need a beverage suggestion
 

My brother is fat, REALLY fat, and doesn't much care. He called me yesterday and read me the ingredients of some flavored water crap and asked me if it was ok to drink. Of course it wasn't, but I was stunned. Maybe he really does listen when I harp at him about his health!

So, he asked me for the suggestion of a beverage. He has to have something to drink all the time at work. He has a fairly physical job and gets very dry.

What can he drink that is not fattening, not full of chemical sweeteners, and not expensive? He never has much money. Don't say water. He won't drink it plain, he hates it. Also, something like unsweetened tea, never.

Any ideas?

Make a pot of tea, sweeten with honey, add a squeeze of lemon and put it in the fridge.

If he makes it with green tea, it is a diuretic (sp??) and will help with weight loss

Oddly, many of the carbonated cola drinks are citrus based, and people are fooled by the brown color. Seltzer water (no sodium) with just a small amount of grapefruit juice (to his taste) may fit the job. Add a pinch of salt if he needs electrolytes. Some club sodas are way too high in sodium.

We like to drink watered down 100% fruit juices. Really watered down.
I cannot drink plain water either. It makes me queasy. It is an electrolyte thing.. I can drink spring water that has all the minerals etc.. but..anyway..

I like water flavored with juice. Cranberry blackberry or other strongly flavored juices can be really thinned down and be good without all the fruit sugars etc..

I'm on fluid medications and I have to drink water. I love the taste of citrus or fruit juice so I pour about a half cup of cranberry juice into a gallon of water and keep it chilled in the fridge. My breakfast drink is watered down orange juice, but I drink the cranberry juice/water the remainder of the day. See if he would be interested in mixing his own flavors. He'd be more likely to drink them if he did.

Crystal light is a really good drink..

edit..sorry, after re-reading your post I realized that you said no chemical or high priced drinks.

If you just take a jug of water and put some kind of fruit in it -- orange or lemon slices, cranberries, etc. - someone I know even likes cucumbers in water -- maybe let it sit overnight in the fridge -- it will be flavored and that's really easy to do.

A lot of people hate water plain, but after they start drinking it for a while, they get accustomed to it and begin to like it. Could also be a matter of filtering - is he drinking well water or city tap water? A filter can make a big difference.

Have him try water with a bit of lemon juice as flavoring. Its a bit sour, but its one of my faves and its how i got into drinking water, i hated water growing up. Now i love it.

He could try Koolaid, any kind of tea like green tea or any of the other flavors they have.

I like sun tea with a cup of sugar per gallon. Still sugar but far less than any of the commercial soft drinks.

I lost 40 lbs just by moving to a place where there was no Sonic to get vanilla cokes and by drinking water instead. After a couple of weeks it started tasting good and I realized that the soda was just too sweet tasting and that I had been really tired of that.

I hate water also & very rarely drink it plain. I buy the Crystal light or the store brand of it & then I love water. Comes in all different flavors. Have him give it a try.

i love the crystal light peach tea. walmart brand peach tea is "okay" but a tad more artificial tasting. they are a bit more pricey and chock full of artificial stuff. still cheaper than sodas though.

chances are if he's that heavy and drinking fluids all day at work - he's diabetic. I'd have him stay away from anything with corn syrup in it - sugar is better than corn syrup... honey or stevia are better than sugar. You can buy stevia sodas - but they're spendy. I second the fruit/water or tea thing - even with a little sugar. Have him get out of the corn syrup habit though... keep reading lables!

Edited to add:

I'd rather do the sugar or corn syrup in a drink than one with aspartame - THAT stuff will kill you.

Have him buy a SodaStream machine if he's just addicted to the fizzy drinks....it carbonates tap water....add a smidge of citrus and you have a nice fizzy flavored drink.

http://www.sodastreamusa.com/Fountai...FQLrKgodOguGgw

I've tried all these suggestions when it comes to quitting drinking pop and I am/was a total addict.

This time, when I have a hankering for a MtDew I drink a small orange juice. The orange juice reminds me of the Dew because of the sweet/citrusy flavor.

I also drink a ton of coffee and water. I bought some of the individual sized Red Diamond Tea with Splenda that were on sale to get me through slumps when I'm sick of coffee.

Now, if all goes according to my "plan" I'll be quitting caffeine completely about summertime. That's going to be the really hard part.

I drink water with lemon can't stand it plain unless if from a well in the country. My Dh won't drink plain water but he will drink green tea with lemon. We make it with hte bags an ddump it into a large jug and he prob drinks about 1 gallon every day of it. He also drinks other stuff but it is his staple. You should pick up a cheap blood sugar monitor for your DB that can shock a person into eating healthy it sure did my DH!!

Whiskeylivewire, I was "addicted" to sodas too, at one time. Drank 2-3 two liter bottles a day. Got mean and nervous if I couldn't get one. Finally realized, it was the *carbonization* that I needed...maybe I just like bubbles?

