Coffee and Tea with NO SWEETNER

I think I'm going to have to practice drinking coffee and tea without sweetner.  I rely HEAVILY on artificial sweeteners and not feeling too comfortable with it.  Did you all convert over?  How?

I'd like to see some responses on this topic too since I practically swim in iced coffee & passion iced teas all day!!!  All sugar free of course!!

Go with sweeteners that aren't artificial.  Stevia is made from a plant.  Not all of the Stevia products are necessarily the same though.  Some versions or companies have a little more bitter tasting aspect.  I currently use the Stevia in the Raw.  

Also there is a new sweetener out there made from Monk Fruit ... therefore also natural.  The company that makes Splenda also make a version of this Monk Fruit Sweetener called Nectress (I think).

I am right there with you.  I refuse to use Aspartame.  As I have posted before, besides the fact that it gives me headaches, when mixing it in a meal with foods that have nitrates it forms Formaldehyde.  That is the preservative that they use to house those frogs you may have dissected in school.  It is true and it is claimed that it is only in small quantities.  However since nothing ever is totally eliminated from you body those will add up over time.  I can't imagine the side effects of being preserved from the insides.  Kinda scary.

On another note though if nothing else is available I do use Splenda.  This is something that I have been using since the product was first introduced.  When I say that what I mean is that there was a point in time where you could only buy it from their own website before it was in any store.  At that point I was buying it online.  I don't feel as if this product is super bad or even just plain bad.  The best I could say is that it may be only slightly bad for you.  

Funny you should post about Coffee though .. my friend Dave (http://www.schronce.net/forum/index.php?16 click on WLS Friendly for recipes) has recently sent me an email with a bunch of coffee related ideas.  Use whichever sweetener you would like ... http://bariatricfooddude.blogspot.com/

I grew up (a very long time ago) using saccharine in tea. I was never much of a coffee drinker. I digress. When I moved out on my own I got lazy. Back then they didn't have the little packets so you made a whole picture with the saccharine or use used sugar. I got lazy & drank what my cousin called sour puss tea. Now sweet tea tastes just nasty. It is more bitter but I prefer it. As a matter of fact I don't use any sweeteners in anything. Now sweet things are overpowering to me since I cut out the sugar & carbs. You can do this. 

I did not convert over. However, I find I don't use as much sweetener as I used to as using that much makes my tea too sweet for me now. But I still put something in. Usually Sweet'n'Low because I think that tastes the best with tea.

I use Stevia in the Raw

I love my tea and coffee and don't drink either sweet. I do however, use a Keurig and drink flavored coffees.  While I drink both coffee and tea unsweetened... My water now has to have additives (Crystal Light, etc) which has the artificial sweetener and/or dyes. Yikes. I should work on eliminating that.

In a different thread sleevegirl went cold turkey.  I asked her how long it too****il she didn't want it anymore and was shocked to read 7 days.  I usually quit trying at day 2.  I am going to make a goal to go 7 days and then revaluate.  Starting tomorrow.  For now, I am off to enjoy my cup of java fully loaded with chemicals.  This is a habit I really do want to break.