Are you Thirsty for Better Hydration?
Add some sparkle to your life with Homemade sparkling water
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. But also - Don’t Drink Your Calories. Says every weight loss guru out there. It took a few years and a lot of trial and error for me to finally find the balance between drinking enough water, and also staying away from high calorie or artifically sweetened drinks.
This post does contain affiliate links. If you like my recommendations, I may earn a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you.
Once I made that lifestlye change though, it has made all the difference. I now easily drink enough water without going over on my calorie consumption, and I don’t really have to think about it anymore.
If the struggle to find satisfying beverages and sources of hydration is an ongoing challenge for you like it is for many women, read on for some ideas that may work for you.
I’m going to share how I found the balance between getting enough water everyday and having tasty, refreshing beverages without all the calories and costs of seltzers, sodas or fancy, expensive coffee drinks. This post contains affiliate links. If you like my product recommendations I may make a small commission if you purchase through my link.
It’s incredible what can change in our bodies in a decade. I’m 56 now and 10 years ago, I felt pretty fit for a 46 year old. I got married that year- we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary in May of 2025! Yay for finding love later in life. I look back at my wedding photos and think, I was in the best shape of my life. I started taking my fitness seriously in my 40’s. I took up running. I ran a half marathon (my first and last) a few months before our wedding. I had lost over 40 pounds through running and a series of extreme low calorie, low carb diets. You know, all that was the trend back then.
I was practically mainlining Dr. Diet Pepper, sometimes 3 a day to keep my energy up.
I think you know where I am going with this. Fast forward about 3 years, and I had gained back every bit of that weight I lost. Not only that, but what little muscle I may have had before, had been replaced with fat in all the wrong places! I could not maintain that low carb dieting for the long term, and I was now older, with a slowing metabolism and hormonal changes - nothing was working anymore. I would diet and lose 5 pounds only to gain back every bit over one weekend.
As I approached my 50th, my daughter got married and I was horrified by the photos of me from her wedding. I felt bloated and uncomfortable in my skin. My job had become more demanding and more stressful which in turn meant I had become more sedentary as well. Running? I no longer had the time or the inclination.
I started really taking inventory of my life and my diet. I read every book and followed every health and fitness guru on social media. There was so much conflicting information.
But one thing stood out that I consistently heard and read - and that was, you must stay hydrated.
I needed to start somewhere, so I first focused on what we were drinking. KDub, my husband, was at first an unwitting participant in this experiment as I was imposing unwanted lifestyle changes on him. But he eventually got on board, as his weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar were creeping up on him and his diet needed an overhaul.
I realized just how much sugar and calories we were drinking. My addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper, which I thought was healthy because it was Diet. My husband and I both were using sugar and creamer in our coffee, a habit he was convinced he could not live without. And, to top it off, we were drinking orange juice and other juices and drinks, which we thought were healthy because, well, it’s fruit, right? And my husband, born and raised in the south, also loved his sweet tea. I was raised on unsweetened tea so I was lucky not to have that particular addiction.
The first step in our new improved health and fitness journey involved purging our sources of hydration and finding better options.
Step One: Switch to black coffee.
I found that a light roast like a breakfast blend or a donut shop blend is much easier to drink with no need for sugar or creamer. Once I found a mild coffee that tasted good on it’s own, I went cold turkey and today, the idea of a sugary coffee drink is not appetizing at all. I cannot imagine adding sugar to my coffee. It took KDub a little longer to wean off, but he got there eventually.
Current favorite everyday coffee we keep in stock at the house: New England Coffee, Donut Shop Blend
Fun Fact: did you know that the lighter the roast, the more caffeine is actually in the coffee? The darker the roast, the caffeine actually cooks out. We learned this on our honeymoon in Costa Rica on a tour of a coffee farm.
Step Two: Eliminate the artificial sweeteners and sodas.
Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can sabotage your diet by triggering cravings for sugary foods.
Studies have also shown that Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners can disrupt your gut health, which plays a role in regulating appetite and metabolism. Lord knows, with menopause, I needed all the help I could get in increasing my metabolism.
