Do Diet Foods Lead to Weight Gain?
http://www.time.com/time/health/arti...650860,00.html
-suggests that people can be conditioned to eat more to "make up" for the calories they were "deprived of" by lo-cal foods/beverages

Diet Foods and Weight Gain
Artificial Ingredients Trigger Cravings and Sabotage Weight Loss
http://diet-trends.suite101.com/arti..._false_panacea
-as the subtitle suggests, days basically the same thing. The data presented in this one seems a bit sketchy, also.

http://www.aspartame.org/aspartame_pr_20070810.html
New Study Confirms that Low-Calorie Sweeteners Are Helpful in Weight Control


I can't say I'm convinced, because since switching from high-calorie, high-sugar/HFCS beverages and exercising more, counting calories, etc., I have been consuming a fair share of artificial sweeteners (splenda in my coffee/tea, diet soda, crystal light) I have lost weight, as I intended to do. I think if you eat the sugar-free stuff and feel deprived and binge or whatever, sure, you could gain, but it's still not a direct cause and effect. It certainly hasn't been true for me, which is why I continue to use artificial sweeteners and coutn crystal light as water, because it is mostly water. I think it depends on the person and whether or not it affects their food cravings, and isn't really something inherently bad with the sweeteners.

I count them as water - but I do have to say that one time, at the gym, I did a Kick boxing class and took some 'on the go' water and found that I felt like crud through the whole class and was dying for a glass of plain water by the time I was done... Ever since then, I stick to straight water when I exercise, but mix stuff in my water if I am just sitting around sipping water.

I'm not really a fan of water, so I can use all the help getting enough. So for me personally it I count it....because any beverage that doesn't contain alcohol or caffeine is a step in the right direction.