I realize this is my first post, maybe I should make one in the New User section and probably will, but really there's one thing that's seriously been bothering me for a while, that's why I chose to get it off my chest as soon as possible.

Well, I used to drink soda. Lots and lots of generic soda, in fact I specifically recall days where I drank nothing BUT soda, this went on for months, years. I have weight to lose and it's not that I don't know that drinking water would help, it's just that I don't really like water. It's too bland for me, I can't handle it. So recently I discovered this flavored water of sorts called Fruit2O. I started drinking that regularly instead, haven't touched soda for a week, been drinking just that, I really love it. I take some with me to work, I drink it at home. I went from drinking nothing but soda to drinking nothing but Fruit2O instead.

But I was curious to know if it was actually helping me any? I know plain water is the best, but like I said, I just can't really get into it. So would Fruit2O be a good alternative with that in mind? Like a "close enough" kind of deal?

I guess the question I'm trying to ask is, would I benefit from this product similarly to how I would benefit from water? Apparently it has no calories, no carbs, no fat and pretty much nothing of the sort. Just 5mg of Sodium.

Believe me when I say I googled this beast left and right, but I never really found exactly what I was looking for. I don't want to be spending extra money for a product that's not even helping me.

Secondly, I don't really eat any vegetables or fruits. Would V8 work as somewhat-of-a replacement in that regard? I don't plan on drinking nothing but V8, but maybe mostly Fruit2O and some V8 on the side.

I don't know, I admit I don't know anything about nutrition and that's what scares me. I only know what the media tells me and that's even scarier sometimes.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just trying to be as precise as possible. I really want to better myself and I figured swapping out the beverages would be a good first step.

Welcome!
I am by no means an expert (on anything! LOL!), but it seems to me that if you have quit drinking soda and switched to the flavored water that is a step in the right direction. I used to drink soda every day...not huge amounts, maybe one or two daily...but it adds up, all those useless calories! If the fruit2O is calorie free and very low sodium, I say go for it! Maybe you can eventually start mixing it with plain water and wean yourself off the flavored stuff, IDK...just an idea. I am the opposite of you...I would rather drink the plain stuff...do not care for flavored water at all.

I guess the V8 is okay...maybe someone else has an expert opinion on this. If I were you, I would make myself start eating some fruits and veggies...I also did not eat many, but now I am finding the more I eat of those, the more I crave them. IMO, getting calories from healthy food is better than drinking those calories...but, again, that's just my opinion!
Good luck on your journey...you are off to a good start!

I agree that would be a good start.

And as for all the scary info out there on nutrition, I stumbled upon one single guideline that can not go wrong:

EAT REAL FOOD

my 2 cents

I use to be the same way. I was a Dr. Pepper fanatic. I can't really stand to drink water either but found that crystal light is fabulous. Honestly it tastes like koolaid. It has zero carbs and calories. I would try that. If you are needing something that tastes sweet then this is the way to go.

Three weeks ago I was just like you in that I drank soda every day - minimum of one can, up to three a day, and if I went out to a restaurant it was another large cola with two or three refills.
Empty, empty calories and nothing in return for it but extra weight.

I thought it would be impossible to stop drinking the stuff, but I knew it had to be done. Now I drink water. Lots of it. I think that once my body got cleaned out a bit by purging the soda and getting better nutrition in my diet, water started tasting better and better. It is almost all I drink now, although I also have tea, a little fruit juice, and V-8 type juice.

I really don't recommend the Fruit2O stuff, since it has sucralose and acesulfame-potassium in it. I try to avoid all artifical sweeteners. They really aren't good for you.
If you have to have something sweeter than water, try this: cut fruit juice (real fruit juice) with either water or sparkling water (if you want the carbonation of soda). Keep cutting it with more and more water as you go along. Eventually you could taper right off it if you want. When I do drink juice now, it is cut with 3/4 water usually.

As for the V-8, I don't think there is anything wrong with it as a beverage, but it really can't take the place of eating actual vegetables. It is mainly salt, anyway.You have to start eating actual vegetables. And fruit. Eat real whole fruit.

You may have to start with small steps at first, but if it was me I wouldn't replace the soda with something artificially sweetened. I would really suggest watered-down real fruit juice, if you need that sweet. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I can't recommend water strongly enough. It is what our bodies want. It is what we were designed to drink. And (IMO) it tastes great. What's more, once you get the overkill from soda and junk food out of your system, other food starts tasting better as your tastebuds recover, and I know I started liking water more because it allowed me to taste my other food more.

As for looking for info on good nutrition, there is some good info on this site - read the stickies. And avoid the mass media - usually it is agenda-driven.

Good luck, we're here for ya!

Very good advice, Cord!

I agree...the more water I drink, the more I seem to crave it! And now, when I do allow myself a soda as a treat, perhaps once a week, I am finding that I do not care for the bloated, heavy feeling it leaves in my gut! That sure helps me avoid it....

Too true - I had a Slurpee a week and a half ago, in a weak high-stress moment, and I only drank half of it before saying "not only is this not good for me, it actually tastes kind of awful".

