What about Sweet and Low?

I think all artificial sweeteners have the "eat sweets, crave sweets" effect. Plus, don't forget, you are already getting some in your HNS daily.

All this talk of sweeteners scares me. I really work to avoid them, except in the HNS, especially aspartame! I wish they didn't have to be in the HNS, but it is the lesser of two evils, so I drink them.

I have switched to Truvia. I love it.

WI day. Another pound since Monday which now puts me at 12.5 pounds in 3 weeks. In addition, I had to drop a size in my jeans. What a great feeling! :)

As for the whole sweetner issue, I follow the Biggest Loser contestants on Twitter and they are big Truvia fans. I'll have to try it. I'm a Splenda girl at the moment.

Sweet N Low I totally avoid. When I was pregnant with my daughter, the OB gave me a list of things to avoid while pregnant, and Sweet N Low was on there. That's gotta tell ya something. I still avoid it like the plague.

Talking about sugars. I use Stevia extract, plus I grow the plant.. I never heard of truvia, but will look into it.

Patzi

Truvia is just the commercialized version of stevia extract.

I've grown stevia for a couple years, and I like Sun Crystals--it's a sugar/stevia mix. Truvia is almost too sweet for me, and Sun Crystals--though it still has some sugar in it--is only 5 calories per packet (1.3g).

Thanks Teacher Lady for info on truvia.
Suggestion for some that eat out who may have a problem with choosing OP.
I was at a meeting out of town last week, and there was nothing there that I could order OP so I did this.. I ordered a garden salad and shrimp, that was available steamed as an appetizer.. I always carry a FF dressing in a packet that I purchase from Diet Direct when I am out, and used that. I also had a HNS Gel and put that in water. No fruit available, but that was ok. I chose the best I could under the circumstances.. So, a salad with shrimp on top not a bad choice. If there was fruit for dessert, I would have ordered some strawberries or cantaloupe, but there wasn't. I always check to make sure the fruit had not been doctored with sugar.
Hope this helps someone..
Patzi

Stabilization.
I am on Meta Slim.. Stabilization for me the first week is adding a starch. There are many choices... Also, I was told to limit my HNS to 2 a day and one creamy. If no creamy, then three a day..
Will report on week two when I get there.
Patzi

Thanks for the update Patzi. I hope it is going well for you. When was your first day of stabilization officially?

Well, they talked to me about stabilization today! How funny! They wanted to start it next week, but after I told them about my cruise in 4 weeks, we discussed it and postponed it. Now it will be a week after the cruise that I will start. I am so excited!

I would not recommend ordering any starches at a restaurant. I do keep 4 pieces of melba toast in my purse for situations like this, that will cover 2 meals if needed. I also have 2 HSN concentrates and a meal replacement bar in my purse to help cover situations like this (if you don't want to eat these in the restaraunt then eat them in them before or after going in. I would probably have skipped the fruit because the plan is based on chemical reactions caused by the food we eat and not just calories in versus calories out.

Hope this helps,
Mariah

That's awesome! I have a ways to go but hopefully before November I will be joining you in stablization/maintenence. Great Job!:bravo:

Mariah

REGARDING STEVIA:

From http://www.truvia.com/
"Truvia™ natural sweetener is a zero-calorie sweetener made with the best tasting part of the stevia plant."

Many great looking recipes provided here too.

I've used this approach with my kids for years, I guess it's time to use it on myself - though I really have not been hungry yet.

Mariah

I have become a pro at knowing which veggies are "heavier" and eating more of those. Cauliflower is especially dense when coooked and you only have to eat a little of it. I save salads for when I am really hungry and make sure to include cucumber and tomoato to make it weigh more with less volume.

Mariah

CONGRATS ON THE LOSS AND THE NEW PANT SIZE! Also, I don't use sweeteners very often but when I do it is Truvia and I really like it.