Almost Sweet

I too love Splenda. Recently discovered it. It's the best! :)

It's evil.
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm
Of course too much water can kill you .

You give me shit about Splenda all the time! WTF are u talking about? I'm never going to read this thread again. Just wanted to give u shit ;-)

mikesum: thing is, just about EVERYthing has something wrong with it, it seems. I bet there are debates over the dangers of aspartime and sacharrin too (I know there are, about sacharrin). I find Splenda to be the least “deadly”. ;p

My Dad served me iced tea with Splenda in it last year and I liked it a lot. I guess the thing that keeps me from buying it is that it comes in such teeny tiny packages and it's expensive as opposed to buying sugar. I've just tried to stop eating a lot of sugar and when I do have to have something sweet I use a substitute as much as possible.

… when u called from yer cell the other day … i thought i heard u ordering tacos at the drive thru at Taco Bell!!!!!! hola????????

Ah but the key to nutrition is balance. The body needs both carbs and protein. Recent studies show that eating equal portions of healthy carbs and proteins in smaller meals through out the day has the same blood sugar stabilizing benefits low to no carb diets do, without the trainwreck no carb does to your body.

Certainly you don't think that all the processed sugar and crap taht is say a Snickers bar is on the same level as an orange or apple????

I had never heard of Jamba Juice so I went to their website. I don't understand how you can stay low carb and still drink these. Their site says that each smoothie contains 100 grams of carbs. Do you just drink it in smaller portions?

You should read the research studies about Splenda and the problems it causes. It can splice genes. Do you want to be fat with diabetes or contract genetic mutations, cancer or worse?
You can eat all current “food” in moderation. If you eat a bag of oreos everyday, expect the consequences. If you drink 6 cups of coffee a day, expect the consequences. If you have 2 oreos or 2 cups of coffee a day, you get the pleasure with non of the problems.
Restaurants, like all other companies will sell what the public will buy. Just because they start selling “low-carb” doesn't mean its good for you. It's what is selling.
I for one am tired of hearing from the reformed smoker, newly devoute vegan, got religion christian, Refined Sugar bigot, etc.
The saying: “You are what you eat” is as meaningful as “You are what you talk about”. Everything in moderation.

It seems everything is bad for you. You can't eat this, but that is good. Butter is bad. Margarine is better. Wait, butter is now better tham margarine. Eggs are bad, now they are good. Coffee has caffine ! But it has antioxidents ! Hot cocoa has more antioxidents !
It's all just noise.
I found this Wired article on tagatose interesting. The discovery of 3 of the other sweeteners make Darwin cry.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.11/newsugar_pr.html
Now off to eat radioactive soup, hot tea loaded with suger, a big hunk off beef and something fried.
No veges. You know what chemicals they put on those?
I'm not dead yet !
“Ack ! Pork Chops !”

Im with you buddy. Good luck on your diet. For myself I'll try anything to keep my weight down even that efedra thing.

Mmmm… Jamba Juice. It was hard for me to allow that into my life as well, but after I had the first one… *drool*
Good luck with the diet. :)

If you use Splenda in your Pot Brownies is that considered Splenda in the grass?

Why no fruit? Fruit(organic, at least) is the most natural food on the planet.
I would avoid all sugar replacement products such as: Nutrasweet, Sacharin, and other synthetic products. Not enough testing has been done to prove that these chemicals are free of harm over the long term.
Oh yeah, one more thing, try and buy fruit and vegetables that haven't been sprayed with pesticides and eat grass fed beef.

Need to control your weight? Push your big fat asses away from the table before that third helping….duh.

If it were only that easy mark. I have two meals a day, one helping on each. When we get pizza I have one slice and am full. I actually eat smaller portions then my 12 year old brother. Yet I can't manage to get my wieght below 230. Portion control doesn't seem to do a damn thing to help my wieght. I personaly think it has something to do with all the chemical flavor additives and preservatives in any food product you buy. The only way to avoid them is to prepare everything you eat from raw product yourself. Who the hell has the time for that? Unfortunatly it seems nobody in America cares that 90% of all the food they eat is over processed and chemicaly enhanced. Now I find out how bad splenda is for you. You just can't win in todays world.

If you are eating small portions twice a day and can't get your weight below 230 lbs, my guess is that you are 8 feet tall or that you are eating almost nothing but fast food. I'll re-phrase. Push your fat ass way from the table before thirds and don't eat fast food and junk food. Feel better lard ass?

My friend has what he considers the best solution. Join an overpriced gym. Stop going to it and the result is you waste your money. Just eat in moderation and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Good luck on your diet Chris.

By eating two meals a day your body is going to try and hold onto the fat. Your body doesn't know when it's next meal is coming so it will store it up.
Eating 6 small healthy meals a day is the way to go. A meal can be a protein shake or a meal replacement bar.
The same is true for water. If you don't drink enough your body retains it. By drinking water all day your body will get rid of water weight.
The Atkins diet works by flushing water out of your system. The quick weight loss is mostly water weight. When you are on a high protein/low carb diet you enter a biocehmical condition within the body known as ketosis. Your body promotes the formation of ketones which is eliminated through urine. People on these diets find themseleves in the bathroom alot. In the long term it is not healthy.
Fiber is also another key to losing weight. Recommended values are 30 grams but 60 grams may do the trick. Companies remove fiber from products to increase shelf life so they now actually have to put it back in for you to get it. When you eat fiber your body will use it for energy and allow the release your stored fat.

