She’s Behind The World Of WaterTok, The Latest Health And Fitness Phenomenon Taking Over TikTok
If you’re an avid TikTok user, there’s a chance you’ve heard about the latest health and fitness phenomenon – the world of WaterTok.
Most of us know how important it is to stay hydrated throughout the day. Drinking enough water throughout the day helps your body regulate its temperature, deliver nutrients to cells, prevent sickness, etc.
There are so many benefits to drinking a good amount of water throughout the day.
For some people, drinking water is a struggle. Some people can’t stand the plainness of it and struggle to drink enough because they get bored with it.
In the world of WaterTok, people are finding different ways to drink their water – whether or not what they’re drinking can be considered water is up for debate.
WaterTok is the name of the side of TikTok where users share the different ways they like to flavor their water with different kinds of sugar-free syrups and powders.
Each content creator contributing to WaterTok often has a go-to reusable water jug and a massive collection of flavored drink mixes and syrups from brands like Sonic and Skinny Syrups.
Tonya Spanglo (@takingmylifebackat42) is considered to be the face of the WaterTok movement with her 823,000+ followers. Tonya is loved on the internet for her bubbly personality and inspiring words.
Users are also fascinated with her ‘Water of The Day’ videos, where she combines different flavors of sugar-free powders and syrups and mixes them into her daily jugs of water.
Lalandrew – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Tonya has lost over 220 pounds in the past three years but has always hated drinking plain water. She had a gastric sleeve surgery, and patients are told to drink a lot of water post-op. So, she started experimenting with different zero-sugar and zero-calorie powders and syrups and occasionally shared the ‘recipes’ with her TikTok followers. Over time, viewers became obsessed with her content, and she started posting the flavored waters she drank daily.
Tonya’s viral videos have led to multiple brands of water flavoring powders selling out in stores. The Skinny Syrups she uses aren’t as easy to come by anymore because of their newfound popularity.
Many TikTok users credit Tonya and her flavored water recipes for helping them shed pounds in her comments. Other WaterTok content creators simply drink the flavored waters because they love the colorful look and aesthetically pleasing routine of drinking them out of a cute water tumbler daily.
Despite the promotion of hydration, some nutrition and health experts are skeptical of the flavored water trend and are concerned about the artificial sweeteners in the syrups and powders used to make them. Nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo told CNBC that drinking water mixed with flavor additives is essentially the same as drinking a sugar-free Kool-Aid or diet soda.
“I do want people to be aware that just because it’s zero calories does not make it a healthy food,” she told CNBC.
“Your body may be getting hydrated, but it may be affecting you in a bad way somewhere else.”
Hardcore WaterTok supporters have continued to advocate for their beverages regardless of concern.
How do you feel about WaterTok?
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