I LOVE Sweets. Does That Make Me a Keto FRAUD?

(Tracy) #1

I went through a phase where I pretended that I could live without sweets on Keto. It lasted about 2 miserable weeks. So here’s my question - what’s the harm in enjoying monk fruit, erythritol, stevia, you know, all the safe sweeteners? I keep hearing fellow ketoers say they are against any kind of sweetener. As long as I’m not making a meal out of desserts and I’m not gaining weight, what’s the problem? If the answer is that it’s a gateway to fall off the keto-wagon, that has never happened to me and won’t as long as I have my monk fruit.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

I think you’ve answered your own question. The only caution I would add is that there may be long term affects that don’t become apparent until later. Otherwise, it’s your life.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

You don’t have to dislike sweets to eat a ketogenic diet. If non-sugar sweeteners help you eat this way, then more power to you. But some people find that certain of these sweeteners have a detrimental effect on them (and it seems to be a different sweetener for everyone, so you have to experiment to see which ones work for you). Also, a lot of sugar/carb addicts find that it is easier for them to avoid sweet tastes altogether, because that way they miss them less.

#4

It is your eating… it is your decision. Sweeteners can be a bit tricky. For me some of them trigger appetite. Others unsettle my system. Also if you cut down on them a bit you may appreciate the sweetness in foods that you do not think of as sweets like some veggies and berries. Have a good keto journey

#5

agree with others here that if zero carb sweet treats you do well on, are at your desired goals and feeling ‘ever so healthy’ and U are fine here, then so be it for you and that is a good thing but health goes farther on ‘real food’ vs fake manufactured food with chemical equations in there and what is ‘real’ vs ‘what is fake’ on your body but again, if you thrive then cool but so many do not, so yea personal goals and more here about ‘what real food is’ vs. fake food thru manufacturing so? just too personal to go there with your life goals and eating plan and of course what you do well on NOW could easily work against you later so just be open to that.

(Tracy) #6

That brings up something I’ve noticed about my eating habits. I used to live on junk. I couldn’t buy my groceries without grabbing a candy bar. I ate sweets so often that I don’t think I even appreciated them. Now, when make a dessert, I savor the taste and appreciate having it with my coffee. I feel like I have complete control over the portion and frequency.

(Edith) #7

I tried keto desserts at first but just didn’t really like the after taste of most of the sweeteners, and allulose gave my husband a racing heart.

You may find the longer you are on keto, the less you want things like that, and the less you want to put artificial “food” in your body.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #8

I refuse to give up dark chocolate and wine. I have been doing this for over 4 yrs. I make fat bombs and other treats with stevia, it works for me. If it works for you using other sweeteners then just enjoy it.

Please don’t do the negative self talk. If you enjoy your eating, are getting the results you want, no fraud is involved.

KCKO

#9

You crave sweetness.

The real sweetener is to be sweet to yourself. Be kind to you. Love yourself. Accept yourself just exactly how you are.

Don’t worry about “measuring up” or being a fraud. KCKO and one day you will put a sweetened treat in your mouth…and it may taste very different to you.

#10

I agree and I see it just as you IF YOU ARE that person that this suits you and all I goals are acheived you desire and you are ‘set and fine’ then darn keep doing just that! We are not ALL needing all sweet gone ever, we are not all on that path of 'fake chem junk or processed ‘better food’ we buy is bad for us cause it is us and what works. DO you at all times OP and stop the fraud chat just like Collaroygal said…this is YOU and do you if great and if no troubles and fine, don’t make any for yourself LOL just be open to change later if you need it.

#11

Those aren’t “fellow” keto’rs. They’re the keto answer to veganism. This is a religion for them. If somebody legitimately identifies a problem with one of them that’s understandable, but the mindset of never sweetening anything? Never eating a baked good that doesn’t taste like cardboard? Ya, no thanks!

There isn’t one! Once you go into that drastic mindset then keto becomes the overly restrictive diet that non-keto people claim it is!

