[wildflower613]

I feel so great about my food choices now and my view on healthy eating as a whole but I'm feeling a little contradictory on the subject because of all the "artificial" sugar I am consuming.

On a given day I may have a lemon water w/stevia, a coffee with stevia, my pickled salad which has stevia in it, pickles w/splenda, and most of the IP packets have the Sucralose in them. I am trying to use 1/2 packs of stevia instead of whole and use less in a day but its still in the packets no matter what.

I guess the IP Diet is not necessarily a whole food/natural food route.
I'm happy to say I have given up ALL aspartame but I guess I feel a little dependent on the Stevia/Splenda and it doesn't really make me feel like I'm genuinely eating healthy or "non-toxic" What do you all think?

[Purrfect]

Ah yes, we are thinking alike. Although this is my OPINION I do think that all the fake and pretend food items as well as GMO'd foods are all gambles, and may partially explain the drastic rise in cancers, probably other illnesses. Hydrogenated oils (crisco) was introduced and you can see the sales chart rise just as the cancer chart does. It's eerie but if you look into what that stuff does to our bodies, it makes sense.

No one knows everything but all disease starts in the gut; seems to me we need to pay alot of attention to what we put there.

I think a short term intake for the benefit of weight loss is good. Stevia should be a-ok as it's a natural non-modified plant source. Xylitol is the other best choice.

In marion's book she details more. It's good to be informed.

[kelly315]

It's recommended that you use artificial sweeteners in turns- meaning you use several types, so you're not over-exposed to any one of the chemicals. That sends off all kinds of warning flags in my mind. I'd love to go sweetener-free... but I'm not there yet.

[Hislamb]

I "hear" you, I am in to the natural, have been for a long time. That is why I don't enjoy most of the IP foods because they taste artificial to me.

I am just going with it for now as I want to lose the weight.

I did want to point out that from what I have known about Stevia it is a natural product not artificial, so don't sweat the Stevia.

[rainbowmom]

I like to eat more natural and whole food also. I gave up aspartame a while ago. I don't especially like the taste of the IP food, but I see this program as a means to an end. Given the amount of calories and what I was consuming before, I figure a few months of doing this is not going to have a negative impact on my overall health and will considerably improve it.

That said, once I'm on maintenance, I'm looking forward to eating my locally produced organic cheese once in a while!

[jennydoodle]

+1. The main reason it took me so long to decide on IP is because I was weary about the packets and the "fake" food. I hardly use any other "sweetner" besides what is in the IP packets. I only use WF or Mio if I am having a rough patch I need to get through and I only use Stevia if I need to have a coffee or something. I do not use any other added sweetner other than Stevia. Once I am on maintainence, I will not be using ANY WF or Mio.

But for the short term, it is the lesser of 2 evils. I think it is more important to get rid of the extra weight than it is to worry about the artifical sweetners in the packets.

[jennylauren19]

I agree. . .IP sort of goes against everything I have been taught about healthy eating. . .to only eat natural, whole foods and not pre-packaged foods. I too was very hesitant to try IP because of the "fake" food. However, the results speak for themselves. I really like how IP is very clear that the program is only temporary and how they teach you about healthy food choices and portions for the maintenance phase (and the rest of your life!). Overall, I'm extremely happy I started this program and would recommend it to anyone that is dedicated to losing weight.