Recently I learned that artificial sweetners can cause people to gain weight because people who use them sometimes eat more. I'm one of those people. when I eat artificial sweetners I tend to want to eat all the time plus I pee a gazillion times a day! Since stopping the arificial sweetners I don't seem to feel like I want to eat more and the potty breaks are normal.
I wasn't using any sweetner for some time until about a week ago I started using Trader Joe's stevia. I know stevia is a natural sweenter but can this type of sweetner have the same affects as the artificial sweetners? The reason I'm asking is because last night while I was sipping tea w/stevia I had a binge episode and it's not the first time this has happened. Now I'm starting to rethink stevia.

My opinion is probably going to be unpopular but I gave up ALL of it, including Stevia. I found this thread on it here on 3FC

http://www.3fatchicks.com/8-stevia-side-effects/

Lol, my opinion on this is usually unpopular, too.

I do okay with some of the artificial sweeteners. My binges and cravings are triggered more by sucrose (table sugar) as well as high fructose corn syrup, honey, and other "healthy" sugars, although I still eat these too.

It took me years to realize how influenced I was by people who told me real sweeteners were better for me than artificial, among other dietary advice that proved to be wrong for me, personally.

I learned to believe in my own opinions, lost a lot of weight, and felt better, and I am still learning.

I think we are all kind of experiments of one and it is great to share results, which is why I love this forum.

Re stevia, I personally just don't like it, so haven't had enough of it to see if it triggers anything in my eating behavior. If I'd had an experience where it did trigger something or make me feel strange in any way, I'd never touch it again.

I watched an entire episode of Dr. Oz about artificial sweetners yesterday and he claims they cause insulin resistance and only make your body crave real sugar even more...which leads to binge eating.

I don't care for sugar period but I found it interesting.

I watched that show too a couple of months ago and decided right then I didn't want anything to do with artificial sweetners. On that same show he recommends stevia but to limit it to 2 packets a day. I don't use it every day but sometimes I do like it in my tea for when I want something sweet.
That show was a big eye opener for me!

I'm not a fan of Dr Oz but I think this is one thing you have to test out for yourself. Stevia is a sweetener and the way we eat it, it is a processed sweetener. Some people are perfectly fine with artificial sweeteners, some people are fine with some and some people decide that they need to cut them out completely.

I'm more of a moderation person myself but I've decided to try cutting down my sweeteners in general to see if that helps any.

My understanding is that the jury may still be out when it comes to the verdict on stevia... All that aside, I personally just don't care for its taste... So I don't really use it... I tried Nectresse recently and found I liked the taste better, so as far as "natural" no calorie sweeteners go, I could probably live with that one if I had to... And as far as the artificial ones go... I've just never cared for them, so I don't really use them...

Personally I've never had a problem with any of them, besides the taste of course, causing cravings or any other unpleasant side effects...but I've never used them in any great quantity either. I find them so sweet that all I need is a half packet to do the job...

These days I use one packet of Sugar in the Raw for the two cups of coffee that I drink in the morning... Yes it's 20 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrate that is all sugar... But it fits in with my plan... My blood sugar stays within normal limits... It doesn't cause me any unusual or abnormal psychological cravings... And I like the taste... Which is something that has always been important to me, whether I'm dieting or not...

Thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate your input. I've decided that I'm going to do an experiment this week. I'm going to avoid the stevia this week and note how I feel. Next week I'm going to use it to see if it causes me to eat more.

Misti in Seattle ~ Thanks for the link!

High fructose corn syrup you consider "healthy sugar?" LOL we DO indeed think differently.

But yes, everyone has to just check things out for themselves and make their own decision.

I should add that I also avoid almost ALL "fake food," highly processed food-like substances, and chemicals.

Um I don't know much about the whole argument. I use artificial sweetener sparingly. 2-3 times a week I will add a packet or two. And also I have to have a diet coke sometimes for the caffeine. Coffee makes me sick and I hate the taste of full sugar soda. My mom raised me on diet soda so I cannot stand the full sugar stuff in general.
My friend suggested I just pop a caffeine pill but that doesn't seem like the right solution. I'm working to totally cut the diet coke out of my system but I've never felt any binge effects and I've never craved real sugar after using something with an artificial sweetener in it. Quite the adverse, actually--when I have a sweet craving, sometimes half a can of diet sprite or diet coke will make it go away at least for a couple hours.
I don't ever feel an intense need to binge eat. my problem is more that i eat out of boredom or i'll eat it because its there. I'm doing better since I've been calorie counting.

Of course, I've only been steadily losing weight for about a month but already I've dropped a size so I must be doing something right. Also, I've successfully lost 50lbs before... just... I gained it all back whilst recovering from a really painful injury. I could've kept dieting even though I couldn't exercise but I didn't.

Anyway, that's just my two cents to the discussion. Very interesting conversation though!