Water is Water is Water...

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rklein71
rklein71 Posts: 112 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know that only water is water, but I have an extreme dislike for plain water so I am trying to find an acceptable alternative. I have gone from drinking only soda (and I mean ONLY soda, and regular soda at that) to drinking iced tea, water with the Lipton Green Tea mixins or water with the South Beach Tide Me Over mixin. So... am I getting enough water? I really feel like I am so much more hydrated, even my skin feels better, and I am going to the bathroom like never before, but when I am logging everything I am not sure if I can count these as water. Like I said, I know that only water is water, but I am hoping these are close enough for now.

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  • rklein71
    rklein71 Posts: 112 Member
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    I know that only water is water, but I have an extreme dislike for plain water so I am trying to find an acceptable alternative. I have gone from drinking only soda (and I mean ONLY soda, and regular soda at that) to drinking iced tea, water with the Lipton Green Tea mixins or water with the South Beach Tide Me Over mixin. So... am I getting enough water? I really feel like I am so much more hydrated, even my skin feels better, and I am going to the bathroom like never before, but when I am logging everything I am not sure if I can count these as water. Like I said, I know that only water is water, but I am hoping these are close enough for now.
  • Hannah_Banana
    Hannah_Banana Posts: 1,242 Member
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    A lot of people say clear, uncaffinated liquid counts as water. I count my Crystal Lite as water... and thats all I drink. :flowerforyou:
  • mmgoodman
    mmgoodman Posts: 5
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    You could also try putting in your favoirte fruit slices, such as lemons, limes and even strawberries.
  • flcaoh
    flcaoh Posts: 444
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    I consider myself a water snob lol. I grew up in the country with sweet pure well water. I live in the city now and want to throw up when I taste city water from the tap. I feel like I am drinking pool water because of all the chlorine and other chemicals. So, I filter my water using a Brita filter pitcher. It makes the water taste sweet, just like the well water back home... maybe that will help you to be able to tolerate water. I also don't like most bottled water, but FIJI and Smart Water are two of my faves.

    Otherwise, yes, Crystal Light and the such counts as water. Even coffee counts partially toward your water intake, although it kind of defeats the purpose because it's a diuretic.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    water is water is water is not true.

    Liquid should be what you are aiming for. Keep in mind that fruits and vegetables contain part of your water intake everyday too.

    Here are some ideas of what you can drink:
    Water, distilled is best if you can handle the taste or lack there of, spring water, even sparkling water and even tap water.

    Herbal decaffeinated teas and coffee, when brewed these drinks contain more than 90% water, it is the caffeine in these drinks that can zap you of your hydration ubt tea does not usually contain enough to worry about. (even black iced tea has benefits)

    Milk counts too. As a matter of fact a university just did a study on what the best beverage was to rehydrate your body after an hour of working out and the athelets that drank an 8ounce glass of chocolate milk had the best recovery time of all the beverages, including plain water!

    What you may want to avoid are caffeinated beverages, sodas, alcohol, fruit juices and sports drinks.

    Caffeine is a dehydrator and elevates blood sugar and insulin levels, so if you have to have your morning coffee try to limit it to one per day.

    For the most part you want to steer clear of these beverages because of the sugar content.
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
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    Crystal light or the Wal Mart alternative. I buy the WM brand and my doctor told me it counted as water. Going with the doc on this one. I stick to water when working out, but I replaced all my diet cokes with the sugar free WM stuff and it is much easier to get all that liquid down that way!

    One can makes 3 gallons, I think. Try it. The grape is my favorite, but I also really enjoy the strawberry and cherry. My kids and hubby also drink it. It is a big hit here and it keeps the kids out of soda!
  • Phoenixflame
    Phoenixflame Posts: 560 Member
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    The Crystal Light thing makes me super happy!

