In case you are interested, here’s my latest blog post over at the Dr. Oz Blog. It’s called Exercise Matters.
And now onto today’s post about drinking. . .
My best friend, who sadly doesn’t live here, and I were talking on the phone the other day. She was sharing with me how she is working hard on kicking her habit of drinking diet drinks.
I didn’t tell her this because I didn’t want to discourage her in her attempt to kick her diet drink habit - but while I was losing weight I didn’t drink nearly as much water as I should have. Confession time: I drank mostly diet drinks with a little water thrown in here and there. In my own sad defense, way back then, drinking water all the time wasn’t “in vogue.” There were no water bottles along side the diet drinks, and everyone I knew just drank tap water!
When I was morbidly obese, I drank not only diet drinks, but fruit punch, regular sodas, sweet tea, juices, and Kool-Aid. Once I decided to try losing weight again, I changed not only my eating habits but I also changed my drinking habits. I cut out all the other high calorie drinks but hung onto diet soda. The only exception was putting a splash of cranberry juice into my occasional glass of water to add a little flavor.
I had been to enough Weight Watcher’s meetings in my life to know that I shouldn’t be drinking very many of my calories. I learned this was a good tip very quickly when I went abruptly went from eating about 4000 -5000 calories a day to about 1500 – 1600 a day. Those 1500 calories didn’t leave a lot of room for Kool-Aid!
It’s funny because once I lost all my weight I stopped drinking diet sodas altogether. Just like so many other parts of my weight loss journey evolved over time, so did my beverage choices. Sure, over the last twelve years I’ve had the occasional diet drink, or the occasional sip of John’s cherry Coke, but for the most part I just drink water throughout the day. Either plain or with a splash of juice.
I’ve gone back and forth with coffee. I’ve been pregnant so many times since I lost the weight that there were long periods of time that I drank no coffee. But when I wasn’t pregnant I would drink some coffee and enjoy it. Over the past year I have gradually cut back on my coffee consumption and have switched to green tea in the mornings. Sometimes I have caffeinated and sometimes decaffeinated. I worry about the chemicals they use to decaffeinate beverages so generally just have one cup of caffeinated green tea.
Question: I thought it would be a fun post today to find out what your drink of choice is these days and has it changed during your journey? Diane
Used to drink diet pop/soda by the case.
I drink WATER now. I drink hot water with a lot of fresh lemon in it (winter). I never drink COLD/iced water as it interferes with my GI track. so in the summer I drink it right out of the tap.
I do not use disposible water bottles because of the plastic. I have a stainless steel canteen (Kleen Kanteen, with a wide mouthed opening so the canteen bottom can go in dishwasher and I wash lid by hand) that I love.
.-= vickie´s last blog ..Bit of talk (traps of) bread/cookies/Willy Nilly Food – be forewarned. BUT might be as accurate Maintenance Realities Post as I have ever written =-.
I drink water almost all the time. The only time I drink something else now is on my long run days. Then I’ll drink a Powerade Zero during it and then an amino acid drink after the run.
.-= John´s last blog ..Wedding Weekend Recap =-.
Can’t live without my coffee!
As you know I gave up diet soda cause of Aspartame, no other reason at the time…
Now I drink water, with a touch of lemon.
Coffee and tea…been struggling with finding the right sweetener for myself as I need to drink it sweetish…so am giving that new syrup a go, when finished am going to stick with honey in my coffee…think the safest.
I do have a glass or two of red wine over the weekend..one glass and my head spins.
Can’t live without my morning cup of coffee:) Then at lunch I will drink my diet Pepsi. On workout days I drink lots of water 48-64 ounces. I still struggle with drinking one regular soda daily it truly is my ONE remaining vice and part of the reason I regained 10 lbs a few years back wich I have mostly lost again. There you have it the good, bad, ugly.
.-= Susan´s last blog ..I Give You Roses Enjoy! =-.
I have 2 cups of coffee in the morning, drink skim milk with lunch and drink water throughout the day and with dinner.
If we go out to eat I will have a glass of red wine or a lite beer.
