How do you kick the sweetener habit?

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #26

I probably should, huh ? :slight_smile: lol

I used to be able to buy a box of 1500 packets for like $12, and it would last for like 3 months. Then, they quit selling those, and went to 1000 packets of Splenda brand, for $20 :frowning: :frowning: :frowning:

It would take a lot more than one episode of Dr. Oz to change my mind about Splenda / sucralose.

PS, I read on Wiki, that tests had been done, which showed that eating the equivalent of 3300 packets of Splenda a day, could cause kidney failure… So my body building buddy and I decided to make sure we always stay below 3000 packets a day, and we should be fine :slight_smile: lol

#27

I have to admit I used to be a die-hard fan and consumer of aspartame. I should have had stock in Diet Coke back then lol. Aspartame definitely triggered cravings for sugary food for me, probably an insulin reaction.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #28

I think they make one line of Coke now, that uses Splenda… and I’m sure it would taste better. I just don’t like drinks that heavy, for quenching my thirst.

(Lisa) #29

Hey, Chris, I’m a Splenda fan also. Do you ever use the liquid kind? It has no carbs, if those few in the packets are of any concern for you. Based on your pic, it doesn’t look like you need to worry about it! :grinning:

ETA I see that you’re getting back into shape following a back injury. I’m sure you will be back there in no time!

(Jill Carpenter aka space coast spinster) #30

Dude you out do me on the Splenda! :rofl:

I get this now for less than $5.00

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And then I refill it in this container for my coffee​:rofl::rofl::rofl:

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I’ve cut down to half a teaspoon per cup which is usually 2 cup max in the morning.

I’m in Florida and can get this for a dollar though

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(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #31

Well, I’m sure the weight loss will be easy… But gaining a lot of muscle takes years of blood, sweat, and tears. I really don’t know if my life would even allow that now. But I do hope to get a lot leaner, and get 90% of my cardio back…

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #32

I haven’t used the liquid, but I’m sure it would be fine. I’m guessing all sucralose is great, regardless of the delivery system :slightly_smiling_face:

(Jane Srygley) #33

You look awesome! If sweeteners work for you, that’s great. I used to be able to lose weight while using them, but I’m 56yo now and my body has really changed. I have long-term insulin resistance and have read enough to convince me that sweeteners may not raise blood sugar, but they do cause insulin to spike, so I think it’s important for me to either eliminate or at least cut back on them drastically.

Also, while you may seem completely fine, splenda has been shown to negatively affect gut bacteria, so something to keep in mind. KCKO :slight_smile:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #34

I’ve been following this discussion with some degree of disinterested mirth, but I missed the above until @AuntJane just quoted it. This is just dumb. So I’m guessing it was meant as a joke, hence the ending wink. My problem with it is that so many people reading this, and looking for justification, will take it seriously. I hope not.

(Jane Srygley) #35

I agree with that, thank you Michael. Also, please remember those of you that CAN eat sweeteners with impunity (@FishChris for instance) , not everyone is like you. I have real health and chronic pain issues that I am trying to solve, so this stuff isn’t a joking matter for me, and to talk about how much sweetener you can eat when I’m asking for support to give it up is a bit like responding to someone asking for help to give up alcohol by talking about how much you love to booze it up. You do keto the way it works for you. I have to do what works for me–and stop doing what doesn’t.

(George) #36

Shit if Splenda can help me get forearms like those I’ll chug the stuff. I’m having a tough time sculpting mine! lol

(Susan) #37

What about doing cold turkey on the sweeteners, but to make it less difficult, make some sweetener free Keto Fat Bombs… so you still have a treat?

I make some with Cream Cheese, Coconut Oil (I melt first) and frozen raspberries, you can also add some Cocoa if you want, and blend all with a hand mixer, then put in silicone mold, put in freezer until frozen, then pop them into an airtight container in the freezer, and take one out when you want one =).

(George) #38

The very few times I make fat bombs, I never add sweetener, and it tastes just fine to me! If folks gave it a shot I’m sure it would help kick the sweetener habit.

I usually do 8 oz cream cheese with half cup of heavy cream, tablespoon or 2 of vanilla extract, juice from 1/4 of a lemon, along with zest from half of lemon, blend with hand mixer, put in fridge overnight and that’ll get me a few servings of crustless lemon cheesecake. If I want to thicken up the texture I’ll add an egg and bake in cupcake baking trays, and add the whipped cream afterwards.

(Susan) #39

That recipe sounds delicious, George, thanks, I will have to try that =).

