Sugar vs. sweeteners?

[Dela]

I just read a comment from Travisli in a thread below, and she mentioned she completely stopped using artificial sweeteners. I've heard others say they stopped using them as well, and seemed to notice a positive effect. (BTW Travis, if you read this, WOW you are amazing, very inspirational).

I'm curious though, did any of you who quit the sweeteners start using sugar or honey to replace it? Or you just stopped using any kind of sweetener?

I'm curious about laying off the splenda to see if anything good happens, but not so sure I can give up the sweetened coffee, don't get me wrong, I don't go crazy with the stuff, but I would say I consume 2 to 3 packs a day, mainly in coffee, iced tea, and fruit and milk smoothies. I rarely drink soda.

 

[buckeyegirl]

I gave up artificial sweeteners on Jan. 1 - haven't had a diet coke at ALL in 2008..I can't believe it. I decided to forego artificial sweeteners due to my propensity for headaches, and quite honestly, I really do have concerns about their long term effects. I use agave nectar, honey, and stevia as my sweeteners.

Do you know how hard it is to find items without artificial sweeteners - it is really difficult at times. Sometimes I feel like I spend the majority of my time at the grocery store scrutinizing labes for artificial sweeteners, HFCS, inulin, saturated fats...ack!

Heidi

 

[DirtDiva]

I gave up artificial sweetners the first of the year too, and replaced them with honey and agave nectar. But I found I was adding about 120 calories or more a day between my coffee and tea. I just can't get used to drinking them without some sweetner and there is no possible way I can give up freshly ground coffee in the morning. I avoid aspartame in everything though. Splenda has issues and so does Sweet N Low, but I will not buy anything with Equal (aspartame) in it.

Two months ago I decided to buy a small box of Sweet n Low and barely dust my coffee and tea with it, so I don't use more then 1 packet a day. This is one vice I'm just going to have to continue with. I did read that study that said artificial sweetners make you hungrier, but I didn't find that to be the case when I was using them and then stopped completely. I actually craved more sugar with the honey and agave. So now I stopped using honey and agave and I've noticed no change and I doubt one packet of artificial sweetner will cause any problems anyway.

 

[fitlulu]

I also gave up artificial sweeteners over a year ago. I use stevia in my coffee and tea, and gave up soda for the most part. When I want one, I drink a regular soda in the small cans. I lost 5 pounds after giving it up.

--Sharon

 

[DirtDiva]

I also gave up artificial sweeteners over a year ago. I use stevia in my coffee and tea, and gave up soda for the most part. When I want one, I drink a regular soda in the small cans. I lost 5 pounds after giving it up.

--Sharon

Which stevia product do you use? I'm willing to give that a try.

 

[kathryn]

I refuse to use artificial sweeteners (including Sucralose/Splenda, which the manufacturers try to push as 'natural" because it's 'from sugar').

I use primarily agave nectar and some stevia (though not lately). I also have used maple syrup, rice or barley syrup, dried fruit like raisins soaked and blended (depending on what I'm using it for), date sugar (dates that have been dried very thouroughly, then ground up into a brown-sugar-like powder). Pure fructose is another possiblity (it is NOT like HFCS--the fructose in HFCS is NOT the problem---it is a low-glycemic sweetener derived from fruit. There are also other fruit-based sweeteners on the market as well.

 

[lorrayne]

I use the Stevia Plus brand for my powdered stevia. I use a local HFS brand (Henry's) for my liquid stevia.

Which stevia product do you use? I'm willing to give that a try.

 

[fitlulu]

I use Only Sweet, or SweetLeaf stevia. The SweetLeaf has fiber added to it. It's harder to find and more expensive. The only problem I have with stevia is that it doesn't dissolve well in cold beverages. Like usually if I make iced tea, I'll dissolve it in about a 1/2 cup of hot water before I add it. I haven't tried any liquid stevia.

--Sharon

 

[trainee]

I have tried giving up sugar several times but once I have anything sweet I'm immediately addicted again.