# Drinking Problem



## Fern Modena (Jul 26, 2011)

My name is Fern and I have a drinking problem.  

I drink coffee in the mornings, and then after that I usually drink water all day.  Glasses and glasses of water.  I can't do carbonation, so if I want a soda I stir most of it out.  I have to watch the sugar, so fruit juices are out.

Once in a while I drink Crystal Lite fruit punch, but other than that I am at a loss.  

Anybody have any ideas on something I could drink that wouldn't have much sugar or carbonation?

TIA.

Fern


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## slip (Jul 26, 2011)

A couple of weeks ago, my wife bought a coffee mate ice tea maker. It's
great. I never drank that much iced tea before but now I love it. She uses
splenda as the sugar substitute. Brews a gallon in less than 5 minutes.


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## Talent312 (Jul 26, 2011)

I am an inveterate drinker of ice tea w/o sweetener, just lemon or lime.

Our method:
-- Place 4 teabags in a one-quart pyrex measuring cup and fill w-water;
-- Heat the water to a near boil in a microwave (~7 minutes);
-- Pour over a generous amount of ice and some water in a one gallon pitcher.

A passive method is "sun tea" - leave tea bags in a large pitcher of water in the sun for a few hours.
.


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## GetawaysRus (Jul 26, 2011)

If you are not diabetic, consider Trader Joe's LOW CALORIE Lemonade.  

Most store bought lemonades have about 25 grams of carbs and are way too sweet for my taste.  TJ's only has 10 grams of carbs per serving.  It does have some cane sugar, however, so it may not be a good choice for diabetics.  It's low cal, definitely not zero cal.

I also drink Crystal Lite.   Raspberry Lemonade is my favorite - I mix it most days at lunchtime so that I can skip the Diet Coke.  I also like the Ocean Spray packets that are Crystal Lite clones: Blueberry-Cranberry (though it's a bit sweet) and their White Cranberry-Peach.


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## Passepartout (Jul 26, 2011)

Try green tea. Iced or hot. I've seen many Chinese people put the leaves into a bottle with a lid and nurse on it all day. Room temperature. The leaves settle to the bottom. Good antioxidant too. Use your fav no calorie sweetener as you wish.

I am reminded of DW's kids who when they came around saying they wanted something to drink, she'd say "Have a glass of water." To which they'd reply "But Mawwwm! We want something with _taaaste_!"

Hope you find something new to switch around with.

Jim


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## RonB (Jul 26, 2011)

How about some vegetable juices? But be careful because some have a high sodium content. Another thought would be something like the Vita-Mix juicer.
Ron


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## DaveNV (Jul 26, 2011)

I also can't do carbonation and need to watch my sugars.  I'm a fan of Lipton's new Pure Leaf iced tea.  It comes in several flavors, including an Unsweetened variety.  That's my choice, because the flavored ones all have a ton of calories.  The Unsweetened variety has no calories.  This is the one that comes in glass bottles in a six-pack.  It has zero sugar grams, and no carbonation.  I like that it's portable, because the lid screws on.  If I want to sweeten it just a bit, I use artificial sweetener in it.  Works well.

Dave


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## pjrose (Jul 27, 2011)

How about all those add-in sprinkles for water?  Or the already-flavored waters in the water aisle?  I like Propel and similar ones.

I LOVE McDonald's sweet tea, but it's sooo sweet it's a killer calorie-wise, so I order it half-and-half with unsweetened.  'course if I drink all 32 ounces I'm jittery all night.


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## isisdave (Jul 27, 2011)

Iced coffee.  Brew a lot in the morning (you can make it double strength if you like). Let it cool off and put it in the fridge.

I also like Crystal Light, usually the lemonade flavor because that's what you can buy in the 10-pack at Costco.

BTW Fern, if you like coffee for more than the caffeine, you can try making your own coffee ice cream or (big New England secret coming up here) coffee Jello.  mmmm....


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## Karen G (Jul 27, 2011)

I like Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry juice.  It is sweetened with Splenda and is only 5 calories per serving.


