Crystal Light and water retention

I am wondering if anyone knows if crystal light causes you to retain water. I have been drinking tons of crystal light decaf iced tea and lemonade the past few weeks. I know it's 5 calories per packet which I mix with water. I have not lost any weight in the past few weeks either. Has crystal light stalled anyone else's weight loss?

I drink Crystal Light almost every day because I can only handle so much (plain) water in a day... I have not had any problems, but I am about 3 months behind you.  I am interested to see what others say...

I was told in the past that lemon is a natural diuretic, so I would think that it would not cause you to retain fluid.  ??  Maybe try making some "fake" tea or lemonade with fresh lemon(s) and Splenda.

I had to google this because I found it interesting that it might cause water retention.  From what I found aspartame can cause water retention in some people and so can Splenda.  Some people cannot handle artificial sweeteners at all.  I would cut back on the CL and see if that breaks your stall.  I'm going to research this more because it's pretty interesting.  I would stick to tea and water for now and see if there is a change.  

Here are some posts I found on here where people think CL is causing their stalls:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4276189/HOW-LONG-DO-S TALLS-TYPICALLY-LAST/
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/4356581/5-month-stall- and-BodyMedia/
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/4176291/Crystal-Light- and-sore-throat/

I try to stay away from Aspartame, but I've had no issues with Splenda.  Not all of the Crystal Light drinks have Splenda in them so I have to make sure to read the label.  Aspartame gives me a migraine so I avoid it like the plague.

Someone in my support group who is 3 years post op shared that she had recently gained 10 pounds.  She said that she had become very dependent on splenda and would add MANY packets to her already spenda flavored protein.  She figured out that maybe this was causing the weight gain and lost the 10 pounds in 3 days.  I have no idea if this really is the cause but I thought I would share since you asked this question.  You may just want to stop the crystal light for a week and see how you do.

Good luck!

I am also aspartame sensitive (gas, bloating, stomach pain), so I only buy the CL with sucralose. I don't see any reason why that would cause weight or water gain, but if you're concerned you could try double-diluting your CL. I like mine that way because I find it too sweet so I add one packet to a litre of water instead of just the usual 500ml.

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I think I will at least cut down on the crystal light. Maybe I'll limit it to one a day, I've been drinking many bottles a day lately. I'll see how that works.

Ive often wondered the same thing. We pretty much exclusively drink Crystal Lite at home (or another generic brand). I try to only drink it at home. During the day at work, I drink plain water with either fresh lemon or I just got some True Lemon to try out. Just trying to get in something more 'natural'.

Check the sodium level of the Crystal Light you are using.  Some flavors of sugar-free additives contain more salt than others and may cause water retention. Some other OHers have commented about their problems with the sodium in water additives.