So, I am a big time soda addict. I am trying to wean myself off. I am thinking of switching to Tea. Just regular Tea with very little sugar. I was comparing and the Tea I have has no calories versus soda which is almost 200 calories per serving. Do you think Tea is better then Soda? On a calorie counting basis, I think so.
I am a huge fan of tea sweetened with Stevia (0 calorie all natural sweetener). But then, I also drink diet soda. It is one of my only indulgences. I have 2-3 cans a day every weekday.
I actuallly like tea AND (diet) soda. I drink tea sweetened with Splenda. Usually I have no milk in it whether it's black tea or green tea (except with Lapsang which I have with skimmed milk). I never drink regular soda but I do occasionally have diet soda, sometimes multiple times a day, but not usually.
I love diet soda and I love ice tea. I need to watch my caffeine and 4C makes an ice tea mix with splenda and it is also caffeine-free. It is delish and low in calories too.
I think brewed tea - hot or cold - is probably the better choice. No chemicals, additives, etc. that you get with regular and diet soda. While I enjoy diet soda (usually caffeine free), I never did drink very much of it so it wasn't too hard to cut it completely. My rule now is if I'm thirsty, I drink water. If I just "want something to drink" I'll allow a can of diet soda (rarely) or iced tea (most of the time) or flavored water.
You don't have to brew tea or put it in the sun, either. You can put about 8 tea bags in 2 qts of cold water and put it right in the fridge. By the time it's good and cold, it's "tea" and ready to drink. Sweeten if you wish.
Absolutely! I also agree that making / brewing your own tea is the best idea. I never liked soda, so I guess I was lucky there and we grew up drinking unsweetend iced tea..I actually don't like it with lemon or sugar, so again lucky (thanks mom and dad!). I usually use decaf tea bags because I get enough caffeine from my coffee.
Home-brewed tea is DEFINITELY better than soda. Not just on a calorie counting basis. The chemicals in soda and their side effects could make your head spin. They're even worse in diet soda because you add aspartame to the equation.
I used to have a serious caffeine/diet soda addiction. (I would get intolerable migraines when I would try to give them up.) I gave it up on my wedding day. It was easy because we had sweet (brewed) tea at the wedding, and the week of our honeymoon we didn't stock the cabin fridge with soda. I just drank water or tea that entire week. When I got home, I thought Why not give it up for good now that you've gone a week without it? And I did! I haven't had one sip of soda (diet or regular) since May 2010.
There are so many different kinds of tea out there. (Someone here mentioned putting milk in tea. Wha???) In the southern US, we love our sweet tea. Since it's high calorie, I get unsweet tea and add no calorie (and no aspartame) sweetener to it.
But 99% of the time, I drink water. I only drink tea on the (RARE) occasion that we go out to eat. (Tap water - ick.) If you can, you should be drinking plenty of water. If you don't like water, try the flavor packets. I tried Crystal Lite's strawberry flavor packet (actually took a sip of my mom's) this week - it tastes like Kool-aid! I drink anywhere from 72 to 96 ounces of water a day. Love it!
p.s. If you do like water, maybe you should buy yourself something to keep yourself motivating to drink it? For one thing, my husband and I bought a faucet water purifier for the kitchen and use it to fill up water bottles. It saves plastic and saves tons of money in the long-run because you're not buying water bottles ever.
My mom also gave me a Camelbak water bottle she had lying around this year. It's GREAT! I once read someone call it an "adult sippy cup." It has a bite valve and a straw. It's spill proof, and you don't have to tip it back to drink it. I just love mine! Since it holds 24 ounces at a time, I fill mine up first thing in the morning and sit at my desk with it close by. It's also really helpful for trips to the gym because I'm able to drink it for the entire 75 minutes I'm there without it going empty. (School water fountain water - ick.) Just a thought.
I'm lucky because my husband drinks apple juice and water exclusively. So no soda in the fridge to tempt me every day.
Tea (especially green tea) actually speeds up you metabolism and calms your stomach. It is far better than soda which adds tons of calories and can make you bloated.
As a former diet-coke addict lol I save it for going out, i don't drink it at home that way it's more of a treat!
I adore sun tea tho!! i have a giant pickle jar, fill with cold water and tea bags, slice up an orange and a lemon, a lime if i have it and leave outside for a bit -- strain it, and my secret ingredient is to put in a few spoonsful of frozen lemonade! sweetens it a little with lemony goodness
I drink cold iced green tea with no sweetener. It definitely took a while for me to like it, but after a few weeks - I really prefer it to soda and I feel more refreshed. The lack of calories is a HUGE bonus!
So it's the sugar in the soda that lures me. It sure isn't the acidic/bubble/harsh thing. I tend to drink the flat soda DH leaves in the fridge and the only solution (since he has the right to eat what he pleases) is to try to get him to get flavors he likes and I don't. Because if it is something I remotely likely, I'll be sneaking sips and that's just not calorie counting friendly.
I do try to keep Celestial Seasonings tea on hand for me and kid. Sometimes I make it hot, but most times cold is easy. Just 1 bag : 1 cup and in those Rubbermaid chug bottles, I can do 2 bags in a 16-20 oz and then 4 bags in a 32 oz and by the next day it's ready. Even if you want to sweeten with sugar, I think it is better to control it yourself. Just put it in and shake the bottle up and good to go.
If it turns out you are a fizz person --- blend teas/juice with club soda or seltzer.
Soda Vs Tea