I love water! I always have been a water drinker. However, I did venture over to the dark side for a while and starting ramping up with diet soda – Coke Zero was my favorite. In September, I kicked the artificial sweetener habit, so Coke Zero had to go and I’m back to basics again…water
.-= Marisa (Loser for Life)´s last blog ..A Journal Week =-.
I gave up pop…and I only ever drank the diet stuff. I think I’ve been pop free for about 3 months now and I don’t miss it. I drink mostly water with some tea thrown in for good measure. I’ll sometimes have a coffee drink but even those are getting fewer and far between. It might be the warm weather (I live in the south) but it might also be that I’m not craving those drinks anymore!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Weight Loss Week Fifteen ~ Rachel =-.
Before starting my journey last year I was all over the place with what I prefered to drink, I really didn’t have any 1 staple, but I did drink a lot fo sweet drinks, be it soda, sweet coffee, etc… For the last year I have moved from being all over the board to just coffee and water. AND to top it off, that coffee has gone from sweet to non fat plain jane latte/coffee. Now I can’t go to starbucks and get anything in my coffee or I gag from the sweetness. YEAH ME!! Now… if I could only kick the coffee habit all together. Maybe after my newest family addition is sleeping through the night I’ll consider that challenge.
:):)
I mostly chug water and tea during the day, but I do like a Diet Coke with my meal occasionally (or when a restaurant’s iced tea tastes off. I only drink coffee on occasion when I’m sluggish, but I don’t do it every day since I’m always congested and I think coffee make it worse.
I’m not a fan of most other drinks though–juice, milk, sports drinks, etc. To me there’s nothing better than iced tea. And water is just convenient.
.-= Tracey @ I’m Not Superhuman´s last blog ..Happy & Healthy =-.
When I was younger, I did drink diet sodas & water… the diet soda never effected me like the studies show today that it will make you eat more.. never did that to me but I did drink it. One job I had got super stressful (more than normal stressful) & the sodas started causing tummy probs for me. I stopped then & never went back.
Now, I drink my water all day long BUT I also have my coffee.. I love my flavored coffee!
.-= Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..New Exercise Moves; GIVEAWAY! =-.
My drinking habits have certainly changed. I used to not drink water at all. Now it is what I drink most of the time. I also have a big cup of coffee daily, sometimes two. It is almost always black. I am not real worried about the caffeine – perhaps I should be. I have tried green tea and white tea. They were both okay, but they don’t take the place of coffee in my book. Occasionally I will have a diet drink, but it is really, really rare.
.-= South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Not in the Mood =-.
I have never been one to drink my calories, preferring to eat them:) http://waistingtimeblog.com/2010/01/25/64-ounces/ In the last few months of dieting I have added flavored decaf tea to help me get more water in, to keep me from snacking. I also like Crystal Lite.
.-= Karen@WaistingTime´s last blog ..A Broken Record =-.
A little coffee in the AM before running. I do drink diet soda, as with Jody, no weight effects that I can tell. I suggest to people that they can dilute most any drink with water, unless they work as a bartender
.-= Dr. J´s last blog ..Dr. J Sweat-Tests the Sony Water Resistant Walkman (Plus, You Can Win One) =-.
Diet pop is one of my “vices,” b/c I never to seem to drink pop by itself. I have to have something to go with it. And usually accompanied with it, is something sugary, and most likely high(er) calorie. Though there are times where I have had a protein bar with it, which is almost contradictory! lol I have tried to go a day without a pop, and haven’t cut it so far. The funny thing is, there have been 2 ocassions where I’ve gone at least 6 months without having hardly any at all. (And when I started drinking it again was also when I started gaining weight again.)
Mine is exactly the same as it has been my entire adult life- one cup of coffee in the morning with creamer, a diet soda at lunch and dinner and a gallon of water( literal measurement). If needed for different reasons I will include a cup of green tea or herbal tea. I dislike juice, crystal lite and so forth so I never drink it. Water has been my beverage of choice since I was 10
.-= Diane´s last blog ..Mini gardens and gum =-.
I love my water actually then comes herbal teas.
.-= Trish @IamSucceeding´s last blog ..No Excuses, Week 4? =-.