It seems like all of a sudden “low carb” is being offered everywhere. Very cool to have the option, me thinks.

splenda, malitol, nutrasweet, etc. all can give you MAJOR health problems. (Did you know they use malitol for babies who are constipated? Try eating a protein bar with it in it, and soon you'll know why!)
It's silly to drop fruits from your diet, yet add splenda to it.
And Jama Juice? You might as well pour a whole cup of sugar down your throat with most of their smoothies. Why pay like $5 for something you can whip up in your blender at home? If you don't choose correctly you end up getting the smoothies with either yogurt (full of sugar) or sherbet (same thing). If you pick the smoothies that have just fruits in them, well no problem.
Jamba Juice is just like all the rest of the places that build on 'good food' hype but fail to really deliver. Frozen yogurt and sherbet? That's not good for you at all. Here's the ingredients for one of theirs:
Ingredients: Apple Strawberry Juice Blend, Frozen Bananas, Raspberry Sherbet, Nonfat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, Frozen Blueberries, Ice.
If they cut out the sherbet and yogurt, well, then you'd have a drink.

I received a copy of “Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating” for Christmas and have found it to be a refreshing change from fad diets. The author bases many of his positions on solid scientific studies but in those areas where the jury's still out or there is major controversy, he makes that clear, too. He explains the science behind the recommendations in an easy-to-understand manner. No radical diets – its basically an update to the USDA food pyramid based on the latest nutritional understanding. Make red meat and potatoes an occasional enjoyment, avoid saturated and (especially) trans-fats when possible. Replace some of the refined grains you are eating with whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Cover your bases with a decent multi-vitamin. Not a flashy, lose 20 pounds tomorrow book, but one that can help you adjust your diet and nutritional understanding for the long-term. Highly recommended.

Brian is dead on folks. Two meals a day and your body is just going to store fat like a camel does water. You are seriously knocking your metabolism out of whack by only eating two meals. To regulate metabolism you need 5-6 small meals a day. He is also 100% correct about fiber. 75% of the adult population does not get enough fiber in their diet. If you eat more fiber you not only feel fuller but it helps release the stored fats. Try it, it works. I never lost any weight until I started pumping up my fiber intake and also eating MORE food than I ever have in my life. The more I ate (5 small meals as opposed to 2 big ones) the more weight I lost.

With the majority of people being lardasses, you should take the info above with less than a grain of salt. Your understanding of how the body metabolizes nutrients is very limited.

MD – What about my or DC's post don't you agree with?
Any if you have some knowledge to share please do.

I tend to think differently about the USDA food pyramid, of which I understand, was created by the government (red flag right there–since when does the gov't have any business being in your stomach much less anywhere else in your life) in order to help boost the grain board, the dairy board, the etc. board's 'standards' of what's 'right' and wrong to eat, thereby easing the 'reasons' for it and boosting those agricultural areas $$ for farmers and whoever. Back before sugar and transfats were as commonly loaded into everything like nowadays, lots of our great-grandmas and granddads ate: Bacon and eggs for breakfast, pot roast w/veggies for dinner sometimes daily–whole foods basically–no Pizza Hut, no TGI Friday's etc , and they mostly managed to live long, healthy and (for the most part) non-obese lives. So Mark does have a point about the fast food & restaurant meals! Also did you know that when McDonalds' started back in 1950's their standard 'adult' meal included a burger the SAME SIZE as today's Happy Meal kids' burger? Yup. Anyway, my point on the pyramid–this thing's preached out left, right, and center to every parent, and kid, (while they're in the womb even–prenatal care B.S.), keeping up a domino effect of poor eating habits from birth. Definitely, moderation is key like natpanday says, but come on, 9-11 servings of breads, grains and cereals? I've read Dr. Atkins' books cover to cover as well as others like Fit or Fat, and even though Atkins low carb hi protein seems a bit radical, but for people who are border-line diabetes or whose bodies have difficulty creating and processing insulin, these are life-savers. That 9-11 servings of carbs a day is a killer for people like us. More than 3 servings of carbs a day and I feel like a total slug. I'm all for what you're doin' Chris. Keep it up…

It's amazing how many places are adding or modifying their products and making them available for people wanting to eliminate sugar, or just for people like me who are on the Atkins Diet.
I was at a small resturaunt in Baxter, Iowa last month having lunch with my brother in-law and my dad, when I mentioned to the waitress I was on the Atkins Diet she offered to leave the bun off the hamburger… now that is service!
Breyer's has some low carb ice cream out with Splenda in it, good stuff but a little pricey though. :(

MD, you are so right. I am 30, 5'11″, 170lbs with 14% body fat… I MUST be doing something wrong and have very limited knowledge of how the body metabolizes nutrients. Before you start tossing around “lardass” comments you should back up your purported knowledge of how the body metabolizes nutrients. I suppose also my doctor's recommendation as well as my personal trainer's diet plan are WAY off base. Get a clue.

Try this
http://www.montignac.co.uk/index.htm

No radical diets – its basically an update to the USDA food pyramid based on the latest nutritional understanding. Make red meat and potatoes an occasional enjoyment, avoid saturated and (especially) trans-fats when possible. Replace some of the refined grains you are eating with whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Cover your bases with a decent multi-vitamin.