Yes, I've read about aspartame on the Atkins site. I realize it is not recommended. I've read it may increase sugar craving in some...may somehow stall weight loss.

Is this absolute? I mean diet Pepsi is one of my HUGE sacrifices. It has basically non-existent carbs. Any final word on why you can't have it? Is it just some people don't react well to it or is it the kiss of death on induction and OWL??

Thanks...

There are people on this board who have continued to drink diet soft drinks with aspartame and not been bothered or hampered in their losing. The citric acid in most soft drinks also is a staller.

you'll just have to try and see how you do. If you don't lose, then consider which you'll will do without: diet pepsi or losing weight.

I sure never had a problem. Now I try to keep it to two (sometimes 3) drinks with Aspertame a day. More and I can get headaches.

Certainly never stalled me. I lean towards the view that it is in peoples heads since no calories is no calories. If you eat a bag of chips with the diet pop.. well...

Brobin

I am maintaining now.... I use things with aspartame in it and have never had a problem....

Has anyone ever thought about the studies that aspartame causes illnesses and diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and many others. Other than thinking the only thing that it causes is headaches and weight stalls....I have been a low-carber for years and I use only stevia, Spleda and malitol if necessary...for more info check out http://www.rense.com/general50/KILLER.HTM

Well, I don't generally add equal (aspartame) to anything but...I like diet sodas. So...if I was drinking them before starting a low carb diet, I don't mind drinking them after. Unless...

...if they stall weight loss on a low carb diet, it is kind of self defeating. So in that context, I was really narrowing in on it's affect on low carb dieting and none of the other health issues.

Personally, I really think the extra weight I'm trying to shed is probably far worse to my health than any artificial sweetener. Unfortunately, life causes death. Probably impossible to run away from everything that might be detrimental.

I don't hold much stock in the conspiracy and scare stories circulating the web about aspertame. Some of them are just plain silly, all are based on no evidence at all.

You will also find info saying Splenda causes all sorts of evil things too.

I am sure if you ate a hundred pounds of anything every day for 20 years you will get sick, but in normal use, there is no evidence at all that these substances are any worse for you then oatmeal, meat, nuts, etc...

brobin

I drink a couple cans of diet pepsi a week with NO problems. My ex boyfriend drinks a 2 litre bottle of the stuff every day and he has been maintaining a 100 pound weightloss for over 2 years now.

I think it is a YMMV thing. No matter what the *book* (or website) says about aspartame I will not give up my diet pepsi or my crystal light.

If I worried about what the media is reporting there would not be much I could eat

I was drinking 2-4 aspartame-sweetened drinks a day for a while and losing slowly. The past couple weeks I noticed my weight loss speeding up, and thought -- what the heck??!

Then I realized: my department was moved to a different floor where the soda machine only had Coke products (ewww, canned Diet Coke...)--so I started putting Diet Rite in the fridge and drinking that instead with lunch. My aspartame consumption dropped to 0-1 drinks a day. It may be a coincidence, but I have to wonder if maybe the daily Diet Pepsis were slowing me down. Dunno.

I drink a lot (read: way too much) diet coke. But it hasn't slowed down my weight loss that I'm aware of.

Valerie