Giving up aspartame...

Ledford5
Ledford5 Posts: 6 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
I am trying to give up diet soft drinks (Aspartame) but still need the caffeine without the calories. I am not a big coffee drinker unless it tastes like a milkshake :) so I am looking for suggestions for my morning 'wake up' drink. My goal is to give up the aspartame and keep the drink low-to-no calories. Any suggestions?
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Replies

  • WA_mama2
    WA_mama2 Posts: 140 Member
    Caffeinated tea? I sweeten my tea with liquid stevia.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,188 Member
    You could try drinking unsweetened black tea. I drink coffee myself, with sugar and half and half, but my daughter drinks tea. She usually drinks Irish breakfast tea or English breakfast tea. I have had it and it is quite good.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    So, do you drink coffee you make at home at all right now?

    If not, and your preference is things like macchiatos, etc, from Starbucks, maybe tea would be a good morning drink? Tons of flavors, low calorie, and you can have it hot or iced :)

    I've learned to like black coffee, or just add a little half & half, though I still get a mocha or something from Starbucks a few times a month. I generally just drink that instead of having food for breakfast, though :)

    ~Lyssa
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    Green tea!
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
    I drink unsweetened iced tea. I love it with lemon, if I have it on hand. It is pretty much all I drink, except wine :).
  • Ledford5
    Ledford5 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you for the good ideas. I will start with using stevia in my tea and play around with some half & half/ Stevia in coffee to see if I like it.
    I have terrible Migraine headaches and aspartame is a trigger for them so I would like to eliminate it from my diet.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Iced tea - make your own. I like to use flavored tea bags. If it's green tea make sure you don't heat the water too high or the tea will be bitter.

    My favorite flavors. 2 tea bags make 20 ounces.

    Twinings Mixed Berries (black tea)

    Lipton Bavarian Wild Berry (black tea)

    Lipton Green Mandarin Orange (green tea)

    Hot brewed tea is going to taste different than cold brew varieties. I used to make sun tea using regular tea.....those were fine (but not fruity). But I'm not a fan of the new cold brew tea bags.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    edited June 2016
    Actually Diet Pepsi no longer has aspartame in it. Not sure about diet coke.

  • WA_mama2
    WA_mama2 Posts: 140 Member
    If you are looking for a way to have a yummy coffee maybe this will satisfy you? I can't give up my coffee so I played around trying to minimize it's impact on my intake totals.

    I brew my cup, sweeten with Stevia, add a few drops of vanilla extract and then stir in some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Using flavored coffees can add even more depth to it.

    I don't think I've made one that was more than 25 calories, and that was so high because of the almond milk.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    edited June 2016
    WA_mama2 wrote: »
    If you are looking for a way to have a yummy coffee maybe this will satisfy you? I can't give up my coffee so I played around trying to minimize it's impact on my intake totals.

    I brew my cup, sweeten with Stevia, add a few drops of vanilla extract and then stir in some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Using flavored coffees can add even more depth to it.

    I don't think I've made one that was more than 25 calories, and that was so high because of the almond milk.

    Don't want to derail here...but @WA_mama2 - what brand of almond milk do you use? The one time I added almond milk to my coffee, it seemed to curdle or something and just made it taste weird :(

    I'm usually fine with my half & half (I tend to buy flavored coffees), but different flavor combinations intrigue me, too :)

    ~Lyssa
  • jayele72
    jayele72 Posts: 51 Member
    I used to be a huge diet soda drinker and ended up watching one too many Netflix documentaries about food so recently took aspartame out of my diet. For me, I ended up buying a Vitamix and doing a juice for breakfast and lunch. Mostly fruit and greens and I do add in a tablespoon of local unpasteurized honey.

    I found that my energy levels have spiked naturally to the point where I not only do not drink soda anymore for the caffeine, and I drink way less coffee now too. I feel like my body is rewarding me for fueling it well :)

    So that was my "secret" for kicking aspartame. Have a look at my food diary if youd like to see for yourself. Basically the day I started on the raw foods, I stopped diet soda immediately not because I was trying, but because my body wasn't asking for it.

    As a side benefit, my skin cleared up too :)
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    edited June 2016
    Ledford5 wrote: »
    I am trying to give up diet soft drinks (Aspartame) but still need the caffeine without the calories. I am not a big coffee drinker unless it tastes like a milkshake :) so I am looking for suggestions for my morning 'wake up' drink. My goal is to give up the aspartame and keep the drink low-to-no calories. Any suggestions?

