Alright, hear me out. I've been on a diet for several years now, and I've lost over 150 lbs. Part of the key to my success is having a variety of low / zero calorie things that I drink, perhaps most importantly including one sugarless energy drink per day. What makes them work within the context of my diet is that they're very flavorful, and take a very long time to drink relative to stuff like water, tea, soda, etc., and drinking them over that long period suppresses my appetite for the duration.
But I don't want, or need the "energy." And I sure don't need the heart palpitations, either. So basically, I am looking for "energy" drinks in terms of intensity of flavor, but without all the stuff that makes them "energy" drinks.
While looking I've seen some that are caffeine free, but they're still "energy" drinks. Do you guys think being caffeine free alone is enough to lessen the strain on my body?
And before anyone mentions drinking water: I DO drink water. I drink at least two liters every day. But just sitting here chugging water all day doesn't quiet the unceasing scream in my brain that tells me to eat an entire family's worth of food in one sitting.
There's an anti-energy drink with melatonin to put you to sleep:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drank_(soft_drink)
The product was first made the year after "Buy U A Drank" hit the airwaves.
This shit rules. I get this everytime I see it. I crave soda or bubbly drinks at night when I need to go to bed.
And if you put a jolly rancher in the bottle, you totally get sloshed dude.
You could try a ginger beer. They're non-alcoholic, and are more of a strong ginger ale without caffeine. Some brands offer different strengths and some have sugar free options.
It's exactly what it sounds like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_beer
These are a solid choice every now and then, maybe I should keep some around. I don't think I could drink them all the time though.
I just want to point out that caffeine is an appetite suppressant, so a decaf energy drink might not provide the effect you're looking for.
To echo what @ennemi@hexbear.net and @plinky@hexbear.net have said, try making your own kombucha!
Kombucha is tea that ferments kind of like vinegar does; it has lots of live probiotic cultures, plus lactic acid and acetic acid and a couple other things, that give it a strong taste and make it hard to chug. It has a small amount of caffeine in it, but nowhere even close to what an energy drink has. It may help with satiety; I also had a friend who used it to help overcome a dependency on alcohol.
Many store-bought brands have a considerable amount of sugar in them, plus they're kinda pricey. If you brew it yourself, you can control the tea/caffeine strength, as well as the sweetness and tartness (as time goes on, the sugar in the batch turns into acids and carbon dioxide), and eventually you can even mix other stuff like green tea, white tea, herbal teas, or other flavorings in with it.
All it takes to make your own is a couple black tea bags, a little vinegar, some sugar, a large enough jar, some starter, and a bit of patience. You brew the tea, you sweeten it to southern sweet tea levels, you drop its pH below 4, and then you wait. In 8-12 days, the sweetness should diminish to only a faint level.
I recommend at least a quart-size jar to brew it in. If you're interested, I can mail you a starter, I need to start my next big batch anyway.
Doesn't sound like the sort of thing I'd usually be into, but I'm definitely not opposed to trying it. Sounds kinda fun to make if nothing else.
You can try water kefir too. Made in a similar way but doesn't have the vinegar taste. Its pretty good and you can make it with whatever flavor you like.
Take a caffeine free soda and add one of those "water enhancer" things like a propel or mio in a similar flavour. All the overabundance of flavour without the caffeine.
I actually had no idea you could get Mio with caffeine in it. They only sell the kind without caffeine by me.
Its probably banned in Canada because theres like 600mg of caffeine in those little bottles and you can easily fuck yourself up on it.
That's crazy. Apparently they do sell it here, it's on Instacart, just not at any of the stores I go to regularly. Also they do have the ones that don't have caffeine down there, I checked the American Walmart website.
I don't know and I've asked myself the same question, but I think you should try kombucha if you haven't. It doesn't taste the exact same but it's the closest thing I know of to what you're looking for
I've always seen it made from black tea, which has some caffeine. Less than an energy drink, but some. Unless the fermentation gets rid of the caffeine somehow.
Have you tried strong red tea/other herbal teas? They have lots of weird tastes
Also drinking hot water helps a bit more (it feels more filling). Congrats on the gains
I've been giving my son my unique blend of caffeine-free NOS energy. Replacing the caffeine with actual NOS. Seems to chill him out if anything.
Ginseng can be pretty energetic by itself, depending on the person.
man I wish there was a version of the blue full throttles that I could drink a bunch without dying
When I worked at a gas station, my daily diet was two full throttle blues, a bag of all dressed chips, and a BBQ sandwich from behind the counter (I was the one who put it on everyday so I got that good fresh BBQ)
Hibiscus is awesome. It's zero calories, tastes like juice, and cheap. You can add it to your own homemade low calorie kombucha and you're in flavor town.
Might find a diy recipe for your favorite drink online. Leave out the "energy" portions.
Electrolyte mixes maybe? Caffeine free ones might still have other stimulants.
That's what I was thinking of. I forget the brand, but there's one that's pretty high in niacin and the ingredients read like a Red Bull without the caffeine.
I like powerbar electrolyte Tablets. They've got sucralose in them which many know as Splenda. They are cheap though and sugar free. I find the blackcurrant ones to taste the best. Raspberry -pomegranate is also good.
