One of the reason that I quit WW was the constant celebration of 'fude'. It seemed that every recipe called for three cups of Splenda. People sang the praises of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (I can't believe you think you should eat it.) Hygrogenated oils? OK! HFCS? Why not? As long as people were losing, there was no focus on what they actually put into their bodies.

I have been posting in some of the other forums, but as someone who would rather eat a pound of sugar than a tsp of aspartame, I am excited to start coming here!

Onthetee, YOU speak my language! I eschew all things unnatural as well (no faux-food for me!)

I agree, we are just now converting after realizing the horrible effects the foods have on body and behavior (my son add/adhd). In fact I was just looking thru posted recipes in whfd group and many had splenda, is that considered ok? Cause recently I have been hearing some pretty bad stuff about it.

edzard, we all have to find our own happy medium. The right balance between what we're comfortable with - and what we're not. For some that is taking it to the absolute extreme and eating absolutely nothing with anything artificial in it. I personally will eat the occasional item with Splenda in it. I have never been healthier in my whole life and I have never felt better. It doesn't give me any ill affects such as headaches or added cravings. That's not to say I eat the stuff all day long, but I do have a sugar free ices every now and then and a diet soda every now and then. In other words moderation is the key for ME. I don't see the harm in having it occasionally. It helps to keep me on my plan and allows me to lose the weight that I need to get rid of. That is absolutely vital for me. But again, it's a personal choice. There are many who do it eat in a limited capacity while still adhering to a mostly whole foods diet and there are some who won't touch the stuff. One persons OK is another persons - not so ok. It's all a personal choice. There is no right or wrong answer - just different ones.

Rockinrobin said it all...it is a personal choice, but it certainly isn't a "whole food" . I would never eat any artificial sweeteners personally. (I've read all the "bad stuff" too but more importantly, my instincts tell me to avoid "faux-foods" and eat whole foods instead).

That was my beef with WW as well, thought they seem to be trying to focus on fiber more. You can do WW eating anything, but when you are bombarded with the recipes that are full of faux foods, it ca be hard to stay focused on improving the quality of the foods in one's diet while watching the calories. So now I keep a food diary and count calories and I gave away all my WW toys. I do keep a couple of cookbooks around.

As for sugar v. splenda debate, I agree with the comments that it is a personal choice. Our family really tries hard to stay away from aspartame - that stuff is just scary. I try to minimize all treats in general because sugary flavors are a food trigger for me and my body doesn't seems to care if it's real or fake. How sad is that....;P

I was going to join WW online last January and I stoped myself after a trial on the site. It was nearly impossible to look up the point values for the food I eat. I cook a lot, but I do avoid artifical anything (plus, HFCS, trans fats, etc. you get the picture.)

I agree that Splenda use is a personal choice. I won't use it though. Primarily that's because I'm leary of the FDA approval process. The FDA mainly looks at the studies done by the companies who make the products they are approving. Can we say vested interest? I just don't buy it just because the FDA says it's safe. I need more information. As far as aspartame~it aggravates TOM for me, so I REALLY avoid that! Of course I tend to be sensitive to a lot of things, so that's not a surprise to me.

Welcome onthetree. So glad you could join us.

LMAO "I can't believe you think you should eat it." Awesome.

rosieKate--

I laughed at your knitting away the pounds. In the winter months, my mom's motto for evening snacking is:


Knit, not nibble!

The craziest thing is trying to find gum that does not have aspartame, for me. Even sugar gum, like Big Red or Wrigley's has aspartame! When I run, I need gum, so I take it in small doses. I hate it, but I cannot fathom working out without my jaws in constant motion.

Well, there are a few options for gum without nasty junk but some are not quite vegan (they may have beeswax and so on):

Peelu
Xylichew
Glee Gum and
Steviadent

Thanks! I do my best to knit, not nibble...I have started knitting myself something pretty for every ten pounds I lose. My avatar pic is of me wearing my 10 lb loss "reward"

I just found glee gum the other day!