Is putting Crystal light in water the same as just drinking water?

I try my best to get as much water as I can during the day, but I much prefer it if I add crystal light to it. Is adding crystal light the same as just drinking plain water? I know its 5 calories a serving, but I make room for it! I dont think I can drink another drop of plain water!

i think it does count towards your  8 - 10 servings per day...i know that is the differnce btwn me skipping my last 20 oz of the day or drinking it so i definately feel your pain

when I joined the gym they gave me a nutrition booklet and in it they had meal ideas , they had crystal light listed on there for 2 cups of water with lemon or crystal light so I guess it's not a problem.

I think it counts towards your water requirements, but it is also adding artificial sweeteners and such to your body. 

So it's not THE SAME as water, but drinking it will get your water intake up.

I have a problem with plain water, too. I drink the Kirkland brand vitamin water they sell at Costco. It has flavor, vitamins, an no calories (also no sodium or sugar.)

I hardly ever drink plain water because ours just tastes terrible. So i run it through a brita pitcher to make it better and still add one packet of crystal light to go to my 32oz water bottle.

My opinion is that drinking crystal light is better than nothing at all!

I drink Crystal Light quite a bit, the only thing that I notice is that if I haev drink it in every bottle of water that the aspartame makes me start craving sweets.  I normally put a tablesppon or so of pure lemon juice in my water.  I gives it a bit of flavour and lemon/lime is supposed to help quench thirst as well.. though if you are drinking water all day and you are still super thirsty, there is proabbly something wrong.

Is [water] the same as [water mixed with artificial coloring and flavoring]? No. ):

Crystal Light has aspartame, which some studies have shown actually increases your hunger. I find that I am definitely much hungrier when drinking products without, so I have cut them out.

Like you, I don't like plain water. So right now I add "Lipton white tea to go" which has sucrolose and a very small amount of caffeine. I dilute it by 100-200%, so I don't worry too much about the additive. You could try that with crystal light, too.

Lemon or lime helps with the flavor of plain water, but I just cannot as easily carry around those items!

Good luck.

Artificial sweeteners are not good for you. I would not drink it. Have you tried different teas? Vanilla chai is good, so is green tea. Or just put some lemon in the water.

I've been reading a number of articles that have stated any liqued you consume counts toward your 8 10 glasses a day. I'm not arguing the validty of that, Ive just seen that quite a few times. Obviously water is best but crystal light is tasty when you just can't do water anymore. I agree with you jlkrawec-aspartame totally makes me want to binge on sweets.

crystal light doesnt negate the amount of liquid you get,

but it does cause the water to taste sweet, + your body will most likely send out insulin to negate the 'sugar' that ends up not being there.

honestly, i dont know what insulin does if it doesnt meet sugar, but insulin is known for building fat.

also, eating/drinking 'sugar free' sweet foods doesnt train your body to respond to sugar with the 'dont eat too much' feeling.

if you catch my drift.

unsweetened tea, on the other hand, is a great alternative.

I use those "Great Value" juice packets they sale at Wal-Mart.. 0 cals... i love them.. i use one for my 32 oz water bottle... and i get my daily oz's of water... i havent had any cravings frrom the artifical sweetners.. sometimes i use lemon juice...which is good too

Original Post by stronger_:

Is [water] the same as [water mixed with artificial coloring and flavoring]? No. ):

 funny..... but true....

it's not the same.... artificial sweeteners have been shown in studies to increase hunger.... so if you are having trouble with binging it may have something to do with the crystal light.....

I keep a lemon squeeze on hand to flavor my water.... you can find them in the grocery store in the produce section.... just plain lemon juice that's all it is... does the trick for me!!!

Any moisture counts towards hydrating your body. The water in your broccoli counts. Tea, cola, popsicles, juice, potatoes, and an orange all count. Different foods contain different amounts of moisture. It all counts. Drinking plain water will still mix with food in your gut, but your body still uses it. If you want to, you could suck on lettuce leaves all day to meet your water intake requirements. It doesn't matter how the water is packaged as long as your body gets enough.

Whether or not your body is affected by the colorants and sweeteners is another issue.

I use the special K Protein Water mix, It tastes better than Crystal Light to me, and even though it's not great, it gets me drinking the water and gives you a shot of protein as well, which is helpful