Anybody else given up artificial sweeteners?

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Replies

  • catsandtats
    catsandtats Posts: 29 Member
    I gave up all artificial sweeteners because, in my experience, they did nothing to actually help me curb my cravings for sweets. My penchant for cookies was the real problem! My sugar cravings toned down quite a bit once I just limited all sweet treats regardless of how they are sweetened. Now, I find the taste of artificial sweeteners ("natural" or not) as well as high fructose corn syrup just way "off the mark" and not all that enjoyable. So, now I tend to just have a little bit of a treat sweetened with sugar if/when my macros allow it.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,262 Member
    On occasion and not knowingly I've consumed artificial sweeteners and always tastes of desperation.:smile:
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
    All of them will give me a migraine within 20 min of consumption, which is really bad for the ones where I can't taste the difference.
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    I smoked cigarettes for 20 years, and I drank diet colas for 30 years. I lost my cravings for cigarettes within a year or so of quitting smoking, but my cola craving stayed with me for years. Overall I feel much better since I stopped drinking them 5+ years ago. Used to have a lot of aches and pains, not anymore. In December I quit the last of it giving up saccharin for my coffee. It has been much easier to maintain energy and mood without the sweet spikes/rushes/lulls. Disassociating caffeine from sweetness has also reduced the cola cravings FINaLLY!!
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
    Aspartame gives me headaches, so diet soda has always been a once in awhile thing. I might have another one some time in the future, but really - I'd rather brew some really great tea and drink that.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,302 Member
    No I am not giving up artificial sweeteners - cant say I use them a lot, only in diet coke or pepsi max - I have a few glasses of same per week.

    Coffee I have unsweetened, no sugar, no sweetener, just a small amount of low fat milk.

    This is working fine for me, no plans to change.
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    I gave up artificial sweeteners a few years ago. I had no problems stopping. No withdrawal at all.
  • swissbrit
    swissbrit Posts: 201
    I had all the symptoms of Fibromyalgie and suffered really really bad migraines as in the doctor would come to my home and inject codine and valium they were that bad, I stopped using any artificial sweetners and since then I only have bouts of the Fibromyalgie symtoms if I get really really cold and hardly ever have a migraine and if I do I am able to use normal meds to cope with it.

    I have eaten something with sweetners by mistake and within 2 days I am dying with a migraine so read all lables now
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    l limit it. i use one packet of splenda a day in my coffee, and i dont eat much else that has it. sometimes i'll have a yogurt with it in, or some crystal light, but i tend to stay away from "food" that is made in a lab. not 100% clean, but i do what i can.

    you can pry my cool whip out of my cold, dead hands though. :D
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
    Fellow RN checking in! (Critical care, neuroscience ICU, but now going into Case Management whoot!) I use Splenda in my tea, I can't stand any other artificial sweetener. Splenda is the only one you can cook with, I believe, and it doesn't have a bad aftertaste or taste sickeningly sweet like the others. BUT I think it does flare up my allergies because my lips always turn bright red and swell. I know I should nix it, but let me get to a happy place with my fitness goals and then I'll slowly go back to real raw sugar.
  • Pudding1980
    Pudding1980 Posts: 1,264 Member
    I've never been big on using them instead of sugar; I prefer real sugar over fake. However, I recently started reading labels more closely and discovered just how much crap (like fake sugars) are added to lower fat products to make them taste better. I've been successful at using reasonable amounts of full fat cheese, sour cream, etc. and still losing weight.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I never really consumed them much to begin with. They taste gross to me. They taste...well, artificial. I did give up regular soda though and it was hard! Hang in there. Eventually you won't crave it anymore.
  • BD_Fitness
    BD_Fitness Posts: 7
    I use honey or stevia.
  • spg71
    spg71 Posts: 179 Member
    I dont know if it was just me but the times i did try them they seemed to be totally unlike sugar with a odd taste that wasn't even sugary if that makes any sense. So i just went cold turkey on sugar and started drinking green tea instead of coffee.

    damm i miss coffee :( but when i have one now its treat so go full out caramel sugar hit :D other than that fizzy pop has never really been in my diet for years.

    Never heard of Stevia though is it a US thing ?
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    Question for the OP. Do the doctors in your oncology ward use artificial sweetners? Do they let their children drink diet soda? For me, that's all the proof I need--don't need to see studies.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    The weight of the evidence that I've seen indicates that they're safe. If you really want to be safer then don't get a motor vehicle, make sure that you maintain a healthy body fat percentage, don't drink alcohol to excess, and if you have children under 4 make sure they know how to swim.

    Done all this. Surprised?

    Why would anyone be surprised? There are numerous statistically backed risk reduction decisions, such as these, that we can make.

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