Day 5 and QUESTIONS!! (about snacks/fake sugar)

[Greeneyez]

Hello all,

I am on day 5 and doing good. The only "problem" I am having is at night. I want to eat after dinner, and I want something sweet!! So what I have been having is a glass of (fake) chocolate milk. By fake, I mean it's either Hershey's syrup with fake sugar, or a mix that I have that is a total of 70 calories and fake sugar.

I know the book advises against fake sugar, but I am a diabetic (supposedly) so I am used to it- and also, lower in calories than most sugar products (which I WILL indulge in on weekends).

I am also using fake sugar in the form of 1 soft drink a day and jello pudding snack with my lunch.

Is any of this bad, do you think?? As of today I am down 1 lb (which may or may not be real!). And I exercise daily.

Thank you all in advance!!!!

[mel1974c]

I think the pudding might be considered a sweet but I am not sure - I am as new as you are

I think the milk with chocolate syrup is fine, I thought I saw that someone else drinks that often.

[Mistress Manners]

I think the soda with lunch is fine, but I'd count the pudding as a sweet. (And probably the chocolate milk too). From the habit prespective, it doesn't matter whether the sugar's real or fake -- you're trying to break the habit of always having something sweet after a meal.

I've found that having a drink with dinner (usually a beer) and continuing to nurse it after I'm done eating serves the same purpose, while realigning my tastebuds to not expect chocolate after every meal (which makes it really seem like a treat on S days).

[BrightAngel]

Is any of this bad, do you think??

No, I think all of that is okay.

Use of "fake sugar", artificial sweeteners is totally an individual choice.

In his book, Reinhard comments that he, personally, doesn't like their taste,
and that. . . although there's no current evidence of this. . . someday Science might discover they are bad for you.
The only other reason he gave for personally choosing not to use them
was that he felt it was better to get used to limiting sweet tastes.

I didn't find any of those reasons to be a convincing argument against the use of artificial sweeteners,
and I don't plan to give up my Splenda, which I consider to be a "gift from God".

[laptop-girl]

First off, congrats on getting started on a healthier you.

My take on it is don't try to do a perfect program all once. It's too much to ask for.

I think it's fine to have a pudding as part of your meal since it's not inbetween, it's still part of your meal.

I also think it's fine to use Splenda and make a nice hot chocolaty beverage. Nestle makes a 25 calorie hot cocoa mix which is also good.

What I would do it just work on working the program, and once you get some overall habits ingrained you can work on weaning yourself off if you choose to, or if it does seem to be stalling your weight loss.

I think it's a decision you should make after you get closer to your goal!

I personally can't have treats like sugar free pudding -- it's a trigger food for me. But I'm workin' on it!

Good luck to you!

[kccc]

Laptop girl said it best - you can make improvements that work NOW, and later take additional steps.

My advice is to not take on more than you can do, but to DO what you decide to do almost religiously. Draw your own boundaries, and STICK TO THEM.

The biggest thing to be watchful about is if any of the items you mention become "gateways" or "wedges" that open the door to failure. You know, where the whiny kid in the back of your head says "but you let me have x, so why can't I have y? It's not that different. C'mon, c'mon, just this once..." and you end up blowing it and blaming yourself later. If your guidelines are clear and firm, and you don't go there, then you're good.

(With that said... I personally go by the rule that "if it tastes like a sweet, it's a sweet. Period." But I do think that's an "individual decision-point" area.)

[3aday]

Hi there...
Real or fake sugar, pudding is more of a dessert like food.
I wouldn't eat it.
I would rather bypass it during the week and indulge in the real stuff on the weekends, but that is just me.

Believe it or not, you do get used to not having to have something dessert like during the week. It's the initial deprivation in the beginning that can be a little tough. However, it can be done....And it becomes habit after awhile.

Hope that helps...

Personally for me, I stay away from artificial sweeteners.
I use real sugar in small amounts.
I also eat full fat foods.

The beauty of the No S diet is that you can retrain yourself to not want the sweet stuff during the week and enjoy it fully on the weekends and give it the rightful place it deserves in our life. Sweets should be something special, something you look forward to. Trust me, real dessert is more enjoyable when you haven't had it in a few days.

[blueskighs]

3aday,

good to hear from you!

i always find your insights full of wisdom,
your sharing all of the changes that you have gone through on NO S and how you keep it really clean and simple NO S helps me a lot!

i too choose to bypass the fake stuff during the week and go for the real deal on weekends,

the amazing thing this has done for me is to make my "work week" incredibly more fulfilling, productive and rewarding,

WHO KNEW

Blueskighs

[reinhard]

I think ultimately you'll make it easier if you avoid fake sugar desserts and soda during the week. It'll be less confusing to habit. But they are technically allowed if you don't feel ready for that jump yet (or ever).

Have you tried having a piece of fruit instead? Plenty of real sugar there. And it's totally legitimate. Recommended, in fact.

Reinhard

[Mistress Manners]

I was thinking about this over the weekend, and was just going to come back and suggest fruit. The good news about cutting out other sweets is that fruit tastes AMAZING. Try using some of your platespace for fruit, and save it till the end. I bet it will give you the sweet kick you need.