HELP!! with drinks

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louramaille
louramaille Posts: 43
in Food and Nutrition
HELP!!!
I am a soda ADDICT!!! I admit it. I know its HORRIBLE if you are even thinking of lossing weight. I grew up on it thou and this habbit is hard to break, went straight from the milk bottle to the pepsi can. I am sure there was soda in my sippy cup.
I am looking for a healthy alternative that wont ruin my attempts to loss the weight.

Here is why I need help, and what has been a MAJOR issue with trying to kick this habbit in the past.
Problem 1: Water alone gives me heart burn, it takes less then half a cup, to put me in MAJOR pain.
Problem 2: I am highly allergic to the artificial sugars that are in all the diet drinks and things like crystal light, violently ill from a single glass and if i were to keep drinking it anyway I would have a seizure. ( not worth it )

I have tried everything I can think of and there is either not enough taste, or its something I just cant have.
I can deal with tea but it has the same issue as water.

Please help, I am commited to making this change, but without an alternative the best I have been able to do is cut back a bit on the soda, but this just means I am consuming less liquids in general ( and thats not a good thing either ).

Replies

  • 2dogzrule
    2dogzrule Posts: 245 Member
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    Try the flavored seltzers....Polar makes a good Cranberry Lime one....you could mix the soda and seltzer together and slowly decrease the soda amount to wean yourself from caffeine.
  • hail87666
    hail87666 Posts: 176 Member
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    Fruit juice? Still high in sugar, but natural sugar at least
  • merrillfoster
    merrillfoster Posts: 855 Member
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    Maybe water with a little lemon? Or check Vitamin Water zero--I think the sweeteners are all natural, and it's calorie free (I like the lemonade flavor but others are good as well)
  • LaurasClimb
    LaurasClimb Posts: 211 Member
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    Hi, I'm new to this site, today is my first day but I have high hopes!
    I love my water and can take or leave soda so I really can't relate. But one thing I really like is flavored seltzer waters. Most people I know say "yuck" when you mention seltzer. But I think it's great, gives you that fizz you get from soda but none of the sugar or artificial sweeteners. Zero calories and zero sodium! You could also mix it with a little juice if you like more flavor. Hope this helps.
  • hlnbailey
    hlnbailey Posts: 1
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    There are sodas with natural sweeteners in them that have low - no calories. One of them is called zevia and it actually tastes good and is wayy better for you than all the artificial ingredients in regular brands of sodas.
  • taco_tap
    taco_tap Posts: 152 Member
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    I drink V8 juice. The fruit kind and I just started liking the ones that taste like tomatoes. I just found V8 Fusion +energy. Has caffeine from green tea. Helped me cut coffee and soda, while i get some sort of vegetable and fruit serving. They have little 8 ounce cans so you can grab one on the go. They are the most delicious juice that I have found. (to me, anyways.)
  • louramaille
    louramaille Posts: 43
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    Maybe water with a little lemon? Or check Vitamin Water zero--I think the sweeteners are all natural, and it's calorie free (I like the lemonade flavor but others are good as well)

    I will have to take a look at these, MOST things that are "calorie free" are the artificial sweetners, but I am willing to give it a try, I will know right away if it is, cause it has a horrible after taste for me that is my first warning sign of danger. ( comes in handy when the drink is not very forthcoming with its ingrediants )
  • louramaille
    louramaille Posts: 43
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    I drink V8 juice. The fruit kind and I just started liking the ones that taste like tomatoes. I just found V8 Fusion +energy. Has caffeine from green tea. Helped me cut coffee and soda, while i get some sort of vegetable and fruit serving. They have little 8 ounce cans so you can grab one on the go. They are the most delicious juice that I have found. (to me, anyways.)

