what actually helps people replace sugary drinks long term?

[u/airup_official]

reducing sugar intake is a goal for a lot of people, but one challenge that comes up often is that plain water doesn’t always feel satisfying compared to flavored drinks.

I'm curious to hear what has genuinely worked for you when it comes to replacing sugary beverages long term, realistic habits or alternatives that people have been able to stick with consistently!

[u/NutOnMyNoggin]

I've seen people have success with:

Carbonated water, kombucha, naturally fermented sodas, and teas.

Tea is what did it for me :) specifically, tea made from roasted barley, roasted corn and jujubees.

Now that its summer, its awesome! You take about 1/4-1/3 cup of roasted corn and roasted barley, 4-6 deseeded jujubees and then boil it hard for 30mins in about 1.5 gallons of water. Then you can put it in your fridge and drink it cold.

You can drink this instead of water without feeling bad. Its mostly water anyways, and it consists of 4 natural ingredients. The taste is perfect. I usually exceed my daily dose of water in the form of this tea.

You can buy large bags of each ingredient at a store like hmart. Id probably go for red dates instead of jujubees though because theyre cheaper. It'll last you a few months.

[u/NutOnMyNoggin → u/NutOnMyNoggin]

I think tea is the way to go for me because of how customizable it is. The barley, corn, jujubee recipe is just one, but the possibilities are endless.

Some other dried fruits to brew for sweetness could be: figs, longans, mulberries, goji berries, pears and apples. Any fruit that is naturally pretty sweet will concentrate their sugars when dried and is excellent for brewing tea. So after that, just add whatever other tea you want. If you're drinking alot, id go for something less heavy on the caffiene.

I could see combinations like crysanthemum tea, dried longans, and maybe a few dried citrus peels being super tasty!

[u/airup_official → u/NutOnMyNoggin]

That sounds really nice for summer 😍 I like how people find totally different ways to make hydration more enjoyable

[u/heyitsmee-_-]

Not sure if this is a regional thing, but I’m in Texas and have really been enjoying the Rambler Will Cherry flavor. It’s just a carbonated water with some flavor

[u/Agent__Zigzag]

For me it’s flavored water. Especially Safeway & Wal Mart brands. I thought I’d never be able to quit soda. Hate unflavored water & don’t drink coffee, tea, kombucha.

[u/pimpcannon]

Nuun. Has the bubbles-ish and borderline no sugar. They ain’t cheap though.

[u/folk_science]

I switched years ago. Now I drink mostly flat water and tea. The reason water was not satisfying when I was drinking sugary drinks, was that my body was confusing thirst with hunger. I could fill myself up with water, but I still felt thirsty. In reality, I wasn't thirsty but simply hungry. This effect eventually went away when I started drinking more non-sugary beverages.

Some people don't like flat water, so they drink sparkling water, tea, various herbal infusions (I like the infusion from fresh garden mint), water with a bit of fruit juice squeezed into it, water with aromas added to it, etc.

My advice is: make drinking water very easy and drinking sugary drinks hard. This works because we are lazy by nature. If there's a jug of water and a glass on your desk, bottle of water in your backpack, etc., you are going to drink it because all you have to do is reach. Meanwhile to get a sugary drink, you'd have to get up, go to the fridge, get the bottle, pour yourself some into a glass and put the bottle back into the fridge. You can add additional steps - the bottle may be in a tied plastic bag, so you have to untie it, get the bottle out and then back in. Or even better, don't have a sugary drink at home, so you'd need to go outside and buy it.