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## CarolF (Jul 27, 2011)

Fern Modena said:


> My name is Fern and I have a drinking problem.
> 
> I drink coffee in the mornings, and then after that I usually drink water all day.  Glasses and glasses of water.  I can't do carbonation, so if I want a soda I stir most of it out.  I have to watch the sugar, so fruit juices are out.
> 
> ...



Around here, just drinking water is normal.  We tend to make herbal teas, black tea, green tea or coffee if we want something different, we don't add sugar to any of them.


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## ampaholic (Jul 27, 2011)

Try lemonade - you can use Jack Daniels to "sweeten" it up. :whoopie: 

Just kidding:

I've been drinking Poweraid Zero Sports Drink - lots of electrolytes and only four calories, non carbonated and fairly cheap.

You really want to keep up the electrolytes in the hot weather.


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## glypnirsgirl (Jul 27, 2011)

I am another iced tea lover. (I think I want to buy that ice tea maker!) I use Luzianne family size caffeine free tea so that I can drink it all day. 

I like the family size tea bags because I don't like opening lots of little packets and then fishing them out. With a family size bag, all I need is one bag and the quart of tea that it makes lasts all day. 

I have an aversion to the microwave so I just get a small pot, fill it with water, bring to boil, drop in the tea bag, put on the lid and turn off the flame. I set a timer so that it doesn't overbrew - 5 minutes is just about right for me. My sister uses 7 minutes. (I think that the tea gets bitter about that time). Once it has brewed, I pour the tea into a plastic pitcher filled with ice and it is ready to go.

I use Splenda and lemon for flavor. 

Or water, or water with a slice of cucumber. 2 or 3 slices if flavoring the whole pitcher. 

Bon Appetiti!

elaine


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## MuranoJo (Jul 27, 2011)

Another iced tea fan (and hot tea in the winter).  Plus use the PowerAide ZERO sports drink as Ampoholic does (the Zero is important to avoid the sugars).  My doc wanted me to add in more electrolytes, but I didn't want the carbs with the other sports drinks.  I think you'll like it.

BTW, very catchy title--for a minute I thought things may be getting interesting in NV.


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## Sandi Bo (Jul 27, 2011)

I started adding Benefiber to my water.  First once a day, and now twice.  It comes is powder (like the propel) in a couple different flavors.  You can also purchase individual packets and I always have a couple with me for convenience.


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## Kay H (Jul 27, 2011)

Sandi Bo said:


> I started adding Benefiber to my water.  First once a day, and now twice.  It comes is powder (like the propel) in a couple different flavors.  You can also purchase individual packets and I always have a couple with me for convenience.




I add benefiber to my liquids to offset the effects (constipation) of some of my prescriptions.  Have never seen the flavored.  Do they come in a similar jar as the regular (no pun intended)?


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## ace2000 (Jul 27, 2011)

Here's a healthy one for you from Amazon...  my favorite beverage of choice now.  These are great!

*Prodyne Fruit Infusion Natural Fruit Flavor Pitcher* 

http://www.amazon.com/Prodyne-Infus...L86A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1311763086&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Prodyne-Infusion-Natural-Flavor-Pitcher/dp/B004TGWQVC/ref=pd_sim_k_12


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## Mimi39 (Jul 27, 2011)

I mix grapefruit juice with club soda, 50/50, and add some ice.  You could use any fruit juice.


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## Pens_Fan (Jul 27, 2011)

I really like iced tea, but for me the tea promotes kidney stones, so I sitck with seltzers for the most part.


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## ace2000 (Jul 27, 2011)

ace2000 said:


> Here's a healthy one for you from Amazon...  my favorite beverage of choice now.  These are great!
> 
> *Prodyne Fruit Infusion Natural Fruit Flavor Pitcher*
> 
> ...



I'm going to add this book to my list above.  Just saw this when I posted the Amazon links.  Refreshing homemade drinks!

http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Waters-Refreshing-Homemade-Quenchers/dp/1558323848/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_b


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## Texasbelle (Jul 27, 2011)

Water with lemon.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jul 27, 2011)

I brew green tea along with apple cinnamon herbal tea.  The combination is great, and I feel better about the green tea flavor mixed with it.  My stepdad loves this tea combo and started making it at his house, too, so he can get off the soda.


