Iced Tea

Merrida · 10-Oct-07, 11:06 PM

Had a client who had a "clean diet." Said the only thing he drank was water, one cup of black coffee, and after squeezing it out of him, he tells me he drinks iced tea with dinner.

For those who think giving up soda in lieu of iced tea, (non-home made), please read the label. One small bottle of Snapple iced tea, contains as many calories and sugar as one can of regular Coke.

Deception comes in many forms when we're trying to clean up our diet or "think" we are.

I got him off the iced tea and he dropped 5lbs the first week,.....after that it came much more slowly, but he began to see the impact. He buys unsweetened now and adds splenda.

I'm still unconvinced artificial sweeteners are beneficial because of their composition and the signals they send to your brain, preparing your body for something sweet to enter your blood stream.

**Doc2029** · 11-Oct-07, 08:04 AM

Are you saying stuff like splenda would spike your insulan because the body is thinking ok here comes a bunch of sugar then it doesn't happen?

I am no fan of them that is for sure.

Also the other day I was getting some water from a vending machine and was really thinking about some Lipton Green Tea from the machine instead. Well I went with the water and read the junk in the "green tea" on the bottle a co-worker was drinking first thing listed HFCS! Green tea is the third thing.

Citrus flavored Lipton Green Tea contains:

HFCS, Citric Acid, Green Tea, sodium, hexmetaphosphate and ascorbic acid, calcium disodium, edta, caramel color, yellow 5, blue 1.

**Lady C** · 11-Oct-07, 09:07 AM

I think the artificial sweetners make you think you are drinking/eating something sweet. I don't think it will trigger any sort of body response (just brain). Until the person removes the sweets (real or artificial) from the diet I think it is used as a crutch.

I absolutely HATE sweet tea. It is extremely hard to find any sort of vending drink without sweeteners so I stick with water.

Merrida · 11-Oct-07, 03:59 PM

I'm not suggesting splenda or any other artificial sweetener will cause the insulin dump like you get with pure sugar. I'm with Lady C, and hate sweet tea. I was at one of our health food stores the other day and found (get this) two different teas. They had a whole section of unsweetened tea, and the sweetened tea used cane sugar but the entire bottle had between 20 and 30 calories, and there were no funky ingredients in it. And as far as being "sweetened," Lady C, it was so subtle, very fine, and just enough to take any sharp, bitter edge off.

From what I've learned artificial sweeteners have delterious effect on your hormones too. Sure, they don't shoot out insulin but even sugar free gum, it prepares the body to ready itself for something sweet.

At the club I was at before, it my director who (because I didn't believe artificial sweeteners did anything),....had me watch the food journals of my clients who drank diet soda, diet tea, sugarless gum. They actually ate more because their body was in a receptive mode for something it wasn't getting.

Even where I'm at now, we try to get our clients off the diet soda (for sodium reasons too) but it's amazing how fast the weight comes off when they give up artificial sweetners, even though there's so few calories in it itself.

Just an observation.

EDIT - We'll never find no or low sugar iced teas in vending machines unfortunately -- only diet drinks. This country is formed and connected by its love for sugar and sweet drinks and sweet foods. The rest of us are left out in the cold trying to find non-health-food-only type places when we would like some unsugared unsweetened tea.

**LiftGirl** · 11-Oct-07, 04:41 PM

I got the Hamilton Beach iced tea maker, so I only drink my own homemade tea. I make it 2 quarts at a time at home and always have some in the fridge. For work, I make one quart containers and take them with me. Tea brewed yourself tastes better. You can make it to your own specifications, as strong or weak as you want, with or without any additives. Also, there's so much more variety when you buy tea and make it yourself. There's hardly any variety in canned/bottled tea, and I like variety.

Once you get used to unsweetened nothing else will do. Even one grain of sugar, you will taste it. I do not add anything to my tea, no sugar, no milk, no nothing. I do like flavored teas, but do not add sugar or milk, hot or cold.

Merrida, your client should get an iced tea maker and start making his own. I totally spoiled my DH and now he will only drink my tea.

