When u stop drinking soda....

[marnel]

What do u drink?
Ive pretty much cut it out except when I do go out I may buy a diet maybe 2x a week. (small)
So what else can I drink besides water???

[jessica31876]

I drink lemonade (usually pink lemonade, raspberry lemonade or strawberry lemonade), sweet tea or water. Occasionally Ill have OJ, apple or cranberry juice

[Darcy Baldwin]

Tea - I do a sweet tea with very little sugar ( I don't do diet anything ). It helps the 'taste' of something and not feeling deprived, and it's still water, even with the bit of caffeine and tannin.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Mary I just cut out all carbonated drinks last week. Believe me it was HARD b/c I was really addicted to Dt. Mt. Dew. But I've had stomach issues (gastritis) and my doc said no more carbonation for at least 6 months. Anyway, I drink sweet tea and water with lemon most of the time now. I always drank sweet tea before but it's mostly all I drink now when I'm at home. But you know..in the south we're raised on sweet tea...we put it in our babies bottles! (I'm just kidding lol)

[jessica31876]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

But you know..in the south we're raised on sweet tea...we put it in our babies bottles! (I'm just kidding lol)

This is almost true. I feel lost if I have not had sweet tea that day. And know exactly which restaurants have the best sweet tea and which ones dont. In our house we could easily go through a gallon of sweet tea everyday.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Originally Posted by nikkiARNGwife

But you know..in the south we're raised on sweet tea...we put it in our babies bottles! (I'm just kidding lol)

No you're not LOLOLOL

[origami]

Originally Posted by marnel

What do u drink?
Ive pretty much cut it out except when I do go out I may buy a diet maybe 2x a week. (small)
So what else can I drink besides water???

Water is absolutely the best beverage for you. Try squeezing some fresh lemon or lime in your water if you'd like. I will sometimes have a lemonade, but then, lemonade has extra calories so I try to limit that. Seriously, once you get used to drinking more water, you will really prefer it. Your body will get very used to drinking more water. There are some studies that show that diet sodas are actually really bad for you and actually fattening.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Originally Posted by Darcy Baldwin

No you're not LOLOLOL

I'm totally NOT kidding! lol....I fill up Ella's sippy cup with tea every day lol! I don't "think" I ever put it in their bottles, but I know my Mama did when we were little! lol

[adrianka]

I never used to drink soda (too sweet for my taste), so I drink water (plain or with lemon), fruit tea, herbal tea or rooibos (no sugar added unless I'm ill, then I add honey), smoothies, tomato juice. Oh, and coffee (black, with no sugar), but more for taste than for thirst.

And BTW, anything "diet" has artificial sweeteners, which is even worse than sugar in my view. If, once in a while (about 5 times a year) I feel like having a coke, I go for the classic version. :-)

[Freckles]

I don't think we have 'sweet tea' over here, but it sounds good! What is it made of?
I would really love to stop drinking coke and find something else to drink instead, but I don't like to drink water.

[knlchevys]

I love Crystal Light in the little packets to add to a water bottle. Probably not the best thing!!

[nikkiARNGwife]

Originally Posted by Freckles

I don't think we have 'sweet tea' over here, but it sounds good! What is it made of?
I would really love to stop drinking coke and find something else to drink instead, but I don't like to drink water.

Classic Southern Sweet Tea

Ingredients
1/2 gallon fresh, clean, water
4 family size tea bags or 8 regular tea bags (ice tea brew)
1 cup granulated sugar

[Paula]

I don't do ANY soda, so I drink lemonade when I need something more than water.

[eranslow]

Originally Posted by knlchevys

I love Crystal Light in the little packets to add to a water bottle. Probably not the best thing!!

We do this too. Along with drinking just plain water In the summer (so now) we also usually have a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge. We don't keep soda at our house.

[Tracyfish]

We always have Crystal Light lemonade in the fridge. I usually don't make sweet tea because we drink so much of it when we eat out.

[Jengerbread88]

Sobe Lifewater (it's like, flavored water basically...), juice, MiO (it's this liquid that you add to water to flavor it... a lot more intense than Crystal Light or anything, and 0 cal)...

[mariewilcox]

I stopped drinking Diet Pepsi about 5 years ago and it was soooo hard! Now I drink water, since I don't do sugar (which rules any kind of lemonade, crystal light, gatorade, juices, etc, etc.)

I now actually crave water and always have my water bottle next to me. Sometimes I use lemon or lime in it, sometimes just plain. I keep a jug in the fridge with a "cleansing water" for first thing in the morning. It is water with cucumber, ginger root, mint leaves, and lemon slices. My daughter loves this and I have to fight her for it

[scrapmonkey]

I drink 1 Vitamin Water Zero (similar to Sobe LifeWater) each day and then the rest of the day I alternate between hot herbal tea, plain water, and water with Crystal Light (or the Ocean Spray version of CL). I'm trying to drink more plain water, but I'm working towards that goal. I find the colder the water the more I like it.
By the way, hopefully it will be coming out completely on the market soon (I live in a test market area), but Crystal Light has flavors they've been testing for margarita, mojito and appletini. And they are yummy, although not in the indvidual size yet.