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## Glynda (Jul 27, 2011)

*Careful*



Fern Modena said:


> I drink coffee in the mornings, and then after that I usually drink water all day.  Glasses and glasses of water.
> 
> Fern



Careful, Fern.  I recently spent 30 hours in the hospital for water intoxication.
I drank a lot of water over a four hour period and my sodium dropped so low that I thought I was dying and had to call 911 and be taken by ambulance to the hospital.  The doctor said I could have died and that my sodium count was within 10 points of causing severe brain damage.


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## DebBrown (Jul 27, 2011)

Another tea drinker here.  I make ice tea with decaf tea, however, because I don't need to consume caffeine all day long.  When the temps cool down, I'll drink primarily hot green tea.  There are lots of flavors available to keep it interesting.

Deb


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## bogey21 (Jul 27, 2011)

Kroger Light Lemonade.  I like the taste and the price.

George


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## Cathyb (Jul 27, 2011)

*Costco*



Fern Modena said:


> My name is Fern and I have a drinking problem.
> 
> I drink coffee in the mornings, and then after that I usually drink water all day.  Glasses and glasses of water.  I can't do carbonation, so if I want a soda I stir most of it out.  I have to watch the sugar, so fruit juices are out.
> 
> ...



Hi Fern!  We go to Costco and buy their Green tea sugarless -- it tastes great and has very little calories!


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## stmartinfan (Jul 27, 2011)

You could make your own "flavored" waters by infusing them with fruits or herbs.  Some of the colleges in this area do it regularly in their cafeterias and the students love it. (They are allowed to fill their own water bottles to take along for the day, too.)  I've enjoyed them at conferences on campus.

You simply take a large water pitcher and add an interesting variety of fresh ingredients. Some examples:  orange, lemon or grapefruit slices, mint leaves, fresh strawberry slices, watermelon or canteloupe cubes, etc.  The idea is just to add a small amount of the fruit to add a slight flavoring to the water, not to make it really strong.  I can't remember all the varieties, but there were some surprising ones that were very popular.  It's similar to some of the restaurants that put a carafe of ice water with lemon slices on your table - a pleasant subtle flavor.  

I love ice tea, but found it was easy to drink way too much.  Even though it has less caffeine than coffee, it was still too much for me to not notice it when I was trying to get to sleep at night!


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (Jul 27, 2011)

Have you tried "sun tea"? Where you live it would be easy. Just buy a plastic large gallon jar with the dispensing spout and put 3 of the large size Lipton tea bags in it and fill with water and leave in the sun for a few hours. It is a gentler taste than regular ice tea and if too strong, bring it in sooner.
Liz


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## Rose Pink (Jul 27, 2011)

Metromint water--I like the chocolate mint and spearmint flavors.

Pero

Yogi Egyptian Licorice herb tea.

Hot chocolate (Okay, not calorie-free but sometimes only a cup of cocoa will do.  )


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## pjrose (Jul 27, 2011)

Glynda said:


> Careful, Fern.  I recently spent 30 hours in the hospital for water intoxication.
> I drank a lot of water over a four hour period and my sodium dropped so low that I thought I was dying and had to call 911 and be taken by ambulance to the hospital.  The doctor said I could have died and that my sodium count was within 10 points of causing severe brain damage.



OMG, that is awful!  How much water?  
DD is supposed to drink a lot of water, (60, 80, and 100oz have been mentioned by different Drs.).  
I constantly drink water and seltzer, no idea how much.


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## pjrose (Jul 27, 2011)

Rose Pink said:


> *Metromint water--I like the chocolate mint and spearmint flavors.
> *
> Pero
> 
> ...



Chocolate mint water?  Wow!  Where do you get it?


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## Rose Pink (Jul 27, 2011)

pjrose said:


> Chocolate mint water?  Wow!  Where do you get it?


http://www.metromint.com/get/
I buy it at the grocery store.  You may need to look in the "health food" section of your market.  It is not sweet but is very refreshing.  It costs me $1.79 a bottle plus sales tax so I don't drink it every day.  It is my reward for doing yard work, etc.  

To save on cost, I bought a bottle of chocolate mint flavoring and added a few drops to plain water but it didn't taste as good as the Metromint brand.


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## Don (Jul 27, 2011)

Talent312 said:


> I am an inveterate drinker of ice tea w/o sweetener, just lemon or lime.



