fighting to avoid artificial sweeteners and stay low-carb

artifical sweeteners dont do much to curb the cravings
for sweets in many people - for many what once was
one packet in a beverage became two or three over time-
and cravings for artificially sweetened drinks became almost as much a problem
as sugared ones - probably the "head spin" about "sweet" - and in eating
healthier its all about breaking and modifing old bad habits

"TasTyMorsL" wrote in message
...
artifical sweeteners dont do much to curb the cravings
for sweets in many people - for many what once was
one packet in a beverage became two or three over time-
and cravings for artificially sweetened drinks became almost as much a
problem
as sugared ones - probably the "head spin" about "sweet" - and in
eating
healthier its all about breaking and modifing old bad habits

Well, I'm going to give an alternative viewpoint here. I've used artificial
sweeteners moderately since I started lowcarbing several years ago. I don't
think I could have stayed on LC without them. There seem to be two separate
drives toward eating sweets. One seems to be straightforwardly biochemical,
probably insulin-related, and that went away nicely once my blood sugar
levels had stabilized on low carb. But there seems to be a second impetus to
wanting something sweet, particularly after dinner. I don't know how much is
habit and how much some kind of biochemical thing. However, it is easily
satisfied by non-nutritive sweeteners, such as a cup of coffee with cream
and artificial sweetener or one of the DaVinci no-sugar syrups, or a small
serving of sugarfree Jello. Whatever, just having that one little serving
will satisfy that urge nicely.

It looks like there is a lot of individual variation with regards to use of
artificial sweeteners. Some feel they do much better without any. I guess
the important thing is for each person to figure out what works for him/her.
I do agree that overdoing the artificial sweetener thing is probably not a
good idea. I also vary among several sweeteners so that I don't get a large
dose of any one... mixing them together also gives you a more natural sugar
taste and also allows you to use a little less overall.

HG

"TasTyMorsL" wrote in message
...
artifical sweeteners dont do much to curb the cravings
for sweets in many people - for many what once was
one packet in a beverage became two or three over time-
and cravings for artificially sweetened drinks became almost as much a
problem
as sugared ones - probably the "head spin" about "sweet" - and in
eating
healthier its all about breaking and modifing old bad habits

Well, I'm going to give an alternative viewpoint here. I've used artificial
sweeteners moderately since I started lowcarbing several years ago. I don't
think I could have stayed on LC without them. There seem to be two separate
drives toward eating sweets. One seems to be straightforwardly biochemical,
probably insulin-related, and that went away nicely once my blood sugar
levels had stabilized on low carb. But there seems to be a second impetus to
wanting something sweet, particularly after dinner. I don't know how much is
habit and how much some kind of biochemical thing. However, it is easily
satisfied by non-nutritive sweeteners, such as a cup of coffee with cream
and artificial sweetener or one of the DaVinci no-sugar syrups, or a small
serving of sugarfree Jello. Whatever, just having that one little serving
will satisfy that urge nicely.

It looks like there is a lot of individual variation with regards to use of
artificial sweeteners. Some feel they do much better without any. I guess
the important thing is for each person to figure out what works for him/her.
I do agree that overdoing the artificial sweetener thing is probably not a
good idea. I also vary among several sweeteners so that I don't get a large
dose of any one... mixing them together also gives you a more natural sugar
taste and also allows you to use a little less overall.

HG

Hi, Loser,

I completely agree with you on artificial sweeteners. Using them
seems to contradict the very reason I like LC. You're trying to get
your body rid of all the stuff that's bad for you, and using AS just
defies the purpose - I refuse to believe that any chemical produced in
the lab is harmless.

Depending on the amount of carbs you allow yourself now, you can eat
berries, LC fruits, nuts, or 85% chocolate if you get cravings. Of
course, you have to be careful, as these are trigger foods for some
people.

If you're craving the sparkling stuff, try seltzer and squeeze some
lemon/grapefruit juice into it, or mash some blueberries and mix the
juice with seltzer. Sure, it's a little carby, but it beats AS soda
in my book.

Absolutely the best of luck to you. I know you can make your goal!

Elana

"Loser" wrote in message ...
Loser here.

I've had some weird physical symptoms over the past few months and have
decided to cut out aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose, and saccharine.
Coming for a background where I drink diet soda like water and chew
sugarless gum like it's getting outlawed, this is a pretty difficult task.

Anyhow, my Challenge this month is to get down to 256. I don't know if I'll
make it or not. I'm adding some cardio and dropping cals a bit so we'll
see. I'd really like to be under 250 by November which i think is
reasonable (i'm around 260 now). Then it's on to under 240 by New Year's
and under 225 by April Fool's Day. I don't know why those numbers seem
important. At 225, I'll probably get a BF% test and decide where to go from
there.

I'm using stevia w/ green and/or black tea to help with my diet soda fix.
Have some Stevia gum on order to see if that helps.

