Sweetness

I used to drink 5 cups of coffee a day.  OK, it was more like 8 cups a day but I'd only drink half the cup before it was cold and nasty and I'd have to refill.  The caffeine was bad enough but I would put 2 Splenda's and cream in every cup.  Not good.  So I decided to go cold turkey on the Splenda and cream for my New Year's resolution 2010.  Great.  I did it.  I thought I might drink less coffee without the creamer and sweetener.  Nope.  No such luck.  I'm still a coffee junkie.  Black.  But I'm off the artificial sweetener ( poison ) and the creamer ( artery clogger. )  I'll battle my caffeine addiction later.  Hey, one step at a time, right? 

Artificial sweeteners are a chemical.  They aren't  food.  They have a variety of side affects, one of which is increased cravings.  I don't need to increase my cravings.  I have plenty already.  Thank you very much!  Just how do artificial sweeteners increase our cravings for sweets?  Studies show that our digestive process begins with the salivary glands.  The minute something sweet hits the tongue our digestive juices start working and ramping up for an influx of calories.  But none are delivered.  Our body retaliates by craving some "real" sweets and calories.  Thus, a craving is born!

That being said, for weight loss I would choose an artificial sweetener over sugar any day.  Artificial sweeteners do not cause a blood sugar increase or the subsequent insulin spike.  For someone wanting to lose body fat, this is a plus.  But for those of us at our goal weight, cleaning up our bad habits becomes the priority.  That means losing the garbage from our diet.  Caffeine, carbonation, artificial sweeteners, trans fat, refined grains etc.  Of course, this can't be done all at once.  Not by me, anyway.  I've kicked all of them at one time or another but never all at once....or permanently for that matter.  I am a work in progress :)