I'll have a little bit of unsweetened tea in my lemon, please.


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## Glynda (Jul 27, 2011)

*Glasses and glasses.*



pjrose said:


> OMG, that is awful!  How much water?
> DD is supposed to drink a lot of water, (60, 80, and 100oz have been mentioned by different Drs.).
> I constantly drink water and seltzer, no idea how much.




I really don't know.  Glasses and glasses over a four hour period.  Very little stopping.


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## Zac495 (Jul 27, 2011)

Fern,
I don't have a suggestion but I'm glad you were able to admit to your problem.


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## Wonka (Jul 27, 2011)

Fern-

I scrolled to the end of the post, so maybe this was already suggested.  I use a newer product called Mio, it's sold in a small bottle near the fruit juice section in our Grocery store.  You squirt it into a sixteen ounce water bottle, shake it up and you're done.  No calories.  It comes in several flavors; fruit bunch, mango peach, pomengrante, strawberry watermelon, punch, and several tea flavors.  I haven't tried the tea.  The container is only about 1.8 oz and makes 24 16 oz bottles.  I started using it during an aggressive diet that required lots of water, but I still drink it every day several times (I don't care for plain water much).
It's kinda sweet...give a bottle a try.


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## Fern Modena (Jul 27, 2011)

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I'll give some of them a try, especially the herbal iced teas...

Fern


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## nightnurse613 (Jul 28, 2011)

Clearly you got a lot of suggestions.  I like the MIO because it's very portable and comes in some neat flavors - you can always get a bottle of cold water and add a couple of squeezes and PRESTO!  My husband prefers the Crystal Light; he likes to mix Raspberry Ice and Strawberry-Banana-Orange! :whoopie:


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## MuranoJo (Jul 28, 2011)

Glynda said:


> Careful, Fern.  I recently spent 30 hours in the hospital for water intoxication.
> I drank a lot of water over a four hour period and my sodium dropped so low that I thought I was dying and had to call 911 and be taken by ambulance to the hospital.  The doctor said I could have died and that my sodium count was within 10 points of causing severe brain damage.



Glynda,
This is why my doc cautioned me to watch it with the water intake. Amazing that these things called electrolytes are so important.

I used to drink a lot of iced water throughout the day and eventually sodium levels were low.  Doc suggested sports drinks with electrolytes, but most of them are sugar bombs.  But Poweraide Zero fits the bill without the sugar.

I've heard too much water in too short of time can kill you.


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## wackymother (Jul 28, 2011)

I like iced coffee with milk, no sugar. Or iced decaf. 

Remember that there was a woman who did die of water poisoning a few years back? When the Wii first came out, a radio station had a contest called something like "Hold Your Wee for a Wii." I think the contestants had to drink a lot of water and not go to the bathroom for a certain amount of time. And this woman, a young mother, was a contestant and died. It was a very strange, sad story. Here it is--just found it online.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/


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## RDB (Jul 28, 2011)

Crystal Light Raspberry Ice mix.  Caroll likes Lipton tea rasberry flavored; too sweet for me.


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## bigrick (Aug 8, 2011)

I use kool-aid or wyler's sugar-free drink mixes.  I also drink plain water.

Water intoxication interests me.  Not that I want it but I do drink between 1 and 2 gallons of water every day.  On a warm day I often drink a half gallon in 10 minutes.  I always have a 2-liter bottle of water in my car in case I get thirsty.

I usually have an egg in the morning that I salt so maybe that's what prevents my intoxication.

Cheers!


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## Fern Modena (Aug 8, 2011)

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I like iced coffee, but I try to only drink about one "cup" of coffee a day...of course my "cup" is 20 ounces. 

I've tried Mio and don't care for it at all.  I've used Crystal Lite, and that's my fallback, but even mixing one tube in 20 ounces, it is still awfully sweet.  

About two weeks ago I tried Snapple Diet Peach Tea.  Not too sweet, no sugar, no fizz, and it tastes fuzzy, like a peach.  I like it, so far!  I'm drinking my cup of coffee, then water, and in late afternoon or evening, the tea.  Then water again.  Somewhere around 60 ounces a day, spaced out.  I sip all day (and it goes out all day, too, cause I'm on one of _those _pills.).