I used to drink a ton of Diet Coke, just for the taste of it. It was never Diet Pepsi and hardly ever water. I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a Diet Coke in almost two years now and hardly ever buy coffee out. I’m drinking filtered water, one cup of coffee at home in the a.m. and hot black/green tea in the afternoon. In addition to getting all those chemicals out of my body I’m not filling up all the landfills with cans and bottles. When I’m counting calories I certainly don’t want to waste them on drinks.
This is one of those areas where there is NO sufficient data supporting one theory over other theories. That is, there are 10,ooo schools of thought regarding what fluids, from diet sodas, to coffees, to waters, are best and worst. This is an instance when NOBODY truly knows — just too much conflicting data which is the result of too many conflicting agendas.
That said, I drink up 64 oz. of coffee before noon. After that I drink a 32 oz.glass of water just about every hour for the rest of the day. On cold mornings, and despite the high sodium, I may drink hot chicken broth instead of coffee but the calories are inconsequential. Other than that, I do not belive in drinking ANY calories.
.-= Emergefit´s last blog ..Nine Inch Nails; Discipline… =-.
I always have a pitcher of unsweetened iced tea and a pitcher of Crystal Light lemonade in my refrigerator. I drink an Arnie Palmer or two every night! No calories and delicious. Plus, I allow myself one can of cherry coke zero every day too. Otherwise, I drink water or plain iced tea at work.
I love coffee, green tea, flavored water (I know, bad) and I do like having wine!
.-= sian-girlgetstrong´s last blog ..Guest Post:I Re-Wrote my Life’s Story =-.
In the past 18 months, I have gone from almost no water to about 6 glasses a day. I’m working on getting up to 8.
I have never been a diet pop fan–the odd Diet Coke, maybe 2-3 times a year.
The other day, I was at a meeting and there was a bottle of diet lemonade on the table. I took one taste and discreetly emptied my glass into the sink. Can’t stand the taste of artificial sweeteners.
Oh, and yes, I need my coffee in the morning. Often it’s only half a cup, but I really want it. On days when I’m working outside the home, I’ll often have another (usually small) coffee and maybe a tea.
Off and on, I love a cup of Japanese green tea with bits of rice in it.
.-= NewMe´s last blog ..Don’t Forget to Sleep! =-.
I drink skim milk at breakfast, usually one cup of decaf in the am and one or two cups of decaf green tea in the evenings. Otherwise, water, water, water, filtered.
Never liked diet drinks, so when I had to give up caffeine for health reasons in the 80′s, I gave up carbonated drinks too. Saved my from my pepsi habit.
I love coffee but limit it to two cups per day…I drink green tea with breakfast and for the rest of the day basically water (execept for the occaisional glass of wine). I was never a big soda drinker and have to admit I am sometimes jealous of those people who lose 30 pounds simply by stopping their soda habit!
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Quick update =-.
I try to get my water in every day. I’m a thirsty guy and if I buy a case of diet coke, it’s gone in a matter of days. All I’m left with is a $7 hole in my wallet and 24 empty pop cans in my living room and spilling out of my recycling. It’s so much easier for me just to fill up my 24 oz water bottle.
That way my wife isn’t yelling at me for leaving garbage around the apartment either.
.-= 100 Pounds in a Year´s last blog ..Weigh-In Results =-.
I drink 2 Diet Pepsi a day. I will never give that up. Instead of having a morning coffee I’m into a Diet Pepsi at 7 a.m. at work. lol! I’ve never drank tea or coffee. I just don’t like them. I drink 2-3 32 oz bottles of water every day. It comes out of the tap. I have a beautiful red “Sigg” metal water bottle. I’m totally disgusted with the plastic water bottles in this world and try not to use them, but if I do, they always make it to the recycle bin.
Excellent post Diane.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Monday morning weigh in! =-.
I’m a Crystal Light junkie.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Weigh In Results! =-.
I have never liked diet sodas. The taste is bleugh! Regular soda is just OK. I have never been a regular soda drinker. I drink water and tea. Lots of iced decaffeinated tea. I do like coffee or Irish breakfast tea in the mornings.
.-= Linda´s last blog ..What a week! =-.