[marnel]

Wow u all are so helpful ok that was my last diet now that I know that!
I honestly thought the sweet tea wasnt good for me so I stopped it to duhhhh Im a southern girl & love my sweet tea my mother makes the BEST! Nikki I spit my coffee out, thanks lol...
I am so doing the lemonade I found a recipe for it that I loved but I guess it is better than soda! Which is banned in my house & my dh is having a Fit but the 6 lbs ive lost r Good & worth it... I honestly am happy that my muffin top is going away..
I am also gonna try the Crystal light lemonade yummmmm!!!!

[mummytothree]

We drink milk for breakfast (skim), 4C's Lemonade for lunch (made with real sugar..not HFCS) and water for dinner and any other time we are thirsty.

During school time I switch the milk to lunch (since 4 of my kids will get taht at school) and then we have OJ for breakfast. The water stays the same.

The only exception is my youngest (not quite 2) gets milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner (15 ozs total) and juice for his 2 snakcs (3 oz juice mixed with 4 ozs water).

[origami]

Think of it this way. Water is free. Everything else you drink (juice, soda, tea, flavorings, coffee) costs money. Drink more water, feel better and you'll have more money to spend on digital scrapbooking supplies. I can't believe how much money I used to spend monthly on iced coffees and soda! Digital scrapbooking supplies last longer!

[marnel]

Originally Posted by mariewilcox

I stopped drinking Diet Pepsi about 5 years ago and it was soooo hard! Now I drink water, since I don't do sugar (which rules any kind of lemonade, crystal light, gatorade, juices, etc, etc.)

I now actually crave water and always have my water bottle next to me. Sometimes I use lemon or lime in it, sometimes just plain. I keep a jug in the fridge with a "cleansing water" for first thing in the morning. It is water with cucumber, ginger root, mint leaves, and lemon slices. My daughter loves this and I have to fight her for it

Ohh Marie id like to try that could I have the recipe..

[Lauramarie]

I gave up soda too and I drink ice cold water and when I want some flavor, I add a spritz of cranberry juice to it. It really makes a difference.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Oh I forgot to add that I switched to using decaf tea bags and I can't tell the difference. Now the only caffeine I get is from my one cup of coffee a day (i'll never give it up..you'll have to rip it from my dead cold hands!)

I didn't even tell DH I switched to decaf tea and he has no clue :P

[AmberK]

When I was out of town a few weekends ago the hotel I was staying at had 2 huge things of water for the guests to drink. They had fruit sitting on bottom of the container of water and it gave just a slight hint of flavor. It was really yummy! One of them had strawberries and oranges in it. The other had cucumbers of all things. I didn't try that one though.

[marnel]

Elizabeth I am guilty of my kids pref'g the soda @ lunch & dinner, l have made em start drinking the milk or OJ for brwakdast, it was always juice juice juice.
Now that the soda is outta the house they dont even ask anymore. Yay! Its good for everyone all around.

[4noisyboys]

I grew up on Sweet Tea. The first time I had unsweetened tea with lemon in it (I was a teenager), I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I told my mom that I wanted it that way all the time...no more sugar, and you would've thought I'd slapped her across the face. I had to make my own and I had to hear about it all the time! Both my parents are diabetics now too...so...

I don't drink soda...never have. Sometimes I drink Crystal Light drinks. I buy them for my boys. I like the Peach Mango Green Tea one. It's much lighter than the regular teas. I drink unsweetened tea with lemon, and I'm a huge water drinker. I took the boys to BJ's last night for dinner, and I noticed we all ordered water. We only had water with meals when the boys were small though, so it's no big deal for us to do that.

[mariewilcox]

Here you go Marnel - most people I know think the ingredients are really odd, but it's quite refreshing

2 liters water (about 8-1/2 cups) or I just use a gallon jug.
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
1 medium cucumber peeled and sliced
1 lemon cut in half lengthwise and sliced
12 or so mint leaves

Just put them all in the jug and sit in fridge overnight. The jug I use has a small enough opening to keep the cukes and lemons from going into my glass when I pour, and I just pick out any mint leaves that come through. You can strain the whole thing through a sieve if you don't want the pulp and ginger.

[4noisyboys]

Originally Posted by AmberK

When I was out of town a few weekends ago the hotel I was staying at had 2 huge things of water for the guests to drink. They had fruit sitting on bottom of the container of water and it gave just a slight hint of flavor. It was really yummy! One of them had strawberries and oranges in it. The other had cucumbers of all things. I didn't try that one though.