Fern


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## wackymother (Aug 9, 2011)

Fern Modena said:


> Thanks for all the suggestions.  I like iced coffee, but I try to only drink about one "cup" of coffee a day...of course my "cup" is 20 ounces.
> 
> I've tried Mio and don't care for it at all.  I've used Crystal Lite, and that's my fallback, but even mixing one tube in 20 ounces, it is still awfully sweet.
> 
> ...



I like to take something like the Snapple tea and dilute it with water, so the water is flavored but not too sweet. I can get four glasses of flavored water out of one bottle of Snapple. I use the regular kind, though--not the diet kind. I also do this with soda sometimes, but other people are horrified by that, for some reason.


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## Kay H (Aug 9, 2011)

bigrick said:


> I use kool-aid or wyler's sugar-free drink mixes.  I also drink plain water.
> 
> Water intoxication interests me.  Not that I want it but I do drink between 1 and 2 gallons of water every day.  On a warm day I often drink a half gallon in 10 minutes.  I always have a 2-liter bottle of water in my car in case I get thirsty.
> 
> ...



The salt would probably increase your chances because it holds water in your cells.  Caffeine, which works as a diuretic would help you pee it out.


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## bigrick (Aug 10, 2011)

Interesting that some salt would increase my intoxication chances.  I expected just the opposite result.

I don't drink coffee and rarely have a soda so unless there is caffeine in the kool-aid I don't think I consume any caffeine.  But my kidneys seem to do a fine job of ridding my body of excess water.  I wonder if it's possible to overuse your kidneys.

I've learned that on a day where I do drink a half gallon in 10 minutes that I should know where a restroom is for at least the next hour.  Sometimes I don't use one in that hour; other times when the need hits there is no warning, only urgent immediate pressure.  The first time I experienced this was driving to SF on highway 680.  The urgent pressure arrived midway across the Benicia Bridge -- no where to exit, no restroom for miles, nothing but immediate need.  Let's say I was quite creative that day and learned a lot about myself!


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## Fern Modena (Aug 10, 2011)

Hmmm...let's see now, not long enough to hang out the car window, I don't think.  Quite creative, you said?  How about:
The ashtray (but prolly leaks)
A baggie (but how to get the twist tie on or zip when driving?)
A water bottle (but e small hole, so have to aim)
Wide mouth thermous (Yuck!)
The pillow your wife uses in the car (You're in trouble!)
Ok, I give up.  What was your solution?  Inquiring minds, etc.

Fern



bigrick said:


> ---buncha stuff deleted---Sometimes I don't use one in that hour; other times when the need hits there is no warning, only urgent immediate pressure.  The first time I experienced this was driving to SF on highway 680.  The urgent pressure arrived midway across the Benicia Bridge -- no where to exit, no restroom for miles, nothing but immediate need.  Let's say I was quite creative that day and learned a lot about myself!


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## pgnewarkboy (Aug 11, 2011)

Coffee has health benefits.  Some research says it may provide protection against parkinsons and is good for retaining mental faculties.  Instead of giving up coffee try to slowly reduce the amount of sugar you use.


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## DonnaD (Aug 12, 2011)

*decaf tea bags plus crystal light lemonade*

I use 2 cold brew decaf. tea bags (each makes a quart) and one pack of crystal light lemonade (for 2 quarts).  It makes a low cal and refreshing iced tea. Friends seem to enjoy it and so do I.


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## Janette (Aug 12, 2011)

I love water! We each have a Tervis 24 oz glass with a top and we keep them filled all day. We bought bottles with filters to carry when we travel rather than using bottled water. We have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning and a small orange juice. Then it is water for the rest of the day unless we decide to have herbal tea before bedtime.


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## Jaybee (Aug 13, 2011)

I like to drink "Smart Water", since it has electrolytes in it, but my favorite additive is True Lemon packets. It adds just enough "zing" to the water for me. For sweetener for iced tea, and such, I use Stevia. (No chemicals)
http://www.truelemonstore.com/?trk_src_ss=TLMPAYPCWEBMACSS&gclid=CLHj6r_1zKoCFeUZQgodwRpSDQ


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