism, and cardiovascular health.
Extended steeping concentrates these benefits. Bitterness fades, antioxidants deepen, and the tea acquires both softness and power.
Why Green Tea Works
For centuries, green tea has anchored both ritual and remedy. Science explains why:
Catechins spark fat-burning pathways and blunt hunger.
Caffeine sharpens focus while curbing appetite.
Theanine balances caffeine, turning jitters into calm focus.
Polyphenols shield metabolism and cells with broad antioxidant defense.
This synergy—discipline in ritual, strength in science—turns green tea into a fasting companion.
Energy and the Brain: Why Tea Sharpens the Morning
Fasting is not only about appetite control; it is about clarity of thought and steadiness of energy. Tea excels here because it nourishes both metabolism and neurotransmission.
Caffeine blocks adenosine, the brain’s sleep signal, lifting alertness. Unlike coffee, its dose in green tea is gentler, avoiding the crash.
Theanine enters the brain, boosts calming alpha waves, and balances caffeine for calm, sharp focus.
Catechins and Polyphenols protect mitochondria, the cell’s energy engines, reducing oxidative stress and helping energy systems run more efficiently.
Neurotransmitters: Tea naturally elevates dopamine (motivation), serotonin (mood), and norepinephrine (focus). Together, these chemicals set the mind into clear drive—steady energy with heightened perception.
This is why, in the morning, tea doesn’t just wake the body—it aligns the mind. Where coffee jolts, tea tunes.
Types of Green Tea
Not all green teas taste the same, and each offers its own personality:
Sencha: Bright, grassy, vegetal clarity.
Matcha: Stone-ground, creamy intensity.
Gunpowder: Bold, slightly smoky, tightly rolled leaves.
Dragonwell (Longjing): Nutty, toasty, and smooth.
Each variety carries the same health benefits but sings in a different voice. My daily choice? Costco’s green tea. Balanced, reliable, accessible, and—at 38 cents per cup—the perfect partner for daily discipline.
The Morning Blend
Day two: the steeped tea becomes the foundation. Into a Vitamix, I add:
L-glutamine (½ tsp): An amino acid that calms cravings, stabilizes gut health, and tempers sugar impulses.
Beta-alanine (¼–½ tsp): An amino acid that builds carnosine in muscle, delaying fatigue. (Known for a harmless tingling called paresthesia at higher doses.)
Lion’s Mane Mushroom (¼–½ tsp): A medicinal mushroom rich in hericenones (fruiting body) and erinacines (mycelium). These compounds stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF), supporting brain clarity and resilience.
L-theanine (ÂĽ tsp or 200 mg): The calming amino acid that smooths caffeine into steady focus.
Cinnamon (pinch–¼ tsp): A spice loaded with polyphenols; it regulates blood sugar and warms the blend.
Lemon juice (1 tsp): Brightens flavor, aids digestion, and refreshes the palate.
Blended for 10–20 seconds, the mixture turns velvety and even. Reheated to steaming, it becomes my morning companion. Within fifteen minutes, appetite fades and focus heightens—fasting holds with ease.
How It Tastes
Taste is the forgotten proof of discipline. My fasting blend earns its place not only by science but by sensation.
Aroma: The fragrance opens bright with lemon, deep with green tea, and warm with cinnamon. Steam carries woodland notes from lion’s mane—earthy, grounding, contemplative.
First Sip: Crisp and clarifying, like a mountain stream rushing over stone. The lemon awakens, tea steadies, cinnamon whispers warmth.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, rounded, almost broth-like in body. Glutamine softens the edges, while beta-alanine leaves a subtle spark beneath the tongue—a flicker of energy without agitation.
Flavor Layers: Cinnamon glows quietly in the background. Lion’s mane lends a woodland richness, grounding the brightness. Theanine rounds the sharpness of caffeine, turning it into composure.
Finish: Lemon lingers sharp, cinnamon hums low, and green tea leaves a mellow, satisfying completeness. Restraint made delicious.
