Nutrition

Can You Drink Crystal Light While Fasting?

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Can You Drink Crystal Light While Fasting

Crystal Light has earned its popularity since its debut in 1982. Since then, Kraft Foods has advertised the product as a ‘better-for-you brand.’ In fact, Crystal Light products are made for health-conscious people, specifically dieters.

If you’ve heard of Crystal Light, you might’ve wondered: can you drink crystal light while fasting? The short answer is yes. You can have Crystal Light without breaking your fast.

In this article, we’re going to explore everything you need to know about Crystal Light, including its benefits and drawbacks.

Let’s get started!

Can You Drink Crystal Light While Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular weight-loss diets in the US, alongside Keto, Mediterranean, Atkins, and Vegetarianism.

Based on the survey of Real Research Media, 80.17% of Americans have heard of intermittent fasting while 42.99% of them tried fasting for 16 to 23 hours.

Typically, fasting can range between 12 to 24 hours. After that, you can eat for a specific stretch of time. For instance, if you follow a 16:8 hour cycle, you’re going to fast for 16 hours and eat healthy food within eight hours.

During the fasting period, you may drink water and certain beverages that have zero calories. This includes Crystal Light, MIO, lemon water, black tea, and unsweetened coffee.

Lemon mint water

Crystal Light may play a role in intermittent fasting. Although counting calories isn’t required when you’re fasting, reducing your calorie intake is a surefire way to shed pounds.

Hence, cutting out full-calorie drinks and replacing them with Crystal Light can be a healthy option.

Just keep in mind that Crystal Light may help you achieve positive results as long as you don’t stray from your fasting regimen.

Also Check: Crystal Light vs. Kool-Aid

What Are the Benefits of Drinking Crystal Light During Fasting?

To this day, Crystal Light is a well-known brand in the U.S. According to Mashed, 90% of American consumers have heard of the brand. In addition, 46% of consumers have positive feedback on the brand.

Here are some of Crystal Light’s benefits that appeal to consumers:

1. Little to No Calories

One of the great benefits of Crystal Light is it contains zero calories. Thus, it’s safe to drink while you’re fasting. However, keep in mind that not all Crystal Light flavors are calorie-free. Some product lines, like the Crystal Light Nature Line and Crystal Light Pure Line, have calories.

Other than that, the Crystal Light packets have 5 to 10 calories per packet. So, make sure that you choose the following calorie-free varieties:

Crystal Light Sugar-Free Fruit Variety On-The-Go Powdered Drink Mix 44 Count
  • Crystal Light Wild Strawberry
  • Crystal Light Pink Lemonade
  • Crystal Light Pure Lemonade
  • Crystal Light Peach Tea

2. Keeps You Hydrated During Your Fasting

During the fasting period, it’s crucial to keep yourself hydrated. This is because most of us misinterpret thirst as hunger, which makes dieting challenging.

Luckily, Crystal Light’s refreshing flavors can make a plain glass of water more appealing. Therefore, you’ll feel less thirsty during your fasting period.

Despite that, you should keep in mind that drinking water is still the most effective way to meet your hydration needs.

3. Perfect Alternative for Sugary Drinks

A part of Crystal Light’s appeal is that it doesn’t contain sugar. On top of that, the product comes in a lot of different flavors!

This makes the product a perfect alternative to high-calorie beverages and sugary drinks, such as soda, fruit juice, sports drinks, and energy drinks.

4. Can Satisfy Your Cravings for Sugar

It’s pretty common to experience cravings when you’re fasting. The main reason is that your body needs to turn carbs and fat into fuel. Luckily, Crystal Light can help you satisfy your sugar cravings without added calories and carbs.

As a result, you can rest assured that drinking Crystal Light while fasting won’t impede your progress!

Recommended: Best Crystal Light Alternatives on the market

What Are the Drawbacks of Crystal Light?

As mentioned before, Crystal Light is compatible with intermittent fasting. Although the drink mix offers lots of benefits, it also comes with some drawbacks. Let’s take a closer look at them:

1. Some Varieties of Crystal Light Include Yellow 5 Food Dye

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deemed the main ingredients of Crystal Light safe for consumption.

However, the Yellow 5 food dye that some Crystal Light varieties have may trigger an allergic reaction in consumers.

Some signs of an allergic reaction to the food dye are itching, coughing, vomiting, and hives.

2. Crystal Light Includes Aspartame

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener, which consists of two amino acids: Phenylalanine and Aspartic acid. Research shows that these amino acids aren’t safe for people with Phenylketonuria and Tardive Dyskinesia.

In addition, Aspartame can cause headaches, dizziness, rashes, and anxiety.

