When I first went keto/lchf, I went without ANY sweeteners of ANY kind for the first 6 months or so.
Not going to lie, it was HARD! But I actually had a lot of benefit:
- Very little craving, and I tended to eat less often because of less “food reward”.
- Lost my sweet tooth and to this day I have a lot lower tolerance for sweet
- Focused on other, real, nutrient dense foods instead of faux foods
- I found many foods that surprised me by their natural sweetness, like almonds, coconut, Brussels sprouts
- Many foods tasted WONDERFUL, better than I ever noticed before without the screen of constant sweetness
- Lost a lot of weight (not fully attributable to no sweeteners, I know)
I did this for a good, long while, but I did get tired of how bitter some foods were and so gradually I began to add sweeteners back in (erithrytol and xylitol work best for me), tiny bits at first but then use creept up and up and I find myself relying on sweeteners too much again (I still use very little sweetener compared to most people).
For me, it’s time to do a reset. At the stroke of midnight on NY Eve, the door closes on sweeteners of any kind for me. No “natural sweeteners” like stevia, puree fruit, honey, maple syrup, or molasses (I don’t use these as a general rule anyway!), no artificial sweeteners of any kind (for me that means no erythritol or xylitol). Just real (keto) food.
I’m not setting a hard end date. I plan to do it for a month at least, and then see from there. I’m hoping I will go much longer, but it remains to be seen.
Would anyone like to join me?
It’s a stretch and a challenge, not easy, but big rewards. You can take pride in ANY length of time you do manage it. Let me know if you are joining in.