Second Day of Modified Liquids

I have to tell you this is only my second day and I am going crazy for a couple of reasons. I have looked up all of the sugar free items that now have Sucralose (aka Splenda), before that Neutrasweet, before that Saccharin and I must tell you that I really do not want to eat all of that for every other meal. I'd rather have natural sugars than artificial ones. There just hasn't been enough of a long term study done on Sucralose yet to where I want to take that chance. I think the jury is still out with Stevia though it is natural and not manufactured.

Along these lines, there are a lot of people that have turned to these diet drinks whether they had WLS or not. The reason I would not indulge in these drinks even before was because of the fake sugars that are used. For crying out loud, Dr. Oz is even going to have an episode tomorrow on whether diet soda can give you a stroke. I'd say YES because of all of the sodium used in those drinks.

No wonder this country is obese, it is so expensive to eat healthily...
I finally found a small maple syrup sized bottle of Agave sweetener - for almost NINE dollars! I must say though that water, fresh lemon juice and a spritz of Agave, not even the full tablespoon, I made the most delicious lemonade I've had in a while. When the drink is that good, I don't mind the <60 calories. I might mind it later on but then I will just have to do without or use sparingly.

I will finish out the protein shakes that I have bought thus far but that's it. I will then use whey protein powder with skim milk sans the fake sugar (Sucralose) thank you. Invite has one that is very good, you just have to flavor it yourself (unsweetened cocoa, Agave, blended fruit, orange, almond, or any other extract to taste, etc.) Some like it plain. http://www.invitehealth.com/best-whey-protein-powder.html.

In my research, I have also come across this site. I am reading this author's book eventhough she had the gastric bypass many of her stories and experiences similar no matter what WLS one has.
http://www.bariatriceating.com/

      It's a good site that you have to maneuver around to get what you want. I see some delicious recipes that I can't wait to try.

Agave, as I briefly mentioned earlier is a great sweetener that has a low glycemic index. The nutrition per tablespoon (and I'm telling you for drinks you don't even need that much) are: 60 calories, 16 carbs, 16 sugars and it doesn't spike blood sugar like regular sugar does because of it's low GI. I think I am going to make my own jello tonight using that.

I'd love to hear others tips and solutions. If you have the same dislike of fake sugars that have taken over the diet world as I do, let me know and how you are avoiding them.

 I'd like to work on making recipes using Agave, and other "natural" sugars. Then again, I can just substitute Agave every time I see Splenda in a recipe. The caloric content would be higher and I have to work out that much harder.