the other issue to consider, smiley, is about long term troublesome behavior and trying to examine then end habits that got us into trouble in the first place. If wanting a sweet after every meal is what got me fat, why would it pay me to keep that habit in place? Either I'll be eating sugar--carcinogenic, addictive, fat-producing--or artificial sweeteners--which cause two of the same three problems. If my whole life before LC revolved around acquiring "goodies," what's the difference in my new life still revolves around that? (okay, I'm in a smaller dress size, but in the final analysis, that doesn't change much.) What happens to me when I'm 'dying for' a dessert and s-f jello isn't around, only real chocolate chip cookies?

For me, I've decided it's crucial to be free of the food addictions, the compulsive eating, the old bad habits that--with very little inattention--will lead me back up to a size 20+, doubtless send me over the edge into diabetes, put me back that awful state of chronic exhaustion, keep me fixated on food, and so on. Each of us has to work through this issue for ourselves.