I love fruit slices in my water. I do that too. Orange slices are really tasty too and it's great when they sit in the water all day like that!!

[MamaBee]

I ADORE sweet tea... too bad can't get any decent stuff up here - at least I have McDonald's.

We aren't much in pop drinkers here anymore... kiddo drinks a lot of "water juice box"... J's name for a glass of water with a bit of apple juice added to it... I and my hubby drink a lot of ice water. My dentist told me to stop with the fluoride added water, which we have city water... so we now are getting a water service. We do some fitness flavor packets (like crystal light but no aspartame - triggers my migraines)... but if I'm feeling daring and want to flirt with my migraines... I LOVE the mojito Crystal Light... YUM! We also drink a ton of milk - 2 gals a week for pretty much me... kiddo will have a glass or two.

[sczos911]

I drink Arnold Palmers - 1/2 tea (unsweetened) & 1/2 Lemonade.
And if I am feeling really "naughty" I get the 1/2 sweet tea and 1/2 lemonade from the gas station or McDonald's. That is my treat lately.

[dana]

yum - i love arnold palmers (w/ unsweetened tea)

i love lemonade - but not crystal light - only the real stuff... so i don't drink it often, LOL, b/c that's too many calories for me.

i LOVE iced tea - but only unsweetened (i don't really like any sweet drinks other than lemonade, and that needs to be pretty tangy to offset the sweetness) ... i make iced tea at home using an iced tea maker i bought from amazon.

my DH and i LOVE inkos white tea ... especially the mint flavor. it is AMAZING. we used to be able to buy it in NYC - now we have to order it online. we buy 20 of the family sized bottles at a time. it is made from white tea, which is super healthy. it has very very low caffeine and the mint flavor has no sugar or artificial sweeteners. i LOVE it ... it is the only thing that keeps me from diet coke.

i try to drink lots of water too - but sometimes you just want a little more oomph

[4noisyboys]

I like to stop and get Starbucks iced green tea. It's mint flavored and I get it unsweetened, otherwise it comes sweetened. It's super refreshing, not as much caffeine, and just perfect for these hot summer days!

[ColleenSwerb]

I. Hate. Sweet. Tea. SO gross.

Unsweetened ice tea with lemon all the way for me. I've been craving it like crazy lately so I keep making pitchers to keep in the fridge. Wendy's makes it awesome, and the deli I visit rarely also makes a good one and has fresh lemon wedges next to it that you can add to it. I have to drive myself in tomorrow morning and I'm TOTALLY stopping to get a breakfast sandwich and a jumbo ice tea for the day
Before the morning sickness kicked in and water made me want to get sick, I just drank a lot of water. I gave up soda for lent and never really went back (except for now, because sometimes it's the only thing that will settle my stomach, but once this morning sickness is gone I'm kicking the habit again for SURE). Sometimes I add lemon to it, but usually not. If I drink too much water with lemon I get heartburn (random, I know).
I should give cucumber water a try.

[nanienamou]

Lately, I've not been good and have been drinking alot of iced coffee.

Anyway, I drink green tea, coffee, Diet Nestea iced tea, mineral water with a splash of juice and the occasionnal diet pepsi, but I'm trying to stop.

My fridge has an option for crushed ice, so I fill a big glass of it, then add some water and eat up the ice. Weird, I know, but I love crunching ice. I sometimes drink a glass of milk with ice, too.

[Stacey42]

I occasionally have a Sprite but mostly I drink water, lemonade & apple cider (hard and regular). Occasionally juice. I don't like most tea, maybe some berry flavored decaf herbal tea but regular tea is just nasty to me. When we go out to eat I drink lemonade or wine depending on where we are. Water at home most of the time, but I do like something flavored with a meal so I'll add a splash or two of juice to it.

I gave up soda for non-diet reasons so calories don't figure into my drink habits & all artificial sweeteners give me really bad headaches so "light" or "Diet" anything is no go for me & I make up for the drink calories with what I eat.

[origami]

Originally Posted by ColleenSwerb

I. Hate. Sweet. Tea. SO gross.

Same here. Thanks for being brave enough to admit it here among all these sweet tea drinkers.

[DawnMarch]

I drink unsweetened ice tea. It's got a little bit of caffeine and it's actually good for you. I used to love sweet tea, but I prefer not to drink the sugar and your taste buds adjust after a while. Now I actually don't like sweet tea -- too sugary.

[rachaelsscraps]

Ice Water- like Freezing COLD with a squirt of lemon juice

[LenaGardner]

I'm on a medication that makes carbonation taste nasty...(sadly this includes beer :sob: ) So I drink unsweetened tea with splenda or water, sometimes gatorade. 90% of the time I drink water.

