Hi all

DH and I started Atkins induction last Thursday. For me no weight loss yet but it's early days, also feeling very sleeeeepy and finding running much harder work than usual, workout virtually impossible but I've been told this will pass and I don't have any headache or feel ill at all so not bad No sugar cravings (only sugar intake previously was from fruit which I am really missing but not to the point of failing), am missing rice and potatoes but not lusting after them. Generally all good and mighty easy!

My problem is that DH can't use artificial sweetener and I won't use it and we are bored sh*tless (literally in my case) with water! Our normal drinks are fizzy water mixed with fruit juice (1 pt juice to 10 pts water), tea with milk (him), black coffee (me, which I'm still having) and the occasional full on fruit juice as a treat! DH also normally drinks a smoothie a day made with yoghurt. Neither of us take sugar. The lack of milk and artificial sweetener means we are reduced to water and black coffee and it is DULL! We are both so bored with water we are struggling to find the motivation to drink it .. usually I drink at least L a day at work plus another L during my workout, because it is all I can drink I can't face it

HELP!!!

Windy

Even Sucralose?

Even Sucralose, as it's still artificial even though it started off as a sugar at some point.

What about stevia since it is made from a plant?

Would sparkling water be any more appealing? That's what I drink, by the bucketful!

Have you tried herbal teas? I like redbush tea, and peppermint tea is very refreshing. Hot or cold or with ice - or you could even make a concentrated brew and add some to your fizzy water.

You could also try adding some lemon/lime juice or wedges to your water.

Mostly I drink coffee with heavy cream, tea is also ok unsweetened. sometimes I drink chicken broth, too.

I like lemon lime seltzer with a fresh lime slice added.

0 cals
0 carbs
0 sugars

There is also rasberry, plain and other flavors too.

You could use a squeeze of lime or lemon juice in your water, or add a sprig of mint or slice of cucumber to it.

goto truelemon.com they make lemon, lime, orange and I think another flavor that you can add to your water. Its all natural and comes in packets. Just adds a little flavor and you dont have to carry lemon or lime wedges with you. i keep all 3 flavors in my desk drawer at work and some at home. Might be worth looking into.

Sounds great. Just one problem though, it's not available in the UK.

There is a 100% unsweetened cranberry juice in the US. It is fairly low carb and it is very tart. You could pour just a tiny bit into a cup and add some carbonated water. Or you could squeeze lemon or lime into some carbonated water.

I quit drinking cream in my coffee and like the taste of black coffee now. It isn't boring to me. There are also teas: Ice tea, herbal tea, green tea... whatever you like. I think there are also some stevia sweetened bubbly drinks out there now. Not sure what the brand name is.

Of course, I'm assuming you're in the US, you didn't indicate where you live.

Another thought: How did our poor paleo ancestors get buy with only water to drink? It's a wonder the species didn't die out from boredom?

It looks like they may do international shipping from there website that you can order online. I just sent them an e-mail to find out, i will let you know.

Lowcarbmegastore sell some drinks mixes, some with more carbs per serving than others.
Not recommending them as I drink plain water, either still or sparkling but just saying . . .
http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/dri...kes/cold-drinks

I'm following the Bernstein plan which includes no fruit which I'm finding quite painful. All the low carb food seems so heavy and I really miss the lightness and tart/sweetness of fruit. So I'm looking into some flavorings for water and yogurt.

I too like the True Lemon series as previously mentioned. There are more flavors available on their site than you find in stores but if you can find them at Walmart, they're nearly half the price. Walmart has a stevia sweetened mix, brand named Hanson's. Health food stores may carry stevia sweetened brands such as Now: http://www.iherb.com/Free-Now-Foods...-4-g/27481?at=0

My experience with these presweetened things is that they are too sweet and then if you dilute them they are just watered-down too sweet. I'm trying to get away from that extra sweetness.

I've been investigating flavorings, some specifically made for water: http://www.yumdropsflavoring.com/Al...scriptions.html

http://www.naturesflavors.com/default.php?cPath=173

http://capellaflavordrops.com/natur...rflavoring.aspx

There are also flavorings, extracts and oils used in different types of cooking:

http://www.coffeeflavorings.com/teaandwater/index.html

https://www.lorannoils.com/c-202-ne...al-flavors.aspx

http://www.steviasmart.com/ounceflavors.html

http://www.suttonsbayspices.com/Fla...s_and_Oils.html

http://www.candyflavor.com/PG_Based_Flavor.html

That's just a few. Amazon has some different brands yet, e.g. http://www.amazon.com/Peach-Extract...d=10IH4JOGG9X1L

And I'm not sure of the difference between extracts, oils and "flavorings" or how they would go in water versus baked goods or something like yogurt.

I recently bought some flavored stevias, http://www.iherb.com/Wisdom-Natural...0-ml/13938?at=0 found some liquid lo han in my cupboard and hope to find a few flavorings I can combine with these for some different fruit flavored drinks when I'm in the mood. But it looks like it's going to take some shopping!