I know that Schwarzbein has set her program dead against ANY man-made substances -- especially sweetners. I seems from other discussions that Splenda may not have the same effects on you as aspertame, saccharine, etc. Is that true? So far, I've eschewed any sweetners, but my coffee would satisfy my sweet cravings all day if there was anyting at all that I could use...

Hi!
try Stevia Plus in your coffee, ether packets or drops. it is not man made, but you would have to experiment in order to find the amount that sweetens without giving you licorice aftertaste. I find that a whole packet is too much for my cup, enough for a whole pot of coffee. otherwise, use splenda or dare to use other artificial sweeteners now and then. I read SP book, and many others, their advice on artificial sweeteners should be taken with some grain of salt IMHO. I guess it depends on your character, if you are a purist, use Stevia or even crystalline fructose for a sweetener, if you are a free spirit and do not mind living dangerously, lol, go ahead and have artificial sweeteners. to find out whether they affect your liver/weight loss you need to give them each a 2 week trial and see the effects on mood and weight loss. best wishes, Mila.

Hi Ghoti, I saw your post in the other thread about artificial sweeteners and gave this issue some thought. Removing all artificial sweeteners might cause a low carber to slip up on worse foods. I read Schwarzbein and she is pretty adamant about getting rid of everything sweet and man made, but she also says to take it little by little. I would rather temporarily satisfy my sweet tooth by having a packet of this or that rather than end up eating a bowl of gummy pasta or a slab of cake.

My personal opinion is NutraSweet is horribly dangerous. Splenda and Sweet N Low don't seem to stall me and I love the taste. Stevia is great but powerfully sweet, so only use a little bit at a time. Stevia can be purchaced at a heath food store and it is a completely natural herb. I remember reading somewhere that in Schwarzbein's new book she addresses the topic of art. sweeteners and this time around she is a bit more lenient.

Hi Ghoti...anyone who quotes Frost has my immediate attention!

If you haven't already, check out Doreen's excellent article on AS here .

As with anything, its up to you and what your body can handle. Early on I couldn't really tolerate AS well and would get bad cravings though it never stalled me. My problem with AS is that if I have something dessert like around, I can't really NOT eat it and I ended up stalled because of the calories.

Give it a try and just be aware of any reactions!

Lisa

Ghoti, in this and your other post on sweeteners, you seem to think that TSP says absolutely no to all artificial sweeteners. That's not the case. While Dr. S. recommends that you not use AS, she does not ever say you can't. Just as she does not say you can't drink caffeinated coffee.

Instead she says that she recommends that you cut out all AS, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, etc. She also makes the point in a number of places that people have been successful while still ingesting alcohol and caffeine. She just doesn't like it.

I think that the most important thing about TSP or any program is that you tailor it to your own needs. I don't think anyone, including me, follows it to the letter -- I use yogurt and buttermilk and have an occassional small glass of whole milk.

So, take the advice of the others on what AS are best and make your own informed decisions on how you will follow the program. That's my advice...

;-Deb