Elaine, no one here is going to "tell you" to do anything! you're a grownup and can make any choice about what you ingest that you wish to.

But you complained about sweet cravings, and the likeliest cause of those is your continuing to use artificial sweeteners (of any sort--splenda is healthier than aspartame, but still a sweet). That's not instruction, just information. Life is easier for some folks without the cravings; others can battle them daily with success for weeks and weeks at a time. You want sweet drinks and you want no cravings--and from what you've said, it seems you probably can't have both. But you get to choose which you'd rather have!

When you're off sugars and artificial sugars for a few weeks, other foods start tasting amazingly sweet--celery and green peppers and cauliflower and many others. When that happened to me, it was one of those "aha" moments...I figured out what Mother Nature had given me those sweet taste buds for! (duh!)

Though I'll confess I've been drinking almost a Diet Hansen's a day since I found their "tangerine lime" flavor...and I've had extra carbs twice this week, too...so reminding you has been a good reminder to me to knock that Hansens off for awhile!