I use a lot of splenda, but I also switch it up with stevia (I bought PYoure? from whole foods - good, no bitterness!). My 2nd WI tomorrow so we will see if it matters!

Curious if there are any more thoughts on this. I have increased my splenda use in the last few days because I wanted something different to drink (I added splenda to decaf tea and had that (a lot) and I had a couple diet sodas sweetened with splenda. So, between that and my liberal use of hte veggies, I estimate that excluding the ideal protein foods themselves I am at around 35g carbs. Will I never hit ketosis at this rate if hte IP foods add another 20? I am trying to make this work but need it to be a livable solution . . .

I've been using stevia as my sweetener for many years now. At first it wasn't even approved by the FDA as a sweetener, it had to be sold as a 'nutritional supplement'. (it would have been too much competition for aspartame, a product that had been initially rejected by the FDA, but turned later into a money-making wonder capable of manipulating the FDA's will, apparently).
Anyway, so stevia does have a bitter aftertaste, to which i'm completely used to by now. When I signed up for this program I asked the physician who did my consultation if stevia consumption was ok, and she said that it was allowed as long as it was the kind of stevia that contains zero carbohydrates. Apparently there are some brands that, like splenda, contain >1 g carb. So, all of this just to say that make sure you check the label of the stevia packet if you decide to buy one. Also, it might be worth it to give it a shot and try to get used to the bitter after taste, as it is a natural product, as opposed to a synthetic chemical compound (sucralose), which we are consuming plenty of through the IP packets already.

John,
Thanks for the great input and analogy:D

Things that make you go hmmm
 

Hmmmm, guess I should try to switch to Stevia. Which do you use? I was told both were ok on IP but I am sure they didn't think I would use 3-4 packets a day :/ Anyway, when at the store I was a bit confused by the Stevia options (stevia in the raw, truvia, a few other "via's") and I wasn't sure which one of those was the approved stevia so I stuck with Splenda. Now I am reconsidering.

Another question . . . does anyone know how to determine when you fall out of ketosis? This is day 5 for me, and I believe I should be in ketosis but I really have no idea. I have been too liberal with my veggies and had a few too many splenda packets, but otherwise have been good. I would like to assume I am in it, but after reading these threads last night and plugging in my nutritional data I am between 50-60 by my best estimate. This, according to the post above, could put me out of ketosis. Any way for me to know?

I use "Sweet Leaf". I find it at the local grocery store, but not where the other stevia brands are (truvia, etc), it's in the health foods isle.

As far as ketosis, I have no clue. I have wondered about it myself. I read many of the posts in here about it, and some people rely on the ketostix to test for it, while others seem to think that they are not reliable. So I ended up buying them just a few days ago. Out of all the times I've used them one time it showed I was NOT in ketosis, and the rest showed "trace". But I couldn't tell from how I felt. I'm starting a journal today to document things like that.. as I think that it probably differs from person to person. I, for one, don't have ketone breath, while others do.

Truvia is actually made with sugar and technically the worst out of all the sweetners (barring aspartame of course). Splenda in the packet has sugar in it as well/a carb whereas splenda in the bulk bags do not contain these ingredients.

Just an FYI from a bio-chemist....

My mom drinks a lot of coffee and she tried putting the WF carmel syrup in her coffee and she did not even have to put her normal splenda in it. She said it was sweet enough with just the syrup...just a suggestion try it and let us know how you like it!

I have been using splenda in my coffee and also in my ice tea. I probably use about 4 or 5 tsp a day. I'm still in ketosis as per the test strip last night, so as long as those strips are pink, I'll keep using the splenda.

So now what ???? Cause if splenda is not supposed to be consumed to more than two packets a day and you have say.....an arizona iced tea stix drink mix...which contains splenda..then how much do you have for the day????? do you cut it out or what??