    I love the fusions, they are great, but pretty pricey to drink on a regular basis. I bought a few of these to have as meals after a root canal infected my jaw and I could not open my mouth let alone chew for 4 days.
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    Try Stevia for sweetening a drink, it's not artificial and it's 0 calorie
  • muitobem
    muitobem Posts: 436 Member
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    You need to check out a health food store and see what they offer so it won't have artificial sweeteners...
  • momma_roo
    momma_roo Posts: 146 Member
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    I agree with the flavored seltzer waters. They taste great, have 0 calories and natural flavors. They also have the same great fizz as soda.
  • buell1200
    buell1200 Posts: 11
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    Try polar flavored seltzer waters. Or other seltzer. I know someone with the same issue (regular water/heartburn) and they love these.
  • louramaille
    louramaille Posts: 43
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    Thank you all for all the responses, I am goin to have to try seltzer water, I have a soda stream at home and what i tried from that was no good, but then again i didnt like the soda from it either.

    So far so good with the vitamin water thou, only tried one so far, as its all that was in the vending machine at work.
  • mrsh101
    mrsh101 Posts: 4
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    I am a total juice/sugary drink addict by nature and Ive been working very hard to break the habit, luckily I can have artificial sweeteners though. What I do is put a little bit of cordial or fruit juice in a glass with soda water, I dont know if soda water affects you like normal water does? Otherwise I agree with drinking juice, at least it's natural sugar
  • mrsh101
    mrsh101 Posts: 4
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    Also maybe you need to get on some medication for the heartburn so that you can drink water? I live in New Zealand so I don't know what medications you have there but here losec (omeprazole) is really effective
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    I found it very difficult too. Here is what I did:
    - I started to take Omeprazole. It is over the counter and worked pretty well for the stomach stuff.
    - Mixed seltzer with fruit juice. I liked OJ and cranberry.
    - I found that V-8 juice filled me up and I usually have a small can for my afternoon snack. 5.5 oz
    - Because of a heart condition, I can't drink lots of water, but I do 3 a day.
    - Froze grapes and raspberries and would suck on those.

    It was a long process, but I haven't even had soda in years. :)

    Good luck.
  • maryzcontrary
    maryzcontrary Posts: 70
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    ok, this is just some opinion - I wonder why water would give you heartburn, and soda would not. If Coke can get the corrosion off of your battery cables, it has some potential to really eat your stomach up....not to mention all the sugar making you very acidic. That said, I'm just wondering if you might be having the heartburn because the water is actually diluting the high acid content in your stomach -- which makes me think that you might try adding a teaspoon of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to your water...sounds kinda icky, but it's not an overwhelming taste.

    One of the myths of heartburn is that it is caused by too much acid. It can be caused by too little.

    The sodas will age and kill you much much faster than the heartburn -- maybe speak to a doctor about this situation and ask him how you might change this around? I find that sodas give me stomach issues, water doesn't....there has to be a connection between all the sodas and your inability to drink water....
  • louramaille
    louramaille Posts: 43
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    ok, this is just some opinion - I wonder why water would give you heartburn, and soda would not. If Coke can get the corrosion off of your battery cables, it has some potential to really eat your stomach up....not to mention all the sugar making you very acidic. That said, I'm just wondering if you might be having the heartburn because the water is actually diluting the high acid content in your stomach -- which makes me think that you might try adding a teaspoon of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to your water...sounds kinda icky, but it's not an overwhelming taste.

    One of the myths of heartburn is that it is caused by too much acid. It can be caused by too little.

    The sodas will age and kill you much much faster than the heartburn -- maybe speak to a doctor about this situation and ask him how you might change this around? I find that sodas give me stomach issues, water doesn't....there has to be a connection between all the sodas and your inability to drink water....

    You are probably right about the connection. My parents are heavy soda drinkers at least when I was young. Dad switched to tea but mom hates anything but pepsi. I can rememeber at my earliest of memories having soda, cause its what my parents drank, and in high school ( even thou i was 105 lbs ) I could finish a 2 liter of mountain dew ( HIGH HIGH sugar ) in less then a day. ( Dont worry I cant do that any more, even if i TRIED )

    The hardest part right now, is ( just like everyone else ) money is tight, My hubby brings home soda often cause he drinks like 6 times more then I do, and we have pepsi for free at work. So I am surrounded by it, and the thought is why go spend $2 for something better when i have something free right here. ( trust me i understand the health reason why, its just the natural reaction )
  • kerry1513
    kerry1513 Posts: 38 Member
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    Try the Sparkling Oceanspray drinks. They are only 90 calories a can!

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