#12

2 weeks? I needed carnivore for that :smiley: I ate weeks every day on my original keto. I personally have nothing against them in general.
Sweetness and sweeteners may cause problems for certain people. They surely aren’t for everyone.
It’s fine and dandy to have the attitude that sweets aren’t normal foods but we people are different, I can’t agree with it in general. Sweets are almost normal food to me. Not exactly, I never wanted sweets when I was hungry but they are proper, nutritious food to me and if someone loving sweets more than me half-lives on them, I see no problem unless they do it wrong, not getting the necessary nutrients or if eating sweets galore causes problems for them for some reason.
I personally wouldn’t like to eat tons of sweeteners, it feels wrong somehow. ots of desserts? Fine. Lots os sweeteners not so much but I guess even that is fine for some people. I never felt I ate too much sweeteners, I just have these ideas that I shouldn’t focus too much on sweets and sweeteners, it doesn’t feel mentally healthy to me, being sweets addicts… But if it works for others, fine, each to their own. (So I have nothing against eating cake for a meal. I wouldn’t do it but others may.)

I have nothing against snacks either. I understand the reasons against them but if someone feels great with them or even needs them, up to them. Sometimes even I have tiny meals (I think they are called snacks, usually), I wouldn’t give them up, they are rare anyway. If I feel the need or fancy a bite, I won’t hold back as my body never complained.

Falling off is individual. I needed my lots of sweets to be able to do keto in the “beginning” (all the time during vegetarian keto)… Sweeteners never made me crave sugar etc.

But learning to love unsweetened (and carnivore if possible) desserts are ideal to me… :wink: But I had to have my sweetener years first, I couldn’t just jump into this. And no desserts are out of question.

#13

Not everyone’s tastebuds work like yours. My unsweetened cakes are perfectly fine, I start to prefer them over sweetened ones now just like I preferred unsweetened chocolate over sweetened one when I still liked chocolate. Well it depends on the cake or other sweets, I barely started to have unsweetened ones so I have a long way to go I guess but I enjoy more and more desserts without sweeteners.
People have valid reasons to avoid sweeteners, it’s fine as long as they don’t think everyone should eat like that.

#14

That’s correct, but let’s be realistic… most do. Most people like their “sweets” to be sweet. If you like them without it that’s great, but you must realize you’re very much the minority with that.

I agree some do, but most do it out of a fear it’s doing something to them that it’s not. I agree, on the being pushy, but you’re here too, you see how that goes.

(Tracy) #15

When I first started Keto I didn’t know much about sweeteners. I was afraid to use too much Erythritol in a recipe, maybe because it was expensive too. So I have a habit of using about half of the sweetener a recipe calls for and it has caused me to prefer the less sweet taste. When I see someone make a dessert and they use 2 cups of powdered erythritol I don’t know how they can bring themselves to eat it.

(Vic) #16

If zero carb sweetners help you eat healthy, go for it.

I stay away from all refined factory food.
So the only sweetner I will use is honey.
Not zero carb. But straight from the hive to my plate, no factory processing involved.
The carbs don’t matter, I use about 5 teaspoons of honey per year. Mostly in full fat milk.

(Bob M) #17

Honey + milk = ?

I have never heard anyone of doing this, but that means nothing. Heck, I used to add ketchup/catsup to soup when I was younger; probably not a lot of people did that.

Speaking of “sweet” things, I started using low carb ketchup again at times. Great on a hot dog or sometimes a burger, though I combine with mustard. Also, makes a great cocktail sauce.

I’ve even started using low carb BBQ sauces periodically.

(UsedToBeT2D) #18

What I’ve learned Keto, and reversal or management of chronic disease, like T2D, is that artificial stuff just isn’t good for my body. Even though short term effects are not apparent. It took 30 years for carbohydrates and refined sugar to destroy my metabolism.
That said, even I occasionally poison myself, but with real sweeteners.

(Vic) #19

Its like one of those things my grandmother would swear by. A cup of hot milk with honey.

As a child we were encouraged to drink it in the winter.

I will look into this low carb bbq sauce, if it’s available here. Sounds like a tasty idea for some kind of carnivore bbq piza experiment.

#20

My mother used to give me hot milk with honey when I was sick as a child