Good info Dan. I've used artificial sweeteners for years, even before I tried to eat healthier and I honestly think it kept me from getting any heavier than I did. If all those sodas and flavored waters and light juices for example I drank had been full sugar rather than diet versions I would have had hundreds more calories every day. Of course you could say that it's best not to drink them at all and just drink water, but I hate the taste of water with minerals in it. I only like distilled water, which unfortunately pulls minerals out of people's bodies, so I have to have my water flavored somehow to cover up the nasty mineral taste, and I only drink distilled occasionally. About the only time I can usually stand clay-tasting or mineral-tasting water is in the summer time when I'm really hot and thirsty.
A lack of artificial sweeteners would also take away my ability to eat any dessert type items. Sugar free jello for example, 20 calories a box. You can't beat that. Fudgsicle no sugar added fudge bars I think are 40 or 45 calories. Without artificial sweeteners these wouldn't exist.
I agree that to some degree your tastes can change though. I used to eat regular yogurt and now I eat a brand called Kroger Carb Master. It's less sweet than regular yogurt and now I can't stand regular yogurt because it's overly sweet and not as thick as the low carb yogurt. I'm not on a low carb diet but I eat the kind of yogurt because it has fewer calories. It also has some artificial sweetener in it but it's less sweet than the regular sugar flavored version.
My recommendation would be to do your best with cutting out the artificial sweetners in your diet and using the organic natural sweetners, but less of it. I'll tell you, instead of white sugar, use brown sugar. If you need to drink soda, instead of diet soda, go 50/50 with regular soda with seltzer.
Dilute your fruit drinks with water if you can't stand regular water.
My father in law LOVES orange juice..he would drink a quart or a litre a day...I noticed that there is no more orange juice in the refrigerator..He is trying to lose wait and he is going about it the right way by cutting out juice completely. One glass of juice is 100+ calories and if that's all you drink, nothing you can do will help lose weight. The artificial sweetner drinks will screw up your body's metabolism also because it will become accustomed to the level of sweetness of the artificial sweetner and will only make you hungrier and eat more food.
With yougurt, mix half regular yougurt with non fat...or better yet go 2% down to 1% fat yougurt for example. Try to avoid artificial sweetners unless you are diabetic.
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