Never did like fizzy drinks, or sweet drinks, so it wasn’t much of a problem for me.
I do now drink a LOT of water (either hot or cool-ish – but never cold), but I can’t shake my very British obsession with a nice cuppa (tea, that is). These days, it’s skimmed milk only and not too much of that, or I drink it black.
I’m quite a fan of green and herbal teas too
.-= Deniz´s last blog ..Progress? =-.
My drinks of choice are water and coffee. I kicked the soda habit to the curb a long time ago. Also, I kicked cafe mochas to the curb.
Don’t think I can give up my French roast though.
Oh yeah, I put almond milk in my oatmeal…
.-= ‘Drea´s last blog ..All I Really Need To Know I Learned While Rock Climbing =-.
Water with lemon. Yummy!!!
.-= Staci´s last blog ..Doctor Update =-.
I try to drink water but I never ever drink enough. I hate water, a lot. Normally I put some lemon in my water to help me get it down but I just forget to drink it all day until the day is over and I didn’t drink it. I almost never drink soda or juices. I suppose what I drink more than anything is coffee in the morning and beer at night. I never hydrate enough.
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Hi There Strangers =-.
I drink lots of water for the most part. I probably have 12 oz of diet soda a day. I know it’s not great for me, but I don’t want to give it up quite yet. It feels like a treat to me and I need that in this weight loss journey. Don’t like coffee or alcohol so it’s my only beverage vice.
.-= Laurie´s last blog ..Happy Blogiversary to me!! =-.
Water is my drink of choice and I drink around 120-150 oz per day, especially on days that I work out. I drink that much to compensate for my 2 cups of morning coffee and my work out. It is amazing how drinking that much water makes you feel. Never thought I could do it, and of course I’m in the bathroom quite a bit, but I think its worth it.
I recently switched from diet soda to tea, water and special k pink lemonade (fiber/protein) drinks. Occasionally I have a diet soda, but I am trying hard to eliminate it.
I also try to get around 100oz of liquid in a day (water, special k drink, and tea).
~Kellie
.-= The Chubby Girl Diaries´s last blog ..Weigh-in Wednesday =-.
I’ve gone from massive amounts of Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper to massive amounts of water and the occasional green tea.
In the morning decaf flavoured coffee, either vanilla or hazelnut then mostly water. Sometimes I will have coffee in the night not decaf and I sleep great
I don’t drink a lot of soda and even though we have it at home sometimes it gets old before it is used.
I have been drinking more homemade fruit smoothies lately too as the fruit is so good.
.-= Julia´s last blog ..Counting the sleeps =-.
Every law firm I’ve worked at has offered unlimited pop – in fact the place I am at now asked me what my favorite pop was when I was hired, and now the beverage fridge is full of Diet Dr. Pepper!
But I treat myself to one a week. Sometimes its a Monday, sometimes a Friday – whenever I feel like it, but when I am done with it, not another one until next week!
I have a Bubba keg of water on my desk at all times!
.-= Biz´s last blog ..We have a winner! =-.
I drank tons of stuff pre weight loss like regular soda, diet soda, lemonade, milkshakes, etc.
Now I drink mostly water and tea.
.-= Cynthia (It All Changes)´s last blog ..Little Girl Dreams + Confession =-.
I have a coffee in the morning (with cream/sugar) to wake me up (yes, I need more sleep!), and the rest of the day is water. Occassionally wine with dinner. I don’t drink soda more than a few times a month. Can’t stand the taste of Aspertame, so really I don’t crave it. My body goes through withdrawals if I don’t get enough water. I’ve been a 8+ water drinker since college when I would always have my water mug with me.
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Day at the farm =-.
My drinking hasn’t changed much along my journey. I have always drank a lot of water. Besides water I drink coffee and tea. At night I drink usually one glass of diet soda or one glass of white or red wine.
.-= Fran´s last blog ..Hello world: I’m Bella =-.
