Drinking naturally flavored sparkly water while on HCG diet??

[DaisyDays]

Sorry y'all with all my questions with the HCG diet but I have another one and Im sure will be having more.Is it okay to drink sparkly naturally flavored water while on this diet?The ingredients are filtered carbonated water,citric acid,potassium citrate,natural flavor,taurine,potassium benzoate,aspartame,acesulfame potassium,inositol,niacinamide (vitamin B3), d-calcium pantothenate(vitamin B5),cyanocobalamin(vitamin B12) and contains phenylalanine. It has 0 calories and 0 sugars,sound okay to drink some to give me a break from plain water?
And another question do y'all go out and buy different lotions,toothpaste,shampoo,etc. while on the diet like it says you should?

[emel]

Some people do okay with aspartame, which is nutrisweet. Some don't. Phenylalanine is a component of aspartame. By law they have to include it on the label because there are some folks who get bad reactions from it (phenylalkanuretics).
Acesulfame potassium is another artificial sweetner, aka sweet one.

Potassium benzoate is a salt. it is K based instead of Na based, it might be fine, even beneficial, to those who hold weight due to sodium. BUT-- It's a preservative and is a bit controversial because some people say it is carcinogenic.

Inositol, niacinamide, pantothenate, cyanobalamin and citric acid are fine. They are vitamins, and potassium citrate is a salt form of citric acid. Taurine is an amino acid, so it can stay.

Lord knows what 'natural flavor' is.

Looks like a vitamin water to me. I might drink one a day, but I like pellagrino with lime just fine.

[DaisyDays]

Thanks for the info. That's why I put all the ingredients down because I had no clue what they are and figured someone else would,so thanks.

[shelbyla]

Daisy -- try the La Croix sparkling waters if you can find them or plain sparkling water if you can't then add a little flavored stevia and/or a squeeze of lemon or lime. I like the lemon, rootbeer and plan flavors for mixing. Tastes like 7UP to me.

[JeniferCA]

Shelby, do you drink the La Croix during P2? I enjoy them, but have stayed away during P2 because I was originally told that they weren't allowed. I tend to follow strict protocol.

[C'Marie]

I drink a mineral water, sometimes one with a little added carbination and sometimes one that doesn't add any carbination. I know we've been told but I can't remember by who - that carbination isn't ok - but I don't read that in Pounds and Inches. So I use it sparingly just for a sweet treat when flavored with stevia flavored drops - my fav is root beer!

[shelbyla]

Originally Posted by JeniferCA

Shelby, do you drink the La Croix during P2? I enjoy them, but have stayed away during P2 because I was originally told that they weren't allowed. I tend to follow strict protocol.

Huh! I never ever heard that they weren't allowed. In fact, I have specifically been told that they were ok. I figured they were just sparkling water. There isn't any sugar in them... I DO drink them in P2 with the flavored stevias. This is a new one--the first time that I've been considered anywhere close to vaguely rogue!

I don't drink them a lot but the times that I have, I haven't seen any issues with them. Huh...

[emel]

C'Marie, I've thought about carbonation a lot, and I believe that one undesirable ingredient in it is phosphoric acid. Generally, only the colas have this. It leeches the calcium out of your bones.

Since I try to not do too many artificial sweetners, I consider diet sodas to be a treat, not a staple.

Then there's the caffeine. I'm still not clear whether the 'experts' think that caffeine in the presence of carbonation is worse than just plain old caffeine, but the mavens warn against caffeinated carbonated beverages due to the impact on calcium loss from our bones.

Some sources say flat out that carbonation by itself is bad for leeching calcium out of the bones as well, but TBH I haven't figured out if that includes naturally occurring carbonation or not, or whether carbonation alone is evil, or if it is only a concern when it is in the presence of phosphoric acid or caffeine.

Simeons definitely said mineral water was okay. Since people started drinking mineral water and sparkling mineral water long before the FDA was ever around, I decided not to limit it. I never take all of my water as synthetically carbonated seltzer, but I probably wouldn't be harmed from it if I did.

That's my take on it. Incomplete, I know, but it makes me lean toward moderation.
Funny how that moderation thingie keeps popping up, eh?

[C'Marie]

LOL You're right, Emel - just like grama used to say - all things in moderation.

I only use it for a "treat" once in awhile... mainly because I am trying to basically detox also while on the hcg. And also because of the cost - I can't justify it, especially when I know the possible downside of it. I prefer learning to drink pure, clean, ice-cold water, or herbal teas and my coffee anyway, now that I've got the sweet-sugary-taste-monkey off my back

(again, no offense to monkeys)

[shelbyla]

Just one more thought about this... I have a friend who has been doing this protocol along with me and she drinks these pretty consistently--at least once a day. She's had a really slow couple of rounds and only lost ~10 pounds in each round of 23 days. I wonder if this has caused her to stall? Hmmmmm...

I only drink them once or twice a week at most...

[C'Marie]

I know I have heard of people stalling out with use of any sugar-free items - could be - in P & I it says you can use SF items tentatively. Everyone is different. I know even in P3 I actually gain while using them. I have had a diet soda once in awhile, very infrequently. Most usually just stevia with mineral water, even very infrequently. I guess it's up to us to each define what that actually means and be mindful of possible stalling.

[shelbyla]

Originally Posted by C'Marie

I know I have heard of people stalling out with use of any sugar-free items - could be - in P & I it says you can use SF items tentatively. Everyone is different. I know even in P3 I actually gain while using them. I have had a diet soda once in awhile, very infrequently. Most usually just stevia with mineral water, even very infrequently. I guess it's up to us to each define what that actually means and be mindful of possible stalling.

By "these" I actually meant she is using the sparkling water plus the stevia. She isn't drinking diet soda or eating SF stuff (as far as I know! ). Well, if she does another round, at least this is something that I can suggest if she stalls again a lot.

[C'Marie]

Gotcha - sorry for the misinterpretation of "these" -

I had heard *any* carbonation was bad - but I don't see that, again, in P & I anywhere. Maybe someone else has. I think I may have heard that in commentaries - that carbonation causes stalls. I dunno where now. I just know I have limited even natural mineral water that has extra carbonation even when just paired with stevia.

[shelbyla]

np. She's done kind of a weird round 23 days on, 14 days off, 23 days on so I'm not really sure what is going on. The third week of her first "round" she stalled for 4 days. This most recent "round" she stalled 3 times (once per week!) for 4 or more days. She'd always follow it up with a couple of days of whooshes but it's been really discouraging for her. This might be her answer--although I'm not sure she'd be willing to give it up along with everything else in P2!

[C'Marie]

Could just be her losing pattern also - 10 pounds in 23 days is a little shy of .5 but it's close, especially when you read that the first 2 days' doses are "noneffective" doses. I have had rounds where all I really lost of virgin weight was 10 pounds. Still, it's TEN POUNDS - 2 five-pound buckets of crisco

[anj]

Given the prevalence of carbonated water in Europe, I assumed Simeon’s was referring specifically to sparking water. If you ordered a mineral water in Italy, 9 times out of 10, people would assume you would wanted sparking water…or ‘water with gas’ as it is often called.