**Lady C** · 11-Oct-07, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrida

Even where I'm at now, we try to get our clients off the diet soda (for sodium reasons too) but it's amazing how fast the weight comes off when they give up artificial sweetners, even though there's so few calories in it itself..

That is what I was suggesting from the 'brain' response. Maybe it is somewhat physical as well but you are creating the need to have something sweet, I think.

Merrida · 11-Oct-07, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady C

That is what I was suggesting from the 'brain' response. Maybe it is somewhat physical as well but you are creating the need to have something sweet, I think.

I was wondering if it was that "creating the need or anticipation for something sweet," is hormonal, yes, but as you said, I wonder if the psychological aspect kicks in and may actually contribute to people eating more. I think a psychological approach is many people who do drink diet anything (usually non lifters) they write it off, and compensate by overeating, justification setting in because they had their low calorie drink.

Merrida · 11-Oct-07, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

Merrida, your client should get an iced tea maker and start making his own. I totally spoiled my DH and now he will only drink my tea.

I just buy one of those big plastic pseudo-tupperware type containers at the store for $5bucks, and add my tea bags, maybe a few pieces of ginger, and stick it in the fridge. Works great.

**LiftGirl** · 12-Oct-07, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrida

I just buy one of those big plastic pseudo-tupperware type containers at the store for $5bucks, and add my tea bags, maybe a few pieces of ginger, and stick it in the fridge. Works great.

I've tried the "refrigerator tea" method, and I personally didn't care for the tea it made. I don't care much for sun tea either. I will still drink it, but to me, it doesn't taste as good as tea made with boiling water. It just tastes sort of flat. Cool brew tea bags taste good, but now we're back to that lack of variety thing.

**LiftGirl** · 12-Oct-07, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrida

I think a psychological approach is many people who do drink diet anything (usually non lifters) they write it off, and compensate by overeating, justification setting in because they had their low calorie drink.

Kinda like those people who go to McD's and order a supersize big mac value meal with a diet coke?

**.V.** · 13-Oct-07, 06:42 PM

Hey liftgirl...I do that. Except I don't do fries. I'll eat a couple of double quarter pounders without the bun though. Mmmm. And chase it with diet coke. I guess because I like diet coke.

At home though, I've been drinking a lot of homebrew green tea made with splenda. No insulin spike from splenda, aspartame, or saccharin. NO fat storage from them either. Now if this twitchig would just stop I could make some more tea.

Merrida · 13-Oct-07, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiftGirl

Kinda like those people who go to McD's and order a supersize big mac value meal with a diet coke?

LOL. You know, when I first started working (well not first,....because that was at 13 picking tobacco,....if that doesn't date me, what will?)....but I remember working at McD's, at what 17 years old or something? And even then before I even got into fitness, we'd all get a chuckle out of those orders,.....two big mac's, two double quarter pounders with cheese,....a large fry,....and oh yeah,...a small diet coke.

Uh-yep, that'll do it.

**LiftGirl** · 15-Oct-07, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by .V.

At home though, I've been drinking a lot of homebrew green tea made with splenda.

I used to make mine with a little Splenda. I gradually reduced it until I could drink it unsweetened. Wow! I don't know how I ever drank it with the least little bit of sweetener of any kind!

:

etothepii · 17-Oct-07, 10:41 AM

I was raised in the North on unsweetened tea, so for me, it's an easy, calories free indulgence!

Mr. Coffee makes an ecxellent tea brewer, I reccomend it.

Back when I was obese, I quit my 1 - 2 can of Mt. Dew per day habit, and lost 5 pounds in a couple weeks. Those 5 pounds never came back.

It took a couple more years for me to get serious and realy diet and workout, but that's a different, longer story...

**LiftGirl** · 17-Oct-07, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by etothepii

Mr. Coffee makes an ecxellent tea brewer, I reccomend it.

Back when I bought my Hamilton Beach iced tea maker, I looked at reviews of the Mr. Coffee, and the reviews were not good. Many people said the pitchers crack and leak. But the older Mr. Coffee was made of better plastic and doesn't seem to have the same problems as the newer one.