Hi to all of my fellow friends who share this weight struggle...

...and I do mean STRUGGLE. As I posted earlier, I had gained a size through last fall and the holidays, (after a 100 lb. weight loss the previous year) but as I also said I got back to the WeightWatchers program in Janurary. However, I have been struggling and I do mean STRUGGLING. I have just been consumed by food and cravings and even when I applied my rule of really filling up with lots of 0 points foods I was still craving. Now there is a huge difference between being hungry and craving. And, I mean to tell you that I was just "Jonesing" for sweets.

My caregiver noticed the difference and we discussed what in the world is different. Do I need to go to the doctor? I do have a slow thyroid and am on medication for it but maybe it's still out of whack. But, am I doing something different?

I have. I missed coffee. I want mine with too much sugar and cream. I also went through a difficult time with excruciating headaches because I was using so much of the artificial sweetener aspartame so the doctors told me no more. Then came the new Splenda sweetener and last fall, even though it caused me to have some headaches, I started drinking my morning coffee again. Then a few weeks ago I found the new Stevia sweeteners, a natural sweetener made from the Stevia plant from South America rather than a chemical. it smells like Cotton Candy.

I read an article online one time that even one artificially sweetened beverage a day could have an effect on your body in that the sweet taste followed by no calorie content sort of confuses your brain and body. So we decided to do without the morning coffee full of artificial sweeteners. (I'm sitting here trying to sip on a cup of black coffee...YUCK!) and oh my gosh! The very first day I noticed a difference. I've been artificially sweetener free for a week now and the little monster inside of me that was screaming to be fed is gone. I mean GONE.

I'm sure that any doctor would questiion the validity of my findings but I'm convinced. Could the use of artificial sweeteners be sabotaging your weight loss struggle? If anyone else has found this to be true please tell us about it.

Somebody at work told me something about that. I've been struggling with my weight for my whole life. (Well, since puberty anyway.) And I'm a diet soda junkie. Seeing this from you made me consult the google gods, who replied with an article from webmd.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040630/ar...ge-diet-efforts

So, it looks like you're right, unless there are more differences between humans and rats than we realize.