I notice a lot of our diet is recommended to change to sugar free everything!! I'm super against aspartame/Splenda, as many health studies have proven how bad it is for your brain and body!! I currently use stevia (a natural derived sweetener) but it's not found in a lot of drinks or products. Has anyone else found they can still eat things that are not filled with aspartame chemicals and still loose weight? Or have found products they love made with more natural sweeteners?

I hear ya, and so contradictory to whole foods and healthier habits. I tried a sugar free pudding the other day and this what happened, in this order....(I'm presurgery mind you).....gag.........yucky after taste.... OK, I want another one.....mind says, I bet the one with sugar tastes better......where are my keys?.....Lol

There are Protein powders sweetened with stevia out there. You could also make your own, but in terms of the ready to go convenience foods, artificial sweeteners rule the roost.

But i have to be careful and follow the rules though at least at the beginning when the sugar free stuff is required. I know when I start eating real foods the restriction kicks in.....and no artificially sweetened stuff is required.....

I told my surgeon the first time I met him that I would not eat anything sugar-free or fat-free due to the processing and chemicals. He said he didn't care as long as I got my Protein in. I think a lot of the material we are given as sleeve patients was originally for bypass patients, since they suffer dumping.

To answer your question about weight loss, I am losing steadily and do not seem to be suffering for my choice to not go sugar-free, low-fat, fat-free, etc. Even if this means I lose a little slower than others, who cares? I have to be comfortable with what I put in my body and I am not going the processed food route.

I'm so glad I read this post. I am 5 days post op and I have NEVER been able to handle the taste of sugar free. It all tastes like chemicals. So the regular Jello isn't going to kill me?

It's really hard to find things that don't have splenda in them.

Aspartame is being taken out of a lot of stuff so that's good.

You can get Crystal lite made with Stevia but you have to get it online. I like that a lot. I do eat Greek yogurt that has spelda in it.

Is Splenda as bad as Aspartame? I have never read that. I 've read plenty about how bad Aspartame is.

My surgeon's big no-no is high fructose corn syrup.

Consider trying things without any sweetening. The last time I went off of sugar I found that many things I automatically added sweetener to didn't really need it.

I have not eaten jello at all, but I had regular pudding on the pureed stage and had no problems at all. I also try to not eat much refined sugar, so the only sweeteners I use (which is very, very rarely) are honey or pure maple syrup. I understand that my yogurt is going to have sugar, but I do what I can. I, personally, don't want to use any artificial sweetener.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!! Here is a great article on Splenda!

I'll opt to use some sugar free while in the healing weeks after surgery but agree to not add any sweetener or stick with stevia.

http://institutefornaturalhealing.com/2013/06/splenda-the-little-packet-of-death/

Or bag the whole sugar free thing altogether. While I was healing, I couldn't tolerate artificial sweeteners at all. They gave me bad pains. I could tolerate stevia but that's it. Plain water also upset my sleeve so I had to resort to diluted 100% fruit juices and regular Lifewater, Vitamin Water, etc. to get in my fluids. After about 3-4 months I could drink plain water and the artificial sweeteners didn't hurt but I can't stand the taste now. I rarely drink or eat anything sugar free...I just go with the real thing (or unsweetened) I simply consume in moderation, like everything else. At 11 pounds under goal, this strategy obviously has not stopped me from losing weight.

Skinnygirl products offer squeeze in flavoring with stevia. Vitamin water zero also and now yogurt comes with stevia. Its a start

I feel the same way about aspartame and I never took to splenda. I've noticed lately that some labels say "aspartame free" and more and more products are containing stevia instead. GNC has a Protein powder I recently tried called Puredge Complete Protein. It's just a little too sweet for me. I keep liquid stevia on hand to add to unflavored foods and drinks.