Help!

I spent the last year getting off of aspartame. I know this is helpful because I no longer drink diet soda and soda will not be an option, so that is great.

I am told for Snacks I can have sugar free ice pops and sugar free Jello. Has anyone found a natural alternative to crappy sugar free products that are compliant?

Any suggestions are great.

(I am preparing to start my pre op diet.)

Thanks!

Try Stevia, it is a natural sweetener.

I was told I could use Splenda, by my surgeon and NUT

There's nothing store-bought that you're gonna find that'll be chemical-free, at least in my experience. I ended up making my own stuff from scratch (I have all kinds of interesting food allergies and sensitivities.) You can make popsicles and jello from water, plain gelatin, and fruit juice (which won't be sugar-free, just no sugar added, but you can control that.) I used beef collagen peptides and homemade broth instead of shakes, and ate cod and chicken liver to supplement my supplements, as it were. It did sort of amaze me that all these health professionals were telling me to subsist on things that were absolutely terrible for me! Soy protein isolate...aspartame...gut-irritating gums like xanthan and arabic...gross!

Check out this blog from bp member @@Smye

http://barideliciousfood.blogspot.com/?m=1

He also likes to cook without all the chemicals that come with "sugar free."

I'm still new to all of this, so definitely do not have the long-term view that you may be looking for. Since sweetness has always been a weakness of mine, I have cut out all sugar and all artificial sweeteners. It sucked at first, but it has really helped me not crave sweet things as I've moved forward.

Of course, the real challenge will be when I am at maintenance and re-introduce limited sugar. Hope I can keep it together then! Again, nothing sweet may not work for everyone, but it has been a godsend for this sweet-tooth.

http://www.mamanatural.com/how-to-make-healthy-jello/

I just discovered this recipe for healthy jello! I had no idea that Gelatin had such health benefits!!

I'm wondering abouth myself because I am allergic to aspartame.

Would it be possible to just freeze sugar free natural fruit juice in popsicle molds for popsicles?

I like stevia.

Great post... I gave up aspartame 6 years ago when I realized that's what was giving me some serious tummy trouble. I stick with stevia and there are more and more things coming out without artificial sweeteners. When I do need something sweet I do all natural sugars. Of course that's not sugar free but it's also more natural than aspartame and doesn't upset my tummy.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have not ever had aspartame since surgery. Or pretty much any other artificial sweetener for that matter. (With the exception of Muscle Milk and Premier Proteins which contain sucralose, but my other Protein powders use stevia) No sugar free popscicles, no sugar free Jello, no sugar free pudding, no crystal light, etc. there's no rule that you have to eat that crap. There's plenty of products out there that use stevia and/or erythritol as sweeteners and I they didn't cause the pain that artificial sweeteners did.

I made Popsicles from Protein shakes. I drank a lot of decaf herbal tea, both hot and iced. Sweet leaf Water enhancers use stevia. Bai5 and Pact use stevia and erythritol. I use regular Torani syrups instead of sugar free. Diluted Regular sports drinks and fruit juice instead of zero cal drinks. And when I want to manually sweeten something I use real sugar, honey, stevia or monk fruit. I'd rather have the extra calories than the yucky flavor of the artificial stuff.

Kindle does the regular sugar bother you or make you dump? What you do sounds like something that I would like to try. That goes against what eveyone says even the nutritionist but I get hives and twitching for several hours after having artificial sweetners. What kind of protein shake did you use for popsicles. Also how far out from surgery were you when you started making your own drinks instead of using the suggested ones?

Kindle does the regular sugar bother you or make you dump? What you do sounds like something that I would like to try. That goes against what eveyone says even the nutritionist but I get hives and twitching for several hours after having artificial sweetners. What kind of Protein shake did you use for popsicles. Also how far out from surgery were you when you started making your own drinks instead of using the suggested ones?

No, nothing makes me dump. If I eat a lot of sweets (like a whole piece of cheesecake or several cookies) I might get a bit of a tummy ache. I never had any suggested drinks....just daily Fluid and protein goals. It was up to me how I met them. Had no calorie or carb goals, either

As for popscicles, Syntrax Naturals (sweetened with stevia and erythritol) comes in Orange, peach, vanilla and chocolate and made good pops. Mixing orange juice with the vanilla makes a good dreamsicle. Diluted fruit juice (100% juice, no sugar added) makes good pops, too. I couldn't tolerate artificial sweeteners or lactose for 4 months so I had to get creative on what I drank. I was flavoring my protein smoothies and plain Greek yogurt with pureed fruit from the beginning. The carbs actually helped with my energy level. And considering I passed goal at 7 months and have maintained over two years out I'd say real sweeteners have not hindered my progress. Moderation is key.

Thank you Kindle I want to try all those ideas. Is there a way to make the frozen juice pops and add protein to them?