[jules1216]

A co-worker asked me if she could drink the Propel water instead of just plain old water since Propel has extras that plain water doesn't and can she get the same weightloss benefits? I had no idea what to tell her--I told her about this site but haven't seen the question yet so here it is.

[Amarantha2]

IMO, plain ol' water and a vitamin pill will give all the benefits that Propel does. It's also way too sweet for my tastes, but I guess it'd be good for anyone having difficulty getting water down and if that were the case, it WOULD help fitness, at least, because better hydration makes it easier to work out, which I guess would also help weight loss.

But truthfully my personal OPINION is the stuff's a waste o' money. I've had some and it makes me sick to drink it, especially in the heat.

[bigbadbearhugs]

I drink Propel regularly on WW. Our leader said she would prefer we drink water but that we can drink anything uncarbonated and decaffeinated as a water if we won't drink it.
Be careful though as I drank it during a bout of bronchitis in the spring and I dehydrated. Some things you just learn the hard way

[MrsJim]

All it is, is water with a little bit of vitamins and flavoring added.

Gatorade (which produces Propel) has never made any claim about the water having "weight loss benefits" that I have heard or seen on their website. Their website for Propel is all about hydration - basically the way the water is marketed is that for people who don't drink enough H20 while working out - a lightly flavored water may encourage them to consume more, then they add some vitamins just as a bonus.

I know several people who, for whatever reason, don't care for the 'taste' of plain water - they'll either use a product like this or add a bit of Crystal Light or what have you.

In a quick search of their website, the closest claim I can see to a 'weight loss benefit' is a blurb saying that B vitamins assist in converting fats and carbs to energy.

If your co-worker is asking about the 'weightloss benefits' unless there's a commercial or something running that I haven't seen, that's an assumption that he or she is making on their own...

[funniegrrl]

There's no magic in it, and it's certainly not going to affect weight loss one way or the other. It's just water with non-nutritive sweeteners, flavoring, and vitamins. There are no-calorie flavored waters out there that are cheaper. If you're taking a multivitamin already, or eating an adequate amount of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, it's a waste of money. If you find it hard to get adequate hydration and drinking this stuff helps you get more in, well, it's worth it. But, I prefer good ol' plain water, not only for economical reasons but because I've learned that the refreshing taste is a nice change from all the sweetened stuff I used to drink. We've trained ourselves to think that plain, natural flavors are "bad" or "boring" and that we only will consume heavily flavored/sweetened foods. One key to food and weight management, in my view, is deprogramming yourself of that notion and learning to appreciate things like plain water.

[jules1216]

I am not announcing at work that I have begun lifestyle changes to lose weight. I have stopped drinking regular calorie laden regular coke in exchange for water. The caffienne headaches are gone and now that I have gotten used to it--i want my water. Plain simple water. Diet soft drinks don't help--yes I like diet Coke with lime, diet cherry coke, diet dr pepper and love diet sprite, but they only make me want the real coke more.
I will let my co-worker know what you have said--thanks for the comments.

[kookiemonster]

So it contains non-nutritive sweeteners? Is those plain ol sugar or artificial sweeteners?

I love Volvic Touch of Fruit water, but I've only seen it in the UK. It's just water with some sugar and flavouring, but no preservatives. The strawberry one is like having dessert, but not too sweet. mmm

[funniegrrl]

Sugar is a nutritive sweetener -- it has calories. A non-nutritive sweetener has no calories, and would be something like aspartame, splenda, saccharine, etc.

If what you are drinking has sugar, it has calories just as regular soft drinks do, it just doesn't have bubbles.

[kookiemonster]

Yeah, I know it has calories, of course. But it's definately not as bad as a soft drink. It's just water with some sugar.

[MrsJim]

Something to keep in mind is the serving size - the 10 calories is based on an 8 ounce serving - the bottles are around 24 ounces which means a bottle is 30 calories.

Not a BIG deal but definitely something to keep in mind!

[Kamily828]

Ive quit drinking regular Cokes and started drinking water...sometimes adding the Crystal Light Lemondade pack to it. But if I drink too much of it, it gives me heartburn.

[Intrinsicat]

I don't like the fact that the second ingredient is sucrose syrup - sounds sugary to me... 12 oz. has 15 calories, 50mg sodium and 3g of sugar.

I do drink it - I think it's border on the sweet side myself, but just like cranberry juice, I dilute it with water. That'll cut the calories, sodium and sugar in half per serving! And my daughter really enjoys them, and it's a nice alternative to the Sprite and Sierra Mist she usually asks for.

And right now Safeway has them on sale -

Two 6-packs of 16 oz. for $6
Two 8-packs of 12 oz. for $4

AND if you buy some combination of 12 6-packs or 8-packs between now and I THINK May 12th, you get a free Propel gym bag. Not sure if it's just a promotion in our area, but I'll be stocking up - I need a new gym bag - my last one was stolen