I feel like I'm really into the basic Sonoma lifestyle. I'm definitely at Wave 3 now and feel absolutely terrific - my clothes fit and I keep at the exercise and am getting firmer all the time.

BUT, I really have never gotten off artificial sweeteners. I still use a pack of Equal in my oatmeal and I greatly prefer my berries or grapefruit with a pack sprinkled on top. I have about 1 diet soda a day. I fill a little sugar bowl with the packets and they definitely get used up, so it's not just an occasional one here or there.

I can't say I ever really quit even when I was trying to take off the weight. I do not have a lot of sugar cravings at all now, in fact just about none - I used to keep those Coffee Nip candies around to satisfy a sweet tooth, but I quit that, too.

Just wondering how everyone else does - do you really eat oatmeal with no sweetening at all? The fruit of course when it's great is good without the sweet, but when it's less than fully ripe - a lot of things like berries and melon really benefit from a little sweet help.

I use sugar tree Torani syrups, made with Splenda on my oatmeal... Almond Roca, English Toffee or Caramel. YUM I eat it on my oatmeal twice a week and every few days have a square of Dark Chocolate.

Some people absolutely MUST stay off of artificial stuff in order to kick the sugar craving. Some don't. I never had that problem but some people do.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, and it may be Sonoma Sacrilege but some people don't need Wave one, IMHO. The whole purpose of that is to get rid of sugar cravings. I don't feel I have a craving when I use the stuff twice a week and have a square of chocolate now and then, but we each need to decide what works for us. If not having sugar free stuff is going to send you on a binge of junk, then have some but like with anything, portion control is key.

I'm going to be completely honest here...I generally follow the Sonoma principes, but I still have 1 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee (1 mug per day). Other than wanting sugar in my coffee, I really don't have sugar cravings. I'm one of those people who doesn't even really like most desserts...so, I'm ok with that 1 teaspoon!

Although I am an admitted Choco-haulic. When it comes to my food, I don't like sweetners. Oatmeal has to be plain. Cereal has to be plain. Love Chex, Corn Flakes, and Cheerio O's. I think alot of it has to do with the way you were raised. We were very poor (I mean like out house poor) and sugar was a luxury. Nothing we ate had sweetener on it (except occasionally) and I think I just got used to it and now that's what I prefer.

I too feel very comfortable with this way of eating. I still have weight to lose and should be on Wave 2, but am behaving more like I'm on Wave 3.

I've never been able to tolerate extremely sweet foods, always needed some fat to make it taste good. So years ago when I cleaned up my diet because of a potentially serious health problem it wasn't a big deal to eat less sugar. And to be honest, at that time artificial sweeteners scared me even more than sugar so I didn't make any substitutions.

Unfortunately, over the years my eating slowly got worse and I've been trying to clean it up again. Once in a while I want something sweet, so I have it. Usually fruit satisfies my sweet craving. I may have plain yogurt sweetened with honey and sliced strawberries (yum!) or a bit of pure maple syrup on a protein pancake. On very rare occasions I will sprinkle some "sugar in the raw" on my cereal or oatmeal, but 99% of the time eat it plain or with fruit.

I think, to make a successful lifestyle change, we all have to do what works for us. And eat mindfully, knowing that some things might not be so good for us so eat them in moderation.

I was a sugar addict nine weeks ago and I am amazed that this actually has worked for me. I tried many times to control my eating and always blamed a lack of will power. I was just hungry all of the time and needed that sugar fix. Even though I ate healthy food I was hooked on sweets and craved them from the time I woke up until I went to bed. Now I do not use any unnatural sugar or artificial sweeteners. I am not hungry between meals and do not crave anything! Amazing. I can not say enough good things about the Sonoma Diet. I do eat my oatmeal plain and find fruit to be a true pleasure. I was one of those people that had to cut all of the sugar out but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and now I don't even think about it.

Artificial Sweetners

I find that Stevia (they now have it in small packets like the artifical sweetners) is great. You can get it at any health food store and it's a plant based product. My naturopath recommended as she says the body cannot 'reconize' the chemical sweetners and therefore can't metabolize it. Tastes great to me and very little is required.

I use four packs of sweet and low a day. Two on my oatmeal and two in my coffee. I don't have any cravings for cookies and all that stuff like I used to. In fact, I bought my family some oreo cookies the other day (my fave) and actually forgot they were in the cabinet, until I saw them in the cupboard when I was looking for brown rice

I use one packet of Splenda in my hot tea every morning. When I eat cereal, I put one in it. Other than that, I have no trouble staying away from sweet things.
I've learned to love brown rice. Before, I couldn't stand the taste. 'Have to have my rice, though.