3. Crystal Light Contains Sucralose

Crystal Light 4 Favorite Flavors Sugar-Free On-The-Go Drink Mix Variety Pack, 10 Count Each (Pack of 4

Sucralose, also known as Splenda, is another artificial sweetener. Sucralose is chlorinated sugar derived from Sucrose. Synthetic sweetener is 600 times sweeter than sugar!

While Sucralose is pretty common in the food industry, it struck controversy among its consumers. According to studies, Sucralose can affect gut bacteria and reduce the level of insulin sensitivity.

Also Check: Why does Crystal Light make me pee?

4. Crystal Light Isn’t a Healthy Drink

Although Crystal Light is a better choice than high-calorie and sugary beverages out there, Crystal Light isn’t a healthy drink. Despite having zero calories, the drink mix isn’t a staple of a healthy diet.

For starters, Crystal light doesn’t offer health benefits because it lacks vitamins and minerals. Hence, it would be a better option to drink Crystal Light in moderation while you’re fasting.

In addition, Crystal Light is loaded with artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, and alternatives. Although the ingredients vary depending on the Crystal Light variety, the main ingredients include citric acid, Magnesium Oxide, Sodium Citrate, Maltodextrin, and Sodium Oxide.

These artificial ingredients might not be a great choice if you prefer natural and unprocessed ingredients.

In the end, a glass of water is still the best option to hydrate while you’re fasting. However, you may find slices of fruits if you find plain water bland. This includes fresh berries, citrus fruits, melons, cucumbers, and mint.

Better yet, opt for a fruit infuser!

Wawa Keto Options – Our Favorite Picks

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Wawa Keto Options

Wawa is a chain of convenience stores and gas stations that has a total of 900 locations on the east coast of the United States. They serve delicious food options that make some people pay them a dedicated visit just to get a taste of their food.

Visiting a gas station for a meal may be a counter-intuitive thought, but so is eating fats to lose weight! The ketogenic diet has gotten popular, as reflected on Wawa’s menu. The Wawa keto options are varied and nutritious, so you’ll always find something that suits your taste there.

Breakfast Options

For when you stop at a gas station on your way to work, Wawa serves a variety of breakfast bowls and omelets that will keep you satisfied till your lunch break. These meals will kickstart your body into ketosis mode so you can start losing weight early on.

You can also add several toppings, types of cheese, sauces, and seasonings that’ll give your breakfast that extra oomph. However, you need to keep an eye on your sauces/dressings intake as they can add up in carbs.

Egg Bowls

The egg bowls come in many varieties so that you’ll never get bored. You can choose a plain scrambled egg bowl, or choose to have it with a delicious piece of meat on top. Below are some of the tastiest options.

  1. Plain scrambled eggs
  2. Scrambled eggs with bacon
  3. Scrambled eggs with turkey sausage
  4. Scrambled eggs with steak

Egg Omelets

The omelets also have several meat additions. You can choose to have a regular egg omelet or an egg white omelet. Some popular options include:

  1. Plain egg white omelet
  2. Cheesesteak egg white omelet
  3. Ham egg white omelet
  4. Sausage egg white omelet
  5. Bacon egg white omelet
  6. Chicken omelet
  7. Ham egg omelet
  8. Bacon egg omelet
  9. Chicken cheesesteak egg white omelet
  10. Cheesesteak egg omelet

If you want to add some extras to your breakfast, we’ve got you covered below.

Related: Top 5 Moe’s Keto Options

Lunch/Dinner Options

Here are some attractive options for your lunch/dinner. You can add olive oil, cheese, or any of the available additions we’ll mention below to make your salad bowl tailored to your taste.

Salad Bowls

These are some of the best-selling meals on their menu. You have three choices of protein sources to add to your salad bowl:

  1. Chicken salad bowl
  2. Tuna salad bowl
  3.  Egg salad bowl

The salad has celery, mayonnaise, and delicious seasoning, and you can request to wrap your salad in lettuce to mimic a taco. But remember, you can always customize everything in your meal. Like we’ll discuss below.

Hoagies

Hoagies are an east coast sensation; however, they’re made with the notorious enemy of keto: bread. At Wawa, you can order any of the hoagie options they have and request that they make you a “breadless” version. This will have them replace your bread with lettuce.

The hoagies are large. They’re stuffed with meat, vegetables, and dressing. Options include:

  1. Meatball hoagie
  2. Cheesesteak hoagie
  3. Chicken cheesesteak hoagie
  4. Pepperoni hoagie
  5. Roasted chicken hoagie

Snacks

You’ll sometimes want a snack between meals, or alongside your meal. In any case, Wawa has you covered. Some of our favorite options are:

  1. Pork rinds
  2. Beef jerky
  3. Yogurt
  4. Hard-boiled eggs
  5. Avocado

Make sure you have yogurt in moderation as it has a low, but considerable amount of carbs.

