im trying to kick pop, is mio ok to substitute?

I'm teaching aquatic science right now, seriously, the chemicals some animals use to maintain osmotic homeostasis would make that list look silly. Not to mention the fish that produce antifreeze naturally.... People intentionally ingest TDT's because it makes their mouth go all tingly and eat pounds and pounds of tuna without batting an eyelash, but clearly MIO is the real danger.

My opinion is that Mio is ok to switch to for now. If you are concerned about the chemicals then you can change from that to something more healthy when you are mentally ready to do so. The diet pop already pumps you full of nasty chemicals. I agree that what is best for our bodies is the organic, chemical free way, but for some, its too much of a change all at once, or is not feasible for whatever reason. There are alternatives, as many have mentioned. One thing I don't think I've seen in previous posts is tea, green or regular. If you are concerned about water retention then just make it weak, just enough to flavor the water.
One thing I do sometimes is to add lemon juice and a sweetener packet (gasp, I know) You don't have to add the sweetener.
If you are able to keep water in the fridge, you can slice up an apple into a pitcher and add a cinnamon stick. Let set for several hours. Yum. Others have mentioned other fruits as well.
I'm all for you getting off of the pop because of what it does, the carbonation affects our joints, and studies have shown that the imitation sugar is chemical laden and can assist in maintaining "the sweet tooth" and other things, However, I think its up you to decide what works to get you to the place you want to be - even if it's one little step at a time.

My opinion is that Mio is ok to switch to for now. If you are concerned about the chemicals then you can change from that to something more healthy when you are mentally ready to do so. The diet pop already pumps you full of nasty chemicals. I agree that what is best for our bodies is the organic, chemical free way, but for some, its too much of a change all at once, or is not feasible for whatever reason. There are alternatives, as many have mentioned. One thing I don't think I've seen in previous posts is tea, green or regular. If you are concerned about water retention then just make it weak, just enough to flavor the water.
One thing I do sometimes is to add lemon juice and a sweetener packet (gasp, I know) You don't have to add the sweetener.
If you are able to keep water in the fridge, you can slice up an apple into a pitcher and add a cinnamon stick. Let set for several hours. Yum. Others have mentioned other fruits as well.
I'm all for you getting off of the pop because of what it does, the carbonation affects our joints, and studies have shown that the imitation sugar is chemical laden and can assist in maintaining "the sweet tooth" and other things, However, I think its up you to decide what works to get you to the place you want to be - even if it's one little step at a time.

Tea contains a couple thousand chemicals, just saying...

Another thread full of chemophobia :grumble: If it helps you meet your calorie goals, it's fine. Everything in moderation, but there has been no decent evidence to suggest that artificial sweeteners currently approved for sale i.e. those in Mio are at all dangerous for you (you will stumble across some dodgy 'all natural' websites purporting that it is the case, but those tend to be people with no idea what they are talking about). The likelihood is that (unless it's particularly acidic), Mio will be a bit better for you as it's less likely to have the horrendous effect that carbonated drinks can have on your teeth.

There's nothing more refreshing than lemon juice and water. :drinker:

another thing 2 try:
apple + blackberry juice or concentrate,no sugar added, 1 oz
fill the rest of the bottle with water
yumm!

I've been using Mio for a while and my soda intake has dropped drastically. I couldn't get my family on board to completely get soda out of the house, but I have found that having Mio in my water just once a day cuts my craving for soda back significantly. I'm really just starting on my weight loss program on here, but I know that the calories and sugar in soda are enough to completely blow the nutritious diet out of the water. I drink much more water than I did before (plain water, without the Mio) and I find that I don't snack nearly as much as I used to. I think Mio is a great thing.

STAY AWAY FROM THINGS LIKE MIO AND OTHER SUBSTITUTES TO FLAVOR YOUR WATER. Seriously you are pumping your body with artificial everything and some very dangerous dyes and chemicals. Just drink the water, seriously, just drink the water. If you need different tastes, drink things like teas (A MILLION FRICKEN FLAVORS AND KINDS BOTH HOT AND COLD), black coffee(and i mean black not with sugar and cream), or carbonated water like pieere, I don't understand why people who are trying to get healthy, lose weight eating fake foods and substitutes that are passed off as "healthy" but trust me are far from. Don't fill your body with **** when you are trying to lose weight, put only good into your body and your body will look great!

I'm sorry, but that's taking it to an extreme.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating "artificial everything" as long as you don't overdo it. You can have your black coffee. I'll take mine with splenda and just one tablespoon of creamer, and I'll be just fine filling my body with ***.

Oh, and you'll have to pry my flavored water from my cold, dead hands.

OP, I don't know what MIO is. I do admit, I do drink (diet) pop again after kicking the habit of drinking (non diet) pop a year ago. However, I don't overdo it. Maybe 1-2 bottles a day, and mostly for the caffeine to get me through my college courses. But when I DID quit, I found tea to be very helpful. Provided me the caffeine, and was moderately healthier.

You could try Zevia! It's all natural, no artificial sweeteners, and many are caffeine-free. I gave up Diet Coke 8 weeks ago (although I had 1 on Mother's Day when I went out to eat with my mom) and don't miss it. I tried Zevia a few weeks ago and like to have one every few days. Definitely mostly water-only at this point but I like ginger ale so it's worth buying the sixpack.

http://www.zevia.com/flavors

No criticism intended, but I believe antifreeze is ethylene glycol?

You could try Zevia! It's all natural, no artificial sweeteners, and many are caffeine-free. I gave up Diet Coke 8 weeks ago (although I had 1 on Mother's Day when I went out to eat with my mom) and don't miss it. I tried Zevia a few weeks ago and like to have one every few days. Definitely mostly water-only at this point but I like ginger ale so it's worth buying the sixpack.

http://www.zevia.com/flavors

Its expensive ($5 for 6 pack) and tasted flat. Sorry just my opinion on Dr. Stevia anyways, I haven't tried the other flavors. I do like stevia though and use it in place of sugar now.

Yeah, it is expensive, but worth the money to me. I've only tried the ginger ale and lemon lime flavors, can't speak for the others.

I love these debates on MFP. I like the pseudo science and the sarcasm. Especially from our friends over the pond, thought you guys didn't do irony ;-). Learning loads of stuff on here but the biggest lesson so far is not to take myself too seriously. All things in moderation said my Grandad who lived till aged 90. Good genetics? A decent sized allotment and daily exercise methinks. . . .he didn't drink pop by the way .