I went Cold Turkey off of Diet Dr. Pepper. Let me tell, you, I had a migraine for about a week. I was sluggish, I was mean and hateful. There were serious withdrawal symptoms. In that moment I knew I would never again get addicted to artificial sweeteners.
I am lucky - I personally have always loved just plain water - I like it ice cold. So between that and my unsweetened tea and black coffee, I had effectively eliminated most of the unhealthy drinks from my diet.
But even if you make all those changes - there are still times when you just want that satisfying, crisp, refreshing carbonated beverage. Or you just want to taste flavor other than plain water without all the calories and additives?
The Sparkling Water Trend - Pricy and Not That Tasty
Seltzers and sparkling waters have made a huge appearance over the past few years and have become incredibly popular. La Croix, Waterloo and Bubly to name a few.
I have tried them all, but most have an aftertaste, or unnatural additives and artificial sweeteners that do not align with my tastes. My favorite sparkling water is Topo Chico. In plain unflavored, or the Lime and Mint varieties, it tastes natural, with a high carbonation level that is so light and refreshing. Unfortunately, it is not always available at my grocery store.
But even if you find a seltzer or sparkling water you enjoy, that is an expensive habit to keep up.
Step Three: Homemade Sparkling Water
Remember when Sodastreams first came out and they were all the rage? I bet you might even have one collecting dust in the back of a pantry or cabinet somewhere. Well I didn’t. I was deep in my Diet Dr. Pepper era at that time.
But after spending exorbitant amounts of money on seltzers and sparkling waters that I didn’t even like that much, it occurred to me that I just might be able to make my own healthy sodas at home and use natural ingredients to make the flavors that I wanted.
I researched the Top Soda and Sparkling Water Makers
After reading about the features of all of them, I decided on the Drinkmate OmniFizz . It was the most versatile for what I would most likely use it for. It does not need to be plugged in like the SodaStream. It did not require any expensive special flavor pods which all had artificial ingredients like the Ninja Thirsti.
And, the other winning factor was that you can carbonate any drink, not just water. So we can mix up our own fizzy cocktails, carbonate wine to make wine spritzers, and anything else we come up with.
I also ordered the Bubly Flavor Drops that are compatible with the Drinkmate and the Sodastream. They are all natural with no artificial sweeteners, and just a few drops give you a nice flavor with no aftertaste. I ordered the variety pack and I have liked most of the flavors.
Sparkling Water Favorite Recipes
My personal favorite go-to drinks to make with my Drinkmate though, are simple ingredients that I have on hand in my kitchen.
Cucumber Lime - A few slices of cucumer and a squeeze of lime into your water and carbonate
Strawberry Cucumber - a couple of strawberries with a couple of slices of cucumber, throw it in to a bottle of water, put in fridge for a couple of hours, and then carbonate and enjoy!
Orange, lemon, or lime - or a combination of all three
You get the idea! The Drinkmate has been a game changer for my diet. I can have a refreshing beverage any time I want without buying anything. Just plain water and wahtever flavors I am in the mood for.
It has defintely helped me make sure I drinking enough water and enjoying it too.
If you want to try my product recommendations, you can use my affiliate links above, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
The Drinkmate Omnifizz is on sale on Amazon right now!
I will wrap things up with my a book recommendation for your TBR:
READING RECOMMENDATION:
The Housemaid Series by Frieda McFadden: Psychological Thriller
I just finished all 3 books in The Housemaid Series by Frieda McFadden!
Book one, The Housemaid, is going to be made into a movie soon, starting Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. Due to come out in December, 2025. If you like a real book, you can purchase it Here.
I love that Frieda McFadden started as an Indie Self Published Author on Amazon and now she has a major publisher and a movie deal!
And, she offers her books on Kindle Unlimited which I appreciate because books are expensive - so I love when I can access my favorite authors through my KU subscription.
If you haven’t tried it, Kindle Unlimited is offering a 2 month free trial for just $4.99 right now: Kindle Unlimited Free Trial
You can read all 3 of The Housemaid book series before your free trial ends
Thanks for reading Ageless & Affordable. Happy Hydrating!