Ohyes, liquid calories. A huge part of the weight loss formula, but one that is often ignored. I drank SO much beer and booze before I lost my weight. Most nights were spent with my boyfriend drinking beer, or at the pub putting back one giant draught after another. The first thing I did when i decided to lose weight was cut out the alcohol. Everyone thought I was crazy at the time
But now I don’t even miss it. Plus, I can put back a lot more yummy food when my belly isn’t full of beer!
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Confessions of a Part-Time Blogger =-.
I used to be queen of the rootbeer! And there was also lots of other pop, juice, slurpees, milkshakes, etc. in there too. Now it’s almost excusively water although I sometimes have tea or (more frequently) flavoured steamed soy or skim milk.
.-= 266´s last blog ..Hip Hop =-.
Diane…this is such a great post and right on time! I’ve been drinking ONLY water for the past few weeks. Its like I had to FORCE myself into the habit of drinking water. When I go out every now and again I will get a diet soda, but as far as buying things for my home…only water enters. I will continue to do this and hopefully the desire for anything else to drink will diminish to the point that drinking water is just second nature. As I am sitting here sipping water and reading blogs…lol.
.-= PhluffyPrincess´s last blog ..Sodium Cutback…I’m doing it! =-.
I tell everyone “I prefer to CHEW my calories!”…lol.
So caloric beverages have been out for a long, long time!
My mainstay is of course water. I’ve surprised myself over how tolerant I am of the temperature of the water I drink also…it can be ANYTHING from a boiling hot bottle of water that’s been sitting in a sun-baked car all day to an ice-laden frigid tall glass of water and everything in between. I try to use my SparkPeople.com re-fillable water bottle as much as possible. When traveling though, I’ll buy a gallon of spring water and chug the jug as I go.
During the work week two other regulars are: 1) a tall cup of black coffee in the morning and 2) another tall mug of green tea later in the day. I’m neutral about the green tea, neither love nor hate it…just figure why not take advantage of the potential health benefits…?
Once in a blue moon I’ll have a sip of my wife’s diet soda and it only serves to remind me of how MUCH I’ve lost my taste for the stuff. About the only diet soda I can enjoy is diet 7UP, but only if it happens to be around.
I find myself AMAZED over the QUANTITIES of soda, diet or otherwise, that people put in their shopping carts! The whole beverage aisle is a HUGE waste of money and resources in my opinion. I figure whatever uptick in costs for all the REAL food I’m buying these days is MORE than balanced out by the savings from not purchasing beverages anymore.
Coke? Pepsi? My $$$ is staying in my pocket thank you…!
Don
I’ve actually started drinking more calories again than I used to! I don’t drink diet sodas, I used to live off of them… But now on the occasional time I have a coke (less than once every few months) I go for the real thing. I’d rather have some sugar than artificial sweetener.
I’ve also started drinking chai tea again, so that has some sugar and milk. Daily, 90% of what I drink is water, and I have the occasional soy milk, 2% milk, or iced tea with splenda.
I do not drink my calories, as a rule… Water is just too tasty!
.-= Taryl´s last blog ..Quickie! =-.
WHAT an important topic! I think this is so important for people to understand! I drink water, 1 cup of coffee, and 1 can of Zevia each day. Never drink my calories unless it’s the occasional skim milk!
.-= Nicole, RD´s last blog ..Cooking: chore or pleasure? =-.
I’ve always drank a lot of water with a little bit of diet pepsi – no coffee, kool aid or caloric beverages of any kind…. except alcohol! I used to drink LOTS of beer… then I made the effort to move to vodka or wine and it made a HUGE difference!
.-= fittingbackin´s last blog ..New Recipe, C25K, New Book =-.
I drink mostly water but I usually treat myself to a glass of diet pop with my supper to help fill me up. I also drink a 100% fruit juice with my breakfast.
I like what you said about the evolutions while you lost weight. That makes a lot of sense. A lot of things change slowly, over time.
.-= Alissa´s last blog ..Weigh In Day =-.
I primarily drink water. No coffee ever at all in my whole life (absolutely cannot stand the taste). I try to drink at least one cup of hot green tea a day. Yes on the diet coke, but only if I’ve gotten my water in first. No alcohol in any form; again can’t stand the taste.
.-= Siobhan´s last blog ..the “be just like a two year old” diet =-.