    It's weird--the texture of water often bothers me. It feels harsher than when it's been Crystal Lighted. Crystal Light goes down smoother--and tastes tons better.
  • Lizjkp
    Lizjkp Posts: 278
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    I like to put a teaspoon of Lemon juice :bigsmile: in my water it makes a very refreshing drink and in summer add a few ice blocks. I have heard that drinking colder/iced water helps to burn more calories :noway: as your body needs to use more calories to bring the water to body tempreature?:bigsmile:



    Life may not be the party we hoped for :grumble :explode: but while we are here we might as well dance! :drinker: :blushing:"
  • TRLTAMPA
    TRLTAMPA Posts: 824
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    I suck on a mint or chew gum. It makes the water taste better and it makes it feel ice cold.
  • Potent
    Potent Posts: 2
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    I know I need to drink water:noway: but I have an:drinker: addiction to juice, thats where all my weight has generted from> I need help I tried going cold turkey but I :brokenheart: that goal! Helpppppppppppppppp:sad:
  • diet45
    diet45 Posts: 392 Member
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    What about Club Soda?
  • goochinator
    goochinator Posts: 383 Member
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    My favorite is the sparkling waters from grocery stores- I think most majorones have them, i know Wal Mart carries them near the bottled water...zero carbs, zero cal, zero sugar, zero sodium...there are lots of flavors and its good!
  • LosingIt4good
    LosingIt4good Posts: 1,214 Member
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    I know I need to drink water:noway: but I have an:drinker: addiction to juice, thats where all my weight has generted from> I need help I tried going cold turkey but I :brokenheart: that goal! Helpppppppppppppppp:sad:

    Try replacing a few glasses of juice with water and see what happens. Your body might just be used to the sugar in the juice.. just like a soda addict is used to the caffiene. Try swapping out a glass or two here or there with water and before you know it, you'll be able to get it all down.

    I used to work in the bottled water industry so here is the downlow on the different types of bottled water. Distilled water is made from steam. It is filtered, but because it is steamed, its pretty bland tasting because even the tiny nutrients are removed. Spring water isnt a better type of water. It just means it came from the ground and is filtered for drinking. Drinking filtered (to remove chlorine and sediment and improve taste) tap water is just as good for you. You'd have to drink 13 gallons of spring water a day to get any benefit from the minerals in it. (better to get these from a multivitamin or the foods you eat) The BEST tasting kind of water is RO water...also known as Reverse Osmosis. The minerals are left in, but 5 different stages of filtration are used to remove chemicals. RO filters can be spendy tho, but alot of bottled water companies who bottle thier own use this method. At a minimum, use a carbon filter or brita filter to remove chlorine from your regular tap water if you dont get it already bottled. It will improve the taste, big-time!

    Also, its 8 - 8oz glasses of water daily...so pay attention to what size of glasses you are using. If you are using a bigger or taller container, you dont have to drink 8 of them. I use a 16oz water bottle every day and refill it 3 times. Which is not that hard to do. I try to drink 1 before each regular meal (which helps me feel fuller, longer) and then I drink another at the gym during my workout. Its much easier for me to think in terms of how many rather than how much (4 bottles a day rather than 64 oz a day)... give it a try!

    You will notice that you are not as hungry between meals, especially in the evenings, when you drink your water! :)
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    Only water is water. anything else has either sugar, or some other additive used to flavour it. That doesn't mean you can't drink it instead though. You just have to understand that while you are hydrating yourself, you're also consuming other ingredients with your water. Be sure that the teas you're drinking are not caffinated, caffeine works as a diruetic and defeats the purpose of even drinking it if you are doing so for the water content.
  • kolbif
    kolbif Posts: 83
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    I'm no expert, but if your choices are tea and flavored water OR soda - definitely drink the tea and flavored water. If you can't gag down the plain water (which I totally understand!!) then those alternatives are certainly better for you than pop. Just do what you can, do what's best for you, and try not to stress too much over it. You're doing great to give up pop! That's a hard one for me, too!
  • AmyNVegas
    AmyNVegas Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Yummy water recipe - add a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring and a packet of your favorite sweetner to a bottle of water. Tastes like cream soda I swear! :drinker:
    Amy

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