Thread: What can we/ can't we drink on SS?

I would appreciate your input on this. I know that the rules say that on SS you can only drink:

• Black tea/coffee (optional sweetners)
• Water
• CD flavoured water (after week 2?)
• Leaf teas? Does anyone know which ones? I tried to find some in tesco and got completely lost looking at all the different teas

But has anyone else found anything else we can drink (i.e without citric acid etc)? Also does it matter if the drinks have like 3 calories in, if we only drink one a day?

I only start SS on Monday, but incase i struggle to drink all the water, or i feel like i want to give up, i think that drinking something with a bit of flavour will help

Hi,

I think peppermint is a leaf tea and there might be more. I know for sure mint tea is allowed.

Also, concerning other drinks. There are no other drinks allowed and / or acceptable on CD SS other than the ones you listed above.

Some people will beg to differ, tell you about drinks that made nóo difference whatsoever for them... everyone is different and honestly, I wouldn't risk it.
If you get through 2 weeks you can get the water flavouring which is lovely and makes it a lot easier. :-)

Good luck,

Hiya Diddums, I've been bending the rules a bit from day one of SS by drinking lemon & ginger tea from twinings... I was addicted to it anyway & it doesn't seem to have any sugar or sweetner, but tastes warming & good. I'm not a fan of nettle or peppermint tea but couldn't face endless pints of cold water - so I chain-drink this stuff and there seems to be no ill effects. Went into ketosis on day two of SS and the weight has dropped off steadily, so though it may not be 'allowed' it was a good compromise for me.

Thanks for your input lostris and katycakes. Katycakes, does the lemon and ginger have any citric acid or carbohydrates in it? How many calories per bag?

Diddums, just checked, 2cals apparently, and no citric acid, no sugar, all natural ingredients. I guess those cals might add up the amount I drink, but one teabag gives a good flavour to a huge half-pint mug so it could be worth a try. You could check out other twinings herb teas as I think they are all quite 'pure' but beware of very fruity/sweet tasting ones! This has really helped me as coffee without the milk seems very harsh to me & as i said, nettle tea? Er, no thanks!!!

Lemon is full of citric acid - so it may not be listed as an added ingredient but it will be part of the lemon in the drink. Cambridge say absolutely NO fruit teas - leaf teas are fine but NOT fruit. Peppermint tea seems to be the one most people go for.

Katycakes, if you have found it works for you and doesn't damage ketosis that's fab, but I really would not recommend anyone tries this, especially if they are new to the CD, as it could hinder your progress. I'm saying this as someone who has bent the rules myself and seen what damage it can do!!

xxx

Wannabslim, i totally understand what your saying, and i wont try it without first consulting my CDC. But what other leaf teas are there? I dont think i like peppermint or nettle tea.

To be honest hun, I try and drink fresh water as much as possible on its own... it's the best thing and you soon get used to the 4 pints a day... which when you think about it, if you have a pint at a time, is perfectly do-able.

I have come to like black tea with sweetener, although I will occasionally have a cup with skimmed milk as this is allowed on SS+, so I will have an SS+ day every now and again if I want coffee (can't handle black coffee). Really though, water is the best thing. Tea should be in addition to water as it is a diarretic and so you need to drink MORE water if you drink the tea!

Hope this helps in some way xx

Hiya,
Hmmm, I kind of knew it wouldn't be allowed, I didn't tell my CDC as she was strict about it being mint tea only. But it makes all the difference to me being able to stick to the plan, it's my only 'cheat' and it doesn't slow or stop ketosis for me, but I guess it could for others. Sorry Diddums if I've given you bad advice! Wannabe, proper tea is a diuretic but herbal leaf tea like nettle/mint isn't, so if people can drink them they should be equivalent to water... I was going to suggest drinking really weak but differently tasting 'proper' tea like earl grey or lapsang or jasmine, but I hadn't thought about the diuretic thing, yes, you'd have to drink more water anyway! Diddums, I think Wannabe is giving you the best advice, at the start you have to stick to the rules... sorry if I've misled you!

