Sugar free... forever?

[nh-vsgirl 102]

So while I realize many of the things I've come to love food and habit wise will become a distant memory once I'm post op.... however.... am I doomed to a life of artificial sweetener forever? I'm not sure that I want to pump my system full of that crap for the rest of my life. This isn't to say that I want to have coke and kool-aid and pie as my diet staples . But things like a little no-sugar added all fruit spread, or a fruit popsicle without added sugar or fake sugar... how can Splenda be "better" for this healthy lifestyle than something sweetened with a pear .

I guess my main question is, months down the line, are you still strictly fake sugar or do you regain a little normalcy at some point

happy Llama sad Llama... big fat mama Llama.

[Elizabeth Anderson RD 669]

Hi there!

There are a lot of strong opinions about this issue but scientifically, no hard facts.

I tell my clients, you are the expert on YOU so...what will work best for you?

Will a little sweetener from all fruit preserves trigger you or, be just enough to satisfy you?

If a little Splenda or Truvia helps right now, that's okay. Experiment as time goes on and see what works in your life.

The trickiest thing is the normalcy you mentioned. What is normal?

Be sure and check in with yourself and ask if the normal life you want to return to is the one that you wanted to leave when you decided to have surgery.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I try to stay away from both artificial sweeteners and sugar. Not 100%, but they either of them is rare for me rather than a main part of my diet. To the extent I have something sweet, it is usually made with "real" sugar -- but I don't do it often.

I don't eat fruit spread or jam of any kind on a regular basis -- but on Christmas morning when I put jam on a biscuit, I use real sugared jam not artificially sweetened or flavored jam.

I don't use sweeteners in coffee, which I drink every day, but I have a mug of tea maybe 2x per month and that I usually sweeten with a teaspoon of sugar.

On the other hand, if I drink fruit juice, it's usually the "diet" cranberry juices that are made with artificial sweetener. No way am I wasting 130 calories on a glass of juice to wash down my Iron pill. To me 130 calories is lunch, not a glass of juice (which also comes laden with sugar and carbs).

For me what works best is to look at things that are typically either loaded up with either sugar or artificial sweeteners and figure out something else entirely to eat or drink instead.

[eliminnowp 113]

I agree with @bufflehead. I'll do real sugar if it is a small amount and it's "worth it" but I try to use other sweeteners for foods that normally are high in sugar. Overall I just avoid sweet stuff.

I always hated fake sugar preop. I started trying stevia products, which I find slightly more tolerable. I still don't love it but I can deal with it for certain foods. For example, greek yogurt is such a great source of healthy Protein, but many brands have a ton of sugar! I eat a stevia or splenda version of those. However, to sweeten my morning tea, I use the real thing because I use such a small quantity.

Also, I'm trying to see food as fuel, not a primary source of pleasure so eating fake sugar foods is less likely to make me want to overeat them.

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Edited October 25, 2016 by eliminnowp

[KristenLe 5,979]

We are encouraged to have fruit on my plan.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

@@KristenLe now that I'm in maintenance I eat a small apple for an afternoon snack most days, and a couple pieces of dried fruit at the end of the day if I have enough calories and am craving something sweet. Particularly if you don't eat a lot of sugary food, a piece of dried fruit like apricots or dates can feel as sweet as a sugary dessert! Even in weight loss mode I would really look forward to a little dish of strawberries at the end of the day.

[Babbs 14,681]

I try to stick to real stuff, but you really can't get away with never having artificial sweetners, as it seems to be in everything. I try to do a nice mix of both, but also limiting both the best I can. I'd say I eat clean 90% of the time.

It's definitely like walking a tightrope at times!