About 2 weeks ago I started having bathroom issues of the "non-C" type. I have been following the IP protocol (with alternatives for the most part) since the first part of May and have lost 21 pounds so am very happy with how things have gone for me. I have been maintaining my loss for the past few weeks as well doing my own sort of phasing off plan.

Nothing I was trying was helping with the "non-C" bathroom issue so I started to investigate what might be causing this to happen. It started one night after I had a protein bar as a snack and spent the next few hours running to the restroom, not a fun night.

I am thinking I have solved my situation and that sucralose is the problem.

The RTD shakes as well as the WF products I have been using as well as the protein bars all have sucralose. I did some looking online and found that sucralose (as well as other artificial sweeteners) can cause some individuals to have diarrhea. I know you shouldn't believe everything you read online but I spent quite a bit of time looking for information and kept finding the same information from numerous searches.

I was kind of surprised because I had been using the same products for almost 2 months without any side effects. Starting this morning, I have eliminated any products with sucralose from my diet and things are definitely settling down. Not sure how willing I am to test my hypothesis about sucralose but maybe if things continue to stabilize for me I may see what happens.

I am bummed, I loved the WF 1000 Island dressing and also the RTD shakes...however, I have found Jillian M's whey protein powder that does not contain any artificial sweeteners and also a bar that does not contain sucralose as well. I am going to wait a couple of days to be sure things are settled down and then slowly test some other products.

I also looked at the IP nutritional information sheet and while all of their packets do not have sucralose, many of them do.

Have others experienced anything like this where your system all of a sudden just rebelled against artificial sweeteners...of the sucralose or Splenda variety!?

Actually, more people have a sensitivity to the sugar alcohols than to the sucralose in products. If you check out the ingredients list there are probably a number of them (they usually end with the letters "ol") such as: (the following was taken from a SparkPeople article)

Erythritol
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
Isomalt
Lactitol
Maltitol
Mannitol
Sorbitol
Xylitol

For some people, consuming certain sugar alcohols in excessive amounts may cause gastrointestinal upsets such as gas, bloating and diarrhea. Whether or not you will experience problems will depend on your individual sensitivity level and the other foods you consume at the same time. It is best to find your individual tolerance level when using these food ingredients, and to avoid them if they cause discomfort.

I am not entirely sure if it was the sucralose or the sugar alcohols, all I know is I have cut out WF products, Pure Protein bars, and EAS RTD shakes and no more issues. I shopped around and found a snack bar and a protein powder neither of which has any artifical sweeteners. I made a spinach smoothie this morning with the protein powder and all is well. Have not tried the snack bar yet, will wait a few days for that. I may try to use the WF 1000 Island dressing again as I love the Big Mac in a Bowl but for now, I am steering clear of anything that might have been causing my problems. The weird thing is it wasn't like I all of a sudden increased my consumption of certain items but all of a sudden my system just rebelled. Just glad my issues seem to have been resolved. Thanks.