Getting started....my biggest problem

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Hi all, I'm just getting started on here, literally only a few days. My biggest concern I have is beverages. I have no problem eating well under my daily calories, and no problem getting the exercise in. My problem is drinks. I always have to have something next to me to drink. I've cut out soda, but I drink a lot of OJ, milk, iced tea, v8, and of course water. I know water is good obviously, but I can't drink it 24/7 without going nuts. And I know milk and juice aren't bad for me, but they use up a lot of calories that I could be eating, or just going without. What's a happy medium where I'm not just drinking only water all day?

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  • eat_me
    eat_me Posts: 1
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    Juices are usually pretty high in sugar content and not that great. I would recommend doing your own juicing or drinking water with grapefruit or lemon in it to add some flavor without adding calories.
  • LauraRae2
    LauraRae2 Posts: 107 Member
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    I allow myself my coffee without counting it. I want one pleasure in life that I can sweeten, add cream, etc, and not have to think about it.

    But that's it. My one (large) cup of coffee in the morning is the only drink I don't count. Everything else gets added, because it can be a LOT of calories. I approach it a few ways.

    1 - Sometimes I work it into the daily calories. Like, I know I'm going to happy hour with friends so I pre-track it, then plan my meals around that.

    2 - smaller portions. Instead of an 8 oz glass of OJ, cut it to 4 oz.

    3 - Flavored water. I drink that like crazy, especially flavored seltzer. yum.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    Diet soda? Iced tea? Hot tea? Coffee? Crystal light/other flavored waters? Powerade zero/similar drinks? Sparking ICE drinks? Tons of options.
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
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    Tea, diet coke, coffee, lemon, cucumber, etc in water to flavor, I think they make fairly low calorie water flavorings ;)

    I drink diet sodas, tea, and coffee every day.
  • mrsallison27
    mrsallison27 Posts: 11 Member
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    I've always drank diet soda, because I don't like the overly sweet taste of regular. So diet soda is what I cut out :(
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    what's wrong with diet soda?

    there's also flavored fizzy water like la croix and stuff like crystal light

    i drink a lot of unsweetened iced tea
  • Missboss888
    Missboss888 Posts: 41 Member
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    I recently got introduced to those MIO squeeze things. They have 0 calories and are just like Crystal light. Just put a squirt in your drink and you automatically have tea, punch, lemonade, whatever flavor you want. I like the generic brand because they have more options. I can't drink water all the time. It grosses me out after a few days straight. *If that makes sense* I really love drinking the Naked juice drinks also. The whole bottle is 300 calories but half a bottle really fills you up. They're 100% just fruit, no added sugars, nothing. So they're thick but soooo yummy. I've talked myself into drinking one right now. Oops lol
  • pitchf0rk
    pitchf0rk Posts: 34 Member
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    Maybe instead of Juice only you can also mix your Juice with water. Start with a bit of water and one day you'll only Need a Little bit of Juice to make your water "taste better".

    I love a zip of black currant juice with ice cold sparkling water. That's the best on a hot day
  • Anita4548
    Anita4548 Posts: 39 Member
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    Maybe instead of Juice only you can also mix your Juice with water. Start with a bit of water and one day you'll only Need a Little bit of Juice to make your water "taste better".

    I love a zip of black currant juice with ice cold sparkling water. That's the best on a hot day

    Yes definitely. I don't drink juices but on occasions that I do, I aways add water .. for example to a fresh orange juice I will always add water. It is still yummy and fruity. It cuts the calories by 1/2 !!
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Lots of unsweet tea with artifical sweetners? That's what I started out doing, swapping that out for soda at meals. Surprising how much that helps. I also drink a lot of G2. It's got a little higher sugar that I probally should have, but the flavors are not as intense as regular gatoraide, and a LOT less calories. I can't stand the taste of just water, so I have to have some kind of flavor. There's been times I'll order a glass with half water and half Sprite. That adds just enough flavor that I can drink it, but not a huge amount of calories.

    Also, KoolAid with Splenda is actually pretty good. It's cheap, comes in lots of flavors, and is easy to make.
  • mrsallison27
    mrsallison27 Posts: 11 Member
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    Thanks for all of the ideas! Going to stock up on mio and flavored water!