McDonald's Unsweetened Tea

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Greenkat57
Greenkat57 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello Friends!

I have a question that may sound odd, but I am really confused!

I try to drink plain water as often as possible, but I do get bored and drink my homemade iced tea sweetened with Stevia.

Almost 4 months into this I am now getting bored with my tea, some Crystal Light drinks, and other low or no calorie drinks! :(

So to 'mix it up' I have been getting McDonald's largest unsweetened tea and using 6 equals :# to sweeten it.

Is this bad? I have researched sweeteners and Stevia appears to be the safest, but the bad press on equal (aspartame type sweeteners) makes me worry I might be setting myself up for cravings.

Any ideas or suggestions? I want to do this healthfully as possible...just not to lose weight!

Thanks!

Kathy

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    You're fine. I myself prefer seltzer water, (I like the fizz).
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i drink diet soda all the time.

    i dont care for cold tea, in general. LOL
  • bunsen_honeydew
    bunsen_honeydew Posts: 230 Member
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    It's a terrible thing to do to tea! LOL

    (ignore me, I'm (sort of) British)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I do very much the same thing with my water. It all counts.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Greenkat57 wrote: »
    Hello Friends!

    I have a question that may sound odd, but I am really confused!

    I try to drink plain water as often as possible, but I do get bored and drink my homemade iced tea sweetened with Stevia.

    Almost 4 months into this I am now getting bored with my tea, some Crystal Light drinks, and other low or no calorie drinks! :(

    So to 'mix it up' I have been getting McDonald's largest unsweetened tea and using 6 equals :# to sweeten it.

    Is this bad? I have researched sweeteners and Stevia appears to be the safest, but the bad press on equal (aspartame type sweeteners) makes me worry I might be setting myself up for cravings.

    Any ideas or suggestions? I want to do this healthfully as possible...just not to lose weight!

    Thanks!

    Kathy

    First of all- don't pay any mind to the claim aspartme is "dangerous". Unless you have a medical condition that aspartme triggers, it is not as bad as people claim it is.
    Also Crystal light also has aspartme.

    As for a suggestion- have you every tried propel? They have several flavors that are awesome (kiwi strawberry is my fav). It also contains no stevia (which I hate the taste of) or aspartme.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
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    I love equal and have been consuming aspartame in coke zero for many years now. I don't know about having 6 at once (must be a huge cup?) but aspartame itself does not worry me.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I use Sweet 'n Low because I feel like it dissolves better.

    I don't care about bad press for artificial sweeteners. Like I always say, people in my family don't get cancer. We get diabetes and Alzheimer's so I just use my Sweet 'n Low and forget about it.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    I regularly drink those with 4 splenda. Yum!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    fwiw, I regularly put a passion tea bag in cold water in my Nalgene bottle. Sometimes with stevia. Mostly just the tea bag. Super yummy.
    Just an alternative to consider. You can carry a tea bag around and add it when you need/want it. cheers
  • jcoffeyJC82
    jcoffeyJC82 Posts: 8 Member
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    I see a weight loss dr and dietician and they suggested Splenda for sweetener. Just fyi.
  • Sweets1954
    Sweets1954 Posts: 506 Member
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    I make my own ice tea and add a bag or two of a fruit flavored tea. It adds a little sweetness without any other sweetener. I began drinking ice tea because I didn't want the sugar that come in soda and I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, let alone the bad press. You might try adding lemon or lime juice to your tea for flavor. I will add either one of these or a little cranberry juice to plain water as well. The calories added are negligible. I have also found a company called Dry Soda which makes sodas with only four ingredients--one is sugar, in many different flavors and all have 60 calories or less. My favorites are cucumber and rhubarb. I will also add a little juice to seltzer water for a bit of fizziness.
  • JillianRN527
    JillianRN527 Posts: 109 Member
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    When I use artificial sugar it makes my sugar cravings worse. I drink my tea plain with lime.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    If you like Stevia, why not use it in the McDonald's tea? Stevia comes in small bottles, individual packets, liquid, or even flavored liquid. Have you tried the flavored liquid Stevia? Just put a couple drops in a glass of water.
  • Greenkat57
    Greenkat57 Posts: 24 Member
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    thank you for all the feedback. I have been on different sides of the 'healthy eating' definitions which leads to my confusion!

    I had very early stage cancer, went the plant based route & was told sugar in any form was basically the devil leading to fertile ground for cancer to grow. However, I could not maintain with no sugar at all... fruits are naturally sweet & plant based, and sugar is in other foods as well. I could never grasp the mentality of sugar is okay in fruits, but not in other food items.

    I felt deprived and eventually 'relapsed!'

    Now I am being told a high protein, low carb diet is the way to go which is working better as long as I stay in my calorie & other guidelines (sugar, sodium, carbs, etc.) and I need to drink a lot of water. This has been working much better...down almost 40 pounds as of today...so I don't want to risk it.

    You all have given me a bunch of good ideas...trying propel, flavored stevia, lemon and/or lime in plain water, etc.
    I guess I drink the stevia b/c I was told it was natural & therefore better for me, but I prefer the taste of equal.

    Thanks!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Stevia is not exactly "natural".

    http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/how-natural-is-stevia/257882/

    I prefer the taste of splenda so that's what I use.
  • timmyttt0418
    timmyttt0418 Posts: 85 Member
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    I like the taste of tea without any sweetener. I like putting some lemon in my tea.
  • Bukawww
    Bukawww Posts: 159 Member
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    <sipping 2nd large unsweet McD tea of the day, extra ice, of course> - NOM! I'm no help though as I prefer mine unsweetened.
  • helenlovesruby
    helenlovesruby Posts: 39 Member
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    I am British. Over here most of us stopped taking sugar in tea in the 1980's. If you went cold turkey with the sweetner I bet you would get used to the taste in no time.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I prefer sweet n' low, but if it works for you and you can afford to spend money on it... then, why not?

    I started switching to hot beverages once i got bored and i've never switched back. Hot tea is my choice now. :)

    Of course it's about to be summer so i also love some aqua frescas.

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