Artificial Sweeteners

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jessjess
jessjess Posts: 88
in Food and Nutrition
I have a friend (health fanatic) who has been giving me some healthy-living diet advice. So, per her suggestion, I've been trying to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners. For the longest time I thought that it was ok that I drank an average of 5 DIET sodas a day. :laugh: It has now been almost 4 months since I've had a diet soda...and I'm still alive. Now I have to stop adding the sugar free flavor packs to my bottled water. This is going to be SO hard! I have a hard time drinking plain water unless it's hot outside. I also need to stop adding Splenda to my coffee. :drinker:

Anyone have any advice on how to get over this sweet addiction?

Replies

  • jessjess
    jessjess Posts: 88
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    I have a friend (health fanatic) who has been giving me some healthy-living diet advice. So, per her suggestion, I've been trying to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners. For the longest time I thought that it was ok that I drank an average of 5 DIET sodas a day. :laugh: It has now been almost 4 months since I've had a diet soda...and I'm still alive. Now I have to stop adding the sugar free flavor packs to my bottled water. This is going to be SO hard! I have a hard time drinking plain water unless it's hot outside. I also need to stop adding Splenda to my coffee. :drinker:

    Anyone have any advice on how to get over this sweet addiction?
  • icandoit
    icandoit Posts: 4,163 Member
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    Have you ever soaked the orange rind in your water. Put warm water in a pitch and add the orange rind and let it set in fridge until cold. It is really good and all natural. You can also do it with lemon or lime, tangerines. Hope it helps!
  • Eve23
    Eve23 Posts: 2,352 Member
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    Congrats on giving up artificial sweetners. My family did that years ago and it can be rough. My husband lived on diet soda. We drink alot of tea. I also made him some mock sodas up by buying some club soda and adding flavors to that. Just some Ideas.

    Eve
    :drinker:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    I was a major diet coke addict for a long time. I gave up gradually, and still allow myself one or two a week as a treat.

    I've found, by the way, that artificial sugars make me crave the real thing. This has been great incentive for me to quit them. Not to mention what they might do to my body other than that. . .

    :flowerforyou:
  • noogiep
    noogiep Posts: 35
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    Stevia is a good substitute sweetner. It is also all natural. You can get it at Whole Foods or Earth Fare. Good Luck!
  • jessjess
    jessjess Posts: 88
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    Thanks for the tips guys!
    ( I say this as I guzzle down a coffee FILLED with delicious sugar substitutes) :laugh:

    Cutting out artificial sweeteners will definitely be a slow process for me...one step at a time though. Next....I'll be cutting out caffeine! :noway:
    Not any time soon though.

    -Jess
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    Do just that, wean. Like many other things I have weaned myself off of start like this...

    Week one: add only 3/4 of the water additive to your bottled water
    Week two: add only 1/2
    week three: add only 1/4
    week four: none

    This way you still get a bit of the sweet you are used too and you also start to get used to the fact that water has no flavor, at least it shouldn't! lol

    I did this to go from 1/2 in my coffee drinks to skim milk, regular yogurt to low fat (didn't go fat free because of the added sugar) and from 2TBSP of sugar in my morning coffee to 2 tsp. (yes I subbed sugar for cream!)

    You will probably have to do the same for the splenda in your coffee, at first you might need what seems like a ton of sugar but you can wean yourself down to an acceptable amount in no time flat!
  • themonkeybear
    themonkeybear Posts: 10
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    yup... Diet pop is nasty stuff... hard,Hard, HARD habit to break though.. (I used to be a 2 liter-a-day Diet Dr. Pepper freak).

    For coffee - try Stevia... it's a natural sweetener... I had always found the stuff to be too bitter - but found a brand called "NuStevia" from NuNaturals (www.nunaturals.com) - and it tastes fine / great.... I order it in individual packs from iherb.com - and just keep a fist-full in my briefcase.

    *note - while the pink and blue are pretty much undisputedly bad for you - the jury is still out on Splenda... (the just really don't know what the compounds resolve out to in our bodies) - so - ignorance is bliss - if I don't have my Stevia with me, I'll grab a pack of yellow and not wring my hands about it.
  • icandoit
    icandoit Posts: 4,163 Member
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    Have you tried soaking a vanilla bean in your pot of coffee. Add a tad of nf milk. It is really good.
  • Melissa19f
    Melissa19f Posts: 5
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    How are artifical sweeteners bad for you? I don't like ridciulously sweet things like cake icing, juices etc., however, I have an awful need for sugar in my coffee and tea. Its as if i don't taste the sugar when I use regular sugar unless I use A LOT. So I end up using the artiifical sweetner (the blue kind) so I use less. I've searched online and found no specifics on what artifical sweetners will do. Does anyone know?

    -Melissa :-)

    btw. This is my first post. I'm glad to find something to help me track calories that's free for a change!
  • themonkeybear
    themonkeybear Posts: 10
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    Here's a good place to brush up on Aspartame and safety.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy

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