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #40

Try this one.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #41

I am sorry. I’m sure you understand that it’s hard to not talk from one’s own personal experience. So if you want to talk about chronic pain keep in mind that I’ve had fibromyalgia for 32 years. I know about chronic pain!!!
11 years ago when I was at my worst it hurt me to walk across the living room .
At that point in my life I did a complete Health flip. Started eating a super clean basically Paleo diet. The only exception was splenda for my sweetener… But I always felt like that was much better than the tons of pure sugar I used to eat.
Within one year my chronic pain had been reduced by 90 to 95% !
… In spite of all the artificial sweeteners i ate.
Then my back injury :frowning:
Lost all of my muscle and over the last four years had started to put on some more fat :frowning: And some of my chronic pain had started to creep back.
So I started the whole keto lifestyle about 5 weeks ago. I’ve lost about 20 lb and I’m feeling fantastic :slightly_smiling_face: really feel like I’m quickly getting back to that 90 to 95% reduced fibromyalgia symptoms.

In any case if you feel like artificial sweeteners are causing you problems then by all means, you should do whatever you have to to cut them out and then see for yourself if you notice any improvements.
I do believe though that a lot of people get caught up in all the hype about artificial sweeteners being terrible… Because it seems like they would be, but honestly I think artificial sweeteners in particular Splenda typically don’t cause any problems whatsoever.

Might I get cancer or some sort of hideous disease down the road ? Honestly for myself I think it’s more likely than not…
But not because of artificial sweeteners, rather because 30 years ago right around the time I developed fibromyalgia, I had been working in a stuff similar to agent Orange ! :open_mouth:
Very surprised I haven’t ended up with cancer already… But thanks to keto I feel great today :slightly_smiling_face:

(Jane Srygley) #42

Your progress is awesome, Chris. Hopefully I’ll reap those same benefits someday. I’ve been doing this consistently for about 5 weeks also and still having issues and almost no weight loss, so this is why I feel like I haven’t quite found my answer yet. Good luck to you in your keto/health journey :heart:

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #43

Well I’m the first to admit, everybody is different, not only in dealing with chronic conditions like Fibromyalgia, but also, on just losing fat and putting on some muscle.
I’d say to just keep switching it up, until you find what works for you :slightly_smiling_face:

(PSackmann) #44

Hi Jane,

Going back to the original question, when I removed sweeteners from my menu recently, I started substituting a dash of vanilla and a dash of salt in my coffee. Also, occasionally adding some broken cinnamon sticks to the coffee ground before brewing. Those helped me to get over the flavor difference, which is what I needed to skip the sweeteners. It’s been a couple of months and I can now drink black coffee when I need to, since I also don’t use any creamers except for HWC. Totally new taste sensation.
The only fat bombs I’ve made were half (by weight) 90% dark chocolate and half coconut oil, with a few dashes of peppermint extract, vanilla, and a bit of salt. Came out heavenly, and since they weren’t sweet they didn’t give me any cravings. I haven’t made them in several months, just don’t have the desire for them anymore.

(Bunny) #45

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Knowing that it stores itself in adipose tissue (bioaccumulates) is all I need to know! If it was processed by a human it is a toxic poison!

[1] Splenda: The Artificial Sweetener that Explodes Internally

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[2] The Deadly Neurotoxin Nearly EVERYONE Uses Daily (VIDEO): Concerned scientists and researchers fought and were successful in keeping aspartame out of the food supply for over 10 years, and many of those still alive continue to speak out against it today. …More

[3] “…Last year, a team of Israeli scientists conducted a study that looked at the effects of artificial sweeteners on mice. They hoped to find evidence linking the sweeteners to obesity and other sugar related diseases, such as diabetes. Though they weren’t the first to run such an experiment, they were pioneers in terms of their rather astounding results. The team found that, when compared to glucose and sucrose, the artificial sweeteners [aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low)] had altered the population of trillions of microbes in the mice’s digestive tracts. The gut bacteria that are associated with greater calorie extraction from food (which make more calories available to the body) and fat storage had increased. This means that even though nonnutritive sweeteners contain little to no calories, they may alter our gut bacteria so that more calories than necessary are taken from our food and stored in the body as fat.

The way humans (and mice) digest and extract energy relies not only on genetics but also the microbes in our guts, collectively named the “gut microbiome.” Together, microbes and genes handle the energy in our food and either store it or discard it.

After 11 weeks, the mice had extremely high blood sugar (glucose) levels, indicating that their bodies were having trouble absorbing this glucose from their blood. This is important to acknowledge, since this glucose intolerance can lead to a slew of other health issues including diabetes, and liver and heart disease.

Researchers had volunteers sip water sweetened with sucralose or sugar while an MRI scan was performed. Volunteers experienced a sweet taste from both sugar and sucralose. However, the MRI scans revealed that sugar stimulated the reward system in the brain while sucralose did not. So, though we may experience a sweet taste from both sugar and sucralose, our brains may not receive the same level of pleasure and satisfaction from an artificial sugar, which may in turn leader to great cravings for sweets. …” …More

[4] Low-calorie sweeteners promote fat accumulation in human fat