Energy drinks
 

Does anyone drink energy drinks? Do you think they have an impact on metabolism or calorie burning? I drink low carb Monsters a few times a week for that extra go in the morning b/c I can't drink coffee. I have noticed after I drink them that my heart is beating faster, which I know is a side effect of the caffeine. I know they probably aren't the best thing in the world to drink, but does anyone have any info in regards to whether they negatively or positively affect weight loss efforts? Thanks!

Blue - good topic hun. As far as i know the only thing that can really hurt your weight loss is maybe the amount of chemicals in the beverage, or that it might produce cravings for other soft drinks. PS diet soft drinks have been shown to cause weight gain by bloating and what not. I used to drink at diet rockstar every morning on the way to work instead of coffee with all the cream and sugar and what not for that extra pick me up. To be honest now i don't even need the pick me up anymore. It seems like when i eat well, and hit the gym regularly I am well rested in the morning and ready to go. Plus at 2.50 a piece they get kind of pricey....and that 2.50 could totally go to new skinny jeans! When you get up in the AM make sure you stetch and do some crunches or something to get the blood moving. That sounds so like i'm your grandma or something LOL. Are you taking a multivitamin????

I am guilty of drinking energy drinks. I drink either a low-carb monster or a sugar-free redbull at least once a day. Great question BEG, I in the back of my mind know this cant be good for me but I love them so much and they are just 10-15 calories.

I'm an energy drink fan myself...I'm sure its not the healthiest, but I find the boost of energy I get helps keep me motivated to work out on those days where I am dragging. I stick to the ones with little or no calories. I've tried the ones that are supposed to boost your metabolism too (although I'm not sure they work or not), celsius has 200 mg of caffeine and whoo that gets me going. I think some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, I have friends who get jittery on one soda, I myself just get a nice energy boost from any caffeine I drink.

blue
I don't know if this makes any sense but I don't drink caffeine anymore. I have so much more energy now. I swear the caffeine kept me down.

Yes, I do take a multivitamin, along with flax seed and fish oil, l-carnitine and chromium picolinate. I eat well and workout at least 5 times a week. I am a full-time student on top of working full-time and I am so not a morning person. Plus, I get really bad caffeine headaches if I don't drink something with caffeine and have pretty much stopped drinking soda unless I go out. I recently read an article about teens that were drinking energy drinks all day and not eating to "lose weight." That is when I started wondering if they had some kind of impact on weight loss.

ENVIGA!!! the sub-title of them is "the calorie burner" Now, I don't know if I believe that but they are so good. They are made with Green Tea and comes in regular Green Tea Flavor, Peach (doesn't taste like artificial peach) or Berry. I absolutely love these things. They also have a light carbonation and are not a sweet as sugar free Monsters or Redbulls or Rockstars.

I try to not drink more than 2 or three energy drinks per week. I am just afraid too much caffine isn't good for my heart or something.

I tried RedLine once. I have since began calling them 'FlatLine'. Not kidding you, there is a warning on the can to first only drik 1/2 of one to see if it is too much for your body. Of course, I didn't see that until after I drank the whole thing. about 10 mins later... I thought I was going to die. I looked down at my chest and could see my chest moving slightly with each heartbeat. I got hot and flushed. Ugh... it was awful. Be careful with that one!

It feels like admitting a dirty habit but I have energy drinks every single day.

I was drinking an obscene amount of Diet Dr. Pepper and espresso shots for years and wanted to cut back. I figure an energy drink or two is better (and cheaper) than all of the diet soda and espresso.

I don't find for me that it contributes to weight loss.

What can I say? I'm addicted to caffeine! I work at the computer 18+ hours some days and crash without it. I plan on tackling that addiction after I've successfully dealt with a few weight loss hurdles. I know I'll feel a ton better without it.

I don't drink, or recommend energy drinks. They are caffeinated...but not always naturally, and they contain all sorts of crap in them.

Coffee or tea is much better for you-natural, and you get the benefits of the antioxidants, etc. and not all of the fake things and chemicals.

If coffee has too much caffeine for you, try drinking a cup of black tea instead. You can even go to Starbucks and get a black tea unsweetened (hot or iced).

Also, if anyone is trying to get off of the caffeine kick, start slow. If you go from 4 cups of coffee and 2 Dt. colas to nothing in a day-you are going to get headaches, etc. Cut one cup of coffee or a soda this week, go down one more the next week, etc. and do so gradually to avoid the withdrawal symptoms.

Its not that coffee has too much caffeine, it upsets my stomach, to top it off, I think that tea tastes like dirt, unless it is the flavored and sweetened kind, which defeats the purpose. Every morning I drink either one diet caff soda or energy drink and then the rest of the day I drink water. Sometimes with dinner I have flavored sparkling water, other than that just plain bottled water.

I have a friend who a couple years ago drank an energy drink every weekday and ended up with a heart condition where her heartbeat was 170 all the time just resting. not good! i don't think she can even drink any caffeine now, but she's an advocate against drinking them and for good reason.

and with diet soda, they've found your body responds to it as real sugar but when you don't actually have any, it causes a sugar crash and you're more likely to eat junk and sugar to satisfy your body. I think the article says your body even releases insulin or something. I read it in Self magazine either December or january issue if you want to read the full thing.

