[underanalysis]

Has anyone else tried giving up artificial sweeteners? Have you had any success?

Going into my plan, I decided to dump sweeteners in my drinks and things like diet soda. Recent research led me to believe that this might make a difference in my weight loss and decrease my sugar cravings.

But after a month I honestly have seen no difference. I still have the occasional sweet tooth, and the weight I have dropped is I think far more attributable to calorie counting and exercise.

Although, really, I didn't consume much sweetener before I cut it out. I had a one-diet-soda-per-day habit. Really probably more like 5/week, not like some people who drink them constantly.

Has anyone else had more success with this?

[SouthernMaven]

Except for drinking diet cokes, I never used artificial sweeteners. I very, VERY rarely may have a diet coke if I'm eating out and have the urge to have one. I'd say that might happen 2 or 3 times a year. I gave up drinking diet cokes on a regular basis about 5 years ago.

I've been drinking my coffee black since I was 18 years old (I'm 62). My liquid intake consists of coffee (a lot), water (not as much), and occasionally sweet tea in a restaurant that I order either unsweetened or half-and-half. I never use artificial sweetener in it if I order it unsweetened - I just drink it like that. I also have an evening cup of chamomile tea with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.

If you're asking if I have less craving for sweets, I can't say that's true. But I'm not a big sweets eater anyway. Given a choice between a cookie and a chips, I'll go for the chips 99% of the time. So I guess my answer is no, it really hasn't made a difference in what I choose to eat.

[Locke]

From what I've read of others talking on this subject it seems that some people are sensitive to artificial sweeteners and others are not. Some people will have their weight stalled from ingesting them and others are unaffected. You seem to be in the unaffected camp. They make me ravenously hungry, especially diet soda so I don't have any except for a diet coke once a week.

[SouthernMaven]

Originally Posted by Locke

From what I've read of others talking on this subject it seems that some people are sensitive to artificial sweeteners and others are not. Some people will have their weight stalled from ingesting them and others are unaffected.

I agree with this. And it's the same for carbs. I completely understand that for some people carbs are kryptonite, but there are people who can eat a fair number of carbs and it doesn't increase hunger. I'm one of them.

[kaplods]

Several years ago, I gave up caffeine and sweeteners for several months. I saw no difference, so I added them back in. Although I've noticed no ill effects from any of the common sweeteners, I prefer to use a variety of sweeteners to reduce my exposure to any one. Also, if you combine sweeteners, you can use less, because sweeteners tend to have a synergistic effect, you can use less sweetener in combination than using one alone.

It seems a little expensive to have a lot of different sweeteners on hand, but in the long run, I save money because I use less.

My favorites are

Xylitol (a sugar alcohol, so it can have a laxative effect, especially if you use too much)
Sucrose (Splenda)
Stevia
Monkfruit blend
Aspartame (Equal)

We also always have sacharine (Sweet 'n' Low) because hubby prefers it. He actually likes its bitter note.

[fadedbluejeans]

I gave up artificial sweeteners but not because of their impact on weight loss (I don't know that they had any). Artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, trigger panic attack symptoms in me. Caffeine actually does too, but it takes a pretty high dose - like 10-12 cups of tea/coffee in a day.

[Koshka]

I keep going back and forth on this. Truthfully, when I have given them up I don't see a lot of difference. But, I am trying to eat less of anything artificial.

The big issue for me is that I like my caffeine in the morning and can't stand coffee so I end up having 2 Cherry Coke Zeroes every morning. I do like them and I haven't been convinced that aspartame is dangerous. Still, I would prefer to break the habit. I am working now on drinking unsweetened green tea instead.

Sometimes I put in a packet of True Lemonade. It does not use artificial sweetener. A packet does have some stevia and 1g of sugar and is 5 calories. I don't eat much added sugar at all so I feel OK having a packet or two of that every day.

[Palestrina]

I guess it's all individual. I wasn't hard core Diet Pepsi, probably a couple a day but enough that I felt like I needed to make a change. But I did used to put Equal in my coffee every day. When I cut soda and Equal out of my diet I saw a change pretty quickly about my state of mind. It was like a fog had lifted and I could think more clearly. It was impactful for sure. I occassionally drink diet soda if I'm out at dinner but it never comes into my home. I've been drinking my coffee with no sweetneners, just half n half and it took about 3 months to get used to that.

[Chardonnay]

I gave up artificial sweeteners, but only because they caused me migraine headaches - especially Twin and Splenda, so I didn't really cut them out for weight-related reasons. But switching back to sugar in my coffee and the occasional ginger ale for a cocktail hasn't really affected my weight, as long as I make sure I count those calories. And luckily it hasn't made me want to eat more sugar either.

[nelie]

I've given them all up. I was using stevia for a while but I believe stevia is no different than others.

Has it made a difference in my weight loss? Not that I've noticed

[Palestrina]

Sometimes it's really depressing to think how many good habits I've incorporated in my life for the better and yet the weight loss is still at a standstill.

[nelie]

It may be a sad state but I've given up caring about weight loss. I care about habits and I focus on my habits. My weight has started moving down again but it isn't my primary focus.