giving up sweeteners ...

[Heidi3]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

you are right smart lady I think I will just give it a few more days and if I feel too deprived I will eat sweeteners again....I always still feel like I should give up something ...constant sacrifice somehow makes me feel like I have some control in life I think

[sallyseachange]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

I hear you on the 'constant sacrifice' thing. Isn't it strange how hard it is to stop doing that! I guess many of us have trained ourselves well, with years of yo-yo dieting with paltry results... until Atkins, that is.
Even though we still get into 'sacrifice' mode now and again, we've come a heck of a way!

[Analog6]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

Giving up sweeteners can be one of the best things you can do. I know we don't use aspartame here, but there is an article ont eh Weston Price site http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/aspartame.html
about side effects, and one wuite is this:
"Dr. Walton, who has also studied the effects of aspartame, is emphatic when he tells me, "Probably one major contributor to obesity is the widespread use of diet products!" A chorus of non-conventional health professionals echoes his statement, which can just aswell be read as a warning. The reasons are not simple; they involve complex biochemical reactions linked to hormones and brain chemicals.
Aspartame itself doesn’t have any calories, but basically, one of its ingredients, the amino acid phenylalanine, blocks production of serotonin, a nerve chemical that, among other activities, controls food cravings. As you might well imagine, a shortage of serotonin will make your brain and body scream for the foods that create more of this brain chemical—and those are the high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich snacks that can sabotage a dieter. Obviously, the more aspartame one ingests, the more heightened the effects. Simply put, aspartame appears to muddle the brain chemistry."

My worry is that other sweeteners might also be muddling brain chemistry and causing us to want more sweet things.
If you find decaff and coffee need something, try adding a bit of cinnamon. It is good for you and has allowed me to give up my occassional bit of honey in my morning cuppa. And I'd tried and tried to not have it.
Luckily for me I have never found an artifical sweetener I could stomach, they ALL have aftertaste to me, so I never got hooked on them.

[sallyseachange]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

hmmmm... cinnamon in coffee... sounds interesting. Must try that!
Interesting post Odille... tks!

[Heidi3]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

I hear you on the 'constant sacrifice' thing. Isn't it strange how hard it is to stop doing that! I guess many of us have trained ourselves well, with years of yo-yo dieting with paltry results... until Atkins, that is.
Even though we still get into 'sacrifice' mode now and again, we've come a heck of a way!

it is crazy to feel like you always have to "give up" something isn't it ...I thought it was cultural for me but probably not!!

oh well I am hanging in and still feel pretty much like this is not making a difference in my life ...

I am going to try making a pumpkin and sweet potato cheesecake today with no added sweeteners and see how it comes out ..if it is not good I am going back to using them ..

honesty at my worst..my entire consumption averages to about 1-3 packets a day ...when I bake a cake maybe 4-5 packets with the cake ....

I don't drink soda or eat any artificially sweetened premade stuff

[sallyseachange]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

The pie sounds awesome! Do tell how it turns out minus sweetners.

[Heidi3]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

well it was yummy after I dumped a package of sweetener on it

[Heidi3]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

this was dumb serves no real point for me I think and is already over ..thanks for the support anyway!!!

[Maerow]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

Welcome back to the world of sweetners!

Honestly...they don't hurt much and you are on the maintain lane, so I agree you shouldn't deprive yourself. They make life a little more pleasent, with a very low calorie cost, the trade off is worth it for me.

I can't WAIT for maintainace when I don't have to worry about only three packets limit...I will just have to make sure the things I will be using them for stays at the proper level. >.<

Hehe.

[BeccaResRN]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

Hedi, nothings ever dumb...there are no stupid questions...You are only trying to improve yourself...and thats Ok...I am really bad I drink soda, sweeteners in coffee, tea an dsome fruits , oh ya and caffeine..see how much I have to go.....
Maybe next month I'll try some form of deprivation just to see how it goes, I was off the diet sodas at one point now I really enjoy my lunch soda and my afternoon slumpy part of the day diet drink on ice..

I don't bake or make special sugar free goodies much...at least not right now I usually feel the urge closer to the holidays and winter.

I haven't tried sweet potatoes yet...I'm kinda scared becuase of the high carb count...same with plantains I bought some then chickened out and never fixed them...i have allowed myself a few oz of bannana in a smoothie and I had a whole apple one day.....mainly just berries for me so far.

[sallyseachange]

Re: giving up sweeteners ...

Glad the pie was good... post-sweetened!!! (chuckles)

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