Beverages

As you probably know, you should be looking for sugar-free options when buying a beverage. Wawa’s fresh coffee is the most keto-friendly option they have. And if you don’t like your coffee black, you can add 1 tablespoon of the following kinds of milk

  1. 1% Milk
  2. 2% Milk
  3. Almond milk
  4. Half and half

Never use their flavored creamer since they’re filled with carbs.

Also, when looking at their menu, don’t trust the drink names and order them because they have “diet” in the title, or because they sound keto.

Always double-check the carb content in their nutritional calculator. We recommend you do this with any meal to keep your macros in check!

Other beverages with an acceptable carb content are:

  1. Diet green tea
  2. Diet iced tea with lemon
  3. Diet lemonade
  4. Diet peach tea
  5. Diet raspberry tea

These drinks range from 1g to 3g of carbs per drink. 3g of carbs is a lot for a drink, so unless you’re craving one of them, we suggest you go for a diet coke. Diet sodas in general will have the same sweeteners, but no carbs at all.

Note that whipped cream on your drink will add about 4g of carbs, so it’s best to avoid it.

Additions

To make your keto meals even more interesting, you can choose to put any of the following additions on your meal, whether it’s custom-made or a menu option.

Toppings

These toppings have either 1 or 0 grams of net carbs per serving.

  1. Hot peppers
  2. Jalapeno peppers
  3. Onions
  4. Pickles
  5. Roasted red peppers
  6. Spinach

Cheese

All the cheese options are almost carb-free, except the American cheese which has 1 gram of net carbs.

  1. Cheddar cheese
  2. Pepper jack cheese
  3. Provolone cheese
  4. Swiss cheese
  5. Yellow American cheese

Sauces

All the sauces below have 1g of net carbs each

  1. Cheddar cheese sauce
  2. Cherry pepper relish
  3. Creamy chipotle sauce
  4. Garlic aioli sauce

Seasonings

All the seasonings below are completely carb-free

  1. Old bay
  2. Oregano
  3. Pepper
  4. Salt

Keto-Sounding Products To Avoid

You came across meals that “sound” keto-friendly, only to find out later that they’re packed with carbs. We have a couple of culprits here, and there may be more, so this is why we recommend that you use the nutrition calculator.

Hot Matcha With Almond Milk

When almond milk is used as the base of the beverage instead of just as a creamer, it stops being a keto-friendly milk alternative! 12 Oz of almond milk hot matcha has 35g of carbs. We recommend using Wawa’s non-fat milk instead.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Yes, broccoli is super healthy, but context is important! The soup won’t fill up your stomach and you’ll quickly feel hungry again. This particular version of soup has 9g of carbs per small serving. This 9 g can be invested in other foods that will make you full and satisfied.

Customizing Your Order

You can customize your order to your liking using the “special order” button if you’re feeling creative. Just make sure you avoid carb sources and keep dressings to a minimum.

Also, using their nutrition calculator will always be a recommendation.

Conclusion

There are countless keto-friendly options at Wawa. Customizing your meals gives you a sea of variety.

Wawa is a perfect place during any east coast road trips, and even on a day-to-day basis. Just remember to always use the calculator to keep your carb intake in check.

 

Top Moe’s Keto Options: Best 5 Options

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Moe's Keto Options

Who doesn’t occasionally crave a delicious burrito or mouth-watering quesadilla? When you’re caught in the urge to eat Mexican food, Moe’s can be one of the best places to go. But, if you’re on a keto diet, you may think it will be hard to find a suitable dish for your lifestyle.

Luckily, Moe’s offers quality ingredients that you can blend to create the perfect keto-friendly meal. Plus, their website includes a nutrition calculator to help you track your carb intake.

Without further ado, here’s a list of Moe’s keto options to consider trying.

Here are the Best 5 Moe’s Keto Options in My Opinion

1.  Low-Carb Burrito Bowl

The greatest thing about eating at Moe’s is that you get the chance to build your own meals. So, people who pursue the keto lifestyle can easily add low-carb and high-protein ingredients to their dishes.

Let’s start with Moe’s famous burrito bowl, which you could customize to your preferences. Remember that a typical burrito contains almost 50 grams of carbs. So, the first thing to do is to ditch burrito shells and wraps and focus on the bowl version instead.

To create a low-carb burrito bowl, start with leafy greens as the base. Next, add your favorite protein and fat choices. Make sure to skip high-carb toppings such as corn, tortilla chips, or sweet dressings. It goes without saying that rice is a big no-no.

Instead, you could go for fresh herbs, onions, guacamole, sliced avocado, salsa, or sour cream.

If you stick to these options, the overall calorie count you’ll be getting should be somewhere around 400 calories. As for the carbs, they’ll be approximately 12 grams. Plus, you should get 30 grams of protein.

