caffeinated sparkling water - for my fellow former morning Red Bull or diet soda drinkers

[WholeWhitney]

I'm sure I can't be the only one who, in regular life, does not drink hot coffee in the AM, and prefers cold fizzy caffeination.  Right?  My former bad habit was Sugar Free Red Bull, sometimes followed by a Diet Coke if I still felt sluggish (I know, horrible, you don't have to tell me).  When it comes to coffee, I only like the very bad for me, super sugary Starbucks lattes, so brewed coffee (yes, even with your beloved Nutpods!) tastes like dirt to me.  Actual dirt.  YUCK.

Hint Water, which I know is Whole30 Approved, makes flavored sparkling water (Hint Fizz) and flavored caffeinated still water (Hint Kick), but not a combination of both, which is what I desperately wanted during my first Whole30 in January 2018.  I blew up Hint's social media accounts, and email inbox begging that they make a Hint Fizz-Kick (carbonated AND caffeinated), but my attempts were unsuccessful.

Before my second Whole30, in August and September of ‘18, I found two beverages on Amazon that seemed to fit the bill (I hope, otherwise that round of W30 is null and void!).  The first is called "Phocus" by a company called Clear Cut Phocus out of Kentucky, and the other is from Limitless Coffee and called "Lightly Caffeinated Sparkling Water.”  Both are free of sugar and artificial sweeteners.  Limitless' beverage gets its caffeine from green coffee beans, while Phocus uses caffeine from green tea.  Limitless is marketed as a beverage to help you quit your soda addiction, while Phocus seems to be concerned about your ability to focus (lol).  I ordered Phocus in their Grapefruit flavor, and Limitless in Lemon Lime (no complaints, both tasted great) but realized that Phocus has more than double the caffeine (75 mg per 11.5 oz. can, vs 35 mg per 12 oz. can), so I stuck with that brand from then on.

Now I need help confirming that these two products are actually compliant.  I was too scared to before! 

The ingredients for Limitless Coffee Lightly Carbonated Sparkling Water are as follows: Carbonated reverse osmosis water, Natural flavors, Caffeine (derived from coffee beans). 

The ingredients for Phocus— a slightly longer list—are: Reverse osmosis sparkling water, natural grapefruit flavor, caffeine from natural green tea, L-theanine, citric acid, electrolytes (calcium chloride, potassium bicarbonate)

Please, please, PLEASE, tell me I can have these!

Sidebar: I am surprised that one of the bigger flavored sparkling water brands (La Croix, Bubly, Waterloo) haven’t picked up on this hole in the marketplace yet…

[SugarcubeOD]

Both of these products are fine based on the ingredient lists you posted

 

You could also use a soda stream to fizz up the Hint water?

[WholeWhitney]

8 minutes ago, SugarcubeOD said:

Both of these products are fine based on the ingredient lists you posted

 

You could also use a soda stream to fizz up the Hint water?

I have considered the Soda Stream option, but between my Air Fryer, Instant Pot, Crock Pot, Magic Bullet, KitchenAid Mixer, and George Foreman Grill, I'm sort-of low on space for kitchen appliances .

 

Thanks for your quick response!  I'm happy to know that these are allowed!

[Aliem999]

I don't want to sound judgy or anything. Feel free to do what you want  during your Whole30. Just maybe take a step back and make sure these aren't SWYPO (https://whole30.com/2011/10/sex-with-your-pants-on/) to you. Personally, I can easily have a bad relationship with diet coke. I was addicted to it in high school and more recently, I started relying on it a bit more than I thought was good for me prior to starting this Whole30. As I am nearing the end of this Whole30, I feel no need to have a diet coke, except for maybe as a treat once in a while. Using those caffeinated sparkling waters, I don't know if I would be saying the same thing right now.

It is up to you. Maybe before you go head first with these sparking waters, try some fruity teas or maybe you will get extra energy from sleeping better after a few weeks? Also, trust me. I know how awful that caffeine habit is to kick. Two years ago I had to give up my daily coffee (to say it was daily coffee is a bit of an understatement, maybe my daily 4-6 cups of coffee habit.) OMG headaches and nausea for weeks. Now that am no longer addicted to it, I do enjoy a cup of coffee here and there, because I just love the taste. However, I also realize that if I have coffee more than two days in a row, I'll be hooked again and I definitely never want to go through that detox ever again.

So think about it.

[WholeWhitney]

@Aliem999 while I appreciate you concern, I can assure you that I am not a caffeine addict.  I simply do not like how coffee tastes.  I feel like it's pretty widely accepted that caffeine is allowed on the Whole30.  What comes to mind for me is the “famous tough love” that’s in Whole30 Day by Day, and I think the original Whole30 book, and definitely all over the blog and Instagram.  You know the one (https://whole30.com/2015/10/tough-love/):

“It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard.”

It’s almost like it’s a given that everyone has their morning cup-o-joe every single day.  It is not discouraged or looked down upon.

So, what’s so bad about liking my morning caffeine in a different form?  I do not view it as a treat nor do I turn to it when I am bored or feeling a strong emotion.  I can also go days without it without experiencing any of the symptoms you described.  I was talking about one 11.5 ounce can of caffeinated sparkling water in the morning--when your average coffee drinker would be enjoying their daily java.  If I were planning to slam three or four of them in the afternoon, or required one to prevent a headache, then it would be a different story.

Would you have the same criticism for a daily coffee drinker looking for an alternative to Nutpods?

 

[Aliem999]

@WholeWhitney I think I did not communicate my point correctly. I did not mean to say caffeine in is bad. In fact, for the first several Whole30s I was a coffee drinker, to the point that it no longer was healthy. This time around I was hitting the diet coke pretty hard before I started my Whole30 early in January. For me, my Food Freedom does not include almost  daily large diet cokes, because let's face it. Diet coke is probably not the best for me. It took me a long time to realize that my coffee habit (once again, mine and not everyone else's) was not healthy and that I (not everyone) needed to get off daily coffee. What I was suggesting, was to just think about what your food freedom means to you (and if that's daily sugar free red bulls, that's totally fine) and make sure you are setting your Whole30 up to make sure at the end you are hitting the goals you want.

I would also tell someone who is a daily coffee drinker looking for an alternative for nutpods to consider stepping back and making sure that they are also not turning their coffee into SWYPO. It doesn't mean that they are. It's just something they may want to consider.

I know that for me, I did not want to be hooked on diet cokes after my Whole30. If I had been getting my caffeine fix via Phocus, I don't know if I would be able to pass up on diet cokes after my Whole30. But once again, we are two different people. What works for me and my goals are different that what works for you and your goals.

I really did not want to come across like what your doing is wrong. I am truly sorry if that is how I phrased it.

 

[SugarcubeOD]

3 hours ago, WholeWhitney said:

I have considered the Soda Stream option, but between my Air Fryer, Instant Pot, Crock Pot, Magic Bullet, KitchenAid Mixer, and George Foreman Grill, I'm sort-of low on space for kitchen appliances .

 

Thanks for your quick response!  I'm happy to know that these are allowed!

Hahah!  Yes, you're right!  I have very few of those so the Soda Stream was a splurge I was willing to make on my space available!