Hi All.
I have been re-reading my atkins and Calp Books and in the Calp book I came across the section on Sugar Susbstitutes. I most of missed it as I skim through books going straight to the diet plan. LOL ( Now I can't be the only who does this) Here is wht it says

Suger substitutes may "fool" the body calorie-wise but they cannot deceive the body's insulin response. Though they are short on calories they can, nevertheless, cause an excess release of insulin and the cravings and weight gain that usually follow.
The rule of thumb is this: if it tastes sweet, your body thinks it is sugar. If your body thinks that it is getting sugar, your body releases insulin, and if you are prone to releasing too much insulin, then anything that tastes sweet, no matter how "low-calorie" it is, can lead to increased cravings and weight gain.
This is on page 61 in the Calp book paperback edition.

Now I never gave this a thought on all my attempts at doing a low carb diet, but now makes a whole heck of alot of since to me.
I always had diet soda, diet jello, and anything else low carb sweet.
I have read in several different posting on the board about people contiueing to have cravings, so I hope this will help alot of people.
Since starting back on attkins I have nothing sweet, no diet anything sweet, and I feel absoluly GREAT. NO cravings, did not get that crappy headace in the first few days, No bad tummy upsets (nothing). I have't felt this great ever doing Atkins. SOOOOO I am now concluding that wht made me crave, and feel bad was the Sugar subs.

Have a Great Day everyone

That's very interesting. I use Sugar Substitutes all the time.That does make a lot of sense. As for me I've not had any cravings since day 4 of Atkins. But that sure would explain why so many people continue to have cravings for so long (including my wife).

I think it depends for each person. I have recently started testing my blood sugar before and after eating different things to see if there are any spikes and I have so far tested this with the DaVinci Syrups (splenda) and with eating a cheeseburger. Neither of them caused any real type of insulin reaction from me. I tested both before I ate and then 30 min after and 60 min after.

I want to do more testing on other sugar free candies and sugar alcohols to see how I do. I try and wait a few days in between tests.

I think it just depends on the person.

MJ

Congratulations on your discovery!

Subs too may not cause a physical reaction but a psychological one. If you ever reached for the sweets when you're feeling miserable you're a pretty good candidate for developing a dependency on artificial sweets.

Foods made from flour and sugar stimulate beta-endorphin and seratonin, the chemicals in your brain that make you feel good. Sometimes we try and create that feeling by using artificial sweets instead. Kind of like a heroin addict going from heroin to methadone.

If you're eating them every day, you may be fooling yourself in thinking that you are not craving them. As a test, don't eat them for a couple of days and see what happens. If you don't crave artificial sweets during the test, then you're off, Scott free!

Karen

I also think I'm one of those people that can't have sweetners either. It's like I'm replacing one kind of sugar for another. Sweet is sweet no matter what.

I've recently been turned onto the low carb Breyers icecream. I'm giving it up. Throwing the whole 1/2 gallon in the garbage. If I don't have it in the house I won't eat it. And eating it has been my problem.

I've been stuck around the same weight for weeks. In fact I'm not even what my profile says...I just can't bear the thought of changing it back. I'll get back to "onederland" soon enough.

I did NOT want to believe it was true when I read it in the Carb Addicts Healthy Heart Program book!!!! I took their "4-day Challenge" and gave them up, first limiting them to just WITH meals, then going four days without altogether. Guess what? I started losing again.... so for ME, it is true.

What they said about anxiety at the thought of giving them up, meaning your body is responding to them, and you're basically addicted like sugar rang true for me, but it took a GIGANTIC leap of faith to cut them out. I'm glad I did.

Now that I'm on CAD, I still have AS, but only with my reward meal, since I've found too much real sugar then gives me trouble.

I really didn't want to hear this. But probably needed to. I love my DaVinci syrups. I put them in anything to give me a sweet taste. Maybe that is my problem? I just thought it was ok because I'm not eating real sugar. So the true test would be to quit using it for a couple of days and see if I crave it?

Deana

I haven't given them up and my blood test (fasting) in August came backwith "perfect" blood sugar and insulin levels, so I'm confused...so are you saying that there is a psychologically induced physical reaction to the artificial sweetners that causes your insulin level to rise?

Becuase it would seem to me that the release of insulin is a physical reaction to the presence of sugar in the blood stream, and therefore if there is no sugar in the blood, no insulin should be released.

Hmm...do you think you can condition your body to respond on that deep a level?

They say your body is "wired" to expect sugar when it tastes sweetness. It makes sense to me that the body can respond to anticipation of sugar. After all, Pavlov's dogs didn't have to taste food when they heard the bell....

They did research it, and are careful to say "In some people"... Kind of like how some people can stomach the sugar alcohols, and some can't. IMO, it's a matter of degree.

The Heller's specialize in "carb addicts" and say somewhere in their books that this reaction may not be true for all people.
But you can train your body, it's what biofeedback is all about. If you are so keyed into sugar, it's entirely possible that your body will release insulin based on the sweet taste...after all, it's been right for uptyup years, hasn't it?
I was surprised at how little I crave sugar or sweet things, considering I used to prowl the office after lunch, bumming candy from my office mates. Now sweet things taste too sweet. But it's nice to have a Russell Stover toffee square with my coffee, or a glass of Splenda sweetened lemonade in the summer. I don't have it every day, and that might make a difference.

Have you ever talked to people about low-carbing and they get this glassy-eyed look and say ohh, I could never give up bread! Or, whatever it is that they just simply can't give up?

BTW, I did buy a glucose monitor to see if there was an insulin reaction to artificial sweeteners. Nada! No reaction at all. They simply turn me into a raging pig from hell and no amount will ever satisfy void. Without them, the void does not exist.

I gave up sweetener and cream in my coffee years ago for the same reason. I would so look forward to that mid-day treat that I would be drooling just thinking about it.

That's an addiction.

Karen

Even though our weight loss continues faster without them, it is nice to have the sugar subs around just in case you want something sweet - then we don't have to cheat, just eat something not completely proven to be naughty. I still love havin em' around!

Beachjen-- I'll give you that point. It IS better to have a sweet treat that is "legal" than not. For me, it was the constant diet soda sipping and sweetener in the coffee, sweetener in the tea....one taste fed the desire for another, which sometimes made me crave the real thing....etc....

Now that I'm free of them most of the time, I can HAVE a sweet-tasting dessert or diet soda WITH my meal and not keep craving more.

Have you guys seen this? http://www.countcarbs.com/advice/To...ot_to_Count.htm
http://www.countcarbs.com/advice/making_the_case.htm
FYI - -