    Diet Pepsi is made from sucralose now.
    Edit-sorry didn't see the migraine issue at first.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I drink tea. Green tea, black tea, herbal tea. Bai has a drink that has 5 calories per serving, so I think for the entire bottle it would be about 10-12 calories, each bottle is 18oz and a serving is 8oz. The only flavor that I like is the pomegranate one. I find them at my local Target and drugstore. I haven't looked in a regular grocery store.
  • WA_mama2
    WA_mama2 Posts: 140 Member
    @macgurlnet I tend to buy Almond Breeze most often. I've never had it turn or anything, that's a bummer.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    @WA_mama2 - Maybe I just have bad luck, lol. I will give it another try with that brand and see how things go :)

    ~Lyssa
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    As someone else mentioned, several diet drinks now use Splenda - but I have issues with that where it mimics autoimmune symptoms (fibromyalgia/lupus type symptoms). Cutting it out completely "cures" those issues. So just watch it if this is what you choose to sub with. I also have issues with Stevia - it is great for diabetics because it doesnt raise their blood sugar, but I have lower blood sugar to start with and stevia lowers it even more - so I see stars not long after drinking. Obviously you realize at least one artificial sweetener has an effect on your body (migraines) so just be aware that any of them could have other (or the same) effect and be aware of any changes after you switch. You may have to experiment to find one that doesnt affect you (monk fruit so far is the only one I am good with, and maybe Swerve - jury still out on that one) if you cant cut them out completely.

    As for caffeine - I live on it and need it desperately. Sometimes I use the Mio-type energy squirts in water (more sweeteners though...), but the easiest thing I have found is simply using caffeine pills. Cheap, easy, can drink water. To help, I set my alarm clock 30 minutes early and keep them by the bed - when alarm goes off, I take the pills (water by bed too) and go back to sleep. A second alarm goes off when I really need to get up but usually after about 15-20 minutes the caffeine has kicked in and I am awake and ready to go - drinking anything I want at that point.

    Good luck!
  • emmylootwo
    emmylootwo Posts: 172 Member
    jayele72 wrote: »
    I used to be a huge diet soda drinker and ended up watching one too many Netflix documentaries about food so recently took aspartame out of my diet.

    This is why I asked what's wrong with aspartame. OP says it is a trigger for her migraines, which is understandable, but when people say they want to give up diet sodas and artificial sweeteners, it's usually because of misinformation that comes from stupid netflix documentaries and health food blogs.

  • girl_inflames
    girl_inflames Posts: 374 Member
    I avoid aspartame but I still drink things with Stevia in them. Aspartame causes me to have migraines. I get them enough as it is, it's not worth it. Just be careful when you read drinks and make sure they're sweetened with stevia.
  • subakwa
    subakwa Posts: 347 Member
    For those saying Diet Pepsi doesn't use aspartame any more, be aware that it depends on region. This is the case for the US but from another thread on here many regions (including UK and Canada) still use aspartame.
  • koreangurl
    koreangurl Posts: 59 Member
    I drink green tea in the morning. I think it will be a good replacement. Something about drinking green tea just feels right
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    You can do it OP!
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
    Ledford5 wrote: »
    Thank you for the good ideas. I will start with using stevia in my tea and play around with some half & half/ Stevia in coffee to see if I like it.
    I have terrible Migraine headaches and aspartame is a trigger for them so I would like to eliminate it from my diet.
    I get a ton of migraines too.
    I just switched from aspartame to saccharine (sweet n low) and stevia. I used to put 8 equals in a 14 oz cup of coffee. I've cut back to 2 sweet n low and 2 squirts of liquid stevia. It's not the "candy coffee" I used to drink but it's tolerable. Sometimes I add a bit of unsweetened cocoa to make it like a mocha drink and its very good.
  • Ledford5
    Ledford5 Posts: 6 Member
    These are great suggestions. I appreciate all of the input. I have stevia, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, unsweetened cocoa and green tea now so I am good to go. I will keep checking to see if anyone has more suggestions. This chick is going 'aspartame free' starting tomorrow!! :smiley:
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
    Caffeinated teas.
    You could brew a caffeinated tea, and make iced tea w fruit in it... So good, add oranges or lemon.
    I prefer green tea.
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
    Also caffeinated mint tea is delicious
  • CyeRyn
    CyeRyn Posts: 389 Member
    I drink yerba mate (tea) with a packet of stevia per 12oz. Its pretty good and keeps me awake and alert w/o jitters.
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