As hard as it may be to get use to this, I've decided to give up these once and for all...wny? Because I just want more every time I delve into something of this sort...and I don't like that feeling...so because I am in a weight range now that's good for me, I've decided that if I do want something a little sweet, I will enjoy 1/2 a yam or sweet potato with butter on it once a week...I just see this as a better choice for me when it comes to wanting something with a sweet taste...might be a little on the carby side but I know adding in 1/2 of one a week will not break me - as I already did last Saturday - and as of this morning, I am finally back to 126 (after hitting 129 on she scale a week ago - yikes!!!)...so I'm getting close to my weight range but like I said before not going to worry about it anymore...and wait - it's not going to be hard for me to get use to giving up those sweeteners! I know I'll probably even feel much better without that in my system!

Sheyla

I had a personal "no sweets" challenge last summer. You are right in that it did feel good. You see, I normally eat quite a bit of alternative sweetners, what with my coffee, tea, diet pepsi, and LC treats, etc.

It showed me that I could live without sweets if I wanted to, and I lost about 3 lbs. Perhaps, only because I was much more conscious about what I was eating. But, still...

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Sheyla,

You are very wise to do this and if you can do it, your perseverence will be rewarded. You will feel AMAZING and your cravings for such things will become almost non-existent.

I did it once -- but didn't stay with it. :(
WHY? WHY? WHY???!

I'm doing *better* now because I HAVE to limit my A.S. due to the fact that I am still nursing my baby (in fact, I avoid aspartame completely), but I could do better. And like you, I find that the more I use them (or worse, give in to the real thing: sugar [ugh!]), the more I crave sweets.

I'm cheering you on & I hope you'll keep us all posted on your progress.
Good luck!

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Summer

Sheyla, if you can handle the blood glucose surge with the sweet potato and don't end up with cravings after it - enjoy. Personally, I love sweet potatoes but would end up back in the craving cycle.
Karen

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Sheyla - Good for you! I gave up diet sodas over a year ago and have only slipped up once or twice in that time. But I just like my coffee with a little sweetness to it, about 1/2 packet splenda. But I wish i could give even that little bit up. I've even managed to wean myself off my once a month low carb ice cream indulgence because once I got that sweet taste I couldn't stop eating it. And I never had a sweet tooth before. I think the LOw carb woe makes you more sensitive to sweet cravings or maybe that's just me. But good luck. You're doing so much right.

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Oh wow, i really wished i could give up or even cut back on the sweets. At this point no need for me to say i will, and i know that if i keep fruits on hand it would be better than some of the other choices i have,but im so stubborn and i still have a lot of not so wise choices.
I am thoroughly convinced tho that this is a phase of my reconstruction that im going through and eventually i will be off the sweets. It seems to be the pattern ive been going through all year.

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Started LC 1-10-04

302/199/160, 103lbs down, 39 to go, simply remarkable.

Restart- 8-19-07
242/226/160


405 points to date ( HOLIDAY CHALLENGE )

More power to ya Sheyla!!!! I personally don't think I will ever be able to give up my AS habit, but to each his/her own. I try to use Stevia whenever possible. I figure it's the MOST natural sweetener and it takes so little. I use splenda too. I avoid aspartame whenever possible. Now if I could find a rootbeer soda that is sweetened with splenda, my life would be complete. j/k. I must say though, after a year and a half + on this woe, I am much more particular about my sweet treats. I think I would rather treat myself to a good ole' baked red potato every now and then. While I was pregnant with my first child, my tastes changed dramatically. Before then, I would have taken a potato over a candy bar. After that, I would have scratched someones eyes out for a chocolate bar. Now I'm back to appreciating the taste of a potato, with ALL the yummy toppings. And I'm not nearly potato-phobic now like I was in the beginning. But then again, I'm kinda in maintenance mode now too.

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It's not as difficult as I thought it would be giving up A.S. - but I also gave up Splenda. (it's too sweet for my taste) And I know if Splenda is too sweet for my taste, there is no way I would even be able to handle Stevia. (I've heard it's the sweetest of all of 'em)...I basically gave them up a week ago and haven't even had any sugar cravings...and the sweet potato doesn't even send me into cravings...I put butter on it, and it is the best tasting dessert I have ever had!

Sheyla

It's interesting how our tastes change. When we go out for dinner and I have a salad, and they put on cherry tomatoes, they taste like candy to me.

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now i've got a mental image of barb, scratch somebody's eye for a chocolate bar...

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Sheyla - I'm really glad to hear it is working out for you (and jealous about being able to enjoy the sweet potato - one of my favorites - maybe by the time I get to maintenance I'll be able to handle it)

Barb - Hansens makes a wonderful diet rootbeer with splenda. It is also no sodium and no caffine. I get mine at Raleys (aka Nob Hill) in the health food section. WinCo also carries it. Some health foods stores carry it too. Diet Rite also mades a selection of diet soda with splenda but no rootbeer (my favorite too). In the warm weather I have one every afternoon but now that the temps here are in the 60s - beautiful weather, I only have one occasionally. I have to completely stay away from aspartame - really gives me trouble - I think it is poison to my body - in June I was drinking safeway flavored water (about 20 oz a day) and didn't realized that it had aspartame in it - after a couple of weeks I got irregular heart beats and it took five days off of it to get my heart back to normal - bad stuff! I realize many can handle it but I no longer can.

I too love chocolate but caffine has been a problem for me for years so I have eliminated it and rarely miss it (doubt I would have scratched eyes out but I used to get really, really grumpy at DH when he would eat it in front of me in an enclosed car - now he knows better)
Karen

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giving up on artificial sweeteners is not a bad notion. However, why not have an apple rather than a yam?

Why? Even though it is lower carb than the yam, well, it sends me into ravenous cravings of wanting more and more and more...I keep on trying to add fruit back into what I eat..I've even added PB to my fruit, real whipped cream, cheese, etc...and nothing works to get rid of those cravings...but eating a yam has not done so to me nor has it put weight on me, and now that I'm in maintenance mold, I can afford to have a yam at least once a week.

Sheyla

It's all about finding what works for us. Sheyla, your mantra should be "I yam what I yam." LOL (as Popeye would say.)

Karen, I have tried some of Hansens sodas, but have never found it in rootbeer flavor. Hmmmmm, I'll have to peel my eyes wider to see if I can find it. Thanks for the tip.

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Sheyla, I'm with you about the fruit. I really have to limit them and then only to ones such as berries and a little cantaloupe. I admire that you've been able to cut out AS altogether. I've really dialed back on my consumption of them but there are some things that I just can't abide without a little sweetness to them. I'm lucky in that they don't cause me to have cravings. I can enjoy a small portion of a homemade LC treat and be satisfied. That was never true for me in my pre-LC days when I ate sugar-ladden treats. I'll have to try the occasional sweet potato as they were always a favorite of mine.

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>^..^<
Esther