Be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true.

Great post. I wanted to share something I learned as well. Not only are these diet foods doing nothing for our bodies in terms of vital nutrients, but they have been shown to harm us. There's a documentary called "Sweet Misery" on youtube, it's about Aspartame. I only watched the first 20 minutes, and I haven't touched the stuff since--I used to drink diet soda daily.

In the documentary, many patients suffering from these symptoms tried every drug and herbal relief plan known to man, before finally cutting out artificial sweeteners, which immediately did the trick to heal them. I myself noticed that my mid-afternoon bloat and mild headache went away as soon as I made the switch to other drinks with my lunch.

Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes

Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies

Excuse me while I RUN to the store for some green tea.......!!!!

^I was thinking of going with a little sugar (of some sort) in my coffee instead of a packet of Equal - I don't think the calorie or carb increase will be dramatic.

My issue is that I have it ingrained in me - from being diabetic, mostly, but again, the reality of the carbs isn't so bad (especially lately that I have become a little more lax with them...maybe 100-150 net per day versus the ~75 I was aiming for before). It's a hard habit to change, but one small step at a time!

I recently started adding a little organic sugar here and there (mostly to my Irish oatmeal). I think a teaspoon of sugar a day isn't too bad. I'm not perfect - I could cut back more on high fructose corn syrup (I've cut a lot of it out, but I still eat it occasionally).

Where do you find yourself getting most of your HFCS? For the longest time the only places I got it were bread and soda. I ONLY drink soda when I drink liquors—I would just switch it up entirely to juices and stuff, but my preferred liquor is whiskey—but bread was a lot harder for me. I thought that I would have to spend $5 a loaf to get bread without it. Lately I've been finding a LOT of whole grain breads that don't use it, typically for only $2 or $3. I thought it would suck and cause me to be spending a LOT of money on bread, but I actually eat a lot less of it now—which kind of makes sense that it would be more filling—and, thus, I spend the same amount on bread that I did before.

So now the only place I get HFCS is soda when I'm drinking alcohol. I wish that sodas sweetened with cane sugar were both more accessible and more affordable.

Thanks for the answers. I have tried Stevia way back and didn't care for it but will try it again...maybe it is an "acquired" taste. And I also used to not drink coffee at all so may try that eventually...but for not that's my morning thing.

Also, jessieinblue I didn't think you were judging...my view on all (or at least most) of the topics is that it is someone trying to help us all. Sometimes the truth may sting a little...but we're all here to learn, lose and improve I think. For me I will take any advice that helps me lose the weight or get/stay healthy. This is definitely NOT a diet or a quick fix in my life...I have every intention of doing this for my lifetime. I'm just irritated with myself that it took me so long to get smart!

Dont use to much. Stevia is really sweet. It just takes a verry little to go from the perfict cup of coffee to somthing I cant drink.

Thank you for posting this! I knew it had to be terrible for you! My mom is obsessive with this stuff and somehow thinks it tastes good. She also doesn't seem to care about chemicals being in food, so I'm not too sure how to make her listen to reason.

To be 100% honest, at this point in my life, dropping pounds IS all I care about. If I happen to improve my health and longevity as well, so be it. Call me crazy, but I have no problem eating chemicals with no nutritional value whatsoever if it'll keep me from eating a bunch more calories.

(And besides, eating low-cal foods that are full of chemicals and what-have-you is probably still preferable to sticking with the kind of diet I had before beginning my weight loss journey.)

I swear I'm not a nut-job about health foods and stuff, nor do I eat entirely clean, but this kind of made me sad to read. I've always been chubby and yet never wanted to be -thin- over -healthy-.

But as you said, to each their own, and I really won't judge you on it; it really probably is quite a bit better than what you were eating before, and that's more than just "something," it's an improvement.