warrenwinter's Journal, 10 February 2016

Wow ooops I've been using Splenda!! 

Funny, my diet only picked out Splenda as a BAD substitute. But said all including sugar is bad. Only natural Stevia they accept, and it is the most potent of all. One teaspoon equals one cup of sugar. 

Once I cut out sugar and most refined carbs I felt much better. Less inflammation meaning less aches and pains, stiff joints, etc. I wish Stevia didn't have such a strong aftertaste. 

Good loss for you!  

Go for "Leaf" Stevia (from Leaf will be on the package) and beware of marketing such as Truvia which is not really Stevia. Even still with Stevia, you're cutting carbs, but not the addiction. Your Brain gets the sweet message and preps for its incoming fix, in...it doesn't receive it, and you send mixed signals to your body. So roll with what you've got and down the road if you stall...consider dropping the Stevia. 

Yes...I stalled on SBD when I started using Splenda and I should have seen a drop today I think after only having 17 net carbs yesterday but didn't .... Evil Splenda!! Lol. I will get some stevia ASAP! Thanks :) 

There are a few that have in some trials that have been proven to produce an insulin response. In short...you're trying to game the system by using artificial sweeteners. Xylitol is actually a beneficial sweetener (oral anti-biotic as a side effect). Stay clear of Aspartame (migraine inducing), and beware Sugar Alcohols (Erythritol), these will send you running to the bathroom. 

I use stevia in my coffee. No problems so far, knock on wood, click my heels together, twirl 3 times, stand on my head...whatever I have to do so I DON'T have to give it up!!! 

Glad to hear it, as I got a cup brewing right now. 

Thank you warren my buddy:) 

lucky you that you can eat fake sugars. I can't. The only one I tolerate is the actual plant stevia. Once powdered, I don't know what they do to it but it's bathroom city for me! Anyway, good luck! 

JMB try the plant instead of the powder :) 

Well, thanks so much for all the feedback, I really appreciate it, and it sounds like a few of you know about Stevia already. I agree there usually are negatives related to any substitute. I hope the taste doesn't bother me, because I bought enough to last my lifetime.lol  

I've never had a sweet tooth, it's salt I crave! Thankfully for those 100 cal pistachio sacks and 1/4 cup of cashews takes care of my crave. I do eat 2 blocks of the 85% cacao if a sudden urge of "sweet" comes into play. I've always been a black coffee drinker until I met my husband who would drink milk and sugar in his and we shared a lot and I got used to it, then we did the French vanilla creamer until I took a look at the actual serving size and said omg I use way more than that!! I stopped drinking that and went back to blk coffee, one cup a day thanks to green tea (I used to drink about a pot of coffee all day!) is honey bad for you on your plan? I found that great as a sweetner when I couldn't stand the taste of the green tea (I don't do that anymore as I'm accustomed to its taste now). Anyhow, hope the stevia works out.  

My diet pills have 500 mg of green tea extract (leaf), which is 98% polyphenols, and 45% ECGC. Google the studies on these. I love this stuff because it stops my cravings. The green tea you're drinking is great, but you have to drink a ton of it. BioTrust has even better stuff called IC-5!I believe their products are cutting edge, but would never tell someone to buy it.  

The IC-5, google that, could be a godsend, but the cheapest is $40 a bottle. 

@Misty: Honey is nature's candy...limited quantities, not very often. In terms of if it is good/bad for you. Sugar is 50% Glucose and 50% Fructose. High Fructose Corn Syrup is 45/55, Honey is 45/55 and for reference, Blue Agave Nectar 25/75. So what does this all mean? Glucose is absorbed into the blood stream..Insulin takes Glucose from the blood and stores in cells to be used immediately and if not used, it meets with Triglycerides and stored as Fat. So where did Triglycerides come from?...Fructose. The Liver is the only organ that can process Fructose, it converts it to Triglycerides and stores as Fat in cells bound by the Glucose (can't go anywhere), and deposits as visceral organ Fat...Liver and Pancreas. The more Fructose you have, the more internal fat you will have but the lower the blood sugar rise. Now next time you see someone grabbing for the bottle of "Blue Agave Nectar", in your mind you'll think...low blood sugar rise = good for diabetics...massive fructose = diabetics develop Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease that much quicker. @warrenwinter...pass on IC-5 it's a mask at best. Artificially lowering blood sugar without addressing the cause (fatty pancreas/insulin resistance) will ultimately lead to weight gain and more fat. Check it out on dietpillswatchdog.com. Green Tea is a soft version of Ephedra so meh'...no Fat loss benefits from it. However, the ECGC is beneficial...depending on how much your paying for it. If you drop all the extra weight you're carrying around and get back to ~20% body fat, that will lower your cancer risks more than any supplement. 

@Misty - for sweetner in tea and coffee, I really like the flavored liquid Stevia drops. I get them from a healthfoods website. There are a couple brands - I use one called SweetLeaf. The orange is delicious in green or spicy herbal teas and the french vanilla is my favorite for coffee. It only takes a couple/few drops depending on the size of beverage you're drinking.  

Yes I've been thinking about getting the powder form actually. I don't use the honey anymore, I bought the agave but I don't use that anymore either as I just don't have a need for it. Good job to all of you on watching your sugar and controlling diabetes and other medical issues.  

Thanks for the information. Very informative!