It's weird. I drink decaf diet cola and I had no idea I was so dependent on
it for my "sweet" fix.

Anyhow, hope everyone else is doing ok. Just wanted to check in.

Loser
287/260/233

"Hannah Gruen"

writes:

"TasTyMorsL" wrote in message
...
artifical sweeteners dont do much to curb the cravings
for sweets in many people - for many what once was
one packet in a beverage became two or three over time-
and cravings for artificially sweetened drinks became almost as much a
problem
as sugared ones - probably the "head spin" about "sweet" - and in
eating
healthier its all about breaking and modifing old bad habits

Well, I'm going to give an alternative viewpoint here. I've used artificial
sweeteners moderately since I started lowcarbing several years ago. I don't
think I could have stayed on LC without them. There seem to be two separate
drives toward eating sweets. One seems to be straightforwardly biochemical,
probably insulin-related, and that went away nicely once my blood sugar
levels had stabilized on low carb. But there seems to be a second impetus to
wanting something sweet, particularly after dinner. I don't know how much is
habit and how much some kind of biochemical thing. However, it is easily
satisfied by non-nutritive sweeteners, such as a cup of coffee with cream
and artificial sweetener or one of the DaVinci no-sugar syrups, or a small
serving of sugarfree Jello. Whatever, just having that one little serving
will satisfy that urge nicely.

It looks like there is a lot of individual variation with regards to use of
artificial sweeteners. Some feel they do much better without any. I guess
the important thing is for each person to figure out what works for him/her.
I do agree that overdoing the artificial sweetener thing is probably not a
good idea. I also vary among several sweeteners so that I don't get a large
dose of any one... mixing them together also gives you a more natural sugar
taste and also allows you to use a little less overall.

This must be a YMMV thing to the extreme. When I first started low-carbing,
sugar withdrawal was my big demon. After it quieted, I found myself using
about 5 packets of Splenda each day. Then I settled in at 3-5 packets per day
for months. Last night, though, I returned from a 3-day business trip. I took
10 packets of Splenda in a plastic bag. This morning I counted, and I have 7
left. I know I used two at a 3-hour lunch at which I was practically swimming
in iced tea, so there had to be one day that I used none. And I had no sweets
of any kind beyond a slice of honeydew melon. The residual sweet tooth has
just slipped away without my being aware of it until now.


Daria
166/under 145/under 145
sugar-free since 2/1/04
low-carb since 2/17/04

"Hannah Gruen"

writes:

"TasTyMorsL" wrote in message
...
artifical sweeteners dont do much to curb the cravings
for sweets in many people - for many what once was
one packet in a beverage became two or three over time-
and cravings for artificially sweetened drinks became almost as much a
problem
as sugared ones - probably the "head spin" about "sweet" - and in
eating
healthier its all about breaking and modifing old bad habits

Well, I'm going to give an alternative viewpoint here. I've used artificial
sweeteners moderately since I started lowcarbing several years ago. I don't
think I could have stayed on LC without them. There seem to be two separate
drives toward eating sweets. One seems to be straightforwardly biochemical,
probably insulin-related, and that went away nicely once my blood sugar
levels had stabilized on low carb. But there seems to be a second impetus to
wanting something sweet, particularly after dinner. I don't know how much is
habit and how much some kind of biochemical thing. However, it is easily
satisfied by non-nutritive sweeteners, such as a cup of coffee with cream
and artificial sweetener or one of the DaVinci no-sugar syrups, or a small
serving of sugarfree Jello. Whatever, just having that one little serving
will satisfy that urge nicely.

It looks like there is a lot of individual variation with regards to use of
artificial sweeteners. Some feel they do much better without any. I guess
the important thing is for each person to figure out what works for him/her.
I do agree that overdoing the artificial sweetener thing is probably not a
good idea. I also vary among several sweeteners so that I don't get a large
dose of any one... mixing them together also gives you a more natural sugar
taste and also allows you to use a little less overall.

This must be a YMMV thing to the extreme. When I first started low-carbing,
sugar withdrawal was my big demon. After it quieted, I found myself using
about 5 packets of Splenda each day. Then I settled in at 3-5 packets per day
for months. Last night, though, I returned from a 3-day business trip. I took
10 packets of Splenda in a plastic bag. This morning I counted, and I have 7
left. I know I used two at a 3-hour lunch at which I was practically swimming
in iced tea, so there had to be one day that I used none. And I had no sweets
of any kind beyond a slice of honeydew melon. The residual sweet tooth has
just slipped away without my being aware of it until now.


Daria
166/under 145/under 145
sugar-free since 2/1/04
low-carb since 2/17/04

"Loser" wrote in message ...

Let me recommend ***unsweetened*** sparkling water flavored with fruit
essences. I know they have it in Austin, but I can't remember the
brand names...here on the East Coast, Poland Spring and Canada Dry
have some yummy flavors, while on the West Coast I generally drink
Calistoga.

It really does work as a tasty replacement for the diet soda.

T.