Originally Posted by :
Yes, I do take a multivitamin, along with flax seed and fish oil, l-carnitine and chromium picolinate. I eat well and workout at least 5 times a week. I am a full-time student on top of working full-time and I am so not a morning person.

Yeah, same here basically. Full time student with 2 part time jobs, and one of them is night shift so sometimes I just HAVE to have something before class or I will pass out in my desk. After a night shift I tend to drink a no-carb Rockstar (blue can) or the sugarfree Full Throttle.

I've read about how the body might respond to fake-sweeteners by making you crave more food (doesn't happen to me) or responding like you'd eaten sugar (sort of a conditioned response to any sweet taste, whether it has real sugar or not), but I really don't know if I want to give up ALL sweet things, you know? I've always drank my coffee black and the same with most teas, but I feel like I need the occasional energy drink/soda.

I have very little desire to give up caffeine completely. Sodas/energy drinks do make me feel bloated on occassion, but I feel like that's not really the end of the world anyway. It's a lesser of 2 evils thing for me. I am in fact drinking a no carb Monster right now because the place I buy my other drinks at was closed when I got there last night.

Originally Posted by amy180:
I have very little desire to give up caffeine completely. Sodas/energy drinks do make me feel bloated on occassion, but I feel like that's not really the end of the world anyway. It's a lesser of 2 evils thing for me. I am in fact drinking a no carb Monster right now because the place I buy my other drinks at was closed when I got there last night.

I agree. I have given up all soda completely, except for my one a day for caffeine and I skip the soda if I have an energy drink. I hardly eat sweets or junk and eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Luckily for me, I don't seem to have a problem with artificial sweeteners, but I know that they are chemicals and aren't good for you. I try to stay away from them, whenever possible, but I gotta have my caffeine! I get tired and burned out without them, not to mention the withdrawal headaches...OMG! They get me through the morning, then I workout at lunch and that energizes me through dinner. Then it's homework, studying and bed! Exciting, huh?

I appreciate everyone's input, I think it is an interesting subject with different views from different people.

Also, caffeine and whatnot aside, how are energy drinks not just empty calories? Surely there's more 'energy' in real food... It seems like a total waste of calories to me.

The energy drinks I buy are low calorie/SF, maybe 10 cal. per serving?

I know when I was drinking regular ones a bottle was easily 300 calories. Yikes.

Originally Posted by baffled111:
Also, caffeine and whatnot aside, how are energy drinks not just empty calories? Surely there's more 'energy' in real food... It seems like a total waste of calories to me.

Yeah, she mentioned in the first post they are the low-carb ones. If you don't drink them, you wouldn't know the calories in the low-carb, but I've had them all and can tell you they're usually 10-20 calories for a huge can, so not a big deal calorie-wise. I have a Rockstar low-carb can right here, 10 cal/serving; 2 servings/can. Not too much worse than something like Crystal Light in the calories department anyway.

Now, the non-diet energy drinks are another story of course. ^_^

Originally Posted by :
I know when I was drinking regular ones a bottle was easily 300 calories. Yikes.

Yikes is right. That's why I gave up the regular ones and regular soda. Loads and loads of empty cals there.

My advice would be to take the can of whatever brand drink that you usually have, and do a thorough research online of each ingredient, and decide from there. Read more than one article/study on each ingredient.

JMHO...

crystal light
 

I love Cystal lights "energy" on the go packs.

They are convenient and low in calories (10 calories for a 16 oz bottle of water) and contain no carbs

and is strawberry flavored.

I swear by them...but my mom says it is all in my head..hey whatever I think they work after I drink it I am no longer draging.

If I am not mistaken, the Crystal Light Energy packs are mainly Crystal Light with the added B vitamins in them-those are pretty decent.

It is mainly the Red Bull, Energy Star, etc. that I have issues with-because of all of the chemicals and stimulants in them.

I find the energy drinks to be kinda hard on the system. If I want the benefits of green tea, I drink green tea. Most of the artificial sweetners make me feel weird and crave more sweets.

JUst another thing to add...I just read in one of my health/fitness magazines that many of the energy drinks raise your blood pressure.

Originally Posted by :
I think that tea tastes like dirt, unless it is the flavored and sweetened kind, which defeats the purpose.

Not sure I understand this comment! :)

If you get an herbal tea (like a green tea mixed with some fruit) and add in your own artificial sweetener (like Splenda), how is that different from drinking a processed, chemical laden, low calorie energy drink?

At least with the tea you get the bennies of the antioxidants as well as knowing that what you're drinking is natural and unprocessed andyou control the levels of sweetener.

.

I've also discovered that plain green tea (I prefer green tea with lemon, or pomgranate, but it's still green tea in a bag) gives me energy. I make it in the evening, drink a big cup in the morning and than another cup during the day. I'm sure it's much healthier than anything out there. I use Stevia as a sweetener, and very little of it.

