I went to a class called the ABCs of lap band. The nurse said not only to avoid sugared items but also sugar free items. She said that your body still releases insulin from eating sugar free items because they are sweet and this will cause you to feel hungrier. Have any of you post bandsters ever heard of that? How can you eat and avoid all sugar free stuff? I posted this under food and nutrition and only got 2 responses so I am trying it here. Thanks to all who can help me.

Fake sweetners are horrible for your diet. I never realized it while still "addicted" but when I would drink diet coke with Breakfast I would binge on ice cream in the evening. When I gave up diet coke and switch to OJ in the morning I started eating a lot less sugar. Go figure.

I strongly recommend Stevia. It's a ground root that is 100 times sweeter than sugar. Pure, natural and it doesn't make me binge on sugar - in fact it solves the cravings. There are different types and some are very bitter. But I've found a few that are wonderful - try the individual packets that are easy to tote.

One note: I've given up processed and fake sugar as part of my pre-pre-band diet. Fruit is wonderfully sweet now and dessert is Puffins Cereal (like Corn Bran) with no Stevia needed. This has been an important part of retraining my body to be healthier. However, I will starting my liquid diet either the 10th or 17th and I will be eating anything allowed on it including all fake sugars! For 4 weeks I'm just going to survive the liquid diet and not worry about anything else.

I was told to eat as much sugar free as I wanted.

Funny how different dr.'s have different requirements.

my pcp hates splenda and all artificial sweeteners and would prefer that i avoid them. my band doc's office recommends them. i am sure they can't be great for you but at this point in life weight loss is my top priority -- at some point, tho, i hope i can phase as much of it out of my diet as possible.

I was told to eat as much SF popsicles, pudding and Jell-O as I wanted. Typically I have a SF Jell-O or pudding once a day as a snack.

I drink Crystal Light iced tea by the gallons. Is this bad? I've never noticed anything wrong with it.

I use Splenda in my hot tea - about one or two cups a day. I had read that excessive amounts of fake sweeteners is what's bad for you.

There are so many do's and don't. Remember just a few years ago coffee was bad for us? And so were eggs. Now they're back in fashion. I can't keep up!!

After reading a recent study on rats where the ones who ate artificial sweetener were fatter than the ones who ate sugar, I gave up all artificial sweeteners. I guess that you can't trick your body; your body thinks you've eaten something sweet, and gets pissed that there's nothing work with, so makes you hungrier.

Although Stevia is natural, I don't see how it could be any different to the body than other artificial sweeteners: it's sweet, but it's not fuel, like sugar. I avoid Stevia too because in theory it shouldn't be any better.

I just eat some sugar when necessary. I know it's "empty calories" etc., but all things in moderation. Fruit is better than sugar, but still some sugar is the cost of forgoing Splenda and Nutrasweet, etc.

I have to recommend a cookbook I got recently called "Secrets of Fat-Free Baking" by Sandra Woodruff. I never thought I'd be able to tolerate baked goods without fat or sugar, and made with whole wheat, but I've had success with several recipes so far. I'm pre-band, so it's possible I won't be able to eat any of this post-band without getting stuck, but if you can, it's a good approach to still getting a sweet fix without breaking the rules.

I Am Post Op 5 Days Now. I Am Still On The Liquid Diet. Sugarfree Jello And Sugar Free Popsicles Are What Get Me Going. Once In Awhile Treat Better Than Protein Drink And Chicken Broth Only.

After reading a recent study on rats where the ones who ate artificial sweetener were fatter than the ones who ate sugar, I gave up all artificial sweeteners. I guess that you can't trick your body; your body thinks you've eaten something sweet, and gets pissed that there's nothing work with, so makes you hungrier.

Although Stevia is natural, I don't see how it could be any different to the body than other artificial sweeteners: it's sweet, but it's not fuel, like sugar. I avoid Stevia too because in theory it shouldn't be any better.

I agree with this but for whatever reason Stevia does not make me overeat or crave sweets the way the fake and processed sugars do. I found this out the hard way after a month of no fake sugar (but Stevia everyday in my green tea) when I decided to get a box of sugar free fudgecycles because they are on the liquid diet. I ate a couple and the diet went straight to hell. :smile2: Starting craving sugar and junk food and it's been really hard to stick to the whole foods I was eating! But I know what the problem is and how to fix it.

If you don't miss the fake sugar and can control the processed sugar than there's no reason to add Stevia in. But if you like your tea sweet and have a sweet tooth which is how you gained weight than you may want to give Stevia a shot. :smile2:

I use Splenda in my hot tea and I eat SF Snacks - Jell-O, pudding, popsicles. The fake sugar doesn't make me overeat or give me cravings.

I think we can convince ourselves of something and then we run with it. I don't get the rant on fake sweeteners. If it works for you, great. If not, try something else. Everyone is different.

MickeyMammoth is right. You can't trick your body without repercussions. Our tongue was designed to detect sweetness for a specific reason. When you taste something sweet, your tongue sends an instant message to your brain that sugar is coming and it's time for an insulin dump. The insulin is released to help process the sugar. Your body DOES NOT know the difference between real sugar and fake sugar. It doesn't detect the imposter. So now you have insulin swimming around your body with nothing to process. You can't do this over, and over and over and over again, without your body finally saying, hell with this crap, I just won't do it anymore. Now that sugar isn't processed properly and turns to fat. It's that simple. You've also stressed out your pancreas, and set yourself up for some form of diabetes. Have you not wondered why this generation has RAMPANT diabetes? We didn't have artificial sweetners 40 years ago. I avoid it like the plague. It gives me headaches and clouds my thinking. I think it also increases my joint pain, not to mention increasing my cravings for carbs. It's just not worth it to me. A level teaspoon of real sugar only has about 16 calories. I think I can handle that on the rare occasion that I need to sweeten my coffee just a bit. I don't completely rule out real sugar, I just make sure it's not a habit. My doctor and surgeon are completely in agreement with me on this one.