mio, crystal lite, etc. yay or nay?

reala728

i've gotten rid of any drinks in the house to force myself to always drink water (once in a while i'll buy milk, but i've always over-drank it so i tend to avoid it). after a few months of this im looking for a little variety without too much compromise.

im wondering if these (or others) are good to keep calories low without some hidden additives.
for example, i used to swear by vitamin water because of all the vitamins, but i noticed it was actually quite high in calories and sugar.

dirtyd89

Yeah I'm a lot like you now I drink only water.

I've minimized the Mio, Vitamin Water Zero, Arizona Tea Zero, etc. to only once per week now as a treat.

I hardly ever drink milk and when I do I drink Skim Milk because there's less fat/sugar then other higher content milk options like 2%, 1% and Whole Milk.
(Chai Tea with Milk is good.)

redraidergirl2009

Drink tea. I drink a variety of caffinated and decaf teas, plus tea has many health benefits.

toastnhunny

I've always hated drinking water and I would go out of my way to drink everything but water. However, lately, I've discovered that fruit really helps me "want" to drink it. So, I like to throw in lemon slices, but you can put all kinds of fruit in it, without all the calories, and even cucumber and mint is good in it.

SweetestLibby

I use them sparingly. I'm more a fan of additing fresh fruit, ginger, mint, etc to my water.

_noob_

I keep a pitcher with decaf lemon tea crystal light almost at all times. I drink probably a gallon a day of the stuff.

cheree1969

I have tried to up my water quite a bit lately. But I do get bored...so once or twice a day I use a little shot of MIO for flavour. I love them. Finally we have some new varieties in Canada. We were stuck with the same boring 4 for about a year.

rahlpn

I drink Mio or Dasani flavoring in one drink per day, usually with dinner. I used to drink 16-20oz milk every night with dinner, I drink plain water all day which I love but need a little flavor with dinner I guess. I like the idea of adding fresh fruit to your water but I've never done it besides lemon which I like. I like to drink 8oz 1%milk after my workout if I have the calories left over. I still love drinking my milk, I cut it completely out for a couple months and missed it, so I just decided to drink it in moderation. I also like hot green tea or the Sleepytime Tea by celestial seasonings with one packet Stevia.

ncl1313

Frozen berries are a great water additive...they are like little ice cubes of flavor goodness. Blueberries are my favorite.

tigersword

Beyond the calorie count, I really can't see a reason to restrict yourself to just plain water. There's no valid health reason to not drink whatever you want.

mustgetmuscles1

That cherry flavored Mio energy is some pretty tasty stuff.

cheree1969

I have tons of frozen berries in my freezer. I am going to try this!

cheree1969

Frozen berries are a great water additive...they are like little ice cubes of flavor goodness. Blueberries are my favorite.

I have tons of frozen berries in my freezer. I am going to try this!

dacadoo

I have used crystal lite and Mio both but now I am hooked on water with lemon and cucumber slices, sooo good and refreshing

kharper85

I try to add fruit and let it "flavor" my water. Crystal Light and Mio just make me feel thirstier.

SaraC1977

Honestly, I think it's all relative. I use to be a big soda drinker, so I switched to diet soda. I hate plain water so just going from regular to soda wouldn't and didn't work for me. Is diet soda good for you? No, it has artificial sweetners but at least it's better than guzzling 150 calories and tons of sugar. I then noticed I was still drinking 3-4 cans of diet soda and day and wanted to slowly ween myself off of it so I started drinking Vitamin Water Zero & SoBe 0. I actually love those but it got expensive really quick. I've seen them in some areas as cheap as $0.99 but I live in Chicago and they run $1.50-1.89 which is really expensive if you're having 2-3 a day. So now I only drink about 3 of those per week. Now I've tried the Crystal Light packets to go and the liquid ones. I find I am able to drink 4-5 20 oz glasses per day doing that. So at least I'm eliminating the diet soda and getting a heck of a lot more water. Again, there are artificial sweetners in these but it has to be better than diet soda. I can guzzle plain water at the gym because I'm so thirty, but put a plain glass or bottle of water in front of me at work and it sits there all day. The Crystal Light really helps me to get my water up. I'm hoping with the liquid drops version I can just keep adding less and less until I'm down to plain water.