When I need a quick boost (well, it takes 20-30 min) I take Yerba Mate or Green Tea capsules. I buy the ones with the highest amounts of EGCG, for the added antioxidants. After one of these tea capsules I'm like the Energizer Bunny :)

Originally Posted by PhotoChick:
At least with the tea you get the bennies of the antioxidants as well as knowing that what you're drinking is natural and unprocessed andyou control the levels of sweetener.

Not sure I understand...since when is artificial sweetener natural and unprocessed? The energy drinks I usually drink have added riboflavin, niacin, B6, B12 and potassium and sometimes are the only thing I have time to grab. If I am going to drink something with artificial sweetener, it might as well be something that is convenient, saves me time and works; the added vitamins are a bonus. Luckily I eat a lot of fresh produce to provide me with the antioxidants that I am missing out on by thinking that tea tastes like dirt. Besides, how much tea would I have to drink to get the same kick I get from an energy drink? I work full-time, go to school full-time and have to find time to plan meals, grocery shop, prepare my food and exercise; the last thing I need is something else to take up more of my very precious time (preparing tea). I appreciate your input, but your suggestion won't work for me, I can't force myself into drinking something that tastes gross! :)

Originally Posted by RaluCat:
When I need a quick boost (well, it takes 20-30 min) I take Yerba Mate or Green Tea capsules. I buy the ones with the highest amounts of EGCG, for the added antioxidants. After one of these tea capsules I'm like the Energizer Bunny :)

Now this is a good idea...I have seen these before, but wondered if they actually work. Seems as though it would be the perfect solution, since I wouldn't have to taste the tea, but could get the benefits of the antioxidants! I will have to check them at. Thank you!

Hope it works for you Blue!

I actually feel my face getting warm and I'm full of energy after I take them. Try a small container for a time, just to see how it works for you.

Originally Posted by :
Not sure I understand...since when is artificial sweetener natural and unprocessed?

You're right. Splenda is processed.

But look at the ingredients of your average energy drink. For example, here are the ingredients in sugar free Red Bull:
Carbonated water, sodium citrate, taurine, glucuronolactone,caffeine, acesulfame k, aspartame, inositol, xanthan gum, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine HCL, vitamin B12, natural and artificial flavors, colors

DNA Low Carb Drink:
Carbonated water,naturaland artificial flavors, brominated vegetable oil, glyceryl abletate, taurine, citric acid, malic acid, inositol, caffeine, salt, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate(preservatives), sucralose, acesulfame, potassium, guarana seed extract, pyridoxine, hydrochloride, folic acid, cyanocobaiamine, yellow#5 yellow#6

Amp Energy Drink:
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavor, orange juice from concentrate, guarana, sodium benzoate, sodium polyphosphates, maltodextrin, caffeine, gum arabic, erythoric acid, taurine, panax ginseng, calcium disodium edta (to product flavor), potassium benzoate, brominated vegetable oil, yellow 5

And so forth. They're all packed with preservatives and chemicals and for any of regular (not "lite" or "diet") versions, the 2nd ingredient is always high fructose corn syrup.

So yeah, splenda or whatever is processed, but given the choice, I'd rather add 1 or 2 packets of splenda (which is a pure sugar derivative and which I can control the quantity) to my brewed tea and know what it is, than drink a bunch of chemicals bound together with added caffeine.

.

I guess that is why you drink tea and I drink low carb energy drinks.

Let's stay positive ladies. ;)

I don't know if anyone is aware, but teas contain natural compounds in them as well that couteract the negative effects of caffeine. It's something that is good to know.


Something else that I would like to add, is that everyone has different goals here. Yes, we all want to lose weight and maintain that loss. However, some here are more geared towards wellness and health, and others here just want to lose weight. I, for one, focus on more natural foods and go for things with higher antioxidants, etc. If I choose to have an alcoholic drink, for isntance, I normally go for red wine for the health benefits...while someone else might be happy with their rum & Diet Coke.

Some are happy with just getting down to a normal weight-while others want to become as fit as possible, and end up doing 5ks and marathons, or entering bodybuilding competitions. Everyone's goals are different.

With that being said, I don't mind if someone chooses an energy drink over tea...as long as they are aware of the potential side effects. For me, it is just a personal choice not to put them into my body.

Heya blueyedlvrgirl!

I discovered a great energy drink at Quick Trip, they're smaller at 8.3 oz like Red Bull (I can't always drink those gigantoid ones), calorie and carb free and CHEAP, at like a $1.00 each.

The two they sell are Donkey Kick and Rooster Booster (made by the same company)- where do they come up with these silly names?

They taste great, don't have so much chemical aftertaste, which is my problem with the others. The difference between the two, so far as I can tell is that Rooster Booster doesn't have taurine.

They're also sweetened with Splenda, if that matters to you. All I can say is I'm glad I found them, and am saving tons o' money over the more expensive ones.

My husband, who for some odd reason loves Quick Trip and is a gas station connoisseur thinks they're only sold there.

i love monster/redbull in a way its good that im not allowed yes my dad doesnt let me have it in the house so its helping me alot