The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Nancy]

Hi, People

I am so proud of our daughter - she carries around a quart-sized water bottle and she faithfully slurps her daily supply but she didn't get that from my example. It's not that I drink other things either. I'm just not a drinker by habit.

I wanted to tell you about a product I tried over the weekend. I know how hard it is for some of us to drink water. I am not one to suggest that people buy flavored water - I think pure old water is always the best way to go in terms of our health but I also know how I struggle with getting in all the water I need.

Anyhoo...when I was grocery shopping I saw Lipton Iced Tea to Go.

I read the labels and there is NO aspartame.

It contains sucralose, Splenda™ brand sweetener

Each box contains 10 little tube-shaped packets.
Dump one packet into 16-20 ounces of water.

The front of the box says,
”Sugar Free Iced Tea Mix 0 calories per serving”

However, the side panel says 1 packet = 5 calories...

I used one packet for four sixteen ounce bottles of water - I was pleased with just a partial packet to flavor my water.

I bought two packages - Natural Lemon Flavor Iced Tea To Go was all right; it tasted like Iced Tea with Lemon...

I really liked the Green Tea with Natural Mandarin & Mango flavor.

Each variety has 80 mg flavonoid antioxidants that help to fight against free radicals.

The other flaves include:

Green Tea To Go with Honey and Lemon

Green Tea To Go with Cherry Blossom

Iced Tea To Go with Raspberry

Iced Tea To Go with Peach

I tossed the grocery receipt but I think it was around the mid- to upper $3 range. I drank a lot more water when I added a few grains of the Mandarin & Mango to it...

Lemme know whatcha think of it, too.

[BoPeep1]

Your post had me looking at aspartame (sp?) a bit more. I was so worried because all I do is drink flavored water all day (psychological issues keep me from drinking regular water). I looked at my bottlesand they are flavored with Splenda, so I think I'm okay.

What I did find out about aspartame for anyone who is curious is that it makes you crave carbs and slows your metabolism - very interesting to learn!

[Lisa in NY]

I've tried these and they are the answer to my prayers!

I do NOT like plain water and these make all the difference for me!

Lisa

[BoPeep1]

An update: I sent hubby to get some of this in the store, what he came back with was from a brand called 4C (don't know if it's regional) and it had 20 packets, 0 calories and sweetened with Splenda.

[Nancy]

How is it? Tasty? Are ya slurpin' that water/tea then???

[BoPeep1]

It's really good! I'm doing 3 bottles of tea and 3 bottles of my regular flavored water. Comes out to just about 100oz of water a day.

[Ct. Yankee]

4C brand makes a 'Totally Light 2 Go' Lemonade which has zero across the nutrition board, except for 35 mg of Sodium.

4C also makes 'Totally Light Tea 2 Go' with natural lemon flavor and it is completely zero across the board. Both products throw in 100% Vit C, also. Both are very good. I don't find them very expensive. The 4C brand has 20 packets per box, while the Lipton tea, has 10 packets for $2.99.

Nancy mentioned splitting the Lipton Tea packet between 4 bottles of H20. I use all of these products full strength, one packet per 16.9 oz bottle. With zero nutrients in these packets, I don't see any reason why we cannot use packets instead of 'unadulterated' water, sure makes the water go down easily. Personally, I am using 3 plain water bottles and 3 flavored water bottles per day.

[Nancy]

Ct. Yankee ~

There's no reason why you can't use the whole packet per bottle of water. I just like a hint of the flavor once in a while to help me get my water down so that's why I used a partial packet in my bottle of water.

I usually do just fine drinking plain bottled water. The water in our area tastes nasty to me and we do have a water filter on one of our water faucets here at the MakeMeThinner Cottage but sometimes I just like a bit of a wowee flave on my tongue. I prefer the Mandarin Mango but the natural Lemon flavor Green Tea is good, too.

Re: flavored water

My restraint on flavored water really has nothing to do with the weight loss phase or maintenance phase but a personal opinion and choice for me based on observation - I feel that people have gotten so accustomed to eating and drinking ‘something’, they rarely go for an hour without consuming something. The advertising industry has us thinking that unless we drink the fancy designer waters, we are zeros in life. Falsely any of us believe we must have the additives to make us healthy, to give us energy, etc. It seems most people have a cup or bottle of something in their hand at all times. Our children see that and they want it, too. When people are at work, they are always sucking on a bottle or cup of something; we just open our mouths and poke something in continually. THAT got me into flabber trouble so I have tried to break my former foody habits by learning during the weight loss phase the way I wanted to live out the rest of my days - with restraint, with commitment to maintaining my weight for the rest of my lifetime. I cannot eat and drink all that I want or I will become my former flabby self. My memories of living life large are too painful for me to ever endure again. Ever. I must exercise restraint.

The rest of you may not have those issues with food that I do and can reasonably have half a dozen bottles of flavored water a day, but for me, it would be too easy to slip back to drinking regular pop so regular water is the beverage of choice for me. Remember, I’m the one that cannot be trusted with a fork!

If coloring or flavoring your water helps you get it down the hatch and you're adding no carbs or cals, go for it! For some of us, it's worth the buck a day to flush the burned flabber from our systems!

I'll look for your 4C lemonade. It sounds really good to me because I love tart things and thank you so much for telling us about it.

Bo, some people cannot handle aspartame as it gives them headaches and many artificial sweeteners cause embarrassing clouds of gastric distress (tootage!), increases hunger and Yikes! sends some folks for the sandbox in a hurry...

[Ct. Yankee]

Hi Nancy, thanks for the great post. I understand what you are saying about after the weight loss phase is over regarding drinking water vs soft drinks. For now I am drinking water that I never bothered to care about drinking before. I feel great, have energy, know that I am flushing my system out, not only of fat, but of other toxins. So, I am on a learning phase, so that, when I reach maintenance, drinking water will not stop for me and will be as routine as MF. I hope to eventually switch to all plain water by the time, I get to my goal weight. Awww, I am such a 'newbie', huh?!!

As far as bottled water vs. tap water, moving from Connecticut to Florida, I have difficulty with the taste of the water down here. And, in my area, to be honest, I don't trust the water, so it is $50 each month for bottled water for me. For some, carrying bottled water around is a fad, for me, a lifeline! Thanks again for your post, Nancy. I appreciate the info.

Joan