DandelionCupcakes

Frozen berries are a great water additive...they are like little ice cubes of flavor goodness. Blueberries are my favorite.

What a good idea!


I've used fresh fruit and of course tea. cucumber is nice. I'm not a fan of Crystal light for some reason, but I might try the liquid things.

skankamaggot

A lot of the Mio flavors taste like chemicals to me, but I like the Dasani pineapple coconut and I want to try some of the Crystal Light drops too.

tamjak

The artificial sweeteners in Crystal Lite can cause your blood sugar to crash and defeat the whole purpose of not ingesting extra calories. I would follow what others have said with adding lemon, frozen berries, cucumbers and mint to your water. You might consider trying La Croix sparkling water.. no caffeine, no sugar, no sodium, no artificial sweeteners.

jamers3111

I have read that our bodies react to mio/crystal light the way it reacts to sugar (i.e. similar gycemic index). I use mio sometimes and crystal light never. I'm a coffee drinker and when I'm not drinking that I'm chugging my water (plain). Diet soda also has a high glycemic index due to the sweeteners. Plus most of them have sodium causing water retention. This is just my 2 cents.

O! Have you ever tried La Croix flavored sparkling water?! It comes in several flavors and it's soooo good!!! (not bad with booze either!)

fbmandy55

Mio gives me debilitating migraines. Seriously, don't drink it.

I liked crystal light and the such when starting to drink water, but now I prefer it plain.

krystal193

I don’t like the grainy taste of powdered flavor additives plus the Aspartame in them is not healthy. :sick: I only use the liquid Crystal light flavors occasionally when I eat dinner. Its zero calorie but I might try the frozen fruit thing just to get a little variety. :drinker:

tigersword

I have read that our bodies react to mio/crystal light the way it reacts to sugar (i.e. similar gycemic index). I use mio sometimes and crystal light never. I'm a coffee drinker and when I'm not drinking that I'm chugging my water (plain). Diet soda also has a high glycemic index due to the sweeteners. Plus most of them have sodium causing water retention. This is just my 2 cents.

This is false.

metacognition

It's fine if you are counting calories. I've heard some artificial sweeteners can increase the appetite for sweets. But honestly, if you count calories anyway then there is no real risk.

JGainingHealth

Sometimes I just need a little flavor in my water. I like to put in about 1/2 packet of True Lemon drink mix in my 16oz water bottle. It's sweetened with stevia instead of aspartame, and I barely use any, so I don't feel too bad about it. Most of the time I drink herbal tea and plain water though.

Lindsay_1984

Nay for the most part, but okay every now and then.

There is nothing good about artificial sweeteners (unless you are just worried about cutting out calories). Studies have been done that correlate them to weight gain and other health problems. Water flavorings with artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavorings are basically the same as diet soda. Only difference is they are not carbonated. Would you drink diet soda all day long?

With that said, just try to moderate how much of it you drink a day. Maybe try to limit to one artificially flavored drink a day, and the rest of the day drink water that is flavored naturally with lemon or lime, tea, or fruits.

Once you get into the water habit it is no big deal.

jeansgirl

Mio and Crystal Lite are very high in chemical compounds. I find that I get very ...well almost addicted like to them..even propel...which I love...is like that. I am trying to avoid all those chemicals...I am going to try the frozen berry trick, sounds great!

LittleMissNerdy

I didn't like Mio but I love the Dasani drops!

tomg33

I prefer to drink my water because it's a necessity, and have coffee, tea or diet soda (yes) when I want to enjoy the drink.

escalada22

I love regular water, but have noticed when I do add some Crystal Light or Flavor packs (which I only do half a pack to one water) I am more thirsty than normal. I guess it is good in a way because I am drinking more water, but after a couple of the flavored waters I would rather just have plain!

I do love tea but have not been drinking that like I use to. Good ol' water especially since I have been working out! My body craves it@!

tigersword

Mio and Crystal Lite are very high in chemical compounds. I find that I get very ...well almost addicted like to them..even propel...which I love...is like that. I am trying to avoid all those chemicals...I am going to try the frozen berry trick, sounds great!

Uhh, water is very high in chemical compounds...