I've been really wanting to loose weight recently, so I want to start making my diet a little better first since I'm not so into the exercise part.

I drink a lot of soda, which is a big problem if you're wanting to eat healthy, and I would get sick of water at some point in time. I want to start drinking better things. My first idea was V8, which I just tried recently, but when I drink it I feel like I need to drink something else with it. I'd kind of like something fruity, but I'm not too big on actual juice. To be specific, I usually don't care for apple or orange juice, and sometimes I like grape juice or fruit punch but sometimes there's something about it I don't like. I'm thinking it may be the acidity, but I can't put my finger on it. So, what are some good alternatives to pop you'd suggest?

(By the way, is this considered to be in the right forum?)

Mix seltzer water with juices you like.
Grape Juice tastes really good mixed with it. Its like soda, but not as bad.
And if you aren't into excising, like me, just play some music you love to dance to, and you'll burn calories in no time.

I'm not even sure where I would find seltzer water, honestly. That sounds like a pretty good idea though.

Flavored waters are generally pretty good. You can even get sparkling ciders and juices. I'm a big gatoraid drinker myself.

They have the V8Fusion. It tastes exactly like fruit even though it has both fruits and veggies in it. You get your veggies and your fruit but only with the fruity taste.

I prefer regular V8, but if this floats your boat so be it.

I didn't even think about Gatorade. I'm not a fan of flavored water though. :[
I'll consider the V8 fusion then. I didn't know how it tasted because I haven't tried it yet but I think I will now. C: Thanks for the suggestions.

What about smoothie?
You can make it by putting fresh or frozen berries, bananas, yoghurt natural, a little juice and a little vanilla sugar (dunno if I'm using the right words) into a blender and... BLEND IT X3
I like it very much, and then you don't drink that much of it at one time ^^

Juice is about as bad as soda. Same with Gatorade, completely artificial. Both are pure sugar, and some brands of juice (not sure about Gatorade) use ingredients like high fructose corn syrup to sweeten the drink.
Homemade smoothies are yummy :) and you're still getting the fiber and good stuff from the fruits.
Buy teabags and make your own iced tea sweetened with honey, agave, or low-calorie sweetener like Splenda.
& If you have to, diet soda?

Caro's right. Juices are just as bad as soda. They're chock-full of calories and sugar.

I recommend water all the way if you want to lose weight. If you don't like it plain, try adding some lemon or lime, and some sugar-free sweetener (Stevia, Splenda, etc.) and you'll have lemon or limeaid. :D

like Caroline was saying. If you get tired of water, or flavored water, drink tea. I've been addicted to these "Flavour Infusions" that my Sobeys has. You add them to your water, and it tastes like juice, just without the stupid calories and sugars.

I'm a big milk-drinker, so I drink skim or 1% milk half the time.
When I get bored of water, I mix different flavors of Crstal Light together.
Certain teas are supposed to help with weight loss.

Even self-made smoothies are high in calories - just take a look at how much fruits and vegetables go in there. Here it depends completely on your body whether this is actually healthy for you or not. If, after having one of those delicious things, your body feels like it has just had a nice meal, go for it! Lots of vitamins for the calories of only a small meal.

If, like with a lot of people out there, your body feels like "Nice beverage - now, where's my meal?" after a smoothie, stay away from them. Eat those fruits and vegetables instead (with a lot of fruits you'll get even more vitamins thanks to eating the peal, and you'll feel satiated after eating this whole mountain of healthy stuff), and for beverages rather go with low/non-calorie soda (best look for the splenda-sweetened ones - a lot of people feel like it's the only sweetener that does not make you crave for real sugar after drinking it).

People will probably shoot me down for this but I drink Diet soft drink and I've lost around 20kg. I don't drink coffee and as my only source of caffine, I rather not give it up.

I'm not going to tell you to do that as a lot of people would disapprove. But I will say that even though you say you would get sick of water, you get used to it. I used to hate water and would never drink it but now I drink it a lot and only drink one can of my diet soft drink a day. When I started dieting I had to force myself to drink water so I took water bottles to work. After a while I started to enjoy it, found myself less hungry and I just felt better all round.

Even today, I had a massive headache so I had 3 big glasses of water and felt 100% better.

Diet soft drinks are bad for you though, they might not have any sugar in them but they're full of chemicals and they'll still rot your teeth. Meef if you're serious about losing some weight then you do need to exercise, just find something that you actually enjoy doing. Because just cutting sugar-laden drinks out of your diet isn't enough, it's a good step in the right direction, but you do need to put a bit of effort into it if you want to slim down and get healthier.

Maybe you should try different teas, like suggested above. Spicy chai teas are soo yummy, and you can always vary! Green tea is really healthy. Or you could make your own juice, buy vegetables or fruits and process them for the juice ooor make smoothies with natural ingredients, etc. You could always add lemon or lime to your water if you get sick of it, lol. Good luck!

Originally Posted by jellysundae

Diet soft drinks are bad for you though, they might not have any sugar in them but they're full of chemicals and they'll still rot your teeth.

While I agree that they are most probably not as healthy as water (not sure about tea - it does contain a couple of substances that are unhealthy in high dosage or when you don't get the right time to let it draw) thanks to their chemical nature, they don't make your teeth rot.

The only substance in beverages that is unhealthy for your teeth is the sugar, and that's gone with diet soda. Don't let people fool you into believing that the carbonic acid does anything to your teeth, the concentration is far too low and the exposure far too short.

Yes, I know about the so called studies claiming the opposite, but they constantly rinsed teeth in soda - while I know few people who would bathe their teeth in soda for days. :P

(Wow, two posts about how soda does not dissolve your teeth within like half an hour. I wonder when my Coke Company paycheck will arrive?)

Diet cokes do include chemicals that make it sweet. These chemicals will make you crave for more food later.

Not to mention that the notion "Oh, I drink diet soda, so there are no calories in me so I can eat this extra portion of cake" can affect one's will ;D


In my opinion, with beverages, nothing better than water. Drink it fast [without breathing if possible] if you're like me, who can't stand it's [non-]flavour :| Or add some effervescent = 3=

Originally Posted by jellysundae

Meef if you're serious about losing some weight then you do need to exercise, just find something that you actually enjoy doing. Because just cutting sugar-laden drinks out of your diet isn't enough, it's a good step in the right direction, but you do need to put a bit of effort into it if you want to slim down and get healthier.

This be the truth.