nutritionista: jaclynday: I’ve been slowly getting on the Fuze bandwagon over the past few weeks. Here are a few thoughts I have about bottled drinks/juices: Under no circumstances do I think that a drink can help you lose weight or boost your metabolism enough to do so, although I’m no expert. (Nutritionista, want to help me out on this one?) Under no circumstances will I drink the sugar and calorie traps known as Vitamin Water, although I love the taste of them. Like a lot of people, I consume probably half my daily calories in liquids. I do drink a lot of water, but I also enjoy a good skim/soy latte—or two. I don’t drink soda (point!), but I do love energy drinks (minus point). The things I appreciate about Fuze is that they are cheap (less than $2), taste great and have about 20 calories per bottle. Also: no high fructose corn syrup/Aspartame (that I can tell) and some added vitamins, too. Although I’m not a full convert to bottle juice like this (I’d rather just have water), it’s a good alternative. And, now, at least I’m sucking down some Vitamin C alongside my latte. As long as you’re drinking it for the taste (and because it replaces higher calorie drinks like Vitamin Water!), not because you’re hoping it will “slenderize” you, I think you’re okay! Just know that Fuze is sweetened with Splenda, which has its own problems. Also, I found that completely cutting out low-calorie sweet drinks (like diet soda or tea with artificial sweetener) helped me stop craving them altogether. Remember my credo: sugar leads to sugar cravings, which leads to more sugar, which leads to more cravings, etc. That applies with sweet-TASTING things, too. And possibly even moreso*! Obviously, cutting out sweet drinks is not a solution for everyone, but I like to put it out there. *From the article: “The taste buds taste sweet, but there’s no calorie load that comes with it. There’s a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way,” Savard said. “Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It’s much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism.” One significant problem I have with Fuze is that none of their drinks seem natural. They don’t have a true Green Tea. They have a Green Tea “beverage” in which the first few ingredients included filtered water, crystalized fructose, and “green tea extract” rather than actual green tea. That means one thing: Fuze is trying to capitalize on the branding of green tea as a metabolism booster without actually offering real green tea.  It’s not as if putting real great tea would be bad for anyone. It has essentially zero calories anyway. This is where Honest Tea really wins me over. The first few ingredients in Honest Tea may include water and cane sugar, but there’s always relatively little sugar and they have actual tea. Not tea extract. Give me my tea!

nutritionista:

jaclynday:

I’ve been slowly getting on the Fuze bandwagon over the past few weeks.

Here are a few thoughts I have about bottled drinks/juices:

  • Under no circumstances do I think that a drink can help you lose weight or boost your metabolism enough to do so, although I’m no expert. (Nutritionista, want to help me out on this one?)
  • Under no circumstances will I drink the sugar and calorie traps known as Vitamin Water, although I love the taste of them.

Like a lot of people, I consume probably half my daily calories in liquids. I do drink a lot of water, but I also enjoy a good skim/soy latte—or two. I don’t drink soda (point!), but I do love energy drinks (minus point).

The things I appreciate about Fuze is that they are cheap (less than $2), taste great and have about 20 calories per bottle. Also: no high fructose corn syrup/Aspartame (that I can tell) and some added vitamins, too.

Although I’m not a full convert to bottle juice like this (I’d rather just have water), it’s a good alternative. And, now, at least I’m sucking down some Vitamin C alongside my latte.

As long as you’re drinking it for the taste (and because it replaces higher calorie drinks like Vitamin Water!), not because you’re hoping it will “slenderize” you, I think you’re okay! Just know that Fuze is sweetened with Splenda, which has its own problems.

Also, I found that completely cutting out low-calorie sweet drinks (like diet soda or tea with artificial sweetener) helped me stop craving them altogether. Remember my credo: sugar leads to sugar cravings, which leads to more sugar, which leads to more cravings, etc. That applies with sweet-TASTING things, too. And possibly even moreso*! Obviously, cutting out sweet drinks is not a solution for everyone, but I like to put it out there.

*From the article: “The taste buds taste sweet, but there’s no calorie load that comes with it. There’s a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way,” Savard said. “Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It’s much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism.”

One significant problem I have with Fuze is that none of their drinks seem natural. They don’t have a true Green Tea. They have a Green Tea “beverage” in which the first few ingredients included filtered water, crystalized fructose, and “green tea extract” rather than actual green tea. That means one thing: Fuze is trying to capitalize on the branding of green tea as a metabolism booster without actually offering real green tea. 

It’s not as if putting real great tea would be bad for anyone. It has essentially zero calories anyway. This is where Honest Tea really wins me over. The first few ingredients in Honest Tea may include water and cane sugar, but there’s always relatively little sugar and they have actual tea. Not tea extract.

Give me my tea!