AntiM the stuff she refers to is called the cephalic response and it is really in our heads. For some reason Obese folks process sweet food stimuli different from skinny folks and not all heavy folks have the same degree of response. Several studies were done where folks were wired up and blood was drawn and just looking at pictures of desserts caused measurable rises in the insulin levels of folks. Sweet taste can triiger it too.
Your body works by interlocking the molecules with sites in the body. Change the shape of the molecule slightly and it no longer fits the targeted site. sort of like a jigsaw puzzle you can force some wrong pieces in places they don't belong as you start putting it together, but only the right piece will fit all the other pieces in its proper place. Slenda has been changed in shape from sugar so we don't process it in the metabolic pathways but our taste buds still recognize it as sweet. While my body won't process the splenda molecule in the carb energy pathways the sweet taste sets off cravings for me and I have to avoid it.
The Richard Simons weight loss he attributed to fluid he was retaining from the diet sodas. I saw his interview on one of the morning talk shows. it amounted to 10-15 pounds so it was significant for him.
The aspartamine soda info comes from folks who were patients of the atkins center reporting stalls. One low carb site posted a report from the Atkins center that said 25% of their patients reported stalls from its use. The soda test was repeated at the U of Maryland and concluded that no conclusion could be made because the test parameters did nothing to exclude the citric acid in the sodas as the cause of the stalling. So that is were the aspartame in sodas info is at this time. BUT there is no conflicting information on the fact that caffeine does stimulate insulin production in the human body. This inturn causes blood sugar changes and will trigger you to feel the need to eat. Insulin is also a fat storing hormone. You don't want to be storing any of those fats you just ate on your Atkins plan do you?
The body builders will argue that a small amount of caffeine will help you lose weight and build muscle mass and that maybe behind the AtkinsCenters desision to now allow 1 cup of caffeine containing beverage daily during induction.
And lastly if you are addicted to your caffeine containing drink that should tell you all you need to know about why you should give it up.