2.  Low-Carb Taco Salad

A lot of people assume that, as long as you’re eating salad, you’ll be on the safe side and not pile up carbs. Yet, certain ingredients, such as dressings and marinades, can quickly increase the carbohydrates in a salad.

At Moe’s, you can include several ingredients for the perfect keto-friendly taco salad. For example, add chicken, guacamole, fresh jalapenos, and cheddar cheese to keep your carb intake to the minimum.

With these ingredients, you should get up to 9 grams of carbs, 28 grams of protein, and around 330 calories.

Must Read: is Zipfizz bad for your kidneys?

3.  10-13 Net Carb Meal

Putting together a keto-friendly meal can be a bit tricky because you’ll have to count every carb that you include. Yet, at Moe’s, you could create a meal that has only 10 to 13 carbs if you stick to the following items.

First off, choose your favorite protein ingredient. That could be chicken, steak, pork, ground beef, or fish. Of course, with every type of protein that you choose, the carb intake will vary a little bit. We’ll include the overall carb count of the whole meal later on.

Secondly, you could add cilantro, grilled onions and peppers, and romaine. For the topping, you’re allowed to pile up mushrooms, bacon, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and guacamole. Now, let’s take a look at your total nutrient intake.

  • With chicken: 11 grams carbs, 40 grams fat, 47 grams protein, and 561 calories
  • With ground beef: 13 grams carbs, 48 grams fat, 37 grams protein, and 548 calories
  • With steak: 12 grams carbs, 37 grams fat, 46 grams protein, and 545 calories
  • With pork: 11 grams carbs, 41 grams fat, 43 grams protein, and 555 calories
  • With fish: 10 grams carbs, 37 grams fat, 46 grams protein, and 530 calories

4.  5-8 Net Carb Meal

Even better, you could create a meal at Moe’s with even fewer carbs. If you’re up for the challenge, here’s everything you need to add to make that happen.

Again, start by choosing your most preferred protein option. Whether you go from chicken, fish, or ground beef, your meal should end up both delicious and low-carb.

Next, add cilantro, bacon, and chopped romaine. Here, you’ll have to skip the grilled onions and peppers to reduce your carb intake. Plus, to get to the 5-8 net carb target, you should ditch the mushrooms as well.

You’re still allowed to include sour cream, guacamole, and cheese. Here’s the overall carb, fat, protein, and calorie intake in each scenario.

  • With chicken: 6 grams carbs, 30 grams fat, 43 grams protein, and 445 calories
  • With ground beef: 8 grams carbs, 30 grams fat, 33 grams protein, and 432 calories
  • With steak: 7 grams carbs, 27 grams fat, 42 grams protein, and 429 calories
  • With pork: 6 grams carbs, 31 grams fat, 39 grams protein, and 439 calories
  • With fish: 5 grams carbs, 27 grams fat, 42 grams protein, and 414 calories

Of course, you could always add fresh salsa, which is always available at Moe’s. This way, you could enhance the flavor of your meals without including too many carbs. Usually, adding salsa will increase your net carb intake by only 1-3 grams. Pretty cool, right?

Related: What are the best Keto options at Wawa?

5.  Drink Options

At Moe’s, you could choose water, soda, or unsweetened tea as your drink. Of course, water is your safest option, but you may still indulge in a diet coke every once in a while. Sure, it’s not the healthiest choice out there, but drinking diet soda on occasion won’t harm anyone.

If you’d prefer not to go down the poor sugar substitutes lane, you could always order the unsweetened tea instead. This way, you’ll have more control over how sweet it could be by adding your favorite sweetener to it.

To Wrap It Up

The keto diet depends on minimizing your daily carb intake and going for more protein and fat. And, because of the low-carb nature of this style, a lot of people struggle to find keto-friendly meals when eating out.

Yet, Moe’s keto options are a thing as long as you know which ingredients to skip and which to include in your dishes. Because this Mexican food franchise offers you the liberty to build your own meals, you could customize any of their options to your liking.

Who said Mexican food can’t be healthy after all?

The 5 Best Low Carb Pancake Syrups

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Best Low Carb Pancake Syrup

Are you trying to watch your calories? Depriving yourself of delicious food isn’t the answer because it can cause depression, and you won’t be motivated enough to stay on a diet.

You can still enjoy pancakes even if you’re trying to lose weight. Buying the best low carb pancake syrup will help you enjoy a delicious snack without messing up with your diet plan.

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24 Hour Fast Benefits – 12 Reasons Why to Try it

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Benefits of 24-Hour Fast

You hear people talking about intermittent fasting all the time. Don’t you find it interesting how you can stop eating for plenty of time? Aren’t you curious about how your body will respond? How it will go on without any source of energy? And what exactly are the famous 24 hour fast benefits?

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