You know, that's the one thing I don't like about the Southbeach diet -- too much reliance upon artificial sweetners. I just don't trust them. When I look at the nutrition labels, I don't like seeing Sugar 0g, but Sugar Alcohol 5g. What????
And what, pray tell, is sucralose? Or sorbitol for that matter? You may have noticed that for many of the sugar-free desserts, the carbs are the same no matter what artificial sweetener they use. Makes you wonder exactly what is in that stuff.
So, I basically stay away from artificial sweeteners except for diet sodas which I limit to 1 a day max. Many days my only beverages are coffee, herbal tea and water.
When I feel the sweet craving coming on, I eat fruit in moderation. Apples are great for that. On the veggie side, there's always sugar snap peas and carrots (both are legal on Phase II) Also, I LOVE jicama, which has a slightly sweet taste to it. It is very crisp and filling. Jicama is okay at any phase on the diet.