Water VS green tea

Can't help you there. I'm in the same situation. I'm not a big water drinker. But I drink LOTS of tea throughout the day (although I use sugar in mine). Used to be that people would tell you that tea and coffee don't count toward your fluid intake, but they do. Maybe not ounce for ounce because caffeinated tea/coffee has a slight diuretic effect but it's minimal. Just do what you enjoy. I've realized at 50+ years old, I'm just never going to love drinking water all day.

Just popping in to say I'm not giving up either one.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary

If you want to scare yourself further green tea has a little caffeine in it.

Green tea is an original health food popularized in Japan.

http://www.hibiki-an.com/sp/contents.php/cnID/17

I hated water too, I used to be addicted to energy drinks but now mostly drink water/coffee and the occasional sugar free juice. What I did was I'd start only drinking the sugar free energy drinks, then sugar free regular drinks, then sugar free flavoured sparkling water, then sugarefree stI'll flavoured water. And now I enjoy water enough for it to not be an issue. Our bodies need water, you'll eventually just not be fussed and drink it anyway. I still look at fizzy drinks with puppy dog eyes

I actually infuse my water bottle with a tea bag during the day and keep topping up with ice or water . Today I am drinking ginger peach tea.

I cut soda my drinking mio with caffiene in my water. Zero soda calories and i always have "water" by my side. Stay hydrated and figure out what works for you!

Julianne3155 wrote: »

Drinking a lot of water is not an easy task for me. I actually despise it. I have cut out soda and juice completely. I have started drinking diet green tea religiously. I know the artificial sweeteners can't be good for me. As silly as it sounds does anyone have tips on making drinking water more tolerable ?

Artificial sweeteners may not be "good" for you, in the sense of having a direct positive effect on you, but there doesn't seem to be any good evidence that they're bad for you either (unless you personally find they stimulate cravings for other foods that don't fit your goals).

That said, you could avoid sweeteners (natural and artificial) and save money just by brewing your own green tea and drinking it "straight." Now that it's summer in my area, I pop three tea bags of whatever flavor/caffeination level I happen to want into a small jar (about 3/4 of a quart/liter or a little larger -- they originally held pasta sauce), add cold, filtered water, and let it sit at room temperature for four to five hours. (Make larger batches, using more tea, if you drink a lot -- I generally make a batch every day or two, because I only drink one or two glasses of it a day, as I tend to have hot coffee or tea until mid-day even in summer.)

The other day I made a batch with two bags of green tea and one bag of an herbal blend that includes naturally sweet flavors like mint, cinnamon, ginger, and licorice (it was Celestial Seasonings tension tamer flavor, but Good Earth makes a similar blend, and I am sure there are others, or you just use an herbal tea or tisane with just one of those flavors -- I know some people really don't like licorice). It added a mild sweet flavor to the green tea that I really liked.

I figure that if drinking unsweetened tea and coffee keep me from losing weight then I'm not meant to lose it. Hate plain water. Wonder if those of us who can't tolerate plain water are super-tasters, there is always some off putting flavor in water.

catluvgal wrote: »

I figure that if drinking unsweetened tea and coffee keep me from losing weight then I'm not meant to lose it. Hate plain water. Wonder if those of us who can't tolerate plain water are super-tasters, there is always some off putting flavor in water.

There might be something to this. I consider myself a "supertaster." Actually if I drink a lot of water (more than 8 oz at a time) I get kind of queasy. Yet, I can drink a 20 oz mug of tea, no problem.

SafioraLinnea wrote: »

I love water (and prefer it almost always to any other beverage) so I'm no help but the supertaster thing intrigues me. I do notice different flavours of water but even tepid water that has sat in a cup for half a day tastes just fine to me.

Yep same here! However I do now filter my water with the Zerowater filter, and it tastes like heaven.

For those who like iced tea, I have found that if you cold brew it (place tea bags in room temp/regular temp water and put in fridge overnight) it adds a very nice sweetness to the teas, and creates a very mild taste wth no bitterness. This can be done with both herbal or caffeinated teas! Also a little honey goes a long way in tea, with the plus of added health benefits.

ColwellCat wrote: »

So, green tea isn't something traditionally sweetened! I brew and drink a lot of green tea, both hot and iced, and I never sweeten it! If you like the taste of the diet green tea, why don't you try making your own without any sweeteners? The trick to avoiding bitterness with green tea is to use hot, but not boiling water - about 80 degrees is typically good. Or, if you're in no hurry, and want iced tea, you can use cold water and leave it overnight!

Presumably 80 degrees celsius is meant -- that's about 175 degrees fahrenheit.