[Mollymouser]

I stopped drinking diet sodas in August 2007, and I've greatly reduced my reliance on artificial sweeteners since I found that they caused me to crave carbs (which wasn't helping my weight loss efforts, at all.) Skipping diet sodas has also reduced my intake of sodium, as an added bonus, as well as caffeine .... which is helpful in controlling high blood pressure (which can impact many people who are overweight.) Finally, I decided that all those artificial colors weren't helping my kidneys, either.

So, while I do occasionally eat products containing artificial sweeteners, I really have been seeking to minimize them, and I never add sucralose to anything.... I just don't see chlorined sugar molecules as something that can possibly be healthy for me, after all.

Anyway, for the last 6+ months, my diet has minimized artificial sweeteners, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, junk food, fast food, refined flours, refined sugar ... and relied heavily on lean proteins, whole grains, and LOTS of veggies ... and I've lost 85 pounds. (And gone OFF insulin, by the way!)

Healthy eating and balanced nutrition (with modest exercise) really is the key to long-term sustainable weight loss.

=^..^= MOLLY