Reheat Evolution: Each reheat shifts the profile slightly—cinnamon rising in one cup, lemon brightening in another, green tea’s nutty undertone deepening with time.
It is not deprivation. It is flavor as discipline—proof that austerity can taste exquisite.
Autophagy — The Body’s Renewal System
Autophagy (Greek auto = self, phagein = to eat) is the body’s way of cleaning house: dismantling damaged cells, recycling their parts, and renewing function. Fasting amplifies this process, which is why it has profound health benefits.
Do these additions stop autophagy? No. In the amounts used, they do not meaningfully affect insulin, nor do they halt fasting’s repair cycle. The blend supports the fast rather than breaking it.
Purists vs. Practitioners
Fasting purists declare that even a drop of lemon or a spoonful of lion’s mane breaks the fast. Their rigidity misses the point. The body responds to physiology, not dogma.
Discipline is not about brittle denial; it is about sustainable practice. Supplements that calm hunger, sharpen clarity, and extend endurance do not sabotage fasting—they make it livable. My blend proves that fasting can be rigorous without becoming punishment.
Empowering, Not Enslaving
Compare the two approaches:
Pharmaceuticals: Dependency, side effects, uncertainty.
My Blend: Autonomy, ritual, tradition, proven safety.
Pharmaceuticals: Suppress appetite chemically.
My Blend: Harmonizes body and mind through daily ritual.
Each cup is not dependency but empowerment—discipline brewed daily.
Cost Confidence
At roughly 38 cents per serving, the blend is radically affordable. Appetite-suppressant drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro can cost hundreds to more than a thousand dollars per month without insurance. Even with coverage, co-pays accumulate. My tea provides strength without draining resources.
Over a year, it saves hundreds compared to coffee chains or energy drinks. But the deeper savings are intangible: no crashes, no jitters, no restless nights. Only clarity, patience, and balance.
The Promise
In fifteen minutes, appetite dissolves. Focus sharpens. Fasting stretches with ease. All for less than forty cents—a cup of patience and clarity.
Glossary of Key Terms
Green Tea Catechins (EGCG): Antioxidants that aid fat burning and ease hunger.
Caffeine: Natural stimulant that boosts alertness while calming appetite.
Theanine (L-theanine): Amino acid that balances caffeine, creating calm focus.
Glutamine: Amino acid that nourishes the gut, eases cravings, and soothes digestion.
Beta-Alanine: Amino acid that forms carnosine, buffering acid in muscle and delaying fatigue.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom: Contains hericenones and erinacines, compounds that stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF), supporting brain clarity and resilience.
Cinnamon: Spice rich in polyphenols, regulates blood sugar, and adds warmth.
Lemon Juice: Brightens, aids digestion, and refreshes flavor.
Polyphenols: A family of plant antioxidants (including catechins and flavonoids) that protect metabolism and cells.
Norepinephrine: The body’s own neurotransmitter for focus and alertness; fasting naturally elevates it.
Autophagy: The body’s process of “self-eating”—breaking down damaged cells and recycling them for renewal.
🪶 Ode to the Fasting Assurance Blend
Steam rises like dawn from the waiting cup,
patience steeped in silence, discipline poured in heat.
Green leaves surrender their secrets slowly,
time coaxing catechins, theanine, and calm.
Into the blender—hum of morning thunder—
glutamine whispers, lion’s mane clears the fog,
cinnamon warms, lemon flashes bright,
a choir of powders dissolving into harmony.
Purists may cry, “It is broken!”—
but their creed is brittle glass.
This cup is no heresy,
it is refinement, endurance, a vow renewed.
Sip by sip, hunger bends its knee,
focus sharpens like a blade on stone.
Not austerity, but clarity.
Not deprivation, but discipline.
For less than a coin, I drink composure,
a ritual richer than lattes or cans.
Each swallow a meditation,
each morning a promise kept in heat and silence.
—R.M. Sydnor
RMS INSIGHTS ✍🏾 