Anyway, I switched to Perrier water (pricey) but got rid of the NEED for the sweetness, then was able to switch to just plain water. That was a couple of decades ago and I haven't gone back to NEEDING a soda.

And for the OP, as far as a good drink, some herbal teas taste just GREAT without being sweet. I LOVE pepermint tea, iced, in the summer...makes things feel cooler. Hiobiscus tea hot or cold, tastes fine without being sweet too. He just needs to try different teas to see what he likes...Red Zinger comes to mind....

Oh, and my morning coffee HAS to have cream and sugar...however, if I happen to switch to Morning Thunder tea, I can drink it straight!

Mon

I always keep iced tea on hand, sweetened a bit with stevia or honey. I like to add flavors using extracts, vanilla/orange and vanilla/almond are my favorites but you could really add whatever you like...Also when I am craving something a bit "fizzy" sparkling water with lemon or kombucha...You can get kombucha at health food stores or easily make your own if you get a culture but it is not for everyone (or so I hear. I really like it but everyone else in my family thinks it is disgusting)..

Iced tea or lemonade sweetened with Truvia (natural Stevia plant based sweetener). Removing all sugar from his diet will do wonders for his health.

BTW - anyone who refuses to drink plain water will probably have a tough time getting healthy IMHO.

Not sure of the cost, but joint juice packets have some vitamins in them and they taste good, if you only used 1/3 of the packet it would be more cost effective.

He doesn't drink coffee, and like most fat people, he craves sugar. We have had the corn syrup discussion before. My bro is the kind of guy that makes excuses for everything he does wrong and to justify himself.

Changing has to be his idea.
The last corn syrup discussion he responded, its impossible to buy food without corn syrup, then he changed the subject. They are lazy people. They would rather spend 10$ on Taco Smell then fix a meal at home. Its all about convenience and tv man.
I bought them a crockpot and a full color recipe book with pictures and gave them a cooler full of meat from our farm. One step at a time. They also, sigh, have a fry daddy, which they use more than the crockpot.

Thats is why it shocked me when he asked for drink suggestions. The juice in water to make your own flavored water is a good idea. I will suggest it to him.
He likes sweet tea. Really sweet, but again, like most fat sheeple, he thinks sugar is the devil and diet drinks will save him.

Yes, I do that too.

The cucumber/ water one is good!

with all this, now it has to be up to him. I would steer him clear of anything diet, that stuff is nothing but poison.

back when I was in the camper, I had gotten myself hooked on dt dew. oh man, that stuff was like a drug, and i swear they do something to it and even the reg. to make ppl crave it. anyhow, when I'd lay down at night, my heart would start racing. crazy beating, scared the daylights out of me. thought, 'geesh, finally getting my own place and I'm gonna die lying in a cheapo camper??" went to the dr. and no less than 3 staff came in and said "don't EVER drink that stuff! it'll kill you!!!!" that was the last day I ever had it, went to using tea, and yes, plain ol water (and it IS good if you are thirsty, its all in your mind) and my heart went back to normal. big scare.

I am drinking more water nowdays after putting in the filters. our tap water is full of chlorine, now when I fill a sink full or buckets for goats, ew, the smell. wish I could give my critters filtered too, but that's a bit much. I enjoyed this thread, some new ideas I can use too, and for my dd14, who could really use to loose a few.

My ex husband was a fat guy addicted to bad foods. He loved Red Zinger. Get your brother a box, he can make a pot in the morning and drink it all down. It can be diluted with more or less water and if he likes it sweet, I think he will use less sugar than another type of drink. Watered down orange juice is also tastier than water.

Chewie, when I had fish tanks I had to dechlorinate the tap water before giving it to them. If you just let it sit out overnight the chlorine will disipate from the water.

i like unsweetened flavored teas that I make at home..I generally use something like constant comment (decaf or reg or green) from bigelow tea company but some other good ones are the zingers..you can make it cold..just put the tea bags in a container of water in the frig overnight..i use 2 bags in a 32 oz container..no heat..no mess..no fuss...and they are quite tasty

our dr suggested adding mio to the water...it is not as cheap as the 1.00 add ins you can buy at Dollar Tree, but a bit goes a long ways

I'll second that... I was hooked on Pepsi for years. I hate the taste of tap water but started buying soda water instead and really liked it. I bought a SodaClub machine many years ago and have been using it ever since. Can't live without my bubble water.

I thought it was politically incorrect to call someone fat.
What about gravity challenged?

I like tea with lemon or honey.

If he wants sweet and fizzy he could cut fruit juice (100%) with sparkling water. It's one of our favorites.

Whiskeylivewire: Just notice you drink a lot of caffiene. If you have problem with cysts (wasn't that you?) you should really cut back on the caffiene--it should help.

I see you said no water which is honestly the best thing he can do for himself adding lime juice to it will aid in losing weight. If he needs something that will offer a little sweetness lemonade with about 1/4 of the normal sugar, crystal light makes a powder that's all natural now, I won't promote diet sodas, teas or anything of the like because that's just "crap"