Hiya

My CDC told me that coke zero was ok (I know this isn't officially allowed) - but I have a can (sometimes 2) a day, and this has never affected my ketosis, and I have lost nearly 2 and a half stone in 7 weeks.

But I guess everyone is different !

Libs

katycakes, do not worry i just wanted advice on what other people were drinking and what effect that had! You have not misled me at all xx

Wannabslim, i do intend to stick to fresh water, i usually drink 1.5l a day so increasing that by 1l will not take much. Its that sometimes i get so fed up of water i would like something else with flavour. How are the CD flavoured water powders? How long they last? How much u use? I know you can only use them from week 2. I have tried black tea and its not bad, but i can see it getting sickly. Can i drink any traditional tea? eg. earl grey etc?

Libellule my CDC also said she had the odd can of coke zero and it never affected her ketosis. I think i might try drinking a can of coke zero in week 3 or 4 and see what effect it has on ketosis, or making me hungry...i think this is the main problem, same with chewing gum.

You can drink traditional teas no problem hun! Water flavourings is after week 2, so you need to do 2 weeks without first. You use 1 tsp in a litre of water and I love it! Personally I don't use the full tsp as it's quite strong so find I don't need so much. 1 pot lasts ages and the last time I bought one cost me about £4.50, not sure how much they cost now.

Ah good point Katy on the leaf tea not being a diuretic (thanks for using the right spelling, I knew I was spelling it wrong but was too lazy to look it up - save those kinds of worries for work - I'm in marketing!). If it works for you and keeps you on track that's the important thing

On the Coke Zero thing, it was allowed on CD for a while but they took it off the allowed list as some people find it makes them feel hungry. But it won't kick you out of ketosis. The reason this was allowed is because it is 0 cal, 0 carb, and does not contain citric acid - but has malic acid instead. I discovered that another drink that follows this pattern is Dr Pepper Zero which I swore by for a few months!! But none of the zero drinks are now allowed by CD, for our own good! Plus, having done some reading and now knowing what the fizzy drinks do to our insides, I'm avoiding them like the plague and suggest you do too

Chewing gum is not allowed because it contains carbs.

xxxx

Just to add to the great advice given by wannabslim

The following teas are fine:

Black tea
Mint
Nettle
Green tea
Redbush

These can cause problem so should not be used
Any teas with lemon or other fruits
Chamomile
Fennel (made from the seeds)
Earl Grey as it has extracts of bergamot orange (citrus)

As for whether tea and coffee are diuretics, there is so much contradictory advice out there. The latest study I saw was from the Nutrition Action Healthletter.

See this:

Through the years, the public has been buffeted by much misguided information about caffeine and its most common source, coffee. In March the Center for Science in the Public Interest published a comprehensive appraisal of scientific reports in its Nutrition Action Healthletter. Its findings and those of other research reports follow.
Hydration. It was long thought that caffeinated beverages were diuretics, but studies reviewed last year found that people who consumed drinks with up to 550 milligrams of caffeine produced no more urine than when drinking fluids free of caffeine. Above 575 milligrams, the drug was a diuretic.
So even a Starbucks grande, with 330 milligrams of caffeine, will not send you to a bathroom any sooner than if you drank 16 ounces of pure water. Drinks containing usual doses of caffeine are hydrating and, like water, contribute to the body’s daily water needs.

Here

Wannabe, pure good luck on the spelling!!! I am with you on the fizzy drink thing, totally... for me, alot of this journey is about re-educating myself and understanding that I need to put good foods into my body, not rubbish that will make me ill/lethargic/overweight. So fizzy drink is out for me, except for fizzy water which is a lifesaver when other people are drinking wine/whatever!!! I will probably stick with my illegal lemon & ginger, but I know you're right and you are a great example of someone who has achieved a lot on CD, you look fab! Let's hope 2009 is the year we all get to goal!