[LenaGardner]

Originally Posted by rachaelsscraps

Ice Water- like Freezing COLD with a squirt of lemon juice

LOL I *ONLY* like mine room temperature. I'm weird that way though.

[Becca Bonneville]

I stopped drinking soda about a year ago now. I can't even stand how they taste at all since it has been so long since I have had one. Now I drink water and iced tea. I will get the Crystal Light packets from time to time.

[kscwgirl]

I wish I liked iced tea... but I don't. So.. I drink crystal light.. mostly the sunrise orange. Plain water is not my preference.

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by origami

Water is absolutely the best beverage for you. Try squeezing some fresh lemon or lime in your water if you'd like. I will sometimes have a lemonade, but then, lemonade has extra calories so I try to limit that. Seriously, once you get used to drinking more water, you will really prefer it. Your body will get very used to drinking more water. There are some studies that show that diet sodas are actually really bad for you and actually fattening.

This. I'm a hard-core water drinker (it's all I drink 99% of the time) and very very anti diet anything, especially soda. I won't go into my rant, haha, but I'll just say there's a reason thin people aren't usually the ones drinking diet soda.

If the reason you stopped drinking soda was to lose weight, the best thing you can do is go with the lowest calorie option, aka water. Replacing soda with something like sweet tea or lemonade isn't any better than drinking soda. They both have just as many calories if not more in them. Not only can water boost your metabolism but it's a million times better for your health than any other drink.

Oh and I'm with Col - I have no idea how so many of you drink sweet tea. It is beyond gross. You might as well just eat a cup of sugar.

[Tracyfish]

Originally Posted by LenaGardner

LOL I *ONLY* like mine room temperature. I'm weird that way though.

This is me...I don't like it cold at all. I will let a cold glass of water sit until it's not cold anymore before I drink it.

[Sharon Kay]

I need to break my Coke habit (although in restaurants in the serve yourself I make it 1/2 diet ... have classic) ... even when I was on my diet several years ago and lost a lot of weight and drank a lot of water ... I still hated water ... I have never craved water. BLAND is how I see it.

I will drink water with the different lil packets of flavor dropped into the glass/bottle ... like the diet hawaiian punch (my favorite) or diet pink lemonade or diet lemonade ... and that is what I will be going to when I start my diet back up.

I also have the protein drinks that I used through Inches A Weigh years ago (buy them online from discount place) ... I either put the vanilla cappuccino protein mix in with my weak coffee (or use splenda vanilla cafe sticks) or I take the protein mix and shake it up with a tall glass of skim milk (close enough to starbucks vanilla frappucino) ...

[Sharon Kay]

Originally Posted by 4noisyboys

I love fruit slices in my water. I do that too. Orange slices are really tasty too and it's great when they sit in the water all day like that!!

ok how many orange slices in a 1/2 gallon of water ... and do you peel them first? Just have my curiosity up here ...

[jorgies5]

Originally Posted by Nettio

This. I'm a hard-core water drinker (it's all I drink 99% of the time) and very very anti diet anything, especially soda. I won't go into my rant, haha, but I'll just say there's a reason thin people aren't usually the ones drinking diet soda.

If the reason you stopped drinking soda was to lose weight, the best thing you can do is go with the lowest calorie option, aka water. Replacing soda with something like sweet tea or lemonade isn't any better than drinking soda. They both have just as many calories if not more in them. Not only can water boost your metabolism but it's a million times better for your health than any other drink.

Oh and I'm with Col - I have no idea how so many of you drink sweet tea. It is beyond gross. You might as well just eat a cup of sugar.

I 100% agree!

[mummytothree]

Originally Posted by ColleenSwerb

If I drink too much water with lemon I get heartburn (random, I know).

Not random at all!! Water gave me heart burn in every single one of my pregnancies in the 1st and 3rd trimester!! I finally asked my OB about it during this last one and and he said it's because water is super heavy and when you drink it, it "splashes" down into the stomach and "sloshes" everything else back up your throat. Then it just sits down there at the bottom of the stomach and keeps everything pushing up!!!

[nanienamou]

Yep, that's the thing... I was a huge water drinker - 2 liters a day, but since having my sleeve, it gives me severe heartburn. However, I really dehydrate quickly, so I need liquid. I find that mineral water is not as bad, but it's carbonated. Half green ice tea and lemonade sweetened with a little splenda works well too.

Those Crystal Light packets taste awful to me because of the fake sweetener. I find that they always put to much, making it too sweet.

Originally Posted by mummytothree

Not random at all!! Water gave me heart burn in every single one of my pregnancies in the 1st and 3rd trimester!! I finally asked my OB about it during this last one and and he said it's because water is super heavy and when you drink it, it "splashes" down into the stomach and "sloshes" everything else back up your throat. Then it just sits down there at the bottom of the stomach and keeps everything pushing up!!!