Water seems fine to me when I'm at work and my thirst is killing me to the point that it's seriously what I prefer over all else, maybe some kind of reaction I guess. Thirst = drink water, but it doesn't really come off as that way unless it's to the point my mouth is dry.

I'm really not much of a wanter for soda anymore already, I'm actually somewhat surprised at how easily I got over it, but then maybe it's because I drank so much of it for so long that to be honest I began to get kinda sick of it. I know it's true, water is the best. Hands down. But even with that in mind I can't really see myself drinking it probably because most of the water I get from tap is pretty uh, well, awful. I'm also one of those people who think buying purified water is silly, so I'm at a loss at the moment.

I've been told that Fruit2O isn't actually that bad for you, especially in comparison to things like soda. And that, for the most part, Fruit2O is a good way to ease oneself into drinking normal, plain water. I think I can see this as true, but one thing I don't understand is the downsides to the things you mentioned, Cord. I'm not much of a nutrition kind of guy at all really, what's so bad about artificial sweetener?

The only things I see on my bottle really are 0 calories, 0 carbs, 0 fat. I thought that was all that really mattered? I mean I'm hearing a lot now that too much sodium is bad for you, but there isn't much in these at all.

All in all thanks for the advice, this goes for everyone. I'm not going to say you guys are life-savers, I don't believe in that. But I will definitely say you've all been a big help because up until now, I've pretty much known nothing about everything regarding these things. Knowledge is power as they say and I appreciate you people giving me your share.

Well, I'm not here to lecture you (much).

At least you admit that water is the best. That's only one step away from drinking it.

However, you say that tap water tastes bad but purified water seems silly? In my opinion, you can't have it both ways. I drink reverse-osmosis water, partly because it tastes good and partly because I am on a well and the water is too hard to drink.
I admit that I may also have been spoiled by having a constant access to free purified water at work for the last 12 years.

To answer part of your initial question, I don't see any benefit to the Fruit2O stuff that you wouldn't get from water. But I do have to grudgingly admit that, as long as you drink it in moderation, and taper off of it as soon as you can, it probably won't kill you.

However, you might want to look at this:

Sucralose (Splenda) Toxicity Information Center

In the end, though, you need to do what is going to work for you.
The information and people on this site can help you along, though, by providing you with ideas, knowledge, options and moral support.

I am curious to know how many bottles or what ever this stuff (Fruit20) comes in that you drink..I used to be really addicted to Pop too.

Because even though it's only 5mg of sodium, how many of these do you consume in a day?, cuz that can add up...I am just thinking out loud.

For a couple of years I was drinking Pierre, a few weeks ago my 1.5 Liter water bottle would have 8 heaping Table Spoons of Iced Tea Mix, I've slowly been weening myself off of it. Now it's at 3 Teaspoons of this Ice Tea Mix. Kind of bland, but not when I don't have anything else to compare it against anymore.

That's some very scary stuff, Cord. I just got home from work about an hour ago and I spent that hour looking up Sucralose via Google and what I found was pretty bad. I'm not one person to trust one site's source, so I looked at the one you provided and others and they all seem to say the same thing.

Looks like I'll want to try and move onto plain water sooner than expected, I see no point going through with all this nonsense that Sucralose brings when I'm trying to be healthy. Comes off as potentially counter-productive.

I definitely thank you for pointing that out to me, I especially had no idea that Splenda IS Sucralose, I'm just one of those people who don't pay attention to the scientific fine-print. All I see is basic nutritional facts but I guess that nowadays that isn't enough.

It's actually somewhat sad to know, but drinking water never killed anybody. Well, within reason...

I really wasn't trying to freak you out.

A Washington, DC think tank/lobby group called the Centre for Science in the Public Interest does suggest that sucralose is the safest of the artifical sweeteners. Their problem is that it is often combined in foods (especially drinks) with acesulfame-potassium, which is not as nice.

If you keep your intake of the stuff low, it probably is okay for you. I just personally don't like the stuff, although I did drink a splenda-sweetened diet cola for a couple of years - so it's not like I'm a paragon of virtue or anything.

I will tell you how my wife weaned herself off soda, though, and maybe it could work for you. She started by cutting fruit juice with carbonated (sparkling) water. It still tasted sweet because of the fruit juice, was cheaper than pop (although not much), and had a whole lot less sugar (and therefore calories). She then switched from sparkling water to regular water.
Now when she wants a sweet drink it is always diluted fruit juice. Cheap and tasty and not at all bad for you.

Oooo, good ways to wean onto water round here! Another cool way to drink water is by actually putting fresh fruit (I've done it with berries) into your glass of water. Mint leaves thrown in are also awesome!

My favourite way to jazz up water is a dash of lemon or lime juice, or a squeeze from an actual slice of same. I do that when I have to drink tap water.

Thanks, I had totally forgotten about that!

And putting some actual fruit in is a great idea! Consider it stolen!

I think that you are taking a step in the right track but you still should eat fruits and veggies. How about you just eat them with your meals? like a side dish. I was like you and don't eat a lot of veggies but i find that if i eat it alongside something i like then it tastes better.